White Cloak?
Hank Pym was momentarily stunned upon hearing Scott Lang's words. Meanwhile, Janet Van Dyneâhaving never heard of the name beforeâlooked utterly confused.
"White Cloak? Who is that?"
"And what does he have to do with the god I met?"
She frowned in puzzlement.
Scott and Hank exchanged glances before beginning to explain everything about White Cloak.
As their explanation unfolded, Janet's expression shifted from curiosity to utter shock.
The god from the Quantum Realm was also a god in the real world?
And his power was so overwhelming that he was nearly capable of destroying Earth?
That was simply insane!
As she silently processed this revelationâ
Elsewhere, Syd had long since flown away from the scene. He barely paid attention to the distant onlookers or the recording devices capturing his actions. Instead, his mind was preoccupied with a different matter.
"There are only a few years left before the Celestial inside Earth is fully formed... Should I just deal with the Celestial now?"
If left unchecked, who knew whether the Celestial would eventually break through the planet and emerge?
In the original timeline, the Eternals had stopped the emergence.
But now?
With all the changes he had caused, could the future still unfold the same way?
Syd doubted it.
The countless battles Earth had enduredâthe wars, the cataclysmic eventsâsurely, the slumbering Celestial had been disturbed countless times.
That alone was enough to alter the course of history.
If the Celestial could no longer tolerate the disturbances and decided to emerge ahead of schedule...
He pondered for a moment before murmuring, "I should head to the Earth's core and see for myself. As for the Celestial... I'll decide what to do depending on the situation."
With that, he retrieved the Space Stone.
Since he had no clear picture of the Earth's core, a direct teleportation was too risky. Similarly, a portal spell wouldn't be reliable without a proper anchor.
Thus, the Space Stone was his best option.
In the next moment, the blue glow of the Space Stone illuminated his surroundings.
A beam of blue energy shot from the stone, striking the empty air before him.
As more energy poured in, a tunnel-like passageway materializedâseemingly leading straight into the Earth's core.
Seemingly.
Because even Syd wasn't completely sure.
After all, this was purely based on instinct. There was a chance he had miscalculated and ended up too deepâor too shallow.
With this thought in mind, he turned his full attention to the tunnel.
At the same time, due to his earlier pauses and slow flight, many people had already noticed his presenceâalong with the unusual blue energy gateway.
...
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters.
"What the hell is White Cloak doing now?"
Nick Fury stared at the screen in bewilderment, his single eye narrowing in suspicion.
The mysterious figure had just used the Space Stone to open some kind of passage.
But leading to where?
Not just Furyâcountless others across the globe had their eyes fixed on the glowing blue portal, curiosity and apprehension filling their minds.
Back in the skyâ
Ignoring the gazes directed at him, Syd peered deep into the shimmering tunnel.
Inside, faint lights flickered, revealing an eerie, vast cavern beyond.
To see more clearly, Syd manipulated the light, illuminating the tunnel with the intensity of broad daylight.
Everything came into focus.
The passage led into a circular tunnel that stretched far into an unknown abyss.
But what was truly unsettlingâ
The tunnel's walls were completely covered in egg-like sacs.
Yellow-green, bulbous eggs.
They were densely packed, filling every inch of space.
For anyone with trypophobia, the sight would be an absolute nightmare.
"This... is the Earth's core?"
Syd was momentarily stunned.
Did I... go to the wrong place?
Why are there so many disgusting insect eggs here?!
A sudden thought crossed his mind, and his expression darkened.
"Could these be... Brood Eggs?"
A memory surfaced.
There had long been an ancient legend whispered throughout the universeâ
A terrifying species known as the Brood.
Unlike typical locusts that devoured crops, these cosmic locusts devoured entire planets.
Wherever the Brood Swarm passed, entire worlds, even galaxies, were left completely consumed.
"Now that I think about it... aren't the Brood somehow connected to the Celestials?"
"And... aren't they technically a parasite species?"
Syd's expression became thoughtful.
The reason for their connection was simpleâ
At some point, the Brood discovered something even more valuable than planetsâCelestials.
Compared to planets, Celestials contained far greater energy reserves, making them an even richer food source.
In fact, a Celestial named Progenitor had once been infected by the Brood.
Like a human contracting a virus, Progenitor crash-landed on Earth over four billion years agoâwhere he ultimately died.
His vomit, blood, and biological fluids seeped into the planet's soil and water, transforming Earth in ways unseen anywhere else in the universe.
This event fundamentally altered Earth's biology, making it a uniquely volatile, mutation-prone world.
Unlike other planets, Earth had been infused with Celestial genetic material, explaining why it became a breeding ground for superhumans, mutants, and extraordinary beings.
In essenceâ
The dead Celestial had unknowingly shaped Earth's evolutionary future.
As a result, he became known as The Progenitorâthe ancestor of all life on Earth.
But that wasn't all.
Because of Progenitor's death, the Brood Swarm had taken residence within the Earth's core.
"So that's why the Celestials kept returning to Earth..."
"They weren't just monitoring evolutionâthey were searching for their lost kin, Progenitor."
Syd's eyes swept across the endless masses of eggs, feeling an uncomfortable shiver run down his spine.
If these Brood Eggs hatched, the creatures within would likely see him as a feastâjust like they had with Progenitor.
In fact, they might be even more aggressive toward him.
After all, the divine energy radiating from him was nothing short of a feast for them.
Would he be immune to their infection?
He wasn't sure.
But one thing was certainâ
Even the Celestials struggled against the Brood Swarm.
"But with my Sunshine and Chaos Magic, these things shouldn't be able to do much to me... right?"
He wasn't entirely convinced.
With that in mind, his gaze returned to the Brood Eggs.
There were countless of themâ
Most remained intact, indicating they were still in a dormant state.
Butâ
A few eggs had cracked open.
Something had already hatchedâ
And it was nowhere to be seen.
(End of Chapter)
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