Ikaris barely managed to force himself a couple of inches off the sandy beach, sparing a glance at the Celestial breaking free from the depths of the planet's core – Earth’s core. He could not help but admire the beauty that came with the birth of such a powerful lifeforce – a birth that would lead to billions of future births across a Universe not as endless as it may seem at first glance.

That was a mistake the humans believed beyond any doubt – that the Universe was infinite, it was not. Most higher species knew that, but Humanity had yet to reach such heights.

That is why the Celestials are necessary.

However, Ikaris’ moment of proudness, knowing that he had made the right choice, didn’t last. Phastos flicked his glowing golden fingers and several pieces of Celestial Bronze shot from the distance, hundreds of meters away, wrapped around Ikaris’ arms and legs, forcing him to lie flat on the sand once more.

Ikaris had never felt so confined… and it felt strangely comforting. At the beginning of this inevitable battle, he had thought that Phastos and the others stood no chance – maybe Thena would have stood at a chance at her best, but she was far from that – but Ikaris was never so happy to be proven wrong.

Everything he did was what he had to, and as much as he believed in Arishem’s grand design, Ikaris knew it would break him to kill all his friends in support of his God. That’s why he was so happy Phastos had found a way to keep him at bay.

It was a hard spot to be – between your God and Family.

Ikaris started to temper all the Cosmic Energy inside his body, hoping that a burst of concussive force would be enough to break from the shackles of Celestial Bronze Phastos had so carefully laid out for him.

The shackles tightened and screeched, and Ikaris knew his time to break free was rapidly approaching, especially given how distracted Phastos was. The others clearly had a plan to stop the emergence, and Ikaris couldn’t allow that.

Not after all he had sacrificed to ensure the birth of the Celestial – the birth of Tiamut. He had lost the love of his Eternal life – Sersi, killed the equivalent of his mother – Ajak and inadvertently allowed one of his closest friends to die – Gilgamesh.

“Come on, Sersi,” Phastos’ voice cut through the unclear thoughts in Ikaris’ mind. “Come on!”

The Eternal of The Forge stared into the distance, watching every moment of the developing fight for Humanity’s survival. The volcano’s eruption had all but ceased since Tiamut’s city-sized hands had pinched the minor inconvenience between his Celestial fingers.

Ikaris, from where he was shackled, could hear the potent hope lingering on the tip of Phastos’ tongue. This was definitely not a man who had lost hope after witnessing a hopeless situation, but a man who had, even more, hope the closer everyone came to the brink.

Only, the brink was already here – there was no stopping it.

Ikaris could never understand why humanity was worth more than Arishem’s design and the billions of lives it would bring into existence, but as he examined Phastos, Ikaris realized just how human his companions had become.

He was beginning to understand…

This was not a battle for Humanity’s survival, but a battle of what it meant to be an Eternal.

And that made Ikaris reach for the hope inside himself – a very human thing to do, but there was never a human concept that said hope could only serve a specific group of people. Just as his fellow Eternals were fighting to save this world, Ikaris was also fighting to give the billions of other worlds a chance to exist.

There was no right nor wrong, just a clash of wills.

QQSSSSWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYOOOOOOUUUUUUU

QQSSSSWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYOOOOOOUUUUUUU

The squeal of pain from a Celestial shot through Ikaris’ heart as if his own disintegration ray had hit him, and he found the strength to respond to the pleading for help. There was something else there… another sound – almost sounding, relieved?

Ikaris could not exactly discern it, but he knew his mission and what had to be done. Regardless of everything – love, loss, and tribulations – that much remained awfully consistent.

AAAARRRGGGGHH

Ikaris yelled to the skies and pulsed all the Cosmic Energy inside his body, creating a concussive force that forced away all the air in the nearby surroundings. His eyes released a cosmic beam that tore into the skies, enhancing the Cosmic Force inside his body.

Phastos was launched into a rock, and the shackles that bounded Ikaris exploded away, returning to the pieces of Celestial Bronze from whence they were created. There was nothing bounding Ikaris any longer, be that Family or the sorrow and guilt in his heart.

Ikaris glanced around, noting the destruction preceding the complete emergence of a Celestial. It was ironic how a thing of such beauty – a birth – could mean the end of a world, but would this world have existed if another world had not met the same fate?

