allendalepharm Chapter 145 Earth-838
Chapter 145 Earth-838
The Holy Lord stood on the circular platform, his gaze piercing through the void, locking onto the blue-white light suspended in the center of the furnace. Half of an octagonal stone, engraved with a tiger's head, remained still within the light.
That's the sunny side of the Tiger Talisman.
Wanda stood to the side of the Holy Lord, red chaotic magic flowing from her fingertips, forming a high-pressure barrier that isolated energy.
"Put away the magic," the Holy Lord said.
Wanda flicked her wrist, the red light dissipated, and she took a half step back, returning to behind the Holy Lord.
Ripples spread across the void ahead, and the phantom of the Seeker Ethan reformed, becoming even more solid than it had been on Olympia.
Immediately afterwards, the metal structures at the edge of the forging yard began to shift. Five enormous silhouettes emerged one after another: hexagonal, multi-eyed, heavily armored. Each one was the size of a small planet.
Celestial Group.
Thanos tightened his grip on his sword. Even at his peak, with his entire fleet, he'd only be cannon fodder against this force. Now, three of them were facing six Celestials. He glanced at the Holy Lord in front of him. The Holy Lord didn't even raise an eyebrow.
"Welcome to the Forge." Ethan's mental energy echoed through the space.
"Quite a spectacle," the Holy Lord remarked, looking ahead.
"This is a basic defense protocol," Ethan responded. "Your power level has triggered the highest alert. Collectors, Detectors, Eradicators, Analysts, Testers. They are merely projections; the real entities remain in their respective sectors."
The Holy Lord had no interest in these titles. "I saw the thing, but only half of it."
"The positive side of the Tiger Talisman," Ethan thought calmly. "The negative side isn't here with us."
"Where?"
"They're in the hands of 'Judge' Aritham." Ethan paused for a moment. "He's not currently in this universe. An 'anomaly' occurred in a parallel universe designated Earth-838, and the Judge went to handle it."
"Parallel universes," the Holy Lord said calmly. The Space Stone was operating within him; traversing individual universes was not a problem, but precise coordinates were required.
"We can provide the coordinates," Ethan said readily. "In exchange, we'd like you to leave this universe."
Thanos understood. The Celestials were essentially sending a plague god to the gods. They couldn't defeat him, or rather, they felt fighting him would be too costly, so they simply handed over the item, along with a free ticket, and sent this guy to wreak havoc on other universes.
"You do have some self-awareness." The Holy Lord strode towards the towering furnace that reached into the clouds.
The moment he stepped off the circular platform, the energy flow throughout the forging field changed.
The previously gently flowing cosmic energy suddenly became violent, transforming into several high-energy rays that intertwined into an impenetrable net. Twelve ring-shaped force fields rose around the furnace, each radiating fluctuations powerful enough to annihilate stars.
The Celestials' defense mechanism is passively activated.
The eyes of the five celestial beings projected onto the surface of their bodies shone with a blinding light, and energy gathered on their bodies.
Wanda's fingertips glowed red again.
The Holy Lord raised his hand, without using the power of any gems or casting any spells.
He looked disdainfully at the energy net and the layers of ring-shaped force fields in front of him, and said, "You think you can stop me with my things?"
The words fell.
The tiger tally at the center of the furnace trembled on its sunny side.
The blue-white light reversed, and the high-energy rays that intertwined into a net dissipated in mid-air, transforming back into a gentle flow of energy. The energy that had gathered on the surface of the five celestial projections also dissipated.
The defense array collapsed on its own.
The Tiger Talisman is a manifestation of the power of balance. Even with its incomplete yang aspect, its harmony and control over energy have reached the level of rules. The Celestials' attempt to use energy to build a defense to block the talisman's owner is itself a logical paradox.
Ethan's phantoms made no move; they were products of calculation. The collapse of the defense mechanism was within their expectations, or rather, this was a test—a test of the Holy Lord's control over power.
The Holy Lord walked to the furnace and extended his right hand.
The half-stone that was suspended in the center flew into his palm.
The moment they made contact, the stone merged into their bodies.
The power of the Tiger Talisman flowed through his body, and this power quickly resonated with the other talismans within him.
The red light of the Reality Stone, the blue light of the Space Stone, and the yellow light of the Mind Stone flashed alternately on the face of the Sage before finally disappearing.
Wanda gazed at Shendu's retreating figure, her eyes filled with undisguised adoration; this was the being she followed.
"Coordinates." The Holy Lord turned to look at Ethan.
Ethan raised his hand, and a stream of information containing complex spatial parameters was transmitted directly to him.
The Holy Lord received the message. Earth-838.
"Do we need to open the passage?" Ethan asked.
"No need," the Holy Lord refused.
With the power of the Space Stone activated and harmonized by the Yang aspect of the Tiger Talisman, Shendu's mastery of the laws of space reached a new level. He no longer needed to tear space apart as before, but instead directly modified his own spatial coordinates.
He looked at Wanda and Thanos.
The blue light enveloped the three of them.
"Good luck." Ethan's thoughts echoed in the empty forge.
The blue light dissipated, and the circular platform was now empty.
The five celestial projections looked at Ethan.
"The threat has been eliminated." Ethan sent a message to the other Celestials: "The judges of Earth-838 will handle the rest."
"What if the judge can't handle it?" the analyst asked.
Ethan paused for a moment, then said, "That's outside our calculations."
Earth-838.
new York.
The streets here are much cleaner than in the main universe, and the green areas are ridiculously large.
A blue light flashed across the streets of Manhattan, and Shendu, Wanda, and Thanos appeared out of thin air.
Pedestrians around stopped and stared at the three strangely dressed uninvited guests.
Thanos's over two-meter-tall purple body was too conspicuous, not to mention that he was also carrying a huge double-edged sword.
Two patrol drones flew over and hovered in mid-air, their red scanning beams sweeping over the three people.
"Warning: Unregistered superhuman individual. Please remain where you are. The Illuminati Response Force is on its way." A synthesized voice rang out on the street.
"The Illuminati," the Holy Lord uttered the name.
Thanos turned to look at him. "Need to be cleaned up?"
"Ignore it." The Holy Lord glanced at the sky. He could sense a subtle energy barrier above the planet, a trace left by the Celestials. Judge Arisham was nearby.
Wanda twitched her finger slightly, and the two drones instantly turned into a pile of scrap metal and fell to the ground.
"Find the person," the Holy Lord commanded.
Thanos slammed his sword into the ground, causing spiderweb-like cracks to appear. "How do we find it?"
"Just ask." The Holy Lord looked towards the end of the street.
Several flying armored vehicles bearing the "Illuminati" logo roared in. Fully armed soldiers jumped out of the vehicles, their energy guns aimed at the three men.
A man wearing a blue uniform with the number "4" printed on his chest stepped out of the last car.
Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards.
Reed looked at the three people before him, his gaze lingering on Thanos for a couple more seconds. "Titans? You don't belong to this universe."
"You've got a quick mind." The Holy Lord looked at him. "Where is Aristam?"