"When was the last time you came here?" Ikaris heard Thena ask from behind him.
He was standing, staring at the pods where the Machine would resurrect them after death, rows upon rows of crystalline chambers, each one connected to the vast network that defined their existence as Eternals. It was the World Forge, where their memories were stored, where their bodies were remade, where death became merely an inconvenience rather than an ending.
"During the war," Ikaris said without turning. The Deviant War and before, during the heresy.
"Ah," Thena said, coming to stand beside him. "I was here as well." She was silent for a moment, then continued, "This whole Uranos business isn't good. I feel something will happen. It's not right to bring him back, even temporarily."
"If our gods ask it of us, then it is what we must do," Ikaris said firmly. "We must obey the Celestials."
Thena did not speak, but he could feel her doubt. Then her body tensed. "Did you see that?"
Ikaris followed her gaze and spotted someone going into the chamber where Uranos was being kept.
"Yes. Come," Ikaris said, already moving.
They went into the chamber where Uranos was kept, passing through security protocols that should have prevented anyone unauthorized from entering. The doors opened to reveal the holding cell and what they saw made them both stop.
Uranos stood there talking to Thanos.
The boy A'Lars's son, the Deviant-marked child was listening with rapt attention, his red eyes fixed on Uranos with something like worship.
"What are you doing here?" Thena demanded, addressing Thanos.
Uranos turned to them with a calm, pleased smile, as if he'd been expecting them. "Ah, Thena. Ikaris." He looked down at Thanos with almost grandfatherly affection. "I was simply getting to know my grand-nephew."
Ikaris looked at Thanos, who had a smile on his face that made Ikaris distrust the Deviant-looking Eternal even more. There was something cold in that smile, something calculating beyond his years.
"Go to your father," Ikaris commanded.
Thanos's smile widened slightly a flash of defiance but Uranos spoke before the boy could respond.
"Go, child," Uranos said gently. "We'll speak again."
Thanos nodded and left, but not before casting one more look back at Uranos.
When the boy was gone, Uranos turned back to them. "Tell me was it worth it?"
"What?" Thena asked, her hand moving instinctively toward where her weapons would normally be.
"The current state of our people," Uranos said. "A'Lars had the right idea, you know. The Eternals on Titan are thriving, growing, evolving, creating, while those on Earth stagnate under Zuras's leadership." He smiled. "Perhaps dear Sui-San guided A'Lars. She was one of my most ardent followers, after all."
"What you wanted was madness," Ikaris said coldly. "Genocide. The eradication of all 'lesser' species."
Uranos shrugged. "I wanted purity. Perfection. The fulfillment of our purpose as the Celestials' chosen."
Ikaris stepped forward, his eyes beginning to glow with barely restrained power. "Stop whatever you are planning. If not, I will kill you myself Celestial decree or not."
Uranos smiled, completely unfazed by the threat. "Will you, Ikaris? Will you truly defy the gods you claim to serve so devotedly? Because they are the ones who ordered my release." His smile widened. "Ask yourself why would they do that, if not because they see value in what I represent?"
The question hung in the air.
And Ikaris had no answer.
Just then, Zuras, A'Lars, and Ajak came in.
"Thena, Ikaris, what are you doing here?" Zuras asked.
"Making sure this one is not causing any trouble," Ikaris said, his eyes still on Uranos.
"No time to talk," Ajak said urgently. "Lord Zgreb will arrive soon. We must present ourselves before him."
They led Uranos out, his restraints reforming around his wrists though Ikaris noticed the ancient Eternal moved with the confidence of someone who believed that he would be free soon. The rest of the Eternals emerged from the Exclusion, forming a procession through the underground passages and up to the surface.
They gathered on a meeting platform in the cold winds of the South Pole.
Ikaris watched the skies as the clouds and winds began to die down, as if reality itself were making way for something greater. The grey sky parted, revealing a large shadow that grew clearer as it descended.
The Celestial Zgreb.
