In the version circulated externally, Atum was the victor of the God-Eater War. He killed countless corrupted and demonic Elder Gods.
Even Chthon and Set, working together, could not stop him. In the end, they, like other demonic Elder Gods, were forced to flee reality.
But in Atum's account, there were no victors in this God-Eater War.
There were only two survivors.
Gaea and Oshtur.
Gaea had always restrained herself, never devouring other Elder Gods.
Oshtur had left Earth to travel the stars ten thousand years before the God-Eater War broke out.
"Any Elder God who devoured the primordial essence of their kin could not escape the fate of falling into demonization." Atum said in a deep voice.
"Initially, when I flew into the sun and used the sun's energy to purify the primordial energy of other Elder Gods, I thought I had been reborn."
"But when I entered the Demogorge form for the second time, I realized that it was all just an illusion. The primordial essences of my kin that I had once devoured, had long been deeply imprinted in my bloodline and soul."
"As long as I fell into weakness, they would erupt again, twisting my mind. Even if I remained strong, they would subtly and continuously erode me."
"How could this be?" Gaea was somewhat incredulous.
Then, as if remembering something, she quickly said, "Chthon and Set also devoured a lot of their kin's primordial essences back then. Perhaps they might have a solution."
Lucas cleared his throat and said with certainty, "Gaea, I'm still here, why go far and wide? Moreover, I don't know if Set has a solution, but Chthon definitely doesn't."
Noticing the confused looks from Gaea and Ancient One, Lucas explained, "Just in the past two years, I've been to Chthon's Flickering Realm a few times. He merged himself with the Flickering Realm, hoping to use its power to refine the various Elder God primordial forces within him."
"But until now, there hasn't been much progress. Instead, he's trapped himself in the Flickering Realm, like spinning a cocoon."
Gaea suggested, "No matter what, more people mean more strength. Since we know where Chthon is, let's go see him together."
Lucas nodded, saying earnestly, "Good. My relationship with Chthon is good, I believe he will definitely lend a helping hand."
The more he spoke, the stranger Ancient One's expression became.
Gaea and Atum didn't understand what Lucas meant by "good relationship," but he understood perfectly.
"No time to lose, shall we go now?"
"Alright."
Seeing that everyone agreed, Lucas pointed his fingers and drew a line in the void.
As golden sparks flickered, a magnificent arched portal formed.
Lucas didn't stand on ceremony and was the first to step through.
Ancient One smiled at Gaea and Atum, then followed Lucas.
Atum, however, shielded Gaea and stepped into the portal with a slight guard.
Things are constantly developing and changing. The fact that he could defeat Chthon and Set combined billions of years ago didn't mean he could still defeat Chthon billions of years later. Moreover, this was Chthon's home turf, so he had to be careful.
"Chthon, come out! I'm not here to cause you trouble this time!"
As soon as Atum stepped out of the portal, he found himself in mid-air.
The ground beneath his feet was continuously sinking. The distant stars were continuously receding.
All matter and energy in the Flickering Realm seemed to be moving away from here.
"Chthon, come out! I'm not here to cause you trouble this time!"
And not far from him, Lucas was constantly shouting.
Chthon responded at this time, but his response was a bit strange.
"Lucas, if you have something to say, just stand still and say it, don't move around."
Lucas replied, "You come out first, and I promise not to move."
Gaea glanced at Lucas.
She followed closely behind Atum through the portal, and she basically discovered what Atum had discovered.
Is this what Lucas meant by having a "good relationship" with Chthon?
Then her relationship with Lucas must be "very good," right?
Then she imitated Lucas's shouting, "Chthon, come out! We are here to help you!"
...
It was the fourth day of the Sorcerers' Convention.
616 Strange sat on the high platform, casually surveying the scene.
Good, almost all the renowned sorcerers of Earth-616, the gods from various pantheons, and all sorts of Super Heroes were present. Only such a grand occasion was worthy of the Sorcerer Supreme's lecture.
However, he quickly noticed something was amiss.
Gaea, who had appeared for two consecutive days, was absent today.
Could it be because Sorcerer Lucas and Sun God Atum had a conflict yesterday?
Strange suppressed the doubt in his heart, and then he noticed that the Ancient One was also absent.
Ancient One also didn't attend Sorcerer Lucas's lecture yesterday, so they must have had something important to do.
But why weren't Lucas and the other Strange here either?
Dr. Strange: O_O
...
Flickering Realm.
Chthon slowly emerged from the depths of the starry sky.
He wore a red cape, and what he wore underneath, whether a bodysuit or a biological skin, was unclear.
