Chapter 279: Signs of a Second Celestial Civil War
Could it really be this good?
Galactus was surprised. Normally, for a Deity of Arishem's level to offer such a prize, he must have an incredibly crucial objective to achieve.
But Galactus didn't care about that. Food was food, and he had been far too hungry these past few years. If nothing unexpected happened, he would have to continue starving for many years to come. What kind of absurdity was this? This mediocre Universe had given birth to an incredible Multiversal God, yet it left him, an innocent Cosmic Celestial, to starve.
It was too cruel.
"I don't care what your purpose is, but you'd better not be deceiving me. I cannot tolerate hunger, but I can tolerate being deceived even less. If that's the case, I don't mind eating you directly."
"There's no need for such threats. The entire Multiverse knows that the vast majority of Galactuses do not eat people," Arishem said.
With the exception of special versions like the Zombie Galactus, Arishem thought silently.
Then, under the wary and skeptical gazes of Galactus's heralds, Arishem, right in front of Galactus, immediately mobilized his own vast energy reserves to create a special planet.
As a veteran member of the Celestials, Arishem had created countless planets over the past ten-plus billion years, making an indelible contribution to the successful birth of trillions of lives in this Universe.
This time, forced by cruel reality, Arishem embarked on a frantic attempt.
"No one likes to have the duty they must carry out to the end be so easily replaced. I've decided to bet everything I have to make a change, to allow my mission to continue in another way," Arishem said in a deep voice.
Countless amounts of energy gathered in his hands, gradually coalescing into a physical planet with the participation of the Universe's rules.
"These guys' heads are full of programs. Although they're life forms, they're in a completely different category from us." Silver Surfer prepared to act at a moment's notice, even though he knew his own strength couldn't block a single one of Arishem's attacks.
"Heh, the robot is preparing to save the world," Tyrant revealed a savage, mocking expression.
No one was a fool. Everyone understood who Arishem was referring to, both directly and indirectly.
Boom!
A massive planet took shape, emitting an extremely high-end energy signature. Both its quality and total amount made everyone who saw it wear an expression of utter horror.
The price of creating this planet was Arishem's plummeting energy levels. Even the numerous lights on his body had now dimmed. He had completely drained all his energy to invest in this gamble.
Galactus began to drool once again and, without hesitation, started to feast.
The depleted Arishem quietly watched this scene.
"I hope the knowledge obtained from other universes is correct. If Galactus absorbs enough energy, he can undergo a metamorphosis..." Arishem thought to himself.
The series of collisions and communications this Universe had with other universes had provided Arishem with the opportunity to exchange information with the Celestials of other universes.
A piece of information whose authenticity couldn't be confirmed had caught Arishem's attention. He could only bet that it was true now.
When Galactus had devoured an amount of energy comparable to the mass of a Cosmic Celestial, he realized he was full.
Yes, after being hungry for over ten billion years, after eating countless planets and never feeling full, Galactus, at this moment, was finally full.
"I'm no longer hungry. So this is the feeling of being full... a state that ordinary people can easily possess, and I finally have it."
Galactus touched his stomach. Endless energy began to erupt from within his body, ultimately transforming his massive frame into a dazzling gold.
Galactus had evolved into the Lifebringer!
Or rather, this was the true form Galactus was always meant to have!
"The Lifebringer, the antithesis of Galactus. His mission in existence is to create planets, spread the seeds of life throughout the entire Universe, allow countless life forms to be born and grow smoothly, and make the cold Universe lively..." This was also the first time Arishem had seen such a scene, and he was deeply shocked.
So it was true.
Galactus has a second form?
The Lifebringer gazed at Arishem. The two giants stood in the Universe, but the influence they created, their immense energy index, was astonishing within the scope of a single Universe and had long attracted a great deal of attention.
Arishem was one thing; many were familiar with this member of the Celestials.
But the golden form of Galactus left everyone who looked this way stunned.
"What the hell is that?"
"Galactus? Golden? Galactus has a second form?!"
"I've traveled through many universes and have never seen a Galactus like this. It actually gives me a sense of sacredness? What's with that overwhelming aura of life?"