Two thousand feet tall, armored in dark metal. Energy crackled around him, and his eyes vast and incomprehensible—burned with power that made even Eternals feel insignificant.
The Eternals honored him by kneeling every one of them: Zuras, A'Lars, Ajak, Thena, Ikaris, Gilgamesh, Sersi, Phastos, Makkari, Druig, Sprite, and more all bowing before their creator.
Zgreb floated over them, his eyes fixed on them. When he spoke, his voice resonated not just in their ears but in their minds, in their souls, in the very core of their being.
WHERE IS HE?
Ajak rose slightly, still bowed, speaking as the Prime Eternal's voice to the Celestials. "Great Zgreb, you honor us with your presence."
WHERE IS HE? Zgreb repeated, impatient.
Ajak gestured, and Uranos was brought forward. "The great traitor, my lord. As you asked."
Zgreb's massive head turned, his gaze falling on Uranos like a searchlight. WHAT YOU TOLD ME IS IT TRUE? DO YOU KNOW WHERE HE IS?
Uranos, alone among them, did not seem afraid. He looked up at the Celestial with something like satisfaction. "I do, my lord."
THEN YOU WILL LEAD ME THERE.
"My lord, if I may—" Uranos began.
No, no, no, Ikaris thought, his eyes meeting Gilgamesh's, then Thena's, then Zuras's. They all knew what was coming.
"I wish, great Zgreb, to be set free of my prison for this deed," Uranos said smoothly. "Surely such knowledge is worth my freedom?"
Shock rippled through the assembled Eternals whispers, gasps, expressions of outrage.
"My lord—" Zuras began, stepping forward.
Zgreb's gaze turned to Zuras, and the Prime Eternal was silenced as if an invisible hand had closed around his throat not harming him, but making it clear that interruption would not be tolerated.
Ajak spoke quickly. "Uranos is the great traitor, my lord. He had designs that went against even the Celestials' will. He sought to make himself equal to the gods."
Zgreb was silent for a long moment, considering. Then: I WILL DECIDE LATER AFTER HE HAS PROVEN USEFUL.
The Celestial raised one massive hand, and Uranos was lifted into the air with a thought, floating upward toward Zgreb's shoulder platform.
ONE MORE WILL COME WITH US.
Ikaris stepped forward at once, looking up at Zgreb. "I will go, great one."
Zgreb's eyes fixed on him, evaluating, and then: ACCEPTABLE.
Ikaris nodded to the others a nod that conveyed everything he couldn't say aloud: I will take care of Uranos. If he betrays us, I will stop him. I will not let him escape.
THE REST OF YOU WILL STAY HERE, Zgreb commanded.
The Celestial lifted Ikaris as well with a gesture, bringing him to float beside Uranos. Then Zgreb began to rise, following Uranos's directions.
They flew away toward the north, where whatever the Celestial sought lay buried.
======
Ikaris's eyes never left Uranos as they flew north with Zgreb. He was planning for everything Uranos might try to do. The ancient Eternal was cunning, patient, and utterly without morals. Every scenario played through Ikaris's mind, escape attempts, manipulation of the Celestial, betrayal at a critical moment. The worst possibility would be Zgreb himself releasing Uranos, absolving him of his crimes. If that happened, no one would be able to stop him, not Zuras, not all the Eternals combined. Uranos had been the strongest of them before his imprisonment, and half a million years of hatred would have only sharpened his purpose.
Uranos looked at Ikaris and smirked. "Am I that interesting, Ikaris?" His tone was mocking, amused. "Or do you admire me?"
Ikaris did not speak; his jaw was tight.
Uranos continued, his voice taking on a contemplative tone. "Tell me, has life for an Eternal truly been the best since the first war?" He let the question hang, then continued with masterful precision. "Look at what we've become. Watchers. Guardians of primitives who will never reach our heights. We hide in shadows, intervene only when the Celestials permit, and live in fear of our own potential. How far we have fallen from what we could have been."
