The entire universe seemed to be celebrating Herman's ascension.
Within the divine core of his mind, waves of platinum-gold divinity surged and flickered, the raging divine fire radiating an aura of supreme majesty and power.
A being of the Universal level.
After devouring the divine essences of Seth, the God of War, and Ra, the ancient Egyptian Sun God, Herman had finally touched this realm.
Amidst the star-strewn patterns of the cosmos, his power and aura climbed rapidly. Eyes closed, he felt the tide of energy endlessly surging within him. His divinity and divine essence were undergoing a visible elevation. As they transformed, an arcane fluctuation—mysterious and overwhelming, as if it could shatter the very chains of the universe—emerged unmistakably within his newly born God-King divinity.
That profound power burst forth from his divine core, infusing every cell of his being and rapidly elevating his life to a higher tier.
And not just his body.
Herman's soul itself was swiftly transforming toward the immortal realm. Once he reached the Universal level, time would truly lose all meaning to him.
Immortality—eternal life.
For most beings, it remained uncertain, but for Herman, a lifeform of Universal rank could already be said to have reached eternity.
His aura soared amidst the boundless storm of energy, its overwhelming pressure shaking the very fabric of space. Platinum-gold divine power coursed across his body, the glow surrounding him making him appear incomparably sacred.
Nearly all of his divine power flared outward. In that moment, the radiance from his body outshone even the sun.
...
On Earth, countless living beings sensed the cosmic anomaly. Even under broad daylight, people and animals alike saw a "second sun" hanging in the sky.
"What's happening!?"
"It's the end of the world! It has to be the end of the world!"
"Didn't that Chinese archer shoot down all the other suns?"
Countless cries of alarm echoed across the planet. People looked up, unable to see Herman, yet a deep dread filled their hearts as they gazed upon the second sun.
Before anyone could grasp what was occurring, they felt that the "second sun" seemed to be unleashing some kind of energy eruption. Scientists around the world hurriedly turned their telescopes toward the heavens.
What they saw left them speechless.
In an instant, their understanding of the universe shattered. Each scientist gasped in disbelief, their faces filled with horror. It wasn't Herman they saw—but vast, intricate patterns of mysterious energy spreading across the cosmos.
These were the runes of his divine law, now glowing across the universe. A spectacle beyond the grasp of modern science.
It overturned everything physicists and cosmologists thought they knew about reality. None could explain why such patterns appeared.
"I feel... this is the very truth of the universe."
Those with extraordinary intuition—scientists like Einstein—murmured as they stared into the awe-inspiring tapestry of stars. The sight struck them to their very souls.
Meanwhile, nations around the world reacted in panic.
"What is that?!"
"God! Investigate immediately! Could that new 'sun' and those patterns be the cosmic cannon Solien bragged about?"
"Is it America's satellite weapon? A weather weapon? Or some black technology from that German madman? Are they trying to destroy the world?!"
During World War II, nations had a habit of boasting to the world, and many leaders feared the current anomaly was some kind of superweapon. In truth, their fears were unfounded.
Later generations would understand—the technology of that era was nowhere near as advanced as claimed. Many of their boasts remained unrealized even decades later.
Weather weapons, satellite weapons... all empty threats. The overblown bravado of the wartime era later even led some to doubt humanity's first moon landing.
Of course, information warfare was the dominant theme of that age. So when such a cosmic event occurred, world leaders didn't first think of the apocalypse or aliens, but of rival nations developing forbidden technology.
The global panic didn't last long. Soon, they realized the anomaly wasn't caused by any country.
It was because of him.
Because high above the clouds, a phantom formed of platinum-gold light began to take shape—slowly coalescing, hovering between heaven and earth like a god gazing down upon the mortal world.
The figure's face was strikingly clear, radiating sacred majesty, untouchable and awe-inspiring, compelling all who beheld it to kneel in reverence.
"A miracle! It's a miracle!"
"Is that a Celestial?"
"Mom! Hurry! This time it's real! Come out and see God!"
On Earth.
Countless humans let out cries of shock and awe. Bathed in the radiant glow of Herman's phantom, nearly everyone instinctively fell to their knees in worship.
