Marvel: The Enlightened One#121+122: The Path to Enlightenment, The Reality-Altering Trio

On the rooftop of the hotel.

For the first time in a long time, Hawk wasn't training. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the cool concrete, his posture mirroring that of a meditating Buddha.

He no longer needed to throw punches.

His most pressing concern now was transcending the limits of his own existence.

The reason Gwen had found him looking like he’d been drained by a vampire was a direct result of those limits.

As everyone knows, the Reality Stone is a fickle power. It warps reality, reshapes the world, but it comes at a cost. If you have the energy to pay, it takes it. If you don't, it takes your life.

When his Cosmo was active, he had more than enough energy. His very being was on par with the most powerful superhumans in the Marvel Universe.

But without his Cosmo... he was just a man.

And for a single, terrifying instant, as the Reality Stone began to reshape his inner universe, his Cosmo had vanished. The stone, however, had continued its work, and in that moment, it had nearly siphoned away his entire life force.

He was lucky.

It was only a fragment of the stone, and he hadn't tried to fully manifest his Cosmo in the physical world.

If he had, he would have been dead before he even knew what was happening.

So, His priority was clear. He had to ascend.

Fortunately, the Saint system was a complete package.

The Cosmo was the foundation of a Saint's power, the core from which all their strength was drawn. But it was the development of the senses beyond the first five that determined the true level of a Saint's existence—the true power of their Cosmo.

The Sixth Sense.

It was the latent potential that elevated a Saint beyond the five senses. Only a Saint who had mastered The Sixth Sense was worthy of the title of Silver Saint.

Hawk had first touched it during his battle with the Demon Hulk on the African savanna. He had grasped a fragment of it, enough to unlock the power of flight, but he hadn't truly understood it, let alone mastered it.

Logically, without mastering The Sixth Sense, he shouldn't have been able to elevate his Cosmo to the Silver level.

He had considered using the fragment of the Reality Stone to force the evolution, to push his Cosmo to the level of a true Silver Saint.

He could have done it.

But the moment the thought had crossed his mind, a voice from the depths of his being had warned him:

Try it, and you die.

Cheating has its price.

So his current mission wasn't to train his body, but to understand and master The Sixth Sense. Only then could he truly become a Silver Saint and elevate his Cosmo to its proper level.

Hawk sank his consciousness into his inner universe, appearing before the gateway to The Sixth Sense.

He had already pushed the door open. Flight was the proof.

But he couldn't step through.

He thought back to the legends of the Saints, to the ways they had awakened their true potential.

There was no single, guaranteed method. There were many paths.

The first was the easiest: find a higher-level Saint, a Gold Saint, and have them guide you. By experiencing their Cosmo, you could awaken your own Sixth Sense without any pain or risk.

However—

In the Marvel Universe, he was the only Saint. There was no one to guide him.

The second path was similar: find a good teacher, someone who could show you the Way, who could point you in the right direction and save you from the pitfalls of self-discovery.

But that path, too, was closed to him.

He was his own teacher.

That left only the final, most difficult path.

A path of extreme mental discipline, or a trial by fire in a battle between life and death.

He had already walked the path of battle. His fight with the Demon Hulk had been the catalyst for his initial awakening.

But that path was dangerous, and it had nearly cost him his life.

The other path, the path of the mind, was a journey inward. A process of forging his spirit in the crucible of his own imagination, of facing his deepest fears and emerging unshaken and his Will unbreakable.

It wouldn't harm his body, but it could shatter his mind. One wrong step, one moment of weakness, and he would be lost to madness forever.

And that was the path he was on now.

Fortunately, he was not alone.

Every time he neared the edge, every time the darkness threatened to consume him, the cry of the Phoenix would echo through his Cosmo, pulling him back from the brink.

"This isn't working..."

Hawk's eyes snapped open. He wiped the sweat from his brow, his heart still pounding from the memory of his last attempt.

Shaka be damned.

If just touching The Sixth Sense was this dangerous, how in the world had the legendary Virgo Saint spent his entire life with his eyes closed, meditating on the Eighth?

He thought, a shiver running down his spine.

He would rather die a warrior's death on the battlefield than be silently consumed by the shadows of his own mind.

Tomorrow. It would have to be tomorrow.

He needed the Reality Stone to manifest his Cosmo. And the Dark Elf, Malekith, needed it to plunge the Nine Realms into eternal darkness.

Hawk reviewed Malekith's history in his mind.

Even with the Aether, he had been defeated by Thor's grandfather, Bor, who had then taken the stone from him... and in the movie, in a straight-up fight with Thor, he had been outmatched. But that didn't mean he was a pushover.

Thor had been fighting with the fury of a grieving son.

The fact that Malekith had taken a direct hit from an enraged Thor, armed with Mjolnir, and had only lost half his face... that proved he was tough.

And this time, he would be empowered by the same Reality Stone fragment that Hawk now possessed.

Hawk looked up at the star-filled sky, a sense of calm settling over him.

For some reason, he felt no fear. Only a quiet, thrilling anticipation.

