The Devoured

fight4thedream · January 2016

Prologue

Deep in the heart of Hell, Mephisto sat upon his thrown with a hint of a forlorn expression creeping upon his face.

"I should have never brought him here," he sighed as he went over in his mind how all of this came to happen.

"It's that damnable Amadeus's fault. Had he not piqued my interest, I would have never brought Galactus here."

According to their original agreement, Galactus was to challenge the boy in a faux-contest of power just so Mephisto could better analyze his new favorite pet project. In exchange, Mephisto was going to tell Galactus the locations of 10 planets brimming with life (and sinners). However, what was supposed to be a big pay day for the lord of lies was turning out to be a major loss since he had not thought to factor in the World Devourer's hunger in his scheming. While the giant titan was initially very cooperative, his placid demeanor quickly changed with the onset of his hunger; Galactus sensed the immense of amount of energy brimming within Mephisto's realm and he intended to feast upon it.

Unfortunately the old Devil had exerted so much power bringing Galactus to his realm and challenging the new Hulk that he was unable to gather the strength to expel his now unwanted guest. And with the Great Destroyer feeding hungrily upon his realm like a cosmic parasite, he found his powers being drained and realized he was in no position to stop him. He therefore concluded that he would have to find someone to do the deed for him. But who? The great champions of the MPQ universe would not help him of their own accord and even if he could get them to agree to help him, the likely hood of their success was slim to none, especially now that Galactus was filled with power of the fires from Hell. He had been racking his brain for quite sometime but he could not help escape the feeling that was he searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack.

"There must be someway for me to be rid of this Galactic menace. But how? If I don't find a solution soon, my realm will be completely devoured...."

"Devour!" The word thundered in his mind like a clap of lightning. Of course!! An ancient and forbidden trick long forgotten by the inhabitants of the MPQ universe. It was one of the peculiar eccentricities woven into the fabric of the MPQ universe by the Demiurge and Mephisto's last hope. A sinister grin spread across Mephisto's face for he knew there was one fool who would happily accept the challenge.

Chapter 1 - The Challenge

Fight4thedream and his companions were still in pursuit of the Phoenix when the Lord of Lies decided to pay a visit. They were stationed on a small planet called Hoshinoji, waiting for the return of the Silver Surfer who had been given the task of tracking the Dark Devourer's next prey. With the Surfer absent, Mephisto was certain he could talk Fight into ridding him of his Galactus problem and so he proceeded to make his move. Knowing of our hero's weakness for lovely ladies, the Lord of the Lower Depths transformed himself into his most beautiful servant girl, Silandra, and strolled quietly through fight's camp.

"Pardon me, good sir, are you the one they call fight4thedream?" the deceptive lord inquired.

"Aye, and who are you, sweet miss?" the instantly smitten Fight replied.

"I am Silandra, servant girl to the Dark Lord, Mephisto. My master wishes to offer you a challenge, Mr. Dream."

Hearing this, Fight's companions quickly seized on the girl and warned him to heed the girl's words no further. Deadpool in particular was rather vocal: "Dream dude, don't be fooled! This lady is definitely packing, if you know what I mean!"But it was too late, for Fight had already been enchanted and he scolded his companions for their "rude behavior".

"I apologize sweet miss, please forgive my companions' boorishness. You speak of a challenge?"

"Ha! This will be much easier than I thought!" Mephisto silently said in the back of his head. "But I must be certain that this fool has the skills I need to remove the cosmic menace that plagues me."

Silandra smiled seductively at Fight and proceeded to lay out the details and terms of the venture:

"As your newest companion Amadeus can confirm, Galactus, Devourer of Worlds, resides in the heart of Hell and my master wishes for you to challenge him with your Dark Devourer, Venom. If you succeed, my Master will not only upgrade Venom but also give you a black suit Spider-Man."

Wonder of wonders! Not only was our naive hero being offered the greatest challenge of his MPQ life, but the opportunity to win Black Suit Spider-Man! Furthermore, an upgrade to his Dark Devourer. And so of course, after hearing out the terms of the challenge and despite his companions warnings and protestations, fight4thedream made a deal with the Devil: he wagered his soul to get a chance at eternal glory and the promised Venom upgrade and Black Suit Spider-man.

