Marvel: The Enlightened One#127+128: Sixth Sense, Silver Cosmo—The Dawn of the Phoenix Gold Armor

A deafening roar split the sky above Stonehenge, echoing across the entire Salisbury Plain. A dragon—massive, magnificent, bathed in crimson fire—burst from Hawk's broad back and shot into the sky.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The thick storm clouds overhead responded instantly. The moment the fire dragon pierced through them, they ignited, transforming into a burning tapestry of scarlet and gold.

Blood-red storm clouds.

Within Hawk's Cosmo, the Phoenix Heart pulsed with power. Countless fragments of celestial energy rapidly coalesced, flowing together at the Phoenix's command, reconstructing the Draco constellation—a constellation Hawk had once wielded, but had surrendered when the Phoenix went all-in, betting everything on him.

He could no longer claim Draco's core powers.

It wasn't a matter of want—it was a matter of choice.

Theoretically, as the only Saint in this universe, he could have claimed every constellation's core. But a man only has one Cosmo. And he had already made his choice.

The Phoenix.

The Phoenix had chosen him first. Even before he had awakened the Ninth Sense—before he'd even mastered the Sixth—it had given him its core powers:

Immortality and Rebirth.

So...

Better to repay a debt of gratitude than to enjoy unearned luxury.

The Phoenix had gambled on him when he was nothing. In return, he had transformed his entire Cosmo into a Phoenix Cosmo.

When he finally manifested it in reality, the Phoenix Constellation would no longer be just a constellation. It would become a parallel universe, just like Asgard.

And the Phoenix would be its Yggdrasil—the World Tree at its heart.

But that didn't mean he couldn't use other constellations.

It was a parallel universe, after all. Having other constellations was perfectly normal. The only difference was that any constellation that appeared in his Phoenix Universe—even the Twelve Zodiacs of Gold—would rank below the Phoenix itself.

No questions asked.

The Phoenix had bet everything on him first.

So, naturally, it was the boss.

In short—

While Hawk could no longer earn the recognition of other constellations' cores, he could still channel their techniques through the Phoenix's power.

Just as he was doing now.

The dragon silhouette of Draco should have been emerald green. But Hawk was channeling it through the Phoenix's crimson flames.

And so, it was born of Crimson Flame.

VMMMMMMM!!

The ground around him trembled. Small stones and pebbles began to float upward, defying gravity. The air itself groaned under the strain, compressed and torn apart, rushing toward him from all directions.

Hawk's feet were rooted to the earth, his stance wide and solid as he assumed the classic opening form—

Left fist extended forward in a loose guard, right fist coiled tight against his hip. The air, now burning crimson with his flames, swirled and condensed behind him, slowly forming into a massive humanoid silhouette—twice his height.

"Rozan—"

Hawk's voice was low. The right fist at his hip was like a bowstring drawn to its absolute limit. His Cosmo burned with terrifying intensity, and raw energy from his Cosmo flooded into that coiled fist, every ounce of power concentrated into a single, devastating point.

In the blood-red storm above, the crimson dragon's massive head emerged, as if waiting for a command.

"—RISING DRAGON STRIKE!!"

His power peaked. He poured everything, his strength, his will, his very life force into that single, devastating blow.

The next second—

He threw it.

BOOOOM!

BOOOOM!

BOOOOM!

The crimson dragon descended from the storm, coiling around the spectral silhouette behind Hawk. As the phantom mirrored his punch, the dragon—forged entirely from his Cosmo—burst forth from the phantom's fist with an earth-shattering roar.

It was terrifyingly real—every scale and claw rendered in exquisite, deadly detail. It tore across the plain like an unstoppable river of destruction, the earth cracking and splitting in its wake.

The dragon roared, eyes locked on its target a hundred meters away.

Malekith, still dizzy from Hawk’s backhand, had just staggered to his feet. He looked up, and his eyes widened in horror as the fiery maw of the dragon filled his vision.

