Chapter 154: Driving Stakes Everywhere, This Universe is Destined to be the Xenomorph's World
The world isn't a static comic book, forever unchanging. On the contrary, the Marvel Multiverse is like an insatiable black hole, constantly brewing new evolutions.
From the era of the First Multiverse, represented by the First Firmament, and after experiencing multiple Great Destructions and Great Reboots, today's Multiverse has long since become unrecognizable compared to its predecessor.
Even if the First Firmament were reborn and saw today's Multiverse, it would be utterly baffled, for too many chaotic things have been added and too many new Gods have been born.
The Xenomorph, in the current era, is undoubtedly a minuscule, newborn concept. At least, compared to the vastness of the entire Multiverse, it couldn't be smaller.
Even the entire MCU is nothing to the Multiverse, let alone the tiny Xenomorph.
But when Du Wa took control of and began to elevate this minuscule concept of the Xenomorph, things began to change.
He single-handedly brought the Xenomorph to a height to which the concept did not originally belong, forcefully raising the Xenomorph's upper limit and beginning a constant charge toward a higher, conceptual level.
"If I'm not mistaken, this is a crucial step. Once I succeed, it means the concept of the Xenomorph will be established. At least within a single universe, it will be a universal-level entity, qualified to exist as one of the universe's rules, born with the universe's creation and destroyed with its demise."
Du Wa thought of something very interesting: the infamous names of Mephisto and other demons are widely spread throughout the Multiverse.
In reality, however, Mephisto has not dispatched his avatars to meticulously visit every single universe. Yet, some universes still have terrifying stories of Mephisto, told with such conviction it's as if he had truly visited their universe and committed some heinous crime.
Some things, whether information or traces, are inscribed into the history of a universe from the moment of its birth, exerting various influences on all life nurtured within it.
On a grander scale, take the Creator Gods. They are an essential part of the Universe; as long as a universe exists, so shall they.
Similarly, once a conceptual level reaches a certain height, related conceptual objects will naturally appear in some universes. This is an extremely natural phenomenon.
This also meant that as long as Du Wa took this crucial step, advancing to a Single Universe God in the form of a Concept God, rivaling an entire universe with his own being and even directly replacing its rules, then from that moment on, a portion of the future's continuously newborn universes would naturally feature legends about the Xenomorph.
There would be many universes similar to Universe 199999, where perhaps through a movie, a script, or some lost ancient myth, Xenomorphs wouldn't necessarily appear, but information related to them would manifest in various ways. This would allow Du Wa's reach to extend to an incredible degree.
If Du Wa could one day advance to the rank of a Multiversal God, and, unlike Cyttorak who is content to lie dormant, he could completely cover the entire Multiverse with his concept. He could make information about the Xenomorph omnipresent, known to all, and even take it a step further, becoming a stage that all people and things must experience, just like Time, Space, and Death.
But all of this would begin now.
"Thanos from Universe 199999 was my greatest gain in that universe. His own strength isn't that great, but by relying on the Infinity Stones in that low-ceiling universe, he provided me with a decent discovery."
Destiny?
You could really say that. Thanos was indeed the destiny of that universe. Considering the special status of Universe 199999 as the Main Universe within the entire MCU, it means the so-called 'destiny' concept attached to Thanos is even more worthy of Du Wa's attention.
At least, that's how it was for Du Wa. This was a particularly interesting pan-concept.
To this day, Du Wa had already spread his Xenomorphs to most regions of this universe, and Earth in Universe 199999 was also teeming with Xenomorphs.
But this was not enough. His Xenomorph coverage wasn't sufficient. He had to cover this entire universe and Universe 199999. Expanding the quantity of the concept and improving its quality, however, was a task Du Wa had to complete personally.
"Using this universe where I've established myself, plus the MCU Main Universe as a frame of reference, I only need a little time to elevate the concept of the Xenomorph to that of a Single Universe..."