Chapter 2 - The Arena of Tainted Souls

According to the stipulations of the deal, Fight was permitted to take 10 of his mightiest warriors with him into the lower depths of Mephisto's realm. Among those 10, Mephisto required Amadeus Cho, Pyslocke and Thor be in his party as well as our champion the Dark Devourer and his web-headed colleague Spider-Man for the sake of the performing the sacred ritual. With half his party already filled, he consulted with his team and decided to bring a long X-Force Wolverine, a man who was no stranger to danger, Hulk Buster Iron Man, Iron Fist, Jean Grey and X-Force Deadpool, who insisted in his own charming way that the party could not start without him.

Furthermore, he was required to journey through three rings of suffering before he would be permitted to challenge the Great Destroyer. Silandra explained each realm carefully:

The first ring was the Arena of Tainted Souls. In this realm resides the Noobilim, fresh, lost souls that happened to wander astray and threw their lives away. They are seduced into competing in a series of races that require them to go through nine chambers facing Mephisto's most fearsome monsters. Among there rank are the demon overlords: There was Barktos the Shield Master, Karden the Wolf, Lora of the Lunar Flame, Gor the Butcher, Falil the One Thousand-Eyed Spider, Azeem the Killing Machine, Orgoth the Red, Sharad the Face Stealer and Yagger the Soul Crusher. With each victory a Noolim gains a magic egg that contains various prizes, ranging from simple body armor to powerful rune stones that they can use in their next battle. However, before each battle they are weighed on Yagul's Scales to determine the difficulty of their trial. Initially the demon overlords and their minions are depowered to foster a false sense of hope and confidence in the challenger; for the more victories and prizes the challenger achieves, the stronger the demons grow. (Although not common knowledge, there are ways to manipulate the Scales by rejecting the use of certain legendary items, reducing the amount of rune stones used, or bribing Yagul). Although the races are held at the same time, contestants compete in separate dimensions from each other. Only tokens, displayed on the ceiling, indicate a contestant's rank. Furthermore, the races utilized an esoteric point system dependent on a time system and a perfect run consisted of going through each chamber 7 times.

After explaining all of this, Silandra told Fight that he would have to compete in a full run of the Arena of Tainted Souls and take 1st in the race. Fight laughed, for he and his crew were more than familiar with such strange races and sure enough of they made short work of the contest, much to Mephisto's delight.

Chapter 3- The Mountain of Agony and the River of Disillusionment

Silandra proceeded to take our challengers to the next layer of Hell and brought them to the Mountain of Agony. She explained the mountain was made of needles and there were nine chambers that consisted of the same demon overlords as before. She also mentioned that the although the difficulty of the race increased, Fight and his crew would still be judged against the Noobilim of the previous layer which of course didn't phase Fight one bit since it was par for the course. While explaining the lay out of the mountain, the earth began to tremble and a strange tension filled the air.

Thor turned to Silandra and asked "What is the meaning of this trembling, vile servant of the Lord of Lies?"

Mephisto had purposely avoided mentioning his predicament when he made his offer but he now saw no reason to keep it a secret.

"Well since you asked, my realm is being devoured by Galactus." Mephisto transformed back into his more recognizable form.

Fight's face went dour while Deadpool poked him ,"I told you so."

In a burst of rage, Fight sprung at the Devil but was knocked down with a wave of his hand.

"Do not dare touch me boy. You have made an agreement with me and for the sake of you and your friends it would be wise for you to keep. For if my kingdom falls, you and your friends fall with it."

Cursing himself for being so easily fooled, Fight lay on the ground trying to think up of some sort of witty retort. "What would Spider-Man say?" he thought, "or even Deadpool"? But fight4thedream was no Spider-man or Deadpool, jokes and wisecracking were not his forte, and realizing this he picked himself back up.

"Aye, it is an agreement I intend to keep and I hope you will remember to keep your end of the bargain."

Taken aback by the sudden level-headedness of the young man, "You will have what is promised you, Mr. Dream. But I must be certain you are fit to face Galactus. The sooner you complete your trials, the better."

