In the river of time.
Hawk immersed himself in it, sitting cross-legged, seemingly sitting still, yet the water of time flowed like a torrent, washing over his body.
Making him appear as if he's swimming upstream in the river of time.
But Hawk hasn't moved.
It's time that's moving!
The Mind Gemstone shined brightly in his Little Cosmos, its ghostly yellow light intertwined with the fiery red glow of the Reality Gemstone.
The Time Gemstone floated flush with Hawk's forehead.
And under the flow rate of the Time Gemstone, as Hawk continued to immerse himself in the river of time, within the Little Cosmos, the moment the ghostly yellow light of the Mind Gemstone touched the fiery red light of the Reality Gemstone, a strand of golden yellow light burst forth.
With the appearance of the first strand of golden yellow light in the Little Cosmos.
His Little Cosmos seemed to vibrate.
Because of this golden yellow light!
It's not gold, nor yellow.
But—
The golden light of the Golden Saint Warriors.
In the river of time, Hawk was still compressing his closed time loop.
At this moment, Jean, Wanda, and Pietro have been transferred to the Hydra Base under the deep sea.
And Jean is already two years and three months old.
Wanda and Pietro went out, leaving two-year-old Jean alone at home.
With Hawk's appearance, Jean, who was sitting on the fireplace rug, brightened up at the sight, and ran forward, shouting, "Daddy!"
Hawk embraced Jean as she leapt into his arms.
"Daddy."
"Mm."
"Why can't Mommy and Uncle see you? I said you come to visit me every month, but they think I'm lying."
"Because it's not time yet."
"Then when will it be time."
"Wait until..."
Hawk held Jean, sitting on a sofa that was identical in layout to Palm Street No. 521A: "Wait until Daddy doesn't come to see you, as long as you think of Daddy, the Phoenix will take you to him."
Jean, clutching Hawk's neck, blinked her big eyes.
"Really?"
"Of course."
"Then when will it be?"
"Very soon."
"Alright."
Jean, not disappointed by the lack of a specific time, sat back in Hawk's arms, then as Hawk stretched out his right hand, a children's book from Jean's upstairs room appeared instantly in his hand, and as usual, he began reading the fairy tale to her.
Hawk read quietly.
Jean listened quietly.
Time seemed to stand still at that moment.
In fact, the flow rate of time was unchanged, but as the torrent of time rushed at Hawk, it automatically diverted, as if avoiding Hawk and the Jean in his arms.
In the view of outsiders, the time passed at most was ten minutes.
But from Jean's perception, it seemed like an entire morning had passed.
This is why Jean, every time after Hawk's visit, would tell Wanda about it, but Wanda never believed her.
Hawk had no intention of revealing himself to meet with Wanda.
He came here to complete the closing of his time loop, achieving a past, present, and future that are all him.
Only in this way, and only this way, can he control his own time.
Most importantly.
He didn't know what to say to Wanda either.
Whether in the past or in the present.
Actually, Gwen was right about Sharon's complaints at the time.
From a certain perspective, it's true that due to not knowing how to handle this matter, after returning from the Atlantic Ocean, he took Gwen home and went into seclusion.
Hawk's thoughts at the time were simple.
The current him didn't know what to say, simply went into seclusion, and let the future Hawk solve this matter.
Now...
Hawk wanted to reach across the river of time and give himself, who rushed home to seclude himself, a solid slap, making him solve the problem before retreating and not leaving the mess to himself.
Unfortunately.
The past cannot be changed.
As for the future?
The future cannot be seen!
Very soon.
When Wanda and Pietro returned home, Jean, who had happily slept in Hawk's arms, brightened up again, ran to Wanda and Pietro, and once more told them about Daddy's visit.
But like before, they didn't believe her.
However, this time it was different from before.
Pietro listened to his niece Jean's words and, smiling, picked her up: "Then let your Daddy hurry up and appear, take us out of here, or otherwise, you'll have another sister or brother."
Jean, upon hearing this, instinctively turned her head to look at Hawk, who stood up from the sofa.
Hawk smiled and gestured a shush to Jean.
Wanda and Pietro also followed Jean's gaze to the sofa.
But the sofa was empty.
Very soon.
Jean returned to her room, and after Wanda and Pietro saw her go, the smiles on their faces instantly disappeared.
Wanda's Crimson Chaos Magic surged between her hands, covering the entire room.
As the Crimson Chaos Magic brushed over the quietly standing Hawk, Wanda's heart stirred, but she didn't show it.