The invincible destroyer of civilizations, Galactus, had transformed into a vibrant, golden Deity in the blink of an eye?
This was truly excellent gossip material.
Yes, in other universes, this would be a universe-shaking major event. But in the Alien Universe, where powerful individuals gathered and visitors from various parallel universes appeared from time to time, everyone's threshold for shock had been significantly raised.
The appearance of the Lifebringer primarily served as a novelty.
"The Lifebringer... for such a rare thing to appear in my universe."
Du Wa, who was focusing his attention on his game with Chthon, still managed to spare a sliver of attention to look at the Lifebringer. In an instant, he perceived the entire process of the Lifebringer's birth and understood Arishem's actions.
Across the Multiverse, the Lifebringer is an extremely rare being. The mainstream image of Galactus is that of destruction, annihilation, and inauspiciousness.
After all, Galactus was the Herald of Black Winter chosen by the Black Winter, the destroyer of the previous Multiverse—just as Chthon chose the Scarlet Witch and Cyttorak chose the Juggernaut as their emissaries.
A vicious character like Black Winter, who deliberately allowed Galan of the Sixth Multiverse to survive the Great Destruction and exist as Galactus in the Seventh Multiverse, would naturally not tolerate his emissary, scattered across the Multiverse, being a Lifebringer. He had to be Galactus.
Of course, whether Galactus was the Lifebringer or not didn't matter much in itself. Black Winter hadn't emerged yet and couldn't cause much trouble. What interested Du Wa was Arishem's choice.
"The mission of the Celestials is to create stars, bring light and heat to the entire Universe, and provide fertile ground for countless lives to grow... When their power reached its limit and could no longer be effective in my territory, they actually made such a choice, placing their hope for continuing their mission on the Lifebringer."
Du Wa found it quite interesting for a change. The thought process of these robots was truly unique. When left with no other path, they took the opposite approach.
Letting the Lifebringer create planets and life was more efficient than the Celestials' own actions. Was this a preparation to... stuff the Aliens to death?
It was a genius creative idea. It could continue their mission without violating their underlying program logic, and it could also preserve themselves. In any case, they wouldn't have to fight Du Wa to the death and face their demise—perishing itself conflicted with the Celestials' mission of creation.
The Lifebringer also quickly understood this point.
"Can I interpret this as your compromise with Du Wa?" The Lifebringer scrutinized Arishem.
Arishem said indifferently, "Interpret it however you like. We lost the best opportunity to contain Du Wa. Those few special models of Celestials are unwilling to intervene in this Universe's affairs and stand against Du Wa. We can only use this method to delay time. You and I both know, and Du Wa himself knows very well, that although this Universe has become extremely special, it still cannot compare to Universe 616."
The Main Universe is the core of the Multiverse. Du Wa will definitely go to the Main Universe. No matter what grand goal Du Wa wants to achieve, he cannot bypass the Main Universe.
Similarly, if the Celestials of the Main Universe faced a crisis of being wiped out, those few special models of Celestials would most likely step in. Even if they intentionally restrained their strength to minimize destruction, they would very likely intervene personally.
This is the difference between the Main Universe and other universes. A change in the Main Universe can easily trigger a chain reaction across the Multiverse.
For any being attempting to do something to the Multiverse itself, the simplest method is not to advance one universe at a time, but to start directly from the Main Universe.
Arishem watched the departing Lifebringer with his cold, lightbulb-like eyes, watching him eagerly begin his journey of creation.
The fates of those few heralds of Galactus would also undergo a drastic change. Would they become the Lifebringer's emissaries? Or would they simply regain their freedom? That was no longer Arishem's concern.
"This way, I haven't violated the regulations of my underlying program... Mass-produced models, heh." Arishem glanced around.
One Celestial after another appeared by his side, silently looking at their leader, all feeling a sense of bewilderment to varying degrees.
"This is your method for escaping your predicament? It's truly unexpected."
