Mobius had worked his entire life at the Time Variance Authority. He had seen countless people, even gods, come through. So-called gods meant nothing to them; he had personally apprehended more than he could count. Everyone on the Sacred Timeline was treated the same way when they came to the TVA.
There was only one type of being that was not under the TVA's control: those who had transcended the universe itself. They had no means of controlling such beings. For this reason, they generally did not attempt to apprehend them. These beings were simply outside their jurisdiction.
But what he couldn't understand was why such a powerful being like Cassius was completely unknown. There was no record of him in their files whatsoever.
"I have a headache. How did we bring a being like that here?" Ravonna Renslayer rubbed her temples and stood up, a look of helplessness on her face.
This matter was truly too strange. Normally, this would have affected the timeline, but Cassius hadn't. In fact, his timeline was still operating in a way they had never seen before. By all accounts, what Cassius had done wasn't excessive. As long as it didn't affect the development of the timeline, there shouldn't be too big of a problem.
"Ravonna, I'll go with you personally." Mobius made a decision immediately. The most important thing now was to prevent this being from causing any more trouble.
....
The Grand Hall.
"What kind of monster are you?!" B-15 shivered uncontrollably, her voice trembling. So many Guards, and they still couldn't take him down. Their most prized weapons were useless in Cassius's presence.
Not to mention, Cassius was even able to dodge the effects of time manipulation. As for the other Guards, there was no need to mention them; this being was completely different from anything they had ever encountered before.
None of their weapons worked, and if they all swarmed him at once, there was only one possible outcome: they would be turned to dust.
They were now at a standstill, staring wide-eyed at Cassius. Their usual arrogance and confidence were gone, replaced only by fear of the man before them.
Cassius, his hands in his pockets, calmly looked toward the corner of the corridor. Two people were quickly walking toward him.
"Silence, B-15!" A swift figure came to a stop not far from Cassius and turned to scold B-15. It was Ravonna Renslayer, and her face was filled with anger.
"Judge Renslayer!" B-15 immediately lowered her head, clutching her severed hand. This was one of the TVA's highest-ranking officials.
"That's enough, you can stop now," Cassius said with a smirk. He wasn't stupid. This was clearly a staged act for his benefit. In other words, they were worried that he would get violent and decided to use this opportunity to save B-15's life.
"Mr. Cassius, hello!" Ravonna gave a wry smile. It seemed this being saw right through her intentions. But it was normal. If she hadn't scolded B-15, she would have had no way of stopping Cassius from killing her. Thankfully, this being didn't seem to hold a grudge.
When Cassius saw the two people coming toward him, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. He had a strong impression of these two, but he never expected them to come and greet him personally. He simply nodded in response to Ravonna.
"I apologize, we did not recognize who you were." Ravonna immediately bowed. It was their fault for not checking the records more carefully. If they had, they would have been able to prevent this from happening.
"Speaking of which, this doesn't seem like the right place to talk, does it?" Cassius spread his hands, feigning a helpless look at the people around them.
Although Ravonna was there, the Guards were still staring at him with a predatory look. But it couldn't be helped; the scene that had just unfolded was too terrifying.
"Then, Mr. Cassius, would you mind coming to my office so we can talk?" Ravonna's heart finally relaxed a little. After all, B-15 had offended Cassius deeply. If he had decided to go on a rampage, she would have had no way of stopping him. Luckily, this man was willing to sit down and talk.
"I have some excellent tea in my office that I'm sure Mr. Cassius would enjoy." Mobius quickly added, his tense expression easing up.
If they had known what kind of being this was, they wouldn't have bothered with him at all. But it was too late now; he was probably the first being who had transcended the universe that they had ever brought here.
Everyone around them was stunned by the attitude of the two high-ranking officials. The Guards exchanged glances. Who would have thought that these two would be so respectful to Cassius?
B-15 was also in shock. She had expected them to fight to the bitter end, but these two had simply given in. This just showed how powerful this man truly was. Otherwise, the TVA would never have swallowed their pride like this.
After all, no one had ever dared to act so brazenly inside the TVA. This place was usually under the protection of the Time-Keepers. But even with all of this happening, Cassius faced no punishment. Today was truly an exception.
"Let's go. I'm quite curious about this place." Cassius nodded casually. He had to admit that the TVA had many interesting things.
....
The Office.
"What? You want to meet the Time-Keepers?" Ravonna's jaw dropped when they sat down. She never expected that Cassius's first request would be to meet the Time-Keepers.
The Time-Keepers were the most supreme beings here. Even they had only seen them from a distance once.
"Yes, I need to discuss a few things with them." Cassius said without hesitation. The reason he said this was because he wanted to talk to the one behind it all and make sure that this damn thing didn't keep bothering his timeline.
He was living a good life and didn't want these people showing up every other day to annoy him. What's more, he knew he would eventually leave, and he didn't want to see his timeline reset or destroyed after he was gone.
In that case, everything he had ever done would vanish without a trace. While he had infinite life, it didn't mean he wanted to repeat the same things over and over again. He had come to see his timeline as his home.
While talking to the TVA might be useful, as they were the ones carrying out these tasks, He Who Remains, the true mastermind behind the TVA, was ultimately the Time-Keepers. Only his words could make the TVA stop.
"No, that's absolutely impossible!" Ravonna frowned. While Cassius was incredibly powerful and had transcended the universe, that didn't mean he could meet the Time-Keepers.
"That's right, we can't grant that request." Mobius slowly nodded, his expression grave. "The sacred Time-Keepers do not meet with outsiders easily." He said, his gaze fixed on the background wall in the office. There were three statues—the Time-Keepers.
