Time flowed quickly, like water slipping through the fingers.
In the blink of an eye, both NYU and Empire State had started classes.
In another blink, vacation had arrived.
"Wow… it's snowing!"
On the very first morning of winter break, Gwen leapt out of bed in her pajamas, rushed to the window, and pulled open the curtains. The backyard was blanketed in white, with thick flakes still falling. She gasped with delight, then turned toward Hawk, who was still lying in bed.
They lived together now—fiancée and fiancé. Helen hadn't objected, only left one very firm reminder:
No children before marriage.
She wanted a few more years to breathe after raising Howard and Simon, not to become a grandmother too soon. Hawk and Gwen had promised without hesitation.
And so, apart from the occasional weekend with her mother, Gwen spent her nights on Palm Street.
She was happy. Hawk was happy. Helen was content. Even Howard and Simon had adjusted.
As for George… well, best not to mention George.
"Snow, Hawk! Let's go outside and build a snowman!" Gwen tugged at him eagerly.
Hawk sighed, half amused. "Do you know what time I got back last night?"
"Oh, right—you went to spar with Thor again. When did you get home?"
"About a minute before you woke up. I flew back from Mars."
Yes, Mars.
It was their new battleground. Hawk and Thor had already fought there ten times since September, averaging about once a week.
At first, they fought in the upper atmosphere. But after satellites kept frying under stray lightning, S.H.I.E.L.D. begged them to move. Sharon Carter herself delivered the request.
Hawk had shrugged. Thor had thundered that mortals insulted the gods—until Sharon calmly presented a bill for satellite damages. Then Thor relented.
The moon became their next arena, but Thor's lightning destroyed both Eastern and Western lunar probes. Sharon's silent stare afterward was enough to push them farther.
So, by Jane Foster's offhand suggestion, Mars became their ring.
It was perfect—empty, vast, and distant. Hawk's Cosmos grew each time, star by star, closer to the peak of Silver. Thor too gained better control over his lightning. Progress for both.
Now, lying back, Hawk replayed last night's clash across the red desert, until Gwen dragged him outside to build a snowman.
Palm Street came alive with children. Gwen's creation—round, carrot-nosed, wrapped in a scarf and Santa hat—earned unanimous praise and was crowned the unofficial snowman champion of the street.
Neighbors laughed with Gwen, and Hawk smiled softly. Once, he'd lived here unnoticed. But Gwen had changed that. The very day she moved in, she'd baked treats and introduced them to every neighbor. Now she was part of the community, welcomed and beloved.
Later that afternoon, she joined Mrs. Smith and other women at St. Mark's Church for volunteer work. Hawk followed, but while Gwen handed out blankets and food, he slipped behind the church to the cemetery.
He stood quietly before his sister Anya's grave. Her photo smiled at him, sweet as always.
From the churchyard, Gwen's laughter drifted on the wind. Hawk's lips curved faintly as he whispered to his sister's image.
"Next year. I'll go to Hell and bring you home. I promise."
He had hoped to do it this year, but the path was blocked. Without awakening the Eighth Sense, he could not freely walk between life and death. Even with his current godlike strength, if Mephisto refused, he could do nothing. Worse, the Hell dimension itself had sealed its connection to Earth after the Nine Realms Convergence.
So he waited.
That night, after dinner at St. Mark's, Hawk and Gwen returned home.
And in their living room, before the fireplace, blue flames flickered—and a familiar figure appeared.
The Hell Witch.
Gwen gasped in alarm. Hawk stepped forward, but before he could explain, the witch rushed to him, her voice overlapping with the many souls inside her.
"Hawk, help us!"
"Our descendant…"
"She is being tormented, just as we were tormented."
"Her power is running wild—I fear she will destroy herself!"
…
(End of Chapter)
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