Philosophy aside.

Ikaris felt a bit of calm when Makkari blurred to Phastos’ side, pulling the Eternal free from the binds of the rock that trapped him. It was comforting to see that his comrades were still very much united, even if that was against him.

BOOOOOOOOM

Ikaris pulsed the gravitons around him – subatomic particles carrying the forces of gravitational attraction between atoms – and launched himself into a blurring flight on a trajectory that would take him straight to the cause of the Celestial’s pain.

And as it turned out… the love of his life – Sersi.

--------------------------

Sersi pressed both of her hands onto the Celestial’s dense golden coating, and she watched with a broken heart as what was once brilliant gold of unknown metallic composition, was rendered into a lifeless grey of her own transmutation.

Before he even arrived, she could feel him there. Such was the strength of their connection after thousands of years together. Honestly, just thinking about Ikaris would pain her to no end, but the time for confrontation would surely come.

The question that burned her more than anything was the wondering – had Ikaris ever truly loved her? No!

That was a stupid question to ask, and Sersi knew that – the question had always been the same, and up until now, she was too afraid to ask him.

‘Did you ever love me enough to choose me over Arishem?’

As Ikaris floated into a landing on the greying body of the Celestial Tiamut, Sersi raised her gaze to meet his eyes, removing both hands from the Celestial, and all at once, she knew the answer to every doubt that had kindled in her mind over the last hundred years since he left.

The creases on his young face told a very disturbing story – one of worry, stress, and internalized pain hoping for the end of the world not only because of loyalty but because his world had already come to an end.

‘How much have you suffered, my love?’

Celestial’s didn’t age, yet Ikaris looked so old to Sersi. The pain in her heart tripled, and the anger for Ajak’s death turned into a quiet acceptance of what had to be – the inevitability of it all.

--------------------

The moment the Eternal Lovers met eyes, Ikaris knew. He took three small steps forward as his eyes glowed with endless Cosmic Energy. Ikaris’ usually blue irises became a golden glow of limitless energy capable of melting metal in instants.

But even as he charged his eyes for a Disintegration Ray, nothing ever came of it. The moment Ikaris saw her, he knew he could no more hurt her than destroy a Universe with her inside it.

Even his life cost less than Sersi in his heart.

The Cosmic Energy gathering in Ikaris’ eyes flickered with his uncertainty, and eventually, the energy dispersed altogether, signaling the decision he had made in the end. Though he could still fight, the battle had already come to an end.

Sersi, somehow, felt even more painful knowing that Ikaris would choose her every single time.

They continued to meet eyes, and the golden glow in Ikaris’ eyes tried to make a comeback, but each time, he didn’t have the will to do what had to be done – to do what should have been done to ensure the birth of billions of lives.

Pain met pain.

Eternal met Eternal.

Soulmate met once soulmate.

In seven thousand years on this planet, Ikaris had cried only three times – at his and Sersi’s wedding, the moment Ajak told him the truth of their mission, and the moment he decided that leaving the woman he loved would be the best thing for her time on this planet.

And now… the Eternal was crying once more.

The tears came as unnatural as one would expect from an Eternal, and though no words were said, Sersi knew Ikaris would mourn the love that had just been shattered between them.

Of course, she didn’t blame him – she was even hoping he would end her misery – but that didn’t stop Ikaris from blaming himself for even having the thought to begin with. And strangely, in a moment when love was supposed to be lost, Sersi found herself appreciating Ikaris all the more.

And that’s when she felt the gentle wave and submitted herself to it – a mental wave.

Not many people, even Eternals, knew that Ikaris had a minor talent for telepathy; though, he rarely used it. In seven thousand years, Sersi could only remember him using it exactly three times: their wedding – to show her how he fell in love with her, their parting – to prelude his departure at the time, and now – his final parting words.

Sersi felt it all, and at the core of his memories was their first time together.

Memories of their time in Babylon…

The way she would press her head behind him as she embraced him from behind, trying so desperately to be the only weight on his shoulders because she knew he would not think about Arishem’s mission during that time…

Their marriage during the Gupta Period of India…

Their walks through the villages of Mesopotamia…

The first time they truly embraced human culture via a dance in Tenochtitlan…

The way he liked her braiding the hair of Babylonian children…

And the moment he first saw her after awakening – that was the moment he fell in love with her…

Ikaris opened his eyes from the dream of memories to a broken world, and his perspective was once again written anew. It had been foolish not to remind himself earlier – the truth was, his world ended the moment he left Sersi.