"Yes, it's a bit of a workaround, but you have to admit, in the current era, it's the only thing we can do. We should be thankful that Du Wa isn't interested in Galactus and didn't drag him into any dangerous activities. That's what gave me this opportunity."
Arishem looked at these cheap, mass-produced models, which could be said to be almost worthless on a multiversal scale. "From now on, our mission will continue in perpetuity—as long as Du Wa doesn't move against the Lifebringer. He wasn't interested in Galactus before, so now he has even less reason to deal with a Lifebringer who constantly creates life."
The Lifebringer can provide many hosts for the Aliens; he should have become the most welcomed God in the Alien Faction.
As long as Du Wa doesn't die, the Alien Universe will not be destroyed, and the Lifebringer will be absolutely safe.
Kill Du Wa? That would be far too difficult. One might as well try to destroy this Multiverse first. In any case, Arishem didn't believe that anyone could break through the defensive line established by Creator Gods, Master Order and Lord Chaos, magical entities like Vishanti and Chthon, and Du Wa, who commanded the Aliens and Shuma-Gorath.
A new era for the Celestials of Earth-1543681 has arrived.
"Our mission will be continued through the Lifebringer. As for us, it's time to do something else—wait."
Arishem looked at these Celestials. "Those unwilling to become an Alien and unwilling to abandon their mission have no room for survival in this Universe. Therefore, I will not become an Alien, but I must exploit a loophole in our programming."
"And then what? We just wait like this? Wait until our anomaly here is noticed by those special Celestials? They won't care if we live or die."
"Wait until Du Wa enters the Main Universe and clashes with those guys." Arishem's words were like the announcement of a new, sacred mission, implanting a brand-new program into the Celestials present.
All the Celestials fell into a state of agitation. They stared at Arishem as if he were a strange machine.
When did it start? When did Arishem develop such a dangerous idea? This was not the thought pattern a qualified, mass-produced model should have, yet it had happened.
This was truly bizarre. If word of this got out, it would be enough to cause a major earthquake.
"So that's how it is. A Celestial with different ideas has appeared... a bit interesting. Let them do as they please." Du Wa withdrew his gaze.
It wasn't particularly shocking for a Celestial to develop ulterior motives. Back in the era of the First Multiverse, the First Firmament, who was both the First Multiverse itself and the first generation Eternity, created a host of Celestials as servants. These Celestials then split into the Dark Celestials and the Colorful Celestials, erupting into a civil war.
The final result was that the Colorful Celestials, the ones now known to the world with their multicolored bodies covered in glowing lights, allied with the second-generation Eternity—the current Eternity—and a host of other Gods to defeat the Dark Celestials and tear apart the First Firmament.
But this didn't mean the Colorful Celestials worked together in perfect harmony. Across the various universes, the number of Celestials who had failed, fallen, or been forcefully controlled was simply too high.
To put it bluntly, even the most complex program will have bugs, and even the most perfect rules will have moments of distortion. For an anomaly that breaks through its programming shackles to suddenly appear, it's truly not surprising when viewed across the infinite Multiverse. At a mere single-universe level, it normally couldn't cause much of a stir, being as insignificant as a speck of dust.
But since it appeared in the Alien Universe, perhaps something interesting might happen in the future. This meant these Celestials had a reliable retreat, a Safe Zone that even the special models of Celestials wouldn't dare to invade. So... a rebellion of cheap, mass-produced models?
Perhaps this could bring a little bit of fun to the Multiverse.
Du Wa quickly pushed this minor matter to the back of his mind. He would only deign to give it another look when these mechanical Celestials actually achieved something.
"That fellow Chthon is really fast at running away. I've killed more than half of the Black Magicians, yet he still refuses to show his face. Slippery as an eel."
Du Wa pondered. He had no intention of fighting Chthon to the death. If it really came to that, Vishanti, Set, Gaea, and even the Demiurge would be drawn in. The scope of the impact would be too great; collapsing the Multiverse would be a normal outcome.
"It's time to truly begin intervening in the course of the Main Universe and guide this world to the future I want to see... The Main Universe must be in my hands."
Du Wa dragged Cul the Serpent out from Earth.
(end of chapter)