Time Variance Authority

"Your existence had severely altered the Sacred Timeline, creating countless outcomes that should not have existed. At first, we thought you were another time criminal and were about to form a team to hunt you down, but then an order suddenly came from the highest level."

Apocalypse interrupted her. "Wait, the highest level? You mean the Time-Keepers?"

"Yes."

"May I ask, are the Time-Keepers one person? Or three?" Apocalypse asked, staring into the Black woman's eyes.

"Mr. Tang, you really do know! It is one person. Sigh... honestly, if not for your appearance, I would never have known that the Keeper was a single person. Those three figures were merely mechanical puppets."

In the timeline of Loki, Marvel's Loki had refused to be erased and joined forces with a female Loki fleeing from another timeline to resist the Time Variance Authority.

When they later broke into headquarters, they discovered that the three Time-Keepers presented to the public were merely three puppets.

If Loki had not arrived, the employees of the TVA might have remained deceived for countless eons.

"The Keeper feared you might misunderstand, so he personally appeared before me and told me his name was Kang!"

The Kang from the original plot had seemed somewhat eccentric and deranged, but that had only been an appearance.

Someone capable of suppressing the multiverse for countless eons, unifying the timelines, and forcing innumerable powerful beings to follow the temporal rules he established, unable to change their fates—how could he possibly be so simple?

It was like when the God King Odin was on Earth. Those who saw him would never have imagined how terrifying that frail old man truly was!

Yet even a powerhouse like Odin could only follow the Sacred Timeline. Even though Frigga had already seen Asgard's tragic fate, she neither dared nor could change it.

By comparison, one could imagine just how immense Kang truly was!

Before him, even God King-level powerhouses were no more than ants.

"The Keeper specifically issued an order for you, designating you as an exception. In other words, any timeline related to you will not be considered a violation of the TVA's laws."

Apocalypse was overjoyed. Could he finally act without restraint?

He had always been cautious before. Besides fearing the loss of his advantage as a prophet, he had indeed been wary of an unknown force like the Time Variance Authority.

Suppressing his delight, Apocalypse said, "Mm... good! Thank Kang for me!"

The Black woman continued, "However, that is not the message I came to deliver."

"Then the message is...?"

The Black woman's gaze suddenly changed. Her eyes widened, emitting two rays of golden light. When she spoke again, her voice had become that of a deep, steady middle-aged man.

"Mr. Tang, I regret that I can only meet you in this manner."

"Because of your appearance, the Sacred Timeline has begun to deviate and loosen. Those powerful beings trapped within the Sacred Timeline have begun to stir."

"They are probing the river of time, searching for the source that caused the Sacred Timeline to loosen. Once they find it, countless unimaginable powerhouses may descend."

"And although you, Mr. Tang, possess noble potential, your strength is not yet great. If you are discovered, I fear you will struggle to escape disaster. Even the imprint of your soul may be seized by powerful beings."

"At that time, the Sacred Timeline will be annihilated and split into countless chaotic timelines. It will become a great age of chaos, with living beings suffering everywhere."

"Asgard is an exceptionally powerful divine race. Your acceptance of Asgard's princely title this time has already caused a powerful disturbance. I fear some powerful beings have already begun testing the waters."

"Tell Frigga not to peer into the river of time again. If she encounters a powerful being, her memories may reveal your existence."

Apocalypse asked, "What should I do?"

"Strengthen yourself as quickly as possible."

"Can you help me?"

Since the Time-Keeper had shown him goodwill, it would not be unacceptable to borrow their strength when necessary to ensure his safety. It was better than fighting alone.

"We cannot help you. The TVA is an organization those powerful beings watch closely. If we have too much contact, they may soon trace you."

"And..." A strange expression suddenly appeared on the Black woman's face. "While your survival is a great hope for this universe, if you die, then settling for second best and seizing your soul imprint would bring us tangible benefits."

After she said that, the golden light in the Black woman's eyes vanished, and her voice returned to normal.

"All right, Mr. Tang. I have delivered the information. Goodbye."

With that, the Black woman turned and entered the rectangular prism, disappearing along with it.

Just as the rectangular prism vanished, a beam of divine light suddenly flew over.

Odin and Frigga appeared beside Apocalypse.

"Prince Tang, what happened just now? You vanished from my senses for three seconds," Odin said.

Apocalypse's meeting with the TVA had lasted at least ten minutes, yet to Odin's divine senses, only three short seconds had passed.

Clearly, this was the TVA's specialty—altering time.

However, being able to conceal even three seconds beneath Odin's very eyes was enough to make them wary.

Apocalypse said to Queen Frigga, "The unpredictable force you spoke of has appeared."

Frigga's face turned pale. Trembling, she said, "Does that mean Asgard's fate truly cannot be changed?!"

Apocalypse shook his head. "He permits me to change Asgard, but on one condition: you may not peer into the river of time again. Otherwise, it may draw a great terror!"

Odin and Frigga were overjoyed! Even Odin, the old God King, could not contain himself, his delight plainly showing on his face.

This princely title had not been bestowed in vain. Good news had come so quickly.

To them, being allowed to change their future fate gave them far too much room to act.

"That is no difficult matter. I simply will not peer into it anymore," Frigga said. "As long as I know Asgard is better than before, even if only a little better, I will be satisfied."

At that moment, Odin said, "Prince Tang, Thor told me earlier that your potential has been exhausted and that you wish to break through your own shackles. I have thought of a method, though it may be somewhat dangerous."

Apocalypse was the key to changing Asgard's fate. The God King naturally wanted his strength to be as great as possible.

"What method?"

"Come with me."

The queen summoned Thor and Sif, and the group of five headed toward Asgard's treasury.

The treasury had been built in a massive underground chamber. Its ceiling alone stood dozens of meters high. It was not particularly bright, but it did not feel oppressive.

It was rare for him to visit Asgard's treasury, so Apocalypse naturally examined it carefully.

Even Sif wore the expression of a curious child.

After descending a broad staircase, the first thing that met their eyes in the treasury passage was a huge golden gauntlet—the Infinity Gauntlet!

In Thor 3, Hela had entered, knocked over the Infinity Gauntlet, and declared with an impatient expression, "Fake."

But after thinking it over carefully, Apocalypse found two suspicious points.

First, given Odin's status, how could he possibly collect a counterfeit?

The Infinity Gauntlet was merely a vessel and possessed no power of its own.

In the original plot, even Iron Man had created a nanotech Infinity Gauntlet. For a divine kingdom, creating an Infinity Gauntlet would not be too difficult.

There was no need to collect a counterfeit.

The second point was even more important: this gauntlet was for the right hand!

Thanos's, however, was for the left hand!

If the dwarves had forged a pair, one right-handed and one left-handed, then it would make perfect sense.

Or perhaps only the right-handed gauntlet before them had originally been forged, and Thanos had later forced them to make a left-handed one.

However, Apocalypse could not determine whether it was real or fake. After circling it twice, he asked, "God King, is this gauntlet real or fake?"

Thor was the first to object, shouting, "How could Asgard's treasury have fakes? Of course it is real!"

Odin said calmly, "It is real."

Apocalypse looked at Odin and smiled. "Strange. Why would someone call it fake?"

Thor cut in again. "Which ignorant fool dared say it was fake? I'll beat the shit out of them."

The queen reproached him, "Do not interrupt Prince Tang while he is speaking with your father."

Thor looked aggrieved. Tang had only just become a prince, so why was his status already higher than his, a prince by birth? He even had to wait his turn to speak.

Odin smiled. "I deceived her. If she knew it was real, she would probably search the entire universe for the Infinity Stones. Who knows how much trouble she would cause? I also placed a seal on it. Without undoing it, it is no different from a fake."

"Oh..." Apocalypse suddenly understood.

Sure enough, Hela was still no match for the scheming Odin. If his lifespan had not already reached its limit, who knew when she would have escaped her seal.

A few steps farther ahead stood a dark blue casket. Apocalypse recognized this one—it was the Source of Power of the Frost Giants, also known as the Casket of Ancient Winters.

However, it did not seem particularly powerful. At any rate, Hela had looked down on it.

Apocalypse merely glanced over the other treasures and found them uninteresting.

Finally, Odin led him to stop before a basin of fire. "Prince Tang, this is the key to breaking through your shackles!"

The fire rested in a dark golden basin atop a wooden stand. There was no fuel beneath it, yet the flames danced as though alive, unending and never extinguished!

It was the Eternal Flame!