Asgard, The Throne Room.
"Will Cassius be alright? He's still not back!"
Wanda paced anxiously, her face etched with worry. She had no idea who those people were or where they came from. The moment they appeared, she and the others felt an immense pressure, as if those individuals could effortlessly do what they could not.
"I don't know. The only thing for sure is that they were incredibly powerful, stronger than us even!" Hela's expression was grim, but she forced a smile. "I'm sure Cassius can handle them."
When those people appeared, even her Nightsword had trembled. They looked like ordinary people in their clothes, yet they exerted an immense, suffocating pressure. Hela was certain that if she had fought them, she would have been no match.
What's more, their appearance was strange, and they were clearly there for Cassius. The oddest thing was that Cassius seemed to know exactly who they were. He had calmly left with them without any intention of resisting. That was what made it so strange; Cassius wasn't usually so easygoing.
"I hope so..." Wanda clasped her hands, praying silently. Her only wish was for Cassius to return safely. That's all that mattered.
"That guy is so strong, no one can possibly hurt him!" Thor, on the other hand, wasn't worried at all. In his eyes, anyone stronger than his father must be the most powerful being in the universe, so there was no need to worry about anything happening to him.
"Emergency!"
Just then, a Golden-armored Warrior rushed in, his face panicked.
"As a warrior, why are you so flustered?!" Thor scowled, chiding the warrior. Such panic was a disgrace to Asgard.
"That's enough," Hela said, waving her hand to interrupt Thor. She then asked, "What's going on?"
She knew that while Asgard's Golden-armored Warriors were generally not powerful, they were known for their strict discipline. They would never show such a panicked expression unless something serious had happened.
"Heimdall just detected an unknown mothership approaching Asgard!"
"Based on its movements, the mothership is likely hostile!" The Golden-armored Warrior tried to calm himself down and reported everything. The mothership was not only massive, but its exterior was also clearly covered in all sorts of weapons.
"An unknown mothership?!" Hela's expression immediately turned serious. She didn't expect to encounter something like this, especially right after Odin's passing. An uninvited guest was never a good sign, and this one was clearly aggressive, most likely headed straight for Asgard!
"Let's go take a look!" Hela gritted her teeth and strode toward the exit. She needed to know their objective before deciding on a course of action. Thor and the others quickly followed her. No one knew what was going on, and if it was an enemy invasion, that was a major problem!
Soon, they all arrived at the Bifrost.
"Goddess of Death, Hela, you're finally here!" Heimdall's tense expression eased slightly upon seeing her.
Hela simply nodded and immediately used Heimdall to peer at the unknown vessel. She saw a gigantic mothership with terrifying wings that seemed to blot out the sky. What was even more horrifying was that the ship was armed to the teeth with various weapons. She was also very familiar with its appearance. The moment she saw the ship, her pupils constricted.
"That's Thanos' ship!" Loki gasped, unable to hold back his shock when he saw the horrifying Sanctuary Mothership. He never expected it to be Thanos.
"Damn it! So that bastard finally couldn't hold back his ambition anymore?!" Hela's face turned ashen. They had heard that something had happened to the Dwarves, but they hadn't sent anyone to investigate.
With Odin's recent death, they simply hadn't had the manpower to spare. Now that Thanos was here, she had a terrible feeling that he had finally decided to act on his ambition, and with Odin gone, this was the best opportunity he could have.
....
Time Variance Authority Headquarters.
"This... this is impossible!" Ravonna Renslayer gasped as she watched the monitor. This was the first time she had seen anything like this.
Normally, every living thing that entered this place had its power nullified. It should be impossible to use any abilities, but the scene unfolding before her eyes was completely shattering her understanding of reality. She didn't even know how he was doing it.
"Oh my God, what kind of monster is this guy?!" Mobius M. Mobius's eyes nearly popped out of his head. This was an unprecedented situation. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have thought he was dreaming!
The Null-Time Zone, the area where they were, exists outside of normal space and time. It is a very unique place containing the remnants of abandoned timelines and universes that no longer exist in normal time.
It should be impossible for Cassius to use his superhuman powers! It had always been this way for countless years without a single exception. But now...
Cassius had completely subverted their worldview!
They were now at a loss and had no idea what to do.
"There's something wrong with this guy, he must have some kind of secret." Ravonna grabbed the nearest intercom. "A temporal variant has escaped! All guards, move out immediately! All guards, move out!"
The top priority now was to apprehend Cassius. She couldn't even imagine what would happen if he got away!
....
The Grand Hall of Registration.
"My hand... my hand is gone!" B-15 cried out in terror. A sharp pain shot through her wrist as she clutched her bloody stump, staring at Cassius in horror. She wondered if she was looking at a legendary demon.
Why? How could someone use their power when it was supposed to be nullified? It should be impossible!
Looking into Cassius's calm eyes, she shivered uncontrollably. Fear and pain spread through her like climbing ivy. She instinctively took a step back from Cassius, desperate to get away from this monster. While she was in agony, she wanted to be as far away from this demon as possible.
"Next time, know your place." Cassius spoke nonchalantly. He had no intention of doing this. But he didn't expect this woman to try to attack him. He had always been a man who refused to be taken advantage of, so he instinctively counterattacked.
"You demon." B-15 stumbled backward until she hit the wall behind her. She finally understood why Cassius seemed so calm and indifferent. It was because his power had never been suppressed.
She didn't know how he did it, but she was certain that this guy had the power to kill her effortlessly.
"He's over there!"
