Omniscience in Marvel 71

Title - Fighting the Eternals

...

To Ajak's declaration, Leucadius merely smiled but said nothing in retort. "If you say so." Was all he said before taking another sip and dropping his cup on the table. "So..? For what reason was I called here?"

Ajak squinted her eyes and glared at him as though trying to pierce through his head with nothing but her eyes. "What were you about to say to Thena?"

"What are you talking about?" Leucadius asked calmly, his body movements nonchalant as though he had nothing to hide.

"You had a nostalgic expression when looking at her…at all of us in fact. Do you know something we don't know?" She asked, her voice stern.

Leucadius gave a small smile to the question as he looked into the galaxy above them. "Years ago…We were all acquaintances."

"Acquaintances? Then why do we have no recollection of you in our memory?" she asked to which Leucadius smiled but shook his head and said nothing.

"I'm afraid…I can't tell you that." He said with a sad sigh. In the brief moment he had spent within Ajak's Mind-scape, he'd come to understand a lot of things about their situation.

Around 500,000 years ago the Eternal Kronos managed to isolate the cosmic energy that empowered the Eternals, but the volatile containment tube shattered and exploded.

The explosion transformed Kronos into a cosmic entity, but also killed all the other Eternals. After being reborn in the Activation Chamber, the Eternals discovered that Kronos' experiment had increased their powers.

With their new abilities, the Eternals then discovered they could join their will and intelligence into one powerful entity, which they called the Uni-Mind.

Having no race or gender, the Uni-Mind was made of light, mind, and pure energy, and other species, such as humans, could join safe from harm. The Prime Eternal is, normally, the only one able to summon the ritual of the Uni-Mind, determined either by heirdom or by combat in the Hall of Eternal Judgment.

In this case, in order to get and erase or in this case, block away millions of years of memory while implanting fake ones, Nezarr and his group of Celestials must have tampered with the Uni-mind.

And any attempt made by Leucadius to crush that block would lead to a sudden and swift download of millions of years of memory into the Eternal's mind. Doing that would lead to a mental breakdown or disease as the Eternals have come to terms It - Mahd Wy'ry.

Mahd Wy'ry occurs when an Eternal's mind becomes overloaded with the countless memories they have accumulated over their eternal existence.

This was not meant to be a problem in the first place since like their bodies, their minds were also Eternal. However, being cut off from the Uni-mind has made it a problem.

This condition can lead to confusion, hallucinations, and a form of dementia, causing the Eternal to lose track of time and reality and finally loss of control.

"It seems you don't realize your situation…" Ajak frowned at his rejection, however Leucadius' reaction only served to infuriate her the more.

"You don't say. Please, do enlighten me," he said and made himself more comfortable to listen to her explanation.

Ajak's eyes couldn't help but twitch at his lack of fear. To her, it seemed as though he thought nothing of them. "Outside of this mental plane, your physical body is being surrounded by 10 Eternals who would stop at nothing to eliminate you should I deem you an enemy of humanity."

"Ooh. So?" Leucadius asked while casually munching on some popcorn that appeared out of nowhere again.

"So you better begin talking."

"Nah. Although I don't really care about most of you, I do have friends amongst you I wouldn't want to die just because I talked too much." Leucadius said with a contemplative expression.

Since the Uni-mind was already compromised, it meant that the Eternals were no longer Eternal. Previously, they could be revived in the Activation Chamber with their memories intact since it was saved in the Uni-mind.

However, should they die now, they would actually die a true Death. And while he would love to allow Thena and Phastos to recover their memories, he had no idea on how to prevent the Mahd Wy'ry from affecting them.

Seeing Leucadius' uncaring demeanor, Ajak was lost for words. "You…are quite incorrigible."

"Hmm? Hehehe. I try my best." Leucadius said smugly as though he had just received a compliment. "Anyways, it seems I'll have to reintroduce myself to you all once again, and this time build a better relationship than before."

"You…I see this is leading nowhere." She said angrily and stood up. "You seem to be the kind to only talk when your back is against the wall. Since that's the case, we'll grant you your wish."

"Huh? I don't-" Leucadius began but was interrupted as she expelled him from her mind. "Tch, what a feisty woman."

...

As Leucadius' consciousness was expelled from Ajak's mind, his eyes flickered open to the physical world. He found himself encircled by the other Eternals, their expressions a mix of wariness and determination. The kind of determination found in soldiers going into battle.

"So," Ikaris began, his voice carrying an edge of command. "What do we do with him?"

"We have to find out what he knows," Ajak replied, stepping forward. "If he's truly a threat, we need to be prepared."

Leucadius stretched lazily, the corners of his mouth curling into a playful smirk. "You all look so serious. How about we just talk this out?"

"Talking is over," Thena said, her eyes sharp and focused as she summoned her golden, cosmic energy blade. "Now we see what you're made of."

To her words, Leucadius' demeanor shifted subtly, his amusement giving way to a more serious expression. "Very well," he said. "If it's a fight you want, then let's get this over with."

