Prologue 2: Madonna

Prologue 2: Madonna

A/N: This one's another Prologue chapter which will show the MC's parents. Or at least one of them.

Now, to answer the doubts, yes, Knull will be the final villain, but it's too far away for me to actually care. I'm still not too keen on this story, and will probably only write the Prologue and keep it open. If anyone wants to continue, or steal the idea, feel free after informing me of it.

"I am, once again asking for financial support"- Bernie Sanders. My Pat-reon is HelloDarkness07, if you can't find it, Google it! Any donations are acceptable!

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Madonna, the Seer.

That was her name. She was the only Celestial in existence who was able to tap, and view into the possible timelines, like the Watchers do. But, she seldom used the powers for anything other than knowing what dangers are coming, so she can come out better.

She did not agree with the methods of the Celestials. Masquerading as Gods, and making sure the Universe goes in the direction they want it to, is not something Madonna agrees with. But, she had to do it nonetheless. She was weaker than most of the Celestials.

So, when she discovered her powers of clairvoyance, she never told anyone. While yes, the Celestials are always in contact with each other telepathically, or using the computers in their armours, each and every Celestial likes to keep their privacy, and hence keep their own systems secure.

So it was, that because of her Clairvoyance, Madonna knew well before, that Knull was going to find them soon. So, she prepared.

Knowing that Knull was going to be trapped in his planet in a few hundred years, Madonna began travelling. Searching.

She knew, that in the severed head of Executioner, and in the bodies of every Celestial that Knull ever killed, was the trace of the Living Abyss, that Knull weaponized.

While individually, it wasn't much, but altogether, Madonna managed to collect a sizable chunk of it. At least, enough to give her resistance to Knull's attacks. Knull did kill thousands of Celestials even before being known.

For the next years, Madonna did only one thing. She used the Light, the only known weakness of Knull, and purified the Living Abyss.

Light did not just include the literal Light emitted by the Stars, but it also was the mixture of Cosmic Energy, Divine Energy, and the positive emotions like Hope, benevolence, courage, etc.

She did not store the Abyss on her though, once it was purified, which took a couple centuries. She kept it in her Dimension.

So, when Knull came on their current planet, and the battle finally began, Madonna began her plan. She stayed with her brethren, fought with them, and helped them trap Knull on his planet.

But, when the time came to send all of her energy to Json, Madonna sent only half of hers, and fled to her Dimension to recover, and to absorb the Living Abyss stored there.

About two million years later, she returned to the Universe, millions of years before any of the other Celestials will wake up from their slumber. She had just woken up from her slumber, after recovering her energy, and decided to return to the Universe, despite not having absorbed the Living Abyss.

So, she dropped down into the vacuum, looked around, and then, she smiled. She was finally free of the Celestials. Free to make her own decisions, independent of the Celestial Race. And free of Knull's reign of terror. At least for now.

So, for the next thousands of years, she roamed the Universe, for the first time in her very long life, without any specific job to do. Finally happy.

She used her Cosmic Energy to shape shift into the different races, shrinking down to the respective sizes. She also managed to turn the Clairvoyance off, so that she only receives images if they are important enough. This way, she will have some excitement at not knowing everything.

And it was exciting, living as a mortal. Madonna thought that mortals lived an interesting life, and she experienced it herself. They work, they tire, they live, and they die. And Madonna did that too.

Well, except for the dying part. She had to pretend to die, and create a fake body, but hey, Celestial, duh.

She lived lives on many different planets, in so many different Galaxies. Some were primitive, and some advanced, but somehow, every few millennia, she would come back to one planet. The planet that housed three full Celestials, and one Celestial Egg already.

The first was the Progenitor, who had been infected by the Horde billions of years ago. Life hadn't even begun on this planet during that time.

Next, Tiamut, the Dreamer, had somehow found himself on Terra, and was buried underground. She did not know much about it, as Arishem was really not answering the questions, but she knew that Celestials themselves were responsible for it.

(A/N: Eson does not know this. A few Celestials betrayed Tiamut and managed to trap him under Earth.)

As for the third, it was an Aspirant, who had come here a few million years ago. He was defeated by the Terran Elder God, Agamotto, and the Phoenix Force by working together, which really impressed her.

The Celestial Egg was something that every planet in this Galaxy, at least the ones that had life, had within the core. It was so One Above All can revive the Celestial Race if they become extinct. They also sometimes hatch on their own, when their time comes.

There was also the ship Eson left behind, to create his tool- sorry, Champion of Evolution- but she didn't like to think about that. What other Celestials do is none of her business, even if she doesn't like it.

Back to the present, a female figure, who looked like a human, although a bit on the taller side, at 6 feet tall, and with an almost ethereal glow to her, drops down from the sky, and onto the planet, on top of one of the mountain ranges.

It was the body Madonna has been using now, ever since she's been back to the Universe. Most of the times, she would change the skin colour, her height, or a few features, depending on the race of mortals she's mingling with.

As a Celestial, changing shape, size, colour, etc is simple stuff. She could even make the strongest metals with nary a thought, if she wanted. And she wasn't even the strongest Celestial!

