"How could gods really exist?" Jake Sully lay on the ground, staring blankly at the sky.
But Quaritch's words, the changing skies, the cries of beasts across the land, the strange visions he had felt when touching the Tree of Soul, and the green energy glowing in the hands of those two bull-headed beings—All of it told him that maybe this was real.
"I don't want to admit it either, but it is the truth!" Quaritch's voice sounded again, suddenly beside Jake. "You may think everything you did was your own choice, but in truth you were nothing more than a pawn used by Pandora's god. Otherwise, why would you believe that you, a human from light-years away, could be accepted by the so-called Eywa?"
Hearing this, Jake thought back—his first lost steps on Pandora, the chance meeting with Neytiri, his slow place among the Na'vi, Eywa's blessing, becoming Toruk Makto.
Yes, there had been his effort and will. But he could not deny how many coincidences had guided him.
"And you?" Jake laughed bitterly.
"That's right. I'm a pawn too!" Quaritch admitted without shame. Bearing the trading beacon, making contact with Josh—who to him was like a god—running on Josh's errands… was that really any different from being a pawn of a god?
The difference was that, unlike Jake, unknowingly pushed by Pandora's will, Quaritch accepted his place eagerly.
"But compared to you, I am luckier. The god I serve is stronger, more generous!" Quaritch said, pride swelling as he looked at the fleet bombing the beast tide in the sky, at the wall of steel his machines had built.
Josh had said Pandora would weaken and die once its world-soul was drained. But that would take thousands of years.
Thousands of years was more than enough. Even if Earth could no longer sustain life, humanity would not be without homes. With faster-than-light ships and world-shaping technology, finding new planets would be no trouble.
In fact, the Federation already had star maps with several candidates. They just hadn't had the means to use them before.
"So… these robot armies and fleets, they're not from the Federation. They were given to you by your god?" Jake finally understood.
Of course. Even the Federation could not have such power. But if it was a gift from a god—everything made sense.
"Then even the Federation can't stop you," Jake murmured.
"That's right. I will build humanity countless new homes. Pandora is only a step along the way," Quaritch said openly. Facing a beaten enemy, he had no reason to hide.
"I see… Then give me a quick death," Jake sighed.
"A quick death? You wish," Quaritch sneered. "Rot here on your own. Or, if you like, end it yourself. Don't your Na'vi always speak of returning to nature?"
The way he said your Na'vi cut into Jake like a knife.
After those words, Quaritch kicked the dagger—Jake's failed weapon—back toward him, then walked away without looking back, heading straight for the Tree of Souls.
By now, the Seed of the Celestial was blazing brighter and brighter, drawing vast streams of Pandora's world-soul through the Tree of Souls.
And with it, the Tree of Souls—once the Na'vi's sacred tree, towering no smaller than Azeroth's World Tree—was visibly withering.
Quaritch could feel it. The Seed of the Celestial was close to ripening. Just as Josh had told him, he would know the moment it was about to mature.
The Shanhoof brothers, standing guard beside it, grew more solemn by the second.
But Jake Sully's eyes were fixed only on the dagger at his side.
With trembling hands, he picked it up and slowly raised it to his throat. Closing his eyes, he tried to drive it into his neck.
Yet after a long hesitation, his strength failed him. The dagger slipped from his fingers and fell.
He lacked the courage to end it—just as he had, years ago, when he first learned he would never walk again.
Behind him, Quaritch heard the sound and smirked with disdain, but quickly turned his full attention back to the Seed.
As the Tree of Souls finally crumbled to nothing, the Seed of the Celestial erupted in a pillar of golden light that shot skyward, flooding the valley, piercing through the heavy clouds, and letting sunlight once again pour onto the land.
Across Pandora, the beasts that had been caught in madness instantly regained their senses. Realizing the slaughter around them, they scattered in panic, fleeing in all directions.
The Seed of the Celestial—was ripe.
Pandora's world-soul—was gone.
Koruno Shanhoof stepped forward solemnly. With the lightest touch, the seed lifted free from gravity, its glow drawing inward and dimming.
He carefully placed the matured Seed back into its vibranium container and handed it to Quaritch.
Looking at the plain metal box, Quaritch knew full well the treasure inside. His throat tightened, and he swallowed hard.
But in the end, he mastered his greed, sealed it into his system's inventory, and at once opened a channel to Josh.
The connection came through instantly.
"Did it work?" Josh's voice trembled with impatience. Even across worlds, he had been waiting, restless with desire for the Seed of the Celestial.
"Mission complete," Quaritch replied at once, trading the container over immediately—afraid that even one second longer might test his own self-control.
"Good! Good! Very Good!" Josh accepted the trade instantly. He tore open the box and saw the golden seed within, shining like flowing light. His voice rose, each word bursting with joy, his face lit with excitement.
It had been a long, long time since anything had stirred him this deeply.
He thought of the terrifying power of Arishem the Judge he had seen in films of his past life, and his heart raced.