Outside, frantic footsteps sounded as a group of black-armored Guards surrounded Cassius. Their faces were full of caution. This temporal variant's power had not been nullified, which meant he was extremely dangerous. Even though they could modify timelines, they would still suffer losses when facing someone with powers.
"Surrender immediately!" one of the Guards roared, brandishing a baton. If Cassius hadn't been so dangerous, they would have already rushed him.
"Don't get so worked up. I'm just looking around." Cassius shrugged helplessly, giving them a look that said, 'Are you serious?'
Why couldn't they understand what he was saying? He was just trying to defend himself. If that woman hadn't attacked, he wouldn't have struck back without hesitation.
"If you don't surrender, you'll have to face the consequences!" All the Guards gripped their batons, preparing to eliminate Cassius at a moment's notice. The danger level of this temporal variant was too high to let him go.
"You're planning to challenge me with these little toys?" Cassius lifted an eyebrow, stepping toward the Guards. While their technology was interesting, it was too naive to be used against him. If he wanted to, he could flatten the entire TVA right now.
The Guards retreated in fear as Cassius approached. They were human and feared death. They had seen what happened to B-15. Without 100% certainty of victory, they didn't dare to act. They just hoped this temporal variant would just obey their commands.
"Stop him now!" B-15 yelled, clutching her bleeding stump. There were so many of them, they couldn't possibly be defeated by this one guy. She wanted this man gone from the timeline. She had worked here for so many years and had never encountered anything like this!
The Guards took a deep breath at B-15's command. They gritted their teeth and all rushed forward. She was their superior, and it was their duty to subdue the temporal variant.
"Why are you guys so worked up?" Facing the swarm of Guards, Cassius threw out his hands, and a dark red energy burst forth from his body, sending the Guards flying.
The moment they were flung into the air, countless dark red tendrils latched onto their bodies like a hungry predator. Their bodies began to disintegrate upon contact with the energy, turning into dust with their painful screams.
At the same time, more Guards flooded in from the outside, charging toward Cassius. But when they saw what had happened, they stopped dead in their tracks. The dark red energy continued to slowly spread through the air.
"What kind of monster is this guy?!" Their legs went weak with fear, and they collapsed onto the floor. They tried to get up, but their fear was too strong. They could only watch as their bodies began to turn to dust.
In the blink of an eye, all the Guards who dared to approach Cassius had turned into floating black particles.
"Stay away from me!" The last remaining Guard trembled, holding his baton out but not daring to move forward. His pupils were shaking.
Honestly, he regretted coming here. This demon was just too terrifying. He didn't even dare to get close to him, as the dark red energy was just too much. In all his years working here, he had never seen anything this frightening.
"Come here." Cassius impatiently beckoned to the man.
These guys were actively seeking death. They were so weak that they wouldn't be able to deal with temporal variants without their technology. It was just their bad luck that they ran into him.
The Guard trembled and didn't move, shaking his head.
Whoosh!
Cassius instantly vanished and reappeared in front of the Guard. He raised his fist, which was wrapped in a flowing dark red energy.
The Guard was so terrified that he fell on his butt, his baton shaking in his hand. The expression on his face was like a helpless young girl who had just seen a criminal. He had a weapon, but he didn't have the courage to fight back.
Although Cassius had raised his fist, he didn't let it fall. Instead, he grabbed the baton and poked himself with it.
"The mighty Time Variance Authority is going to use this thing against me?" The baton had no effect on him whatsoever. He knew why. After all, he wasn't from this universe.
The Guard was terrified, his scalp tingling with fright.
B-15, huddled in the corner, watched in shock. There was someone in this universe who couldn't be erased from the timeline!
"He can't be erased?!" Ravonna Renslayer was equally shocked. She had never seen this happen before. This was completely against everything she knew!
"That's impossible, no one can resist being erased!" Mobius's voice stammered, his hands shaking uncontrollably. Fear crawled up his spine. Even they, as TVA employees, couldn't avoid it. What they were witnessing was once again turning their world upside down.
The baton, also known as a "Ret-Can," was used to erase selected people from reality.
Judge Renslayer felt a chill run down her spine. Cold sweat dripped from her pores, drenching the back of her clothes. Her mind was blank, and she had no idea what to do.
"He can't be erased..." B-15 even forgot about her pain as she tried to back away. But she was already pressed against the wall with no way to escape.
The backup Guards who had rushed in were stunned. They had always been fearless because of the weapons they carried. But now, their weapons were useless against Cassius.
B-15 suddenly remembered something and yelled at the Guards, "Damn it, use the Time Twister!"
The Guards quickly pulled out their Time Twisters.
The Time Twister could control and interfere with living beings, and even pause a timeline or a person's life.
The Guards snapped out of their stupor and frantically pressed the buttons on their remote controls. But Cassius showed no reaction to their actions and continued to stride forward.
"Is this guy a robot?!" B-15 was completely hopeless. This was a monster! This trick had never failed before! No living being could escape the Twister's restraints, unless it was a "non-living object."
"Don't waste your time," Cassius sighed, shaking his head.
A Universal being has long since transcended time and reality. It's only normal that the Time Variance Authority's tools were useless against him. Even outside the Null-Time Zone, the Time Stone would have little to no effect on him.
"Can someone please tell me what's going on with this guy?!" Ravonna stared at the screen in shock, not knowing what to do. This kind of guy was impossible to control!
Mobius's voice trembled, and he collapsed onto his chair, utterly defeated.
"There's only one possibility."
"This guy has already transcended the timeline!"
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