//------------------------------// // Chapter 93 – The Seven // Story: Infinity Era // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// 93 The Nation of Wakanda Mount Bashenga 12:00 a.m. A night came forth that purged the lands and cleansed the heavens, the early morning hour so dark and so desolate that an inky blackness filled the outskirts of Wakanda. That storm that infected, that grew so massive that nearly the entire continent of Africa suffered under its veil, billowed its heart directly where the beast remained. That heart, that eye, glared down with a fiery strength and spread that reddened light across the valleys surrounding Mount Bashenga. The mountain itself was dark. The shadow that fell over the mountain belonged to none other than Typhon. With seven towering, serpent-like heads, seven crowns adorned amongst the horns, and wings so massive and so powerful they spread from one end of the valley to the other, just a simple wave clearing away the dust and smoke that filled the air. Allowing all the world to see him. Upon his body, hundreds of serpents cried out and shrieked, all of them slithering about, thrashing, hissing and biting towards the lone mound of dirt and rock and Wakandan technology. Despite standing in the valley below Mount Bashenga, Typhon easily overshadowed it. The panther statue was trapped in a frozen state, forever roaring at the seven-headed dragon. At him and his approaching children. Slowly the mountain was swarmed from all sides, Typhon’s titan-like children approaching Mount Bashenga with only one certified intent glowing in their hellishly-red eyes. The titans were colossal in size, their arms extending even further than their own bodies as they strode like silverback gorillas towards the lone mountain structure. And by the time they neared it, stopping just short of the vibranium tower and gazing down into the Great Mound, they waited. All turned towards their father. Of the seven heads, the middle head chose to lean forward. Being the First of the Seven, it reared forward and shouted, “Cleanse it!” They did. Without any second of hesitation. Roaring in unison, all three titans raised their massive claws into the air before driving them all at once onto the mountain’s surface. The tower instantly fell, the titans unhinged as they clawed, tore, ripped, shredded, and dug further and further into Mount Bashenga. The First narrowed its wrathful eyes, the red shimmering and seething with unbridled fury. Watching as his children dug… and waiting for them to strike the treasure within. “It shall be mine at last,” the Second growled, leaning forward on the First’s left and earning its attention. It glared down onto the destruction of Mount Bashenga, eyes burning greedily. “Before the sun shall arise, the Soul Stone will be within my grasp. Its power… unrivaled by any other! Then this world… all its riches… will rightfully return to me!” “The time will come again where I shall find proper rest,” the Third piped in, rising amongst the smoke and appearing on the First’s right. The Third narrowed its eyes upon the mountain. The other heads growled softly in protest, unimpressed with the Third’s ignorance and sloth. “No more wrenching in agony within the bowels of Tartarus. This world will be our throne once more.” The panther statue finally fell as chunks of the mountain broke off and descended deeper into the blackened pit of the valleys Typhon stood upon. His children continued to dig, tore apart the inner laboratories and only furthered their advance. The Fourth grew heavily attentive to their progress, leaning forward from behind the Second and First and hissing. Lustfully stating, “Yeeeessss… how easily did fall the mighty mound of the Wakandan nation? Their precious vibranium could not save them… and now it gleams under my glory. With the Soul Stone in my possession… Oh, the bountiful power it will give.” “With the Soul Stone in my possession,” the Fifth interrupted, breaking the Fourth’s dream-like trance and bringing its eyes over to the far left. The Fifth continued rather quickly, spewing all forms of vulgarity and gluttony. “The bastard children of Earth will see once again who properly rules them! Just as I have devoured my kin so long ago… so too will humanity suffice. No will of man nor strength of god shall come lest they fall between my jaws.” While the others mainly ignored the Fifth and its rash and unruly behavior, the Sixth nearly bowed its own head to it. He gazed with envious longing, nearly whispering, “But of course! To your power, to your power, and to your power, is there truly anything in this universe that could hope to stand against us when we acquire the Infinity Stone? Against… me?” “Do not be foolish!” the Seventh head roared, rising behind the others and earning several of their eyes. The First and Third ignored the Seventh, keeping their eyes latched onto the burning and crumbling mountain. The Seventh reared its head back and barred its fangs, an unholy fire arising deep within its maw. It glared at the heads, stating with as much assurance as there was pride, “We have enemies beyond our reach! The one who took away what was rightfully ours to begin with still lurks within the shadows, still seeks to claim all of our victories for himself! Do not waste my time and retrieve the Stone!” “I shall not waste time,” the