"Gaea, if you really want to help me, let me return to reality."
Gaea shook her head and refused, "I'm sorry, Chthon, that's not possible."
Chthon chuckled and mocked, "Gaea, besides that, it seems there's nothing else you can help me with, is there?"
"Chthon, are you sure there's nothing you need our help with?"
Gaea, learning as she went, gestured to the countless stars in the Flickering Realm and said, "You devoured many of your kin back then, and their primordial energies are causing you a lot of trouble now, aren't they? We can research together and find a way to remove them."
"Gaea, you want to trick me out of my energy?"
As soon as Chthon heard Gaea's intentions regarding his energy, he immediately became wary.
His figure, which had been walking towards them, paused, and the speed at which the countless stars moved away also accelerated.
Seeing this, Gaea explained, "Chthon, these foreign energies will corrupt your mind, causing you to fall and demonize."
"Gaea, have you gone mad? I am the God of Darkness, am I afraid of falling?" Chthon mocked, stretching his wings and arms wantonly.
"I am darkness! I am the abyss!"
Gaea looked at Atum, somewhat at a loss, as if to say: Didn't you say that the primordial energies of kin are very dangerous and need to be removed? Why doesn't Chthon care at all?
Lucas said slowly, "Chthon has been thoroughly corrupted by the foreign energies, but this direction of corruption happens to be the direction of his evolution."
The primordial energies of kin would twist the minds of the Elder gods. But Chthon himself was even more deranged.
"Let's go. Chthon will probably only research how to completely absorb these Elder god primordial energies, and not think about how to remove them." Lucas said with some regret.
If Gaea and Atum weren't present, he would have taken some things with him, no matter what. But with the two of them there, he could only restrain himself slightly.
"Gaea, is Atum about to collapse?"
As Lucas and the others were about to leave, Chthon became displeased.
He shouted loudly from afar, "As long as you turn a blind eye and open a passage for me to return to reality, I can help him resist the influence of these foreign energies on his mind!"
"Don't make deals with devils. Mother, let's go."
Atum spoke before Gaea, and then he motioned for Gaea to leave.
"Atum, long time no see. I didn't expect you to become smarter." Chthon's somewhat disappointed voice sounded again.
Clearly, he had no good intentions just now. He most likely wanted to take advantage of helping Atum resist the influence of Elder god energies on his mind to control Atum.
Atum ignored Chthon, only giving him a cold glance before urging Gaea to leave.
He was born to end the God-Eater War, and born to protect Gaea. With Gaea remaining in the Flickering Realm, he couldn't act freely.
Soon, Gaea and Atum left the Flickering Realm one after another.
They came in a hurry and left in a hurry.
From holding hope, they became full of disappointment.
No sooner had the two left than Lucas suddenly launched an attack.
With a flash of silver light, he disappeared from Chthon's sight.
Chthon's expression suddenly changed. Ever since Lucas entered the Flickering Realm, he had tightly locked onto the space-time around him. Even when talking with Atum and Gaea, he hadn't relaxed in the slightest.
But even so, he still didn't react. In just a moment, he lost perception of Lucas's location.
Fortunately, the next instant he knew where Lucas was. But it wasn't by his own ability that he discovered it, but because one of his Flickering Realm Planets suddenly disappeared.
Chthon's face instantly turned pale.
If Lucas could pluck one of his energy Planets before he reacted, he could swallow his entire Flickering Realm.
"Lucas, if you dare to devour my Flickering Realm, I will transform into thousands of scourges and harm the Multiverse!"
Chthon realized he could no longer stop Lucas and immediately reacted by threatening him.
Before Chthon's words finished, Lucas's figure appeared.
He narrowed his eyes, looked at Chthon, and suddenly smiled. "I originally only wanted to take one of your Planets to teach you a lesson. Since you said that, I'll just gladly accept the Flickering Realm."
Upon hearing this, Chthon's attitude changed, and he shamelessly said, "Sorcerer Lucas, I was just joking with you. How can one be enough? Good things come in pairs."
As he spoke, he reluctantly took out another energy planet and threw it to Lucas.
Lucas accepted it with a smile, then casually said, "Since the God of Black Magic said good things come in pairs, then send me two more, for a perfect pair."
Chthon remained calm and, with a chuckle, took out two more energy Planets. "Sorcerer Lucas is right."
Lucas shook his head.
These demons were all the same, primarily characterized by their ability to bend and stretch.
After accepting these two energy planets, he left.
As for the Ancient One, he had also left at some unknown time. Perhaps it was when Lucas attacked after Gaea and Atum left.