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Yes!
The moment Little Ben clutched that golden cross, the light of the Northern Cross constellation flickered to life in his infant eyes.
And within Hawk's Cosmo.
The Northern Cross—which he had already sequenced but left dormant alongside the other constellations besides Draco and Andromeda—began to slowly illuminate.
The Northern Cross had another name.
Cygnus—
Because its primary stars were arranged in the shape of a large cross, it had historically been called the Northern Cross.
The reason for the name change was simple.
Imagining the cross as a swan was easy. The long vertical beam became the swan's elongated neck. The horizontal beam became its outstretched wings.
So!
Northern Cross equaled Cygnus.
And the Cygnus Cloth stored within this golden cross was Hawk's true gift to his godson.
But—
He'd given the gift. Whether his godson could actually wear it would be up to the boy himself.
If Little Ben earned Cygnus's recognition when he grew up, the Cygnus Cloth hidden within the golden cross would manifest.
But that probably wouldn't be a problem.
After all, great fathers produced great sons.
And the mother wasn't shabby either.
Most importantly—his godfather was Hawk!
Dad was Spider-Man. Mom was Black Cat. Godfather was the Phoenix. Little Ben was destined for greatness.
Hawk looked forward to the day his godson donned the Cygnus Cloth.
Soon.
With the preparations complete and the guests assembled, Little Ben's baptism officially began.
Hawk took Little Ben from Aunt May's arms.
After all, today's main event belonged to Godfather Hawk and Godson Little Ben.
Put it this way...
Peter and Felicia didn't even have the right to stand ahead of him.
Because once a godfather was named, the parents might not need to guide the child from birth to death.
But the godfather did.
And to a certain extent, when it came to Little Ben's future upbringing, Godfather Hawk's word carried more weight than Peter and Felicia's.
The priest held the Bible, delivering a brief sermon to the seated congregation. Then his gaze swept across the guests below before settling on Hawk, who held Little Ben.
The priest looked at Hawk, his voice solemn and steady. "Hawk Phoenix, are you prepared to serve as godfather to Ben Hawk Parker, to assist his parents in helping him grow in faith, and to provide guidance when needed?"
Hawk glanced at Peter and Felicia standing behind him on either side. Then he looked down at Little Ben in his arms—clutching his cross, laughing happily, clearly destined for great things. He raised his head to meet the priest's eyes. "Yes, I am, Father."
The ceremony continued.
Scripture readings.
Prayers.
The baptismal font was wheeled forward. The priest blessed the water, then turned to Hawk once more.
Now the priest's expression was particularly grave. "Do you renounce Satan, and all his works, and all his empty promises?"
Hawk—who knew every step of the baptismal rite by heart—placed his other hand on Little Ben's tiny shoulder. Looking at the priest's solemn face, he answered on his godson's behalf. "I renounce them."
The priest's questions continued.
"Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth?"
"I do."
"Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord?"
"I do."
"Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church... the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?"
"I do."
The priest asked.
Hawk answered.
Peter and Felicia stood quietly behind Hawk.
The guests below held their breath.
Behind the sacred statue of Jesus, sunlight streamed through the church's stained glass windows, casting the entire sanctuary in a rainbow of colors.
In this moment.
Time and space seemed to freeze.
"Do you wish to convert to Heaven and walk upon the earth as the Archangel Samael?"
"I—"
Hawk's lips curved upward. He looked at the Black priest who had replaced the white one before him and smiled brilliantly. "I do not."
These words fell.
No shock.
No uproar.
Because in this moment, time and space had truly frozen.
The reason was simple.
God.
Had descended to Earth.
Exactly as Mephisto had described.
God—
Wasn't a girl. He was Black.
"Yahweh."
"Phoenix."
Hawk locked eyes with Yahweh, who had manifested by replacing the priest.
"Want to fight?"
"Do you?"
"Today is an important day for my godson. I'd rather not. But if you insist, we can."
Hawk smiled as he spoke.
The next second, A Phoenix wreathed in blazing crimson flames projected behind him—so vivid it seemed physical.
Phoenix Fire roared, its heat making the space Yahweh had descended into tremble on the verge of collapse.
The expression on Yahweh's kind, dark face shifted.
Hawk caught it instantly. His lips curved higher.
"What's wrong?"
"Surprised that my universe hasn't truly manifested in reality, yet already carries genuine cosmic pressure?"
Once again.
