Marvel: Sign-In System – Starting with the Glint-Glint Fruit

Ivan's ability to persuade was unexpectedly impressive. By the end of the conversation, both Otto and Rosie had been convinced.

Step by step, he laid out the relationship between unlimited energy and oil, making Otto realize that he might never have another chance to rise.

Even so, Otto was unwilling to accept such a cruel conclusion. Rather than agree on the spot, he decided to verify it himself.

After Ivan left him a business card and took his leave, Otto headed straight to Oscorp to find Norman Osborn.

Unfortunately, Norman confirmed that reality was every bit as harsh as Ivan had described.

Inside the penthouse living room, Norman looked genuinely surprised.

"How did you find out about this?"

He and Otto had known each other for many years, and he understood Otto's personality very well. Otto was a textbook idealist.

Regarding the artificial sun project, there had always been very little personal gain in Otto's ambitions. His true goal had always been to benefit all of humanity.

However, after years without funding, the project had gradually become an obsession.

Norman genuinely wanted to help Otto. He had even considered acquiring the project.

Unfortunately, the risks and rewards were completely out of balance.

He was a businessman, not a philanthropist. He could not drag himself—and the entire Oscorp Group—into the abyss for the sake of a single project.

What truly surprised him was that Otto had been rejected again that very morning, yet by the time he returned, he was already discussing the connection between the project and the oil industry.

After all, not everyone could see the hidden interests behind it.

"So it's true." Norman's expression and tone already gave Otto the answer, causing him to let out a deep sigh.

Shaking his head, Norman walked over to the bar, poured Otto a drink, and led him over to sit on the sofa. "I'm sorry. I couldn't tell you the truth before because I didn't want to destroy your hope."

Norman sincerely expressed his apology.

Of course, he made his words sound very pleasant.

Otto did not blame Norman. Over all these years, Norman had genuinely tried to help him, and Otto had always seen that.

He raised his glass and clinked it against Norman's before taking a large drink.

"I thought science and politics should not have anything to do with each other, but I was naive."

After the alcohol went down, Otto spoke with a bitter smile.

"This is America, my friend. Here, no matter what you do, you have to consider these things." Norman replied with a meaningful look.

"I used to be full of ambition. For this project and these blueprints, I spent countless days and nights without sleep. Rosie always wanted me to get some proper rest."

"Every time, I would say: Did Edison sleep before inventing the light bulb? Did Marconi sleep before inventing radio? Did Beethoven sleep before writing his Fifth Symphony? Did Bernoulli ever close his eyes before creating the principle of least action?"

"Ha... and in the end, everything I did was impossible to achieve."

Otto mocked himself, remembering his past actions. Looking back now, he felt no different from a clown.

At its core, his efforts had been destined to fail.

"That's reality, my friend. You need to come to terms with it," Norman consoled him. "Now that you understand, just put the project away for a while."

Norman held Otto in high regard. Otto was a genius nuclear physicist, one of the best in his field.

Even without the artificial sun, Norman believed Otto could still create other promising projects.

A top scientist in any field would never lack financial support.

If Otto had not spent all these years focused entirely on creating the artificial sun, he would have already possessed his own independent laboratory, with massive amounts of funding available for research.

If Otto could regain his motivation, it would be beneficial for Oscorp as well.

Unfortunately, Norman was wrong.

Although Otto was somewhat depressed by the cruelty of reality, he had not completely given up.

"Thank you, Norman, but I'm not giving up."

Norman raised an eyebrow, sensing that something was off. He asked tentatively, "Is someone planning to fund you?"

Otto hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yes. Someone came to see me earlier. They can provide the funding I need."

"Who?"

Norman frowned and tried to persuade him.

"My friend, you should understand that America and those energy giants will never allow this project to succeed. If they discover it, neither you nor Rosie will have an easy time."

Norman was not trying to scare Otto.

Otto had not yet seen the true darkness of America.

The idea that "science has no borders" was nothing more than nonsense.

Otto's achievements in this field had already guaranteed that he would be on the radar of certain government agencies and major energy corporations.

