The air was electric with unnatural tension. The air itself seemed to be standing on tiptoes, ready for something of epic proportions to occur. I was in the center of the Watchtower's training room, my muscles rigid and my senses on high alert, every ounce of my body screaming that something was imminent. I didn't know what it was, but I could sense it in my bones.
I had only just gotten back from talking to Zatanna and Raven, and we had been discussing the increasing cosmic disturbances I could feel glimpses of celestial energy, reality warping in ways that didn't make sense to any rational mind. Both of them had agreed that something was on its way, and we would have to be ready. But I hadn't anticipated it to occur so soon.
I was not alone in the room. The members of the Justice League were spattered about, apparently in their normal training routine. But even they were agitated, the room's quiet buzz punctuated now by an uncomfortable tension. Batman, his black eyes scanning the screens, was the first to recognize the change.
"Something is amiss," he grumbled, his voice low. He stood up and faced the others. "All of you, be warned."
Before anyone could move, the air rippled, as if a heatwave was warping the world around us. And then the figure materialized. A creature of pure energy and light, suspended in the middle of the room, eyes burning with a fire that made the room seem to be seared from the inside out.
It was not human. It was something much greater than. Its presence seemed divine, cosmic, as if the air around it warped in awe.
"You…" the voice did not come from the air, but from inside my head, as if the creature had breached my very thoughts. "You are the one who has drawn the notice of the gods."
I gritted my teeth, attempting to keep calm. The being's presence alone was daunting, but it wasn't the sense of raw power that caused my heart to race it was the sense of familiarity in the sensation. This being was no cosmic aberration. It was a god, or at least something very close to one.
"Who are you?" I said, trying to keep my voice steady in spite of the chaos within.
"I am Aetherion, the Watcher," the entity responded, its voice resounding in the walls of my mind. "I have watched you for a while now. Your movements, your strength… they are unnatural. You are a presence that will not be overlooked, and so I have arrived to test you."
I pressed my eyes into thin slits. "A test?"
Yes," Aetherion went on, its shape throbbing with an unearthly glow. "You say you are a guardian of Earth, but can you really bear the weight of cosmic duty? You are no longer human, yet still you are untested. The gods have observed you, but now we must determine if you are worthy.
I could not answer before Aetherion's form began to change, expanding and contracting in a sequence that made my head reel. Reality around me seemed to distort and bend. Time itself slowed, then accelerated, as if I was the focal point of an ever-changing maelstrom of cosmic energy.
"You will stand against me," Aetherion stated. "And show whether you are indeed worthy of wielding the power you have usurped.
I did not need to consider. I understood her actions. The stakes were too high, the pressure too extreme. There was no time to hesitate. This creature was here to challenge me, to test the very core of my capabilities.
A burst of energy coursed through me, and I felt my divine abilities begin to stir as I sensed the hum of power growing within me. The universe itself awakened at Aetherion's challenge, my powers responding reflexively as I tapped into the seemingly limitless reserves of power within me. My superhuman strength burst first, my body radiating energy. But this was not going to be an easy battle of brute force. This was a struggle of endurance, of will.
Aetherion held out his hand, and the room shook. The air thickened, as if pressure was growing within me. "Prepare yourself."
Before I could act, the creature shot forward, and I was hit with the force of a thousand stars falling upon me. Aetherion's attack was so swift, I hardly had time to raise my sword to defend myself. The force was so great, it sent shockwaves through my frame, and the walls of the Watchtower creaked under the strain. I was knocked back, my body crashing into the opposite wall with a bone jarring impact.
For an instant, there was darkness.
But I wasn't finished.
I rose, shaking off the remains of the strike, my body mending immediately. The energy of the universe inside me rushed, propelling me to stand. I centered myself on Aetherion, tapping into all the power that I could tap. Time hung in the air as my brain calculated the exchange. My intelligence the supermind I'd activated went into overdrive, computing the direction of Aetherion's path, the wax and wane of his power.
I realized now that I required something beyond physical prowess. I needed to outwit him.
Aetherion was striking with speed, accuracy, and sheer energy. But I possessed something he did not experience. I was not a mere brute force; I was a tactician. My mind racing, I broke down every movement he made, every burst of energy that escaped his body. The light that enveloped him faltered slightly as I concentrated, the blinding presence of the divine being starting to lose its bite in the face of my increasing awareness.
With a burst of strength, I moved. My body stung with speed, every step leaving behind afterimages, every motion aimed at getting into position. Aetherion's blows struck ever quicker, but I was ready for them. I deflected one strike, slapped aside another, and then, moving with the swift motion of a knife, extended and grasped his arm, holding his energy-charged form rigid.
Enough," I replied, my voice commanding and laced with authority.
Aetherion halted, and for an instant, time stood still. Then his body shimmered once more, and he let out a cosmic laugh that resonated within the Watchtower.
"You have passed," he stated, his voice now infused with respect. "You have demonstrated that you are not merely a child of power, but a being capable of exercising it wisely.
The weight in the air started to leave as Aetherion's shape started to dissipate.
"You are ready," he finished, his voice with the authority of destiny itself.
With that, he departed.
I stood amidst the battlefield, my body still resonating from the vigor of the cosmic conflict. The room was quiet, but I could sense the gaze of the Justice League upon me. They had seen my fight, my tenacity, and my triumph.
But this was merely the start. Aetherion's test was merely the beginning of many, and the road that lay ahead would be harder than I had ever dreamed.
And I was prepared.
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**End of Chapter 21**