"You've explained it clearly."
"And I understand exactly what you mean."
Meeting Ajak's gaze, Alex remained calm, as though they were discussing something utterly trivial.
It truly seemed as if he didn't care at all whether Earth would be destroyed.
That, however, made it even harder for Ajak to accept—harder to understand.
"How can you possibly not care at all?"
Ajak stared straight at Alex, her voice tinged with agitation.
"Ajak, if you're here as a guest in Krakoa, you're very welcome."
"But matters involving the Celestials—I don't want to get involved."
Alex didn't address her question directly. Instead, he shook his head again, clearly and unmistakably reiterating his stance.
"Even if you don't care, what about the millions in Krakoa? What about everyone on Earth?"
"Can you really ignore their lives and deaths?"
Ajak still refused to give up, continuing to persuade him.
"And I'm not asking you to do anything extreme. I just hope you'll step forward and talk to Arishem about this."
That last sentence finally sparked Alex's interest.
So this was Ajak's solution?
Have him step in and talk Arishem down?
"Why do you think Arishem would be willing to discuss this with me?"
Alex asked, genuinely curious.
"He will, Homelander."
Ajak nodded firmly.
"You once defeated Galactus. Even among the Celestials, that gives you considerable weight."
Alex suddenly understood.
So this was Ajak's reasoning.
"Defeating Galactus—does that really count as something extraordinary in the eyes of the Celestials?"
Alex asked again, curiosity deepening.
"Homelander, it seems you haven't fully realized what you've done."
Ajak began explaining patiently.
"Galactus is one of the Five Abstract Entities, an existence that stands above the Celestials!"
"You defeated Galactus to protect Earth. That demonstrated both overwhelming power and an unwavering determination to defend this planet."
"Arishem won't ignore that."
And this—
This was exactly what Ajak couldn't understand.
This man had repeatedly defended Earth from alien and extradimensional invasions.
He had even defeated Galactus.
Yet now—
He claimed not to care about Earth's survival at all?
Could it be—
That Homelander was deliberately saying this?
Yes.
That had to be it.
Galactus stands above the Celestials…
Alex's heart stirred.
His understanding of the Celestials' level—and his own—became even clearer.
If Ajak had come to him personally, it meant she truly believed he had a real chance.
And if that was the case…
"Can you arrange a conversation between me and Arishem?"
After a brief pause, Alex looked at Ajak and asked.
Ajak's face instantly lit up with joy.
"You'll do it, Homelander?"
"I'm not promising anything."
Alex shook his head.
"But if you can really arrange a meeting with Arishem, I'm willing to try talking to him."
"As for the outcome—I won't guarantee anything."
That was the only answer Alex gave her.
He was no longer the same as before. His current strength was no longer inferior to that of the Celestials.
Facing them now, he naturally had far more confidence.
He still didn't want to offend the Celestials—but he wasn't so timid that he wouldn't even dare to meet and talk.
Besides—
He didn't actually expect this conversation to solve everything.
At most, he wanted to see Arishem's attitude.
After all, interstellar—or even interdimensional—migration really was a last resort.
If it could be avoided, continuing to live on Earth would obviously be preferable.
That said, even if this were ignored, the Eternals themselves would try to stop Tiamut's emergence.
But that wasn't a true solution.
Were the Celestials really that easy to betray?
In the original timeline, didn't Arishem still intend to judge humanity—to decide whether they even deserved to live?
"This is more than enough!"
Ajak was overjoyed.
Sure enough—
All that talk about not caring about Earth's fate had just been Homelander speaking offhandedly.
"Homelander, wait for my message. I'll arrange everything as quickly as possible!"
Ajak said excitedly, emphasizing every word.
"Judging by how urgent you seem, Ajak—how much time does Earth have left?"
Alex asked curiously.
"Based on my observations… at most, one month."
Ajak's expression turned grave.
One month.
Alex took note.
That wasn't long—but for him, it was more than enough.
"Only one month…"
After Ajak left, Raven walked over to Alex, her face heavy with concern.
This was a planet-destruction-level crisis.
Even though she had long known about the Celestials and Earth's eventual fate from Alex—
When the moment truly approached, she still couldn't remain calm.
"Alex… if your negotiations with Arishem fail, what will you do?"
Raven looked at him solemnly.
"What else?"
Alex shook his head slightly.
"We move."
For him, since he already possessed the ability to migrate civilizations, there was no reason to go head-on against the Celestials just to save Earth.
At the end of the day, he had only defeated Galactus by relying on the six Infinity Stones.
It wasn't as if his own power had reached that absolute level.
Charging recklessly against cosmic entities at a time like this would be sheer stupidity.
If Arishem insisted on Tiamut's awakening and Earth's destruction—
Then they'd simply choose another planet.
For Alex, that wasn't a difficult decision at all.
"Move…?"
Raven still felt unwilling.
"Do we really have to come to that?"
"Don't overthink it."
Alex reached out and patted Raven gently.
"Let's see what Arishem's attitude is first."
Before actually meeting Arishem, Alex couldn't promise her anything.
It was worth mentioning—
Over the many years spent preparing for the Celestial Tiamut crisis, Alex had already made extremely thorough preparations.
He once planned to relocate Krakoa to Asgard, but later changed his mind.
Living under someone else's roof was never the best option.
Over the years—aside from roaming the DC universe—Alex had also been paying attention to other parallel universes.
And he had already selected a fairly suitable one.
If Earth really was destroyed one month from now—
Then Alex would have no choice but to lead Krakoa into another parallel universe.
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