224 CHAPTER 216

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I expanded my search for Alice to the entire universe, narrowing the search for her by a lot by only looking through the planets that Eternals it, or species with cosmic power, narrowing the list of planets I had to scan to the hundreds, instead of an infinite number.

Now, all I would have to do was wait. Even with my powers, and knowing what I did, scanning such a vast number of planets to every being was complicated, especially if I wanted accurate results. 

So, for the time being, I would have to sit and wait for Alice to appear, and when she did, I would have to erase her, not fight her, but erase her.

Sadly, her plans, or at least what I thought her plans were, were too dangerous, and talking with her, was beyond my power now, she had crossed a line, a delicate line, and I had no other choice but to kill her before the matter went out of my hands before she absorbed enough cosmic power to surpass me. 

"Alex," 

"Ancient One," I greeted, turning around to see her. 

"We need to talk," The Ancient One sighed, apparating a book to her hand.

"What's that?" I asked, looking at the book.

"What Alice learned to do what she's doing," The Ancient One replied, giving me the book.

[The Book of Cagliostro - Legendary Item]

I frowned, "She stole the book from you?"

"For a bit, I didn't even notice, and with it, she learned how to… absorb, other beings," The Ancient One sighed.

Which means… fuck me, she doesn't need Eternals for her plans, not really, they are simply the most nutrient-filled meal, she simply needs to absorb creatures until her power surpasses mine, after that… she could even absorb me.

"I see," The Ancient One said, taking a seat, "You came to the same conclusion, we must stop her, now, not a moment later. If she absorbs enough power, nothing will stand in her way, at least until the universe collapses on itself, in which case, we will all die."

"I can't find her," I cursed, "She's hiding from me, she knows how I act, she's me, in a way, not entirely, but she's me, and knows how to avoid me, by the time I find her again, it will probably be too late." This was my mistake, I should've killed her the moment I meet her, but I was naive, I wanted to believe she was not a threat, I felt pity for her, the same pity that didn't push me to kill her when I found her in that cave torturing the Eternal.

"Then, don't act like yourself," The Ancient One replied, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder, "She knows you, on a different level, she was supposed to be you, but wrong, so don't act like yourself, for her, the normal you is predictable, act like her."

Act like her, that was… is the Ancient One really suggesting what I think she's suggesting? "You want me to do what she's doing?" I asked, my mouth forming a thin line as I looked at her with a small frown.

"Yes, and unlike her, you can start big," The Ancient One nodded, pointing at the Earth.

She wanted me to consume Tiamut, "You want me to consume the Celestial sleeping within the earth," I stated, my eyes never leaving hers.

"Yes, and believe me, it's not a plan I'm particularly proud of, but it's the only safe way to stop her," The Ancient One nodded, taking her hand off my shoulder as she slowly floated to a window nearby to look outside, "She wants to absorb a celestial, at least that's what we assume, and what best celestial to absorb that one that can't defend itself?"

I sighed, brushing one of my hands against my hair, "I suppose your idea has some merit," not that I was particularly excited about it, but absorbing Tiamut would solve two problems in one, stopping Alice, and the future emergence of Tiamut, that according to my system was twenty years away, an emergence I was meaning to stop.

"But still, you don't like it, do you?" The Ancient One replied.

No, I didn't like it, but I was not one to shy away from a good plan, and doing this, would stop two incredibly dangerous beings in one simple move, but it would also earn me a few dangerous enemies, the Celestials.

There was no way they would overlook someone eating one of their own.

But that was bound to happen anyway, so there was no escape, the Celestials becoming my enemies was sadly inevitable, because stopping Tiamut has always been a part of my plans.

"Very well, I'm in," I sighed.

"Read the book then, and learn how to… do it," The Ancient One nodded, extending her hand at me, "In the meantime, I will take charge of the search, Alice expects you to look for her, not me, she might know you, but she doesn't know me," she added with a smile, I knew what she wanted.

"Very well," I chuckled, taking out the space stone from my inventory.

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[Ajak Eternal POV]

Eight of us killed, by a monster in human skin.

We had to prepare. The enemy we were facing was well beyond our power to stop, therefore, we were no longer capable of protecting Tiamut, the sleeping Celestial, meaning, the only one capable of such now was Arishem, our creator.

Only he would be able to stop this new threat.

"Will he answer?" Makkari asked, her tone laced with fear. To think us, creatures as old as this planet, warriors that have faced monsters in the wake, would cower to such an extent, it frightened me to think of the kind of monster she faced to be like this, to be so afraid.

"He has to answer," Ikaris nodded, full of confidence.

"He will," I nodded, while I wasn't particularly happy about the emergence, this was no longer about humanity, but us, us surviving, and that was something I could no longer ensure our safety and that of the humans.