"You know about Earth?" From Ego's tone, Clark could tell he was familiar with the planet.
"Of course. It's a beautiful place." As Ego spoke of Earth, memories of a woman he had once loved and the child they had together surfaced in his mind.
For decades, Ego had been searching for that final child of his—the one taken away by Yondu. He had never given up on his dream, always planning to find the boy.
But now, maybe he didn't need to anymore—because a better candidate had appeared. Compared to a child who might not inherit his Celestial genes, Ego felt Diana was a much more promising option.
"Then… can you send us back?" Diana couldn't help but ask when she heard Ego say he knew Earth.
"It's possible," Ego replied with a smile meant to please her, "but Earth is quite far from here. I'd need to make some preparations first."
"You've been here for a while, haven't you? Why don't you come to my place and rest for a bit?"
As he spoke, Ego waved his hand, and a floating platform emerged from his egg-shaped ship, stopping in front of Clark and Diana.
"Please."
"Ego, is it really just the two of you on this planet?" Diana asked during their flight. Just as Clark had said, the entire planet seemed devoid of other life.
"Strictly speaking, yes. The only other living being on this planet is Mantis," Ego replied as the flying platform brought them to a palace.
"Mantis?"
"Like you, I'm one of the divine races," Ego said, looking directly at Diana.
"You're one of the gods too?" Diana could sense the divine energy in Ego, but she also noticed that it was different from her own.
"Yes, I'm a Celestial," Ego replied, leading Clark and Diana into a grand hall.
The hall was magnificently decorated, with about a dozen miniature versions of his egg-shaped ship displayed along both sides.
"I don't know where I came from—just that from the very beginning, I knew I was a Celestial."
As he spoke, Ego waved his hand, and an image appeared inside one of the eggs—a giant brain floating in the vacuum of space.
"At first, I just drifted through the cosmos—directionless, without a destination, for who knows how long. Maybe tens of thousands of years, maybe millions.
"Over time, I began gathering matter around me—layer by layer, slowly constructing what you see now beneath your feet. This planet."
As he spoke, Ego stomped on the floor to emphasize his point.
"You're saying... you are this planet?" Diana looked down in disbelief. Having grown up in Themyscira, she had access to many ancient texts and stories about gods.
But even for a demigoddess who had seen miracles, the idea of a god building an entire planet by himself was nearly unimaginable.
Seeing her stunned face, Ego smiled and continued, "Yes. I am this planet. This planet is me.
"After I completed this world, I began thinking about the meaning of my existence. I believed there must be other lifeforms out there besides myself.
"And I found them. But I was disappointed—though they were intelligent, I knew I was different.
"Our levels of life were not the same. So ever since then, I've been searching across the universe for someone who shares my level of existence. And today, I may have found them."
Diana frowned. Something about Ego's words didn't sit right with her. She disliked the way he spoke—he looked down on those whose species were "inferior" to his own, simply because he was born a Celestial.
Still, Diana didn't argue. After all, not even Zeus could control someone else's thoughts.
"Ego, you said you've been to Earth before. How far is it from here?"
Clark had lost most of his envy after learning that this planet wasn't owned by Ego—it was Ego. Normally, people admire wealth—but nobody envies being wealth itself.
In terms of strength, Clark figured that with a little more time, he could probably shatter this million-year-old planet-body with one punch.
So he wasn't interested in Ego's backstory. What he really wanted was to know how to get home.
But since they needed Ego's help to get back, Clark waited patiently until Ego finished before asking.
"I don't remember exactly," Ego said, pretending to think. "Last time I went to Earth was... thirty years ago."
"I think it was 1980. I stayed in Missouri for a while. Never thought I'd meet two Earthlings again today." Ego smiled faintly. "You must be tired after your journey. Mantis, take them to rest."
As Mantis led them away, Ego stroked his chin, lost in thought. Though he wanted to father a child with Diana, he wasn't keen on forcing her. After all, she was the only female of a divine lineage he had seen in ages.
Which meant he needed to figure out how to get rid of Clark.
"I'm Mantis," she said, once they were away from Ego.
"Hi, Mantis. I'm Diana," Diana replied with a gentle smile, noticing Mantis's nervousness.
"I'm sorry. I grew up here all alone—aside from Ego, I've never spoken to anyone else, so I don't really know how to communicate," Mantis said, forcing a strained smile.
"I heard that smiling helps people feel closer. Is that true?"
"Mantis… you said you've never talked to anyone before," Clark said, staring at her awkward smile. "So who told you that smiling makes people feel closer?"
"No one. Oh, we're almost at your rooms," Mantis quickly deflected. Her face briefly contorted before forcing another cheerful expression.
Clark didn't press the issue. He sensed it might be a memory she didn't want to revisit.
Instead, he asked the question Ego had ignored earlier.
"Mantis, do you know why there's no other life on this planet?"
Clark found it strange—how could a living planet have no other life on it? Something about Ego felt off.
But since Ego had offered to host them and promised to send them home, Clark couldn't be too direct. After all, they had no better place to go.
If they offended Ego, they might never get back to Earth. Not every alien knew where Earth was—and running into someone who did felt like winning the lottery
go to "patreon.com/Hussain678" for more chapter