Ikaris finally spoke, his voice hard. "We have been doing what we were made to do what the Celestials designed us for. It was you who deviated from our purpose. You who betrayed the gods themselves."
"My path was clear," Uranos said calmly. "And it would have meant our people thrived. Look—" He gestured broadly. "Look at what A'Lars and Sui-San have done on Titan. Expansion. Evolution. The creation of new Eternals through biological means. They are growing, adapting, becoming more than what we were. While Zuras and his followers stagnate on Earth, bound by fear and outdated doctrine."
Ikaris was silent; his eyes fell on their silent god, Zgreb. They had arrived at the northern extremes of Earth, the landscape below them a stretch of ice and desolation.
Uranos then said something that made Ikaris pause. "Don't worry, Ikaris. You won't have to suffer my presence much longer."
Ikaris turned sharply. "What does that mean? What are you planning?"
Suddenly Zgreb spoke; his voice resonated through their minds: IS THIS THE PLACE?
Uranos bowed respectfully. "Yes, my lord. It is here."
They all descended, and Zgreb's massive form slowed as they approached the frozen wasteland.
THERE ARE INTERLOPERS NEAR THE SITE
"We will take care of them, my lord," Uranos said smoothly. "Lesser beings polluting where a Celestial rests."
"My lord, I shall go and talk to—" Ikaris began.
ELIMINATE THE INTERLOPERS
Uranos looked at Ikaris and smiled a terrible, eager expression. "You heard what our lord said." He rolled his shoulders, energy beginning to crackle around his body. "It has been half a million years…"
He took flight from Zgreb's large shoulder platform, diving toward the figures below with deadly intent.
Ikaris cursed and flew after him, having no choice but to follow Zgreb's command. But in his heart he knew whatever Uranos was planning had only just begun.
.
.
.
In the icy lands of the Arctic, Agamotto floated in a lotus position with mandalas hovering around him, leading Ghost and Odin, who was riding the mammoth Tasi.
Tasi trumpeted loudly, making Agamotto sigh. "I can't concentrate. Ghost, please control your beast."
Tasi trumpeted again, clearly offended.
"She only wanted you to ride on top of her like Odin," Ghost replied.
Odin laughed from behind Ghost.
"Oh, then I shall," Agamotto said, relenting.
"Well, not anymore. You offended her. You called her a beast," Ghost said.
Tasi trumpeted again, this time with an indignant tone.
Agamotto sighed deeply. "I am sorry, noble Tasi."
Tasi trumpeted a softer sound.
"She accepts your apology," Ghost translated.
Agamotto floated down and then sat behind Odin on Tasi's broad back.
"Are we there yet?" Odin asked for what felt like the hundredth time.
"Like I told you the last ten times you asked—" Agamotto stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening. "Stop. Stop! We are here."
"Huzzah!" Odin said, leaping off Tasi with enthusiasm and accidentally knocking Agamotto over in the process, sending the sorcerer tumbling into the snow.
This earned a laugh from Ghost and an amused trumpet from Tasi.
Agamotto got up, brushing snow off his cloak with as much dignity as he could muster. He pointed to a mountain ahead. "That is what we are looking for."
Odin squinted at it. "Just a mountain? Is there something buried beneath?"
"Yes," Agamotto confirmed.
"Well, allow me to melt it all away," Ghost said, flames already beginning to flicker around his form.
"I shall help," Agamotto agreed.
Ghost transformed fully, his head turning into a flaming skull, hellfire burning in the empty eye sockets. Tasi, too, transformed fire blooming around her massive form, her eyes glowing. Ghost then unleashed flames from his mouth intense, concentrated hellfire that could melt metal in seconds.
Agamotto joined with a spell of his own, his hands moving in intricate patterns as he chanted, "Flames of the Faltine, bend to my will. Melt the ancient ice reveal what lies beneath. By the Vishanti's light, I command this feat!"