Theists shouted in excitement, proclaiming that their god had manifested before them. They were the first to kneel, bowing fervently and without hesitation.
In contrast, atheists were utterly shattered by what they saw. Their beliefs collapsed in an instant as they stared blankly at the impossible sight before them.
"This world... how could gods truly exist!"
Their worldviews crumbled, their minds buzzing in disbelief. Yet when they saw everyone around them kneeling, they too chose to follow.
No matter what one had believed before, the truth now stood undeniable before their eyes. Few had the resolve to keep insisting that gods didn't exist.
Anyone who witnessed Herman's ethereal image could not doubt his supremacy. Reverence rose instinctively in their hearts.
...
On Earth, a sea of people knelt in worship.
Surprisingly, the most "composed" reactions didn't come from Earth's superpowered beings, but from the previously panicked world leaders and military commanders.
"Phew~ So it really was a divine manifestation. Scared me half to death—I thought it was enemy black technology."
Leaders and generals alike exhaled in relief, their faces showing the look of those who had narrowly escaped disaster. It was proof enough of how tense and sensitive global politics had become.
They would rather believe that gods existed than face the possibility that a rival nation had developed black technology. One after another, the leaders and generals dropped to their knees. After all, worshiping a god cost them nothing—and who knew, perhaps the deity might even erase their enemies from the face of the Earth.
Even the proud Führer was quick to kneel sincerely, while only the "advisor" beside him remained standing.
"This aura..."
Inside the Führer's office, Ares, the God of War, gazed solemnly at the starry sky. His expression was heavy, his heart trembling as he felt an overwhelming pressure—one belonging to a realm he had always dreamed of reaching.
"I wonder which fortunate Skyfather in the universe has attained the Supreme." Envy filled Ares's voice.
Clearly, he hadn't realized that the one now ascending was an Earth-born powerhouse. The Olympian War God's vision couldn't pierce beyond the planet's bounds—a natural limitation, since the Olympian gods were merely native deities of Earth.
Their divine power was largely confined to the planet. Of course, the gods of the Marvel Universe were far stronger than that, but Ares and his kin were entities that had crossed over from the DC Universe into the Marvel cosmos.
...
High above the stars, Herman's life level continued to soar.
A platinum-white radiance pulsed across the vast expanse of the cosmos. Behind him, countless runes shimmered within intricate patterns, each carrying a deep, cryptic power. The phantom form seen by all was merely the unique visual impression drawn by these divine symbols.
Ordinary humans on Earth could only stare in awe and fear, mistaking this for a divine revelation, and bowed to Herman in worship.
However, transcendent beings understood far more than mortals. Many hidden powerhouses on Earth raised their gaze with solemn reverence—whether quasi-Skyfathers or true Skyfathers, all were filled with awe before a Universal-level existence.
In truth, it wasn't only Earth's transcendent beings. Across the entire cosmos, countless mighty entities sensed Herman's ascension.
The patterns behind him, infused with divine might and inscribed with the runes of law, expanded like a vast ocean, swiftly filling the entire galaxy. A special fluctuation spread outward through the universe.
The starlit void seemed to grow brighter.
To transcendent beings, the flickering of those mysterious patterns felt like a proclamation—a declaration to the whole cosmos from a supreme existence.
Those gazing up at the stars from Earth saw only an awe-inspiring, dreamlike spectacle. But across the universe, countless enlightened beings received the same unmistakable message.
"Universal-level!"
The ripples spreading from the mysterious patterns carried the aura of a Universal-level being, announcing to the entire cosmos that a new Universal-level lifeform had been born. For a moment, countless powerful entities across the universe were shaken.
Much like the reaction of the War God Ares, every Skyfather-level existence revealed envy, while the Universal-level beings all wore grave expressions.
"A provocation?"
Across vast distances of billions of light-years, the colossal phantom formed from Herman's divine power was clearly visible to every Universal-level being. As they sensed the fluctuations of his strength, all of them felt an uncomfortable pressure within it, convinced this newborn Universal-level lifeform was far too reckless.
