Half a month has passed since he returned from the Universe.
During these days, Hawk accompanied Gwen through the post-honeymoon process, but he didn't forget his own matters.
The Eighth Sense!
Although he said he wouldn't force it anymore when he returned.
And indeed, that was the case.
But it's like looking for keys at home; sometimes, you desperately search, but can't find where you put them.
However, when he gives up looking, suddenly, out of the blue, the keys he couldn't find before just appear right in front of him.
It's like that feeling of suddenly turning around and finding that person in the dim light.
Hawk had that feeling yesterday.
The Eighth Sense is no longer something that can be comprehended by blindly rushing forward or working in isolation.
He needs to converse.
To converse with God.
This God cannot be a dimensional God like Mephisto, who isn't truly a God, nor Ego the Living Planet, who has life but is unworthy of the title.
It must be a true God!
A chief God.
Fortunately.
There just happened to be a God on Earth right now.
After Hawk suddenly had that feeling yesterday, he immediately went to the "Shady Rest Home" in Manhattan.
This was also where Odin resided after coming to Earth.
But... he was too late.
The patients in the Shady Rest Home had already been discharged, and the construction team was just waiting to enter and completely demolish the Shady Rest Home.
As a chief God, even an Odin who had entered his countdown, he was not someone Hawk could pinpoint.
But it's okay.
Someone knew Odin's location.
Doctor Strange.
So!
Hawk had originally planned to finish his scheduled matters today and then go to Doctor Strange to inquire about Odin's whereabouts.
Unexpectedly... before he could go to Doctor Strange, Doctor Strange had already come to him.
That's quite good.
Although Doctor Strange had promised Odin to ensure his peace when he helped him find a new home.
But it depends on the person.
If he hadn't seen Hawk's past, Doctor Strange would have definitely said:
Don't even think about it!
But now?
Doctor Strange met Hawk's gaze, hesitated for a moment, then erased the portal leading to the backyard of 521A Palm Street, and then, with his right hand, opened another portal to a scenic plain in Norway.
Upon entering.
Odin stood on the cliff opposite the portal, facing the sea amidst green grass, looking as if spring had arrived.
Hawk looked at Doctor Strange, who had opened the portal so openly, raised an eyebrow, thought of the scene in the movie, and looked at Doctor Strange.
"Don't you need to pluck my hair?"
..."No, you don't."
Doctor Strange was startled for a moment, then said as such.
He would have liked to try.
But he didn't dare to.
What if trying meant dying?
Doctor Strange thought to himself, only wanting to send Hawk away as quickly as possible.
"Goodbye, Mr. Phoenix."
..."Goodbye."
Hawk naturally saw Doctor Strange's eagerness to send him off, chuckled, said goodbye, walked to the portal leading to Odin, and then stepped through.
Doctor Strange, almost without hesitation, waved his hands to erase the traces of the portal, then let out a sigh of relief, and looked at Wong beside him.
"You never told me he was so terrifying."
"What?"
Wong was slightly taken aback, looking at Doctor Strange, who had thrown a black pot at him without a word, and said somewhat speechlessly, "Mr. Phoenix is the Sorcerer Supreme's friend, not mine. However, what exactly did you do? Why is there so much sweat on your forehead?"
Doctor Strange rolled his eyes and told Wong about what he had seen in Hawk's time galaxy, a scene that could be described as "The Rise of the Demon King."
As Wong listened to Doctor Strange's narration, his mouth gradually widened into an O shape.
Doctor Strange looked at Wong's expression, slightly stunned.
"Wait, you didn't know?"
"Of course not."
Wong came back to his senses and said to Doctor Strange righteously, "He is the Sorcerer Supreme's friend and a distinguished guest of Kamar-Taj. Moreover, every time he comes with his wife, his attitude towards me is very good. I always thought he was a learned reclusive sorcerer."
The Sorcerer Supreme was not a gossipy person.
Neither was Wong.
So, regarding Hawk's origins, Wong only knew that Hawk's power was very strong, strong enough to casually borrow the Time Stone, and the Sorcerer Supreme was not at all worried that Hawk would not return the Time Stone after borrowing it.
Therefore, Wong's understanding of Hawk was limited to being mysterious and powerful.
But now?
After Wong finished listening to Doctor Strange's description of the scenes he saw in Hawk's past timeline, he once again looked at Doctor Strange as if he were looking at a fierce warrior.
"Stephen, I told you long ago that we should be humble when facing those mysterious powerhouses. You should be glad that Mr. Phoenix is friendly with Kamar-Taj."
"I know."
Doctor Strange rolled his eyes again at the words the Sorcerer Supreme had left him for his regent, Wong, and indeed cut off the topic.
Norway!
Geiranger Village.
This was Odin's secluded residence on Earth.
After Hawk stepped out of the portal, he turned his head to look at the portal that had eagerly disappeared behind him, chuckled, then withdrew his gaze and looked at Odin, who was standing on the cliff directly in front of him.
