Chapter 93: Chapter 89. The Sword of Damocles
"I want to ride that one!"
After receiving his drink, Noah decided to set aside his worries. Dwelling on problems without action wouldn't solve anything—they wouldn't resolve themselves either. He resolved to revisit these concerns later. For now, he wanted to relax and enjoy the day.
Once they left the café, the trio navigated through a sea of tourists, heading toward the park's most popular attractions. Along the way, they were frequently stopped by curious onlookers. Some mistook them for celebrities, while others tried to snap photos. Noah politely declined each request.
Reaching the area with the extreme rides, Gwen suddenly pointed to one.
"You want to ride that?"
Walking in the middle, Noah turned his gaze to where she was pointing. Towering over them was a massive roller coaster track, its winding rails resembling a giant metal dragon soaring through the air. The tallest segment of the track was nearly vertical, and from where he stood, he could see the twisted expressions of passengers as some even appeared to faint.
"You want to start with this?" he asked, surprised she'd chosen the most extreme ride. He had expected to ease into things with something milder.
"Yes! It looks like so much fun!" Gwen said, her enthusiasm infectious.
"Well, all right, let's go," Noah agreed, deciding not to deny her the thrill she craved.
As they approached the boarding platform, he noticed several people stumbling out of the ride, struggling to steady themselves while battling nausea. It struck him how thrill-seeking seemed ingrained in human nature: they feared, yet sought out such experiences. Personally, he felt his armor could provide far more intense sensations than any amusement park ride.
"Ahhh! Hahaha!"
When the coaster reached its nearly vertical peak, a blonde woman seated to Noah's left passed out. The ride had four seats per row—Gwen and Lissandra were to his right, while the fainted blonde was to his left.
As the coaster plummeted down, Gwen screamed—not out of fear but sheer excitement. She was fully immersed in the moment. Lissandra maintained her characteristic calm smile throughout the ride, while Noah, who rarely felt thrill from such activities, found himself unexpectedly enjoying the experience. Gwen's infectious joy had rubbed off on him.
As the sun began to set, the trio decided to end their day on the iconic Ferris wheel, a staple of every amusement park. When their cabin reached the top, they were greeted by a breathtaking view.
The ocean shimmered in the golden hues of the sunset, its surface glowing as if kissed by sunlight. Far off on the horizon, the sun, resembling a ripe golden-orange orb, sank slowly into the water.
"Wow, this is beautiful!" Gwen exclaimed, pressing herself against the cabin window to admire the scene.
"Yeah, it's stunning," Noah thought, momentarily lost in the view. Inspiration struck, and he turned to Lissandra.
"Let's take a photo," he said, recalling his love for photography.
Whenever he encountered something memorable, he made a point to capture it. He'd taken many pictures during his time in Asgard, preserving the memories of that extraordinary place. However, in the Void, he had been too preoccupied with survival to think about photography.
"Of course," Lissandra replied. A small camera materialized above their heads, assembled from nanomachines.
Click!
At that moment, the trio was immortalized in a photo, framed against the glowing sunset.
"Time to think about how to deal with the Celestials."
After an eventful day at the amusement park, they returned home. While Gwen and Lissandra reminisced about the day and made plans for future outings, Noah retreated to his laboratory to strategize his next steps.
He had expected some downtime following the events with Thor and the Hulk. With roughly a year left until the anticipated "Battle of New York," he assumed there would be no major threats in the immediate future. Especially since Loki, having been incapacitated and imprisoned, wouldn't be falling through a wormhole to orchestrate the Chitauri invasion.
But instead of rest, new problems had surfaced. First, the Void, and now the Celestials—two significant threats loomed over him. Thankfully, neither demanded immediate action, giving him time to prepare.
"I should put the Void issue on hold for now and focus on the Celestials and the Eternals," Noah said aloud as he opened a virtual screen to locate the Eternals.
After defeating the Deviants centuries ago, the Eternals believed their mission was complete and had remained on Earth awaiting further orders from the Celestials. Since the seed hadn't reached the point of awakening, no new instructions had been issued.
During this time, disagreements arose among them, leading to their eventual separation. Noah decided to track them down, starting with the few he had already identified, based on what he remembered from the movie.
He had already encountered Sersi and Sprite in New York. This struck him as odd since, in the movie, they were based in London, England, with Sersi working as a schoolteacher. Perhaps they relocated later due to the chaos in America.
Phastos, the technologically adept Eternal, lived in modern society, but his heavily modified home made him difficult to pinpoint. Kingo, the Bollywood star, would be the easiest to find since his celebrity status made his whereabouts public knowledge.
As for the others, their locations were less certain. Gilgamesh and Thena were likely in hiding due to Thena's Mahd Wy'ry condition. Ikaris and Ajak had also disappeared, though Noah suspected they were close to each other. Druig was living in an ancient forest, manipulating primitive humans, while Makkari had been on the Eternals' ship this entire time.
"So, I only know the locations of three Eternals?" Noah muttered, rubbing his forehead in frustration. If he wanted to approach the Eternals, he'd have to start with those he had already found. Perhaps they could contact the others through their own channels.
"But there's no rush. Taking down a Celestial is no small task, and the aftermath is just as critical."
Noah felt confident he could handle the primary mission: stopping the Emergence. The key would be to deal with Ikaris and possibly Sprite. By recreating the movie's events, he could help Sersi transform the Celestial's body into stone.
The other Eternals, once they learned the truth, were likely to side with him and abandon the idea of destroying Earth. Furthermore, the newborn Celestial seemed to have no intent to destroy the planet, opting to delay its emergence instead. Otherwise, Sersi wouldn't have been able to stop it so easily, as even a newborn Celestial possesses power comparable to the entire universe.
While completing the mission seemed feasible, the true challenge lay in dealing with Arishem the Judge, the six-eyed Celestial responsible for overseeing planetary assessments. If a planet passed his judgment, it was spared; if not, its fate was sealed.
By preventing the Emergence, Noah knew he'd incur Arishem's wrath. He planned to delay taking action until the last moment, hoping that by then—perhaps a year later—he'd be strong enough to face the six-eyed Celestial.
"Tomorrow, I'll visit the Ancient One. She might have the answers I need," Noah decided, closing the holographic screen and settling into his chair.
The next day, he planned to head to New York's Sanctum Sanctorum to meet with the Ancient One. With pressing questions about the Void, the Eternals, and the Celestials, he was sure she could provide invaluable guidance.
[Time: 00:00]
[A-level mission accepted.]
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