It's been half a month since returning from the Cosmos.
During these days, Hawk spent time with Gwen, going through the post-honeymoon routines after their marriage, while not forgetting his own matters.
The Eighth Sense!
Although he said he wouldn't force it anymore upon his return.
In fact, that was indeed the case.
But this thing is like when you're looking for your keys at home, sometimes you search desperately, yet can't find where you've misplaced them.
But when you stop looking, suddenly, unpredictably, the keys you couldn't find appear right in front of you.
It's like turning your head and seeing someone just there at that dim light.
Hawk felt this way yesterday.
The Eighth Sense is no longer something you can comprehend by charging blindly or creating behind closed doors.
He needs dialogue.
Dialogue with gods.
Such a god isn't one like Mephisto, who isn't considered a god but a Dimension God, nor is it a god like Ego, who has life but isn't worthy of it.
But a true god!
Main God.
Fortunately.
There happens to be a god on Earth right now.
After suddenly getting the feeling yesterday, Hawk immediately went to the 'Shady Sanatorium' in Manhattan.
This is also where Odin resided upon coming to Earth.
But...
He was late.
The patients in the Shady Sanatorium had already been discharged, waiting for the construction team to come in and dismantle the place entirely.
As the Main God, even one whose time is counting down, Odin is not someone Hawk can easily track down.
But no worries.
Someone knows Odin's whereabouts.
Doctor Strange.
So!
Hawk had been planning to finish today's commitments and then visit Doctor Strange to ask about Odin's whereabouts.
Unexpectedly...
Before he could visit Doctor Strange, Doctor Strange had already reached out to him.
Convenient.
Although Doctor Strange had promised Odin tranquility when helping find him a new place.
But it depends on the person.
If he hadn't seen Hawk's past, Doctor Strange would surely have said,
"Don't even think about it!"
But now?
Doctor Strange, meeting Hawk's gaze, hesitated for a moment, then erased the teleportation gate leading to the backyard of Palm Street No. 521A, before forming a new one with a gesture, leading to a scenic plain in Norway.
In sight.
Odin stood on the other side of the teleportation gate, on a grassy cliff facing the sea, in a spring-like scenery.
Seeing Doctor Strange so openly open the teleportation gate like that, Hawk raised an eyebrow, thought of a movie scene, and looked at Doctor Strange.
"Don't you need to take a sample of my hair?"
"...No need."
Doctor Strange was taken aback, then said as much.
He did want to.
But he dared not try.
What if a single hair sample led to his demise?
Doctor Strange thought to himself, eager to send Hawk on his way as soon as possible.
"Goodbye, Mr. Phoenix."
"...Goodbye."
Hawk, noticing Doctor Strange's eagerness to send him off, chuckled, bid farewell, and stepped towards the teleportation gate leading to Odin. After taking a step through,
Doctor Strange, without hesitation, waved his hands to erase the traces of the teleportation gate, breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked at Wang beside him.
"You never told me he was so terrifying."
"What?"
Wang, slightly confused, looked at Doctor Strange, who seemed to be tossing a black pot his way, and said, somewhat speechlessly, "Mr. Phoenix is a friend of the Supreme Mage, not mine. But, what on earth did you do? Why's there so much sweat on your forehead."
Doctor Strange rolled his eyes and told Wang about what he saw in Hawk's past, which could be described as 'the rise of the Demon King'.
Listening to Doctor Strange's account, Wang's mouth gradually opened, turning into an O shape.
Watching Wang's expression, Doctor Strange was puzzled.
"Wait, you didn't know?"
"Of course, I didn't."
Wang snapped back, speaking righteously to Doctor Strange: "He's a friend of the Supreme Mage and a guest of Kamar-Taj, and whenever he visits with his wife, he's always treated me well. I've always thought he was a scholarly hermit mage."
The Supreme Mage isn't someone who enjoys gossiping.
Nor is Wang.
So regarding Hawk's background, Wang only knew Hawk's power was immense, powerful enough to borrow the Time Gemstone at will, and the Supreme Mage wasn't at all worried about Hawk not returning it.
So Wang's understanding of Hawk was limited to being mysterious and powerful.
But now?
After listening to Doctor Strange's account of Hawk's past timeline, Wang looked at Doctor Strange as if seeing a hero once again.
"Stephen, I told you before, when facing those mysterious powerhouses, we should be humble. You should be thankful that Mr. Phoenix is friendly with us at Kamar-Taj."
"I know."
Doctor Strange, for the second time, rolled his eyes at the words left by the Supreme Mage to advisor Wang before his death, inevitably ending the topic.
Norway!
Geiranger Village.
This is the place where Odin has chosen to retire on Earth.
