Marvel: The Awakened One

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”HAWK, GWEN IS...”

”I already know. It has nothing to do with you or S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Sharon rushed into the backyard, out of breath, but Hawk interrupted her before she could say anything. He gave a small, tight smile. ”So you don’t have to worry about me destroying the Earth today.”

Sharon stopped in her tracks and stared at him. Gwen was missing, and instead of being worried, Hawk was making jokes about the end of the world. She glanced over at Wanda.

Thankfully, Sharon had always made an effort to maintain her relationships. She was close to Gwen, but she had also stayed on good terms with Wanda, occasionally dropping by Westview for afternoon tea.

Wanda offered a subtle nod, then turned to Hawk. A moment later, she relayed the truth behind Gwen’s disappearance to Sharon.

After hearing the explanation, Sharon experienced a mix of emotions she couldn’t exactly name.

On a personal level, she was terrified for her friend.

But as a professional, she felt relieved that humanity wasn’t involved in Gwen’s abduction. At least it meant Hawk wouldn’t destroy the planet.

Still, even if Hawk wasn’t going to destroy Earth, someone else might.

Sharon’s eyes went wide as she turned back to him. ”Thanos...”

”This isn’t an Earth problem,” Hawk answered in a flat voice.

Sharon looked at Wanda, silently asking her to explain.

Right...

When Gwen was there, she always acted as the Hawk-to-English translator.

Now, that job fell to Wanda.

Sharon waited while Wanda explained what Hawk meant. ”So, Earth is safe?”

If Earth wasn’t involved, then why was Tony Stark chasing a warlord into deep space?

Was it just bad luck??

”Hawk, Tony...”

”I know. He’ll be fine.” Hawk smiled at Sharon. ”Instead of worrying about Thanos, maybe you should start worrying about Earth being destroyed.”

Sharon’s expression went blank.

”Destruction? You just said Thanos wouldn’t—”

”Exactly. Because Thanos isn’t coming here, the Earth is going to be destroyed.”

”Uh...” Sharon stared at him, confused. She threw up her hands. ”I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Hawk laughed and shook his head. ”Do you know why Thanos wants to wipe out half the life on every undefended planet in the universe?”

”I have no idea.”

”Because he’s a bully,” Wanda guessed, shaking her head. Sharon looked interested.

Hawk glanced at both of them. ”You’re both wrong... Thanos isn’t lying. He believes that what he’s doing is the only way to save the universe. If he wants to save the universe by culling half the population, why doesn’t he target every planet equally?”

”...Because the planets under a Chief God’s protection don’t harbor Celestial seeds.”

”Celestial seeds?”

”Yes!”

Hawk raised his right hand and, with a sweeping motion, created a holographic image in the air. It showed the violent cosmic explosion of the Big Bang.

”After the Big Bang, six singularities condensed to form the Infinity Stones. At the same time, five cosmic entities came into existence—the abstract manifestations of the universe’s fundamental laws.”

”The Five Cosmic Entities.”

”First was Infinity. The embodiment of all space within the primary multiverse.”

”Next was Oblivion. The abstract manifestation was born the moment Infinity created the multiverse.”

”But those two are rarely seen. They keep to themselves.”

”The other three are more active.”

”Death. She is the embodiment of mortality, the master of souls. She is the source, creator, and manipulator of all life and every soul born since the creation of the primary multiverse.”

”She was Mephisto’s boss.”

”Every Death Dimension in the multiverse falls under her jurisdiction.”

”And occasionally, she likes to assume a mortal guise and play house on various planets.”

”Then there is Galactus. The Devourer of Worlds.”

”He’s not a product of this universe’s Big Bang. He’s a survivor from the previous universe. His power is, in theory, infinite.”

”If he ever got a full meal, he could take on the other four Cosmic Entities by himself and win. But he’s never been full. He exists in a state of eternal starvation, wandering the primary multiverse, eating planets to stay alive. A cosmic scavenger.”

”Don’t worry about him. He’s operating outside the primary universe. Probably because Eternity was afraid he’d eat the Milky Way.”

”And finally, there is Eternity...”

”He’s the real power player. He doesn’t interfere directly anymore, but his influence shapes everything.”

”He is the physical manifestation of all time across the multiverse.”

”But time cannot possess emotion. If time becomes biased, the universe descends into chaos. So, after he was born, he went into early retirement. But before he clocked out, he did one thing...”

