But the next second, he realized something was wrong. This sky had not been torn into a Rift by him, but by the Space Stone.
2012. The Chitauri invasion.
Hawk quickly recalled the current timeline, and his eyes snapped back to the torn sky. As expected, with the Space Portal opening above Manhattan, swarms of Chitauri Soldiers poured out like metal locusts spilling from a container.
They surged out in an instant. The Chitauri Soldiers that arrived on Earth rode sleek single-soldier flying vehicles, their engines screaming sharply, dark alloy armor tightly wrapped around their inhuman bodies.
With a loud boom, the first Chitauri Soldiers pulled the trigger on its energy weapon. The glass walls of a skyscraper in Manhattan were pierced and then blown into a Rift.
"Attack!" "Invasion!" "Kill them!"
The Chitauri Soldiers roared with excitement, and after pouring out of the Wormhole, they quickly assigned themselves tasks. Some lowered their vehicles and flew toward the streets of Manhattan, while others climbed higher, confirmed their targets, and sped toward Brooklyn.
Of course, Queens was also within their attack range. The people there shouted in panic as they saw Chitauri soldiers firing energy weapons, punching through buildings, igniting cars, and killing civilians while flying straight toward them.
Screams, explosions, burning vehicles, and cries of the wounded mixed together. In that moment, the entirety of New York City was swallowed by panic and noise.
Standing on the rooftop, Hawk turned instinctively, about to go back inside his apartment. Halfway through the turn, he suddenly stopped, as if something had occurred to him.
He turned back and looked up at the sky. The Chitauri Soldiers were sweeping toward Queens like a swarm, their vehicles howling through the air.
One Chitauri Soldiers flying above noticed Hawk standing alone on the rooftop. For invaders, there was nothing more enjoyable than seeing civilians scream and flee in despair, so someone who did not move at all was impossible to ignore.
Their eyes met. In Hawk's deep blue eyes, something like a star flickered.
"Human!"
The Chitauri Soldiers broke formation, its snake-like eyes hidden behind a dark alloy mask locking onto Hawk. It dove straight down toward the rooftop and fired an energy shot the moment it closed in.
Destructive energy gathered at the front of the vehicle and fired the instant it took shape. Hawk watched the rapidly expanding energy blast in his vision, his pupils tightening.
The blast struck the rooftop and exploded, shattering the ground and throwing up dust. The Chitauri Soldiers saw Hawk vanish at the moment of impact and reappear unharmed on the other side, then pulled the trigger again without hesitation.
Energy blasts rained down, turning the rooftop into chaos. Rubble flew, dust filled the air, and Hawk moved through it all, dodging shot after shot.
At first he was tense, but he quickly calmed down and began to move with ease. It took him less than a minute to adapt, because Saint Seiya was born for war.
The Chitauri Soldiers continued firing until a sharp empty click sounded. The soldier paused, looking down at its vehicle, which had run out of ammunition.
At that moment, wind roared. The Chitauri soldier looked up and saw a broken steel water tank plate burst out of the dust and slam into the flying vehicle.
The vehicle lurched violently, and the Chitauri Soldiers leapt away by instinct, only to lose balance and fall straight onto the rooftop. It hit the ground hard and immediately stood up, pulling a weapon from its back that looked like a gun powered by a green energy core.
The Chitauri Soldiers made strange hissing sounds, as if speaking or trying to contact its kind. Hawk did not really care what it was doing.
After all, this was a fight. Focus mattered.
The rooftop had already been torn apart by the earlier bombardment. Most of the floor had collapsed, and some sections had fallen through to the third floor below, exposing the inside of the building.
No one noticed what was happening on the rooftop. People of New York might not excel at many things, but when it came to staying alive, they knew exactly when to run.
As the dust slowly settled, Hawk's figure emerged. The Chitauri Soldiers's green eyes flashed coldly, and it pulled the trigger again.
"Die!"
With a sharp crack, the Chitauri soldier who had been holding an attack stance had his head twisted a full ninety degrees. His fly-like compound eyes glowed a dim green as he stared at Hawk in front of him, as if he could not believe what had just happened. He could not understand how this human had appeared behind him in an instant.
The Chitauri Soldiers did not need to understand anymore. That question became his final thought before endless darkness swallowed him. His body collapsed onto the rooftop, and the Energy Weapon slipped from his hand and hit the ground with a dull sound.
"Is that it?"
"Heh."
Hawk looked at the dead Chitauri Soldiers at his feet and let out a quiet laugh. His expression held no surprise, only mild curiosity.
In the next moment, he felt a change inside himself. Within the Cosmo that had formed after the great explosion of the Universe, a warm current appeared as the enemy died. As it flowed through him, it felt like a star had been lit inside his Cosmo.
At the same time, a stream of information reached Hawk. Inside his Cosmo, the vague projection of the Forty-Eight Bronze Constellations became faintly visible after the first star was lit. He closed his eyes and focused on the knowledge being passed to him.
Grow through countless battles. Rise through endless combat. After all, Cosmo Training was born for war, for holy wars, a method of battle and a path of Saints.
"So," he said softly, "if I want to light my own constellation within Cosmo, I need to fight, and keep fighting?"
In the rules of Saint Seiya, awakening Cosmo was deeply tied to one's constellation, though not in a simple way. If awakening was like liquid, then the constellation was the container. A constellation was both the symbol of a Saint Seiya and the vessel of their power.
The bad news was that Saint Seiya did not exist in the Marvel Universe. That meant if he wanted a constellation, he would have to light it himself, star by star. The good news was also that Saint Seiya did not exist here, so in theory all of the Forty-Eight Bronze Constellations could awaken for Hawk.
In his memories, becoming a Saint Seiya was like forcing thousands through a narrow bridge, with only one winner. There were few constellations and too many candidates. Here, it was different.
Here, only he had awakened Cosmo. That meant he could be a Pegasus Constellation Saint Seiya, or a Phoenix Constellation Saint Seiya, as long as he lit those constellations within his Cosmo. The thought made him feel genuinely pleased.
There was a saying about children making choices, but adults taking everything. He was only seventeen and still a minor, yet his mind felt fully grown. He wanted all of them.
Then another thought struck him. If he could take all of the Forty-Eight Bronze Constellations, what about the twenty-four Silver constellations, or even the twelve Zodiac temples? The idea made him draw in a sharp breath.
At that moment, he heard the sound of air moving. He snapped his eyes open and saw two Chitauri Soldiers on flying craft, staring at the corpse at his feet before locking their gaze onto him. Without a word, they pulled their triggers.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Seeing their companion killed by a human enraged them. They fired nonstop, pouring their anger onto the rooftop. Under the barrage, the already unstable roof finally gave way.
Explosions echoed as the rooftop collapsed, and the entire apartment building began to shake. As the two Chitauri Soldiers circled and kept firing, the building started to crumble from the top down. The ground trembled as dust filled the air, and the five-story building turned into ruins.