“No...”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The dragon, pure energy given form, met no resistance. It swallowed Malekith whole in an instant, never slowing. Its jaws clamped down on the Dark Elf, and with unstoppable force, it kept charging forward.

Straight toward Stonehenge.

...

“HOLY SHIT!!!”

Peter, who'd been perched on top of one of the ancient stones for a better view, felt every hair on his body stand on end. He fired a web straight up—didn't even care what it stuck to—and swung for his life.

The moment he cleared the henge, the dragon arrived.

There was no explosion, no blinding flash. There was only the sound of the dragon’s roar, and then, a terrifying, unnatural silence as the ancient stones of the henge, which had stood for thousands of years, simply... dissolved, melting away into nothingness under the crimson flames.

In that same instant, Malekith, trapped within the dragon's mouth, met the same fate.

Thud.

The moment the dragon dissipated, the immense energy Hawk had unleashed—born from his rebirth and the full might of his Cosmo—vanished completely.

A crushing wave of emptiness slammed into him, threatening to drown him whole.

Hawk, who had been standing like an unshakable pillar just a second ago, felt his body give out. His knees buckled.

THUMP.

He collapsed to his knees, his strength gone.

...

“Thor!”

“The Convergence is almost here! The doctor said if we can just hold Malekith off.”

“Wait.”

“Where’s Malekith?”

Jane Foster, who had just arrived by car and was running toward her boyfriend, Thor, shouting that they only needed to stall the Dark Elf for eight minutes, suddenly froze. She stared at the massive trench carved into the ground, then looked around for Malekith.

He was gone.

The next second, her gaze landed on Hawk. She watched as the man who had just unleashed that apocalyptic attack swayed, his knees giving out as he collapsed onto the grass.

"..."

“Hawk!” Peter, who had just landed safely nearby, cried out and started to run toward him.

Thor’s hand shot out, grabbing his arm. “Wait. Don’t go.”

“What?”

“Look.”

Thor's eyes were fixed on the spot where the dragon had dissipated.

Peter followed his gaze.

And there, hovering in the air, was the Aether. The crimson, liquid-like substance writhed with a life of its own, twisting through the air as it followed the path of the trench, surging toward Hawk at the far end.

It didn't just surge—it pounced.

In the blink of an eye, before Hawk's knees even fully touched the ground, the remaining Aether plunged into his body, disappearing into his Cosmo.

The Reality Stone was whole again.

...

Within Hawk's Cosmo, the Phoenix Heart felt the arrival of the final piece.

With a cry, the Phoenix ignited the universe again, throwing it into chaos. Phoenix Fire flooded the void, consuming everything in its path. The fully assembled Aether writhed in the flames, twisted and grotesque, as the fire scorched and refined it mercilessly.

The Phoenix Fire intensified, rising higher and higher, forcing the transformation.

The Aether was evolving.

From liquid... to solid.

Time stretched. It felt like an eternity.

And yet, it happened in an instant.

Finally—

The Phoenix Fire receded. The liquid Aether was gone. In its place, two dark red gemstones floated side by side, each one containing the swirling, imprisoned essence of the Reality Stone's liquid form.

The two gems hung side by side, brilliant and conspicuous.

But then, the phantom image of the Phoenix began to form once more, and their light was eclipsed.

In that instant, the Phoenix seemed to come alive.

Its gaze fell upon the two red gems.

SKREEE!

The cry of the Phoenix echoed through the universe, shaking the very fabric of reality.

With the two halves of the Reality Stone now serving as the Phoenix's eyes, the great bird—no longer just a phantom—spread its wings wide, spanning the entire breadth of the chaotic void.

WHOOOOOOSH!

Crimson flames erupted from its feathers. With every beat of its wings, the fire washed over the surrounding chaos, burning it away, revealing a new, more brilliant starfield beneath.

In the blink of an eye, Hawk's Cosmo was reborn.

BOOOOOM!

...

Back in the physical world, Hawk who had been on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion—opened his eyes once more.