But that was only a dream. Arishem was a Prime Celestial—even Tiamat could not compare to him.
In the whole MCU universe, only a few people stood above Arishem.
And Pandora's world-soul? It was nothing but a weakling—one that Tiamat could casually crush with a single seed.
So even though the Seed of the Celestial carried a trace of Tiamat's essence, and now also held all of Pandora's world-soul, enough for Josh to transform—at best, it would only make him the weakest Celestial. Probably around Ego's level.
With that thought, Josh's excitement quickly cooled.
"Damn it… I still want Azeroth after all…" He glanced again at the seed in his hand, mind drifting to the World of Warcraft, and to Azeroth—the strongest world-soul, the one Tiamat herself admitted was no weaker than she.
"Mr. Kahn, is something wrong?" On the other end, Quaritch noticed Josh's shift from eager to dismissive, and his heart jumped. Had something gone wrong?
"Oh, nothing. Just some sudden thoughts…" Josh remembered he was still on the channel.
"As agreed, everything I've traded to you before is now yours. From now on, the unobtanium and other valuable resources you gather, I'll purchase them at the contracted price—plus fifty percent. The Shanhoof brothers can also stay with you for now."
"Thank you very much for your generosity!" Quaritch beamed with joy. His efforts had been worth it.
"Good. I have other matters to handle, so let's stop here." Josh nodded, ending the call.
When the screen faded, he stared again at the Seed of the Celestial, falling deep into thought.
Should he use it?
If he did, he might become the weakest Celestial ever… but even so, "weakest" in that tier still meant standing above nearly everyone else in the MCU. Aside from the Abstract Entities, he would be in the first echelon.
Against him, even the Ancient One or Odin would have no chance.
But if he left it unused… Tiamat had warned him. Over time, the seed would awaken, grow a new consciousness, and birth a newborn Celestial.
He had to decide soon.
After a short silence, Josh made up his mind.
He picked up the box and left his study. A few steps later, he pushed into Margaret's workshop, ignoring the wards on the door.
Margaret was finishing a magical necklace, but his sudden intrusion startled her. With a sharp crack, the priceless Azeroth diamond at its heart exploded into dust.
"Josh! I need an explanation!" Even Margaret, usually so gentle, couldn't hold her temper. The material was rare, yes—but what stung more was seeing hours of careful work vanish in an instant.
But Josh gave no explanation. Instead, he swept her into his arms amid her cry of surprise, teleported back to their bedroom, and tossed her onto the vast bed.
What followed lasted over ten hours, ending only when Margaret, her divine body or not, begged for mercy under the force of his relentless assault.
"What's gotten into you? Why so fierce all of a sudden?" Margaret finally caught her breath and asked.
After all, they had been together for over a decade as husband and wife. Neither of them had grown tired of the other, but things were no longer as intense as they once had been.
So Josh's sudden roughness told her instantly—something had happened.
"Nothing much. Just that for a long time after this, I'm afraid I won't be in control. So while I still have the chance, I had to show some strength first," Josh said lazily.
"???"
Margaret blinked at him, completely baffled.
What nonsense was that supposed to mean?
Then Josh brought out the Seed of the Celestial and explained about the world-soul essence, its power, and how it could grant ascension.
"You mean… you want me to use this?" Margaret finally understood, her heart warming even as a smile tugged at her lips.
So that was it—Josh was worried that if she grew stronger than him, he wouldn't be able to "hold her down." How childish.
Even so, when faced with such a treasure, the first person he thought of was her. That alone made her feel happy… even if part of his reasoning was because he didn't see this seed as the greatest prize.
"Of course. You're my wife. If there's something good, you're always first," Josh said matter-of-factly.
As for the three kids they already had? That was just an accident.
"Josh." Margaret gently touched his chest, looking at his still-youthful face.
"What?" Josh asked, confused.
"What if… we had another child?" she asked softly.
"…That won't be easy…" Josh frowned. "We're no longer ordinary mortals. And this Seed has to be used quickly. Once you ascend, getting pregnant will be even harder."
It wasn't that he didn't want more children. For him, raising them was never an issue, and neither of them had to worry about age anymore.
The problem was simple: at their level, reproduction became harder. The conditions required were far more demanding, and the time for gestation could be extremely long.
Look at Odin, for example. Two wives, yet each only bore him a single child. Thor from Frigga, and Hela… well, her mother was still a mystery. Neither Loki nor the Ancient One knew the answer. And Josh certainly wasn't about to ask Odin or Frigga directly.
As for the Celestials, their "reproduction" was even more distant. A Celestial had to split off part of itself, plant a seed into a suitable world, and let it evolve across eons before it could become another.
So after Margaret's ascension, whether they could still have children naturally was… uncertain at best.
"Difficult doesn't mean impossible, right?" Margaret said calmly, not shaken at all.
"Of course. If that's truly your wish… But I think it's better to wait until after you ascend. This thing won't wait." Josh lifted the glowing Seed in his hand, his meaning clear.
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Next Goal: 200 PS!