Chhaya

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Read on!

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A-4280, was one of the infinite Universes within the Multiverse. Eson, who belonged to the Celestials that were first birthed by their original creator, was naturally knowledgeable about the rest of the Multiverse.

A few Billion years ago, Eson had visited E-4280, to just see what kind of Universe it was. He did not like it.

Turns out, E-4280 was the one Universe, where every Celestial was convinced, that they were the Highest Gods, and they wanted to conquer the Multiverse.

Eson observed the Mad Celestials for a few centuries, and then returned to this Universe. That wasn't the first Universe he had travelled to, and it definitely wasn't the last.

What I wanted, was to know where the Mad Celestial now was.

Sonny was busy scanning the deeper space for the Knull infected Mad Celestial, while I was busy with my own scans.

I know what the Power Stone's energy feels like. I have tasted it. So, I was putting the dial on my Echolocation to 11, stepping in the range of total Cosmic Awareness, and focusing on the feel of the Power Stone's unique energy signature.

If my guess was right, the Mad Celestial was doing the same, in his own way.

And that brings another problem to the front. What will I do? I don't think I can kill a Celestial by myself, at least not yet. But, I also don't want to ask anyone for help. This is my one chance to prove myself, to prove to everyone that I am strong!

My Axes aren't enough to harm the Celestial by themselves, but I know a thing or two that can make them good enough. The most obvious being Cosmic Energy. I haven't tried it yet, but imbuing my Axes with Cosmic Energy should make it sharp enough to harm a Celestial.

Well, no time like the present to test it, I suppose.

Standing up, I start walking towards the Armoury, and say, "Sonny, can you see if there's anything about Celestial Armour within your data banks? It's not a priority as of now, so take your time."

"Of course, sir." Sonny says, and returns to scanning.

Stopping in front of one of the Apocalypse armour, I sigh, and summon my Axe to my hand. I'd already found that the axe itself doesn't do the Celestial material any harm. No matter how hard I hit with my axes, even the Apocalypse armour remained unharmed, with noe even a scratch.

So, I cover it with Cosmic Energy, and enforce the Axe as much as I can, without destroying it. The Axe hums, as a white glow surrounds it. Taking a deep breath, I swing my arm, and hit the chest of the Apocalypse armour that En Sabah Nur was supposed to wear.

Opening my eyes, not knowing when I closed them, I see the Axe half an inch within the armour. It cut, but not deep enough. It won't harm the Celestial any more than it will me.

Before I can think up anything else, a ping occurs in my Echolocation, finding the trace of the Power Stone's energy. The stone itself was still not found, but this trace was enough.

Because I know that the Celestial will be going there.

Pulling the axe out, I start putting the other, unharmed Apocalypse armour on, and yell, "Sonny! Connect to this armour, and inform me if you find the Celestial!"

"Of course, Sir." Sonny answers.

Cracking my neck, I teleport above the planet, outside the atmosphere, and shoot towards the trace of the Power Stone. An orange portal opens up in front of me, and instantly takes me light-years away from my planet.

Another portal takes me even more further away from that place.

Each portal takes me hundreds of Light years away from my previous location, and closer towards the Power Stone's source. And during all this time, my Cosmic Energy is busy with it's Echolocation, trying to find the actual Power Stone.

Mid flight, I sigh, nervousness literally oozing from me. This was not going to be like my fight with Satannish, nor was it going to be like Cuchulain or even Bast.

This was going to become my first fight with a Celestial, and I was at a severe disadvantage. Hopefully, I can delay him, or teleport him away.

Even with the portals to speed my travel, it takes me a few hours of travel to get to the atmosphere of the planet that once housed the Power Stone. Fairly recently, if my senses were correct.

The planet was average in size, fairly similar to Earth. For a second, I even mistook it for Earth. What was different from Earth, however, is the fact that there were literal caches of Power Stone's energy, spread out all over the planet, but there was one spot, where it was leagues above the rest of them.

Shaking my head, I fly downwards, and towards the place I can feel the highest concentration of Residual Power Stone energy from.

All the while, I keep a small portal to the ship open, so Sonny can inform me if he detects the Mad Celestial. Celestiknull? Yup, that's better.

My destination, the source of the residual energy, turns out to be a cave, which was over 3 Kilometres above ground level, on a mountain. Knowing that there's a person inside, I float towards the cave opening, and shout in, "I promise I'm not here to cause any troubles."

"That's what they all say!" a raspy, but distinctly female voice shouts back at me, from inside the cave.

Frowning, as the voice sounds as if the person is in pain, I ask, "May I come in? I can heal you."

For a few seconds, nothing happens, but then a woman walks out of the cave. I look her over, and discreetly scan her with my Echolocation. The woman was not a God, and definitely not injured. However, she was an immortal, an Eternal, if my guess was right.