First growled softly, every other head returning forward alongside it. And with the seven heads all in tandem once again, Typhon stomped forward and gazed down into the destruction. His children backed away as their father approached the hole within the Great Mound, unveiling the caverns deep below ground. The walls shimmered an alien blue, the crystalline walls of black metal traveling for miles and miles and miles. No end in sight. The vibranium meteorite sat presently, openly, and truly and utterly defenseless. Typhon did not waste anymore time. He reared all seven heads back, took in a deep and longing breath, and exhaled all that had been burning and raging within himself. The streams of fire and destruction rained down from his jaws, from every last one of them, and struck the mountain. Struck the vibranium mine. The heat was so intense and filled with such otherworldly strength that it decimated the vibranium in less than a minute, digging even further than any of his children could ever manage. His army slowly backed away, the light and heat from his jaws showering over his army of demons and offspring within a bright, orange glow. And even as that fire died, even as Typhon closed his jaws and leaned back from the mountain, that glow was still there. It wasn’t there before… but it burned softly after and only continued to do so for minutes on end. It was not of Typhon’s fire did the light emerge. The light within the earth arose only because it was unearthed at long last. After so many years resting, dormant, its power was finally unveiled to those who had freed it from its tomb. Typhon narrowed all fourteen of his slit eyes, remaining more silent than he ever had before. All of his children did the same, the titans and the demons alike, all approaching the mound and gazing into the rising smoke. Deep within the blackness Typhon had created, something had definitely been unearthed. The soft, serene, alien glow shimmered near the very bottom of the crevice, miles below ground. By any means, any form of light wouldn’t have made it as far through such darkness. No darkness could hold it. No darkness could conceal the light. Definitely not from the orange glow of the Soul Stone. It was reality and not some false dream. The beast and his children were awestruck while gazing onto the light of the Infinity Stone. Typhon’s offspring were frozen where they stood, unable to think or act properly while the orange warmth of the Stone flushed and washed over them. It gave them a sense of serene possibility and bliss unlike anything they had ever felt or knew. For those so weak-minded, they fell prey to the Soul Stone’s influence and knew not what it truly meant. Typhon was far from weak-minded. He gazed head-on into the light deep within the crevice, only further skewering the distance between himself and the Stone. Yet for some reason… he couldn’t push himself further. It was beyond him, beyond any form of energy, will, or strength he had in him to move another inch—another centimeter—forward. Typhon was caught at that, growling as he tried to push himself forward, grip onto the mountain and forcefully reach inside, claim the Stone for himself, and return to what was rightfully his from the start of his long and cursed life. But he couldn’t. The powers that be, an unknown universal entity kept him at bay, shielding the Soul Stone from him and any who grew near. He barred his fangs at that, all seven heads fully intent to burning the rest of the mountain to a smoldering crisp, perhaps even the rest of the nation until it was all but a crevice. Like the one that contained the Soul Stone he so lusted, so greedily desired for his intended return and rule of the Earth. But he was halted once more. Not by the powers that be… but by the cries of his children. Typhon lifted his heads and gazed onto the valley before him. Saw it to be true. The sea of demons and offspring all turned in the same general direction, spinning completely around and crying out. Then they were split, severed down the middle. Demons big and small, from demonic reptiles to beasts of legend, slowly backed aside and made a clear path for the small group pushing forward towards their father. With any other circumstance, they wouldn’t have hesitated to rip apart any who dared approach the Primordial of Disasters in such a way. Yet they were held back by two factors, forced to let them through for two reasons only. One was their father, keeping them back just by control of his inner thoughts to each and every one of them. The second was the glow of all five Infinity Stones upon the gauntlet Thanos wore. They were entranced by it, struck by it, feared its power and cowered under its glow as the Mad Titan and his Black Order slowly, cautiously approached the Lord of Destruction. Thanos held burning contempt in his stare as he led his children right into the darkness. Ebony Maw followed shortly behind him, striding carefully between the crying demons and snapping jaws of the beasts of Tartarus. Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight sneered at the two walls surrounding them, following closely alongside the Maw. Cull Obsidian growled softly to the demons, watching as numerous hellhounds growled and barked at his tremendous structure and hide. He gripped his axe even tighter, huffing and focusing forward. Where it mattered. Where Shining Armor walked amongst them. The undeserved, unofficial member of the Black Order, Shining Armor kept his focus only forward, where Thanos commanded him and the Mind Stone propelled him. He saw only what his master wanted him to see. He obeyed only the words that escaped his mouth, followed the Mad Titan to wherever he desired. Whether he wanted to or not. He had no say in the matter as long as his eyes shimmered that alien blue and the Mind Stone was alive and vibrant. The path, their journey ended quicker than expected. Every member of the Black Order came to an abrupt halt the moment Thanos had, the Mad Titan gazing upwards through the smoke and flame. They did, too. Every child of Thanos, every child of the Titan of Wind, and Shining Armor all bringing their eyes skywards to the seven towers, the seven jaws, the seven heads. The Seven. Typhon met their stares with an oversaturation of burning flames in his eyes. In all fourteen of them. To add to that intimidating factor, Typhon propelled himself upwards even further on the mountain, clawing at its edges as he rose taller than even the highest mountain peak. Nearly scraped the heavens and the swirling clouds of cataclysm and fire above. And when he had settled himself over the destruction of Mount Bashenga, he bent forward, leaned down, gazed onto Thanos and his pathetic excuse of warriors he called the Black Order. Thanos could say the same for Typhon’s own spawn. Yet he didn’t even turn to them, just stared forward to the smoldering crater that once was Mount Bashenga, pursed his lips, and nodded softly. “I take it you’ve been rather busy,” Thanos stated, loud enough to be heard even over the piercing cries of the demon horde surrounding him. Every single head upon Typhon’s body tensed up, almost like they were seemingly offended by that statement. Several of them hissed at that, but only one was willing to respond. “Busy…” the Sixth head observed, studying the desolation of Wakanda and the fires that burned it. He snorted through his nostrils and blew smoke into the polluted skylines, bringing that fiery glare down to the Mad Titan and narrowing it. “Busy… but not satisfied. I have you to praise for that.” “I don’t need your praise,” Thanos responded instantly, shocking many demons by that blasphemous statement. They cried and growled his way as Thanos took a few more brave steps forward. He stared only to the Titan that stood in his path, never once backing down. “I don’t need another thing from you… Typhon. All I need is what lies in that crevice.” The crevice of which he spoke rested a hundred yards in front of Thanos. The One Born of Fire stood upon it, unmoving, unshaken from the Mad Titan. Quite the opposite as he laughed. Chuckled, really, but it was still alive. Still unlike anything Thanos ever expected from the Titan of Wind. He lowered all seven of his heads, only the Fourth rising to growl, “Typhon… Oh, yeeeessss… I remember it well. The Greek legend, the mythos that mankind created to ease their putrid gods, make them higher than they ever were. Do you know of the Greek legend of Typhon… Thanos?” Thanos said not a word. The Black Order remained silent and stared. Shining Armor was frozen. The Fourth continued. “The Father of all Monsters, Typhon battled the mighty god Zeus for control over all the universe. He was defeated… struck in the heart by the god’s thunderbolts and banished into the depths of Tartarus where he faced an eternal punishment. Typhon… the one who wanted to claim an entire world for himself and his children… but was stopped by the powers of said world. Stopped by the magic of the princesses… by the will of the Pillars… by the conjoined strength of every race that be… and banished into the realm of the Underworld, rightly named ‘Tartarus’… where he and his children suffered for more than a thousand years.” The Fourth chuckled once again in that lustful nature, leaning forward and nearly smiling to the Great Titan. “Ohhh… you see it now?” His breath was that of sulfur and venom, brimstone and death, spewing a wind almost strong enough to throw them on their backs. It pushed the dead grass forcefully down to the earth, the dirt and dust rushing past their feet and hooves like that of an impending storm. Typhon could have easily breathed a wave of fire where they stood, but he didn’t. He let them live a moment longer. They were not distressed. They stood strong, Thanos and his Black Order. Thanos specifically, wrinkling his nose to the smell but holding his ground nonetheless. “You came here to Earth to claim the last Infinity Stone,” he observed, watching the Fourth head fall back amongst the others. “Why?” The heads slithered about overhead, almost circling Thanos, almost constricting the space around his prey. Like he was hunting. “I knew I could never trust you, Thanos,” the Third head hissed and groaned. “You’re just like all the others. All words, but no heart. All strength, but no true will. You boldly declare yourself the savior of the universe when the universe needs not saving. It needs dominion. It needs order to escape the chaos it has become. Since I have been banished, I have only seen the world I was destined to rule… become just that. Overpopulation is not what needs correcting, Thanos. Your ideology, your destiny… is false.” Just the utterance of those words