At this moment, Odin was only wearing a simple brown robe, like an ordinary wandering old man, without any aura of a chief God.
But... a dying tiger is the most terrifying.
Likewise.
A chief God on the verge of annihilation is also the most terrifying in the final stages of his life.
Figuratively speaking—
A Great Saint with not much lifespan left.
Hawk thought as he walked, stopping about ten steps away from Odin.
"God-King Odin!"
...
Odin, who was admiring the sea and clouds in front of him, with his back to Hawk, moved his body and then slowly turned around.
Stripped of his God-King battle attire, Odin looked white-bearded and very weak, but the expression in his single eye still maintained the wisdom and calmness of a chief God.
Odin spoke, his voice slightly hoarse.
"Midgard has fallen into the time currents of this Universe, and the gears of Ragnarok have already begun to turn."
...
Hawk heard this, but didn't respond. Instead, he looked at Odin, somewhat curious: "How did you fall into the trap of time back then?"
The stone of another mountain can be used to polish jade.
Although Hawk felt that his self-control was sufficient, even capable of shielding himself from time's constant allure.
But... time is the most troublesome thing.
Without exception!
So, Hawk pondered that he could learn from others' lessons to avoid falling into the same trap.
As is well known.
The same move is ineffective against a Saint Seiya.
And so are traps.
He already knew how Ancient One had fallen into the trap of time.
Ancient One had told him personally.
The story was long.
To put it simply.
The pursuit of progress is an instinct possessed by every intelligent creature.
A fox relying on a tiger, borrowing its prestige, isn't that also a form of pursuing progress?
Ancient One was the same.
As the most outstanding Sorcerer Supreme in the history of Kamar-Taj, Ancient One could be said to have achieved fame at a young age. Already standing at the pinnacle of the extraordinary, Ancient One naturally thought about further advancement.
Due to the second Sorcerer of Kamar-Taj, although Earth was destined to fall into the time currents of the main Universe.
But Vishanti sold out and killed the second Sorcerer. Although the second Sorcerer died, Vishanti was also severely wounded and fell into slumber due to the backlash of time.
Vishanti is still slumbering to this day.
Under such circumstances, Ancient One, unable to draw on the wisdom of predecessors, naturally turned her gaze towards the Time Stone in pursuit of progress.
If one cannot borrow from the past, then why not borrow from the power of the future?
Although Ancient One already knew then that the future was not objective.
But... Ancient One believed herself to be exceptionally intelligent and capable of timely discovering time's trap, preventing herself from falling into it.
Then Ancient One fell for it.
And then, Ancient One thought about changing things. For this, she borrowed from the Dark Dimension, attempting to use the power of darkness to resist the arrival of the time trap.
Ancient One then surprisingly discovered something.
Within the time trap, she had not borrowed from the darkness. As a result, after she borrowed, her past and future had also changed, but what hadn't changed was the outcome.
"Yes."
Odin listened to Hawk's narration, nodding with a calm expression.
"You can try to change, but you cannot change an already destined outcome."
"What about you?"
After Odin spoke, Hawk brought the conversation back to the previous topic: "How did you fall into the trap of time?"
Odin, whose floodgates of speech had opened, chuckled.
"Like Ancient One, to become stronger."
"Stronger!"
"Yes."
Odin nodded, his expression calm: "After I conquered the Nine Realms back then, I was ambitious. For this, I severed Midgard, causing it to fall into this Universe. I had originally intended to use Midgard as a stepping stone to devour this Universe. However, this was a conspiracy. Ever since God-King Zeus transcended time, Eternity of Time was unwilling to see a Universe not under their control appear."
Hawk raised an eyebrow.
"Ancient One also said that Zeus is the only God-King who transcended time."
"Zeus is very clever."
Although Zeus was promiscuous, licentious, and even lacked any moral character, it must be said that he was the most competent among the Gods.
When he wasn't yet powerful, Zeus, like Emperor Chengzu, tricked Hades and Poseidon into joining him to share the world, castrated the then God-King, causing him to lose his connection with the Earth and permanently return to the sky.
But after the great deed was accomplished, Zeus immediately turned hostile, banishing Hades to the Underworld and permanently driving Poseidon to the vast sea.
From this point alone, Zeus was a qualified chief God.
However... Zeus's matter is not relevant here. Although Zeus could command the Celestials to watch over him, it also meant that he would not interfere with the affairs of this Universe.
So!
Hawk looked at Odin.
"In the long years of the past, did you never try to fight back?"
...(End of Chapter)
On my Patreon, I have several advance chapters available if you're interested in more than 100: For $1, you get 20 fewer chapters than the $2.50 tier. For $2.50, you get 40 fewer chapters than the $4 tier. And for $4, you get them all.
The number of chapters is updated every 7 days and increases by 7 to 8 chapters.
My Patren: paroncom/FanTranslator