"He's not really a bad person; he's just following my father's orders." Galantra stepped forward, explaining to Robert when she noticed his questioning gaze.
"Is that so?" Robert nodded in understanding. From the Silver Surfer's perspective, he was merely carrying out orders. Even from Galactus's perspective, he wasn't doing anything particularly evil—he just wanted to eat.
Even after being defeated by Robert, Galactus didn't feel his actions were wrong. Earth was just a challenging target, so he moved on to a different "meal." Just like regular people need food and water to survive, Galactus needed the energy of specific planets to sustain himself. He was simply trying to live.
Of course, if Robert had a way to inflict significant damage on Galactus, he wouldn't have let him off so easily. Galactus had targeted Earth for consumption, which was unacceptable to Robert. After all, even Thanos, who had only ever planned to target Earth, had already been dealt with by Robert.
"I stayed behind out of curiosity about Earth's uniqueness…" Silver Surfer's voice suddenly sounded, but it wasn't audible. Instead, it echoed telepathically in the minds of everyone present.
"You've been traveling with Galactus for so long; surely you've seen plenty of planets. What makes Earth so special?" Robert raised a curious eyebrow and subtly gestured for the Avengers to remain silent.
"I have indeed seen countless planets. In fact, I've probably seen every type of celestial body the universe has to offer. While Galactus rests, we spend most of our time scouting for planets suitable for his consumption," Silver Surfer replied, his expression calm but his voice still echoing telepathically.
"But among all those planets, Earth stands out as truly unique. The universe itself is a dimension, yet Earth has managed to establish its own independent dimensional space within the universe. It's neither in conflict with nor fully integrated into the universe's dimension. That level of independence is extraordinary."
"Having its own dimension is unusual?" Kara asked, puzzled. In her mind, dimensions weren't all that remarkable. After all, realms like Wakanda's celestial plane, Helipolis, or even Asgard were all dimensions of their own.
"It's not just the existence of a dimension," Silver Surfer clarified telepathically. "Within a universe, subsidiary dimensions can exist. However, these dimensions cannot function independently—they always remain tethered to the primary universe dimension. Theoretically, there should only be one true primary dimension within a single universe."
"Earth's dimension is indeed unique, but we've known about that for a long time. Have you discovered any other anomalies about Earth's dimension?" Robert asked. While Silver Surfer's explanation made sense, Earth's dimensional peculiarity was no secret to Robert. It was precisely this uniqueness that had attracted so many entities and dimensions to Earth in the first place.
What really intrigued Robert wasn't Earth's unique dimension itself but the so-called consciousness of Earth's dimension. Neither the Ancient One, who had been stationed in Earth's dimension for centuries, nor the gods during their golden era had ever mentioned such an awareness.
Even though Earth had long been associated with deities like Gaia or other "earth gods," those divine entities were fundamentally different from the concept of a dimensional consciousness.
If Earth's dimensional consciousness were truly powerful, or if it could wield vast amounts of energy, it might have been able to hide its existence from both the gods and the Ancient One. But even so, Robert found the sudden emergence of this consciousness highly suspicious.
It felt more like this so-called consciousness had taken over Earth's dimension. From the moment it revealed itself, its behavior had been nothing short of bizarre.
Earlier, when dealing with Galactus, Robert had been more focused on gathering information about the cosmic gods and the Celestials, and he had temporarily set aside his doubts about Earth's dimension. But with his recent surge in power, he no longer viewed the dimension as a potential major threat.
Even if Earth's dimensional consciousness had the advantage of being on home turf, Robert didn't believe it could pose a significant danger to him—especially not when he was physically present on Earth and unaffected by dimensional restrictions.
"That's exactly what I wanted to talk about," Silver Surfer continued. "The fact that Earth even has a dimension is already unusual, but the existence of a conscious dimensional awareness is even more extraordinary.
"Most dimensions, even higher ones, only have something akin to instinctual awareness. These dimensions often rely on a ruling entity to govern and direct their energies. A dimension with an overdeveloped consciousness like this is almost unheard of."
"What about planets with inherent consciousness? Or planets that are living beings themselves?" Robert's eyes gleamed with curiosity as he posed his question telepathically, thinking of Ego, the Living Planet.
"Planets with consciousness? I've never encountered such a phenomenon. But as for planets that are living beings… I do know of one: Ego, a failed creation of the Celestials," Silver Surfer replied.