True, he had previously used the Reality Stone to fully manifest his Cosmo's power at one hundred percent.
But that was only the manifestation of power—not the manifestation of his Cosmo itself.
True Cosmo manifestation required the Eighth Sense.
However, over the past few days, he had refined the Blood Dimension and merged it with the Underworld. And the Blood Dimension was real. The Life-and-Death Law he'd stolen from Blackheart was also real.
Therefore, his Cosmo—channeled through the Underworld, then through the Blood Dimension—could now project a sliver of genuine cosmic pressure into reality. Less than one percent. Even without awakening the Seventh Sense.
But less than one percent was enough for now.
Because even that fraction of truth was Cosmic Entity-level truth.
This was why Yahweh's expression had changed.
He was a god... But he was only a Dimension Lord—same tier as Mephisto.
Everyone knew, Dimension Lords bore the title of "god," but they weren't true gods.
"Phoenix, I—"
"Leave." Hawk cut off Yahweh mid-sentence. The Phoenix Fire behind him blazed even more intensely. "Don't make me hit you while I'm in a good mood. Trust me—you'll die. Your true body and your dimension haven't reached Earth yet, but if I destroy this projection, you'll still feel it."
Yes.
What had arrived was merely a projection of Yahweh.
The real Yahweh—and his Heaven dimension—weren't just absent from Earth's vicinity. They weren't even in the solar system.
After absorbing the Blood Dimension, Hawk had also inherited a portion of La Magra's memory legacy.
This included the auras of various dimensions.
He could now sense where Mephisto's dimension was lurking.
Right behind Pluto.
Hawk had been planning to finish the baptism, then go tell Mephisto to relocate his Hell dimension.
After all—Pluto?
He was the legitimate Lord of the Underworld. What was Mephisto, a Hell Lord, doing squatting there?
Hawk's thoughts turned.
The Black Yahweh before him opened his mouth.
Just then.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The Phoenix Fire behind Hawk erupted in blazing brilliance, sweeping outward in an instant, engulfing the entire world in flames.
The next second.
Accompanied by a sound like shattering glass, everything dissolved like a bursting bubble.
The wind stirred once more.
The church priest's voice resumed.
And at that exact moment, the statue of Jesus—backlit by the rainbow sunlight streaming through stained glass—appeared to weep.
As if mourning the Father.
But no one noticed. After all, today's stars were Hawk and his godson Little Ben.
The priest scooped holy water with his hand and poured it three times over Little Ben's smooth forehead as Hawk held him.
The sacred water traced down the infant's brow.
"Ben Hawk Parker, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
As he spoke, the priest traced a cross on Little Ben's forehead with holy oil, dressed him in a small white garment, then handed a lit candle to Hawk.
The priest gently touched Little Ben's ears and lips, praying silently that he might hear and proclaim the truth.
Hawk held Little Ben in one arm and the candle in the other.
The ceremony reached its conclusion.
The priest looked at Hawk once more. "May his faithful godfather, Hawk Phoenix, guide him always—in word and deed—guiding him to believe in God..."
Hawk held the candle, its light illuminating his eyes. His smile was radiant. "Of course."
The day Yahweh brought his Heaven dimension to Earth would be the day Hawk stormed Heaven's gates.
And when that happened—
He would be God.
Of course he'd guide his godson to believe in God.
The ceremony ended.
The priest withdrew.
Hawk turned, embraced Felicia briefly, and returned Little Ben to her arms. Then he embraced Peter.
Peter's voice whispered in Hawk's ear. "What just happened?"
Hawk returned the embrace, his smile never wavering.
"God just stopped by. Wanted me to convert. I told him not to make me kill him while I was having a good time. He didn't listen. Kept running his mouth instead of leaving. So I ignored him and cut him down."
"..." Peter's smile froze on his face.
Wait.
What?
God showed up?
Then God got killed?
And afterward, Hawk kept preaching about believing in God?
What kind of insanity was this?
Peter's mind raced. But after releasing Hawk from the embrace, he quickly recovered his smile.
Only—
Peter's smile had become somewhat... strained.
Hawk noticed. He winked at Peter and grinned.
"Just kidding."
"Whew!"
Peter let out an explosive breath of relief. Then he laughed—ha, ha, ha ha.
But soon.
He looked at the smile that remained on Hawk's face.
His laughter gradually died.
Hawk's smile only grew brighter.
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~# 70 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!
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