Seeing that the time was of the essence, Fight and his crew proceeded to climb the mountain of needles. Jean Grey created a telekinetic force field to prevent the needles from harming them during their climb. Once again they were made to do seven clears and this round proved to be more perilous than the last. Thor was the first to fall. He was poisoned by Falil's bite while rescuing Amadeus from her web, the effects of which were horrifying to behold. Next was Iron Fist, who had his mind erased by a Mind Wiper while protecting the Venom from Sharad. HulkBuster Iron Man sacrificed himself to Gor the Butcher's blade and finally Jean Grey exhausted from her constant use of telekinesis fell victim to the unstoppable force of Yagger the Soul Crusher.

Despite their best efforts and great loss, Fight's crew ended up in 2nd.

However, during their trials on the mountain, Galactus unexpectedly increased the rate of his consumption leaving Mephisto little choice but to call off his games. He had seen enough to know that with a great deal of luck Fight and his team might just be able to pull off the Dark Devour ceremony. He hated leaving the destiny of his realm to such uncertainty but he knew Fight was his best bet. He quickly escorted Fight and his crew to the next ring of his layer where laid the River of Disillusionment. It was here that the mightiest of souls continued on with their Sisyphean task, chained to great boulders as the fought on under the acidic waters of inner layer of hell. They would spring forth from the dark depths of the river every so often to push their mouths above the water to gasp for a breath of air. Every time they opened their mouths, they let out a cry "MOAR! MOAR! GIVE!US!MOAR!" over and over again, as if they were chanting and the sound of which was almost overwhelming.

"You want us to do that?!" Deadpool gasped at the ghastly sight.

"If we had more time, yes. But luckily for you, time is not our friend so I shall take you to a short cut that leads directly to my lair," Mephisto retorted. The shaking was growing more violent and larger and larger slabs of bedrock rained down as they made their way to a bridge leading to Mephisto's castle. A great light glowed from the center of the castle and within that light Fight caught a climpse of Galactus, Destroyer of Worlds, feasting heartily upon the flames of Hell. Our young hero was suddenly filled with a great sense of ambivalence toward the task at hand: excitement, fear, anger, despair, doubt, certainty, a whirlwind of emotions blazed up within his heart. He knew he had to get a grasp of himself but he could not pull his eyes of the sight of the giant Goliath. He was awakened from his trance by a mean pinch on the butt cheek from Deadpool.

"He is certainly is huge, huh? But you know what they say 'The bigger they are..."

"The harder they fall," Spider-Man chimed in, patting Fight on the shoulder.

"No, the more they gotta eat," Deadpool replied rather annoyed at the interruption.

When the group finally reached the bridge, Deadpool ran to the center and did his best Gandolf impression: "You shall not..." but before he could finish Deadpool found himself looking at his body from below "...pass?"

Wolverine and Psylocke rushed forward to take on the giant axe wielding guardian of the bridge while Spider-Man yanked Deadpool's decapitated body and head away.

"Mephisto what is the meaning of this?" Fight asked angrily.

"You would do well to remember, Mr. Dream, that this is Hell and there is no rest for the wicked here. Don't forget your test is never over. Now come, we don't have much time."

"Call off your guard!"

"I shall do no such thing, Wolverine and his X-friends are expendable. You and your Dark Devourer are not. If you wish to save your friends from an eternity of suffering, you will do as I say."

Before Fight could get another word in, Deadpool with his head now re-attached to his body, interjected "It's ok, Fight. Leave this to us. You go on ahead and take down that big old' galactic trash can! We will join up with you after we deal with this crazy moose man!" And with that, Deadpool dashed off to help his X-Force buddies.

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Reluctantly Fight acquiesced and he along with Spider-Man, the new Hulk and the Dark Devourer followed the Prince of Lies across the bridged while their companions battled the demonic guard. Just as they reached the other side, Psylocke let out a shriek. Fight quickly turned around to see that Wolverine had been thrown off the bridge, Psylocke was hanging on to the edge and Deadpool was once again without a head. Without a moments hesitation, he rushed back towards his friends with Spider-man close behind me. Mephisto yelled for him to stop but Fight ignored him when suddenly the bridged shook violently as a giant boulder crashed down upon it, causing it to collapse and taking with it Fight and the wall crawler, his mutant companions, and the demonic guard.