Pietro said with a dark face, "Damn Strucker, treating you like a breeding machine."
Wanda glanced at the place where her magic surged causing a slight obstruction, and comforted Pietro, "We have no right to refuse, besides, he promised to help us deal with Tony Stark, right? Just by relying on us, we can't deal with Tony Stark; he has a Divine Spirit friend."
Pietro couldn't help but rub his head, looking to comfort his sister in return.
"Why are you the only one pregnant?"
"Strucker said that Jean's father's life level is too strong, ordinary women cannot bear offspring for him."
"I severely suspect this guy is in cahoots with Strucker."
"..."
Me?
Strucker.
In cahoots?
Hawk, who stood aside quietly listening to the two's conversation, instinctively looked at Pietro, curious as to how this slightly disheveled-haired Pietro came to such a ridiculous conclusion.
Wanda shook her head.
"He isn't."
"Huh?"
Pietro instinctively looked at Wanda: "How are you so sure?"
Thinking about when they were in Sokovia, the woman who appeared wanting to take her daughter, Wanda spoke while looking at Pietro: "That woman should know him, I could sense it, she just wanted to take Jean, no intention to harm her, I could feel that woman wasn't lying, once he knows about Jean, he will definitely be furious."
Pietro frowned.
"But Jean is already two, hasn't he found out yet?"
"He should have discovered it."
"Huh?"
"Otherwise, Strucker wouldn't have hurriedly taken us away from the castle that night; I feel he's coming, that's why Strucker transferred us and hid us in this unknown deep-sea base."
"...indeed."
Pietro listened to Wanda's analysis, thoughtfully nodding, looking at Wanda.
"Strucker must be really afraid of him; we've been here as long as he has been here, almost like he's too scared to leave."
"This means he's searching for Strucker; once Strucker shows up, he'll definitely find him."
"Hiss!"
Pietro gasped, puzzled: "If Strucker is so afraid of him, why does he want you to continue being pregnant?"
Wanda instinctively looked toward Jean's room on the second floor, her gaze deep: "He might feel one Jean isn't enough to threaten him, so plans to add more leverage."
Pietro cursed explosively.
But just like Wanda said, they don't have the ability nor the qualification to reject Strucker.
Not to mention the Nanomites within him and Wanda, just for Jean alone, they can't resist.
Hawk heard this and chose to turn and leave.
Just as he was leaving this timeline, Wanda glanced in Hawk's departing direction.
Pietro noticed Wanda's gaze, also looking toward the direction Hawk left.
"What is it?"
"Nothing."
Wanda returned to her senses, withdrew her gaze, and shook her head.
In the following months.
While Hawk was accompanied by Jean, continuing to compress his timeline, Wanda's belly slowly grew larger.
He once again witnessed the birth of Billy and Tommy.
In the dead of night.
Hawk silently appeared in the main bedroom of the room, standing beside the crib, looking at Billy and Tommy lying side by side.
Unlike Billy and Tommy, who can sense his presence since birth.
They did not seem to sense his arrival.
After all...
Before this, he already made a divine promise that only his and Gwen's blood descendants could inherit his power and only they are qualified.
Hawk looked at Billy and Tommy in the crib, reaching out his right hand to stroke their small foreheads, then turned to leave this timeline.
Just at that moment.
Wanda's voice sounded as he was about to turn around.
"They are your children, you should name them."
"..."
Hawk's figure paused, turning to look.
In sight.
Wanda sat on the bed, the Crimson Chaos Magic swirling in her eyes.
Able without the Reality Gemstone, using the Crimson Chaos Magic to pierce through the boundaries of reality, noticing Hawk.
Their eyes met.
Hawk slightly frowned.
Their first meeting should have been after he broke the underwater base, not now.
What's going on?
Has the timeline been disturbed?
Hawk's mind stirred.
In the next second.
He recalled meeting Wanda after seeing her in the seabed base, Wanda's gaze when she did not dodge.
And...
Back then, Wanda's eyes seemed just like now.
Crimson Chaos Magic swirled in her eyes, wanting to pierce through him.
Wait.
Hawk raised his arched brows, as if realizing something, looking at Wanda sitting on the bed.
"When did you see me?"
"Last month, during my labor pain, when you comforted Jean."
"But with Pietro..."
"I didn't tell Pietro; although I don't know why, it seems you aren't actually here."
"...Alright."
Hawk's thoughts turned, he shook his head and chuckled, then looked at Wanda.
…