"How many years has it been? At last, a life form from the Original Universe…"
A colossal phantom approached Malrick, its skyscraper-sized eyes brimming with ancient sorrow.
"How long since I was buried within the Original Star? Perhaps… nearly a hundred trillion epochs…"
The phantom's voice echoed like a distant storm, leaving Malrick stunned in its wake.
"Are you… from the previous cosmic cycle?" Malrick asked, trying to process the immensity of what he was seeing.
"Life form? No," the phantom replied. "I am merely an intelligent program, left behind during the late era of the previous cycle. After the Time Beast God—Zhou—fell, I was sealed here within this fortress."
"When the Original Universe was reset, the fortress was buried. Only now has it emerged again."
It peered down at Malrick, voice reverent. "Little one, were you guided here by the Source Will? The one destined to inherit Zhou's legacy?"
"I must warn you. The trials ahead could cost you your life."
Malrick nodded without hesitation. "Even if I fail, I have to try."
The phantom let out a low hum. "A unique life form with genes enhanced a hundredfold… you share a similar origin with Zhou. That qualifies you."
"But your foundation is weak. Throw a punch. Let me see your current level."
"Yes." Malrick shifted his stance and unleashed a punch, using a flawed self-taught force technique magnified fifteenfold.
The phantom's expression immediately darkened.
"What was that? You've never received formal training, have you?"
"Not yet. I've been learning on my own," Malrick admitted.
"A blank slate... not ideal, but it'll do," the phantom grumbled. "I'm giving you thirty days. Master this manual and achieve one hundred times accurate force exertion. If you fail, the rest of the inheritance ends here."
A translucent manual materialized before Malrick and landed softly at his feet.
The phantom lumbered away, its four massive legs thudding against the ground, and lay down, closing its eyes.
Malrick picked up the manual, eyes burning with determination. "Time waits for no one. I have to master this… and fast."
---
One day later
Malrick stood before the phantom again.
"You've mastered it already?" the phantom blinked, surprised. "Let me see."
Without warning, Malrick launched a punch. The sheer force shook the air.
"Hmph, impressive," the phantom muttered. "You've got talent, but you're still far behind where I once stood…"
Cough.
The phantom cleared its throat. "Let the assessment begin."
"You've been chosen by the Source Will, and since Zhou once served it, I won't hinder your path."
"You'll be tested in three areas: law comprehension, mental state, and willpower."
"Law comprehension determines strength. Mental state and willpower define how far you'll go."
"Which trial do you want first?"
"I'll start with mental state," Malrick replied. His spirit had recently matured, and it was the right time to test it.
"Very well. It begins now."
A soft glow wrapped around Malrick. He remained still, focused.
Time passed slowly as he endured mental trials one after the other.
---
Half an hour later
"You failed," the phantom declared flatly. "Leave this place."
"What?!"
Before Malrick could protest, a beam of white light enveloped him, flinging him out of the fortress. Behind him, the entire structure was consumed by a black hole.
The Source Will wouldn't give him a second chance.
---
Back on Earth
Frustrated but undeterred, Malrick settled for another opportunity. He boarded the Meteorite Star spacecraft and began learning secret techniques.
---
Three months later
With a cache of advanced manuals passed to Hong and Lei Shen, Malrick returned to the Marvel Universe as a Domain Lord peak-level powerhouse.
He visited the Ancient One to bid farewell, then returned home and handed over cosmic technology to Tony Stark.
As Tony gawked at the discoveries, Malrick took off once more—heading straight into the Sun.
He was determined to become an Immortal.
---
A year later
While Tony was studying the Tesseract, its energy surged beyond Earth and tore open a dimensional rift.
From within the cosmic breach emerged a towering figure: a purple-skinned Eternal Titan wielding a gauntlet studded with the six Infinity Stones.
"I am Thanos," he proclaimed, "sent to return you to the arms of Death. Feel honored, mortals."
Thanos raised his gauntlet—but before he could act, Malrick appeared, returning from the solar depths.
The two clashed. Malrick, in his peak form, sent Thanos flying out of Earth.
But Thanos, wielding the power of the full gauntlet, warped back instantly and shattered Malrick's body.
This wasn't the Thanos of the movies—this was the Thanos of the comics.
Unseen, a tiny spatial rift whisked away Malrick's Original Nucleus just before his destruction.
But with Malrick gone, no one could stop Thanos.
Tony turned to dust. Natasha was slain. Even the Ancient One fell by his blade.
Ten days later, Thanos wiped out all life in the Universe and vanished into the void.
---
One hundred days later
Inside the Sun, Malrick's Original Nucleus regenerated his body.
The Ancient One had saved him in the final moment with a teleportation portal.
"Thanos!!!" Malrick roared, his power erupting. The entire Starry Sky quaked under his fury.
"I will kill you!!"
But instead of charging after Thanos, he dove back into the Sun.
---
A hundred thousand years passed
Malrick emerged at last, bathed in golden radiance.
He now held a miniature Universe in the palm of his hand.
Casually, he absorbed the Sun into it.
His internal world had evolved—a Universe spanning a hundred billion light-years.
Malrick had become an Eternal God.
He tore open the crystal wall between Universes, swatting aside a cosmic being in his path.
Locking onto one Universe, he crossed into its past.
There, Thanos stood upon a pile of fallen Avengers—Tony, Cap, Thor, and others lay at his feet.
"THANOS!!!" Malrick roared.
Storms, lightning, the very skies parted before him as he descended like a divine wrath.
With a single blow powered by a fifteen-stage secret technique, he tore Thanos's head clean off.
Blood rained. Malrick stood atop the mountain of corpses, holding Thanos's severed head aloft, laughter echoing like thunder.
"Tony! I did it! I avenged you!"
His laugh slowly faded into silence, then turned cold.
"Not enough… I'll bring Tony back."
---
Back in his own Universe
Malrick wielded the Time Stone, preparing to reverse fate itself.
Just as he was about to change history, four abstract cosmic entities appeared.
"You must not revive him," said Eternity. "That moment is a fixed point in time. Without it, you would not exist. Altering it will unravel this Universe."
Malrick smirked bitterly.
"Oh, now you show up? Where were you when Thanos destroyed everything?"
"Tony returns today. No matter what."
"I don't care if you're avatars or the real deal—none of you can stop me."
"A Universe without Tony is meaningless!"
A war of cosmic scale erupted.
Every strike shook the foundation of reality. The battle raged for a year, consuming stars and collapsing galaxies.
At last, Malrick stood alone, bloodied but victorious, holding the fading remnants of Eternity and Infinite.
With the Time Stone, he rewound reality and revived Tony.
But as Tony returned, the Universe began collapsing.
"This… where am I?" Tony blinked. "Didn't I die? Wait—Malrick?! You're alive!"
Malrick smiled. "Don't worry. Just step in here—we're moving to another World."
He pulled Tony into his Universe and leapt into a new timeline.
But before they could settle, a host of Celestials appeared over the new Earth.
Each one towered like a god, their voices shaking the sky and sea.
"Outsider!" they thundered in unison.
---
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