In the majestic and resplendent Phoenix Cosmos.
Countless stars twinkle.
The phantom of the Phoenix looms amidst the countless stars, its eyes, one known as the Mind Gemstone, continuously emitting a ghostly yellow light, aiding Hawk in comprehending the Seventh Sense at all times.
As his understanding of the Seventh Sense deepens, his Little Cosmos continually expands.
As his Little Cosmos continually expands, he draws ever closer to the Eighth Sense.
The second eye of the Phoenix, known as the Reality Gemstone, continually emits a deep red light, helping Hawk constantly manifest the current power of his Little Cosmos.
Above the Little Cosmos is the Time Galaxy that Hawk has formed, spanning the entire cosmos after retracting his own time.
Above the Time Galaxy.
Hawk stands suspended, looking down at his own time river, trying to figure out what has happened.
His time runs parallel to the current cosmic time, diverging from the past, and then branching from the present.
At first, Hawk thought there was a change in the timeline.
But...
His time has not changed at all.
It is the cosmos's time river that has changed.
The time river has branched.
Yes.
Branched.
If the previous time river was a straight line moving forward, then now, the time river looks like an undulating electrocardiogram, first going up, then down.
Hawk found this jolting node.
Calculating the time, it was when Doctor Strange reversed time to restore the damaged Hong Kong Island.
But...
Indeed, the fluctuation was produced at the moment of Doctor Strange's time reversal, but not because of Doctor Strange reversing time.
Rather, it was because of Kamar-Taj.
To be precise, at the moment Doctor Strange restored time, Kamar-Taj in Hong Kong Island had already collapsed.
Although Kamar-Taj was restored by Doctor Strange, its destruction had already become a past event.
Simply put.
Kamar-Taj Hall in Hong Kong Island was indeed destroyed, but after being destroyed, it was swiftly restored by Doctor Strange.
But Kamar-Taj in Hong Kong Island was indeed destroyed, and at that moment, the time fluctuation was produced.
"Hiss, wasn't it Doctor Strange's reversed timeline?"
"Of course not!"
"..."
Hawk, listening to the voice that rang in his ears, looked toward the direction the voice came from.
Then…
The golden light nearly blinded his eyes.
Hawk looked at the newcomer and opened his mouth.
"Supreme Mage?"
"No."
Wearing Golden Holy Armor, seemingly projecting directly from the future to illuminate before him, The Ancient One's voice was calm: "The Supreme Mage died three hours ago; the current Ancient One is the Ancient One guarding the Zodiac's Sixth Palace."
Hawk's mouth twitched.
"I remember I gave you the position of God of Time."
"Yes."
The Ancient One, flashing in Virgo's Golden Holy Armor, shrugged: "But in my timeline, you seem to have forgotten to relieve me of my position in the Zodiac, but I seriously suspect you want me to work two jobs, perhaps to teach your children how to become a qualified Golden Saint Warrior, for free."
Hawk's face turned serious: "Ancient One, I have always respected you, and I absolutely have no intention of taking advantage of you."
After speaking.
He directly changed the subject.
"What the heck is going on."
"I thought you already knew."
The Ancient One said as he drifted beside Hawk, looking at Hawk's Time Galaxy, his gaze fixed on the future in Hawk's time, still flickering seductively like a captivating siren, tempting Hawk to take a look.
"It's a time trap."
"I know."
Hawk, following the Ancient One's gaze, snorted with a smile: "If I looked, my time would never transcend."
If he looked at the future arranged for him by the Marvel Main Cosmos, then, his life and death would no longer be up to him!
The Ancient One nodded: "The Three Holy Halls of Kamar-Taj are used to suppress the Earth's timeline's stability and to let Earth's time fall into the main time of the cosmos. But when Kamar-Taj's Three Holy Halls were destroyed, Earth's time also merged into the main time of the cosmos..."
Upon hearing this, Hawk hurriedly raised his hand.
"Wait, isn't Earth's time in the Main Cosmos's time?"
"In my hands, no. Now, yes."
The Ancient One spoke calmly; even after donning the Golden Holy Armor, his voice was no different from during his time as Supreme Mage: "In my hands, Earth's time was something that could not be changed in the past, otherwise, why do you think Doctor Strange can reverse time."
Hawk, listening to this, raised an eyebrow.
The Ancient One smiled serenely, his right hand instantly brushing over before him, and in a flash, a projected time river appeared.
"On the main cosmos, Earth is called Terra Star, but before that, it was called Midgard."
"And Midgard belongs to the World Tree Parallel Cosmos."
"When Odin unified the Nine Realms, the time trap of the Main Cosmos also set its sights on Odin, and Odin got caught."