And he wanted this world – the world she loved so dearly – to pay for their parting. In the end, it was never about Arishem’s plan, but more about punishing Sersi for not choosing him over the world she loved so much.

Sersi and Ikaris met eyes, and she slowly raised her hands, gathering an unbelievable amount of Cosmic Energy within them. It was a show of both surrender and defiance. Any other time, had Ikaris attacked her, Sersi would be fine since her Cosmic Energy would have protected her.

That was the case with all the Eternals.

But if an Eternal was attacked when all their Cosmic Energy was being channeled elsewhere, that Eternal would surely die like any other human. Sersi’s defenses were down. She was channeling all her Cosmic Energy into her palms.

Now or never is the message she was sending.

When no attack came for several seconds, Sersi placed both hands on the greying Celestial, and a wave of golden energy swept forth. Slowly, a new golden strong of armor overlaid Sersi’s clothing, floating her into the air as she temporarily had the power to control gravitons – one of Ikaris’ abilities.

---------------

Elsewhere…

Sprite and Druig experienced the same phenomenon – golden strings overlaid their Eternal clothing, shutting off their regeneration and channeling the excess energy into the air… towards Sersi.

Phastos…

Makkari…

Thena…

---------------------

And eventually, the connection came to Ikaris. This time, the connection was more hesitant and Ikaris knew he had the right to refuse the connection, and maybe, Sersi would not have enough power to do what came next.

But Ikaris didn’t reject the connection…. Far from it, he embraced it in the end. At the end of all he had done, the realization that he could never hurt Sersi, even for Arishem, made all his sacrifices useless.

The golden Cosmic Strings overlaid Ikaris’ Eternal physique, and he also floated into the air.

For the first time, all Eternals were connected in the Uni-Mind – their excess Cosmic Energies pooling together to make what would normally be impossible into a definite possibility.

Their energy rammed into Sersi, launching her towards the ground – towards Tiamut – and as soon as she landed, a wave of Cosmic Energy rippled across the city-size hand rising from the ground.

The golden exterior instantly turned to grey.

The tips of Tiamut’s enormous fingers curled as gold was overtaken by the unique blue of Sersi’s ice transmutation. Sersi felt the pain in Tiamut’s final moments, and she screamed with a broken heart but stable will.

The ice overtook Tiamut’s head and the Cosmic Energy faded from his eyes – a Celestial had been killed.

The realization hit them after the fact, and Sersi could barely manage to stand on her feet, hands shaking from not just exhaustion, but the mere gravity of what she had just done. It was even more sinister than defying the ten commandments of Christianity.

Ikaris glanced around, scared for the first time in his thousands of years of life – he had just aided in the killing of a Celestial, a God. The pain cut through Ikaris all at once, and he felt what Sersi felt – Tiamut’s last moment.

A pitiful whimper snaked from between his lips, and the all-powerful Ikaris sunk to his knees while simultaneously sinking into the depths of despair. Sersi knelt in front of him, a peacefulness in her eyes that he could not reciprocate.

Sersi had protected what she loved – Humanity.

But Ikaris had turned his back on what he loved – there was no peace in any sort of victory, not for him.

“I’m sorry,” Ikaris’ tears were more potent this time.

“I know.” Sersi brushed her hand against his cheek, sensing the emotions of despair that she could do nothing about.

The Eternal soulmates pressed their heads together, lingering on a kiss that never came – the boundary between their lips was too large to cross, even though they were mere inches from each other.

That pained them even more.

A sharp pain in her mind and Sersi knew what decision Ikaris had made. The final connection between them was broken. A connection like theirs couldn’t be broken without repercussions, but Ikaris had done it without hesitation.

Even now, Sersi admired how he was trying to take care of her, but honestly, she would have preferred to feel the pain of his final moment. It would have been a reminder of love found, and thousands of years later, love was lost.

The duo stood, gazed into each other’s eyes one last time, and Ikaris rose into the air, breaking the sound barrier as he departed. On Earth, he could fly just below mock two, but in space – with Cosmic Energy embracing him – it was a different matter entirely.