Golden-orange flames erupted from his mandalas, joining Ghost's hellfire. The combined assault struck the icy mountain, and steam exploded upward in massive clouds. Ice and snow melted away in rivers, flowing down in torrents.
They melted the icy hill completely, revealing what lay beneath.
It was a giant being half-buried, its torso still visible, standing upright. Even partially covered, it was massive beyond comprehension: silver armor with intricate designs, and a helmet of distinctive, angular shape.
"By the Norns, what is that?" Odin breathed, staring up at it.
"Let's find out," Agamotto said, already moving forward.
All three of them walked over to investigate, Ghost and Tasi returning to their normal forms.
They circled the gigantic figure, walking around its base, looking up at the towering form. Agamotto examined the armor, the construction, the energy readings his senses could detect.
"This could be fifteen hundred feet tall if fully uncovered," Agamotto said, his voice filled with wonder.
"I think I know what this is," Odin said slowly.
"What?" Agamotto asked.
"It's a Celestial," Odin said.
"What is a Celestial?" Ghost asked.
Odin opened his mouth to answer—
—when a shadow loomed over them from above.
They looked up and saw, descending from the sky, a two-thousand-foot-tall being similar to what they had just found massive, armored in dark metal, energy crackling around its form. Its vast eyes fixed on them.
And unlike the half-buried one beside them, this one was very much alive.
"That… is a Celestial," Odin said quietly, his hand instinctively going to Mjolnir.
Agamotto stared up at the descending god, and for once in his long life, he felt truly small.
"Oh…" was all he could say.
"We can't fight that," Ghost said, and there was genuine fear in his voice, something both Odin and Agamotto had rarely heard from the host of the Spirit of Vengeance.
"No, we can't," Odin agreed, his eyes never leaving the Celestial.
"Look there are two coming our way," Agamotto said as two beings descended from the Celestial. He concentrated, analyzing the energy patterns. "They have the same signatures similar to Thena and Gilgamesh."
"The Eternals?" Odin asked.
Agamotto nodded.
"Then we have nothing to fear," Odin said with relief. "We are friendly with them. They know us."
"Are we?" Agamotto asked, his expression darkening as he watched the two figures descend faster now. "Because they seem to be coming at us with hostile intent."
Odin's hand went to Mjolnir; his expression hardened. "It would seem so." Lightning began coursing through his body.
Ghost shook his head grimly as he transformed, his head becoming a flaming skull, hellfire burning in the empty sockets. Tasi transformed as well, flames erupting around her massive form.
"We should try and talk first," Agamotto said urgently. "There must be some misunderstanding—"
Suddenly Uranos picked up speed and slammed into Odin.
The impact was devastating. The Prince of Asgard was hit so hard he was sent flying; he disappeared over the horizon, cratering through ice and stone.
Uranos landed with a wicked smile, blue energy crackling around his fists. "Oh, I have missed this."
Agamotto immediately blasted a spell at him bands of amber light meant to restrain. But Uranos simply walked through them as if they were cobwebs.
Ghost charged him with Tasi, the mammoth trumpeting a battle cry as hellfire blazed around them both.
But Ghost was tackled off his mammoth by Ikaris, who slammed into him mid-charge. They tumbled across the ice, brawling as Ikaris attacked with his cosmic beams, twin rays of concentrated energy that blazed from his eyes, scorching the ground where Ghost had been.
Tasi came to help, slamming into Ikaris. The Eternal was thrown back, and Ghost once again mounted Tasi, charging at Ikaris with renewed fury.
Agamotto and Uranos fought, with Agamotto on the defensive as the ancient Eternal attacked relentlessly. Uranos fired optic blasts beams of cosmic energy that could level mountains. Agamotto countered with shields layered mandalas of amber light that absorbed and deflected the assault.
"We are not enemies!" Agamotto shouted over the chaos. "We are friends to the Eternals!"
"Do not speak, mongrel," Uranos said with utter contempt. He raised his hand and used matter manipulation to turn Agamotto to dust.
