Marvel: Breezing Through History as an Eternal

Pluto stood in front of Arishem. He looked around, and saw earth behind him, along with the countless stars shining through the vast and empty space around. Arishem stood proudly, his size dwarfing Pluto’s. To Arishem, Pluto was like an ant, he could easily crush him with one finger if he wanted to, he could easily destroy earth with a punch if he desired to.

“About time you showed up, don’t you think?” asked Pluto, fearless as he could be.

“Pluto.” Arishem’s words echoed throughout the space around him. “You have broken our rules so many times.”

“I know. That’s why I’m here, right?” said Pluto casually.

Arishem paused a bit, then he spoke. “You have disturbed the balance of the emergence, do you have words to defend yourself?”

“I just did what you ask.” Pluto chuckled. “You wanted technological advancements right? War creates it.”

“What you did isn’t war.” Arishem spoke. “It is a massacre. Massacre in this stage of advancement could only delay the emergence.”

Pluto just chuckled. “That’s how it is, huh? Okay, then explain to me, why do I have feelings? Why do I have thoughts? Why do I have emotions?! If I was but a mindless being, all of this wouldn’t have happened, I wouldn’t get attached, you wouldn’t have to make those stupid rules, we would be tools instead! Tools for your grand design!”

Arishem then moved Pluto closer to his face, as if he was staring directly at him. “Your mission is to nurture the humans. And for that, you have to have feelings, to relate to them. If I made you mindless. It will not be effective, as you cannot do the mission efficiently.”

“Then why would you command us not to get too attached to them?!”

“At the end of the day, you are but a catalyst for them to advance, you are not human Pluto, your mission is to quicken the emergence and to collect data from the deviants.”

Pluto stared at the gigantic helmet of Arishem, fearless about the punishment he was about to receive. “Fine then, Helen is safe anyway. Do what you want with me. Erase my memories, replace me, I do not care anymore.”

Arishem was quiet for a while, but then, he spoke again. “No.”

“No?”

“You… are one of a kind Pluto.” Arishem spoke. “You are not my creation… The one-above-all gave you to me so that I could study the deviants and fix the anomaly of the universe…”

“In other words, your mistakes.” Pluto said sarcastically.

“And your thoughts… you are rebellious, like the deviants that I created. You will stay on earth, I will leave your memories intact, but when the time comes, I will study your memories, to see what the deviants were thinking when they rebelled, and from your memories, I would improve the Eternals' design.”

Pluto looked confused. “So I would be leaving scot-free then?”

“No.”

“Okay… then what?”

“I will strip away your gifts, and I will study the deviants that you have brought to me now.” spoke Arishem. “A thousand years of earth time I shall study it, and when the one thousand years are finished, I will give you your gifts back. That one thousand years would also be your punishment, you cannot travel with the other Eternals, you cannot fight alongside them, you cannot enter the ship, you can only stay outside of it, and the others won’t defend you..”

Pluto clenched his fist. “So I’ll be powerless.”

“You are an eternal Pluto.” answered Arishem. “Your body is still stronger than humans, use that to survive, and if you could survive for a thousand years, I will return your gifts to you.”

Pluto looked down towards the empty abyss below him, and sighed. “Very well. I accept your punishment Arishem.”

“Then good luck, Pluto.”

As soon as Arishem spoke his final words, Pluto felt something painful, like a part of him was stripped away suddenly. He could not hear the voice of Idemnon, he could not hear the voice of Mephia, he could not hear the voice of Asterion. For the first time in a while, his head is silent.

His vision suddenly darkened again, and not a minute later, he woke up, he opened his eyes, and saw Helen was sitting beside him as his body was laying on the ground.

“Oh thank the gods!” Helen hugged Pluto, crying as she did that.. “I thought something happened to you!”

“Helen…” Pluto murmured, he felt off, his constructs were gone, and he didn’t like it. “I- I’m fine… just tired…”

Helen released the hug, and only nodded. Both of them stood up, and Pluto spoke. “Let’s go home.” he said, smiling at Helen.

Helen also smiled, nodding vigorously as she looked at Pluto. “Okay.”

And so, Pluto and Helen slowly exited the palace, leaving the empty place, never to visit it ever again.