This process was destined to be difficult. It required both patience and a perception of various rules and concepts that was both meticulous in detail and capable of grasping the whole.
At this moment, the importance of Du Wa's previous step as the God of the World Tree became apparent.
He knew what a God truly was, knew the position the Celestials held within the Universe, and what kind of connection existed between them and the rules of a specific universe. This in itself was a presentation of a broader concept.
"I just need a little more time... Soon..."
Du Wa lay back in his chair and slowly closed his eyes. Anyone who didn't know better would see this and think he was enjoying the warm sunlight, sleeping comfortably.
His thoughts, like a storm, centered on Earth and spread out madly in all directions.
Ordinary life forms were completely unaware of this terrifying pressure.
But any individual who had reached a certain level, especially those at the Skyfather level who possessed a naturally higher sensitivity to the universe's evolution and the flow of its rules, felt waves of heart palpitations at this moment.
It was as if they were being targeted by some terrifying natural predator, yet when they looked around, they found nothing.
If one or two felt this, it might be an illusion. But when many high-level individuals communicated with each other, they immediately realized it was no illusion, but that something truly terrifying was happening.
But where was the source? Who was doing it? A specific person, or was some kind of cosmic disaster brewing?
Still imprisoned, Cul the Serpent, despite being tortured beyond recognition, his body trapped in an endless cycle of self-healing and being torn apart by Xenomorphs, still sensed it.
"There's no mistake. That bastard is spreading his will, probably using these Xenomorphs as specific coordinates? Damn him! Why would he create something as disgusting as a Xenomorph! This creature shouldn't exist! If that Du Wa is allowed to grow stronger, the gods will surely suffer for it! They will definitely regret it!!"
Cul cursed hysterically. He had never suffered such godlessly cruel torture before. It wasn't that he couldn't endure it, but the misery was truly real.
Even in the 616 Main Universe, when he was backstabbed and imprisoned for countless years by the Main Universe Odin, that level of confinement was just serving time. It wasn't like now, where his very flesh had become food for the surrounding Xenomorphs.
Cul scanned his surroundings and saw a large pack of drooling Xenomorphs, waiting for new flesh to grow on his body so they could immediately rush forward and devour it.
In his heart, Cul felt a trace of fear toward this unheard-of monster, the Xenomorph. Any individual with a physical body of flesh and blood, once defeated by Du Wa, would eventually become a Xenomorph.
Unless one could find a way to wipe out all the Xenomorphs, including Du Wa, in one fell swoop, a true victory against this race would be impossible.
Otherwise, as long as Du Wa didn't court death by rashly challenging a powerful enemy far beyond his limits, his power was destined to snowball. The more he fought, the stronger he would get. Eventually, when facing his enemies, he could easily dispatch Xenomorphs several or even tens of times the enemy's level to besiege them.
The gods in this unknown universe would surely regret it. They would lament why they didn't act decisively to eliminate Du Wa while he was still developing.
"Likewise, the inhabitants of the 616 Main Universe will regret it too. Cul didn't believe Du Wa would spare the 616 Main Universe. That is the true core of the entire Multiverse. The slightest change there is destined to ripple throughout the entire Multiverse, creating a monstrous wave."
An ambitious man like Du Wa would definitely go to the 616 Main Universe in the future to find more hosts, collect more powerful artifacts, and seize greater power.
Cul thought of himself. He had worked so hard, yet he only had the eight members of The Worthy as his somewhat reliable subordinates.
But Du Wa got stronger the more he fought. Soon he would have a greater number of powerful subordinates. In the future, that might even include him—Cul the Serpent—becoming part of Du Wa's brood and suffering the miserable fate of being parasitized.
"The inhabitants of the Main Universe will regret it too. Before long, they'll hate themselves for not reverse-tracking this universe's coordinates, forming a cross-universe Expeditionary Force, and eliminating Du Wa in one fell swoop. Even I could create a major disaster in Universe 616. When Du Wa goes, the destruction he causes will far exceed mine... What can those guys use to stop him?"
