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As these words were spoken, the Eternals were all stunned.
They had originally thought that Homelander only wanted to protect Earth.
But they never expected that the grand ambition of this human male was actually to take down all the Celestials.
This could no longer be described as arrogance; it simply exceeded the dimensions of their cognition.
Although Ajak had already changed her stance and decided to protect Earth, the inertial thinking of serving the Celestials for countless years still made her subconsciously want to defend her creator.
"No... you cannot do this," Ajak shook her head and said.
"The Celestials sow life throughout the Universe and ignite stars. They created galaxies, allowing the Universe to prosper. Perhaps our positions are different now, but their mission is sacred..."
"Sacred?"
Homelander sneered.
"That is merely a trick they use to boast about themselves."
He then pointed to the giant God behind him.
"You might not believe what I say. Then let Tiamut, who is also a Celestial, tell you himself."
After Homelander finished speaking, Tiamut's six eyes immediately began to flash.
"Listen to the truth, lost lives..." The majestic voice belonging to Tiamut resounded in the minds of the Eternals.
"We Celestials sow life in the Universe and ignite stars, but our purpose has never been for the prosperity of the Universe. It is merely for the propagation of our own race."
"We also do not care about the demise of life and civilization, because we are born by absorbing nutrients from such demise."
As Tiamut spoke, scenes of a cruel Universe unfolded in the minds of the Eternals.
"Not only that," Tiamut continued.
"The Celestials also conduct experiments on civilizations throughout the Universe. In order to accelerate the growth rate of civilizations, we create higher-intelligence life forms."
"The faster a civilization develops, the faster wisdom energy accumulates, and the faster a new God is born."
Tiamut's voice was devoid of emotion, yet it struck straight at the heart.
"You think the destruction brought by the Emergence is cruel? No, the destruction brought by such civilization experiments is far greater than the Emergence."
"Because a Planet chosen as an incubator can at least receive the protection of the Eternals, allowing the civilization to develop smoothly until the very last moment."
"But those civilizations used as testing grounds by the Celestials, once their evolutionary direction does not meet the expectations of the Celestials... they will be directly destroyed, and then everything will be pushed back to start over."
At this moment, the images in their minds shifted, and countless prosperous civilizations were wiped out by a casual wave of a God's hand, perishing in great floods, meteors, or other disasters.
These cruel truths shattered Ajak's inner World.
For the past few thousand years, Ajak had been using one reason to numb herself.
Although the Emergence sacrificed one civilization, the new God born as a result would go on to create more galaxies and nurture more life.
This was a great sacrifice.
But she never expected that what was exchanged for the sacrifice of countless lives was not a creator, but a more cruel executioner.
Ajak was streaming with tears, and she asked Tiamut in a hollow voice.
"You are also a God... why tell us these things? Why help us deal with the Celestials?"
Tiamut was silent for a moment, and following Homelander's pre-arranged script, he answered in a deep voice.
"From the moment each God is seeded, its exclusive duty is determined."
"Arishem the Judge is the Judge, responsible for deciding the survival or demise of civilizations. And I... am the Communicator."
Tiamut's voice was deliberately imbued with a hint of compassion.
"I possess a trait that all other Gods do not have... empathy."
"In the years of slumber, I sensed the emotions of the life on this Planet. Their love, their pain, their joy."
"I believe life should not be trampled upon at will..."
"Moreover, in the current Universe, there is already enough life; they possess their own will and are capable of self-propagation and development."
"The mission of the Celestials has actually long been completed. Now, it is time for us to exit the stage."
Hearing this, Homelander took over the conversation at the right moment, his tone mocking:
"He is right. The current Universe is indeed crowded enough. Crowded to the point that someone can no longer stand it and is struggling to wipe out half of the life in the Universe."
Homelander shrugged.
"And if there are no accidents, that guy's success rate is quite high."
The amount of information brought by the cruel truth was too overwhelming; the Eternals seemed to have their worldviews shattered.
Originally, they were just trying to find ways to protect Earth.
But as they chatted, the topic had risen directly to "wiping out the Celestials of the entire Universe"?
This span was so large that they were all plunged into confusion for a moment.
Watching this group of dazed tools, Homelander knew the time was right.
"Tiamut," Homelander issued an order, "restore their deleted memories."
"As you wish."
Tiamut's six eyes shone brightly, enveloping every Eternal.
Following this, those painful memories that had been erased were all restored from the recycle bin.
Even Ajak had her complete memories restored.
Although she had retained partial memories in each previous reincarnation, they were only macro-concepts regarding the Celestials and the cycle of the Emergence.
As the memories of past lives were rapidly pieced together.
They saw it.
They saw themselves descending on different Planets.
They saw those diverse, prosperous, and brilliant civilizations.
They saw themselves talking, laughing, falling in love, and fighting side-by-side with the life of those civilizations.
Then...
The World collapsed.
A giant God broke out of its shell, tearing the Planets they had protected with their own hands into fragments.
Countless lives turned to ashes in the sudden collapse.
And they were forcibly taken back to the World Forge, their memories erased, to begin the next cycle.
Time and time again.
Protecting, destroying, resetting.
"No... no!" Sersi covered her head, her tears flowing uncontrollably.
She saw other lives she had once deeply loved, all eventually turning to dust in the Emergence.
Phastos let out a painful roar; those civilizations he had personally taught technology to and helped develop rapidly had ultimately become their death warrants.
Even the strongest, Ajak, closed her eyes and wept silently.
And the one who changed the most was Tina.
The Mahd Wy'ry that had tormented her for thousands of years was cured without medicine, and countless broken images finally pieced together into a complete picture.
The confusion in Tina's eyes was swept away, leaving only uncontrollable killing intent.
Homelander watched this group of weeping aliens and seized the opportunity to speak.
His voice was gentle yet full of temptation.
"In pain? That is right. This is the sin you bear, and it is also the price of your awakening."
"Arishem the Judge treats you as tools of slaughter, erasing your past and controlling your future."
Homelander pointed upwards.
"In this Universe, there are countless Planets like Earth that have been seeded with the seed of destruction."
"And there are countless Eternals like you, kept in the dark, becoming accomplices to the Celestials."