She was dark skinned, black haired, and definitely human looking. She was wearing what looked like skin tight armour, and had a cape on her shoulder. Most of all, she had a small amount of active Cosmic Energy within her.

"Are you an Eternal?" I gently ask, hoping to confirm my guess.

Widening her eyes in shock, the woman goes into a fighting stance, and fires a Beam of Cosmic Energy at my face, from both her fists.

Eternals are mortals, that were experimented on by the Celestials, and turned Immortal. They don't age beyond their prime, and they can use Cosmic Energy for various purposes.

However, this does not make them stronger than Gods, usually, and their Cosmic Energy Manipulation is not as powerful as they might expect. It will definitely harm the minor Gods of Earth, but the Higher Gods will still be able to bear the pain.

Allowing the beam to hit my face, I wince only a little, and say, "Now, that wasn't nice. Here I am, offering to heal your companion, and you attack me."

"What are you?!" the woman yells, taking a step back in fear.

Frowning, feeling offended a bit, I answer, "My name is Theos. I'm the Elder God of a planet called Donna. And once again, I am here to actually help."

The woman gulps, hearing the term 'Elder God', and starts leading me inside the cave.

And I actually am an Elder God, but not of Donna. Well, probably of that planet too, since there are no other Gods. Huh. Technically, I'm also an Elder of the Universe, am I not?

I am the only living being of my race, a half Celestial, half Elder God. Or do Hybrids not count? Food for thought, I suppose.

"I haven't heard of this planet Donna. Where is it?" the lady asks, as we walk inside, bringing me out of my thoughts.

Looking down at her, not figuratively, I say, "You wouldn't have. Donna and this planet have 37 galaxies between them."

She suddenly stops and conjures a sword out of her hand, that looked like a Light Saber, and placing it horizontally on my chest, she asks, "That's too far away from here. Why are you here?"

I scowl at her, thinking, 'How dare she question my motives, when I'm offering to help them out of the goodness of my heart!' but then, I take a deep breath, knowing that it's suspicious.

Some unknown being appears, offering to help, and is from 37 Galaxies away? Yeah..

I answer, "You and your companion recently came across a Gem, that gave her untold strengths. How she found it, I don't know, nor do I know what she needed it for. You might have your reasons."

Pausing, I grip the light saber, and absorb the energy within myself. Glaring at the woman, as the sword completely dissolves, I whisper, "What I do know, is that there is currently a being out there, looking for it, and your companion reeks of the Energy Signature of the Infinity Stone. If I could sense it across 37 galaxies, then that being can definitely do it too."

"Enough, Kali." Another voice says, as the woman starts to conjure another Cosmic Saber, to try and attack me.

Looking to my left, I find the previously invisible injured Eternal becoming visible. She was dark skinned too, and taller than this.. Kali, and she was definitely once beautiful. What was more eye catching, however, was the burnt skin on the right side of her body, even covering half her face.

Scowling at the injuries she sports, I ask, "What was so important that you risked death by Radiation poisoning?"

"War." The Eternal shortly answers, and then asks, "Can you really heal me?"

Nodding, I say, "I can remove the excess Energy that's still within you, and I can heal your body. But, I cannot guarantee that you will be healed completely."

Frowning, the woman stands up, leaning heavily on her left side, and asks, "Why?"

Pointing towards the burnt skin, I answer, "You touched an Infinity Stone and used it to empower yourself. It's not something that just.. goes away. You're already lucky that you're not dead, but that can be excused by your Eternal heritage. Now, sit down, and tell the rest of your tale while I heal you."

The woman nods, and sits her ass back down on the rock she was using as a chair. Frowning, I wave my hand and change the rock to become a soft bed, allowing her to sleep.

Briefly widening her eyes at my use of Magic, the woman offers me her right hand, which once held the Power Stone, and begins speaking while I begin Eating the Power Stone's energy within her.

She says, "I am called Chhaya, and the girl pointing her sword at your neck is my sister, Kali."

Snorting, I whisper, "Not like that's going to do anything to me." Without looking back at the still vigilant Kali. But, I do respect the vigilance.

Smiling nervously, Chhaya continues, and says, "We are Eternals, both of us born 2000 years ago. For centuries, we were at war with the Deviants of our planet, led by the Deviant Sora. While we are stronger, they were greater in number, so the war was never won by any side, and kept going for years."

I'd absorbed about half the Energy within her, which had slowly allowed the blackened skin to lighten up.

Smiling at the proof of my claims, Chhaya says, "Alas, the war was in the end, inconsequential. Another enemy came, while we were busy fighting each other, and waged war on both of our races."