This time, the crimson flames that burned in his gaze did not fade.

And the golden light, which had previously only rimmed the edges of his pupils, began to spread inward, claiming the center.

In moments, Hawk's once-blue eyes transformed into something entirely new—half celestial blue, half molten gold. A perfect dichromatic gaze.

His Cosmo continued to evolve.

With the dual force of his mastery over the Sixth Sense and the complete Reality Stone working in tandem, a new Cosmo emerged.

One far more ancient and brilliant than before.

<><><><><><><><>

His Cosmo was the core.

His mastery of the Sixth Sense was the source.

With the power of the Reality Stone fueling it, Hawk—though he had not yet grasped the Seventh Sense—could feel the change.

Power does not lie.

It was immense, boundless—a force far greater than anything he had ever known, flooding every cell of his being.

Within his inner universe, the crimson gem that had become the Eye of the Phoenix pulsed like a dark sun, its scarlet light illuminating every corner of his personal cosmos.

Hawk slowly rose to his feet. He looked down, extended his right hand, and casually clenched his fist.

CRACK!!!

The air and space within his hand were instantly compressed, then exploded with a sharp crack.

The next second, he looked up.

The others, watching from a safe distance, felt the shift in the sky and looked up as well.

And they saw it.

The Convergence of the Nine Realms, the spectacle caused by the World Tree’s once-in-a-millennium tremor was now unfolding above them.

The golden spires of Asgard’s palace materialized in the sky over Salisbury Plain.

The eternal, frozen cliffs of Jotunheim appeared beside them.

And then—

The undying flames of Muspelheim, the runic cities of Vanaheim, the brilliant, ethereal forests of Alfheim.

In that moment, the Nine Realms formed a breathtaking, impossible pillar of interconnected worlds.

Across the planet, billions of people stared up at the cosmic mirage.

Hawk was watching too.

His gaze pierced through the golden light of Asgard, past the ancient cities of Vanaheim, and beyond the eternal fires of Muspelheim. It settled at last on a desolate plain of deathly silence, a land of ash and eternal twilight.

There, on the border of that barren realm, a figure appeared—disheveled, her clothes torn, yet her unbroken gaze radiated a wild, untamed power.

Hawk’s eyes crossed the cosmic distance and locked with hers.

The moment she looked up, her own gaze found his.

Their eyes met across the realms.

The next second, a brilliant pillar of golden light shot down from Asgard, and the dead realm of jagged black rock and skeletal trees vanished from view.

“Is that...”

Hela?

The Goddess of Death??

Hawk snapped back to the present, his brow furrowed as he thought of the world that had just been manually blocked from view by the King of the Gods himself.

If that was her, then that realm...

Was that Helheim?

It makes sense that it would look so desolate.

As for why it appeared so desolate and empty, that was most likely Odin’s doing.

After he conquered the Nine Realms, he not only abandoned his wars but also sealed his firstborn daughter in Helheim. And then, for good measure, he sealed Helheim itself.

Hawk’s mind raced, recalling everything he knew about Hela and Odin.

Soon, the Convergence passed.

Earth was Earth again.

Asgard was Asgard.

It was as if nothing had happened.

...

Hawk pulled his thoughts back to the present. He saw Peter land in front of him.

“Long time no see, Peter.”

“Long... uh?”

Peter’s automatic reply caught in his throat. He stared at Hawk. “Long time no see? It’s been less than half an hour. And I’ve been here the whole time.”

“For you, it has. For me... that half hour was a very long time.”

It had seemed as if he had only been in that dark, sense-deprived space for a moment before he had grasped the Sixth Sense.

But in reality, only he knew how long he had truly been there.

A long time...

A very very long time.

After speaking, Hawk’s gaze drifted to the world around him—the green grass, the distant trees, the fresh scent of the wind.

It all felt as if he were seeing it for the first time after a lifetime away.

He had been gone for a very long time.

But he was back.

