Eternal Gratitude

Shortly after they awaken, The Guardians notice a slight figure upon the balcony above them. They immediately recognize this man as the mysterious stranger who had come to their aid in the third circle of hell in Mephisto's realm. "Hello, once again, my friends. I guess there is no longer need for me to appear to you in such a primitive form, so forgive me if I assume a more comfortable appearance." The man instantly underwent a startling transformation. He became taller, and broader, and his physical form became vague and seemed to melt away. It became apparent that they stood before Eternity itself.

"You have done very well. Yes, I have been observing your progress all along. My sibling Death has once again greatly underestimated my power and the power of my followers. I detected the feeble efforts to foil me long ago. I only allowed them to continue for so long, so that through your interference, I could ensure they would backfire in such a way to create a greater good for the outcome. Death and her followers can not be destroyed, of course; Voyd was much weaker than Death had guessed. But, when you forced Death to fight Voyd back into its slumber Death has been left weak. Behold!"

Eternity waved its hand and before them was the vista of a lush rainforest on some distant and strange tropical planet. "The world of Kathoon was locked in the grasp of a terrible drought. Now there is water." Eternity waved its hand again, and this time they saw a group of six-armed alien insects administering a vaccine to a long line of their diseased fellows. "On the planet KztkDral, a terrible virus depleted nearly a third of their entire population. The KztkDralian doctors have just discovered a vaccine."

Eternity waved its hand once more, and this time was a more familiar scene: a small, African village. "On Earth, the petty bickering and squabbling in politics that kept aid from reaching starving African villages has ended, and the death rate has been cut by more than half. Hundreds of similar examples are to be found across the multiverse, and it will be quite some time before Death regains enough of her former power to begin countering the great progresses and advances you have made possible today. I thank you, and all the peoples of the universe thank you."

With that, Eternity vanished; and just as he did so, Galactus began to stir.