Once again the planets and the stars left them alone, and again they came. But this time the planet Aava was molten, filled with shooting flames, burning with white, silvery flames.
Thor and the Discoverer went down into the bowels of the planet, seeking Aava. They found the green flame burning with brilliance in a sea of molten rocks. It leaped and danced, and gathered bits of matter around it, as though weaving a garment for itself.
"That is the oval in which we saw him encased," said Thor. "Pure quartz. When hot, it goes cherry-red."
"This is four hundred million years ago. He is truly eternal."
There was amusement in the Discoverer's mind as he said, "We will go back even further, back to the remotest beginnings. And even then, Aava was."
Eight times the universe came to them and receded. At last they stood in utter darkness, for a long time. There were no stars, no suns. There was emptiness.
"We are in the very dawn of all things. We are so far back that there is no Time, no Space. Only emptiness."
"If there is nothing, what are we here for?"
"Wait."