Spider-Man and Venom both sprung quickly after their fallen leader, much to Mephisto's dismay.

"Nooo!!!!" he cried as he watched his final hope disappear into the dark abyss below.

The webslinger managed to catch Fight with one of his webs and with his other hand he shot another web to the the cliff in an attempt to swing them toward it. However, the cliff was not stable and let loose the place where Spidey had shot his web and they both continued their free fall when Venom, leaping off the debris caught Fight and dove into a crevice in the cliff, pulling Spidey along with them.

Chapter 4- The Between

Fight wasn't sure how long they had been falling for after they entered the hole in the cliff. At one point it felt more like they were floating than falling. Finally they landed on what felt like sand. Pulling himself up, our lost hero took a look around at the strange land he and his companions has stumbled into. They found themselves in a vast midnight desert with nothing but gray sand dunes on the ground and the stars and the moon in the sky.

"I don't know how we ended up here but we have to get back to Mephisto's lair," Fight told his equally disoriented companions. Uncertain of which direction go in, Fight decided to head toward the moon.

Meanwhile, back in the Lord of Evil's realm, Mephisto having searched for the Dark Devourer crew to no avail, resigned himself to launch one final attack on Galactus.

"Curse that fight4thedream and his heroics! I should have known better than to trust that fool!" he said angrily at Amadeus.

"You do realize had you not been so preoccupied with testing him, you could have avoided all of this. Unless, of course, you were looking for an opportunity to taint his soul. Fight may be a bit of lech but when it comes down to it, his soul is noble and heroic. Which explains why you were so eager to see him ditch his ...."

"Silence boy! Do not presume to understand my plans! I have neither the time nor inclination to listen to your mindless drivel. We have more pressing matters to settle. If you are as smart as you think, you would know that your last battle with Galactus was nothing but a sham. Now come with me and test your might against his true power!"

Amadeus seeing no reason to decline, agreed to follow Mephisto as he prepared for his final attack upon the Destroyer of Worlds.

Fight and his two companions had been walking in that mysterious desert for what seemed like days. However, no matter how much they walked it didn't seem like they had made any progress at all. Spider-man suggested that perhaps one of them should stay behind so that they could establish a point of reference to see if they really were not progressing but Fight refused; he had a terrifying feeling that if he were to leave either of his companions behind they would be lost forever. So they continued on. The air was cool and crisp and the stars above twinkled while the moon shined brightly over the lost three. Fight couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched but by who or what he had no idea. Eventually, he started to get dizzy from exhaustion and the stars above began to look like they were dancing and spinning and spinning until finally Fight and his friends collapsed down onto the cool desert ground.

"More, more, more"

Fight heard faint whispers coming from the grains of sand below. He could feel his body slowly sinking into the cool desert sand but his limbs were too heavy to pull himself out. He looked up at the bright moon in the midnight sky and noticed that it was getting bigger and bigger until finally he realized that it was crashing down upon him. It felt like he was being crushed by gravity, his body felt so heavy. The light was so bright that he couldn't keep his eyes open and then as soon as he shut his eyes all of a sudden his body felt light again.

He opened his eyes to find himself in a white space. Sitting before him was an ethereal entity dressed in white robes lined with gold and silver and wearing a mask decorated with a strange design.

"Would you care to play a game?"

Fight noticed a chess board in between himself and the fantastic phantasm. Still a bit disoriented, he asked "Where am I?"

"This is the Between, young master 4, a place that exists neither here nor there but at the same time is everywhere. Now if you will be so kind as to answer my question."

"What kind of game?" he confusedly inquired.

"I do believe you are familiar with the game of chess, are you not?"

"Yes, I like chess"

"Excellent. Then you will indulge me in a match, will you not?"

"I'm sorry, but there is somewhere I have to be."

The mystical entity burst out laughing "Hahaha You are not still set on challenging Galactus, are you?"

"Yes, I am"

"I see...you are still such a foolish young man, aren't you? Very well, if you beat me I shall take you to face the Great Destroyer myself. However, if you lose you must stay here with me for all eternity. Agreed?"