Looking around, and down the mountains, Madonna sighs, and whispers, "It's still beautiful.."

"Thank you, my Lady." A soft voice says, from behind her, making Madonna snap her neck and point her fist at the woman.

Taking in the human appearance, but the Divine Energy within the woman, Madonna asks, "Who are you, immortal?"

The woman raises her hands, and says, "Peace, my Lady. My name is Gaea, and I'm the Goddess of this Planet."

Madonna drops her fist, discharging the Cosmic Energy building up, and observes the immortal in front of her. Not deeming her a threat, she asks, "How did you find me?"

Raising an eyebrow, Gaea points down at her feet and says, "You are on my planet, my Lady. Celestial or not, no one can hide from me on this Planet."

Madonna nods, accepting the answer. Gaea comes forward to stand beside her, both of them looking at the view below. Gaea asks, "May I ask what your name is?"

"Madonna." She shortly answers, and then says, "I've been on this planet before when those reptiles used to roam here, and I've seen thousands of other planets. But this.. right now.. is still one of the most beautiful scenes I've ever seen."

Gaea smiles at that, and answers, "You were right on time for the sunset. Even I like to see these scenes from time to time. And I live here." After pausing for a minute, Gaea asks, "So what brings you here, my Lady Madonna?"

Madonna pauses, thinking it over, and Gaea lets her think.

'Why am I here? Why now? Knull is still trapped, and the Celestials are all within their own Dimensions. Even if they do get out before their time, I've changed myself enough that they won't be able to find me here.'

Turning her head, Madonna answers, "I have no idea, Lady Gaea. I am on a holiday, so to speak. Why did you not meet me on any of the days before, when I mingled amongst your eternals and your Gods?"

Frowning, Gaea shakes her head, and says, "I was afraid, my Lady. My fellow Elder Gods have all killed themselves, or been banished, and the newly appearing Gods, and there's so many of them, are too arrogant. I did not want you meeting them and destroying this planet in rage. But, when I actually saw that the Gods amused you, at best, I felt secure enough to introduce myself."

Madonna has a sad smile, as the sun finally sets, and she says, "Unfortunately, or rather Fortunately, Celestials are out of the Planet culling business, at least for a few million years. You don't have to worry for your planet, Gaea."

Gaea has a wide smile on her face, and her shoulders lose their tenseness, at hearing that. She looks at Madonna, and offers her, her left hand. She says, "In that case, welcome to Earth, Lady Madonna. I hope your holidays are peaceful."

