Controlled Chaos Forger of Worlds
Chapter 5
Harry and Gaia shot out of the blue-white archway, landing on a small island surrounded by Blackwater with the consistency of mud. Dust puffed up from the Ebony-colored earth to hang thickly in the air as they looked around.
Gray dead trees reached toward the sky with the withered branches as if begging the heavens for water.
Gaia turned as blue-white energy flared from Harry.
"What are you doing?"
"There is corruption in the air; my body automatically purifies it."
"And you didn't know about this?"
Harry stared into the distance as he lifted into the air, "I only recognized half the ingredients that reforge my body."
Gaia floated beside him, "So what are we doing first?"
"First, we need to find out where Lady Phoenix died."
Gaia looked around her, her heart aching as she felt no life in this world, "if the history of this world played out like on mine, I think I might know where she is."
Harry gestured forward, his wings gently flapping to keep him in the air, "Lead the way then."
Gaia shot into the distance with Harry following close behind her, his eyes locked on her rounded posterior.
Gaia glanced behind her, her rich Brown eyes locking with Harry's as a knowing smirk graced her lips.
Cheeks heating up, Harry looked away from Gaia's figure, his mind expanded
No deities existed in this world, only Johan Schmidt with his infinity stones.
The lack of deities allowed Harry to use more of his power.
As his mind expanded across the world, he saw the state of the world.
People in animal furs walked listlessly across the earth, black veins bulging beneath their skin as they searched for enough sustenance to survive.
'This world is dead.' Harry shook his head, 'maybe I should've come here first.'
Gaia slowed, drawing his attention once more.
They floated in an immense Canyon. Ebony-colored rock created an almost complete circle around them and reached hundreds of feet into the air.
Harry looked around the Canyon as dark clouds rolled across the purple sky. Red lightning illuminated their surroundings.
"So, where are we?"
Gaia stared down into the center of the Canyon, "This is where Odin, Firehair, and the rest of the Stone Age Avengers fought the progenitor. If the Masters of Evil attacked them, this would be the perfect place to do it; they would be weakened after such a fight."
"I thought you said you found the progenitor buried in ice," Harry gestured around him, "I don't see a lot of ice."
Gaia rolled her eyes, "A lot can happen in billions of years."
"True," Harry drifted to the earth.
Landing in the crater's center, he dropped to one knee and placed his hands upon the dark soil. It felt dry beneath his hands and crumbled to an even finer powder from his weight.
'I think I underestimated the people here; their drive to survive is stronger than I gave them credit for.' Raising a hand, he allowed the fine powder to flow through his fingers, 'there is no life in the soil,' a shudder ran through his body, 'I shudder to think what they've been eating and drinking to live.
Closing his eyes, Harry sent his power into the earth. With each inch his power descended, a pulse came from it, giving him a detailed description of what lay beneath. For a long time, he sensed and saw nothing.
He was about to suggest trying another spot until his power washed over something large that was a humanoid shape.
Around this shape were six bodies.
Two of them were female; the other four were male.
"I think I found them."
Concentrating his power on the giant, Harry delved deeper into its form. Unlike Gaia, he had never seen inside a Celestial's body, but he knew the organ he sought, thanks to his rebirth.
Wrapping his power around it, he pulled, and the ground rumbled.
"What are you doing? We're trying to be quiet, remember!"
The ground began to balloon upward as something emerged from beneath the earth.
"Is that a…"
"Yes, now please keep a lookout; things are about to get exciting."
Wrapping his power around the two female skeletons, he gently guided them out of the hole created by the celestial's heart.
Rising to his feet, Harry walked forward, eyeing the two skeletons. One was dressed in what appeared to be animal furs; the other was wrapped in green silks.
"I think I know, but I don't want to be presumptuous; which one of these is Firehair?"
Gaia pointed to the skeleton in animal furs, a single strand of red hair emerging from the skull.
Curling his fingers, Harry pulled the skeleton and the Celestial heart closer to him. Once they were less than a foot away, he focused on the hole in the ground, "What do you want me to do with her?" He gestured to the skeleton in green silks.
"Her name was Fan Fei, the first iron fist, the first one to conquer a Dragon and absorb its Chi," Gaia looked away, "place her beneath the earth and fill in the hole."
Nodding, Harry gently lowered her beneath the earth; as she descended, he filled in the hole in her wake.