”And this is the important part.”

”The Celestials!”

”Eternity created three Celestials to help him maintain the order of the timeline.”

”Arishem the Judge. Exitar the Exterminator. And Eson the Searcher. One searches, one judges, one executes. Together, they ensure the timeline remains stable.”

”These three original Celestials, who were never meant to have consciousness, also developed a sense of self.”

”I suppose it proves that life always finds a way. Still, consciousness is a double-edged sword. It gives rise to ambition, and ambition breeds desire.”

”Like the desire for family...”

”’There are too few of us,’ they thought. ’Let’s create more of our kind.’”

”Their method for reproduction is simple.”

”They drop a ’seed’ into the core of a planet that is ripe for life. As the lifeforms on the surface evolve and multiply, the seed absorbs the environmental energy generated by their existence. Once the population reaches a critical mass...”

”This happens!”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The hologram glowed brightly. ”The planet shatters from the inside out. A new Celestial emerges from the debris.”

——————————

”...”

Sharon and Wanda stared in horror at the hologram, watching as a perfect Earth tore itself apart to give birth to a cosmic being.

Sharon gulped nervously and looked at Hawk, her voice trembling. ”Earth... has a seed? Do planets protected by other Gods have them too?”

Hawk shook his head. ”No... The Celestials aren’t stupid. Why would they pick a fight by seeding a planet already claimed by a powerful God?”

”Even a patient God will lose their temper. Except for the three originals created by Eternity, who are as powerful as a Pantheon Head, most Celestials are only a threat to mid-level gods. Some are stronger, but none are invincible.”

”Also, on unprotected planets, life grows wild and unchecked, which makes harvesting faster.”

On a protected planet, the local God might decide the population is growing ”incorrectly” and hit the reset button, wiping out the life force the seed needs to grow.

A Celestial’s birth requires a massive, thriving population. The more life, the better.

So—

”Thanos, because of my display, believes Earth is under my protection. He’s removed Earth from his culling list.”

”But that’s not a good thing... If Earth doesn’t face Thanos, it has to face the Celestial growing inside it.”

”Six years.”

”What?”

”You have about six years left.” Hawk met Sharon’s horrified look and gave a wry smile. ”When I went to Skull Island, I ran into the Celestial growing in Earth’s core. I drained a lot of its life energy, which delayed its birth. But with the way the population is growing, in about six years, the Celestial called Tiamut will hatch.”

If Hawk hadn’t intervened, and if Thanos hadn’t planned his purge, Tiamut would have hatched next year.

Sharon drew a sharp breath. She pleaded, ”What do we do?”

Hawk saw her panic and chuckled. ”The birth of the new Celestial depends on how crowded Earth gets. You tell me what you think you should do.”

Sharon replied on instinct, ”Stop or reduce the popu—”

She stopped dead.

Her eyes widened. She looked at Hawk.

Hawk nodded, a dark smile appearing on his lips.

”Thanos is descended from the Eternals, the beings created by the Celestials to ensure the birth of their kind. But his bloodline is a mutation, born from a forbidden union between an Eternal and their sworn enemy, the Deviant...”

”...Because of that, Thanos despises the Celestials. More importantly, he knows that every Celestial’s birth comes at the cost of a living planet. If every unprotected world in the universe is sacrificed to bring forth a Celestial, then the universe has no future.”

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”So...”

”Sharon, I think you understand his logic now. To the planets about to lose half their population, he is a genocidal monster. To the gods, he is irrelevant—a passing storm they can watch from a distance. But from a cosmic perspective? Thanos is an extreme conservationist fighting for the sustainable future of the universe.”

”Which brings us to the dilemma.”

”You don’t want Thanos wiping out half the Earth.”

”But if you stop him, you seal your own fate. In six years, Tiamut will awaken, and Earth will be shattered.”

”Survival.”

”Or destruction.”

”The choice is yours. I am not getting involved.”

Hawk gave his ultimatum in a dispassionate tone, making his position clear.

Sharon didn’t stay to argue. She ran from Westview, desperate to get this intel back to S.H.I.E.L.D. and the World Security Council.

Wanda stood in the backyard and watched Sharon’s car speed away. Then she turned to Hawk, tilting her head. ”If the Earth is really going to be destroyed... are you just going to remain passive and watch?”

”Take a wild guess!”

”...”

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