After stepping through the teleportation gate, Hawk turned to glance at the gate behind him that had disappeared in an instant, chuckled, then looked forward at Odin standing on the cliff.
At this moment, Odin was wearing nothing more than a simple brown robe, appearing like an ordinary wandering old man, without any trace of the aura of a Main God.
But...
A dying tiger is the most terrifying.
Similarly.
A Main God nearing extinction, in the final stages of life, is equally terrifying.
To put it vividly—
A Great Saint with not much lifespan remaining.
Thinking this, Hawk took a step forward and stopped about ten steps away from Odin.
"God King Odin!"
"..."
Admiring the sea and clouds before him, Odin, who had his back to Hawk, moved slightly and then slowly turned around.
Devoid of the God King's Battle Armor, Odin looked frail with a grizzled beard, though the expression in his single eye still held the wisdom and calm of a Main God.
Odin spoke, his voice carrying a slight raspiness.
"Midgard has fallen into the time currents of this cosmos, and the gears of the Twilight of the Gods have begun to turn."
"..."
Hawk, hearing this, did not respond immediately but looked at Odin, somewhat curious: "How did you fall into the time trap back then?"
One can learn from the experiences of others.
Though Hawk felt his self-control was sufficient, even to the point of shutting out the continuous enticement of time upon him.
But...
Time is the most troubling thing.
Bar none!
So, Hawk pondered, he could learn from others' lessons to avoid falling into the same trap.
As everyone knows.
The same trick is ineffective against the Saint Warriors.
The same goes for traps.
He already knew how The Ancient One fell into the time trap.
The Ancient One told him personally.
The story was long.
Simply put.
The pursuit of advancement is an instinct possessed by every intelligent being.
A fox relies on a tiger, bluffing others with the might of the tiger, isn't that also a form of progress?
The Ancient One was no different.
As the most outstanding Supreme Mage Kamar-Taj ever had, The Ancient One was destined for fame from a young age, and already at the Extraordinary Peak, naturally reflected on advancing further.
Because of the second Kajmar-Taj mage, even though Earth was destined to fall into the time currents of the Main Cosmos.
Yet Emperor Vishanti sold out and killed the second mage; though the mage died, Emperor Vishanti, due to the backlash of time, was heavily wounded and fell asleep.
To this day, Emperor Vishanti is still asleep.
In this situation, The Ancient One, unable to draw from the wisdom of predecessors, naturally turned her gaze toward the Time Gemstone in the pursuit of progress.
If she couldn't rely on the past, why not rely on the power of the future?
Though The Ancient One then knew the future was not objective.
But...
The Ancient One believed herself to be extraordinarily gifted, capable of promptly identifying the time trap and preventing herself from falling into it.
Then The Ancient One was caught.
Afterward, The Ancient One sought change, borrowing from the Dark Dimension, attempting to use the forces of darkness to combat the arrival of the time trap.
Ultimately, The Ancient One was astonished to discover something.
In the time trap, she had not borrowed from the darkness, yet after borrowing, her past and future had changed, but the outcome remained unchanged.
"Yes."
Listening to Hawk's narration, Odin nodded with a calm expression.
"You may try to change, but cannot change the destined outcome."
"And you?"
Seeing Odin speak, Hawk brought the topic back: "How did you fall into the time trap?"
With his mouth opened, Odin chuckled softly.
"Like The Ancient One, to become stronger."
"To become stronger!"
"Yes."
Odin nodded, his expression calm: "In those years, after conquering the Nine Realms, ambitious, I severed Midgard, causing it to fall into this cosmos, hoping to use it as a springboard to devour this cosmos, but it was a conspiracy. Ever since God King Zeus transcended time, the Eternal of time no longer wished to see a cosmos beyond their control."
Hawk raised a questioning eyebrow.
"The Ancient One also mentioned that Zeus is the only God King to transcend time."
"Zeus was very clever."
Though Zeus was promiscuous, whimsical, and even unscrupulous, one cannot deny he was the most competent among the divine spirits.
When he wasn't in power, Zeus, like an ancient ancestor, coaxed Hades and Poseidon into joining hands to share dominion, castrating the then God King, severing his connection with the earth, returning him permanently to the sky.
But after claiming his achievements, Zeus instantly turned on them, banishing Hades to the Netherworld and Poseidon to the deep seas forever.
Therefore, by this standard, Zeus was an exemplary Main God.
However...
Zeus had nothing to do with this place though he could order the Celestial God Team to keep an eye it for him, it also meant he wouldn't interfere with the matters of this cosmos.
So!
Hawk looked at Odin.
"In all those years, did you not attempt to fight back?"
"..."