Visgod, Lavvin State.
Although the nuclear explosion had destroyed Markvis, this neighboring city remained largely unaffected.
Many temporary refugee settlements had been established here, gathering a large number of survivors.
However, due to the loss of effective government control, chaos and crime began to fester.
Nick Fury wandered through the dark streets.
Since absorbing the souls of those extremely evil war criminals in the ruins of Markvis, the Hellfire within him had become more violent than ever before.
But this surge in power also brought terrifying side effects.
Whenever night fell, a deep-seated bloodlust would erupt like a volcano, rushing straight to his brain.
The Hellfire roared in hunger, thirsting to burn souls.
Once midnight arrived, this desire for slaughter would reach its peak.
"Ugh..."
Fury let out low growls of pain.
Dark red fire began to glow beneath his skin; he was now almost unable to control his transformation.
Fury grit his teeth, trying to use the willpower forged through years of training as an Agent to suppress the flames within.
But the more he suppressed it, the more violently the flames fought back.
Just then, a faint sound of water came from the alley ahead.
A drunken Markvisese man was unbuckling his belt, relieving himself against a corner of the wall.
He was mumbling profanities under his breath.
Public urination.
Normally, this wouldn't even count as a minor crime, at most a lack of morality.
But in Fury's eyes at this moment, this tiny "sin" became a match lighting a gasoline barrel.
"Sinner..."
A low growl from hell issued from Fury's throat.
The defensive line of his sanity had already collapsed.
"Boom!"
Dark red flames instantly engulfed his body.
The drunkard heard the commotion and turned his head dizzily.
Then he saw the most terrifying image of his life.
A skeletal monster, burning all over with black-red flames, was walking toward him step by step.
"What! You... what are you..." The drunkard was mostly sobered by fear; he didn't even have time to pull up his pants before falling back onto the ground.
Fury wasted no words and raised a finger to point at him.
"You... are guilty!"
"Look into my eyes!"
Amidst screams of agony, the Markvisese drunkard was turned into a lump of black charcoal.
Once the floodgates of slaughter are opened, they are not easily closed.
Fury straddled a heavy motorcycle he had modified with Hellfire; the exhaust pipe spat out long tongues of black fire as he began to race through the Visgod night.
As long as one was perceived by Fury's burning, hollow eye sockets, there was only one end... death!
He did not distinguish between big or small mistakes, regardless of the severity of the crime. As long as there was a trace of darkness in their actions, he would mercilessly hand down the judgment of hell.
That night, flames soared into the sky over Visgod.
Through their windows, people saw a skeletal rider burning with black-red flames, speeding through the streets on a motorcycle, leaving behind a trail of black charcoal wherever he went.
"That is the messenger of hell!!"
"Fire! It's the Fire Rider!!!"
An urban legend called the "Strange Tales of the Fire Rider" spread through every street and alley of the city within just a few days, accompanied by people's fear.
No one dared to go out at midnight, or even speak loudly, for fear that the slightest noise would attract that terrifying black-fire skeleton.
As more and more human souls were burned, Fury's form underwent a bizarre change.
The skeletal skull, originally as white as jade, was gradually stained as black as ink.
The color of the flames also transitioned from bright red to a deep, dark red.
And this expanding dark power, like strong acid, bit by bit corroded the disguise magic Mephisto had left on him.
When the first rays of morning sunlight hit him, the boundless killing intent finally receded, and Fury collapsed to the ground, releasing his Ghost Rider transformation.
He looked at his reflection in a puddle in front of him.
Reflected on the water's surface was that bald, one-eyed, dark-skinned Black face.
He had changed back into the Nick Fury he once was.
Fury smashed the reflection in the puddle with a punch.
"What on Earth have I done..."
In fact, during the day, he had fled into the deep mountains.
But every midnight, that bloodthirsty desire would instinctively drive him toward the human-populated cities.
He understood that he had to find an outlet.
Fury looked up and saw a squad of V-Sentinel robots heading out of the city. He knew those robots were tracking the fugitive Skrulls.
"Skrulls... then use your sins to appease these flames."
But he knew very well that this was only temporary. This Hellfire would, sooner or later, burn away the last of his remaining humanity.
...
In the pitch-black Universe, 160,000 light-years away from Earth.
Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel.
Enveloped in brilliant cosmic energy, she performed one faster-than-light spatial jump after another through the vast sea of stars.
She had received the signal more than two months ago.
It meant that Earth had encountered a disaster that Fury could not solve.
She had wanted to return to Earth immediately.
But during that time, the entire Universe seemed to have fallen into madness.
Countless fringe Planets began to undergo mutations, as giant energy tentacles erupted from their cores, devouring all life on the surface.
As one of the most powerful Guardians in the Universe, Carol could not turn a blind eye to those wailing alien lives.
She rushed between various star systems, releasing powerful Binary energy to help those civilizations through their crises.
Only after the major civilizations of the Universe regained their peace did Carol immediately turn around and begin continuous jumps, racing toward Earth.
"Hold on, Fury... I'll be there soon."
Carol prayed silently in her heart.
...
Inside a primeval forest about 30 kilometers southeast of Visgod.
Over a hundred Skrulls were gathered in a cave, shaken and huddling close to each other.
"We're all going to be killed... that idiot Gravik, he's gotten us all killed," an elderly Skrull muttered in a low, angry voice.
Just then, a wave of heat suddenly rushed into the cave from outside.
A series of chains rattled and clinked.
"It's that devil! Fire Rider!" The group of Skrulls frantically pulled their triggers, firing toward the cave entrance.
However, it was all in vain.
Screams tore through the silence of the forest.
As the souls of one Skrull after another were ignited by the flames, the Ghost Rider's pitch-black skull appeared increasingly hideous.
"Not enough... still not enough..."
He looked up toward the distance, where the signal lights of the Sentinel robots were still flashing nearby.
He knew that by following those tin cans imprinted with Homelander's smiling face, he could find more "fuel."
...
Outside Earth's atmosphere.
That familiar azure Planet finally appeared in Carol's field of vision.