Looking at the magnificent and fantastical scene on the screen, many people in the live broadcast room opened their eyes wide, and expressions of deep awe appeared on their faces.
[In the image, an enormous floating rock could be seen hovering in the multicolored void, while a multicolored timeline stretched around it like a ring.]
[Loki and the others, as well as the castle before them, were located on that floating rock.]
"Where is this? Even that timeline is truly visible and tangible."
Little Wanda swallowed. An expression of surprise and astonishment appeared on her face, as though she could not believe her own eyes.
Faced with her question, the entire room fell silent.
Even geniuses like Tony Stark and a prince of Asgard like Loki, who had seen many things in his life, had stiff expressions at that moment and were left speechless.
After all, the strange and unreal scene before them truly surpassed everyone's imagination and deeply shocked everyone present.
After some time, little Wanda scratched her head, completely confused.
"Strange..."
"According to our earlier conclusion, the so-called Sacred Timeline should only be a fabrication used by the TVA to deceive people."
"Yes." Peter Parker unconsciously nodded.
"I originally thought that even if the Sacred Timeline existed, it should be a metaphor like the 'flow of history.' Who would have thought that it could actually be seen with one's own eyes?"
Looking at the magnificent flow of time in the sky, little Wanda unconsciously added:
"And it is very beautiful."
"We do not need to rush to conclusions yet."
Tony frowned slightly and said:
"I still believe that the Time-Keepers' story about merging the entire multiverse into one timeline is complete nonsense."
"If that is truly the case, then where did so many Lokis come from?"
While thinking, Tony slowly said:
"If you ask me, I am more inclined to believe that the timeline before us is the timeline of the individual universe from which Loki, Sylvie, and the others on the screen come!"
"The multiverse should exist, and every universe within it may have its own Sacred Timeline!"
Hearing this, Strange thoughtfully said:
"The purpose of the Sacred Timeline's existence is to prevent the creation of additional temporal branches, and therefore new universes."
"The TVA is required to maintain that timeline."
"If Tony is right, does that mean there is a separate TVA in every universe?"
"Oh, my God!"
"God, my head hurts!"
"Can there be countless organizations like that?"
Listening as Tony's and Strange's assumptions became increasingly complicated, the expressions of everyone else in the live broadcast room changed drastically.
At that moment, they felt that their thoughts could no longer keep up with the conversation and that their brains were not sufficient for all of this.
Loki frowned, while one thought after another passed through his mind, but one doubt refused to disappear.
If separate TVAs existed in other universes, what did those organizations look like?
Were they completely identical to the TVA they had previously seen in the recording?
[The image continues.]
[The two Lokis approached the castle gates.]
[Sylvie took a deep breath, while the expression on her face continuously changed. It was obvious that she could not calm down at all.]
[Unexpectedly, before doing anything, Sylvie first asked:]
["Are you going to stop me from breaking down the doors?"]
[Loki said that he had no objection, but Sylvie stood before the doors with an uneasy expression and did not dare do anything.]
[Seeing this, Loki nervously asked:]
["Are you all right?"]
[Sylvie said that she was fine. Loki wanted to ask something again, but Sylvie interrupted him somewhat harshly.]
["Loki! Shut up!"]
[Sylvie looked extremely agitated.]
["The TVA abducted me before you were even born."]
["I have waited my entire life for this moment of revenge. Now I only need a little time to prepare myself, all right?"]
["Of course, no problem." Loki flinched because of Sylvie's sudden outburst and could only nod.]
[Just as Sylvie stood before the doors and tried to gather her emotions, the doors in front of them suddenly opened on their own.]
[Seeing this, the two of them no longer had time to prepare, so they had to step into the castle.]
["Boom!"]
[After they entered, the large doors closed behind them again.]
[Seeing that there was no longer any way back, the two Lokis could only cautiously continue forward.]
In the live broadcast room.
"Hey, why does this look like a horror movie?" Tony Stark complained somewhat unhappily.
Strange smiled: "If this is a horror movie, a terrifying monster will soon appear before them and make them scream."
"Do not say that. I became frightened just from listening."
Looking at the eerie and unusual castle on the screen, little Wanda swallowed and curled up slightly.
[The image continues.]
[At that moment, a strange voice sounded.]
["Hello! How are you two?"]
[Faced with the sudden voice, the two Lokis did not scream, but almost simultaneously drew their weapons.]
[However, no monster appeared before them. Instead, it was Miss Minutes, whom Loki had first seen in an animation after the TVA captured him.]
["Welcome to the Citadel at the End of Time."]
[Like a three-dimensional projection, a greatly enlarged Miss Minutes floated in the empty space before them, behaving like a tour guide.]
["Congratulations. You have overcome all kinds of difficulties and obstacles and successfully reached this place."]
["He is very impressed."]
[Sylvie immediately asked:]
["Who are you talking about?"]
[Miss Minutes mysteriously replied:]
["He Who Remains."]
["He created everything. He controls everything."]
["He is the only one who remains at the end of time."]
["And he wants to negotiate with you."]
[Miss Minutes confidently said: "He found a way to return you to the timeline without endangering anything else."]
["The TVA can continue doing its work, and you can choose the life you want."]
[Loki coldly asked: "What kind of life do you mean?"]
[Miss Minutes' voice suddenly became cold.]
["Do not pretend, Loki. Do you not know how you became involved in all of this?"]
["What?" Loki still seemed not to understand.]
["The Battle of New York, idiot."]
[Miss Minutes sounded as though she was disappointed by his stupidity.]
["When you faced those magnificent Avengers, did you not want to defeat them?"]
[Miss Minutes' voice suddenly lowered, like the whisper of a devil.]
["And not only that."]
["You can even kill Thanos."]
["Do you want the Infinity Gauntlet? It is yours."]
["The throne of Asgard? No problem."]
[Seeing that Loki's breathing had become faster, Miss Minutes satisfactorily shifted her attention to Sylvie.]
["And you? What do you want?"]
["You have been running for so many years and experiencing despair and loneliness every day. Are you not tired?"]
["Do you want to wake up tomorrow morning with only happy memories in your mind?"]
["In fact, the two of you Lokis can even remain together."]
[Hearing this, Loki seriously asked:]
["Can we truly return to the timeline together?"]
[Miss Minutes nodded: "It sounds unbelievable, but he can do it."]
["All those dreams can become reality, just as you have always wanted."]
["You can have each other and everything else in the world."]
[The muscles on Sylvie's face trembled slightly. Her emotions were obviously not calm.]
[But she immediately took another deep breath and shouted in a quiet voice:]
["What you are saying is a lie. It cannot be true."]
[However, Loki made his final decision: "From now on, we will write our own destiny. We will no longer allow anyone to control us."]
["Hahaha, in that case, do whatever you want."]
[Miss Minutes sneered mockingly: "Good luck to both of you."]
[Then Miss Minutes directly disappeared.]
"This mastermind truly thinks he is a god!"
Loki was already filled with disgust:
"That arrogant attitude, as though he has the right to control the destinies of others, is truly revolting."
Stephen Strange coldly said:
"You should remember how the judge treated Sylvie earlier."
"Sylvie asked her why she had abducted her, and the judge merely said that she did not remember."
"Such an attitude means that they completely regard others as ants and do not care at all what consequences their actions cause."
"Damn it!"
Little Wanda clenched her fists and angrily said:
"No wonder Sylvie refused the offer. If I were in her place, I would also break inside and show that boss who he is dealing with! Let him learn the consequences of angering a woman!"
"Uh..."
Tony's face twisted as he listened to her. He wanted to say something but could not find the right words.
At that moment, an entire series of thoughts passed through his mind.
"This kind of three-dimensional projection is obviously some kind of artificial intelligence."
"Speaking of which, I could make something similar for J.A.R.V.I.S."
"Damn it, why does all of this increasingly look like something I would make?"
"If the mastermind truly is Tony Stark from another universe, my reputation in this live broadcast room will be completely ruined."
The more Tony thought about it, the more nervous he became, until he finally had to swallow.
While Tony was terrified, the others in the room continued discussing.
"But killing Thanos? Obtaining the Infinity Gauntlet? Is the master hiding behind everything truly that powerful?"
Peter Parker seemed somewhat doubtful, while at the same time he could not resist secretly glancing at Tony Stark.
After all, during the earlier answering session, Tony had received the Infinity Gauntlet as a reward!
"Pay attention. Miss Minutes said the Infinity Gauntlet, not a complete set of all six Infinity Stones."
Strange calmly said:
"According to our previous analysis, the Infinity Stones possessed by the TVA were probably randomly collected from who knows how many different universes."
"They look terrifying, but they do not belong to one set, so they are completely useless!"
Hearing this, Loki seemed to remember something. The corner of his lips rose, and his distinctive smile once again appeared on his face:
"In other words, even the TVA's mastermind probably does not possess all six Infinity Stones from the universe to which Sylvie and the others belong!"
"That is why Miss Minutes offered only the Infinity Gauntlet. It is a reward that looks tempting but is actually useless!"
"An ordinary person might have been deceived by that cartoon character."
A trace of pride appeared on Loki's face.
"But standing before her is Loki!"
"Even a Loki weaker than me would not fall for such a simple deception!"
"Besides, Miss Minutes offered only the Infinity Gauntlet as a reward and did not even mention the Infinity Stones. By doing so, she merely proved that the Infinity Stones they possess are completely useless."
"If that were not the case, why would she not show the gauntlet together with all six stones? Would that not be much more convincing?"
Loki sneered mockingly:
"That is called a failed deception! Not only did they fail to deceive anyone, but they also revealed their true cards!"
Hearing this, little Wanda looked at Loki and Strange and could not hide her astonishment:
"You two are truly dangerous! You managed to draw so many conclusions from only one sentence!"
[The image continues.]
[The two Lokis looked at each other and continued forward.]
["He Who Remains? What is that supposed to mean?" Loki muttered to himself.]
["Whoever he is, he will not remain alive much longer." Sylvie's words openly revealed powerful killing intent.]
[The two of them entered a hall and saw four statues, one of which had been destroyed.]
[The remaining three statues represented the three Time-Keepers.]
[While the two Lokis once again observed the surroundings of the hall, with a "ding," the doors before them suddenly opened automatically.]
[Loki and Sylvie nervously raised their weapons, but immediately discovered the following in surprise:]
[Behind the doors was an elevator, and inside it stood a black man in green and purple robes.]
[Holding an apple in his hand, the man excitedly straightened himself and addressed them:]
["Wow! This truly is unusual."]
["Two Lokis are standing before me at the same time."]
[The man stopped halfway through the sentence. As though his mouth had become dry, he raised the apple in his hand and took a bite.]
[Looking at the strange man before her, Sylvie suspiciously asked:]
["Are you He Who Remains?"]
[The man nodded without hesitation and admitted it, then invited the two Lokis to enter the elevator, saying that they would go to his office together and talk.]
At that moment, a series of astonished shouts echoed through the live broadcast room of the other world.
"No way! This guy is the mastermind?" Peter Parker's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
"This black man looks like some street rapper."
Stephen Strange frowned and said:
"Is it not possible that this is also only a disguise and that he is actually merely a subordinate of the true master?"
At that moment, Tony's loud voice echoed through the live broadcast room.
"No! I think he is definitely the master behind all evil!"
Everyone turned around and saw Tony, who had at some point quietly moved backward, suddenly step forward again.
His face was red, and his entire body looked extremely excited as he raised his hands and shouted loudly:
"That is right! This guy is the root of all evil! As soon as they defeat him, every problem will be solved."
At that moment, Tony was truly overjoyed. He was so happy that he almost began singing.
The mastermind hiding behind everything was a black man.
That meant he could not possibly have anything to do with Tony Stark.
"What?"
Peter Parker asked in confusion: "Mr. Stark, did you not just say that this mastermind might have his own reasons and difficulties?"
"Ah, yes! Difficulties! Exactly."
A trace of unease appeared in Tony's eyes, after which he nodded and said:
"I still think so. After all, who would build an organization like the TVA without any reason?"
"They maintain the timeline and prune temporal branches. What benefit could they possibly gain from doing that?"
Hearing Tony's casually spoken words, the others in the live broadcast room briefly fell deep into thought.
Stephen Strange quietly muttered:
"The Time-Keepers are hidden behind everything and obviously cannot gain any benefit merely from maintaining the timeline."
"Then why are they doing all of this? Are they truly trying to prevent a multiversal war?"
[The image continues.]
[Inside the elevator, the black man, with his back turned toward the two Lokis, ate the apple and completely casually asked:]
["Do I look different from what you imagined?"]
[Loki looked strangely at the man before him, who appeared to be a completely ordinary person.]
["Are you only an ordinary man?"]
[The man did not even look back: "Do not tell me you are disappointed."]
[Sylvie coldly said:]
["No. In that case, it will be easier for me to kill you."]
[As soon as she finished speaking, Sylvie swung her sharp sword.]
[But at that moment, the man's figure disappeared from before them and then appeared on the seat behind their backs.]
["What?"]
["What happened?"]
[At that moment, both Lokis were completely stunned.]
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