The moment Otto showed even the slightest sign of acting against their interests, he would either be placed under control or an "accident" would happen to him.

America would never allow a scientist of Otto's level to leave and take such knowledge overseas.

The energy giants would also never allow the artificial sun to appear, something that could threaten their oil monopoly. They would not allow even the slightest possibility.

Any sign of it emerging had to be eliminated.

However, when Otto heard this, he showed no fear at all. Instead, he revealed a cold smile.

Catching that smile, Norman felt his heart sink. As expected.

"They can't control them." Otto said with absolute certainty and confidence.

His words caused Norman to gasp inwardly. His mind raced, quickly narrowing down a few possibilities, with the most likely one pointing toward Eastern Europe.

"My friend... don't tell me it's from Eastern Europe?"

"I didn't say anything. Thank you, Norman. You've helped me all these years. Now I have to leave—for the sake of all humanity."

Otto finished the drink in his glass, placed it on the table, then stood up and embraced Norman in gratitude before turning around and leaving.

Norman escorted Otto to the door. Watching Otto's figure disappear behind the closing elevator doors, his expression became complicated.

"This is truly going to shake the world. Are they planning to strike at America through energy? Using that to break the dollar's dominance? No, it probably isn't that complicated. With their military power, if they really wanted to do something like that, America would have no chance of resisting."

"Or is this simply a warning to America?"

Norman thought carefully, recalling some information he had heard recently.

The military seemed to have a very large-scale project underway.

From those scattered pieces of information, Norman could almost confirm that it was related to human enhancement research.

Combined with Terra's three Warbands, the possibility became even more likely.

Could this be a confrontation between America and Terra?

What a headache. A confrontation between two major powers—one that touched upon oil, currency, and unlimited energy—would inevitably have a massive ripple effect on Oscorp as well.

Norman let out a long, heavy sigh. He could only hope he was overthinking it.

...

The husband and wife pair of Otto and Rosie disappeared.

Yes, they truly vanished.

Without any warning, the two of them completely disappeared from their home.

By the time the United States noticed, the couple had already arrived in Terra's capital, Novi Grad.

It was Otto and Rosie's first time visiting Novi Grad, and only then did they see what the city, once ravaged by war, had become after reconstruction.

It had completely transformed into a magnificent modern metropolis.

After arriving in Novi Grad, the Terra government placed great importance on them and immediately approved a private apartment for the couple.

Of course, Otto and Rosie did not care much about their living arrangements or other benefits.

What truly satisfied them was that Terra immediately built a laboratory for them according to Otto's requirements.

Every piece of precision equipment they needed was provided.

In addition, Terra prepared a twelve-person research team for the couple.

The full support provided by Terra left Otto extremely satisfied, and the artificial sun project quickly began moving forward.

Melina, head of the Science Department, attached great importance to the project because she keenly understood that its potential extended far beyond unlimited energy.

Just as Ivan had said, the artificial sun would inevitably find military applications.

Weapons, for example.

If humanity could perfectly control the sun, then various cross-space and cross-time weapons could be developed based on solar energy.

Because of this, one technological proposal after another had already been submitted.

Stellar drive, adjusting stellar temperatures, stabilizing energy output, controlling solar flares, and manipulating solar winds—all of them could become planetary-level disaster weapons.

And this would not rely solely on technology.

Magic could also be used.

Just like the method of utilizing the infinite kinetic energy created by the Punch-Dimension's power, the same concept could also be applied to the sun.

Once these technologies could be fully developed successfully, it would mean that every person in Terra would possess access to star-level destructive power.

Long-range attacks beyond visual range, as well as support in close-quarters warfare and interstellar warfare, would give Terra an extremely important position.

This was why Melina placed such great importance on it.

At the same time, the research and development of room-temperature superconducting materials had already reached its final stage. It could also be integrated into the artificial sun project.

Compared to the artificial sun, the strategic importance of the Arc Reactor was nowhere near the same level.

When Matthew saw this information, he almost lost his composure.

What was this? The Sun civilization from Super Seminary? Stellar technology?