However.
Was that really the case?
Herman certainly had no reason to provoke the entire universe. The discomfort felt by his peers stemmed from another cause entirely—even the Five Cosmic Entities were shaken by his ascension.
...
In a mysterious region of the cosmos, Eternity, the cosmic deity most fond of gathering followers, opened his eyes.
He was the collective consciousness of all life and the abstract embodiment of the universe itself—the supreme being who ruled over time within the Marvel Universe.
Under normal circumstances, the birth of a Universal-level entity would not warrant his attention. New Celestials appeared from time to time, and such events were nothing unusual. But this time, Eternity sensed something unique about this newly born being.
"This fluctuation..."
Eternity felt the surging tremors coursing through the universe. His face, woven from the void, showed rare confusion. It was a kind of power he had never encountered throughout his eternal existence. The "domineering aura" within it made even him, a cosmic god, quietly click his tongue.
"To make all gods and demons bow to him as king?"
Another of the Five Cosmic Entities appeared before him—Oblivion, the strongest of them all, whose form materialized from the void itself. He too had been stirred by Herman's ascension.
Oblivion.
He governed the totality of non-existence and the counterforce to the universe's ceaseless expansion. A truly omnipotent, near-omniscient multiversal deity, whose destruction could only come with the annihilation of the Marvel Universe itself.
For a being of Oblivion's stature, discerning Herman's power was simple—yet even he had never witnessed such an overwhelmingly "sovereign" attribute.
"I'm not concerned about his power," Eternity said. "What interests me is... the aura upon him that doesn't belong to this era."
As the deity who governed time, Eternity's gaze turned toward the Milky Way, immediately detecting something unusual.
This newly ascended Universal-level god was not native to this timeline.
For a moment, Eternity's curiosity was piqued. He looked toward Oblivion.
Their faces shimmered with countless stars, as though carved from a fragment of the cosmos itself. And indeed, it was likely so.
Both cosmic deities were embodiments of fundamental laws. Their manifested forms were vast, rivaling entire galaxies in scale. Neither possessed flesh nor blood, only a substance capable of constructing worlds.
"What a pity... If not for that one's command forbidding us from interfering with the cosmos, I'd capture him for study," Eternity murmured with a long sigh. Whatever interest had lit his gaze moments ago faded, leaving his eyes still and lifeless once more.
"Heh. You could always defy that one's will and act anyway," Oblivion replied, his tone far from friendly.
For the two of them to converse this calmly was already remarkable.
Eternity cast him a faint glance but offered no response. He knew well this "sibling" had a peculiar fondness for chaos.
"Really not considering it?" Oblivion pressed. "If this young one grows unchecked, he might one day turn against us ancient ones."
"After all, his power attribute... leaves no room for other true gods."
Oblivion's tone carried a mix of warning and intrigue. He wasn't exaggerating—and Eternity understood that. Both had sensed the unique essence within Herman's power.
That essence was the reason other Universal-level beings found his presence so unsettling. Yet only multiversal entities like Eternity and Oblivion could perceive it clearly.
They were disturbed because within Herman's power lay an attribute of absolute supremacy.
It was a quality inherent to his divinity itself, a declaration of his destined path—one that proclaimed to the universe that its bearer alone was the one true god.
Even Eternity and Oblivion, deities of the multiverse, found it disquieting.
However, they could not act without permission.
"I don't think this child will ever stand before me. And even if he truly reaches the Multiversal level one day, do you really believe He would sit idly by? After all, He… is our true god."
Within Eternity's eyes, two blazing suns shimmered. Oblivion met his gaze, offering a faint, knowing smile, and nodded slightly in response.
"Yes… He is our true god. Heh." Oblivion's tone grew increasingly strange, but Eternity paid it no mind.
"If there's nothing else, don't disturb me. I still need to locate the soul of one of my followers."
...
Soon, the two cosmic deities—bound by the command that forbade them from intervening—returned to their silent stillness.
A command even beings of their magnitude dared not defy.
Who exactly was the "He" spoken of by those two ancient gods?
That remained a mystery.
...
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