"Midgard never fell from the World Tree by itself."
"Instead, Odin made a deal with time to obtain a vision of the future, and then he saw the Twilight of the Gods prepared for him by time."
"Odin also realized, but it was too late."
"He saw the future Twilight of the Gods, and the Twilight of the Gods became the destined past."
"The Twilight of the Gods will commence at the moment Midgard's time merges into the Main Cosmos."
"At the moment when Midgard's time merges into the Main Cosmos, the Twilight of the Gods gears prepared by time for Odin will turn."
"After the Twilight of the Gods, when Asgard shatters, the time of the World Tree Cosmos will also merge into the time of the Main Cosmos, becoming one among the many in the Main Multiverse."
"Thus, Odin tried every means possible to delay the arrival of the Twilight of the Gods."
"He attempted to prevent Midgard's time from merging into the Main Cosmos."
"Therefore, at the moment Midgard fell, while its time remained in the World Tree, as the Main God of the World Tree Cosmos, Odin, the King of Gods, at the final moment, allowed the birth of the Elder God lineage in Midgard."
"The Almighty Oshite, the All-seeing Agamotto, the Ancient Hoggs -- these are the Trinity God Emperor Vishanti."
"Emperor Vishanti built three Kamar-Taj Time Halls on Earth, and at the cost of their own existence, they vowed that the three Time Halls would never fall, that Earth's time would always remain independent within the Main Cosmos."
"Henceforward, every Supreme Mage takes maintaining time as their duty."
"Moreover, a rule was established: the past cannot be changed, the future cannot be foreseen."
"But..."
"Kulan Gas, the third Supreme Mage, an evil mage, murdered the second Supreme Mage. Tempted by time, he broke the rule that the future cannot be foreseen and saw the time of the destruction of the three Kamar-Taj Time Halls."
"Then..."
"Bang!"
As The Ancient One recounted, with a gentle touch, the three Time Halls collapsed instantly, and the time of Earth that was independent of the river of time merged into the time of the Main Cosmos.
Then.
Doctor Strange activated the Time Gemstone, reversing the flow of time.
"How did the Main Cosmos come to have numerous Multiverses."
"Isn't it at any node, making any choice, thereby spawning different futures?"
"Thus..."
"The rule that the past cannot be changed was also entirely invalidated after Earth's time merged into the time of the Main Cosmos."
"..."
Hawk listened to The Ancient One's 'Time Class,' opened his mouth, looking at The Ancient One: "Can you explain it in one sentence?"
Time stuff is most annoying.
That's why he prefers an unknown future to a known future, for yet another reason.
It's simple.
No need to think, just charge ahead.
How does the saying go.
Ignorance is sometimes the best happiness.
Hawk always wanted to be a happy person, but fate wouldn't allow it, forcing him on the path to strength.
Still the same saying.
If his sister hadn't had an accident that year, he wouldn't have been led astray by grief, allowing the wayward system to locate him, and then he'd acquired the Little Cosmos Cultivation Method.
So...
The Ancient One smiled, merging Earth's time that had been independent of the Main Cosmos with it, then looked at Hawk.
"You think altering the past is just creating a branch?"
"Isn't it?"
"That's not how time operates."
"When Earth's time merges into the Main Cosmos, not only does it produce a new future, but also a new past."
"New Future."
"New Past."
"And in this newly created past time, there is no Peter Parker..."
"At least not the Peter Parker you know."
"..."
Hawk listened to The Ancient One's argument about 'New Future, New Past,' furrowing his brow, then heard this sentence and raised his brow.
"What do you mean by 'no Peter Parker I know'?"
"I should get going."
The Ancient One smiled slightly: "Time is urging me to leave."
Hawk frowned.
"Your time should belong to the Phoenix Cosmos now, and you are the God of Time, so who's urging you, Phoenix Time itself? Has it gained self-awareness?"
"No, it's the rules I set to prevent those New Gods from recklessly tampering with timelines."
"New Gods..."
Hawk furrowed his brow even tighter.
"Absurd, are timelines for them to meddle with? How could I possibly ordain these uncouth New Gods, damn it, what am I doing, these New Gods playing with time should be..."
"They are your children with Gwen."
The Ancient One's voice was gentle.
Hawk's sharp brow lifted, his anger immediately vanished, and he awkwardly touched his nose, much like a parent called to the principal's office, hesitant to meet the eyes of the teacher, The Ancient One.
"They are too mischievous, Gwen, being so playful, isn't she disciplining them?"
"She is."
"And then?"
"You said children being mischievous is normal; besides, if the timeline is messed up, the God of Time can fix it, no big deal."
"..."