BOOOOOOM

-----------------------

Ikaris cut through the wind and air, forcing everything away, creating a spear’s head of graviton particles. As soon as he made it into space, feeling the long-absent Cosmic Energy of the Universe embracing him, Ikaris’ speed exploded once more.

Hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from the Earth, Ikaris paused his flight and spun around, gazing at the planet of his love for the very last time. Then, he chose to live up to the human legend that was birthed from his name and Sprite’s imagination.

Ikaris burst into a blurring speed towards the sun. Within seconds, he was approaching the celestial body of infinite flames. He closed his eyes as the sun’s heat embraced his body.

In a matter of mere seconds, it was all over – in the end, as ironic as it was, he didn’t even feel the end.

---------------------------

[Ikaris…]

[Ikaris…]

Ikaris floated in the void of oblivion, dreaming where dreams were impossible to exist, but somehow, he was managing to do it. He managed to exist beyond oblivion and even had the memories of Sersi and the others to keep loneliness at bay.

[It is time to awaken…]

[It is time to awaken…]

HHHHHHHUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHH!

All at once, Ikaris snapped awake, rousing the gravitons near his body to propel him forward and out of the synthetic cloning tube he was in.

BOOOOOM

BOOOOOM

The sudden acceleration smashed Ikaris into the ground, skipped him across the floor, and embedded him in the nearby wall. Of course, it hurt but he was also an Eternal who had been dealt much worse injuries.

Ikaris forced himself out of the wall. “Wha – Wha – what’s hap – happening?” he stuttered to form a single sentence, but the more he stuttered, the more the memories were coming back to him.

[Ikaris, we are short on time…]

“Arishem?” Ikaris muttered in his rather thick Scottish accent; though, it was more accurate to say that the Scottish got their accent from Ikaris, and not the other way around.

[Ikaris, it is time for you to witness the results of your failed mission…]

Arishem reached out his palm, taking the enter World Forge into his grasp. There was the thug of space, the pull into a black hole with red accretion disks, and the next instant, Ikaris felt as if space was parting for Arishem.

In a blink, the Celestial and Eternal appeared at the edge of the Universe.

“ARGH!”

Ikaris felt his blood scraping against the walls of his skin, wanting to run away even if it meant the death of him, but a red protective Halo from Arishem chased the sensation away.

“What?”

[The end of the Universe. As Celestials, it is our job to ensure life inhabits the furthest reaches of the Universe, thereby expanding at a steady pace this very barrier.]

“Barrier?”

[Yes.]

“Why?”

[Long ago, before time itself had become aware, there was a war that shattered the True Universe into a Multiverse. Celestials fought against our counterparts, The Aspirants. This battle nearly destroyed The First Firmament – the very embodiment of the first Universe to ever exist.]

“There are Beings that could rival even the Celestials?” Ikaris was baffled and terrified at the realization.

[Did our creation – The Eternals – not find a way to kill Tiamut?]

Ikaris was silent since they indeed had done just that, and he had played his part in Tiamut’s death as well. It was not something he took pride in – none of them did, but at least for Sersi, it had to be done.

Ikaris was still unsure of his decision.

Seeing Ikaris was silent, Arishem continued the story, gesturing to the great beyond of darkness and red lightning. Even as they stood there, Celestial and Eternal could feel everything behind the barrier hungering for their sweet Cosmic Energy.

This was startling because Ikaris knew that the entire Universe was made of energy exchanges, and what energy was at the forefront of this cycle – Cosmic Energy. Everything from the stars to planets, to sentient beings, was born from this energy.

“What is it?” Ikaris frowned deeply. “It hungers eternally.”

[We do not know. The Battle came to an end, and the Multiverse was born, but this also came into being. Perhaps, it was always there and we simply weakened the barrier imposed by The First Firmament.]

[Life in the furthest reaches of the Universe keeps it at bay so we, Celestials, create star systems and plants capable of supporting diverse variants of life. We experiment, we create new species, and when the time comes for the expansion to achieve another stage, we deem which species will birth the next Celestial. This is as it has always been.]

“Isn’t there a way to achieve the birth of a Celestial without the death of a planet?” Ikaris was doubtful but not because he disagreed, but because the question needed a definitive answer.

