As the countdown disappeared.
[World Permissions Accessed!]
[Weekly Identity Acquired!]
Lines of data, like streams of code, appeared on the [All-Seeing Eye]. In Herman's mind, the pupil of the [All-Seeing Eye] shifted and changed.
Colors of every hue rippled within the pupil until finally it settled on one that filled Herman with sheer delight—
Platinum!
His expression lit up with uncontrollable joy.
God...
After all his days in the Marvel Universe, he had finally drawn the luckiest hand—an identity even stronger than Gold-tier!
Gold-tier identities were already extraordinary. Even the [Hidden Superpowered Being] had steadily granted Herman immense mental power over time, not to mention the divinity and physical might that came with the [Raven Emissary].
"A Gold-tier identity already made me practically divine. I wonder just what kind of surprise a Platinum-tier one will bring."
As soon as the [All-Seeing Eye] settled on its glow, Herman eagerly pulled up his new identity.
[Platinum-Tier Identity — The Deceiver of History!]
[Notice — Once activated, this identity will remain permanent!]
[Notice — Platinum-tier and higher identities may fundamentally alter the foundation of the world itself, causing irreversible consequences for the entire world.]
[On the surface, you are merely a multitalented director destined for godhood, secretly commanding countless industries and powers.]
[Yet behind these extraordinary façades lies a deeper truth: you possess the might to manipulate time and deceive history itself.]
[You have attained uniqueness across endless time. You may alter history and toy with time freely, without fear of temporal backlash.]
[When the chance arises, you can leave unseen names and footprints throughout history, reshaping countless events of the past, present, and future.]
[Exclusive Identity Mission: Successfully deceive history three times!]
[Mission Reward: Power of Destiny!]
[Power of Destiny: The tides hidden in history are but the ink with which you write your story. From those very tales, you will draw infinite strength.]
...
Platinum-tier identity acquisition.
Some entirely new changes appeared—identities at the Platinum tier and above could potentially rewrite the very foundations of the world, causing irreversible consequences. Herman noticed this extra warning had been added beyond the usual notes.
Reading through the details of the identity, Herman felt he understood what it meant. Still, the new identity was somewhat different from what he had expected.
He hadn't suddenly gained power on par with Thanos wielding the Infinity Stones, or Odin at his peak. He hadn't vaulted straight into the ranks of the Five Abstract Entities. This rare Platinum-tier identity didn't grant Herman any direct increase in strength at all.
Instead, it gave him something not even the Five Abstract Entities possessed.
"I've gained immunity to time itself?"
Through his heightened perception, the entire world felt different, though he couldn't quite put into words what had changed. What he did know was that, with the [Deceiver of History] identity, he was no longer bound by any temporal forces.
Of course.
This didn't mean Herman had suddenly become immortal with endless lifespan. Rather, powers tied to the Time Stone and similar rules could no longer touch him.
If someone altered something in the past, it would no longer affect Herman in the present. Even someone like Kang the Conqueror, who delighted in rewriting history, would be unable to step into any timeline where Herman existed.
Anyone attempting to cross time would only find themselves in a parallel universe—one where Herman Chu was never there.
No matter the method or level of existence, no one could reach Herman's past, nor glimpse his future.
In many ways, this trait alone was worthy of Platinum-tier. Uniqueness on this scale was something even cosmic deities lacked.
It wasn't exactly what Herman had imagined, but after some thought, he found himself more than satisfied with it.
"The Marvel Universe is full of time-hopping troublemakers. For all I know, someone might've jumped back to when I was still powerless just to wipe me out."
"But now, with this uniqueness, my biggest weakness is gone. I don't have to worry about those time-traveling cheaters anymore."
Herman's weakest moment had been right after he first transmigrated—when he only had the identity of [Fallen Director] and not a trace of supernatural power.
The [All-Seeing Eye] had labeled him nothing more than [Mere Mortal], a man who could've been ended with a single bullet.
Characters like Kang often used time travel to kill enemies in infancy if they couldn't beat them in the present.
