Chapter Twenty-Two: The Descent of the God Ael

The Ancient One’s brows furrowed slightly. This unfamiliar dimensional demon lord appeared to command certain laws of time and space, rendering her own techniques ineffective for the moment. Moreover, the demon’s arrival was wholly outside her expectations—a troublesome entity untethered from the flow of time. But after years of suppressing Midgard, the Ancient One knew that if she applied herself, she could drive this being out; previously, she had merely been testing the demon's capabilities. Just as she prepared to act, she sensed something unexpected, smiled, and returned to her quarters, ready to receive the imminent visitor.

...

In the divine realm, the mysterious little bell suddenly vibrated, rousing El from his slumber. Upon awakening, he immediately sensed a force attempting to invade the sea of psionic energy. In an instant, El appeared at the source of the intrusion, his formidable psionic power surging along the channel into the outside world.

Artanis was listening to the American military’s combat plans. Due to the presence of an unknowable, unseeable entity, the U.S. forces could no longer intervene in the battle; Washington had prepared tactical nuclear weapons, intending to deploy humanity's most powerful arms if the situation spiraled out of control.

At that moment, Artanis felt his psionic staff emit an overwhelming surge of power. He hurriedly drew it forth, golden light bursting from within, while blue crystals across its surface fractured with countless cracks.

El, projecting his consciousness, inadvertently absorbed the memories of all present. In an instant, he understood the full story: the Mind Stone had been cursed by the evil god, whose main aim was to establish contact with the Cosmic Cube, then corrupt both the Space Stone and the Mind Stone. Had the little bell not awakened him, the adversary might have already succeeded.

Comprehending these revelations, El’s eyes narrowed. The Infinity Stones are the condensed power of the Creator Gods, intimately linked to them. Should the Infinity Stones be corrupted or destroyed, the Creator Gods would temporarily lose their ability to perceive all within the universe, until the stones were born anew. Currently, all Creator Gods slumber; if the enemy prevailed, a vacuum would ensue, granting the adversary a window to achieve their aims.

The gods' slumber serves to uphold the laws of the universe—especially the Creator Gods, who must maintain the multiversal order. Thus, they cultivate subordinate deities to assist them, and these subordinates have another task: to awaken the slumbering Creator Gods when significant events occur.

...

The six Infinity Stones are the pillars of the six divine systems within the physical universe, gateways through which they intervene and observe. Without the stones, a divine system becomes blind to the physical realm, and any interference in reality comes at a far steeper price.

Now that El had uncovered this scheme, he would not tolerate the antagonist’s actions, and resolved to intervene personally. Artanis, astonished by his staff’s transformation, felt his consciousness drawn into a mysterious realm. He immediately heightened his vigilance, but relaxed upon seeing El—no one could impersonate the Lord of Psionics.

"Praise be to you, great Lord of Mind and Psionics, God of Knowledge and Wisdom," Artanis’s consciousness bowed respectfully to El. In the Protoss Empire, only the highest Preserver had ever received an oracle before, and now he himself was receiving one—no doubt due to the demon lord’s machinations.

As expected, El’s words soon confirmed this: "Artanis, the dimensional demon lord you encountered attempted to corrupt the Infinity Stones—a blasphemy against us. That demon is the offspring of the Dark God. I will send an avatar to the mortal realm, incarnated as the Mind Stone. You must inform the Light and Shadow Council, and have them apprehend the relevant individuals. Exercise utmost caution."

Artanis was stirred in spirit; before he could respond, he felt himself returning to his body. Opening his eyes, he saw the Mind Staff’s glow intensify. He released it, and the staff soared from the camp, heading outside, with Artanis quickly following.

Thor and the others exchanged glances and hurried after him. The group then bore witness to a sight that would forever be etched in their memories.

A pillar of gold light shot skyward, tearing a great hole in the clouded heavens that had been shrouded by the emergence of the bubble. Golden rays radiated in all directions. All ordinary humans who had been driven mad by the psychic shock now returned to normal. As the golden rays swept over the Chitauri, these deranged alien beings melted away like snow under the sun, dissolving into golden particles.

The strange bubble, sensing the threat of the golden light, opened its eyes.

Countless bubbles, countless eyes—everyone who gazed upon them felt their souls crushed, as if by anvils and millstones. Just as annihilation seemed imminent, the golden light again swept the earth. Those who had regained clarity bowed their heads, no longer daring to look upon the evil god.

...

The bubbles began to multiply wildly, filling the sky in an instant. Even those who looked away still felt terror deep within their souls. All were compelled to kneel, fervently praying to their own gods; some began to pray to the golden light itself, beseeching it to save them once more.

At this moment, the stunned American leadership launched their attack. Despite Nick Fury’s futile protests, a tactical nuclear missile was fired at the bubble-formed sky.

Alas, the moment the missile touched the bubbles, it became another bubble itself. Humanity's so-called ultimate weapon was utterly insignificant before the evil god.

El would not permit this demon to run rampant under his watch. Though the physical universe now allowed only demigod-level power, the true gods’ mastery of the laws far surpassed that of demigods; a true god could perfectly wield every force, pushing each to the demigod limit.

Thus, both El and the evil god before him, though restricted to demigod strength, now faced a battle where victory would go to whoever understood the laws more deeply and commanded their power with greater perfection.

Naturally, as one of the six Creator Gods, and with this avatar incarnated from the Mind Stone, El surpassed the demon lord in every regard. He launched his counterattack.

The golden pillar contracted continually. To the ignorant humans, it seemed the golden light was being overwhelmed by the evil god, and countless kneeling soldiers began to cry.

Yet Artanis, half-kneeling, understood its true meaning. Having kept his gaze fixed on the pillar, he now bowed his head, offering the highest reverence to the Creator God’s avatar.

"Praise be to you, great Creator of Life; your followers call upon you here, calling your will—may your will awaken from chaos, may your will watch over your faithful. Praise be to you, great God of Psionics; your followers call upon your radiance—may your radiance dispel the darkness, may your radiance purify evil. Praise be to you, great God of Wisdom; your followers call upon your voice..."