Marvel: Death Knight

On a distant planet in the universe, a colossal zombie, hundreds of meters tall, laughed maniacally as it devoured the lifeforms below. The chitin-armored alien creatures were scooped up in its enormous hands and swallowed whole—bones, shells, and all, leaving nothing behind.

"Hey! Scott, that's too much!" Thor shouted in frustration.

Unable to bear it any longer, the God of Thunder raised Mjolnir high. Bolts of lightning crackled and struck the giant zombie's body in rapid succession. However, the attacks left only a few dark scorch marks—practically insignificant against its massive frame.

This giant zombie was none other than Scott Lang, the Ant-Man. During the previous outbreak, a horde of zombies had consumed Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds. In the chaos, Scott had enlarged himself and frenziedly devoured a significant portion of Galactus' flesh, absorbing the most cosmic energy of all. His power had skyrocketed, granting him the ability to open black holes.

Planet after planet fell to Scott's insatiable hunger, entire worlds being swallowed into his gaping maw. But with the vastness of space, he now had to travel immense distances to find the next inhabited world.

At first, Scott didn't mind having Thor as an unwilling companion through the dimensional rift, but as food sources dwindled, the zombie Thunder God had become a rival for sustenance. Scott had been trying to shake him off for a while now.

He never expected Thor would actually attack him.

Annoyed, Scott swatted at Thor like a mere fly, sending him crashing into a pile of boulders.

"I'm starving!" Scott muttered, his monstrous eyes scanning the barren landscape. Every living thing had already been devoured.

Thor, having just crawled to his feet, gritted his teeth at Scott's words. If anyone should be hungry, it was him! This damned Ant-Man had been tailing him wherever he went, always reaching the food first. With Galactus' inherited hunger, Scott had a bottomless appetite, leaving nothing for Thor to scavenge.

"Tch. Time to move on," Scott grumbled.

His body rapidly shrank as he prepared to open another black hole to the next potential feeding ground. The larger the black hole, the more energy it consumed, so he had to conserve his power. Still, he couldn't make himself too small—he hadn't fully mastered Galactus' abilities yet.

Before him, a small black dot formed, swirling with dark mist as it gradually expanded into a rift in space.

Seeing Scott return to normal size, and with the black hole already open, Thor had a sudden idea.

Just as Scott was about to step into the rift, Thor suddenly lunged forward. With a mighty swing of Mjolnir, crackling with divine lightning, he sent Scott flying backward.

Boom!

Scott tumbled uncontrollably through the air, his mind reeling from the electricity surging through him. As he struggled, Thor struck him a few more times for good measure. Then, before the black hole could close, the Thunder God hurled himself inside.

He would find food on the other side—alone. Hopefully, a feast awaited him there.

Half a day later, Scott finally staggered to his feet. "Thor... I'm going to eat you. No matter how awful you taste, I'll swallow you whole!"

He lay on the ground, his Ant-Man suit tattered beyond repair. To make matters worse, the Pym Particles stored in his suit had begun leaking into the air, filling him with unease.

Panicked, Scott activated his Devourer abilities. Black mist swirled around him, engulfing the escaping Pym Particles, and without hesitation, he swallowed them all.

A dangerous gamble.

Too much exposure to the Pym Particles could lead to losing oneself in the Quantum Realm.

Sure enough, his body began fluctuating wildly—growing large, then shrinking small in rapid succession.

...

In an unknown expanse of the cosmos, darkness stretched endlessly. Ethereal, transparent souls drifted silently, filling the void—there was no trace of living beings.

A grand palace stood among them.

Upon the throne within sat a shrouded figure, their form concealed beneath a flowing black robe, their face and even gender indiscernible.

This was Death—one of the Five Abstract Entities of the Marvel Universe.

"If this continues, nothing in the universe will be able to stop those zombies."

The undead were growing stronger with each passing moment. Even cosmic beings like Galactus had fallen prey to their hunger. If left unchecked, the multiverse itself could soon be void of all life.

Though Death had never been particularly concerned with mortality, something about this plague unsettled her—those consumed by zombies did not merely die. Their souls were utterly erased, devoured entirely with no remnants left behind.

Just then, space around the palace trembled, distorting chaotically.

A colossal being, with four faces, emerged.

The Living Tribunal.

Its three visible faces represented Equity, Necessity, and Vengeance, with the fourth remaining shrouded in mystery.

Death, still lounging on her throne, rested her chin upon her hand and regarded the newcomer with mild curiosity.

"The Living Tribunal. You've come because of the plague, haven't you?"

A hollow, emotionless voice filled the chamber. "Dozens of universes have already fallen to this affliction. Its origin lies here. You must eliminate these zombies, even if it means eradicating all life in this universe."

Death's heart leapt with joy.

She had long yearned for universal extinction. However, TOAA (The One Above All) demanded a balance between life and death, preventing her from acting on such desires. This was why she had manipulated Thanos in the past—he had served as her instrument to cull existence.

But now, TOAA's emissary had effectively given her permission.

With its message delivered, the Living Tribunal vanished, traversing dimensions to address other cosmic matters.

Death reclined in thought.

Most of Galactus' power had been absorbed by that zombie, Scott Lang. If the cosmic balance were to be restored, he had to be destroyed first—before he grew even stronger.

She had attempted to track Scott before but had failed.

Zombies existed in neither life nor death. They were an anomaly beyond her direct influence. The only way to find him was to locate places where life was vanishing rapidly.

But the zombie plague had already spread across the universe, reaching every corner of existence. Even dispatching her undead legions had yielded little progress—too much time had been lost.

"My mistress, we have located the Defiler."

A kneeling Death Knight, clad in spectral armor, spoke from the shadows of the grand hall.

Death flicked her wrist. A wisp of gray mist drifted from the knight's skull and merged into her palm.

"Excellent. I will deal with him personally."

With a single step, Death vanished from her throne, reappearing instantly on the planet where Scott Lang lurked.

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TN: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon —— PATREON.COM / PRIMALDEMON