But the attempt was countered by the many defensive spells woven into Agamotto's very being protections layered over him since he began studying the mystic arts, failsafes that activated automatically.
Uranos's eyes widened slightly. "The lesser beings have grown powerful to this degree? This cannot be." His assault continued, more vicious now, as if personally offended that a "primitive" could resist him.
Then he was hit by Mjolnir.
The hammer struck him in the chest with a force that sent shockwaves across the battlefield, cracking the ice around them. Uranos was thrown, tumbling across the ice. Odin flew up to them, lightning coursing through him in torrents, his eyes blazing with power.
"Agamotto, help Ghost!" Odin commanded. "I will take on this one!"
Lightning surged through Odin as he called Mjolnir back to his hand and charged at Uranos. He swung with all his might and the hammer connected with Uranos's jaw. The impact sent shockwaves rippling across the ice, shattering it in perfect circles.
Uranos stumbled back.
Odin pressed the advantage, striking again chest, shoulder, ribs. Each blow from Mjolnir caused thunderclaps that echoed across the frozen wasteland. Lightning danced between them, coursing through Uranos's body and making the Eternal's muscles spasm.
It worked at first. The blows moved Uranos, drove him back step by step. His armor cracked under the assault. Blood dripped from his mouth.
But then, to Odin's shock, Uranos began to tank the hits.
The next strike from Mjolnir connected with Uranos's sternum and the Eternal barely moved. His feet remained planted. His expression shifted from pain to something like amusement.
Odin swung again, putting everything into it.
Uranos caught the hammer.
His hand closed around Mjolnir's shaft, stopping it dead. The shockwave blasted outward, but Uranos stood immovable.
"You are not from here, are you?" Uranos said, studying Odin with clinical interest. "Ah…an Aesir."
Then he punched Odin.
The blow connected with Odin's chest, and the Prince of Asgard was sent flying backward like a meteor. He crashed into a mountain of ice, and the entire structure exploded millions of tons of frozen water shattering into fragments that rained down across the battlefield.
Uranos didn't wait. He flew after Odin, hands glowing with power. A matter-manipulation attack followed the very air around Odin beginning to transform, molecules rearranging to create suffocating pressure, the ice beneath him trying to liquefy and then solidify around his limbs.
Odin quickly countered with Asgardian magicks. Runes formed around him, glowing symbols of protection. A barrier of golden light erected itself, pushing back against Uranos's manipulation.
"I should have brought the spear," Odin muttered, rolling away as Uranos's optic blasts carved through where he'd been.
Odin began to dodge using his flight and speed. Uranos's strikes caused craters wherever they hit; each missed punch changed the very state of the land.
"You are powerful for a mortal," Odin said, breathing hard.
"Mortal?" Uranos's voice filled with outrage. "You dare?" His eyes blazed. "I am Uranos the Undying, first of the Eternals. I am no mortal!"
He punched Odin in a series of strikes each one faster than the last, each one precise and devastating. Odin's blood spilled across the frozen ground.
Odin did not falter; he hit back with Mjolnir, each strike causing thunderclaps that shook the land. Lightning coursed through Uranos with every impact. Then Odin gathered his strength and struck so hard that the Eternal was thrown away flying backward uncontrollably, hitting the ground and bouncing, each impact destroying the frozen ice. He carved a trench through the landscape before finally stopping, buried in shattered ice and stone.
Odin stood, his chest rising and falling rapidly. His face was bloodied, his clothes torn. He faced a powerful enemy, one that might be slightly stronger than he was, if he was honest with himself.
He looked to where Agamotto and Ghost were; they were locked in a fierce battle.
=========
Agamotto and Ghost were working together to contain Ikaris, who was using his strength, telekinesis, and cosmic beam attacks from his eyes to defend himself and sometimes going on the offensive when opportunity presented itself.
Agamotto hit him with a barrage of spells, bolts of Balthakk to burn, shields of the Seraphim to deflect Ikaris's beams.