Knowing the previous Thena, when she's down to fight, nothing could dissuade her other than a might greater than hers.

Ikaris was the first to strike, launching himself into the air with a burst of speed and firing powerful energy beams from his eyes. Leucadius barely moved, deflecting the beams with a casual wave of his left hand, the cosmic energy dissipating harmlessly around him as he raised his right index finger pointing directly to Ikaris.

Before Leucadius could counterattack however, Makkari sped forward, her super speed turning her into a blur as landed a flurry of rapid punches on Leucadius, each strike resonating with the force of a small explosion.

Leucadius, however, stood firm, his body absorbing and redirecting the impacts into the ground with ease. 'Basics of Tai-Chi.' he thought, "You'll have to do better than that," Leucadius taunted, his eyes glinting with challenge as his left hand blurred and struck Makkari with a similar force akin to hers.

"You could do better than that…perhaps using the principles of The Infinite Mass Punch." He said casually, although he was sure she didn't hear considering that she had flown over a kilometer away from his location.

Seeing her sister being punched away, Thena moved next, her blade slicing through the air with deadly precision while also generating a bit of air as it moved.

Leucadius however, dodged her attacks with fluid grace, his movements almost effortless as though he knew where her slash would come before she even slashed out.

With a flick of his wrist, he summoned a barrier of energy, pushing Thena back. Compared to Makkari, he was quite gentle with her since she was bit by the blunt force of his barrier.

Phastos who had been observing the battle from a distance, activated a device he had been working on. A series of energy constructs sprang to life, forming a cage around Leucadius. "This should hold him," Phastos muttered, his eyes narrowing in concentration.

Leucadius glanced around the cage, his expression one of mild interest. "Impressive," he said. "But not enough." To his knowledge, Phastos was a Technopath who could invent, design and control technology with his cosmic energy.

However, in comparison to his unique skill, he was still a mile away from catching up.

With a surge of raw power, Leucadius shattered the cage, the energy constructs disintegrating into particles of light which he gathered and turned into a spear.

Then turning his attention to Phastos, who was already preparing another attack, Leucadius raised his hand and shot the spear at him while immobilizing him with an invisible force.

Before the spear could go through him though, Gilgamesh appeared and shattered it with a punch. However to their shock, the shattered rays of light turned into smaller stakes that surrounded and immobilized the two.

"Enough games," Leucadius said, his voice cold and commanding. "You can't win this fight. If you move, those two will die."

Sprite however, taking advantage of the distraction, created a series of illusions, each one a perfect replica of the Eternals. The battlefield was soon filled with dozens of duplicates, all moving and attacking in unison.

Leucadius frowned, his eyes looking over the illusions. "Impressive trick," he admitted. "But illusions can't harm me."

With a burst of energy, Leucadius dispelled the illusions, revealing the real Sprite hiding among them along with Sersi who was standing between Phastos and Gilgamesh while trying to dismantle his spike cage.

Before Sprite could react, he clenched his fist, causing the earth beneath her to shoot out spikes that immobilized her as well before turning his attention back to the remaining Eternals.

Druig, seeing his companions struggling, attempted to use his mind control powers. He focused his energy on Leucadius, trying to bend his will. But Leucadius' mind was like a fortress, impenetrable and unyielding.

Druig's efforts were met with resistance with his own mind recoiling from the attempt.

Leucadius shook his head, almost pityingly. "You're all outmatched," he said. "But I don't wish to harm you."

"Then tell us the truth," Ajak demanded, her voice steady but laced with desperation. "Who are you really, and why don't we remember you?"

Leucadius sighed, lowering his hand and releasing the immobilized Eternals. "I am Leucadius," he said. "An old acquaintance, as I told Ajak."

"An old Acquaintance?!" Phastos filled with anger asked. "An acquaintance wouldn't try to kill us."

"I didn't though." Leucadius shrugged innocently and crossed his hands. "Also, why do you think I could counter your abilities?"

"Because you've had prior knowledge of them..?" Gilgamesh asked while scratching his neck and chest region at the same time. Those were the spots that were most threatening of where Leucadius' light spike were at.

"Exactly. I basically taught Thena over there how to create better sword techniques instead of slashing her sword around carelessly." Leucadius said. "I also spent some time with Phastos creating a few things in the past. Here, take a look at this." Leucadius said and threw the bracelet that was the Motherbox to him.

Phastos, although still wary and angry at Leucadius caught the bracelet and began analyzing it. "This…this is…! Who made this!?"

"I did, you only helped me with the framework though." Leucadius said, causing Phastos to pause. He didn't know whether Leucadius was praising his contribution or undermining it.

"This…looks like my handwork…" Phastos acknowledged causing the Eternals to exchange glances, their hostility giving way to confusion and curiosity. "Why should we believe you?" Ikaris asked, his tone skeptical.

"Because," Leucadius replied with a dramatic pause, "I have no reason to lie."