"Ego? He's already dead. I killed him," Robert interrupted before Silver Surfer could finish his explanation.
"Ego is dead? You killed him?" Silver Surfer's voice betrayed his surprise. But after recalling Robert's immense strength, he quickly accepted the information and continued, "Ego was an outlier. He was created by the Celestials but later abandoned. His existence was never representative of how the Celestials typically operate.
"Ordinarily, the Celestials plant their seeds within a planet, nurturing its growth and civilization. Once the planet has amassed enough energy—be it through its population or resources—the Celestial seed hatches, birthing a new Celestial. However, this process inevitably destroys the planet in the process."
"So, you're saying Earth doesn't fit the criteria for being a Celestial seed world?" Robert probed further.
"Not exactly. Judging by Earth's current state, it doesn't meet the necessary conditions for a Celestial to emerge. The planet doesn't seem to harbor a Celestial seed," Silver Surfer explained.
"No, Earth could very well harbor a Celestial seed," the Ancient One interjected. Her tone was grim as she shared her thoughts.
Although she had lost her memories of being taken by Earth's dimensional consciousness, the Ancient One remained deeply cautious of it.
Unlike Silver Surfer, she was aware of Earth's history as an experimental site for the Celestials. She also knew the Celestials had forcibly ended Earth's "Age of the Gods" to allow humanity's development to progress unimpeded.
Initially, neither the Ancient One nor the Avengers fully understood the Celestials' motives. But now, it was clear: if Earth remained under the dominion of the gods, its population and civilizations would never grow to the scale needed to hatch a Celestial.
"Actually, it's also possible that Earth's Celestial seed mutated into something similar to Ego, gaining control over Earth's dimensional consciousness," Robert speculated.
The Avengers exchanged uneasy glances. If this theory was correct, it explained why Earth's dimensional consciousness felt so different from other dimensions.
"Don't worry too much about it," Robert reassured them. "I know where the Celestials are hiding now. Whether Earth's dimensional consciousness is related to them or not, I'll find out soon enough."
"The Void?" Silver Surfer's voice telepathically echoed with recognition, but the Avengers looked at one another in confusion. They had never heard of such a place.
"Yes, the Void," Robert confirmed. "I came back mainly to let you know that Earth is safe now. With Galactus dealt with, it's time for me to resolve the Celestial situation and eliminate any remaining threats."
"And Darkseid?" Steve Rogers asked cautiously.
"I suspect Darkseid and Apokolips might also be hiding in the Void. But for now, my priority is the Celestials. Once I've scouted the Void, I'll return to deal with Darkseid—and maybe even bring you along," Robert said with a faint smile before disappearing into thin air.
When Robert entered the Void, his senses were immediately overwhelmed by the strangeness of the place. It didn't feel empty, as its name suggested, but rather charged with an unseen, almost oppressive energy.
"So this is the Void," Robert muttered, scanning his surroundings. Every inch of space here seemed infused with latent power, distinct from anything he had encountered in the known universe.
However, he didn't linger long on his observations. Instead, he focused on locating traces of the Celestials.
"I've found something—" Robert said to himself before stopping abruptly. He had detected a faint signal resembling the energy of the Celestial Enforcer he had fought before. But by the time he teleported to the location, it was already empty.
"Gone?" Robert frowned. "Did they sense me coming and flee back to the main universe?"
Robert quickly returned to the main universe to check, but he couldn't detect the Celestials' presence there either.
What he didn't know was that the Celestials had already fled to another universe entirely, their energies hidden from him.
"Why did we have to run? He's just one person!" a frustrated voice echoed among the Celestials in their new hiding place.
"You didn't hear what the Dimensional One reported? That Saiyan is now being referred to as a cosmic god—even by Galactus! If he can drive Galactus away, do you think we can defeat him?" the Enforcer snapped.
"But to activate the Interdimensional Convergence Project now… Are we sure this is the right move?" another voice hesitated.
"Our purpose hasn't changed," Arishem the Judge interjected firmly. "We were created from Eternity's will, and as long as Eternity exists, we are its extensions.
"By merging with other-dimensional counterparts, we will gain greater power—enough to surpass even the Eternity of a single universe. Once we've achieved that, not even the Saiyan will matter…"
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