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CRACK!
With the mournful groan of shattering metal, the second Phoenix Cloth covering Hawk's body—which had barely held on this long—finally gave out. It crumbled into countless tiny fragments, peeling away from his body and falling toward the Kong Canyon below.
A rain of golden shards drifted through the air like a shower of glittering snow.
Hawk looked down at the falling pieces of his Cloth, then raised his head toward the direction where Ikaris had just vanished.
This second Cloth had already been on its last legs after multiple sparring sessions with Thor. That was the whole reason he'd thought to forge the Black Phoenix Surplice using Underworld gemstones in the first place.
But while the Black Phoenix Surplice was comparable to a Gold Cloth in power, the incomplete nature of his Underworld's Law meant it could only be worn briefly—or only in realms of the dead.
So—
The Black Phoenix Surplice was great, but nothing beat the real deal.
A TRUE GOLD CLOTH.
And now, Hawk had finally found all three materials he needed to forge one.
That's right.
Before his fight with Ikaris, he'd only found substitutes for Orichalcum and Gammanium.
But after fighting Ikaris, he'd discovered a substitute for the third material—Star Sand.
It wasn't anything exotic.
It was the golden lava flowing throughout the Hollow World.
Because that wasn't lava at all. It was energy. More specifically, it was the life energy meant to incubate the Celestial seed Tiamat buried inside Earth.
That was also why the Hollow World had given birth to so many mountains made of pure Adamantium.
And more importantly, Hawk finally understood why his Sixth Sense had flagged the Celestials as enemies rather than allies.
Well, yeah. Obviously.
If he drained the life energy meant to incubate Earth's Celestial seed, Tiamat's emergence would be delayed by God knows how many years.
When the other Celestials eventually showed up and saw him, they'd know immediately that he'd stolen Tiamat's life force. Of course they'd want him dead.
Anyone would be furious if a stranger showed up and stole their sibling's milk.
But, Furious or not, he was still taking it.
Tiamat wasn't going to emerge anyway. Besides, he was only using a portion of it to forge his Gold Cloth. It wasn't like he was killing Tiamat.
Tiamat probably wouldn't mind...
Here's a fun fact—
When the time came for Tiamat to emerge, the Celestial couldn't bear to see Earth destroyed. So he helped Sersi seal himself away instead.
That wasn't speculation.
Sersi said it herself.
In the original storyline, after successfully sealing Tiamat, Sersi told the other Eternals that she'd been about to fail—but Tiamat had joined the Uni-Mind network and given her the massive energy boost she needed to complete the seal.
So, If Tiamat chose not to emerge when the time came anyway, what difference did a few more years make?
Hawk's gaze shifted back toward the tunnel leading to the Hollow World.
The next second, his form flickered and vanished, disappearing back into the Hollow World.
Ikaris was gone. Which meant it was time to collect his prize.
...
Back in the Iwi village.
Peter and Felicia sat outside their hut, staring up at the sky with their mouths hanging open. They'd watched the entire fight. Neither of them had moved.
After a long moment, Felicia snapped out of it first.
"Peter."
"Yeah?"
"There's someone else on the island that strong?"
"Yeah."
Peter nodded, frowning. "He could fly. Black hair. And he looked kind of like the Iwi. Why do I get the feeling that guy was the 'Divine Ancestor' they keep talking about?"
Felicia frowned. "That can't be right. If that guy really was their ancestor, the Iwi wouldn't need Kong to protect them."
Peter nodded.
"True."
"Peter."
"What?"
"Good thing you didn't go after him."
"..."
Peter and Felicia locked eyes. And in that moment, the air between them thickened with something disgustingly sweet.
...
In the Hollow World.
Hawk stood before a massive floating mountain—one made entirely of Adamantium.
"Phoenix Heart!"
"SCREEE—"
The Phoenix phantom materialized behind him instantly. Its massive, flaming wings unfurled and wrapped around the mountain. Then, in a flash, both vanished.
At the same time, The enormous Adamantium mountain silently appeared inside Hawk's Cosmo.
Hawk didn't hesitate. His form flickered again, reappearing in front of another floating mountain.
The Phoenix phantom flashed repeatedly. One mountain after another disappeared into his inner universe. By the time the mental warning from his Sixth Sense kicked in, he'd already claimed ten Adamantium mountains.
He stopped immediately.
A moment later—
Hawk's feet touched solid ground. He reappeared at the edge of a churning river of golden energy.
It was only after Ikaris had slammed him into this golden lava that Hawk had realized what it truly was.
From a certain perspective, he owed Ikaris a thank-you.
