章 39: Chapter thirty-nine.
~~~Ischyros, Xandar DC~~~
~~~July 1942~~~
Scientist Francis entered the room where Azrael and Ancestral were with a confident but alert step, surveying the interior of the room with a scrutinizing gaze, something a simple scientist would not have. "Thank you, Evangeline," Azrael dismissed the witch who accompanied Francis, with Francis bowing and closing the door behind her.
"What would you like to drink, scientist Francis?" Azrael initiated the topic of conversation, urging the man to take a seat, "Or should I say Eternal Phastos?" Hearing the last question, scientist Francis, or Phastos, his face hardened, as he gritted his teeth.
"You don't have to get defensive, Eternal Phastos, I just want to have a conversation with you, one free of false identities, and talk like civilized people," Azrael emphasized the point why he said Phastos' real name, but even then, Phastos was on the defensive.
"I must say, on behalf of humanity, that the debt that Earth and human civilization owe to you and your group of friends cannot be repaid, you have cared for human populations for millions of years, you have been the pillar of what we know today, but just as you have cared for her and protected her, you have been raising her like a pig for slaughter."
Phastos' face showed prudence during the first words said by Azrael, delighted to know that his work for countless years at least was known, more than anyone else wanted a promising future for Earth and humanity, so much so that he decided to share part of his technology in nuclear energy research to achieve clean and infinite energy, which would advance humanity many years in matters of energy, economic and social benefits.
But all that 'bliss' he felt vanished when he heard the last part, the one about pigs for slaughter. "What do you mean?" Phastos asked angrily," All we have done is watch over the life of this planet, and we hold no intention of harm towards you."
"That happens because that is how it is planned," Ancient One interjected, looking at Phastos as if a teacher to her pupil, "what? No, that is a lie, and I am surprised that you, the Sorcerer Supreme would get together with this charlatan to plan to tell me lies, that are very low, even after what you have done."
"Olympia does not exist, and there will be no home to return to once Arishem calls you, you will only be dealt with and sent to another planet after lying dormant for thousands of years," Ancient One was undeterred, and in her characteristic soft and calm voice. She explained to Phastos.
"Earth is the womb of a Celestial seed, a Celestial, by the name of Tiamut, is gestating in the planet's core, and once the world's population reaches the energy levels necessary to fuel such a birth, Tiamut will awaken, and with it, the destruction of Earth and its inhabitants will be irreversible."
"I can show you the truth, what the future holds, and then, you can draw your conclusions," Ancient One offered, glancing sidelong at Azrael, who nodded almost imperceptibly.
Phastos thought about it, but ended up agreeing seconds later, to which Azrael got up from his seat and stood next to Ancient One, who opened a portal, seeing a snowy landscape on the other side. She crossed first, followed by Phastos and then Azrael.
Heavy blizzards were blowing, kicking up pristine white snow, with a deadly cold making itself felt, "Antarctica," Phastos commented the moment he crossed, "so we came here because of the cosmic interference that has as its point of origin all of Xandar?"
"Yes, from what I see, you already know, so I won't stop to explain, only that I need the time gem to show you, or at least show you from your body's perspective, all that you have experienced, and that you can draw your own conclusions moments later," Ancient One commented, unlocking the latch on the Eye of Agamotto and letting out the time gem, which glowed a powerful green color after being outside Xandar.
"Okay, do it," Phastos said, and immediately, Ancient One controlled the gem so that Phastos' mind went back in time, thus making it so that he could 'see' everything that to his mind had been erased thanks to reproducing those hundreds of millennia of existence.
His mind showed him everything, how it was made, the purpose for which Arishem created them, their past lives, their stay on previous planets, their struggles against the deviants of those planets, and the subsequent destruction of the world they inhabited due to the birth of the celestial embedded in the planet's core, he saw it, he felt it, he lived it all.
"Nooo!" Phastos screamed in agony and pain once his consciousness was brought back, and the time around his head returned to the present, "what did I do?" he said to himself, tears running down his cheeks, with pristine pain and resentment evident in his voice and face.