Hawk thought of the coming battle, of his new Silver Phoenix Cosmo, and his hands, resting at his sides, clenched into fists.

One thing was certain.

Tomorrow would be a hell of a fight.

Just then, the door to the rooftop opened.

Hawk turned and saw Gwen. A smile spread across his face as he stood up.

Gwen didn't beat around the bush. "When's the next fight?"

"...Tomorrow." Hawk was taken aback for a second.

Gwen nodded. She took a deep breath, her face serious. "Is it dangerous?"

"No."

"Can I come with you?"

"What?" Hawk's eyebrow shot up. "Not this time, Gwen. This is..."

He trailed off, but she had already understood.

"I get it. I won't go."

"Uh..."

"I trust you, Hawk." Gwen's smile was soft, but her eyes were filled with a fierce, unwavering belief. "So don't let me down. Come back to me."

Their eyes met.

Hawk looked into her emerald-green eyes, which seemed to speak a language all their own, and nodded.

"I will."

The Phoenix does not die. It is only reborn.

...

The next morning, Hawk and Gwen shared a final kiss.

Then, with her watching from the window, he stepped onto their hotel balcony, looked up, and launched himself into the sky. He became a streak of light, shooting toward Salisbury Plain—the ancient site of Stonehenge—a hundred miles southwest.

He had chosen the location for a reason.

It was open, remote, and barely populated. Even if their battle shook the earth to its core, there wouldn't be any collateral damage.

His sister had been a casualty of someone else's war.

He would not make the same mistake.

...

Gwen watched until Hawk had completely disappeared from view, then let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

She had wanted to say goodbye.

But last night, Hawk had told her not to. He'd said it was a jinx, a death flag.

At first, she hadn't understood. But then he'd explained, and she'd remembered all the movies where the hero says, "I'll be right back," is always the one who never comes back.

So, she hadn't said it.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Gwen took a deep breath, pasted a smile on her face, and opened it.

Mary Jane stood in the hallway, practically vibrating with excitement, ready to start their day.

Behind her, Peter's eyes darted past her, into the room. He seemed to sense that Hawk was gone, and a look of surprise crossed his face.

Gwen turned to Mary Jane. "Hey. Hawk's not feeling well. He said he's just going to rest today. We can just go, the three of us."

Mary Jane's face fell. "He's not coming?"

"No."

"But..."

"You know, I'm actually feeling pretty tired myself," Peter said, raising his hand. "I think I'll just stay here at the hotel too."

Mary Jane looked from him to Gwen, then a slow, knowing smile spread across her face. "Okay, then. The boys can stay here. We'll have a girls' day out."

Gwen shot a quick, grateful look at Peter, who gave a small, almost imperceptible nod in return. She then turned back to Mary Jane, her own smile bright and genuine.

"Yeah. A girls' day. No boyfriends allowed."

"..."

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

Stonehenge.

Also known as the Salisbury Plain Stone Circle. It is one of Europe’s most famous prehistoric cultural sites.

Every year—no, to be more precise, almost every day—tourists flocked here to witness its majesty.

In other words...

It was just a bunch of broken rocks, their authenticity questionable at best.

Hawk glanced at the scattered stones, some standing, some fallen, and immediately lost interest.

Perhaps because it was still early, or perhaps because some idiot had gone streaking through the stones the day before, Stonehenge was closed to the public today.

But that didn't include Hawk.

He stood silently before one of the monoliths.

He could feel it—an inexplicable energy pulsing from the stones, the same kind of vibration he’d felt in that abandoned warehouse yesterday. It was as if the entire monument had been activated.

The Convergence of the Nine Realms.

It was a celestial spectacle, a marvel that occurred only once every few thousand years.

Today, as the World Tree trembled, the nine realms connected by its branches would briefly overlap, like a planetary alignment.

Technically, Earth should no longer be considered one of the nine realms after having fallen from the World Tree.

But while the branch may have broken, the roots remained. And because of that connection, the spectacle of the Convergence would play out here, on Earth.

That's exactly why Malekith planned to use the Aether to drag the Nine Realms into eternal darkness today.

On any other day, whatever reality he created would be temporary—just a fleeting illusion. The moment his power couldn't sustain the Aether's energy drain, or the second someone took the stone from him, the Nine Realms would snap back to normal.

After all, the reality altered by the Reality Stone alone was not permanent.

Otherwise, Thanos wouldn't have bothered collecting all the Infinity Stones; he could have just used the Reality Stone to rewrite reality from the start.

First, the Reality Stone cannot directly override, cancel, or surpass the core abilities of the other Infinity Stones.

If Thanos were to use only the Reality Stone, he wouldn't be able to rewrite the entire universe with a single thought.

He would have to wait for the Aether's crimson, liquid-like substance to physically spread and envelop the cosmos.

A process that would, conservatively, take a few hundred billion years.

The universe is a big place.

But that wasn't the most critical limitation.

The reality created by the Reality Stone alone is temporary, it cannot be made permanent.

That was why Thanos needed the other stones.