brought Thanos out of his eased state of being. He clenched both fists, only one holding nearly all the power of the universe. The Second rose amongst the others, continuously circling the Black Order. It uttered, practically spoke in a whisper on everybody’s shoulders, “This world was never humanity’s to begin with. This universe belonged only to the Elder Gods, the ones who brought this world from birth and raised it to be just that: ours. Our Eden. Our blessed land to expand and rule. And with that power came a choice… either become like all the others, just as powerless and worthless under the watchful eye of the Demiurge… or become greater. Choose our own destiny, our own law, our own life…” All seven heads halted just in front of the Mad Titan, all fourteen eyes glaring down onto Thanos and narrowing there. All of them speaking at once. “Our own identity.” Lightning clashed against the clouds and struck the earth, thunder growling overhead and only worsening in the eye of the storm. Thanos pondered on those words. The words of which Thanos had heard were of ancient mythos, more ancient than even his Eternal heritage. But there were stories, certainly, of the Elder Gods. Their history, their legend was something Thanos was still somewhat fuzzy about. Practically a forgotten story. So, he asked, “Who are you?” The many heads of the Titan reared backwards, all of them gazing out into the storm, the heavens, the universe, and held there for seconds on one. He showed all his stature and height, power and might. As if there was any among them with the power to rival his own. When he spoke at long last, his voice traveled across all the land. “I have gone by many names over the thousands of years Earth has existed,” the Seventh said, turning downwards to gaze upon the minuscule specks that were the Great Titan and his children. He remembered every name, every title he was given and spoke of them. “Apep. Ophion. Tiamat. Leviathan. Serpent God. But if you truly must know… you may know me as the Elder God… Set.” The single utterance of that name—Set—shook the heavens and caused the earth to groan. Whether that be by the serpent’s own doing or an external force, Thanos felt it all quiver beneath his boots. And he stared, he and his children, onto the one they now knew for certainty… was real. The one they would now see only as Set. The Elder God. The creature of legend… living and breathing once more. Wind rippled across the clouds and filled the air with burning cinders, yet Thanos and his children stood tall. Stood even against the towering beast that scraped the heavens. Stood against Set. The Seventh head never looked away and bent forward, closer to Thanos. Set spoke. “And yes… the world of which you see is my original home. Birthed in chaos, planet Earth came to know life through the ever-giving Demiurge and Gaea. The Elder Gods are this world’s original rulers… rightful rulers. But instead… the Elder Gods chose to pity lower life forms, and so forced us to live amongst them. They were fools. They did not understand the raw power of which we were capable. None of them were capable except for me.” Set broke away and turned instead to his home world. Saw it burning under his watch, the kingdom of fire that he envisioned for so long finally brought to fruition. It would be the first kingdom of many that Set would rebirth. And from that point on, none would stand in his path again. All except for one. He narrowed his many eyes at that aspect. “None were willing to take the necessary steps to our destiny… so I needed to claim it for us! This world was always ours, always will be, and I did whatever it took to assure us of that destiny! Very few agreed with me… those who didn’t…” He hissed and growled, numerous heads slithering about and the serpents on his body crying to the skies. Thanos remained unmoved despite the horrific sound that nearly made Shining Armor’s ears bleed. They stood their ground still, watching as the heads of the Serpent God came together. “They felt true retribution soon enough,” the Fifth declared, growling softly as his maw dripped with raw magma and venom. “When it came to devouring my own kin, I did not hesitate, because I knew they stood in the path to the Elder Gods’ destiny. They called me the first murderer… my offspring and I. Gaea… would not take our rebellion any longer. She gave birth to a child known as Atum, the Demogorge… of which had only one sole purpose.” The heads suddenly thrashed about, wings unfurling and the titanic serpent crying out. The sound was so horrific that it broke the sound barrier, Thanos and his Black order actually having to flinch and shield themselves as the shock wave passed over them. “He devoured us!” the First roared in wrathful spite, the remaining heads joining suit. “My offspring… my brother Chthon… nearly all of us slaughtered by the sinful spawn of our parents! Those of us who survived… merely myself and my children… were forced to flee from Earth. Yet I swore—I swore with near-dying breath to return to the world of my rightful rule and bring forth the vengeance of a thousand miseries that Demogorge had inflicted upon me! But I had to remain in hiding… recover and gather my new army for a return home…” He seemed to recover rather quickly, merely a few seconds of silence before the beast began to chuckle. The sounds