Humanity has always been eager to reach out, to understand, and to embrace the unknown.
This was a core tenet of their new identity, especially after the advancements Xavier had brought into their society.
Of course, as a genius, The Eternal had considered the many possibilities that came with kindness, but never could he have predicted the Altarians.
A blade left long enough, would naturally dull…
When the Altarians appeared, with their sleek, ominous ships and seemingly benevolent demeanor, humanity welcomed them with open arms.
Their ships were angular behemoths of polished black metal, their surfaces etched with intricate designs that glowed with an eerie green light.
Xavier could immediately tell…
Perhaps, he was the only one who could immediately see it, as someone who was not native to the universe to begin with…
The Altarians held something in their demeanor – something deep and not necessarily evil but… concerning nonetheless.
Parts of their vessels hinted at darker purposes, their power sources obscured but exuding toxic, malevolent energies in a way humanity could not quite detect.
It was a strange situation….
An outsider like Xavier knew outsiders when he saw them…
Something barked like a dog, walked like a dog, stuck its head out of the window like a dog, and strangely, it was a dog as far as anyone could tell…
But Xavier knew that was not all it was…
Humanity had taken to The Altarians with disturbing ease and despite his constant pleadings, pointing out the obvious facts that their ships were behemoths designed for wars, bristling with hidden weapons and armor plating that seemed almost alive, no one listened.
If there were a group that listened, it would be The Eternals.
Xavier recognized the Altarians for what they were, conquerors and decimators, their symbol hauntingly familiar from his knowledge of Brightburn – a cosmic phenomenon in the far reaches of the Milestone galaxy that had ended countless planets.
Even SAGE didn't have exact answers for such a phenomenon.
Perhaps, SAGE's answer was just too unbelievable…
Rumors whispered of men with bodies as tough as planets, destroying planets by the dozens at the sight of anyone who would defy their will.
An impossibility by all measures of humanity's sciences, yet The Altarians, in Xavier's mind, seemed to fit this sinister narrative all too well.
Despite the vehement warnings of The Eternals, humanity, softened by years of peace and understanding fostered by Xavier's technology, invited the Altarians in, expecting peace and cooperation.
Xavier's technology, thus far, had proved that not all species held impossible divides – walking a mile in another's shoes would often foster enough understanding for peaceful negotiations.
Even if such agreements were barbaric and unorthodox in many cases…
But The Altarians were different.
It was, perhaps, the first time in his life that Xavier felt such a profound sense of horror; his people, his legacy, walked blindly into the jaws of a predator with glistening toxic teeth.
The Altarians, with their seemingly diplomatic gestures, began to subtly infiltrate human society.
Xavier saw the signs – covert data extractions of critical strategic and technological information disguised as quiet strolls in the park, unexplained disappearances of key figures who had spoken against the Altarians, and the subtle yet growing unease among Humanity's populace.
The missing included scientists on the verge of breakthroughs, military leaders about to transition into Eternals, and influential politicians – each a voice of reasons silenced in the night.
Events were too exclusive to be tied together unless one was already looking for the signs.
Many would call it paranoid but Xavier preferred to be called 'particularly focused.'
Desperate and seeing no other options, watching everything fall to the enemy's charms, Xavier went rogue.
He gathered his Eternals, even the most obscure amongst their numbers – elite warriors whose names were whispered in reverence and fear; many had come from the deepest prison pipelines.
There was Lysandra, whose ability to manipulate light made her a ghost on the battlefield; Marcus, whose strength and resilience were unmatched; and Zara, whose mastery of telekinesis could turn the tide of any confrontation.
Together with the others, they formed a force of unparalleled power.
Xavier, trying to detach himself from what would follow, laid out his plan in precise military terms. "We will execute a rapid infiltration and destruction mission," he explained, his voice grim. "Reconnaissance will be brief – once we identify key targets, we will engage in a full-scale assault. Our objective is clear: eliminate the Altarian threat at its source. This mission will involve wide-scale destruction and, yes, genocide. It is a horrifying decision, but the alternative is far worse."