Seeing that he had no other choice, Fight agreed to the chess match.

"Additionally, your companions may watch but they must neither help your nor speak about the match, ever. Understood?" She pointed at Spider-Man and Venom who unbeknownst to fight were standing behind him. They nodded in agreement.

"Very good. Then let us begin. Do you mind if I am black?"

"No. That will be ok."

"Good, good. Here are your pieces then."

Fight was shocked to find his pieces were replications of his crew. Intuitively he knew that Venom was the king, Spider-man the queen, Psylocke the bishop, Deadpool the knight and Wolverine the rooks. His pawns were made up of Thor, Jean Grey, Hulkbuster Iron Man and Iron Fist; only Amadeus Cho was missing. His opponents pieces consisted of Galactus as king, Mephisto as queen and Sharad the Face Stealer as bishop, the Bridge Guardian as Knight, Yagger the Soul Crusher as rook and the remaining demon horde as pawns.

With board set, Fight proceeded to make his first move.

"You can tell a lot about a person by the way they play," his opponent remarked as they moved their piece.

"Is that so?" Fight absentmindedly inquired as he moved his knight.

"Yes, especially with chess. There is no random element with chess, every move you make is a direct choice driven by your assumptions and judgements of your opponent and the analysis of the board. Whether you win or lose is wholly determined by the choices you make and your ability to outmaneuver your opponent."

The strange being could see that Fight was concentrating hard on the game but continued on lecturing as they played the game.

"You know, young master 4, that winning is not the only thing when it comes to playing a game, don't you?"

"Yes, I know." Fight was beginning to suspect that his opponent's banter was some sort of psychological tactic but decided it would be rude to say as much. He then noticed an opportunity to capture a bishop and discerning the safety of the feat proceeded to take the piece.

"Really? There are those that believe that all games and sports are an exercise in vanity, with no greater purpose than to reaffirm a person's sense of superiority. I suppose this manifests itself in different ways, but in the end there is always a winner and a loser. You think so, don't you?" His opponent continued to persist in their philosophical inquiry about gaming, proceeding to move as if they were completely unfazed by the loss of their bishop.

"What about those that play for the love of the game?" Fight asked curiously as he tried to figure out his next move.

"Ah yes! Those are the truly blessed. But I think you will find such players are few and far between. And would you consider yourself such a player, young master 4?" his opponent inquired rather keenly as they set their trap.

"No," Fight moved his knight right where the opponent wanted. Spider-man could see that Fight had walked right into trap and the game would be over within the next four moves but he knew he could say nothing.

"Oh? Then why pray tell do you play that game?" His opponent proceeded to move his queen into place.

And knowing immediately what "that game" meant, Fight replied without hesitation, "For greater glory. So that when people here my name, the ladies swoon, my allies cheer and my enemies quake with fear. I have been through countless battles and tournaments, have fought with the best of them, have seen my friends and allies fall to the grind, but I push on. I have to keep going, otherwise..."

"Otherwise, all that time you have invested, all the suffering and fighting amounts will amount to nothing."

Fight took the Queen without realizing it was all part of his antagonist's attack.

"No, I have learned a lot from playing that game. About myself, about other people, about the nature of competition and suffering. Perhaps it's true there is not much left for me to learn from it but I cannot say my time was a complete waste."

The mysterious deity was struck by his answer. Instead of going for the kill, they made a meaningless move with a pawn.

"One of the things I adore about you is you sincerity...but sincerity is such a hard thing to keep....Tell me my young companion, what is it you think you have left to learn playing that game?"

Fight proceeded to make his next move, "self control and how to let it go."

Even though the ethereal entity was wearing a mask, Fight had the feeling that they were smiling.

"Do you think you will be able to really learn these things?" For the first time in their match, the fantastic phantasm hesitated to move their piece.

"I don't know. I'm just a man. I have my weaknesses just like everyone else. But I do know that I've been pushing myself too hard for to little reward and that I have been ignoring other areas of my life that would be more rewarding. So I've come to understand that these two final lessons are very important for me."

The mysterious opponent then proceeded to disarm their trap, paving the way for Fight's victory.

