The awakening of the Vought trainees was still ongoing, and at the current pace, it was expected to take three to four days to complete.
As for Homelander, after finishing his speech, he left the stage amidst deafening cheers.
Without lingering, he headed straight back to the V.G.D. Headquarters and gathered the Eternals.
"Alright, everyone," Homelander said, getting straight to the point. "Tell me, what are your plans?"
The Eternals exchanged looks, then simultaneously turned their gazes to Ajak.
Ajak met Homelander's gaze.
"Arishem the Judge has already sensed the anomaly in the Emergence. His arrival on Earth is inevitable."
"When?" Homelander asked.
"I don't know," Ajak shook her head.
"Crossing the galaxy is mere instinct to Arishem the Judge. He could appear just outside Earth's atmosphere in the next second. We must be prepared for his arrival at any moment."
"So, what is your countermeasure?"
"We need your help, Homelander," Ajak said in a low voice. "Arishem the Judge's power is not something we can face head-on. Our only hope lies in the Infinity Stones."
"We need you to help us find the Infinity Stones hidden on Earth."
Phastos chimed in, "As long as we get the Infinity Stones, I can build a special device. I call it: the Uni-Mind."
"This device can link our minds and cosmic energy together, allowing us to collectively harness the power of the Infinity Stones. We might stand a chance of stopping Arishem the Judge and forcing him back."
Homelander listened to the plan patiently.
The room fell silent for a few seconds.
Then...
"Pfft—"
Homelander couldn't help but burst out laughing.
His laughter grew louder, eventually turning into an unbridled roar.
"Hahaha..."
The faces of the Eternals turned sour.
"What are you laughing at?" Phastos frowned, his tone laced with clear annoyance.
"I'm laughing at how delusional and out of your depth you are," Homelander said, his smile fading slightly. "The Uni-Mind? Forcing back Arishem the Judge?"
"Do a few sardines huddling together think they can defeat a great white shark?"
Homelander pointed at Ajak, then at the others.
"You are nothing but a bunch of tools mass-produced by the Celestials in the World Forge! Your switches are held firmly in his hands."
"And you want to use the Infinity Stones to rebel? With a single thought from Arishem the Judge, you won't even have the ability to wiggle a finger."
The Eternals felt deeply insulted.
When they first arrived on Earth, humans were still a bunch of primitive savages drinking blood and eating raw meat.
Over the long ages, they had been revered as Gods by humanity.
Yet now, a human was sitting right in front of them, belittling them as utterly worthless.
Gilgamesh suddenly stood up, scraping his chair back, his massive two-hundred-pound frame looming before Homelander.
"You are too arrogant, Homelander," Gilgamesh growled, clenching his fists. "You humans have never even seen the true face of a God. What right do you have to judge us?"
"A God?" Homelander laughed. "You think I've never seen a God?"
"Isn't it just a God?"
"I'll take you to see one right now." Homelander snapped his fingers, his lips parting slightly.
"Tiamut!"
This was a play Homelander had pre-arranged; if Ego ever needed to appear to the outside world in the future, he would use the identity of "Tiamut."
After all, the supervillain Ego had already been "destroyed" by Homelander.
And the very moment that name left his lips, the figures of the Eternals vanished from the spot collectively without warning.
The Eternals only felt the scenery before them shift drastically, the intense spatial tearing sensation stripping them of their senses.
In the next second...
They appeared out of thin air in the Earth's core, their bodies tightly bound by geometric energy, unable to move a muscle.
But what truly made the souls of the Eternals tremble was not their current predicament.
It was what lay ahead.
Six giant eyes emitting a dazzling blue light were staring down coldly at them.
"G... God..."
Faced with the immense pressure radiating from the God, they couldn't even muster a shred of resistance.
It wasn't a matter of willpower; it was determined by their factory settings.
The stronger their abilities were set at the factory, the more deep-seated this blind loyalty was. Ikaris's previous madness was a direct manifestation of this setting.
Just when everyone was at a loss for what to do...
A sparking portal opened beside them.
Homelander stepped out of the portal with a chuckle.
He flew in front of the immobilized Gilgamesh and said nonchalantly,
"You just said I've never seen a God."
"Now, I have seen one, and so have you."
Gilgamesh had not yet recovered from the shock and couldn't even utter a complete sentence.
Ajak struggled to look at the giant God ahead, her voice trembling as she asked,
"Tiamut... why is he awake? The Emergence hasn't even happened yet. And the human population is nowhere near enough."
"Because I woke him up..." Homelander said casually. "It's as simple as that."
The image she had seen back at the farm, when she observed the Earth's core through the vision granted by Arishem the Judge, instantly flashed through Ajak's mind.
"So... that twin God phenomenon in the core of the Earth, was it all your doing?!"
Although Ajak did not understand the principles behind it at all, nor did she know what means Homelander had used, the root of all the anomalies was clearly centered on this man named Homelander.
"That's not important, Ajak," Homelander did not answer her question. "What's important is to look at yourselves now. Do you still think you can deal with Arishem the Judge?"
"What you are facing now is merely an infant God who has not yet undergone the Emergence. Even so, you are completely helpless."
"With just a single thought from Tiamut, all of you would die."
The truth was laid bare right before them.
The Eternals fell completely silent.
There was simply no room for refutation; their power was utterly useless in front of a true God.
Ajak looked at Homelander, countless questions swirling in her mind, but she didn't know where to start.
Homelander saw right through Ajak's thoughts.
"Ajak, there are many things you don't need to delve too deeply into," Homelander's tone softened. "The most important question is: what is it that we want?"
"Then... what is it that you want?"
Ajak finally asked the most crucial question.
"To save Earth, of course," Homelander smiled.
"But, Ajak, saving Earth by simply defeating one Arishem the Judge is meaningless."
"Even if we take down one Arishem the Judge today, Earth will face ten more Arishem the Judges tomorrow."
"So... what I truly want..."
"...is for this Universe to no longer tolerate that seemingly radiant evil."
"For this land to no longer bury the seeds of destruction!"
"For all life to be able to bloom freely!"
"And for those Gods to all vanish into nothingness!"
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