"It tastes surprisingly good."
Hawking picked out a few fruits to try. Their flavors were unusual but delicious, surpassing most fruits on Earth.
Just as everyone was halfway through eating, Star-Lord returned.
"Looks like it worked!"
Sensing the Celestial Power awakening within Star-Lord, Hawking smiled.
Star-Lord raised a hand, and an energy sphere condensed from Celestial Power appeared in his palm.
"I followed your advice and pretended to agree with his plan. He was so pleased that he drew out the power inside me.
"Then I told him that once I had mastered this power, I would join him in activating the seeds to assimilate the planets."
Back in the temple, he had already confirmed from Ego that the tumor in his mother's body had indeed been Ego's doing.
So now, he trusted Hawking completely.
"Good. Over the next few days, learn from him how to control Celestial Power. Once you're proficient, we'll continue with the plan."
Hawking nodded.
Ego's Planet possessed an enormous amount of energy. Although he had absolute confidence in his own strength, it never hurt to be extra cautious.
What he wanted was not to destroy Ego's Planet. That would be easy enough—find Ego's brain, use Great Ape Transformation, open the Eight Gates Formation, and fire a full-powered mouth blast.
Even if Ego reacted in time, he probably would not be able to withstand it.
But what Hawking wanted was to completely control Ego and have him obediently absorbed by the Divine Tree. That was not so simple.
Only Star-Lord's Celestial Power, originating from the same source, combined with Mantis's assistance could guarantee that nothing would go wrong.
"Have something to eat."
At that moment, Gamora uncharacteristically took the initiative to hand Star-Lord a fruit that looked somewhat like a watermelon.
The observant Gamora could tell