After a long while, Lifebringer seemed to finally make up his mind, and he said with a resolute expression, "Second Eternity, I wonder if you have recently ventured beyond everything."
The Creator shook his head, his expression still calm.
"I discovered a secret, or rather, someone told me a secret."
Lifebringer looked directly at the Creator, but after waiting for a long time, he did not hear the Creator ask, "What secret?"
"Eternity, the embodiment of all things, has been imprisoned."
Upon hearing this, the Creator's expression was no longer calm. The starlight around him began to flicker wildly the moment the Lifebringer's words sounded.
"What?! Are you sure, Galan? Who did it?"
"I don't know " Lifebringer shook his head.
He added, "I only stumbled upon this secret because Eternity ordered me to stop a group of humans heading beyond everything. Afterward, he ordered me to find out who the mastermind was and why they did it."
Saying this, the Lifebringer looked at the Creator and sincerely said, "Second Eternity, can you lend me a hand?"
The frequency of the starlight flickering around the Creator was still frantic. He did not respond to the Lifebringer for a long time, seemingly digesting the news.
A moment later, the frequency of the starlight flickering around the Creator slightly decreased, and he nodded slightly, saying, "Okay, I will also secretly investigate the mastermind."
"Thank you so much, Second Eternity." Lifebringer exhaled a long breath, as if to release a burden that had been pressing on him for a long time.
"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. I also need to go back and prepare well to investigate who imprisoned Eternity."
At this moment, the Creator proposed to leave, and the Lifebringer did not stop him.
Leaving Taa III and reuniting with Chthon and Set, the starlight around the Creator instantly disappeared, returning to its usual calm and unruffled appearance.
Chthon, however, had a somewhat strange expression, breathing heavily the air of reality, and occasionally letting out strange cries.
"You told the Second Eternity about my imprisonment?" A majestic yet weak and tired voice echoed in Tower Three.
The owner of the voice was Eternity, the embodiment of the Marvel world.
Lifebringer respectfully replied, "Yes, Eternity."
He explained, "I was worried I wouldn't be able to fulfill your entrustment, so I had no choice but to seek external help. Don't worry, I only told the Second Eternity."
Lifebringer believed he did not have the ability to bear such a heavy responsibility of finding the culprit. Anyone capable of imprisoning Eternity must possess power beyond everything, which he could not possibly contend with.
Eternity was silent for a while before speaking again, saying, "Galan, you should have gotten my permission first for such a matter."
Lifebringer explained, somewhat flustered, "I apologize. I tried to call you, but received no response, so I had no choice."
Eternity interrupted him, "I'm not blaming you, and you don't need to apologize to me. I'm just stating what should be. If I don't respond next time, just keep waiting."
"Yes."
Not only Lucas but also Chthon and Set had a holiday.
The complete annihilation of Ziran and Exitar, along with the Celestial team they led, thoroughly enraged the Celestials.
Especially the deaths of Ziran and Exitar.
Based on the messages they sent back before their deaths, the One Above All easily obtained a piece of information.
A powerful cosmic entity disguised as Knull, ambushed the Celestials.
This was a very ominous sign.
Could the instigator be without descendants?
Even this being, who stood at the pinnacle of the Marvel world, had many grievances against the Celestials.
What about the next-tier cosmic beings? Would they also imitate this powerful cosmic entity and ambush the Celestials?
For this, the One Above All had no choice but to awaken the slumbering Celestials.
This was the Celestials' strongest fighting force. He was the only Celestial capable of confronting those powerful cosmic entities.
Afterward, the Celestials almost entirely mobilized, searching and hunting the Dark Celestials everywhere, hoping to consolidate the Celestials' prestige in the Multiverse.
For a time, it was quite effective, and Chthon and Set avoided the limelight by hiding and no longer acting.
But who can be sure that this isn't just a temporary solution?
— — —
This morning, a little girl suddenly ran into Lucas's bookstore, saying that someone had entrusted her to return a book and specifically instructed her to hand it to the bookstore owner.
Lucas opened it with some doubt.
Wow, it was the darkhold.
Lucas flipped it open again, and it was exactly at the page he had previously turned to.
Undoubtedly, this was sent by Chthon.
As for why it was said to be a return, it was probably an apology.
A long time ago, the first time Lucas went to the Flickering Realm, he located it using the darkhold.
Afterward, Chthon destroyed Lucas's darkhold.
"Brother."
As Lucas was pondering, a voice sounded.
The little girl stared at Lucas without blinking, seemingly waiting for something.
"Is there anything else, kid?" Lucas asked with a smile.
The little girl's face immediately fell, even looking a little wronged.
Seeing this, Lucas became even more confused, and the little girl's expression grew even more wronged, her eyes gradually misting with tears.