The Eternals struggled with the weight of their task.
The morality of their mission gnawed at their souls, but the grim reality of the Altarian threat left them no choice.
Had it been anyone else proposing the mission, such an Eternal would have been subjected to a station in the galaxy's outer reach where cosmic energy was as faint air at high altitudes, but this was Xavier…
He was THE CREATOR…
The LEGEND…
The OUTSIDER…
The PIONEER…
And of course, the first PRIME ETERNAL…
The Elite Eternals steeled themselves for what lay ahead, knowing that the future of humanity rested on their shoulders.
As they prepared to leave, the mission having been planned over months, Xavier stood before his assembled Eternals. "I know what I'm asking of you," he said, his voice heavy with the weight of the decision. "But I also know what's at stake. If we do not act now, humanity will face certain annihilation. We fight not just for our survival, but for the future of every human being. Remember, there is no room for mercy. We must be ruthless."
The journey to the Altarian home planet was tense.
The Eternals, despite their superhuman abilities, were not immune to fear; they knew the risks and understood the stakes, but they followed Xavier with unwavering loyalty.
Upon arrival, and after a few more minutes of discussion of the mission parameters, they descended upon the Altarian planet with ferocity.
The initial assault was swift and brutal…
The Eternals, utilizing their ability to draw upon cosmic energy, unleashed devastating attacks that decimated Altarian strongholds.
Xavier should have noticed it immediately…
The shroud that hid the planet…
The obscure nature of its buildings….
Everything was distinctly militaristic…
Lysandra's light beams sliced through the buildings like a hot knife through butter, while Marcus plowed through ranks of soldiers with sheer brute force, bolstered by glowing, golden cosmic threads.
Zara's telekinetic blasts reduced countless buildings to rubble with a wave of her hands, fires raging and the ground shaking with the force of their combined onslaught.
Strangely, a quick inspection told an unbelievable truth, there was no one residing in the destroyed buildings, merely projections meant to take on life-like characteristics.
It wasn't until The Eternals started to push deeper into the heart of the planet that they discovered the chilling reality.
This was not a military zone…
It could hardly even be considered a planet…
"This is a weapon producing weapons…" Xavier muttered, stunned by the sights before him.
Children stood atop shifting platforms, getting armor seared into their flesh with cruel precision.
And yet, their eyes held a cold focus – the focus of killers.
Not the familiar focus of soldiers many of The Eternals held, men and women who were trained to kill as a byproduct of their responsibilities, but the cold, indifference of weapons of war.
And staring into the abyss meant the abyss could stare back into you…
The Eternals saw the children and the children saw them, and as soon as their gazes met, a beam of corrupting red, deeper than blood, shot from one of their eyes, nailing an Eternal in the chest.
That Eternal stared in shock at the gaping hole where his heart once was…
Everyone froze…
Xavier, perhaps due to knowing the science that went into creating an Eternal, refused to move for the longest time, even as the beam of corrupting red flashed around him.
A war had started…
'I am not sure we can win this…' he thought, doubt finally setting in as his cosmic-reinforced body blurred into motion, removing the head from the first child.
But it would definitely not be the last child…
The battle was horrific, but there was no turning back.
The Eternals lost a few of their members to the onslaught of children stronger, faster, and more capable than they were, but children lacked experience.
The experience made all the difference…
...…
The battles were intense and merciless.
Eventually, somehow, through gritting their teeth and throwing enough bodies at the problem, The Eternals made it far enough into the mechanized planet to wage war against The Altarian Generals.
Admittedly, the Altarian Generals were to The Eternals what The Eternals were to the Altarian children.
Where the children held a profound genetic advantage over The Eternals but lacked experience, The Altarian Generals held both in ruthless potency.
They were towering figures of strength and strategy…
Nearly twenty Eternals lost their lives in the blood skirmishes, their sacrifices etched into the very fabric of the battleground; each loss was a heavy blow to Xavier, but he pushed forward, driven by the knowledge that this brutal attack was necessary to save humanity.