"But I'm different. If he doesn't meet with me, I'm not sure what I'll do." Cassius slowly raised his hand, and a dark red energy of the Phoenix Force began to flow around his fingers.
Just a small release of energy was enough to make the air feel heavy. The white walls around them changed as soon as the Phoenix Force appeared. They turned black as if they had been scorched by fire.
"Mr. Cassius, we have no intention of becoming your enemy!" Ravonna knew what Cassius was hinting at when she saw this. But even so, she had to refuse. "If you have something you want to discuss, you can tell us, and we can make a decision."
Mobius took a deep breath, his voice trembling. Although he didn't know what Cassius wanted to do, they were the ones who handled all matters related to the timelines.
"You can't solve these things." Cassius scoffed, looking at the two of them with a disdainful expression. "Besides, I don't believe that if I destroy the TVA, he won't show up."
While these two had a lot of power, it was limited. Cassius's blatant threat made their faces turn pale. He truly had the power to do it, and they couldn't even put up a fight.
"Mr. Cassius, it's not that we're unwilling; it's also because the Time-Keepers aren't here." Mobius sighed, his voice full of helplessness. "Even if you destroy this place, the Time-Keepers won't come back."
He had figured it out; no matter what, this man was determined to meet the Time-Keepers. Rather than be destroyed, it was better to tell him the truth.
"Not here? Then where is he?" Cassius frowned. He hadn't expected the Time-Keepers to leave the TVA. And from the look on their faces, he knew they were telling the truth.
"He's at the end of time, the Void!" Ravonna gritted her teeth and told him what she knew.
"The Void?" Cassius was taken aback for a moment. He then said, "Open a portal and let me go."
"We can't do that." Ravonna quickly held up her hand to stop him. "It's not that we don't want to let you go, but the Void is very dangerous." As she said this, a hesitant look appeared on her face as if there was something she couldn't say.
Mobius, on the other hand, was completely confused. He had never heard of the Void. He could only stare wide-eyed at their conversation, which seemed to be going beyond his understanding.
"Dangerous? What do you mean?" Cassius had heard of the Void. The Void was a metaphysical dimension located at the End of Time where the TVA relocated individuals and objects from pruned realities.
Ravonna looked at Cassius, a hesitant expression on her face. After a long silence, she finally spoke. "Because Alioth is there!"
"Alioth?" Cassius was stunned for a moment, and then he remembered Alioth's origin.
Alioth existed in different timelines and could cause massive temporal disturbances and destruction to entire dimensions. It could expand to attack specific beings or locations, and it would absorb the bodies of time travelers to increase its size and mass.
Once it occupied a certain time, the surrounding timelines would also be affected. Alioth also negated temporal energy, preventing it from crossing to a time before its existence. If that was the case, he understood why the Time-Keepers were not here.
"So, you still won't be able to meet the Time-Keepers." Ravonna slowly shook her head, a helpless look on her face. While Cassius was powerful, he was no match for Alioth.
"Open the portal." But to her surprise, Cassius still insisted.
Seeing the determination in his eyes, Ravonna could only nod in agreement. As Ravonna opened the portal, Cassius stepped through it. He passed through the gateway and arrived in a desolate, gray world. There were ruins everywhere, and the sky was filled with black clouds, lightning, and thunder.
Mobius was curious and wanted to go through the portal to see the scene on the other side, but Ravonna blocked him.
Just then, a portal opened behind them, and a figure in green rushed out, following Cassius into the Void.
"Sylvie!" Ravonna seemed to recognize the person but it was too late; the portal had already closed.
"Was that Sylvie?" Mobius's mind was a mess.
"Good. Her going there solves a crisis for us," Ravonna said with disdain. She didn't believe that Cassius could survive the trap the Time-Keepers had set and live to tell the tale.
In the Void.
At the same time, a soft body bumped into Cassius. He turned around and saw a short, blonde woman with a horned headband.
"Sylvie?" Cassius immediately recognized her. It was Sylvie, or rather, Lady Loki. Why would she come here?
"...Are you made of stone? You're so hard," Sylvie said, rubbing her head and looking up at Cassius with a puzzled expression.
"Not the top part, but the bottom part is." Cassius quipped, while looking at Sylvie. She looked to be a decade younger than she did in the show, probably in her twenties. This must be an early version of the TVA.
"You're not afraid of dying, are you?" Cassius said with a playful tone.
"I live to meet the Time-Keepers." Sylvie's eyes were dark. She had been hiding in the shadows, intending to find an opportunity to sneak into the TVA and find clues about the Time-Keepers. Instead, she ran into Cassius.
"Then you're not afraid of me? Those guys were terrified of me." Cassius said.
"Hehe." Sylvie laughed. "The TVA employees are just ordinary people. It doesn't mean anything for a super-powered being to defeat them."
Rumble!
Suddenly, thunder and lightning filled the sky. In the distance, a wall of black fog was surging on the horizon. Cassius used his enhanced vision. The distant scene was instantly brought into focus, and through the thick black fog, he could vaguely see a castle above the Void.
"What are you looking at?" Sylvie could see nothing in the black fog. She could only see the rubble on the ground in the distance being crushed.
"I'm going to find the Time-Keepers. You can stay here and watch." She didn't look back and turned to leave.
"Idiot, the Time-Keepers are behind the black fog. If you want to find them, follow me." After saying that, Cassius strode toward the black fog.
Sylvie stopped and hesitated, looking at Cassius before finally gritting her teeth and following him.
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