It wasn't even considered cheap—Thanos himself had been a victim. Infinity Stones and Gauntlet meant nothing if your infant self was erased.
But Herman no longer needed to worry about that.
He had Uniqueness.
This also meant that when Herman himself traveled through time, he could interfere freely without worrying that his actions would rebound on his own existence.
And the Platinum-tier identity came with more than that. After completing three missions of "Deceiving History," Herman would be able to draw directly from the timelines he tampered with, channeling that energy into himself as the terrifying Power of Destiny.
Simply put.
The more history he changed, the more events he rewrote in past timelines, the stronger he would be upon returning to his original point in time.
The timeline of the world itself would shift with it.
The only one left untouched would be Herman.
This power carried both advantages and risks. One careless change could leave the world unrecognizable.
After all, only Herman himself would remain unaffected.
His company employees might each end up with completely different fates.
Skye might never be born, Carrie might never come to her interview, Aunt May might already have died long ago, and Matt the lawyer might even turn into a criminal.
"This mission... really is a tough one. As expected of a Platinum-tier identity mission—it's far more grueling than any Gold-tier task."
Herman stared at the identity-exclusive mission displayed by the [All-Seeing Eye], completely at a loss as to how he was supposed to carry out time travel.
Quantum realm tricks like in Avengers: Endgame? Don't make him laugh. That was just hopping into another parallel universe.
That had little to do with real time travel. The Time Stone at Kamar-Taj, however, might allow him to step back into past time nodes.
In the Marvel universe, the Time Stone is one of the six Infinity Stones, also known as the Infinity Gems.
Each governs a fundamental aspect: Space, Time, Reality, Power, Mind, and Soul.
According to MCU lore, the Infinity Stones were forged from the essence of six singularities filled with infinite energy that existed before the Big Bang, embodying six core forces of the cosmos.
To travel through time.
To walk the river of history.
That is the power of the Time Stone.
Herman could, in theory, use the Time Stone to complete this mission.
But to obtain it from the Ancient One? He knew there was no real way besides outright force. And he had no illusion that his current self could defeat a sorcerer who had trained for a thousand years—a being even Odin had reason to fear.
Unless Herman somehow became the Sorcerer Supreme himself, he would never gain authority over the Time Stone.
That possibility, however, was effectively zero. The role of Sorcerer Supreme had long since been destined for Doctor Strange.
And Herman himself... Though he possessed the power of the Totem God, that didn't grant him even a hint of magic.
When a god has no natural affinity with sorcery, it means they and magic were never meant to align.
Hoping to qualify as Sorcerer Supreme through talent was pointless. He'd be better off praying to someday draw the [Sorcerer Supreme Candidate] identity.
But that was hardly a plan either. Every identity draw was pure chance. Counting on odds that were one in billions was foolish. He might as well wait until the Ancient One passed away and then steal the Stone from Strange.
Doctor Strange wasn't particularly strong, at least not in his early decades. His strength lay in talent and judgment, not raw power.
Snatching the Time Stone from him might not even be that hard.
But still...
"I'm a civilized man! I can't just go around talking about stealing!"
"Damn it! Those trolls online keep calling me Homelander, and now it's actually getting to me!"
Herman grumbled, tossing the blame onto innocent netizens.
Of course, the Time Stone wasn't the only possible way.
There were others—like tapping into the Phoenix Force within his new ally, the Phoenix.
The three great primordial forces of the Marvel universe are the Phoenix Force, the Chaos Force, and the Goblin Force. The Phoenix Force is nearly as old as the universe itself, an embodiment of primal life and psychic energy—a symbol of existence and emotion.
As one of the cosmos's oldest mystical powers, it grants its host control over cosmic energy, immense destructive potential, and the ability to fold spacetime itself—creating black-hole-like channels through which one could traverse time and space.
Herman thought it over.
Judging from Dark Phoenix's earlier "satisfied" attitude, if he quite literally put in a bit more effort with her, she probably wouldn't mind helping him. But Professor Charles would never agree to let the Phoenix Force run free.