If what he had witnessed is a fraction of the hell Altarians could unleash then, even genocide would not be enough to stifle the threat.
...….
The chaos was deafening.
The Altarians were endless…
Xavier found himself locked in combat with an Altarian general; the general was a formidable opponent, and their battle was a symphony of power and skill.
Gravity fought against impossible strength…
Cosmic beam fought against the corruption of omega beams…
Cosmic energy fought against Omega energy…
If Cosmic Energy was the foundation of the universe, Omega Energy was meant to be its inevitable conclusion…
As they fought blow for blow, Xavier caught glimpses of the Altarian's memories – a planet ravaged by constant war, a people hardened by necessity that became culture and gave birth to unfathomable power the more they indulged in the suffering of those they conquered.
It was a stark reminder of the brutality that awaited humanity if they failed.
With a final surge of cosmic energy Xavier had been gathering behind his eyes for the duration of the many-day battle, the general fell from the skies with half his body disintegrated.
Eternals, battered and weary, the ones who survived, a mere fifty out of a hundred that came, regrouped in the northern sector of planetary space.
Beneath them, the planet, no longer cloaked by whatever hid its true nature from sight, lay in mechanized ruins, functioning at minimum capacity but Xavier had no doubt, that more soldiers were being bred, trained, and released.
But The Eternal's victory was bittersweet…
As they hovered in space and surveyed the devastation below, the full horror of their actions became clear; they had not just destroyed a threat; they had tried to annihilate an entire civilization.
And even with all their determination, ruthlessness, and cosmic brilliance, they had still come up short – that was, somehow, even more terrifying than the attempt.
The weight of their actions hung heavily over them, a somber reminder of the cost of their survival, and yet, it was even more terrifying by the realization that they would have to attempt it again.
They returned to humanity with the news of their discovery…
...…
It was later revealed that The Eternals' merciless attack had saved humanity from a catastrophic virus the Altarians had planned to launch.
The virus, designed to wipe out entire populations, had been neutralized along with its creators; but not before five cities were lost – cities that held billions of the brightest minds in Humanity.
True to Altarian war-like nature, they had chosen their secondary targets with the precision of a top surgeon who had taken an anti-oath.
Still, Humanity had not been entirely asleep; they had simply turned their mindsets to ventures that were more peaceful but at the break of Altarian decorum, veterans utilized their life-protection bracelets in wholly unique ways.
The bracelets meant to project a human consciousness across the universe, morphing them into a species for diplomatic reasons turned into a combat tool with a library of combat-specialized alien races.
A thought could morph a human into something more… something deadly…
While The Altarians managed to take five cities, it would have been much worse if veterans had not thrown their lives away left and right to weaken the threat until others could end it permanently.
...…
Some months later…
Xavier stood alone in his lab, the hum of advanced technology a stark contrast to the silence in his heart.
No longer did he think about his wife…
Daughter…
The adopted son he had lost…
He had saved humanity, but at what cost?
And for how long?
The questions lingered, unanswered, as he stared into the depths of the cosmos, seeking redemption in the stars, but there was none to be had… not for him.
In the end, Xavier knew that his actions, though necessary, had forever changed him.
The battle against the Altarians had not just been a fight for survival; it had been a crucible, forging him into a leader willing to sacrifice everything for the greater good.
He had found himself trapped in this new universe and made it home – there was no going back.
And so, as the stars shone brightly in the night sky, Xavier whispered a silent promise to those lost in the conflict. "I will find a way to atone," he vowed, the words a beacon of hope in his dark heart. "For all that we have done and will do, and all that we have lost, I will find a way," he then took a deep breath, eyes narrowing in cold indifference. "But first comes the war!"
The Altarians had been wounded not defeated.
This was made painfully obvious by the fact that Xavier knew, he had felt something watching them with mild amusement as they committed genocide on the Altarian planet.
Amused things often didn't feel threatened.