reverberated across the landscape, the Fourth head rising and actually smiling with a burning, demonic essence to the Mad Titan. “What better place to hide than the infant world of Equus?” Thanos’ eyes opened. Fully, in true realization. Set’s Second head slithered about, hovering just over Thanos and saying, “They were a primitive race, unruly and unkind to one another. They would offer no resistance and do nothing as I intended to take the planet for myself, absorb its magic, and return to the Earth. I would defeat Demogorge once and for all… crush any Elder God who dared stand to appose me… and rule the Earth as was our birthright.” A sigh from the Sixth, a slither of its head, and it spoke. “Yet… I always seemed to underestimate my foes… a fatal flaw I would never make again. On Equus, I inherited the name ‘Typhon’ after discovering the Greek legend on Earth to conceal myself from Demogorge. Despite my distance… I was always connected, always found ways to push my consciousness, my thoughts, my will and my power across the universe. Call it the power of the Elder Gods… but my influence was far-reaching. Far-reaching… yet nearly blind to the powers of the world I remained.” The heads settled themselves in a safe, hundred-yard distance from the Mad Titan, watched him carefully and hungrily. Especially the Fifth when it licked its lips and uttered, “When Equus turned their united sword against me, I was defeated in my wounded state… sent to Tartarus to be tortured as you have heard. But what you have not… Thanos… is just how you knew the world of which you stepped upon that fateful night.” The realization was only growing more and more menacing, only Thanos truly knowing what was coming next. It didn’t hurt to know that, but it was difficult to absorb and believe what came next. “Do you remember that night, Mad Titan?!” the First bellowed, rearing forward and nearly crushing Thanos beneath his snout. Thanos made no movement, no indication to show worry, fear, or apprehension to the sudden distance that had vanished between the two. “Have you always wondered of the world of which you’ve seen, the equines that infect your memories, and the dreams… of so long ago?” The demon serpent twisted and slithered and hissed about playfully, only growing more and more amused to see Thanos’ expression flicker in a weak disturbance of sense and reality. The uncertainty was there, nearly shadowed by the unsettling nature of the Serpent God. Still, his expression hardened, his heart remained unmoved, and he stayed silent and let the beast spout his chronicle. Watched as almost every head nodded slowly to him, some of them smiling in sick satisfaction to finally unveil… the truth. “Yes, Thanos… you can deny it all you want, but it is true. It was I who gave you those dreams. My influence may have been weakened by the bonds of Tartarus, but no chain, no gate, no beast of Hell could hold my consciousness forever. You know of the world of Equus because I allowed you to. You discovered the planet only because I willed it, knowing you would be the one to ultimately free me from my bondage, restore me to my strength when you began your journey to acquire the Infinity Stones.” His expression was almost priceless, eyes widened to the point that shock was inevitable. Set chuckled all the same, every head rising back to tower over the insignificant power that resided beneath him. Even with the power of the universe in his hand, Set had risen above it. His strength was unmatched by any other. He decimated the Changeling Empire without even trying. He destroyed the castle of Princess Twilight Sparkle alongside burning Ponyville to a ruin. He slaughtered the Chitauri army and forced Wakanda to its knees just with one breath. There was no power on the two worlds—or any world—that could hope to stand against the Elder God. And Set knew it. He believed it with everything that he was and became thanks to Thanos. That power he gave him, the power of the very universe stored in that simple Stone was more than enough that Set needed to achieve his destiny. Nearly… achieve his destiny. The Earth was still far from conquering, and the species of Equus would feel his wrath for imprisoning him soon after. But before that, before any of those dreams could become a reality like they were destined to be… one more stood in his way. And he had just broken him. Set had won. “Do you see it now, Thanos? It was never you pulling the strings all along…” He believed… he had won, at least. There was nothing but silence on the other end, the wind howling and the storm brewing but not a word from Thanos or his children. It was as if all of reality had come to a standstill, Set actually having to lean forward with every head to listen and observe. There he stood, the Mad Titan Thanos, amongst so many and yet so utterly small against the weight of Set’s army. He kept his head low, fists tightened, and expression hard. Unbroken. Unbroken. Set was taken aback, but ultimately unaffected. He asked, “Have you nothing to say… Thanos?” He did have something to say. Only one thing left on his mind and burning in his soul. Thanos slowly brought his gaze back up to meet the serpent’s. From Titan to Elder God. The universe was silent. All of it was. As Thanos clenched his gauntlet even further and brought forth its power. “You’re standing on my Stone.”