Madonna smiles back, and takes the hand, thinking, 'Maybe I should stay here for a while. An Immortal companion might do me some good.'

~~~

500,000 years. That's how long Madonna stayed on Earth. This was the longest she's ever been on a single planet! And there was a reason behind it.

Love.

Madonna fell in love. With these humans, these mortals, with life and death, with nature. But most importantly, she fell in love with Gaea.

It started innocently enough, with Madonna having no idea what Love even was, before she met Gaea, who patiently explained everything to her. Gaea showed her all the hidden spots around the Earth, she showed Madonna the different plants, and animals.

These meetings, went from seeing different things with Gaea, to just seeing Gaea explain everything about the plants and animals. And without even knowing what it was, Madonna fell in love with Gaea.

And this love, helped her purify the Living Abyss even more, allowing her to finally absorb it completely. Well, the small shard of it.

"What are you thinking about?" Gaea asks, bringing Madonna out of her musings.

Looking beside herself, at Gaea laying down supporting herself on her elbows, Madonna smiles and kisses her. She says, "Nothing. Just.. you."

Gaea smiles at her, and continues just staring at her lover for the past 50 thousand years. She says, "You know, this is the first time I've actually been in a stable relationship."

Madonna looks curious, and asks, "What do you mean?"

"I've had lovers before, obviously. I am an immortal Goddess, after all. I've had a lot of children, all of them Gods of one pantheon or the other. But, I've never remained in their lives for long, the lovers I mean. At most a few hundred years, is the longest I've been with someone." Gaea explains, running her hands through Madonna's hair.

Madonna hums, enjoying the ministrations. Gathering her words, she says, "I think I'm going to have a child."

Gaea immediately stops, and puts her hand on Madonna's womb. Despite being a Celestial, right now Madonna was in the body of a human, although a stronger human God. So, as soon as Gaea put her hand on Madonna's womb, she felt it.

"You are not jesting! We are going to have a child?!" Gaea yells, excitement evident in her voice.

Getting a bit confused, Madonna asks, "Yes, we are. Why are you so excited about it?"

"I've never gotten to raise my children, that's why!" Gaea says, smiling widely, but with tears in her eyes. She adds, "Each and every one of my children were either born adults, or taken by the fathers to be raised by them. And I somehow know, that our child will be born.. a child."

Madonna accepts the explanation, and smiles at her lover's excitement at raising a child. That smile suddenly turns sad, which is immediately noticed by Gaea, who asks, "What? Why are you upset? Do you not want the child?"

The hesitation in the last question finally brings Madonna back, and she shakes her head. She says, "I want the child, just as much as you do. But.. I won't be there to raise it."

"What?! Why not?!"

Smiling sadly, Madonna answers, "Because as soon as our child is born, I will die. This is the way of the Celestials, and this is why Celestial are forbidden from reproducing."

Gaea immediately hugs Madonna, and starts crying, knowing very well what Madonna's decision is. If there was a way to save the child and Madonna both, then she would have already done so.

Gaea wipes her eyes, and shakes her head. She says, "How long do we have until our child is born?"

Mentally calculating the numbers, Madonna answers, "2700 years. At the end of which, I will have to either blow up a planet, or the moon, to feed my child the energy it will require to survive the birth. 1000 years after that, the child will completely swallow the planet, and be born."

Nodding, Gaea says, "Then I have 2700 years to devise a way to save your life."

Shaking her own head, Madonna brings Gaea close, and says, "Don't worry about it, my love. I have already made my decision. I will make sure our child has the best energy source to feed from, and you will get to raise him later. He will still be a baby, you know."

"I will still try." Gaea stubbornly says, wiping her eyes, and kissing her lover.

Suffice to say, Gaea did not manage to find a way to save Madonna, and save their child at the same time. So, they spent their now shortened time well.

They travelled around the world, met different Gods, and observed the newly developing mortals. And they discussed names. The final verdict was Thea if it was a girl, and Theos, if it was a boy. According to Gaea, it meant Godly.

Gaea also took the time to search for the foremost expert in Sorcery, the Elder God Agamotto, so he can help her save Madonna. Unfortunately, even Agamotto could not find a way to save both mother and child.

He did have one idea though. It was to send the mother to her own Dimension for a time, so she can recover her lost strength. Agamotto even offered to speed up her time, so she can recover within a few dozen thousand years at the earliest.

But, even that was risky, as her arrival back into the Universe could kill her son. So, Gaea steeled her heart, and allowed Madonna to do what she wished.

And so, 2500 years after the announcement of her pregnancy, Madonna left planet Earth, and settled into a nearby white star.

She was once again in her Celestial form, although only 7 feet tall, and began absorbing the energy of the Star, feeding it to her still unborn child, along with her own energy, all the while sending more and more data to her ship, that she left in Gaea's care.

That ship was to be given to their little child, when it grows up and is ready for it. It contained everything from how the Universe came to be, to how she met Gaea. Everything she had ever seen, was recorded in that ship.

And so, 200 years after she entered the Star, Madonna finally died, using her life force to do a few things at once.

First, she used some of her energy to send Theos, who was finally born a boy, deep within the core of the Star, and manipulated the star to keep her son constantly fed. Then, she completed making an armour around him, so he does not exceed the normal human size.

Then, with making sure the child is born as normal as possible, Madonna sent all of her remaining energy to Theos. And then, Madonna died, leaving Theos all alone within the Star, slowly absorbing it, but still asleep.

It was 1000 years, before the Star was absorbed completely by the young baby Celestial, leaving behind a sleeping child, floating in space, wearing an armour similar to what it's mother used to wear, except for the head, which showed a human head.

Fortunately, before the child could float away from it's position, a glowing orange portal opened up and two arms immediately scooped the child.

"Ooh, my baby!" Gaea cooed, looking at her son. Turning her head, she asks, "Doesn't he just look cute in this armour, Agamotto?"

Ignoring the babbling woman beside him, Agamotto closes the portal, and says, "Yes, the Celestial is cute. Now, can I leave? Mother plans on leaving the Universe soon, and I've delayed her long enough."

Still rocking Arden in her arms, Gaea nods noncommittally, and says, "Sure, sure. Go. Give Oshtur my regards."

Already in her own mind, Gaea starts walking towards her home, on a small Island, and says, "I am sorry, my little Theos. I could not save your mother, well, your other mother. But don't worry, I will make sure you get to make her proud, and be the best son possible! I promise you this, Theos, Son of Madonna, and Gaea. Our God Child!"

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A/N: As I've said before, this is just for fun, and I'm only posting the Prologues. This was the 2nd, and the last one.

I changed the name to Theos, because it sounds cooler. if there is still a Arden somewhere, please inform me.

Whatever happens next, I'm keeping open. If anyone wants to take this idea, or if anyone finds a story similar to this, please send me a link!

I like reading stories, and there are very few that include Celestials!

This chapter ends at about 600k BC, give or take a few years. If you want, you can obviously stretch the timeline so the birth occurs in or around the AD period. This makes the MC weaker, which is actually good in this case, and gives you storyline to plan out in.

The final villain was going to be Knull, with a side villain being the whole Celestial race. Like Madonna, the MC won't agree with Celestial's methods, so when they return to continue their tasks, MC will definitely disrupt their plans.

Now, Knull, the Living Abyss absorption passed on to MC obviously, and being Gaea's son obviously gives him a few advantages. So, pull something out of your butts, and kill the unkillable Knull!

That's all for now, Tata!