[As the Prime Eternal, I too know this practice is archaic but there is no other way to ensure the birth of a healthy Celestial. Seed a Celestial on a planet lacking life and they die in the ten-thousandth year of growth. Seed a Celestial on a planet teeming with life and they mature too quickly, possessing the power of a Celestial but not the mentality. I have no need to warn you about the damage an unhinged Celestial could accomplish. Universes were destroyed before we determined that experiment a failure.]

[Seed a Celestial on a planet with life but insufficiently advanced species, such as those of Predators present – the seed will morph into a Dark, Feral Celestial, capable of destroying Star Systems in the blink of an eye, and with the will to do so endlessly. Hence, it is only possible to Seed Celestial on planets with minimal Sentient life and has the Sentient life exponentially grow over time. The Celestial will then grow with the inhabitants of that planet. It is important that the Planet’s inhabitants have the capacity to commit both good and bad deeds.]

“Why is that important?” Ikaris was confused, never having thought that the birth of a Celestial required so much preparation.

If so, it was no wonder Celestials were few and far between, only emerging every billion years.

[Seeding a Celestial on a Planet with only peaceful Beings will lead to a Celestial who only seeks to create and not destroy – such Celestials will expand the End of The Universe far too quickly, destabilizing the barrier protecting us from the other side. Complete Celestial moves indifferent of good or evil – simply performing our duty, experimenting until the time we create a permanent solution to the problem.]

“Why do you tell me of this?” Ikaris knelt with a somber expression on his face. “I have failed to ensure the awakening of Tiamut. I am but a servant of Arishem’s will, and I have failed at even those duties. What more use could I possibly have?”

There was another twist, a black hole appeared with a red accretion disk, and Ikaris and Arishem were gone from the End of The Universe, appearing trillions of light-years away, above the planet Earth…

Or, what was once Earth.

“What h-happened?” Ikaris was baffled, staring at the electrified rubble that was once one of the most beautiful planets in the galaxy.

And then he noticed, it was not just Earth… all around, the few stars that remained were dimming, and the Gravitons surrounding him had a negative feel to them. Something was not wrong with Earth, the Solar System, this section of the Galaxy… no! Something was wrong in the entire Universe.

[This is what the Universe will become in fifty thousand years.] Arishem waved his planet-sized hands, causing a ripple of red energy to manifest and wipe away the future he had just demonstrated, revealing a thriving Earth and Universe. [This is the Universe as it is now. What I showed you was the future that awaits all of us.]

“Surely… surely… surely,” Tears leaked down Ikaris’ face as he pulled at his hair with the intent to rip his skull off. “Surely, my actions could not have led to such drastic consequences for the entirety of the Universe.”

[After killing Tiamut, Makkari, Druig, and Thena started liberating Eternals all over the Galaxy and beyond. This will lead to the failed birth of more Celestials, and that means no one to expand the boundaries of the Universe or create billions of new lives. This will lead to the weakened of the barrier, forcing the remaining five Celestials, including myself, to venture outside the barrier to repair it from the opposite side. Three of us will survive – not enough to maintain the entire Universe.]

“Knowing what’s to come will help you stop it, will it not?”

[Celestials are born free of time and space, but even we cannot outrun destiny. As the Prime Eternal, I can delay the end, but it will come nonetheless.]

“Why are you telling me this?” Ikaris inquired.

There was another rush of space parting, another black hole with a red accretion disk, and now, Arishem and Ikaris stood in front of a machine even larger than the Prime Celestial.

[Because I am simply Arishem – The Judge, and there is a judgment to be made.] Arishem pulled on empty space and three people emerged – chained in mechanisms made from Celestial Bronze.

Ikaris’ eyes widened as unconscious Sersi, Phastos, and Kingo appeared before him.

“Leave them be!”

His eyes glowed a deadly golden hue as Ikaris was prepared to fight his God for the most important woman in his life.

[I am The Judge, and until the time this Universe ends, I will be doing just that.] Arishem’s six glowing eyes were directed to Ikaris. [In light of recent events, and after examining the memories that led to this minor rebellion, I have decided that humans deserve a chance to prove themselves worthy of inheriting the Celestial legacy. But, as I am the Judge, I cannot pardon past crimes. Even if Humanity did not kill Tiamut, it was an action conducted by the Eternals of Earth on behalf of Humanity. Hence, to lead into their status as Celestial Inheritors, Humanity must first pay the price of their negligence.]

