Arishem arrived on Earth, his body almost as large as the planet itself. From Earth, he appeared like a vast canopy hanging over the sky.
The moment he arrived, Arishem detected the disappearance of the Eternals and quickly gleaned the details of what had occurred from the information on Earth.
The facts surprised him. The Eternals he had dispatched to Earth had been killed by a single human—specifically, a mutant descended from the Deviants.
The Eternals' mission was to exterminate the remaining Deviants on Earth and protect humanity, ensuring the survival of the nascent Celestial. For them to be killed by the descendants of their own prey was a dramatic twist of fate.
Curiosity, rare for him, arose. He wanted to learn more about this mutant named Alex, and he would judge him accordingly.
With Arishem's abilities, he instantly pinpointed Alex's location. Subtle waves of energy rippled through the air as several rings suddenly materialized around Alex, binding his body and attempting to pull him toward Arishem.
Black and red energy currents surged around Alex, spreading out from his body. Then, with the force comparable to a small supernova, a repulsive force erupted from within him, obliterating everything around him. Even the energy rings binding him showed signs of damage.
This piqued Arishem's interest, and he immediately increased the number of rings. Dozens of energy rings now bound Alex, and even his level 4 technique, Technique Reversal: "Red," could not affect them.
However, as purple electricity crackled around Alex, the rings, which could withstand the force of a supernova, instantly shattered, destroyed by the annihilation of apparent mass. This display finally caused Arishem to regard him seriously.
"Manipulating extreme repulsive and gravitational forces to distort space, creating apparent mass—this is the nascent form of material creation. I'm curious, how did you acquire such power?" Arishem's voice resonated across every corner of Earth.
Initially, he had intended to communicate telepathically with Alex, but found he couldn't enter his mind, forcing him to communicate through spoken words.
Alex, unaware of this, stepped into the depths of space after annihilating the energy rings that had bound him. He now faced Arishem in the dark, vast expanse of the universe.
In response to the Celestial's question, Alex replied calmly, "I earned it through my talent and hard work."
Arishem: "..."
Although he didn't understand how Alex had acquired this power, Arishem knew that such abilities could never be gained through talent and hard work alone. Who did he think he was—Franklin Richards?
As the Celestial remained silent, Alex asked, "So, how do you plan to judge me? Life or death?"
Faced with this mortal's defiance, Arishem remained silent, scanning Alex with subtle energy waves before his majestic voice responded:
"The unknown mutant ability you possess is valuable, so you deserve to live. However, because you killed the Eternals I dispatched to Earth, interfering with the birth of the new Celestial, you must be punished.
You will be transformed into a new Eternal, all your memories erased, and you will take their place in guarding the nascent Celestial's birth. But as punishment, you will have no allies and will endure a lonely existence for eternity."
Hearing Arishem's lofty judgment, Alex didn't get angry. Instead, he calmly asked, "What gives you the right to judge me?"
Arishem replied, "The Celestials maintain the order of the universe. We are its creators and protectors! Mortal, you can question us, but you can never defy us."
Arishem's voice echoed across every corner of Earth, making everyone aware of what was happening. Different reactions arose from human society.
Due to Alex's overwhelming presence, the majority of people outwardly supported him, hoping to avoid the inevitable 'cleansing' that would come after he dominated the world.
On social platforms, they wrote:
"Go, brotha! You're the best! That dumb Celestial doesn't stand a chance!"
"Keep going, we'll always support you!"
"White-Haired Mutant is unbeatable!"
On the other hand, a small group of die-hard opponents of the White-Haired Mutant raged online:
"Damn that White-Haired Mutant, even this so-called Celestial have come to judge him! His end is near!"
"The White-Haired Mutant will die! Humanity won't be defeated by a lowly mutant!"
"The true rulers of this world are humans! No matter how triumphant a mutant is now, they'll ultimately be crushed!"
Then there was the mutant population, a group wholly different from the previous two. For them, the White-Haired Mutant was their absolute champion, especially after he slaughtered the military and destroyed the White House. His support among mutants had reached its peak!
"All hail the savior! Destroy that arrogant Celestial!"
"You're invincible! There's no way you can fail! You'll lead mutants to rule the world!"
But unlike these ignorant mortals, those who understood the might of the Celestials—be they superhumans or those like Odin and the Sorcerer Supreme who had been observing from afar—were far less optimistic. They watched Alex with deep concern, unsure of how he would face the invincible Celestial before him.
Alex, unaware of what was happening on the internet and even if he knew, wouldn't care, focused all his attention on the Celestial in front of him. His gift was ready to be delivered!