"That explains everything, her not letting us interfere in human conflicts," Phastos looked at his hands, and saw them stained with the blood of all those beings he helped exterminate, "conflicts create wars, which then leads to important technological advances in medicine that save lives."
Phastos looked at Azrael and then at Ancient One, "Our mission was never to forge a peaceful and harmonious world... It was to increase the population at all costs, I alone... I raised humans as food for the celestials."
Azrael pitied Phastos, in front of him was the sample of the place he and his people had fallen to, a place that spared no one, and in which, if you were not powerful enough, you would become the person on the side of the sword's edge; "You have served Arishem for eons, and what has happened on those planets, will happen here on Earth again unless you do something."
"What do you mean, how do you think you could prevent the rise of a celestial?" Phastos asked upset, because as far as he knew, you couldn't kill a celestial, or at least, to do so, would require an enormous level of power, "even Odin, with all his power and wearing the armor of the Destroyer, could only manage to get him humiliated."
"I don't mean assassinate him, but transport him to another planet with no life on it, that would delay his birth, at the same time we will avoid a war against Arishem and the fourth host," Ancient One explained their strategy to him.
"But that would make Arishem angry, he will see behind the deception, what we would do, and I and my people would die... No, I cannot allow that to happen, as much as it pains me, I obey Ajak and Arishem, and I will not betray them."
"Even if it means the death of millions of lives?" Azrael asked somewhat angrily, not understanding how Phastos was capable of letting something like that happen, even after seeing with his own eyes what happened when a celestial was born from the core of a planet.
Phastos looked at Azrael with a conflicted look, in him two sides were fighting, the one to protect the Earth and follow the plan that Ancient One had explained to him, but at the same time the side from where his creation itself came from.
"It's millions of lives, but it will be a price to pay as long as the universe welcomes a new celestial, one that creates more lives than were lost at the time of his arrival," Phastos gave his verdict, gritting his teeth and looking decisive in his decision.
"You are clear that we cannot let that happen, are you, Eternal Phastos?" Ancient One spoke, her hands glowing a yellow color, as she eyed Phastos seriously, as for Azrael, he was ready to spring into action at any moment.
"Then you will have to face the Eternals, we have a mission, and no matter how difficult it is, we will accomplish it, that is our purpose," Phastos said, and from his hands several metal rings detached from his arms, which began to spin rapidly around him.
"I didn't want to do this, Phastos, but you leave no choice," Azrael said, intent on what would happen and if it would indeed work.
Phastos frowned, sensing something was wrong, but not knowing what, until he suddenly lost control of his ring-shaped weapons, falling to his knees on the snowy ground, with no strength to defend himself. Even his Eternal physique was not responding to him.
"What have you done!" Phastos shouted, angry and upset in equal contributions, as he tried to raise his arms, but with no favorable results. "You have fallen into our trap, though it was a measure of restraint, you see, we had hoped you would join us on your own, for in truth, doing this, causes us to reflux, but difficult decisions require strong wills, and that is what we will do."
Long before Azrael called Ancient One, he had flown to Antarctica. He placed four command blocks at a safe distance that encircled a hundred-meter perimeter, and in each one, he inserted several different commands, but that would serve as a fail-safe measure if the meeting with Phastos did not end well.
With commands that would cause Phastos to lose his access to cosmic energy and cut off his control over his technology, he would make Phastos vulnerable to what Azrael would do as a last measure, "I am truly sorry, I trust you can understand me in the future."
Wasting no time, Azrael approached Phastos and placed his two hands on his head, and using the book of loyalty enchantments, sent five bolts of the magic on the weak Phastos, Azrael, in the company of Ancient One, had discussed the event, and even after being able to render him powerless, there was talk of using at least five enchantment to prevent accidents, and Azrael hoped it would be enough.
Once Azrael felt it was enough, he removed his hands from Phastos' head, receiving a single phrase from him, "My king."
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット