The reason Karl had agreed to Eternity...
Was not because of the so-called wealth of the gods.
It was because of what Eternity had said afterward.
Karl had already killed Abraxas once.
No powerful being would simply forget a grudge like that.
Sooner or later, Abraxas would probably come looking for him.
When that happened...
Karl would have no choice but to fight Abraxas again.
He could not abandon his own universe.
Since they were destined to fight sooner or later...
Why not cooperate with the gods?
He could gain their favor and receive compensation at the same time.
Before that, however...
Karl still needed more information.
Understanding his opponent before entering battle was always essential.
"Lord Eternity, there's something I don't understand."
"Why did Abraxas resurrect so quickly?"
"Is he really that powerful?"
Karl had been in the Marvel Universe for many years.
Naturally, he understood...
For many beings in the Marvel Universe, death was not necessarily a major problem.
That was especially true for the Five Great Gods.
Death was hardly an ending for beings at their level.
They could not truly die so easily.
However...
Being immortal did not mean they could not be weakened.
Death and resurrection naturally came at a price.
Even Death herself, who possessed extraordinary authority over death, would be greatly weakened if she truly died once.
Unless someone was like Karl, who had pushed the Law of Time to its extreme.
Strictly speaking, Karl never truly died at all.
And Karl could be absolutely certain that he had killed Abraxas.
His soul had been annihilated.
His divine body had been shattered.
That had been genuine death.
Even for an existence at the level of the Five Great Gods, such damage should have amounted to an extremely severe injury.
So why had Abraxas resurrected so quickly?
Eternity's expression stiffened slightly.
"We don't know."
"You don't know?"
"There are actually mysteries within the Multiverse that even gods of your level cannot understand?"
Karl found that somewhat difficult to believe.
Were the Five Great Gods really this unreliable?
Eternity sighed.
"We aren't truly omniscient or omnipotent."
"We aren't beings on the same level as the Living Tribunal."
"There are things even we don't know."
"Especially when it comes to Abraxas. He is the Child of Destruction, an existence on the same level as us. There is no reason we would know all of his secrets."
"Even the great Living Tribunal cannot permanently kill him."
"Because he is part of the rules that constitute this world."
"The Living Tribunal can only imprison him."
Eternity sighed again.
Karl frowned.
"Then is there really no way to kill him permanently?"
"If that's the case, there isn't much point in fighting Abraxas."
"He'll just keep resurrecting."
"I can't spend eternity hunting him down."
Eternity's heart skipped a beat.
After this latest breakthrough, Karl's presence had become astonishingly powerful.
For a moment just now, even Eternity had sensed a trace of danger from him.
It was terrifying.
Eternity hurriedly explained.
"Of course we've already considered that."
"This time, we won't allow him to return."
"We've prepared something capable of eliminating him completely."
"Wasn't Abraxas supposed to be impossible to kill?"
Karl asked suspiciously.
"That's true. Even beings at the Demiurge's level would find it nearly impossible to permanently kill Abraxas."
"But we don't intend to kill him through conventional means."
"We intend to help him accomplish his objective."
Eternity spoke in a low voice.
"What do you mean?"
Karl asked.
"The foundation of Abraxas's existence is the destructive principle of this Multiverse."
"As long as destruction exists within this world, Abraxas cannot truly die."
"But what if the entire Multiverse itself is destroyed?"
"If the Multiverse ceases to exist, then the foundation supporting Abraxas's existence disappears with it."
"Naturally, he would disappear as well."
Eternity spoke coldly.
Karl was not particularly surprised.
He was certain that Eternity and the others were not planning to commit suicide by permanently destroying the entire Multiverse.
Eternity continued explaining.
"We intend to use an immensely powerful artifact to reboot the Multiverse."
"During the process of the reboot..."
"Abraxas will naturally be erased."
Karl nodded.
The Marvel Universe contained many unimaginable artifacts.
Some of those powerful artifacts possessed capabilities that ordinary beings could scarcely comprehend.
A few could even grant mortals power surpassing the Living Tribunal under extraordinary circumstances.
An artifact capable of rebooting the Multiverse was therefore not entirely incomprehensible.
"Wait."
"If that's the case, why do you still need me?"
"Why don't you simply reboot the Multiverse yourselves?"
Karl asked.
If they possessed something that powerful...
Why not simply activate it?
Why take the risk of confronting Abraxas at all?
"We have no other choice."
Eternity sighed before explaining the situation.
"I suspect there's a traitor among the Five Great Gods."
"I believe that traitor is the reason Abraxas was able to resurrect so easily."
"Hm?"
"Lord Eternity, I mean no disrespect, but are you saying one of the Five Great Gods is actually helping him?"
"Don't they understand that Abraxas intends to destroy the entire Multiverse?"
Karl asked.
Abraxas's objective was the destruction of the Multiverse.
Even the most malevolent magical gods within the Multiverse would refuse to cooperate with him.
And yet one of the Five Great Gods was helping him?
Had they completely lost their mind?
Eternity looked somewhat embarrassed.
"I don't want to admit it either, but something has definitely gone wrong among us."
"Several operations against Abraxas have failed under suspicious circumstances."
"And our plans have repeatedly been leaked."
"That isn't something an ordinary god could accomplish."
Eternity shook his head.
He was not a fool.
Previously, they had searched virtually every corner of the Multiverse and still failed to locate Abraxas.
Were all the gods of the Multiverse supposed to be incompetent?
Obviously not.
There had to be a traitor among them.
And that traitor had to be one of the Five Great Gods.
Otherwise, none of this would have been possible.
"Do you suspect anyone in particular?"
Karl asked curiously.
"I don't know who it is."
"Other than Galactus and me, any of the remaining three could be responsible."
"All three possess the capability to do it."
Eternity replied.
Karl frowned and began thinking.
Oblivion.
Infinity.
Death.
All three were Abstract Entities possessing unimaginable power.
The problem was...
Why would any of them help Abraxas?
Had one of them simply gone insane after occupying the position of one of the Five Great Gods for countless ages?
"Then what exactly is your plan?"
Karl asked.
"We'll create a diversion."
"You'll attract Abraxas's attention openly."
"While you're fighting him, we'll use the powerful artifact in secret to reboot the Multiverse and erase Abraxas directly."
A sharp glint flashed through Eternity's eyes.
"I understand."
"If that's the plan, I can do it."
Karl replied.
Where else could he find an opportunity this favorable?
He would not even need to fight Abraxas to the death.
All he had to do was attract his attention for a while.
In exchange, he would receive an enormous amount of wealth and earn the favor of the gods.
Opportunities like this certainly did not appear often.
"Good. Then it's settled."
"Tomorrow, I'll find other beings capable of fighting and have them assist you in keeping Abraxas occupied."
Eternity spoke.
Karl nodded.
(End of Chapter)
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