“You cannot ask them to pay for something they did not do,” Ikaris argued, his Scottish accent becoming even thicker. “There must be some other option available.”

[This is why we are here.] Arishem gestured to the machine even larger than himself – a machine Ikaris could not identify or see the end of. [From the beginning of the Universe till now, Celestials have experimented in hopes of creating a species capable of inheriting our will of Universal expansion. There was none to take up this mantle until humanity, but projections show it will take them 3 billion years to arrive at such a state of readiness. Until then, three new Celestials are needed to fill that gap.]

“You plan to awaken three new Celestials, destroying three civilizations?”

[No. Doing so in this Universe will lead to immediate consequences, bringing an end to this Universe in a thousand years’ time. In light of this, I have chosen to reactivate a long-dead experiment of The First Firmament – Omniverse travel.]

“Omniverse Travel?” Ikaris scratched his head, aware that there was a Multiverse, but it was his first time hearing the term ‘Omniverse’.

[Before the existence of time, Celestials – in a bid to avoid destroying worlds each time a new Celestial was to be seeded – sent dozens of seeds into the Omniverse, allowing them to nest in drifting Universes. This way, every time a new Celestial is born, it would not be in any iteration of the world we have come to know. This project was dismissed when none of the Seeds ever made contact back – everything sent through the gate simply disappeared.]

“Then, what changed?” Ikaris could feel his head pounding inside his skull, constantly glancing at the sleeping visage of his comrades – mainly Sersi.

[You survived Oblivion. This leads me to believe that you can survive what lies on the other side of this gate.] Arishem extended his hand a glowing orb of white floated into Ikaris’ body. [I have altered your makeup to make you more resilient, allowing your power to grow but you will feel quite weak at first. This also enables you with characteristics of humans, making you an offshoot of Humanity, no longer a synthetic being. Inside you, I have installed a beaker that will reactivate any dormant seeds it comes across, and act as a transition plane to transport the Celestial back into this Universe. Seeding and recovering three Celestials will be your goal, and at that point, your fellow Eternals and Humanity will no longer be held liable for the death of Tiamut. At that time, you will be allowed to return.]

Ikaris floated off the platform, soaring into the emptiness of space as he examined the gate that would determine the fate of this entire Universe. “And how sure are we that this will work?” he inquired.

[The chances are infinitesimal, but this is what must be done.] Arishem replied, the red Cosmic Energy dimming from his body as the gate whirred to life. [This gate requires three Celestials to power, but I am forced to do this alone. It may weaken me indefinitely, or simply not work as intended. I am not sure what you can expect, but there is a very real chance you lose your sense of self so try to mend your will to keep your memories intact.]

Ikaris could see Arishem turner weaker and weaker by the second as the gate drained his enormous reserves of Cosmic Energy. Needless to say, Arishem contained enough energy to rival a small Universe, so this gate literally needed a Universe to die to function at full capacity.

“Arishem…” Ikaris thought for a couple of seconds, gazing at the floating forms of Sersi and the others. “You said this gate would make you indefinite weaker.”

[Correct.] Arishem replied, a faint struggle in his voice. [And I cannot hold it for long so there is a need to start your journey as soon as possible!]

The swirling pattern inside the gate was faintly visible and getting fainter by the second as the red hue around Arishem continued to dwindle.

“Then, forgive me for this,” Ikaris shouted and a Cosmic Ray shot out of his eyes, shattering the restraints that held Kingo, Phastos, and Sersi.

In a split second, Ikaris had already grabbed the unconscious forms of his companions and flown towards the gate. He was relieved when Arishem made no motion to stop him. Even as weak as a Celestial was, Ikaris knew Arishem had more than enough power to destroy him.

“I will complete the mission you have afforded me!” Ikaris yelled moments before his body started to scatter into its particle components. “AARRRGHHHH!”

The pain was excruciating, but Ikaris knew, even if that was the end, it was a better end than he deserved. Phastos’, Kingo’s, and Sersi’s bodies all broke into particles, absorbed by the Omniverse Gate.

And then, darkness came.