Ghost attacked with hellfire from his mouth white-hot flames that could burn souls themselves. Tasi joined, firing hellfire from her snout; the two sources of flame converged on Ikaris from different angles.
But Ikaris was fast, strong, and had fought for millennia. He used telekinesis to redirect some of the flames and faced them head on with his Eternal durability; he also fired his own optic blasts to counter. When Ghost charged on Tasi, Ikaris lifted massive chunks of ice with his mind and hurled them like missiles.
Zgreb, meanwhile, had now fully descended. Agamotto watched with part of his attention as the Celestial knelt before the remains of the dead Celestial, a gesture that looked almost like mourning, if such beings could mourn.
But what Agamotto also saw made his blood run cold.
Locust-like creatures were emerging from the dead Celestial dozens of them pouring from cracks in the armor.
What was that? Agamotto thought, but he was too distracted to investigate as Ikaris came at him with full force.
The Eternal's fists glowed with cosmic energy, his eyes blazing. Agamotto quickly created a portal and stepped away, letting Ikaris hit the ground where he had been the impact creating a sizzling crater that would have killed him instantly.
Agamotto appeared next to Ghost. "Something is happening with the Celestial!"
"What do you mean?" Ghost asked, keeping his eyes on Ikaris.
"Look!" Agamotto pointed.
The Celestial was being overrun by hordes of giant locusts. They swarmed the massive being, and Agamotto and Ghost began to hear sounds they had never heard before.
Ikaris, now recovered, noticed this as well and turned to Agamotto, confusion replacing hostility for a moment. "What are you doing? Stop this!"
"I am not doing anything!" Agamotto protested.
Something is very, very wrong, Agamotto thought, as Ikaris, too, seemed torn, his eyes darting between them and the Celestial, clearly conflicted about whether to help Zgreb or continue the fight.
"I have a plan," Ghost said to Agamotto. "I need you to restrain him."
Agamotto nodded. "What are you going to do?"
"Just restrain him," Ghost said grimly. "I need to be close."
Ikaris made his choice. He returned to the battle, flying toward them, his eyes glowing with building cosmic energy.
Agamotto flew up and then, with a gesture and incantation, split into a hundred mirror versions of himself and surrounded Ikaris. They moved in perfect synchronization as they prepared a spell.
"By the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak!" they all chanted in unison.
Glowing red bands materialized from them, wrapping around Ikaris from every direction arms, legs, torso binding him in layer upon layer of restraint. The Eternal struggled; his strength was enormous, and the bands strained.
Ghost quickly ran across the bands, using them like a bridge, and reached Ikaris. He drew his bone chain, wreathed in hellfire, and bound the Eternal further, wrapping it around him in conjunction with Agamotto's spell. The flaming chain seared Ikaris's body, burning through his skin.
Ikaris struggled to be free, muscles taut, cosmic energy flaring around him. But now he was bound by both the Crimson Bands and Ghost's hellfire chain.
"I can't hold on much longer!" Agamotto warned, his voice strained as sweat beaded on his forehead. The hundred versions of himself were beginning to flicker.
Ghost grabbed Ikaris's head, his flaming skull now inches from the Eternal's face.
"Look into my eyes, Eternal," Ghost commanded, his voice layered with another, older voice, something more terrible.
"What are you—" Ikaris began.
"Your soul stains existence with the blood of the innocent," Ghost continued. "You who follow orders without question, who kill without remorse. Look into my eyes and feel every soul you've sent screaming into the void!"
Ghost unleashed the Penance Stare.
Hellfire erupted from his eye sockets, pouring into Ikaris's eyes. The Eternal screamed a sound of pure agony that echoed across the frozen wasteland.
Ikaris remembered. Every action, every kill from the wars and battles he'd fought in: the Deviant War thousands slaughtered, some begging for mercy, some trying to surrender; men, women, children with twisted forms. He saw their faces now, felt their pain, experienced their deaths from their perspective. During the Second Host of the Celestials, when judgment came more killing, more following orders, more death in the name of duty.
