The battle's aftershocks were still in the air. The Justice League was back at the Watchtower, but the win seemed more of a warm up to something greater. Stood in our midst, rebounding from the alien attack, I couldn't help but feel that it was far from over. No, there was something on the horizon something much greater than the menace of mere alien invaders.
I stood on the railing of the Watchtower's observation deck, gazing out at the world below. The city lights glimmered like a blanket of stars, but my thoughts were elsewhere. I felt the tug, the pressure of something looking at me.
It wasn't paranoia. It was a presence. A divine presence.
"Something's not right," Diana's voice broke into my thoughts. She had come up softly, her step light but purposeful.
I didn't glance back at her. "I know."
Her forehead creased. "What is it?"
I breathed deeply, the cosmic sense inside me humming. It was as if the very fabric of existence was altering. Something or someone was moving through the very threads of existence, asserting itself.
Before I could react, the room temperature cooled. There was a chill wind that went through the observation deck, but there was no open window. The lights dimmed.
I turned around, my senses in overdrive.
"Diana, move back," I shouted, but too late.
A blinding burst of light exploded at the room's center. The air was charged with the unmistakable pressure of cosmic energy. At the room's center, a being coalesced, its presence overwhelming and much older than any I had ever known. The being was shrouded in a brilliant light, the presence of a god both inexpressibly beautiful and horrific simultaneously.
Diana moved forward, her hand clenching harder around the hilt of her sword. "Who are you?"
The form inclined its head slightly, regarding her, and then turned to look at me directly. Its eyes, burning with the force of a thousand suns, locked onto me.
"Hear me, Eon," the being spoke, its voice echoing through the very air. It was both far away and near, as the sound of an eternity unfolding. "I have been observing you, mortal."
I stiffened. My neck hairs prickled. This was no creature. This was a greater power a god.
"You are not mortal any longer," Eon went on, its eyes never wavering from me. "You have passed a boundary, one that can never be taken back. You have risen up, and in doing so, you have brought upon yourself the notice of entities far more than yourself."
I took a step forward, unafraid but cautious. "What do you want?"
Eon's lips twitched into a subtle, wise smile. "What I desire. is not for you to command. It is for you to comprehend. You are part of a greater cosmic pattern one that has its laws, its equilibrium, its repercussions. And yet, you transgress it.
The words struck me like a hammer, one sharp blow after another against my very existence. "Violate? I'm only trying to defend this world. I'm not trying to destabilize anything."
Eon's shape changed, glowing with an energy that was almost blinding in intensity. "You are a force unlike any other. The gifts you have, the powers you are given. They are not yours. Not yet."
There it was once more the burden of something more than myself. The air tension became thicker, crushing.
"You talk of cosmic balance," I said, a flame burning inside me. "But strength is needed for balance. Action is needed. I'm taking what needs to be taken, even if the universe doesn't approve."
Eon's eyes narrowed. "You don't understand the repercussions of your deeds. You toy with forces that are beyond your understanding."
Diana stepped closer, her tone cutting. "What does it mean to him? What do you want from us?
The gaze of the divine being did flicker in her direction for a moment before once again focusing on me. "I don't want from you. I'm here to caution you. You are playing with fire, one that will have consequences beyond what you can imagine. Your time of rising might not be the universe's time to let such power go unchecked."
I stood tall, with the adrenaline pumping inside me. "You talk about risk, but Earth is endangered daily. Am I supposed to just sit here and watch the world burn as I wait for authorization to take action?"
Eon's smile grew, and a chill laugh filled the air. "You are mistaken as to my intent. I do not intend to thwart you. I wish to make sure that you do not lose yourself to your power, for that is a worse fate than any death."
I had my fists balled. "What are you talking about?"
Eon's form started to fade, the light around it distorting and flowing like liquid flame. "You are on a journey that will bring you to a decision, one which will make you a guardian or a destroyer. Make your choice wisely."
And then, as suddenly as it had materialized, the figure vanished, the room left in profound silence.
Diana slowly approached, her eyes narrowed. "What just happened?"
I turned to her, my thoughts racing. "That was a warning. A warning that I'm being watched not just by the League or by my enemies, but by forces beyond even that."
Her expression softened, but she didn't say anything.
I could sense the burden of Eon's words, the weight bearing down upon me. I was no longer fighting threats on Earth alone. I stood now on the precipice of an intergalactic abyss, and I wasn't certain I was prepared to face it. But prepared or not, here it was and it wasn't leaving.
The decisions that lay ahead would determine everything.
The universe was watching.
---
**End of Chapter 19**