Cul, suffering greatly, muttered to himself.
The fluctuation he could sense was also something many Skyfathers and single-universe-level beings could perceive.
Countless gazes swept over the region of Earth, filled with shock and uncertainty.
This was because Du Wa was madly expanding his coverage. Every Xenomorph was a natural coordinate, becoming an anchor point Du Wa hammered into the universe itself.
Du Wa was using the vast number of Xenomorphs to rapidly complete his coverage and infiltration of the universe.
"I know what he's doing, but what's the point of these actions?"
"It doesn't seem like he's making a move on the World Tree. As long as it's not that, we're good."
The Shadow Gods were the most anxious. This bunch, who only knew how to cower in the shadows of the World Tree, were terrified that Du Wa was about to stir up trouble again, suddenly preparing to use the World Tree's divine power against them.
Don't forget, after defeating Knull, Du Wa hadn't returned the authority of the World Tree to them, the Shadow Gods. Instead, he had distributed it directly to his own subordinates.
This meant that even though Du Wa was currently only a Skyfather, and it might seem like he could be taken out with a little effort, in reality, Du Wa could at any moment become that God of the World Tree who had swept across countless planets, easily conquering and occupying all the realms of the World Tree.
Asgard.
"What are you looking at, esteemed King of the Gods? I suppose you must be missing your homeland, that place called Midgard."
Loki, locked in a prison, taunted Thor outside loudly.
Speaking of which, ever since Knull was defeated by Du Wa, he had regained his precious freedom, only to lose it again soon after.
"Shut up, Loki. Don't you know that if it weren't for me, you would have died along with Knull? I saved your life by capturing you first! You don't really think Du Wa would have spared you, do you?"
Thor frowned, his head aching. "You will stay here until we can confirm it's safe. Don't you want to spend more time with mother? Father is dead. You should spend more time with your mother; she's the one who raised you."
Loki fell silent. Perhaps only Frigga could instantly quiet this untamable God of Mischief.
"Safe? What situation counts as safe? Are you trying to use this method to keep me out of Du Wa's sight so he'll forget about me completely? Don't kid yourself. He simply couldn't care less about me... What's wrong?"
"Something is happening. I'm guessing it's Du Wa, because within the entire World Tree, only he possesses this kind of power."
"What are you talking about? How come I don't feel anything?" Loki asked in surprise.
Thor looked at Loki with a caring expression. "I am the King of Asgard, the Skyfather of the World Tree. Of course you can't perceive what I can."
"..." Loki's face twisted with rage.
In fact, throughout all of Asgard, Thor wasn't the only one who could sense this change.
Another of Odin's offspring, upon entering the region of Asgard—even standing on a planet at the farthest edge, far from the Asgardian continent—it was enough for this travel-worn Skyfather to receive the power of the Asgardian continent, rapidly recover her energy, increase her strength, and sense that faint pressure.
Hela, the Goddess of Death, had finally returned.
The closer she got to the Asgardian continent, the stronger the divine power Hela could command.
In a sense, Hela was also a dimension lord, similar to Dormammu and Mephisto. As long as she set foot on the continent of Asgard, she could receive the empowerment of all of Asgard.
"I don't understand what happened, but I don't care about that..." Hela, disheveled, cleansed her body with divine power.
The Goddess of Death was going to take back what was hers.
Hela was filled with resentment. Just one look at this World Tree, so completely different from the one in her memory, with the situation in every realm having changed drastically, and the proud Hela realized she had already missed far, far too much.
She should have personally participated in the series of changes over the past few millennia. Perhaps, with her leadership and involvement, many of today's troubles wouldn't have happened, and the history of the World Tree would have been completely different.
"Asgardians, your Queen has returned!!" Hela charged toward Asgard, brimming with killing intent.
(end of chapter)