"Check mate."

"You win this time, young master 4, but I can assure you there is still much for you to learn. For starters, winning is not everything, and the glory you seek will not be found in any game. Your life is filled with so much promise; don't squander it away on mindless pursuits. Do not allow yourself to become a slave to images; sharpen your mind, cultivate your compassion, discipline your desires. And remember, the only winning move is not to play."

Fight, stuck by the phantasm's words, thanked them sincerely.

"It's about time I take you to face your destiny. And since the game you are about to play is very much luck-based, I shall wish you good luck. But do not forget what you have learned here. Until we meet again, fight4thedream."

And once again, Fight was blinded by an incredible light. When he opened his eyes, he found himself laying in the crevice of the cliff in Hell, the ground trembling sporadically.

Chapter 5- The Devoured

Mephisto and Galactus were in the middle of their great battle when Fight, Spidey and the Dark Devourer arrived. Amadeus Cho, seeing his companions, rushed over to tell them of what had happened in their absence.

"After the bridge collapsed, Mephisto searched for you but couldn't find you and decided to make his last stand. They have been going at it for a few of hours now but it's pretty clear that Galactus is whittling him down. I don't think he will last much longer."

*KRAKAPOOWWWWWWWWW*

And no sooner after saying as much, a great explosion roared through Mephisto's maligned lair and the Prince of Lies was gone.

"Has Mephisto fallen?" Fight asked as he surveyed the ruins of the lair.

"It's more likely he has fled realizing his certain defeat," the young Hulk replied. "But Fight if we are to challenge the World Devourer, now is the time to strike."

"Aye," Fight agreed, "Amadeus do you think you can keep him occupied while we set up the ceremony?"

"Leave it to me Fight," the young Hulk did his best tough guy pose and then with a great battle cry charged at the galactic titan.

"GAAAALAAAAAAAACTUUSSSSSSSSSSSSSS GUESSSSSSSSSSS WHOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSS BAAAAAAAACKKKKKKKKKKK?"

"AMADEUS YOU ARE A FOOL TO RETURN HERE. THIS TIME I WILL NOT HOLD BACK AND YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUE POWER OF GALACTUS."

Amadeus leaped into the air to attack his foe but Galactus swatted him down as if he were a fly.

"Haha is that all you got, big man?" Amadeus pretended to be undaunted by the strike but he knew he would need more strength to keep his enemy preoccupied while Fight and the others set up the dark ceremony.

"Focus on the pain. Feel the anger. Can't let him win."

Galactus quickly stomped his foot down to crush the green fly below him but Amadeus managed to dodge out of the way. Meanwhile, Spidey and Venom were hopping back and forth around Galactus, busy collecting the energy needed to unleash their attack. They did not escape the Great Destroyer's notice but the angry green fly would not cease pestering him.

"ENOUGH!"

Galactus swatted the Totally Awesome Hulk with such force that it shattered every bone in his body.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE PLANNING BUT THIS ENDS NOW!"

The World Devourer began to gather his energy for a full out attack. Although they had a couple of web tiles already out and enough blue and pink AP to complete the ceremony, they were short 3 black AP. Fight noticed there was a black match three waiting in the upper right part of the board. However, there was no time left; Galactus was ready to unleash his Cosmic Wrath. It was now or never, Fight had to bet it all on Spidey's Spectacular Strategy. He gave Spidey the sign and....wonder of wonders one of the critical tiles appeared right between the black AP creating a match four! Then Spidey set up two more web tiles with his blue making it six!

Without Fight having to say anything, the ravenous Dark Devourer leapt toward the Devourer of Worlds and sank its jaws into his chest. What happened next is a sight Fight will never forget. The symbiote ejected Mac Gargan and burrowed itself deep into Galactus chest. The galactic giant tried to pull it out with his right hand but the symbiote wrapped its tentacles around his arm and began to spread quickly throughout Galactus's body, both internally and externally. The Great Destroyer tried with all his might to rid himself of the parasite, using his free left hand to pull at the ever expanding black mass while writhing in what appeared to be excruciating pain but it wouldn't let go. He emitted bolts of energy sporadically to try and fry it off but the symbiote held strong. And then all of a sudden Galactus stopped moving, his body slumped backward and his eyes, once so full or power and energy, were no pitch black and empty; the symbiote's black goo dripped down while the rest of it began to engulf fallen titan.

