The clock struck 2:00 PM. After a night of hard work, in his Malibu workshop, Tony Stark felt the familiar tug at the base of his skull; in the heart of the Umbrella Hive, Aryan leaned back, letting his consciousness drift. The transition was seamless—a practiced ascent through the astral layers until the grey mist of Sefirah Castle solidified beneath their feet.
Around the massive table, the members manifested. The air was thick with the ease of veterans who had spent over a year reshaping the world together. Tony, Wanda, T'Challa, and Namor took their seats, their eyes turning naturally toward Aryan.
"The world is still shaking from the Hydra leak," Tony began, leaning back and crossing his arms. "But it's a good shake. The Federation is filling the gaps faster than I expected. The 'Leader'—whoever that guy is—certainly knows how to manage a crisis."
"It was a necessary purification," T'Challa added, "The internal rot has been excised. But as we discussed, our focus must now shift. The Federation will manage the people; we must manage the threats they aren't even aware of yet."
Aryan nodded, his expression serious. "Exactly. We are the deterrent. We don't interfere in the day-to-day, but if an external invasion—something from beyond the stars or the dimensions—touches this planet, we act as one. A unified force to protect the cradle of humanity."
The conversation shifted as the members began to discuss the evolution of their respective abilities. They had seen the limits of Wanda's Chaos Magic and T'Challa's Kinetic Absorption. They had watched Tony master Magnetism with the same precision he once applied to engineering.
"We've all reached a plateau of sorts," Namor remarked, his dark eyes fixing on Aryan. "But you, Aryan... you've provided us with the means to transcend our limits, yet you remain the most enigmatic among us. We know the Apex Survival Package makes you the pinnacle of human evolution, but you've never revealed your primary power. You've spent more time in this Castle than any of us—what are you holding back?"
Aryan leaned forward, a thoughtful smile playing on his lips. "I'm not holding back, Namor. I'm simply waiting. I've chosen to enjoy the simplicity of a common human life for as long as possible. According to the destiny mapped out in my original timeline, my true power isn't meant to awaken until 2025."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "You bought the Apex package, which already puts you in a different league. Why the wait? With the resources you have, you could force an awakening tomorrow."
"I could," Aryan admitted. "But the System is balanced. After the Apex purchase, I felt the threshold. If I were to buy further high-level upgrades now, the sheer energy influx would trigger my awakening prematurely. And frankly, once that sun rises, there's no going back to being 'just' Aryan."
Wanda leaned in, her eyes fixed on him with a depth of devotion that the others had long since accepted. "Tell us, Aryan. What is it that requires such patience?"
"The power I carry... the one that is currently dormant... is the force of one million exploding suns."
The silence that followed was almost physical. It was as if the conceptual weight of his words had increased the local gravity, making it hard for the others to even draw breath.
"It is a solar consciousness," Aryan explained, his voice calm despite the terrifying scale of his words. "It is total molecular dominance. To move so fast that time becomes a static image; to possess strength that makes the weight of a continent feel like a grain of sand. It is the ability to project a golden radiance so pure it can heal a dying world or incinerate a galaxy. It is a power that survives the heart of a star and the vacuum of the void alike."
He looked around the table, his Omega-level Telepathy subtly brushing against their minds, sensing the waves of shock.
Aryan lied, his face a mask of humble sincerity, "If I awaken it now, I fear I would lose the human perspective I value so much. I would become a literal god, a being of pure light and molecular will. I'm not ready to stop being your friend and start being a celestial event just yet. I have suppressed it until the year 2025."
Tony was the first to find his voice. His Cognitive Multitasking was already running the numbers, and the result was making his hands shake beneath the table.
"A million suns," Tony muttered, his mind flashing through images of the sun's surface—the roiling plasma, the solar flares that could swallow Earth. "Aryan, do you even understand what you're saying? I spent more than billions of dollars of my personal fortune and resources in this Castle just to see a future where I was a hero and here you are, carrying a 'delete' button for the solar system in your DNA."
Tony leaned forward, his Boy Eye trying to scan Aryan's cellular structure, but he saw only an impenetrable golden warmth. "It's not just the power, it's the physics. You're talking about being a walking singularity. If you sneeze too hard, do we all just... cease to exist?"
He gave a nervous laugh, trying to hide the fact that he felt like a child playing with batteries next to a man holding a fusion reactor. "I thought I was the 'Futurist,' but you're the future's end-point."
T'Challa, sat perfectly still. His Super Soldier senses and Combat Precognition were screaming at him, sensing the sheer "Presence" Aryan was describing. But unlike Tony, T'Challa's reaction was one of profound philosophical respect.
"It explains the restraint," T'Challa said softly, "To have the power to rule everything, to be the judge, jury, and executioner of every star system in this quadrant, and to choose instead to build hospitals. To give away software. To sit here with us and discuss things as equals."
T'Challa looked at the others. "Most men, upon receiving even a fraction of such heat, would have burned their enemies to ash within the first hour. You have used your position to become the world's most generous ghost. That is the true mark of a leader, Aryan. It is not the strength of the suns you carry, but the strength of the soul that keeps them contained."
Namor, remained quiet for a long time. His pride was a physical thing, usually radiating off him like the salt spray of the ocean. But now, he felt small. His Hydrokinesis allowed him to move the tides, but Aryan could boil the entire Atlantic into steam with a thought.
He realized that his entire kingdom—every trench, every whale, every citizen of Atlantis—existed only because Aryan preferred a world with oceans. The realization was humbling. Namor adjusted his stance, his eyes shifting from defiance to a deep loyalty. If Fate had chosen Aryan to be the Sun, then Namor would be the cool dark that supported him.
Wanda's reaction was entirely different. She didn't feel the terror of physics or the weight of politics. She looked at Aryan with an almost holy pride.
Her savior, the man who had rescued her and Pietro from the dust of Sokovia, was the center of the universe. It made sense to her. She didn't fear the "million suns" because she knew that the sun was her warmth. Her Chaos Magic hummed in a joyous rhythm. To Wanda, Aryan was the Sun, and she was content to be the force that moved in his orbit, protecting his human side so that he never had to become that "celestial event" alone.
"2025," Tony muttered again, shaking his head. "Well, at least we know we have a heavy hitter if aliens show up. Just... maybe give us a heads-up before you go supernova, okay? I'd like to be on the other side of the planet. Or maybe in another dimension."
Aryan smiled—that signature Friend Aura washing over them, instantly diffusing the tension and making the "god" feel like a "friend" again.
Aryan laughed, "I'll do my best, Tony. But we have more pressing matters today than my future. You've been carrying a heavy weight since yesterday. It's time we used that credit you've been saving."
Aryan looked toward the center of the hall, where the fog began to swirl into a specific pattern. "It's time for the Mediumship, Tony. Let's bring them home for a while."
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