Seriously, whenever the Science Department was given even a little room to develop, they always managed to create unexpected surprises.

It had to be said that the technological theories proposed by Melina and the others had a very high chance of becoming reality.

Although they could not compare to the dark matter dimensional technology from Super Seminary, many aspects actually shared similarities.

Compared to that, what Terra truly lacked was a genuine celestial computer.

A computer system at this level was absurdly powerful.

Using stars as batteries, galaxies as hard drives, and possessing the ability to simulate the past and future of the entire universe—it was a level of computing power equivalent to dimensional suppression.

It was absolutely the pinnacle of technological capability.

For example, the celestial computer known as the Great Clock from the Shenhe civilization.

Its physical size was comparable to a galaxy. It required thousands, even tens of thousands, of stars to provide energy. It was the first supercomputer in the known universe and the original model for all celestial computers, with the others being inferior versions.

Its computing capabilities included:

Simulating the evolution of the entire known universe from the Big Bang to the present, spanning 13.7 billion years.

Precisely predicting the development paths of all civilizations within a galaxy, including the details of every individual and every planet.

Possessing void-level computational power capable of analyzing dark matter, Void Engines, and the structures of black hole space-time.

There was also the Sacred Knowledge Vault of the Angel Queen, Keisha.

Based on Terra's current resources and capabilities, the possibility of creating a celestial computer was actually quite high.

First was the enormous potential of the artificial sun's controllable fusion technology. Multiple controllable fusion reactor groups could be built as a unified energy core.

Equivalent to miniature stars, they could continuously output stellar-level energy, fully supporting the massive energy consumption, magnetic field maintenance, and particle calculations required by a celestial computer.

The second factor was materials and chips.

The breakthrough of room-temperature superconductors completely removed the limitations on chip technology. Superconducting coils could create enormous containment magnetic fields, locking fusion plasma and high-energy particles inside the computing chambers as a computational medium.

Superconducting quantum nodes could support massive parallel calculations and data transmission, reducing latency almost to zero.

Without requiring low-temperature cooling, equipment size could be greatly reduced, allowing unlimited modular expansion.

There were also the breakthroughs in materials brought by the Munch-Munch Fruit.

Materials could be transformed according to demand into superconducting substrates, insulation layers for high-temperature chambers, and other necessary components.

The Science Department had already incorporated celestial computers into their future research plans.

When Matthew saw this, he could only stare in astonishment.

In fact, this universe already had something similar.

It was the Supreme Intelligence of the Kree Empire, one of the three great galactic empires.

However, the Supreme Intelligence was an organic supercomputer created by combining the preserved brains of hundreds of the Kree's greatest minds.

It possessed self-awareness, strategic simulation capabilities, and psionic projection abilities.

A celestial computer, on the other hand, was essentially a stellar-level or higher supercomputer system. It usually used planets or stars as its physical foundation, focusing on astronomical-scale computing power and engineering.

The difference between the two was that the former was like a temple formed from living brains, while the latter was like a Dyson sphere-level server surrounding a star.

Compared with a super-intelligent artificial lifeform like the Supreme Intelligence, a purely technological celestial supercomputer was clearly more suitable for Terra.

As always, Terra did not need an Iron Man crisis to appear.

Terra's ruler was only Matthew, not a super-intelligent AI lifeform.

Therefore, Matthew did not interfere with or correct the research direction chosen by Melina and the Science Department.

Instead, he would strongly support it.

During this research process, even if they failed to completely create a celestial-level computer, the technological achievements produced along the way would still be enough to bring Terra's technology to an entirely new level.

After all, the technological knowledge contained within this research was simply too astonishing.

These scientists really are my second golden finger, Matthew thought.

He had always placed great expectations on them.

While waiting, Matthew continued his own research inside the Mirror Dimension.

He sat cross-legged, floating in midair.

A gemstone emitting a brilliant emerald-green glow quietly hovered before him.

The Time Stone.

One of the most powerful manifestations of the universe's fundamental laws—and the source of a future cosmic catastrophe.

The Infinity Stones were among the earliest existences in the universe and were also some of the most powerful objects in existence.