Which meant that to use Dark Phoenix's power, Herman would almost certainly have to clash with Professor Charles. And against that level of psychic power... he wasn't sure he could win.
On the other hand...
Perhaps the simplest option for time travel was Wanda and her Chaos Force.
Its power was beyond question. Alongside the Phoenix Force, it was one of the oldest and most terrifying powers in existence. At her peak, the Scarlet Witch could make her will reality. With a single phrase, she erased ninety percent of mutants.
She could affect parallel universes, ignore physical law entirely, and open a dimensional gate with just a word.
Young Wanda would agree to any request from him without hesitation, saving him from any need to battle great powers.
The only problem...
The Wanda of today could never control the Chaos Force. By the time she grew into her full power, Herman would likely already have become omnipotent through other identities.
"Moreover, the Chaos Force originates from Chthon, the god of dark magic. Accidentally attracting the attention of a being like that would be disastrous."
Herman weighed the situation carefully.
In the end, he gave up on using Wanda's power.
Chthon, the god of dark magic, was an ancient deity far more terrifying than Odin, Professor Charles, or the Ancient One—by countless magnitudes.
He was the creator of all dark magic, the eternal rival of Kamar-Taj's supreme deity Vishanti. Even Dormammu and Mephisto had borrowed his power. The cosmic entity "Eternity" once declared that Chthon was the cancer consuming it.
Relying on Chaos energy to complete the mission was far too dangerous. As for the Goblin Force, that wasn't an option either—no one even knew where in the universe it currently resided.
"Looks like this mission can only be taken step by step."
Herman wasn't without other methods of time travel, but they were complicated, and he had no intention of pursuing them for now.
In truth, he hadn't even decided how exactly to complete this identity-exclusive mission, or what degree of history he should alter.
Altering history.
On the surface, it sounded simple.
But in reality, it was complex... mostly because of the butterfly effect.
The reward was certainly enticing.
The Power of Destiny.
Strength drawn directly from rewritten history.
This could be considered a second kind of divinity—an especially advanced one. Simply altering history could instantly make him stronger. If he had just arrived in this world, Herman would have chased after time-travel methods without hesitation.
But now, he couldn't bring himself to disregard his employees. That was one of the reasons the mission felt so daunting to him when he first saw it.
Changing history would inevitably cause some people to vanish. Strangers meant nothing to him—but the possibility that people close to him might become strangers, or disappear altogether, was something he couldn't ignore.
Herman didn't want that to happen.
"Maybe this is what people mean by bonds?"
He didn't see himself as a saint, but he was slowly integrating into this world.
The more he interacted with others, the more emotional ties naturally formed. That was human nature. He wasn't ready to cut those ties, to become ruthless, willing to sacrifice everything just for power.
Because in the end...
Gaining power at any cost didn't mean having everything.
The lonely strong were always the most pitiful.
Besides, Herman had other ways to grow stronger.
The [All-Seeing Eye] gave him a new identity every week. Eventually, he was bound to draw another Platinum-tier—or even higher—identity that directly boosted his combat ability. There was no need to abandon his emotions for strength.
Of course, that didn't mean he'd never complete this mission. If the right opportunity came along, Herman wouldn't mind completing it within safe, controllable limits.
"For now, there's no point in thinking too hard about this."
He thought about the upcoming events in the Marvel universe, but none of them involved time travel.
He realized that unless he actively sought an opportunity, this mission might remain shelved for a long time. And that was fine with him. It meant he had plenty of time to figure out how to travel to a past time node, alter history, and complete the mission—without jeopardizing Skye or the others.
...
But would things really play out the way Herman expected?
Would this mission truly sit idle, waiting endlessly for the right chance to complete it?
At that moment, Herman had no way of knowing.
[Notice—Platinum-tier and higher identities may fundamentally alter the world's foundations, causing irreversible impacts on the entire world.]
The meaning of this warning was not only that he now held the power to reshape the essence of the Marvel universe.
Other anomalies...Had begun unfolding the moment he acquired this identity.