Suddenly, Lucas had a flash of inspiration, took out 10 dollars, and handed it over. The little girl immediately burst into laughter, said thank you, and then skipped away.
Damn Chthon, he sent someone to deliver something but didn't tip first.
Somewhat exasperated, Lucas immediately activated the darkhold to contact Chthon and gave him a thorough scolding.
"I have something important. Very important."
Chthon said in a deep voice, but Lucas ignored him, still lecturing him about his unreliability.
"I fine you eight hundred billion units of energy." Lucas said angrily.
In a certain manor on Earth-404, Chthon's lips twitched.
Eight hundred billion? He didn't even have eight hundred!
So, Chthon could only let Lucas talk, while he talked.
"I discovered a secret, a huge secret. Eternity, the embodiment of all things, has been imprisoned."
"I'll fine you another eight hundred—Eternity has been imprisoned?! Who did it?"
"I don't know."
"Chthon, why are you telling me?" Lucas's face straightened, and he asked in a deep voice.
"Cooperation, I want to cooperate with you." Chthon immediately responded.
"Cooperation? How do we cooperate?" Lucas frowned slightly and asked.
"Take advantage of the chaos to hunt down cosmic entity embodiments and replace them." Chthon's voice sounded from the darkhold.
Even through the darkhold, Lucas could feel his ambition.
"But why should I cooperate with you? Also, how do you prove that your news is true?" Lucas narrowed his eyes and asked, probing Chthon's source of information.
When Lucas heard the news of Eternity's imprisonment, he believed it by seventy percent.
Due to Ikor's reminder, he had long known that a crisis sweeping the entire Marvel world was about to arrive.
Eternity's imprisonment was undoubtedly a huge crisis, consistent with the news he had received earlier.
"A keen mind perceives the subtle changes, Sorcerer Lucas, with your strength and status, surely you haven't noticed nothing?"
"If you still don't believe this news, you can find a way to verify it yourself. As for why I want to cooperate with you, it's naturally because I can help you."
"Oh, what can you help me with? Information? But I already know about Eternity's imprisonment." Lucas said playfully.
Chthon merely chuckled, unfazed. "Sorcerer Lucas, you should be very clear about what I can do for you, shouldn't you?"
"Sorry, I'm not clear."
Chthon: "..."
Chthon was silent for a moment before saying, "I can help you do things that are inconvenient for you to do, and provide you with the latest intelligence."
He paused, then added, "Chaos is a ladder, Sorcerer Lucas. If such a good opportunity is missed, it might be countless years before another appears."
Lucas's eyes flickered, and he chuckled, saying, "Okay, then let's meet and discuss it in detail."
Chthon fell silent again, indicating his refusal.
He would never actively seek out Lucas. Even if he had a vast domain, he couldn't withstand Lucas's mischief.
"Huh? Chthon, where's your home? Why is your home gone?"
On the other side, Lucas had already arrived at the coordinates where the Flickering Realm used to be.
However, the place was now empty, with only red matter surging in the Superflow.
"Or did you move? Why didn't you tell me? From where I am from, when you move, you notify friends so they can send their blessings."
Chthon remained silent, while Lucas continued to ask.
"Where's your new home? I'll go bring you some warmth."
"Sorcerer Lucas, let's talk about serious matters." Perhaps annoyed by Lucas's incessant chatter, Chthon finally spoke.
"Serious matters? Aren't we discussing serious matters? Moving is a big deal."
Lucas continued to joke around, while also trying to locate Chthon through the darkhold.
He and Chthon had more or less some grievances. With the Flickering Realm suddenly disappearing, he wouldn't be able to easily manipulate Chthon in the future.
After all, even a cornered rabbit bites, and Lucas wasn't a lone wolf.
Since Chthon dared to entrust the darkhold to Lucas, he naturally had some precautions. No matter how Lucas probed, he found it difficult to locate Chthon through the darkhold.
Helpless, Lucas had to temporarily give up.
During this time, the two also continued to talk past each other.
Lucas was educating Chthon about the joys of moving, while Chthon was self-importantly explaining the benefits of Lucas cooperating with him.
Ultimately, the conversation ended unhappily.
Lucas failed to locate Chthon, and Chthon failed to persuade him.
Returning to the bookstore, Lucas felt a headache coming on.
He wanted to contact the Creator to question why he helped Chthon escape without telling him, but after thinking about it, he decided against it.
His relationship with the Creator was a bit subtle, like allies but actually wary of each other.
The Creator said he would give Lucas 20% of the World Tree's energy, but it was only from future output, not including what had accumulated before.
Because of this, Lucas had been passively slacking off for various reasons.
Soon, Lucas no longer had a headache. He had only been in the Flickering Realm for a short while, but on Earth-404, more than half a day had passed, from morning to evening.
As dusk approached, Gwen and Wanda returned together.