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Have you ever seen a planet explode?
Hawk never had. Not up close. But he had now.
In the vast expanse of the cosmos, a figure standing over two hundred miles tall was struck by the spectral image of a golden Phoenix. The impact turned the being into a living javelin, hurling it through space at speeds exceeding light itself—
A trail of blazing fire marked its trajectory as it slammed into a Gas Giant an entire light-year away.
If that gas giant had a voice, it would have cursed its luck.
What had it done to deserve this?
Once Gargaratus, the Celestial, crashed into it, its fate was determined.
Because it exploded.
For a fraction of a second, time seemed to freeze.
When Gargaratus the Vibrator struck the gas giant, it left a massive indentation, resulting in an enormous impact crater.
Energy erupted outward from the epicenter in a rapidly expanding halo.
The colorful bands of gas that had adorned the planet's surface for eons were shredded, ripped apart, and hurled into the vacuum by the force.
A shockwave surged outward, expanding at a visible rate, laying waste to everything in its path.
Then there was nothing. No sound. Only light and color. The gas giant was ripped apart, collapsing in on itself before erupting in a final explosion.
The gas giant perished, but the Celestial did not.
He had survived.
It's well known in the cosmos: a Celestial's age and rank are indicated by the arrangement of the "eyes" on their faceplate. Three horizontal slits signify youth, while six arranged like the dots on a die signify adulthood.
This was only Gargaratus's third mission since he had come of age...
As the gas giant broke apart into a swirling nebula, Gargaratus's form—crafted from cosmic-grade Adamantium—emerged from the dust, glowing cherry red from the heat.
The six "eyes" on his faceplate lit up intensely, showing his anger.
Suddenly, six beams of crimson energy erupted from his faceplate. The beams converged into a single pillar of force, tearing across the half-light-year distance, aimed straight at Hawk, who stood hovering in the void, clad in the Phoenix Gold Cloth.
Hawk watched the incoming beam with cold eyes. He raised his right hand. The ruby-red eye of the spectral Phoenix projected behind him flashed, and the Aries Gold Cloth materialized before him.
"Crystal Wall!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Gargaratus poured his power into the assault, slamming it against the barrier.
The Crystal Wall trembled beneath the assault. It was supposed to withstand it without any difficulty.
Hawk's golden gaze shifted as he surveyed his surroundings, and he scoffed. "I'm no longer a rookie. Do you believe suppressing me and starving the ambient energy in my sector will make a difference? I don't require your universe's energy."
From the moment Hawk engaged the Celestial, the primary universe had been suppressing him.
When it realized it couldn't restrict his power, it had drained the sector, creating a vacuum of cosmic energy around him.
It was rigging the fight.
But Hawk didn't care.
He was the intruder. Gargaratus was a native entity, an agent of the universe's order. It was natural the universe would stack the deck.
Too bad for them, Hawk didn't need the primary universe's energy.
When he comprehended the Seventh Sense and his Cosmo evolved into the Golden Phoenix Cosmos, his inner world was no longer a "small universe." It was a true Universe. The only difference between it and physical reality was that he hadn't manifested it yet.
Therefore, his universe generated its own energy.
Hawk smiled. As the spectral Phoenix behind him beat its wings and let out a cry, the Aries Gold Cloth mirrored his movements, raising its right hand and aiming it at the six-eyed Celestial.
"Watch closely. This is the strike that shatters stars."
"Stardust Revolution!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The vacuum of space seemed to tear open. Billions of points of light erupted from the right hand of the Aries Gold Cloth—manifested through the Reality Stone. With zero delay, these billions of stars materialized around Gargaratus the Vibrator, coalescing into a swirling localized galaxy.
And then… The miniature galaxy unleashed a storm of meteors, a vortex of cosmic destruction.
Caught in the epicenter of this rotating localized universe, Gargaratus felt a force capable of obliterating everything it touched.
CRACK!
The Adamantium plating on Gargaratus's shoulder peeled back, torn open by the centrifugal force.
CRACK!
The armor on his forearms fractured and gave way.
Then his right arm, his thighs. In the blink of an eye, the Celestial was being shredded, reduced to a battered wreck.
It was then, for the first time since the battle began, that Gargaratus the Vibrator broke his silence.