"I've got a real bad feeling about this," Spider-man worriedly told Fight and the heavily wounded Amadeus, "we should probably get out of here while we still can."

Before Fight could reply, Mephisto appeared before them, looking rather pleased.

"Well, well, well...I don't how you did it but I would like to congratulate you gentlemen on a job well done. As a..."

Suddenly the giant black mass let out a terrible cry that shook the whole realm, knocking everyone off their feet save the Prince of Lies who teleported himself on a high cliff. By the time the three exhausted mortals were able to get their bearings, a most monstrous figure stood high above them, the Dark Galactic Devourer! The three were stunned with fear and it quickly became apparent that gigantic symbiote's resentment of its original host had been reignite! Ignoring Fight's commands to back down, it made a move toward Spider-man when suddenly a great red flash of light struck down from high above, the air crackled and tinged and Fight experienced an incredible pain that felt like his whole soul was a on bursting in flames of ice.

"It's the Demiurge!" Fight heard Mephisto cry and he saw what looked like 8 red hands made of lightning pulling apart the Dark Galactic Devourer as he fell over and blacked out.

Chapter 6 - The Awakening

Fight woke up back in his room. He had a terrible headache, his eyes stung and he was completely exhausted. He closed his eyes to try to get some more sleep but the last image of Dark Galactic Devourer flashed before his mind's eye again. He reached for his Multiuniverse teleportation device to hop to the MPQ universe but was met with a "Please check your internet connection" screen. He decided to try again after catching a few more z's. He woke up again three hours later and noticed the game was updating itself before allowing him access to hop.

Finally, he reached his secret base and met up with his crew of champions. He noticed Venom was looking a bit out of sorts but was happy to see him and everyone else on his team back together safe and sound. After receiving a stern lecture from the Silver Surfer who had heard about the adventure from the others, Fight remembered the deal with Mephisto and quickly went to his office to check the Daily Forum for news about new characters to be earned. It was there he learned about the coming of Miles Morales and 4* Venom.

"If you succeed, my Master will not only upgrade Venom but also give you a black suit Spider-Man."

Fight could do nothing but laugh bitterly at himself for not picking up on that "a".

"I should have..." before he could finish his statement, Fight noticed another headline in the Daily Forum: *Venom* Update. No matter how many times he read the short article he couldn't believe it. His Dark Champion was finished. The Quest for the Phoenix was over. The great future adventures of tomorrow gone before they could get started. What should have been a day of celebration and victory quickly turned into a somber day of defeat.

Fight slumped over his desk, resting his head on the side of his arm. He just wanted to sleep but there was a knock on the door. Not in the mood talk, he thought about ignoring it.

*knock knock*

Realizing whoever it was wasn't going to leave him alone, Fight pulled himself up and told them to come in and in waltzed Silandra with a devious smile on her face.

"Why hello Mr. Dream, would you care to play a game?"

Epilogue

Off the distant shore of Massachusetts, deep down in the ocean below and Elder God awakens...

(○´･д･)ﾉ

ｷﾘﾄﾘ線

ヽ(･д･`●)

Note from the writer: Wheeew, that took forever to write lol In order to commemorate my final adventure with the Dark Devourer I figured I would go all out, but yeah...the story got longer and there was that PvE with Miles that was a week long and then another PvE with Venom...almost retired from the game after realizing I was spending something like 6+ hours because of PvE but decided to just go more casual from here on out and will probably do the retirement thing some time later this year. Anywhoo, I am totally it's 5:30 in the morning and I got work so I am going to go to bed. Didn't have time to do a final proof read so if you see anything off, please don't hesitate to let me know. Sorry for the uber long post, feel free to skip it haha And sorry I was going to update the FAQ Project and Hall of Legends but wanted to finish this up first. Will do "soon". Good night!ｵ(o･0･o)ﾔ(o･ｪ･o)ｽ(o-ｪ-o)ﾐｨ(o_ _)o.zZ