Arishem, the Inquisitor.
He had just finished his trial mission for this month.
Next… Earth!
"The result of the judgment: does not exist!"
Arishem had just declared the death of a living planet.
And then…
A body the size of a planet vanished into a black hole and teleported to another part of the universe, into a solar system tens of thousands of light years away.
"Earth…"
"Your judgment…"
Arishem's words had not yet fallen when suddenly something unimaginable happened, countless gazes turned toward him, as if the entire universe, at that moment, was looking only at him.
Tony's face was completely frozen.
And Ares, who had just escaped certain death, felt not a trace of joy.
He knew the Inquisitor, Arishem. The god of war from Greek mythology had lost all will to fight.
If he saw Quaggs, he wouldn't be afraid, that was a creature belonging to chaos. But Arishem the Inquisitor… that was an entirely different story.
That name was known to every god, whether from Greek, Norse, or Egyptian mythology. Almost every divine race had heard of Arishem the Inquisitor, the being who decides the life and death of entire civilizations.
"It's over…"
Ares knew very well the power of Arishem the Inquisitor.
There was no need to fight him, even if his father Zeus and the Norse god Odin joined forces, they would stand no chance. Two kings of gods together could not stand against Arishem.
"Is this guy stronger than that tentacled monster?" asked Quicksilver, looking at Ares in confusion.
"Hm…"
"I don't know."
Ares shook his head, his face tense.
The ignorant have no fear, but those who know understand how terrifying Arishem truly is.
...
On Earth.
Nick Fury and the others, still in shock after the appearance of Quaggs, were now staring at the god Arishem.
Silence filled the room.
The king of agents no longer had his former cold confidence. Faced with such absolute power, every human intrigue and plan seemed meaningless, childish, and utterly helpless.
"Sir… this should be that Celestial race Tony Stark told us about earlier…" said Hill, her voice trembling.
After the crisis with the Eternals, Tony Stark had handed over data to SHIELD about the Eternals, the Celestials, and Mutants.
SHIELD's mission was to locate and eliminate mutated threats on Earth.
But now, before their very eyes, stood a true Celestial, a divine being whose power transcended all comprehension.
Hill realized the truth: this was the Celestial Stark had spoken of.
"Tony Stark warned us back then…" she murmured.
"In the future, a Celestial will come to judge Earth and decide its life or death."
"It must be him…"
She felt her throat tighten. In the face of such a force, she couldn't even imagine a way to resist.
At the moment when Hill lost all hope, Nick Fury, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke.
His voice was quiet and calm, but sorrow burned in his eyes.
"Hill… send everyone home. Let them go to their families. Let them be with them in this final moment."
Nick Fury no longer had even a trace of his old determination.
A series of disasters and blows had broken him inside.
"I need to go home too… to see my wife."
"Sir?" Hill looked at him in confusion.
"You… have a wife?"
"Oh, yes. A long time ago," said Fury with a faint smile.
"When the Skrulls came to Earth… I met one of them. We fell in love."
In a moment of total despair, Nick Fury unexpectedly opened his heart and revealed a secret he had long kept hidden.
He didn't even notice the expressions of the SHIELD agents around him slowly changing as he spoke.
Coulson opened his mouth as if he had just heard something unbelievable.
A Skrull!?
Did the Director just say his wife was, a Skrull?
"Sir, if I may ask… how did you lose your left eye?" Agent Hill asked, trying to hide the shock and disbelief on her face.
Nick Fury slowly turned his back to the screen and shook his head.
"Ah… an old story," he said calmly.
Everyone expected to hear about some epic battle, perhaps a fight with a supernatural being, a demonic enemy that nearly cost him his life.
But Fury simply said:
"A cat scratched me."
Silence.
Everyone in the room froze, and then their faces twisted in shock.
Nick Fury noticed the change in their expressions and quickly turned toward them.
"What?"
Coulson cleared his throat and hesitantly said, "Uh… sir, the Celestial… he's gone."
"What?"
"He's gone," Hill repeated, trying hard not to laugh. "Right at the moment you said your wife was a Skrull."
Coulson added, "He probably decided he didn't want to be part of this…"
Nick Fury froze.
A heavy silence filled the room. The air grew thick, and then Fury simply muttered:
"You know too much, Coulson."
Coulson turned pale. "Director? Let's just calm down, okay? We'll forget everything! Really, we didn't hear anything!"
"That's right," added Hill quickly. "No one will say a word! Right, Coulson?"
"Of course! Of course not!" he stammered, forcing a nervous smile.
…
Meanwhile, in the depths of space.
Arishem, the Inquisitor, was gone. He came quickly, and left even faster.
Almost as soon as he arrived in the Solar System and saw what was happening, he stopped, looked at Quaggs, and simply said:
"Sorry, wrong galaxy."
Then he just vanished.
Even Quaggs was stunned.
At first, he had been full of confidence, reveling in his power over the weak, like a god among mortals. But now… even a Celestial had retreated at the sight of him.
"Am I… really that powerful?" Quaggs muttered to himself. "Even a Celestial fears my name?"
He blinked his tentacles in confusion, unsure whether to feel proud or terrified.
And just then, a figure streaked through space, radiant, metallic, emanating a familiar energy.
It was Tony Stark.
"Sir! Don't approach! That's suicide!" Jarvis shouted, but Tony ignored him.
"I know, Jarvis. But if I've learned one thing — I haven't died just once or twice."
"Have you ever seen me truly dead?"
His voice was determined. He gritted his teeth and accelerated toward Quaggs, straight into his gaze filled with hundreds of eyes.
Tony knew Quaggs was a danger to all of humanity. He didn't want another god or monster playing with human lives. So he decided to take the risk.
"If there's even the slightest chance this creature understands reason, I have to find it."
Quaggs paused for a moment. He noticed the metallic armor approaching, sensing that a man was inside. He didn't attack immediately.
"Sir, do not look directly into his gaze, he has dozens of eyes!" Jarvis warned.
"I know, Jarvis!" Tony replied, tightly closing his eyes.
He relied entirely on the AI system. Jarvis took over control of the armor and navigation.
But even with his eyes closed, as he approached, Tony's head began to buzz. His mind throbbed, thoughts twisted, and eerie, distorted visions appeared in his consciousness, hallucinations, unreal and warped.
"Aaaaah!" he screamed, trying to fight the pain.
And then, everything stopped.
Silence.
The hallucinations vanished.
In his mind, a deep, resonant voice echoed, like a vibration from the depths of the universe.
"Oh… human. Why are you here?"