But he also remembered acts of protection, of saving humans, of genuinely trying to do good according to his understanding.
Ghost pulled back, surprised. The Penance Stare hadn't completely incapacitated him.
Ghost quickly jumped off and shouted to Agamotto, "Kill him! Now!"
Agamotto hesitated for only a moment, then released Ikaris the Crimson Bands slipping free. The Eternal fell, half-alive, writhing in agony from the Penance Stare.
Agamotto raised his hands, gathering power.
"By the Light beyond Light, by the First Flame of Truth, I unbind thee from shadow! By the Eternal Vishanti, by the Flames of the Faltine, by the Chains of Krakkan that bind reality itself I cast thee into the purifying fire! By my will and the will of those who came before be UNMADE!"
He unleashed a ray of light toward Ikaris, almost impossible to look at directly. It was judgment itself given form.
Ghost joined in with his own attack hellfire pouring from his mouth and hands, joining Agamotto's light. The two powers combined holy light and infernal flame converging on the fallen Eternal.
Ikaris screamed as his body began to disintegrate.
Only scorched ice remained where he had been.
Ghost and Agamotto stood, breathing hard, staring at what they'd done.
"Was that..." Agamotto began.
"Necessary," Ghost finished grimly. "He would not have stopped."
But neither of them felt good about it.
Suddenly they were interrupted by intense lightning and thunder. Both looked west to see Odin striking at Uranos with Mjolnir.
==========
Odin struck at Uranos with Mjolnir. Uranos dodged, moving with grace. He countered with a punch that connected with Odin's ribs, the impact sending shockwaves rippling outward.
Both were bloodied and bruised equally matched warriors locked in a battle that was shaking the very foundations of the land.
Uranos tried to use his matter manipulation, reaching out with his power to liquefy Odin's bones. But Odin had Asgardian magic active on his body glowing runes covered him, ancient symbols of protection his mother had taught him. They flared bright, deflecting Uranos's reality-warping attacks.
The Prince of Asgard was now close to dominating the fight. He had defenses for all of Uranos's offenses, counters for every technique. His combat experience and magical knowledge were proving superior to raw Eternal power.
"Is this the might of the so-called first of the Eternals?" Odin taunted, grinning. "Weak!"
He bellowed the last word as Mjolnir struck down, connecting with Uranos's shoulder and driving the Eternal to one knee.
Uranos quickly recovered and began to glow blue cosmic energy gathering around him. He unleashed a full-power cosmic energy attack on Odin, a beam of concentrated force that could vaporize an island.
Odin dodged, rolling aside as the beam carved a trench through the landscape.
Uranos used the opening and grabbed Odin's legs, yanking him off balance. With strength born of desperation and fury, he clutched Odin and suplexed him into the ice, driving him down with devastating force and forming a massive crater.
Odin quickly recovered. He threw Uranos off and then began to slug it out with the Eternal. Odin hit Uranos hard with Mjolnir, each blow leaving bruises. Uranos hit back with cosmic energy focused in his hands, each punch leaving burns.
Each hit produced shockwaves that flattened what little remained of the landscape.
Uranos glanced toward Zgreb and saw what was happening: the being was being consumed by a horde of large locusts.
Uranos smiled. "Ah. So that's what he meant."
They both saw Agamotto and Ghost and the blinding light from Agamotto's spell as it had killed Ikaris.
"Looks like your friend is dead," Odin said.
Uranos smiled wickedly. "Just as planned."
Odin frowned, confused. "What—"
Uranos simply continued smiling.
"It's over," Odin said, recovering his composure. "Surrender. You cannot win against the three of us."
Odin looked up to see something flying from above a figure descending at high speed. It fired red blasts at his friends, hitting them both and sending them tumbling.
"Who—" Odin began, but Uranos punched him again. The blow snapped his head to the side and he stumbled.
The new combatant landed near Uranos.