Harry approached the Celestial heart as the hole disappeared and stretched out his hands. Pale blue energy flowed from his hands to surround the heart. Closing his eyes, Harry focused on what he wanted to accomplish.
In jerky motions, the heart began to shrink as its form changed.
Gaia approached; her eyes locked on the heart as it took on the shape of a human organ. Her brow furrowed at the six oval-shaped openings encircling a circular space.
"What are you doing?"
The runes appeared around the six oval-shaped openings: mind, reality, power, time, space, and soul.
"We're going to need a way to stop the red skull; Lady Phoenix will become that way."
Picking up the heart, Harry made his way over to Firehair's skeleton. He placed the heart inside her sternum and allowed his hand to hover over her chest. Blue-white energy wafted out of his hand, forming a translucent dome over the bones.
"I reject," Harry whispered, and the translucent blue-white barrier flared.
Gaia watched as the bones rippled; nerves grew from the bones like branches of a tree, intertwining with muscle before being covered by a layer of fat and skin.
However, the wisps of color emerging from the bones to spread throughout the body before settling in the runes carved into the heart are what really drew her attention.
There was pale blue (space), yellow (mind), red (reality), green (time), purple (power), and orange (soul.)
As hair sprouted from Firehair's bald head, Gaia could still see the six ovals shining with color beneath her skin.
"What did you do?"
Ignoring her, Harry reached out with his mind, scanning for the one being that could return Firehair's soul. Sweat began to run down his face as he traveled farther and farther from the earth before finding what he was looking for.
Not knowing how else to get its attention, Harry poked it.
Gaia stepped back as fire snaked around Harry's body.
She reached out but stopped as his eyes snapped open, glowing like suns with blue-white power.
–XX –
Harry stood in a white void. Heat radiated from the void. Even in his astral form, he could feel it burning his skin.
Before him sat a giant bird of fire, its wings folded around its form, its avian head tilted to one side as its pure white eyes regarded him.
"Hello, Phoenix."
"What are you?"
"Something new, something called a Celestin."
"You carry a bit of my fire in you, but it's been changed. I no longer have access to it."
"Yes, I do; I think it's what allowed me to enter your domain."
"My domain," the Phoenix repeated.
"Why are you here?"
"I owe your vessel favor; she purified a Celestial's blood, allowing me to return to life; it is the power you sense within me. I have restored her body, but you still have her soul. I want you to return her to life."
"To what end the universe she resided in is destroyed?"
"That's true, but certain elements of it can still be of use, and the people living in her universe can be saved if we act quickly."
Phoenix turned, staring off into the distance. Slowly, she turned back to Harry, "You have changed her form. What is your game?"
"I plan on her claiming the infinity stones of her universe for herself. With your help, we can forge Firehair a new and give her a chance at a life that she wouldn't have had otherwise."
"The infinity stones will not work in other universes; she would be stuck in a dead world."
"I have a way around that."
"You're confident."
"I am."
"Fine, I will release Firehair's soul, but," the heat around Harry increased, and the space became too bright to look at; he could feel his astral body evaporating, "If you fail, you will stay in this universe to keep her company."
Harry's wings flared behind him, burning with light as they pulled in the heat and light to reform his body. As his form solidified, he fell to his knees, his head drooping with exhaustion, "Fine," he panted.
–XX –
Gaia stepped back as the flames around Harry spiraled into Firehair's mouth. Her eyes snapped open and burned with white flames as orange energy lit up the inside of her body.
The light faded, and Firehair gasped as she looked around, "No," she moaned, burying her face in her hands, "We failed."
"You may have failed," Harry said as he swayed unsteadily on his feet, "but there are still people in this world that need to be saved. Are you willing to help them?"
Firehair's head snapped up, her eyes locking on Gaia, "Gaia," she cocked her head to the side, "but not the Gaia I know," her gaze flicked to Harry, "who are you two?"
Gaia stepped forward, "I am a Gaia from far in the future. When I heard my old friend may be in trouble, I decided to come and help." Gaia offered her hand to Firehair.
Firehair took it, and her eyes flared orange as Gaia pulled her to her feet, "You speak the truth," she hugged Gaia, "it is good to see you, even if you are not the sister, I watched die."
Gaia wrapped her arms around Firehair, pulling her close, a tear trailing down her cheek, "It is good to see you, old friend. It's not often I get to be reunited with those who have passed."
