Was this a Celestial's bewilderment at a mortal?
No, it wasn't.
The Celestial had inherited wisdom. He knew the catastrophe his birth would bring.
He simply didn't understand why it had to be John.
"We shouldn't be doing this. You know that," Tiamut said. "We're so alike."
Equally ancient and eternal, equally powerful and selfish.
John walked up to Tiamut. The mighty Celestial had ultimately been reduced to this feeble state.
They could easily decide whether a world lived or died, and they could create races as powerful as the Eternals.
High above all others, they were the universe's adjudicators.
Seated opposite each other, the Wizard King and the Celestial began their conversation.
"You decided, without permission, to make this world the site of your birth."
John shook his head. "Even without me, you would have failed."
Were Celestials powerful?
They could even be said to be stronger than Thanos.
But with all the superheroes still intact, was a Celestial like that truly so invincible?
Thor's Stormbreaker, Stephen's magic, and plenty of other superheroes besides.
"What trapped you was the barrier Kamar-Taj has maintained for thousands of years to protect this world from outside invasion. What wore you down was the masterpiece of the Wizard King, ruler of the Wizarding Kingdom."
John said calmly, "You believe you can decide all of this. Even the Eternals think so."
"But you never considered that a race fighting back could bring down a Celestial."
"As for why it was me, no monarch wants others meddling in his territory. I'm no different."
This was Midgard, one of the Nine Realms, and the most complicated of them all.
They had neither the absolute rule of a God King, as Asgard and Vanaheim did, nor the unity of Alfheim, whose people were born of the same