It was a monstrous suit of armor. The plating was dark silver and iron-black, every edge honed like a blade. The helm resembled the skull of an apex predator. From within its slitted visor, four red eyes glowed. A pulsing red core burned in its chest, radiating malevolent power.
"Are you here for me, then?" Uranos asked.
The armor spoke. "Yes. I am the Iron Inquisitor." It then looked at Odin and then back to Uranos. "Come. Let us leave. I do not want to keep our masters waiting."
Uranos bristled at the word "masters."
"You are not going anywhere!" Odin shouted, charging at the two of them, Mjolnir electrified with lightning.
Uranos and the Iron Inquisitor moved in perfect coordination. Uranos used his full power to pummel Odin. Cosmic energy blazed around his fists as he struck again and again. Even when Odin landed good hits bleeding and injuring Uranos, breaking his nose, cracking his jaw the Eternal kept coming.
The Iron Inquisitor joined in, its mechanical fists striking with brutal force. Then it fired a red, hellfire-like blast from its chest core.
The blast enveloped Odin. He screamed as the protective runes on his body flickered out one by one. He almost lost consciousness; he fell to his knees, nearly collapsing to the ground.
"Let us go. The others are coming," the Iron Inquisitor said.
Uranos gave Odin one last look, something almost like respect, then began to follow the Inquisitor into a portal that had opened behind them a swirling vortex of red and black.
Odin stood, trembling, barely keeping his balance. He called Mjolnir to his hand and, with the last of his strength, hurled it at them both a desperate attempt to stop their escape.
But it missed.
The portal closed just as Mjolnir would have struck; the hammer passed through empty space and embedded itself in the ice.
They were gone.
Agamotto and Ghost came over, both wounded from their battle and from the ambush by the newly arrived armored figure.
"Who was the new man? Another Eternal?" Odin asked, breathing hard.
"Worse, my friend. Far worse," Agamotto said grimly.
"Mephisto," Ghost added. "I could sense that thing's presence on that armored man. The stench of the Hell Lord is unmistakable."
Agamotto nodded in agreement.
"And he just left with an Eternal," Odin added, the implications sinking in.
"Yes. At least we got one of them," Agamotto said, though his tone suggested little comfort.
Suddenly a roar came from the direction of the Celestial:
RRRAAAAAAGGGHHHHHH! AKRRAHHHHHHHHHHHH! ARAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
The sound wasn't just heard — it was felt. It vibrated through their bones, through their souls, through the very fabric of reality.
Odin, Agamotto, and Ghost fell to their knees from the sheer power emanating from the Celestial. Tasi screamed a sound of pure terror then collapsed.
"What is happening?" Ghost asked, struggling to speak.
Odin looked at the Celestial. It had changed something was different now. It looked infected, corrupted from within.
Then, to all their horror, it turned to them.
WHAT… HAVE YOU… DONE?
"Agamotto, get us out of here," Ghost said urgently. "GET US OUT OF HERE!" he repeated, louder.
Agamotto was frozen in fear at the being's presence and power.
THE DESIGN… MUST CONTINUE.
Zgreb took a step toward them. Each footfall shook the world.
EVERYTHING MUST BE UNMADE. ALL LIFE MUST BE JUDGED AND FOUND WANTING.
"We have to go!" Odin shouted, forcing himself to stand despite his injuries. The Celestial's face lit up energy gathered, preparing for an attack that would obliterate them.
"YOU… ARE FLAWS IN THE DESIGN."
Agamotto broke out of his paralysis and quickly created a portal.
"Run!" he shouted.
All three of them, along with Tasi, ran through as the Celestial attacked.
The portal closed just in time; the assault missed by milliseconds.
They tumbled through and landed hard on the floor of the Sanctuary.
None of them spoke for a while. All were bloodied and bruised from the encounter. They lay there trying to process what had just happened.
Finally, Agamotto broke the silence. "What are we going to do?"
Odin pushed himself up on his elbows, spitting blood that dripped from his mouth.
"Assemble the Avengers."