A flash of pure, unadulterated cosmic fury ignited in Death's eyes.
The insult, delivered in a tongue she couldn't comprehend, burned hotter than any physical blow.
Her perfect features twisted, the scowl deepening into a snarl that threatened to tear the very fabric of reality.
For an entity that embodied the ultimate end, to be so brazenly defied, so utterly dismissed, was an affront of cosmic proportions.
"Insolent child!" she shrieked, her voice no longer a whisper but a cacophony of dying stars and shattered galaxies.
"You dare to… to refuse me? And call me… what?!"
The raw power radiating from her intensified, the cosmic void around them shimmering with destructive potential.
This was not the annoyance of a frustrated entity; this was the rage of an insulted god.
The Phoenix Force, sensing the shift in Death's demeanor, surged forward, its golden flames roaring in response.
Jean Grey's eyes blazed, mirroring the cosmic inferno that wreathed her.
"He dares to choose life, you parasitic abomination!"
Jean's voice, a force of nature, ripped through Death's enraged cry.
"And he will choose it again and again, for as long as we exist!"
Death, however, passed reason. Her gaze, still fixed on Sullivan.
If charm and seduction wouldn't work, then raw, unyielding power would.
"You will be mine, Sullivan!" she roared, her hands beginning to glow with an ominous, purple energy that hummed with the promise of oblivion.
"One way or another, you will embrace your destiny!"
But before she could unleash her destructive intent, a new presence, one of ancient, boundless wisdom, began to coalesce.
The cosmic dust swirled, forming a titanic, shimmering form that dwarfed even the Phoenix.
Eternity, the embodiment of time and existence, manifested, his eyes, countless galaxies themselves, focusing on the volatile confrontation.
"Enough, Death," a voice that resonated with the very echoes of creation rumbled, calming the tumultuous energies.
"The balance must be maintained. And this being… this Sullivan… is not for you to claim."
The titanic form of Eternity solidified, his gaze, a constellation of galaxies, fixing on Death.
The raw cosmic fury radiating from Death's twisted features seemed to diminish slightly under the sheer magnitude of Eternity's presence.
The purple energy pulsing in her hands flickered, though it didn't fully dissipate.
"Sullivan is under the protection of the One Above All,"
Eternity rumbled, his voice echoing through the cosmic void like the very first breath of creation.
"He is the grandson of the ultimate creator, and therefore, untouchable by your claim."
Death's snarl faltered, a flicker of something akin to fear replacing the consuming rage in her eyes.
The name of the One Above All resonated with an authority that even she, the embodiment of the ultimate end, could not wholly defy.
Her perfect features contorted in a struggle between her inherent nature to claim all things and the overwhelming power of the being who now stood before her.
"This is unacceptable interference!" she shrieked, her voice still laced with the cacophony of shattered stars, but now with a tremor of desperation.
"He was meant to be mine! It is his destiny!"
Eternity remained impassive, his galactic eyes holding a wisdom that spanned all time.
"Destiny, in this case, is not for you to dictate, Death. The balance is paramount. And if you continue to resist, if you refuse to cede this one being, then a far greater consequence awaits you."
The air crackled with a new, terrifying tension.
Death instinctively recoiled, her glowing hands dropping to her sides.
"Your very sense of self, your individuality, will be confiscated,"
Eternity continued, his voice devoid of malice, yet carrying the weight of absolute decree.
"You will continue to exist as a force, a fundamental aspect of the cosmos, but your consciousness, your memory, your very identity, will be erased. You will be nothing more than an unthinking, unfeeling process. It is a fate far worse than the oblivion you offer to others."
The threat hung in the cosmic expanse, a chilling pronouncement that struck at the core of Death's being.
To be stripped of herself, to be reduced to a mere function, was an end she had never contemplated.
It was a true death, not of cessation, but of erasure.
The Phoenix Force, sensing the shift, quieted its roar, its flames still blazing around Jean Grey, but no longer in direct confrontation.
Jean's eyes, however, still burned with a fierce protectiveness.
Death's gaze, fixed on Sullivan, was no longer filled with lustful possession, but with a horrifying realization.
The cosmic fury in her eyes slowly, agonizingly, receded, replaced by a chilling stillness. The battle was over.
A profound silence fell across the cosmic arena as Eternity's voice, a symphony of creation, permeated every corner of existence.
Death, her purple aura crackling with frustrated fury, faltered. Even the Phoenix Force, for all its boundless power, quieted in the face of such ancient authority.
"The balance," Eternity reiterated, his galactic eyes fixed on the indignant entity, "is a delicate weave, Death. Sullivan is not merely a mortal soul to be claimed at whim. He carries the very essence of The One Above All, a spark of creation that predates even your own dominion. To claim him would be to unravel the fabric of everything, to tear at the heart of existence itself. And that, you cannot be permitted to do."
Death's snarl contorted her beautiful features further.
"This... 'spark'… means nothing to me! All things eventually end! He is no different!"
Her voice, though still resonant, held a tremor of defiance that was quickly being eclipsed by a deeper, almost imperceptible tremor of fear.
Eternity remained impassive, his colossal form radiating an undeniable truth.
"Your purpose is essential, Death. You are the ultimate end, the necessary conclusion to every cycle. But there are lines, and some beings exist beyond your grasp, by the decree of the Prime Mover. Sullivan is cherished, an extension of the Creator's will. To force him into your domain is to defy the very source of all that is."
A palpable tension hung in the void. Death's gaze flickered from Sullivan, serene despite the cosmic maelstrom, to the unwavering form of Eternity, then to the incandescent fury of the Phoenix Force, still ready to unleash its destructive power. The odds were against her, and the stakes were far higher than a single soul.
Eternity's voice softened, though its power remained absolute.
"Consider your defiance, Death. For while your essence is vital, your individual will is not. The cosmos, in its infinite wisdom, has provisions for such transgressions. You will continue to exist, your function undisturbed, but your self, your awareness, the very spark of your individuality, would be… reallocated. You would be a tool, an engine of entropy, stripped of the consciousness that defines you. It would be a fate far worse than any death you could ever bestow."
The cosmic void itself seemed to hold its breath.
Death, for the first time, truly understood. To be stripped of her identity, to exist merely as a concept, was indeed a torment beyond measure.
The fury drained from her eyes, replaced by a cold, dreadful comprehension.
The glowing purple energy around her hands dissipated, and her perfect features settled back into their usual, melancholic serenity, though a flicker of raw, wounded pride remained.
The silence that followed was heavy, pregnant with the weight of her decision.
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