Harry stood there, unsure what to do, while the two friends reunited.
After a moment, they separated, and Firehair turned to look at him, "Who are you?"
"My name is Harry. Long ago, you purified the bile from that Celestial and collected blood from another in exchange for a future favor. I am here so you can collect on that favor."
Firehair's eyes narrowed, "A little late, aren't you?"
Harry shrugged, "I was resurrected outside time and space; time had no meaning, so from one perspective, you could say I'm right on time."
Firehair stomped forward, her lips transforming into a snarl. Fire billowed from her eyes as she glared into his face, "does this," she gestured around them, "Look right on time to you."
"Maybe it depends on the choices made next."
Firehair drew back her fist, and Gaia stepped between them.
Keeping her gaze on Firehair, she spoke to Harry, "You said you had a plan. Well, you resurrected Firehair, what's next?"
Moving out from behind Gaia, Harry stood at her shoulder, "Next, you need to return to your universe and gather the infinity stones."
"Why, the infinity stones of my universe will not work in this one?"
"With the two universes linked by our bridge, they should work even if it's just in a diminished capacity."
Gaia turned to look at him, "What will you be doing?"
"Firehair and I will take on the red skull and complete her ascension."
"Ascension?" Firehair questioned.
Gaia stared at him before nodding slowly and lifting into the air. "Watch out for each other," she said to both of them, "I don't have enough friends that I can afford to lose the two of you."
Harry nodded while Firehair watched her friend disappear into the distance, wondering who the man beside her was and why Gaia would do as he asked.
–XX –
Jonas Greenleaf emerged into the forest of Daintree in Australia. Twigs and leaves crunched under his feet as he ducked beneath the branches, an amused smile on his lips.
Even though it had been over a year since he had taken Andromeda's serum and his body had transformed, Jonas still found it amusing to duck under things after being short for so long.
He paused and took a deep breath. Fresh air and the scent of earth filled his nose as his lungs expanded. He could hear running water in the distance.
On instinct, his toes bent, going into the earth. His veins lit up green as he drew energy from the forest.
'The power here, it's a shame there's not more forest like it. From what I'm feeling, this has to be, if not the oldest, one of the oldest forests in the world.'
Branches shifted, bringing Jonas out of his thoughts, and he moved forward. As much as he would like to absorb energy from the forest, he was here to do a job; he only hoped she would answer.
Reaching a medium-sized clearing, Jonas dropped to his knees and clasped his hands before him.
"Lady Gaia, I, Jonas Greenleaf, of the nature elves as you named us, have a question about your latest orders."
The leaves around him rustled, and his eyes widened as Gaia emerged from the foliage. Unable to help himself, he openly stared at her beauty.
Gaia stood 6'8" tall, long wavy Brown hair cascaded down her back.
Pointed ears poked out from her head, and green eyes blazed in an angular face.
Animal furs showed off her curves. Tan skin stood out starkly against the green of the forest, and the furs around her chest strained against her bust.
Realizing what he was doing, Jonas slammed his face into the earth, "Lady Gaia, it is a pleasure to see you again."
"The pleasure is mine, my child. Now, what orders do you speak of? The last direction I gave your people was to clean up the world."
Keeping his eyes locked on the ground, Jonas raised his head and offered Gaia the paper with her directions.
Taking the paper, Gaia scanned it, "This is my handwriting, but the energy is different. This came from one of my multiversal counterparts," she closed her eyes, reaching out with her power to feel for the counterpart and her energy, her eyes opened, surprise flitted across her face, "Oh."
"Lady Gaia," Jonas questioned, surprised to see such an expression on her face. To him, she seemed almost omnipotent.
Gaia blinked and focused on Jonas, "One of my counterparts has run across your friend, Harry. They are in the middle of creating something unique in the multiverse."
"Harry is alive?"
"Yes, but changed like my counterpart," Gaia shook her head, "my counterpart may be stronger than I."
"What would you have the Greenleaf do, my lady?"
Gaia waved her hand dismissively, "Go ahead and follow the orders; it furthers my goal of cleaning up the planet anyway."
"As you wish."
Gaia turned, her form shimmering and changing as she stepped into the brush.
As Gaia disappeared, Jonas looked up at the sky, thinking about what he'd learned.
Harry was alive and involved in something that would change the multiverse. He rose to his feet with a shake of his head. He would let the Council know, but he had orders from Gaia to follow.