"AAAAAH—!!!" The scream was agony in its purest form.
Defying the laws of physics in the vacuum of space, the Celestial's scream radiated outward at the speed of light, carrying his pain across the cosmos.
At that instant, the Dimensional Lords, Planetary Gods, and Pantheon Heads—who had tuned into the sector the moment the battle started—observed silently. As Hawk tore apart a mature Celestial, a shared shiver ran through them.
Any of those entities who had harbored a thought of stepping in to "uphold the universe's order" against the intruder had that notion erased from their minds.
They watched, assuming Hawk was about to deliver the killing blow.
But he didn't.
With a thought, Hawk disengaged the attack. The swirling nebula of Stardust Revolution spat Gargaratus out, then dissolved back into golden light.
Gargaratus was left drifting in the void, looking like a giant beaten beggar.
He struggled, thrashing weakly, trying to right himself in zero gravity.
BAM!
His head whipped backward, his frame jerking upright before plunging into a free-fall spin.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Gargaratus slammed back-first onto a solid, invisible telekinetic platform Hawk had manifested behind him.
The next second, Hawk descended, planting his golden armored boot on Gargaratus's face, digging his heel into the bottom two "eyes" of the Celestial's six-dot configuration.
Enraged, Gargaratus roared, swinging his right hand—the size of a planetary mountain range—in a desperate attempt to swat the God standing on his face.
Hawk didn't even look. His eyes flashed with golden fire. Instead of aiming for the incoming hand, he unleashed a surgical strike with his Phoenix Ray into the joint of Gargaratus's right shoulder.
The arm severed. Even as it drifted away, Gargaratus's left arm was already coming around for a second attempt.
And then… The first armless Celestial in the history of the universe was born.
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"Hiss!"
"All-Father protect us."
"Is this Phoenix always this savage?"
"Did you not hear his ascension declaration?"
"I heard it, and I saw his past. But I didn't think he was this ruthless. Where did he even come from?"
"He has to be from outside the universe. Didn't you see how the cosmos rejected him?"
"A lot of good that rejection did."
"The ambient energy in his sector was drained. How is he still so powerful? He can't be generating his own energy, can he?"
"Only the universe knows. I'm just curious how long it'll take Arishem to show up."
"Probably not anytime soon. Word is, he crossed into a parallel multiverse."
"So, what happens now? Does this mean our galaxy gets its own Knowhere? The original Knowhere was built inside a severed Celestial head, right?"
"Speaking of Knowhere, who killed that Celestial anyway?"
"Knu—"
"SHUT UP. WE DO NOT SPEAK THAT NAME."
Cosmic entities watched Hawk's display of brutality, whispering amongst themselves, speculating on his power source, wondering if Arishem would intervene, and debating the real estate value of a severed Celestial head.
But they were bound to be disappointed.
Hawk had no intention of killing Gargaratus.
He needed this armless Celestial to drag himself back to his kin and deliver a message.
"Gargaratus!"
"My name is Phoenix. Hawk Phoenix."
"My wife, Gwen Phoenix, has been imprisoned by Time on an Earth in a parallel multiverse."
"You and your kind are going to bring her back to me."
"You can, of course, refuse."
"But know this. I am not Thanos."
"I am not as merciful as Thanos, and I don't fear you like he does."
"You are welcome to try and kill me."
"I invite you to try."
"But you have one month. One month to bring my Gwen back to me."
"If you fail—"
"I will visit every life-bearing planet where you have planted one of your Celestial seeds, and I will reduce that planet to ash."
"Remember what I said. EVERY SINGLE ONE."
"If a single hair on her head is harmed, I will not only destroy this universe, but I will eradicate every universe in the multiverse where a Celestial exists."
CRUNCH!
"AAAAAH!!!"
Hawk pressed his boot down harder, crushing the two "eyes" beneath his heel. Gargaratus let out a scream far worse than before.
The next second, Hawk blurred into view beneath the writhing Celestial. He delivered a full-power kick, launching Gargaratus through space, sending him hurtling thirty light-years away in a single impact.
Hawk watched until the Celestial was nothing more than a disappearing speck of light.
He closed his eyes, fighting to suppress the murderous intent threatening to consume him.
Just then, a familiar voice echoed in his mind.
"Daddy, where are you?"
"…"
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