His mind flashed to the image of a beautiful face that had appeared in his mind when he had been on the verge of giving up.

Gwen...

Hawk thought of the girl who was waiting for him, and took a deep breath. He turned to Peter. “Where are Gwen and Mary Jane?”

Peter said, “They’ve probably just finished the breakfast buffet at the hotel.”

After all, less than half an hour had passed.

And as everyone knows—for girls, a vacation is mostly about taking pictures. And the hotel they had chosen was famous for its breakfast buffet, which had something new every single day.

So yeah. They’re probably still eating.

Peter thought of his girlfriend who had once spent an entire hour meticulously editing a photo of her dinner.

Hawk nodded. “Then let’s go. Time to head back.”

“Sounds good.” Peter shrugged. He was just here to have Hawk’s back. If Hawk said it was time to go, it was time to go.

Just as they were about to leave, Thor, Jane, Natasha, and Clint walked over.

“Hawk.”

“Dr. Foster.”

“Hawk.”

“Natasha.”

Hawk exchanged nods with Jane and Natasha, then his eyes settled on Jane. “Dr. Foster, I owe you one. If you ever need anything, just call.”

A debt for a debt, a favor for a favor.

That’s the code.

Without her, he never would have gotten the Aether. It was a debt he had to acknowledge.

Jane didn’t refuse. She just smiled. “Congratulations.”

She wasn’t entirely sure what she was congratulating him for. But Malekith is dead, and Hawk is alive. So, congratulations seems appropriate.

“Thanks.” Hawk said.

He then looked at Natasha. “Weren’t you supposed to be in Africa?”

Natasha just shrugged. “Just got back. I was about to head out again after a little R&R.”

Hawk nodded, then his gaze drifted to the massive, kilometer-long trench that now scarred Salisbury Plain. He looked back at her. “Just for the record, I was defending myself.”

Natasha’s expression was unreadable. “We know.”

And they know that if this fight had happened in London, the entire city would be a crater right now.

“So, are you here to arrest me?”

“No. We’re just here to make sure this doesn’t end up on the evening news. The world isn’t ready for this.”

“Fair enough.”

Hawk nodded, then his eyes finally landed on Thor.

“Thor.”

“Hawk.”

Thor gripped Mjølnir. “You are strong. Thank you for saving Jane.”

When Thor brought Jane back to Asgard yesterday, he'd learned the truth about the Aether. If she'd been exposed to it any longer, the parasitic draining of her life force would have caused permanent damage.

So his gratitude was genuine.

Hawk heard the sincerity in his voice and smiled. “Sometime, we should find a quiet corner of the universe and have a real fight.”

He was curious to know if he could now beat the man who claimed he could lift a star.

'I think so...'

But theory is one thing. Practice is another.

Thor felt a spark of excitement. “An excellent idea. How about now?”

Hawk shook his head. “Not now. My armor was destroyed in the fight.”

As he spoke, he glanced at the golden fragments of his armor that were now scattered across the plain.

He could use the Reality Stone to restore it. But...

One Infinity Stone can't override another's core function. And even if it could, the Reality Stone had become the Eye of the Phoenix—its power was completely devoted to anchoring his Silver Saint abilities in this reality.

In other words, until his Cosmo broke through to the Seventh Sense and became a true, physical parallel Phoenix Universe, he couldn't use the Reality Stone for anything else.

He had already used it for its greatest possible purpose.

Hawk tore his gaze from the wreckage. He had no intention of salvaging the pieces. His old Cosmo was gone—shattered and reborn. The armor that came from it was obsolete now.

“And...”

“Most importantly...”

Hawk looked back at Thor, a small smile on his face as he gave the most important reason why he couldn’t fight now. “My girlfriend is waiting for me. I’m on vacation with her. If I’m gone for too long, she’ll worry.”

Thor blinked. The next instant, a sharp, piercing gaze locked onto him.

He instinctively turned.

Sure enough.

It was Jane.

...