Sure, Ikaris had shattered his Cloth. But Ikaris had also led him straight to the final ingredient he needed to complete a true Gold Cloth.
This golden lava—brimming with infinite life energy—was the perfect substitute for Gammanium. It would serve as the bridge connecting Uru metal and Adamantium while imbuing the Phoenix Gold Cloth with true life.
Hawk reached out and plunged his right hand into the golden lava. The moment his hand made contact, the Phoenix Heart in his Cosmo opened its eyes.
Instantly—
The sky above his inner universe split open like a cracked egg. The golden lava—composed entirely of pure life energy—poured into his Cosmo like a waterfall.
The moment the golden river entered Hawk's Cosmo, it split into countless tributaries, flowing rapidly toward every corner of his inner universe.
And if you looked closely, A lifelike phoenix, its wings spread wide enough to blanket the entire Cosmo, was slowly taking shape, nourished by the immense life force.
After all, this was the energy meant to birth a new Celestial.
The sheer magnitude of that power was staggering.
And now Hawk was claiming it for himself.
As the energy flowed in, Hawk felt his suppressed Cosmo surge back to life. His power climbed rapidly, visibly recovering with every passing second.
As the phoenix within his Cosmo solidified—fueled by the torrent of life energy—Hawk's Cosmo returned to its peak.
Even though an invisible divine force was still trying to suppress him—
The Phoenix fears nothing!
Inside his Cosmo, the fully materialized Phoenix spread its wings and cried out. Undying flames roared to life. One by one, embryonic stars began to form.
In the blink of an eye, the number of stars in Hawk's Cosmo had visibly multiplied. Once these stars fully matured, his Silver Sixth Sense Cosmo would reach its absolute peak.
Right now, Feeling the warning from his Sixth Sense, Hawk didn't hesitate. He pulled his hand back.
The moment he withdrew, the golden lava resumed its natural flow. The brief interruption ended, and the river of energy continued surging toward the Celestial seed still gestating deep within Earth's core.
Standing at the edge of the molten river, Hawk gazed through the endless golden lava. It was as if he could see the slumbering form of the Celestial Tiamat, waiting for the right moment to emerge.
"Thank you."
Hawk looked at the vision of the sleeping Tiamat and spoke with complete sincerity.
He took back what he'd said earlier about it being a joke.
This Celestial—this newborn god gestating inside Earth—really was different.
Hawk could feel it. The Sixth Sense warning hadn't come from anywhere else. It had come from Tiamat himself.
Just like in the original story, when Tiamat had helped Sersi seal him away and put himself back to sleep.
His ability to absorb such a massive amount of golden lava wasn't because of his own strength. It was because the slumbering Celestial had allowed it.
Tiamat had permitted him to take a portion of the life energy meant for his own incubation.
As long as he didn't go overboard.
Just like a moment ago—Hawk had been about to take more.
After all, what difference did it make if Tiamat slept an extra ten years? Or even a hundred? Time meant nothing to a Celestial.
But the moment Hawk had considered taking more, his Sixth Sense screamed a warning.
So Hawk stopped.
That was why he gazed through the river of golden lava and offered the gestating Celestial a sincere thank-you.
But—
Maybe it was just his imagination.
After he spoke those words, it seemed like Tiamat's face—metallic and faintly reddish—softened into something resembling a smile. The kind of expression an elder might give when looking at a polite, well-behaved child.
"Uh..."
"Tiamat's been inside Earth ever since he fell from the World Tree."
"So..."
"I guess that makes him an elder."
Hawk's expression went through a series of complicated emotions. Then his mind raced, and he shook his head with a wry smile. He looked once more at Tiamat, deep within the river of golden lava, and said thank you again before turning away. He looked up—and vanished from the Hollow World in an instant.
But the moment Hawk's form shot back through the tunnel and headed toward the Iwi village....
Back in the Hollow World. The golden lava exploded into violent motion. The floating Adamantium mountains began to fall. One by one, they plunged into the molten rivers and dissolved, becoming part of the flow. The ground itself crumbled, consumed by the surging tide of energy...
...
Hawk had no idea what was happening in the Hollow World behind him.
The moment he emerged, he reappeared directly in front of Peter and Felicia—who were locked in each other's arms.
A moment passed.
Hawk turned his head away and coughed loudly.
"Ahem!"
"Jesus!"
"Hawk!"
The couple, who'd been gazing lovingly into each other's eyes, jumped at the sound. They turned and found Hawk standing right in front of them—God knows when he'd shown up.
Hawk, suddenly reminded of his own fiancée, smiled at the two of them.
"Time to go home."
"..."
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~# 70 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!
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