With a smile, Alex asked Arishem, "What if I resist?"
"You will face even harsher punishment." Arishem calmly replied.
Alex stopped bantering. The three Infinity Stones orbiting his body shone with blinding brilliance, and he absorbed their infinite energy, pushing his power to the limit.
Alex extended his index finger, forming a red-and-white singularity before him, which expanded into a ten-meter-wide supernova!
Technique Reversal: "Red!"
The supernova shot toward Arishem, twisting time and space with its terrifying repulsive force, creating ripples visible to the naked eye.
But to Arishem, who could easily crush the Eternals, this attack was nothing. With a mere thought, he casually folded space, and the supernova was instantly annihilated.
Faced with this feeble resistance, Arishem remained unperturbed, saying coldly, "Futile resistance."
He extended his colossal hand, larger than mountains, toward Alex. Around Alex, time and space were distorted. If not for his immunity to psychic abilities granted by the system, his mind would have been invaded, stripping him of any will to resist.
Odin and the Sorcerer Supreme, unable to watch any longer, knew Alex would soon be effortlessly subdued by Arishem, transformed into a new Eternal, and have all his secrets laid bare.
But at that moment, a mountain-sized portal opened in front of Alex, and a similarly massive arm emerged, intercepting Arishem's attack!
Under the gaze of everyone, the portal expanded, and a giant as large as mountains stepped out of the magma to stand beside Alex, facing Arishem!
For the first time in millennia, Arishem's tone shifted, demanding, "Mortal! You interrupted the birth of a new Celestial and now control him!"
Alex sneered, "What did you expect? Should I just sit back and watch him drain all of Earth's energy, turning it into a dead planet?"
"Helping the Celestial's birth and dying for it is your honor!" Arishem replied, his towering presence now tinged with fury.
Alex, smiling, responded, "To hell with your honor. My fate is mine to decide, and no one else's!"
"I retract my earlier judgment," Arishem said, his anger now clear. "You deserve death!"
Unfazed by Arishem's fury, Alex simply controlled the three Infinity Stones, sending them toward the infant Celestial and embedding them into its forehead!
"You—!"
Arishem instantly realized what Alex was doing and tried to fire energy beams to stop him, but it was too late...
With the power of the three Infinity Stones, the weak life force of the infant Celestial surged, and vast energy poured into it, igniting its life force to burn brighter and hotter!
Where the infant Celestial was once child-sized compared to Arishem, it now rapidly grew to match his size, standing in opposition like two primordial creators locked in battle.
However, unlike Arishem, the energy fueling the infant Celestial's growth was drawn from the Infinity Stones, burning its life away. In time, it would exhaust its life force and return to Earth as nourishment.
Arishem knew what had happened, and his voice, filled with unmasked rage, roared, "You damned mortal! You've defiled a Celestial, using the Mind Stone to control its consciousness and turning it into your puppet for battle! You deserve to die!"
Alex didn't reply. Instead, he coldly asked Arishem, "Celestial, do you bleed?"
Under the shocked gaze of the Sorcerer Supreme, Odin, and the fearful eyes of every human on Earth, the three Infinity Stones unleashed boundless light and heat. Alex entered the infant Celestial's skull, gaining full control over its body!
Then…
A moon-sized supernova formed in the infant Celestial's right hand and was slammed into Arishem's face!
At that moment, Arishem could no longer remain calm and was forced to retreat to avoid the attack! Such a powerful strike was something even he couldn't ignore!
Energy swirled around Arishem's arm as he collided head-on with the newborn Celestial controlled by Alex.
The terrifying shockwaves instantly spread in all directions, destroying everything in their path! The Sorcerer Supreme's face changed drastically as she teleported to Asgard, where Odin immediately synchronized with her, sending her energy. With Odin and the Time Stone's help, the mirror dimension erupted into being—not to drag Alex and Arishem into it, but to envelop the entire solar system!
She couldn't influence either Celestial in the slightest. All she could do was hide the solar system to shield it from the catastrophic battle and prevent its destruction!
The shockwave traveled quickly, passing by a planet and completely tearing apart its surface, as if the planet would disintegrate at any moment!
This force kept spreading, moving at supersonic speed, and hit a woman rushing toward Earth, sending her flying and making her cough up blood!
Captain Marvel looked in shock toward Earth. What on Earth was happening there?!
At the same time, after being directly struck by a supernova the size of the moon, the Celestial finally "bled"!
°°°
A/N: Chapter 95: Injured. Chapter 96: New World
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