"What were they?" I ask, done with absorbing the Power Stone's energy from Chhaya's body.

Although I absorbed almost all of it, some energy will always remain with her. The Power Stone has definitely changed her from within.

My hand takes on a green glow, as I start healing the Eternal of the injuries she sustained, and whisper healing spells under my breath.

Sighing in relief, probably feeling that she's not dying yet, Chhaya says, "They called themselves the Brood. Led by the Brood Queen, there were barely a hundred of those… Insects, that came to Induk, this planet. But.."

Brood. I think I'd read something about it in my previous life, but not extensively. I would have remembered it if I had. But I can't guarantee that it's the same Brood that she's talking about.

Gulping, she says, "They.. multiplied, like crazy. They would infect the Eternals and Deviants alike, and take over their bodies. For over 3 decades, we fought an endless war with them, Deviants and Eternals united, but they would just take over our dead and attack again. So.. Kali and I left, in search of the legendary items of power. In search of the Infinity Stones."

"And you found one." I needlessly state, standing up.

There was just one lightning scar on the right side of her face, that went down to her stomach, and to her right palm, to show that she had used the Power Stone.

Standing up, she tests her body, and finding it perfectly healed, she whispers, "Amazing! I thought I would die for sure, leaving Kali alone in this world."

Kali approaches Chhaya, and the two hug, crying in relief. But, there's probably a lot of sadness there too. As she just said, they are the only two beings left alive on this planet.

Chhaya keeps Kali on her left, holding her hand, and then says, "Yes. We found the Power Stone. It was kept hidden, on the last planet that it was used in. The planet was lifeless, and no one was there to guard it, so I took it with me, and used it."

"The stone made me stronger, and it made my Energy attacks a lot more destructive. I and Kali killed the Brood infected beings, and then I confronted the Brood Queen myself. We fought for hours, after which I finally managed to kill her." Chhaya's voice sounds a bit rough in the end, and I understand, without her speaking.

She fought with, and killed her allies, her friends, and probably her family too. The only reason Kali survived was that she left with Chhaya to search for the Stone.

Sighing, I say, "Well, I can only wish you the best of luck in your future life. It won't be easy, but you're Eternals, so I think you can figure it out. And you're strong. To use the Power Stone without dying is not an easy task. You survived."

Chhaya nods, and then bows low. She says, "Thank you, Theos of Donna. For giving me a second chance at life."

Chuckling, I say, "I haven't given you it yet. From the looks of it, the Brood was either a very small race, or this was a very small group of them. If it is so, then the rest of the Brood will definitely get curious about this planet. My advice, leave this planet and go somewhere else. If the Brood returns, I don't think you two will be able to handle them alone."

Chhaya nods, smiling sadly, while Kali says, "I had already planned on it, if Chhaya had died. There was nothing here for me anyway."

Turning to Kali, I say, "You are a good sister, Kali. I wish you the best of luck." Then, I turn to Chhaya, and open my mouth to ask where the Stone was now, when I feel my senses blaring, as an enormous Energy source reveals itself above the planet.

"Sir! I detected the Mad Celestial from E-4280! He just came out of Hyperspace right outside the atmosphere of the planet you're on!" Sonny's voice yells in my ear, through the connection I'd kept open.

Funnily enough, even I detected him, Sonny.

"He's here." I whisper, horror filling my body.

This.. Celestiknull was a lot stronger than I'd thought previously. Just.. just being in the vicinity of him felt like being in Mother's full powered presence again. Only less.. pure.

I start jogging towards the cave opening, registering subconsciously that the ladies were following behind me.

Looking up, I see him. The Mad Celestial, full black in colour, with white accents, and white eyes. He was floating above the mountain, and while I couldn't guess how far he was, he was definitely tall as fuck.

"What the hell is that?!" Kali whispers with a crazy amount of fear in her voice, while Chhaya silently gapes at the Celestiknull.

Gulping, I answer, "That is a Celestial. And he's here looking for the Infinity Stone."

"That's one of the Sky Gods? He made us?" Kali asks, reverently, but still fearfully taking a step towards the Celestial, but Chhaya pulls her back.

Shaking my head, I grimly answer, "You remember the Brood? He's been infected by something far worse than that. Whatever Sky God he used to be, he is not it now. Right now, he's just destruction incarnate."

One word comes out of both their mouths, and it perfectly expresses the situation for all three of us.

"Fuck!"

And boy, are we well and truly, fucked.

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A/N: Hope you guys liked the Eternal+Deviants vs Brood thing. PS: I hadn't planned on it lol.

Question: Should Theos claim the planet as his own, and allow life to regrow there? The two Eternals can rule there in his stead, as the first Gods.

Until next time! Tata!