Only with the other stones could he tap into the Power Stone's infinite energy to fuel the Mind Stone, use the Mind Stone to amplify his will, and then finally wield the Reality Stone to permanently reshape the universe at every level—space, time, and soul.

Malekith knew this. It was why he had chosen today.

During this once-in-a-millennium event, the boundaries between the Nine Realms would blur and overlap, creating massive, inter-dimensional energy conduits and spacetime anomalies. This would provide the Aether with an unprecedented source of power, an amplifier for its influence.

With it, Malekith's dark reality would become permanent.

Coincidentally, Hawk had the same idea.

The moment his Cosmo manifested in reality, the moment its parallel universe was born from the true Phoenix constellation, it would unleash an unprecedented burst of energy—an explosion that would make his Cosmo a permanent, physical reality.

...

Just then, he caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced toward a stone pillar to his left.

Hawk smiled. "Do you carry that suit with you everywhere?"

"Nope. I wear it underneath. When I need it, I just rip off my jacket and pull on the mask."

Peter, who had been crouched on the pillar like a gargoyle, shook his head and gave a completely serious explanation for his quick costume changes.

Hawk listened to his explanation and nodded. "Where are Gwen and Mary Jane?"

"They went out shopping."

"And you?"

"I decided to take a break too. Besides, MJ dragged Gwen off for a Girls Day Out."

"Right."

Hawk chuckled.

Peter shot a web, swinging gracefully down to land next to Hawk. He looked toward the center of the stone circle, where the energy was most concentrated. "Need any help?"

Hawk smiled.

"You know what I'm here for?"

"Nope."

Peter shook his head and shrugged. "They're having a Girls' Day. Figured we could have a Brothers' Day."

He didn't know what Hawk was doing here, or what he was about to do.

But one thing he knew for sure.

Hawk was his friend. And if the roles were reversed, Hawk would have his back, no questions asked.

Hawk understood perfectly.

But—

"You can watch. But don't help."

Hawk’s voice was serious. "Even if it looks like I'm dying, don't interfere."

"..." Peter tilted his head, his expression hidden behind the mask.

Hawk’s expression was grim. "Don't worry, I won't really die. Even if I'm struck down, I'll just be reborn from the ashes."

The Sixth Sense could only be mastered at the edge of death itself. Only by coming infinitely close to death—or even experiencing it—could one earn the right to wield it.

His Cosmo might have reached the level of a Silver Saint, but it was an empty title.

Peter listened to the gravity in his tone, looked at his serious expression, and after a moment, nodded.

"Okay. So, can you at least tell me who you're—"

"He's here!"

Before Peter could finish, Hawk felt the Aether rapidly approaching. He cut him off and looked toward the center of Stonehenge.

A ripple, silent and unseen, passed through the air. And then he was there. Malekith, the Dark Elf, his face as pale as stone, the left side freshly scarred. He had sunken eye sockets and milky white pupils, and he radiated an aura of ancient doom and otherworldly menace.

The moment he appeared, Peter's Spider-Sense screamed, and every hair on his body stood on end.

Hawk and Malekith’s eyes met.

"Child. I believe you have something that belongs to me. Would you be so kind as to return it?" Malekith's pale pupils were calm as he looked at Hawk.

Hawk smiled faintly. “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Malekith also smiled.

He had known the moment he saw him that the boy would not give up the Aether willingly.

After all, he was already using it.

"A power from another universe... With the energy you can currently manifest, I doubt you have what it takes to stop me."

“We’ll see.”

Malekith was an ancient being, a contemporary of King Bor, Odin's father.

Like Mephisto, his experience was vast, so it was no surprise he recognized the origin of Hawk's power.

Hawk wasn't concerned. He just shrugged. "If I die, the Aether is yours. If you die, it's mine."

"Fair enough." Malekith nodded, then his gaze shifted to Peter. "And what about this spider?"

Hawk smiled back. "Every fight needs an audience. If I die, he can take care of the body. Saves you the trouble."

Malekith laughed.

Hawk laughed with him.

Their eyes met again across the stone circle. The next second, a crimson energy erupted from Malekith's body, coalescing in an instant into a razor-sharp spear.

"Go!"

The moment Malekith's expression changed, Hawk shouted at Peter. As the crimson spear shot toward him, his right fist was already moving to meet it.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The spear shattered like glass.

A flicker of amusement crossed Malekith's pale eyes.

"You fell for it—"

Before the words had even faded, the shattered crimson fragments instantly reformed, flowing around Hawk's fist and slamming into his chest.

CRACK!

Hawk was thrown backward, crashing clean through the retaining wall the London government had built to protect the ancient monument.

Peter, who'd listened to Hawk and stayed clear of the battle, watched from his spot on a stone pillar as Hawk went flying through the air.

With a single step, Malekith exited the stone circle. With the next, he passed through the hole Hawk had just blasted in the wall. A cloud of dust rose from the ground nearby. As it settled, Hawk stood again, looking disheveled.

Malekith smiled, his expression one of genuine, almost gentlemanly appreciation.

"Care to continue?"

"Of course."