Their physical form was a smooth, oval-shaped gemstone.

Billions of years ago, before all recorded history of time, the Infinity Stones originated as a single entity—a solitary existence.

They were a conscious existence that possessed endless power.

The Infinity Stones were divided into six gems, each controlling one aspect: space, time, reality, power, mind, and soul.

Each stone contained the power of a fundamental rule.

Within the stones existed not only infinite energy, but also the laws themselves.

However, extracting those rules, transforming them into knowledge, and making them one's own was extremely difficult.

The reason was that each stone possessed its own consciousness. Using them required paying a price.

Simply put, whether using the stones or obtaining knowledge from them, there was always a cost.

This was the side effect of using the Infinity Stones.

Odin, the King of Asgard, had once collected the Infinity Stones. In ancient times, he learned of their existence and spared no effort in attempting to gather them.

He successfully obtained the Space Stone.

He even had the Dwarf King create the Infinity Gauntlet as a vessel for the Stones. However, when he attempted to obtain the Soul Stone, he discovered that gaining it required sacrificing the person he loved most—a sacrifice he could not make.

He understood that he would never be able to possess all six Infinity Stones, so he abandoned the idea.

This was also one of the reasons his daughter Hela later accused him of becoming hypocritical.

Matthew had borrowed the Time Stone from the Ancient One, but he never truly expected to gain control over the power of time.

He simply wanted to see whether it was even possible.

After all, mastering rule-based powers such as time and space would greatly increase his own strength.

Unfortunately, the attempt failed.

The moment he touched the stone, it gave him an indescribably strange feeling.

Originally, abusing the Time Stone would create extremely serious causal paradoxes, causing timelines to collapse or reality to tear apart. The Ancient One had once said that if you toyed with time, time would toy with you.

In other words, interfering with time would sacrifice the future. Once the stability of the real world collapsed, repairing it would require several times the effort.

This was the result based on the Sacred Timeline.

However, the future timeline had already changed because of Matthew, causing the Time Stone's effects to deviate.

Although it had not lost its original functions.

Matthew had used the Time Stone to glimpse the future.

The result could only be described as bizarre.

He saw countless futures—various destructions and countless resets—but the one thing he never saw was Matthew or Terra.

Yes—the future shown by the Time Stone was still based on the original timeline.

Those futures had simply become countless branches that no longer contained Matthew or Terra.

Even the original Sacred Timeline had become just another branch.

It had no reference value at all.

Matthew found this extremely strange.

At first, he suspected that his appearance had allowed the universe to continue operating smoothly because of the system, or that the supreme existence known as One Above All had noticed him and intervened.

However, the future he saw through the Time Stone made him feel that his suspicions might not be correct.

Could it be that the timeline Matthew existed in was itself merely one branch among countless possible futures?

The thought nearly overloaded Matthew's mind.

Indeed, the more you learned, the more confused you became.

Forget it.

Matthew simply decided not to think about it anymore.

Things had already become this way. All he could do was take things one step at a time.

His goal would not change.

As for the Time Stone, he decisively returned it to the Ancient One.

The stone's abilities were not weak.

In fact, they were extremely powerful.

But for the current Matthew, its usefulness was limited.

In fact, the Ancient One herself no longer placed much importance on the Time Stone.

At most, she treated it as a fishing tool.

After the consequences of timeline collapse were no longer a concern, the Ancient One stopped caring about the original timeline.

Originally, it was meant to be passed on to her disciple, Doctor Stephen Strange.

After Thanos arrived, he would gather the six Infinity Stones and create a cosmic-level crisis.

But now, the Ancient One no longer cared about any of that.

What crisis?

If Thanos had the ability, he was welcome to come to Earth and take it.

As long as he dared to show up, the Ancient One wouldn't hesitate to beat him to a pulp.

The Ancient One had disliked someone like Thanos for a long time.

Although she devoted herself to pursuing a broader universe and greater knowledge, her mindset had already surpassed that of ordinary humans, that did not mean she lacked compassion.

She could see the essence of all things in the universe. She understood that death and rebirth were part of a cycle, and that both natural death and violent death were part of the cycle of fate.

But Thanos had gone too far. He could not even be described as a butcher—he was more like the scythe of death itself.

For countless years, he had slaughtered one race after another, claiming it was for the balance of the universe. Then he would kill half and spare half, using that as proof of his so-called fairness.

In reality, it was complete nonsense. The universe would never be destroyed simply because population growth caused resources to decline too quickly.

Thanos was merely using an excuse and justification to slaughter life for his own selfish desires.

The only reason Thanos had been held back by the timeline was because he feared the existence of the Ancient One and Odin. Because of them, he had delayed his plan to collect the Infinity Stones and did not dare come to Earth.

As long as the Ancient One remained alive, Thanos would never dare casually come to Earth.

At most, he would send some so-called cannon fodder to test the situation, probing to see when the Ancient One would die.

If the Ancient One encountered someone like that, she would definitely beat him down.

Now that she was no longer restricted by the timeline, the Ancient One had even discussed with Matthew the idea of going into space and giving Thanos a beating.

In the end, she did not do so because she still had to fulfill her responsibilities as the Sorcerer Supreme.

After all, finding Thanos somewhere in the vast universe was not a simple matter.

So the Ancient One simply decided to use the Time Stone as bait and let Matthew deal with Thanos.

The number one supporter was truly devious. Matthew thought, having experienced it firsthand. Fortunately, she was on his side.

That day, when Matthew went to Kamar-Taj to return the Time Stone, he brought Wanda along.

Over the past three months, the little witch's growth rate had been so staggering that Needy and Mordo had nothing left to teach her.

Needy had been left awestruck and envious, while Jennifer was left biting her knuckles in jealousy. Jennifer was stubborn and wore her competitive nature on her sleeve, whereas Needy was quietly resilient, working hard behind the scenes.

Jennifer bore no real ill will toward Wanda; she was just fiercely competitive.

When it came to magical talent, she had always believed that she and Needy, the twin stars, were the strongest.

After all, she was the captain of the Grey Knight Warband.

Yet Wanda had only joined for a few months and had already surpassed both of them, dealing Jennifer a major blow.

Because of this, Jennifer had even stopped using astral projection to watch shows and television. She devoted all her time to studying magic.

Unfortunately, the difference between people could sometimes be greater than the difference between humans and dogs.

While Jennifer was still dreaming of reaching Rome, the little witch had already arrived in Rome and was riding a horse through the streets.

Wanda's magical ability was only slightly weaker than Matthew's.

Across the entire Earth, she ranked third, behind only the Ancient One and Matthew.

Of course, her accumulated knowledge might still be inferior to that of the hidden ancient witch, Agatha.

Therefore, Matthew left the young witch in the Ancient One's care. A talent like hers needed a good teacher to guide her.

Meeting the legendary Sorcerer Supreme for the first time, Wanda was slightly overwhelmed. Fortunately, the Ancient One's calm and gentle presence quickly eased the tension in her heart.

"What you need is a deeper understanding of knowledge, Wanda. Wong will take you to the Kamar-Taj library. There, you can borrow magical books and study them. Just like your Emperor, when you encounter doubts, you may come and ask me."

The Ancient One was equally straightforward. She had Wong take Wanda to the Kamar-Taj library.

The approach was simple: let her develop freely.

After leaving Wanda at Kamar-Taj, Matthew returned to Terra.

There, he met with Reacher and Natasha, the Empire's Supreme Commanders.

During the three months of his absence, Terra had continued developing at an incredible pace, and neither Reacher nor Natasha had relaxed their training.

From the moment he saw them, Matthew could tell that both had advanced their Conqueror's Haki to an advanced level.

They had even mastered the technique of coating their attacks with Conqueror's Haki.

Inside the manor villa specially built for Matthew in the capital, Reacher made a request after the meeting began.

"You want to go to Hell?" Matthew raised an eyebrow.

Reacher nodded. "Yes. The first batch of warriors has accumulated enough from their training. They need a true war to stimulate their potential. Hell is currently the best choice."

A warrior could not rely solely on closed-door training.

Long periods of intense training could indeed lead to growth, but they also required high-level battles.

Only a true life-and-death struggle could release the potential accumulated within the body to the greatest extent.

This applied not only to the body, but also to the mind.

War was the best catalyst for transformation.

At present, there were basically no wars on Earth that required the deployment of the three legions.

Even sending out a single legion would already be excessive.

"Is Juggernaut not cutting it anymore?" Matthew asked back.

Natasha offered a helpless smile. "Juggernaut can still work, but there are too many of our people now. With one-on-one battles, it takes too long before someone gets their turn. Blackheart is the same."

The three warbands were no longer the same as before.

Even when they consisted of only the Astartes and the Raven Guard, their numbers had already exceeded a thousand.

Now, with the second batch of recruits having graduated and successfully joined their ranks, the three warbands numbered more than six thousand soldiers.

Having only the Juggernaut and Blackheart was simply no longer enough.

Moreover, training against the Juggernaut and Blackheart, while extremely effective, was fundamentally different from the kind of war Reacher was talking about.

It was a true battle of life and death.

A battle where blood would be spilled.

Juggernaut couldn't be killed, and neither could Blackheart.

Fighting opponents who could not die could only temper physical strength and combat experience. It did little to forge the mind.

To prepare for possible large-scale wars in the future, the three warbands needed real combat experience.

An imperial army needed to kill, to be stained with blood, and to temper its resolve through true warfare.

With Natasha's brief explanation, Matthew understood instantly. "Where do you plan to strike?"

"Limbo."

"Limbo? Looks like your goal is not simply training soldiers."

After hearing the name from Natasha, Matthew immediately realized that Reacher and Natasha's purpose was not so simple.

As expected, Reacher explained their true intentions.

He sat upright, displaying the posture of a true soldier.

After receiving the serum, his level of life had continuously improved, making him appear younger. As the Empire's Supreme Commander, he also possessed an imposing presence worthy of his position.

His pressure was overwhelming.

"According to intelligence from Kamar-Taj, the current Limbo is controlled by a demon named Belasco. Under his command is an extremely large army."

"We need to wage war against him to temper ourselves. Secondly, Limbo is a very special place. As a pocket universe, it connects to other Hell dimensions. Whoever controls the authority of Limbo can essentially create a warrior with the level of power possessed by a Hell Lord."

"As a battlefield for trials, controlling Limbo will also allow us to obtain more information about Hell and even other dimensions."

Reacher's true goal was to seize territory. However, this kind of territorial expansion had to be carried out through a very gradual process.

This war did not require Matthew, the Emperor of Terra, to participate.

The three warbands had to accomplish it themselves.

Reacher understood very clearly that as the Supreme Emperor, Matthew's strength was tied to the stability of Terra.

But the three warbands were also part of Terra's foundation.

They could not rely on the Emperor forever.

They needed to become stronger on their own.

Especially if a Great Crusade happened in the future, the strength of the warbands themselves would be essential.

The main purpose of this strategy was preparation for the future.

He had discussed it with Natasha, Needy, and the other senior officers of the warbands. It was not some impulsive decision made on a whim.

Reacher wasn't bloodthirsty, and like Natasha, he understood that war inevitably brought sacrifice.

Soldiers from the three warbands would surely fall, yet he chose to move forward nonetheless—all for Terra, and all for the future..

This war had to happen—for resources, intelligence, and control over Limbo.

Now, the timing was mature.

The three warbands had already grown strong enough.

They were ready for war.

Reacher explained everything clearly, and Matthew understood why he insisted on fighting.

He did not reject the plan.

What surprised Matthew was that Reacher had chosen Limbo.

The name Limbo did not seem particularly impressive in this universe.

However, it was the birthplace of two relatively famous figures: Belasco and Magik, Illyana Rasputina.

Belasco was a thirteenth-century sorcerer who gained immense mystical power and immortality through a deal with an elder god.

He became something resembling a demon and eventually became the father and ruler of a new demon race.

This old monster was one of the most powerful sorcerers on Earth.

He possessed extensive knowledge of dark magic, and especially while ruling Limbo, he had the ability to shape and transform matter and resurrect beings at will.

The special nature of Limbo was that it was not merely a pocket universe.

It was also an amplification container.

No matter who it was, as long as they controlled its authority, they possessed the key to its amplification power.

In other words, within Limbo, as long as Belasco was willing, he could unleash power on the level of a Hell Lord.

This was also why other Hell Lord had not attempted to consume Limbo.

Within Limbo, Belasco was almost invincible.

Of course, it was only almost.

The reason was Magik, Illyana Rasputina.

Magik was a mutant and also the younger sister of Colossus.

However, when she was seven years old, she was kidnapped by Belasco and taken to Limbo.

Belasco valued the supreme magical talent hidden within Magik.

But Belasco was not some benevolent teacher who had discovered a gifted student.

On the contrary, his goal was extremely typical of a dark sorcerer.

He intended to cultivate her into the perfect sacrifice for an elder god, using her to obtain greater power and break free from the restrictions placed on him after being banished to Limbo by ancient gods.

He also intended to completely corrupt her soul and use it for himself.

Belasco systematically taught her dark magic.

This was not only to improve the quality of his sacrifice, but also to gradually erode her will.

His ultimate goal was to refine the five parts of her soul into bloodstones, turning her into a pure evil tool to serve his plans of domination for the elder gods.

He needed her to grow into her strongest state, yet he never intended to let her survive after completing the ritual.

It was the perfect example of the extreme selfishness and arrogance of demons.

However, although his plan was excellent, he was ultimately killed by Magik.

The genius Magik stabbed Belasco to death with a single sword strike, seized his authority, and became the Queen of Limbo.

The moment Magik took control of Limbo, she alarmed Dormammu, Mephisto, and many other dimensional entities, causing them to urgently hold a meeting to discuss her.

Magik's position sometimes directly rivaled Hell Lords like Mephisto.

She had even defeated Dormammu twice.

Her strength was undeniable.

If one kept stacking dimensions and layers of power, she might have even surpassed the single-universe level and reached the multiversal level.

Of course, the true extent of this scaling remained uncertain.

At present, however, Belasco was still alive, while Magik was quietly growing stronger and waiting for the chance to strike back.

Regardless, Reacher choosing Limbo was indeed an excellent trial ground.

"Very well. Proceed according to your plan," Matthew agreed. He was eager to see what kind of waves Reacher and Natasha would stir up.

Reacher and Natasha exchanged a smile, knowing Matthew would approve. The two then took their leave to begin the preliminary planning and deployment for the upcoming war.

Reacher and Natasha exchanged a smile, knowing Matthew would approve. The two then took their leave to begin the preliminary planning and deployment for the upcoming war.

The attack on Limbo had been decided, but the preparations would still require some time.

However, just after the strategy had been finalized...

The Ancient One came looking for him.

The moment she saw Matthew sitting on the sofa in the luxurious and spacious living room, the Ancient One did not bother with formalities. She sat down beside him and said with some helplessness,

"After finally getting a few days of rest, you immediately start another conflict."

"I can't exactly extinguish the enthusiasm of the Empire's two highest Commanders, Sorcerer Supreme." Matthew smiled and waved his hand, allowing the servants to bring the Ancient One a cup of steaming milk coffee.

He had never liked drinking tea.

Perhaps he was simply not old enough yet.

The Ancient One accepted the drink, took a sip, and then placed the coffee cup on the glass table in front of her.

"Your war will easily cause disturbances in Hell. It may even involve Heaven."

The Ancient One deliberately mentioned Heaven.

This universe had both Hell and Heaven.

Hell and Heaven were opposing forces, but compared to the traditional concepts of light and darkness, justice and evil, the conflict between Heaven and Hell in this universe was much simpler.

It was simply a struggle over territory, resources, souls, and other interests.

They could be viewed almost like two nations.

In ancient times, Hell and Heaven fought for countless years. Countless lives were lost, yet neither side achieved victory.

Eventually, both sides signed a non-aggression agreement.

Of course, that agreement was no different from a blank piece of paper.

The moment war began, either side could tear it apart at any time.

The forces of Heaven had also coveted Earth.

However, they were driven back by the combined efforts of the Sorcerer Supreme of that era and the Masters of the Mystic Arts.

As a result, only legends and beliefs about angels remained on Earth, while no true angels ever descended—not because they could not, but because they did not dare.

The Ancient One and Odin were not mere figureheads. They were the two pillars holding everything together.

If the angels dared to invade, then even setting the Ancient One aside, Odin alone was capable of leading an army against Heaven.

In fact, Odin even seemed to have some unresolved history with Heaven.

Although he had grown old, the closer he came to death, the quieter everyone else became.

They feared that the irritable old man might decide to go out with a bang and drag them all down with him.

"They need blood. I do not know how many wars will appear in the future, and neither do you, Sorcerer Supreme. All we can do is prepare before it happens."

Matthew agreed with Reacher's way of thinking.

As for the consequences that might result, he did not care.

Matthew was no longer someone that could be casually bullied.

After three months of consolidation, Matthew's level of existence had once again undergone a leap.

In terms of physical strength alone, he had already surpassed six thousand tons of force.

That was an absurd number.

Simply judging by raw power, he could currently suppress and beat down Thanos in his present state.

Beyond that, his development of the Glint-Glint Fruit and the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, his mastery of the three types of Haki, and his magical achievements had all reached another level.

Matthew believed that unless someone on Odin's level appeared, he could give any other Skyfather-level being or Hell Lord a very unpleasant surprise.

"I truly don't know whether I should say you are overly cautious."

The Ancient One laughed helplessly.

She could tell this was not arrogance.

It was excessive caution.

For the sake of a series of possible threats that might appear in the distant future, Matthew and all of Terra had kept themselves constantly prepared.

The Ancient One now even felt a little sympathy for the future enemies Matthew might face.

When those above set the example, those below naturally followed.

If those people truly provoked Matthew, suffering a setback would be the mildest outcome they could hope for.

"Looks like I need to keep a closer eye on Dormammu. You should also pay more attention. Dormammu will not let this opportunity slip by."

The Ancient One took on the responsibility of being Matthew's number one supporter.

Matthew's eyes flashed, and he immediately thought of Parker, who had disappeared without a trace and still had not been found.

He nodded. "I understand."

The Ancient One had come specifically to warn him.

Seeing that Matthew remained as cautious and thorough as ever, she was satisfied and took her leave.

Before departing, she also gave Matthew an anchor point connected to Limbo, since opening a portal would require crossing dimensions.

It was not something that could be done simply by thinking of a random destination. Even if a portal could be opened, its destination could still deviate from the intended location.

Having an anchor point for precise positioning was naturally the best option.

The Ancient One had considered everything for Matthew, and he found himself moved once again. She truly was the perfect guardian-like figure.

Matthew silently resolved that he would one day replace Eternity's role and become the greatest support behind the bald sorcerer.

And with that decision made...

Most of Terra's ordinary citizens remained unaffected. The soldiers of the three warbands, however, had already heard the news.

An atmosphere of tension and killing intent instantly put every soldier on alert.

They could smell war in the air.

The soldiers felt no fear.

No anxiety.

Only burning excitement.

...

"Hey, Skye, do you feel it? The atmosphere has seemed really tense lately."

Inside the training base, after a morning of training, Skye wore a specially made gray tank top and shorts. A towel hung around her neck as she headed toward the bathhouse, preparing to enjoy a relaxing hot bath.

The massive bathhouse could accommodate more than a thousand people.

There were many pools inside.

Each pool was extremely spacious, and a dedicated filtration system had been installed, keeping the hot water constantly circulating.

Skye had just stripped off her clothes and stepped into the pool, leaning against the edge to enjoy the soothing heat, when a completely naked Jessica came running over in excitement.

...

Read Advanced Chapters on : /cw/OblivionTL

~ Every 100 PS = Bonus Chapter!

~ Push the Story forward with your [Power Stones]