Chapter Sixty-Eight, Part One

"You want us to help you comprehend the technology of the Celestials?" Ikaris scoffed, face twisted into a mocking grin. He shook his head and waved in Dan's direction. "Such a thing goes against the core tenets of our principles. We are forbidden from sharing the knowledge of our masters, En Sabah Nur is an example of the reason why."

"Apocalypse was given his knowledge by the Celestials themselves," Dan frowned, eyes narrowed as Ikaris' finger drew close to poking him in the chest. He could harvest En Sabah Nur's memories, but it would mean killing off a valuable source of cosmic energy. "I'm not asking you to give me all your secrets, just assist once more in the defence of Earth."

"This Galactus you speak of, how is he different from En Sabah Nur?" Zuras scratched his beard and raised an eyebrow at Dan. "Why not simply destroy him? Your power has grown so high that I can't sense its limit anymore, is he truly such a great threat?"

"He stands in line with the mightiest of the Celestials," Dan raised a hand and displayed a projection of Galactus into the air. "The herald of a power that dwarfs the strongest of the realm gods, a servant of a being that consumes universes without effort."

Galactus himself wasn't to be underestimated. His incarnations existed in every marvel universe, fragments that when gathered would grant the Herald of the Black Winter multiversal strength. Even separated and hungry, he still contained more than enough power to threaten a universe with ease.

"Ridiculous," Ikaris rolled his eyes as he turned to leave. "Nothing stands above the Celestials…"

"You're a fool if you believe that," Dan released his hold on the energy within his body, a wave of pressure that chipped stone from the mountain of Olympia. Ikaris' attitude had reached the limits of his patients. "I'm nearly as strong as your average Celestial, without the need for outside assistance. The best of them are in the lowest tier of multiversal, no stronger than the likes of Cyttorak and his ilk."

The Eternals staggered backward through the air, driven toward their mountain home by Dan's release of power. It had been a long time since he let loose his biofield's careful grip on his strength. Even motionless, his passive release of energy threatened to destabilise this space and return Olympia to the earthly realm.

Dan reigned in his display, just enough that the spatial layers regained their stability. Ikaris and Zuras rallied against the pressure, while Phastos drew a small shield from the void. It flared silver-white, a barrier that protected the weaker Eternals from the chaotic force.

"How dare you assault us in our home," Ikaris' eyes glowed with a golden light, twin suns that Dan continued to ignore. "You insult our masters and attack us, ask us to abandon our sworn duty to…"

"Don't talk to me about your 'duty,' Ikaris," Dan focused his untamed aura onto the arrogant Eternal's shoulders and suppressed the power inside the man's body. Ikaris choked, held in the air by Dan's grip as his strength failed him. "I know the true purpose of the Eternals and we both know it's not a noble one."

"What are you talking about?" Phastos drifted closer, his shield held between Dan and Ikaris in an effort to free his companion. Its silver light sputtered, pushed aside despite the Eternal's efforts. "We exist to shepherd the people of Earth, guide them along the chosen path of our masters and bring them to enlightenment…"

"You're half right," Dan shook his head as he began to carve out a complex set of runes. It was a spell that Merlyn had taught him long ago, one he often used in interrogations. "You are the shepherds of your masters' will, but they don't want to bring enlightenment to the people of Earth."

The final rune fell into place with a flash of light, a wave that vanished as quickly as it appeared. The Eternals glanced about, unable to discern the effect of his spell. It wasn't designed to attack, just a subtle twist of the laws that affected a small area of space.

"Isn't that right, Ikaris?" Dan loosened his grasp, enough that the Eternal could draw in a breath. He waited as the man coughed and gasped, eyes filled with terror as they reflected Dan's image. "Your master has plans for the Earth, plans that end in the death of every living being on its surface."

"You're right, Master Arishem only requires that we control the deviant population until the birth…" Ikaris clamped his mouth shut, eyes wide as he glanced around the group. "I…"

"Ikaris, what are you saying?" Sersi floated closer, despite the pressure of Dan's aura. Thena followed at her back, a polearm of concentrated light in her hands. "Arishem has tasked us to defend the people of Earth, hasn't he?"

Ikaris held his tongue, eyes filled with a murderous rage as he glared at Dan. All who stood within ten metres of his spell could only speak the truth as they knew it, a zone of truth that often caught his prisoners unaware.

"Arishem only cares about the unborn Celestial, hidden in the core of the Earth," Dan projected an image of the sleeping leviathan into the air, while Ikaris remained silent. "It will rise in less than fifty years, taking the lives of all on the planet as it does so. Your 'grand purpose' is a lie, one designed to keep you loyal until the time comes to cast you aside."

"Impossible… Ikaris, tell him!" Thena brandished her polearm at Dan, eyes fixed on the Prime Eternal. "Arishem would never do such a thing…"

"He can't, because he knows it's a lie," Dan shook his head and extended a hand toward the Eternal in his grasp, a symbiote clone on his palm. "My spell prevents a person from speaking falsehoods, but this will force him to tell us everything he knows…"

– – – –

"Anakin is such a little snot…" May rolled her shoulders, body submerged within the flames of Krypton's sun. His indecision had forced her to go all out, an effort that undermined the stability of her newly formed foundations. "Once he becomes the 'Master of Balance,' he's going to be even worse."

"He's still young, as are you from my family's point of view," the musical voice of the Daughter sounded from within the flame and forced May to open her eyes. Green hair spread around her, the Celestial lay at her side within the solar fire. "Are you certain that you won't allow the others to join him? My brother and I should also be replaced, it is long past time we returned to the Force."

 "They can go, if they want," May shrugged and closed her eyes. Goku and Anissa were not the best candidates to take on the Son and Daughter's roles, but if they wanted to, she would support them. "You're also welcome to ask the others within Krypton that might better fill these roles… Master Qui-Gon and someone like Maul would be better suited to the task."

"Hmmm… perhaps," the Daughter edged closer, until her shoulder rubbed against May's. "You can introduce me when we've finished our nap…"