Starting as a Class Five Mutant-Chapter 616

It wasn't just the Phoenix Force—after reaching the single-universe level, many powerful beings possessed abilities related to time.

For instance, Kang the Conqueror, the hidden mastermind behind the Time Variance Authority, had the ability to prune timelines.

Even Eternity, who appeared to have lost when facing Kang in direct combat, hadn't actually unleashed the full extent of his time-related powers.

He should have been capable of doing similar things.

After all, he was the personification of Time itself.

In short, time-based powers were extremely common once you reached the single-universe level and beyond.

If one wasn't careful, it was easy to fall victim to them.

But now, with Self-Existence—none of that could touch him!

Time could no longer influence him!

"This ability is such a cheat... or rather, God Himself is kind of a cheat," Syd sighed.

At this point, he even felt confident enough to enter the Time Variance Authority!

Kang's greatest strength lay in manipulating time.

Now that time-based attacks were ineffective against him, Kang's threat level had dropped by several tiers.

Aside from time, recalling the other stubborn connections he'd sensed earlier, Syd thought:

"Abilities related to causality should also be useless against me now."

After all, he was no longer entangled in any karma or causal threads.

After marveling at how powerful Self-Existence was, just as Syd thought all the changes had settled—

His consciousness suddenly wavered.

He found himself at the very beginning—before the universe had even been born.

A pitch-black void, devoid of any life, stretched infinitely.

Only he existed there, alone.

His whole body radiated light, illuminating the endless darkness around him.

Syd felt a profound sense of boredom.

He had no idea how long he drifted there.

Suddenly, apart from himself, another point of light appeared.

Within the dark emptiness, a singularity—or what could be called a cosmic egg—exploded in a blinding flash.

The Big Bang had occurred!

With the Big Bang came the birth of the four abstract conceptual beings: Eternity, Infinity, Death, and Oblivion.

And also—the sole survivor from the previous universe, absorbed into the cosmic egg and now reborn alongside them—Galactus.

As the Big Bang expanded, Syd's indescribable form also began influencing this new universe.

His being, alongside the others, became one of the foundations and pillars of the cosmos.

The universe evolved...

Heat, light, energy—all things began to fill the expanding universe.

Syd personally witnessed the entire process of cosmic evolution.

After a time, Eternity, Infinity, Death, Oblivion, and Galactus each became aware of his presence.

They sensed him—and realized what he was.

A Creator God, just like themselves—part of the universe, embodying aspects like light, heat, and positivity.

Without him, there would be no light, no warmth, no positive forces within the universe.

Sensing a being of equal standing, they naturally felt a deep goodwill toward him.

Yet at the same time, an odd feeling stirred within them.

"You seem to have been born even earlier than us?"

Infinity, the goddess representing Space, conveyed her thoughts telepathically, filled with disbelief.

Hearing her words, Eternity, representing Time, also froze.

He felt the same.

He spoke:

"You feel it too?"

The Five Creator Gods of the universe all exchanged shocked and confused thoughts.

"How could you have been born before us?"

Their perceptions couldn't possibly be wrong.

Maybe one could make a mistake—but not all of them at once.

They each sensed it—clearly, unmistakably.

Thus, it had to be true.

A deep sense of awe and reverence naturally rose in their hearts.

This mysterious existence—they instinctively respected him.

More ancient than them.

Stronger, perhaps, than them.

Initially, they had perceived him as embodying light, heat, and positivity—core aspects of the universe.

But now, they weren't so sure.

After all, if he existed before even they were born—then those assumptions might not be entirely accurate.

What was he, truly?

Faced with their questioning thoughts, Syd pondered briefly.

Then, he chose not to answer.

In the next moment, he vanished.

His consciousness returned to reality.

"Huu..."

Syd opened his eyes, a flicker of astonishment flashing through them.

He had appeared before Eternity and the others—even earlier than they did?

No doubt about it—it had to be the effect of the Self-Existence trait.

Still, he couldn't help wondering whether what he'd just experienced was real or some kind of illusion.

As he was deep in thought—

Meanwhile, in the realm of Death, and in other hidden corners of the universe where Eternity, Infinity, Oblivion, and Galactus dwelled—

All of them suddenly froze.

Their expressions turned distant, as a new memory surfaced in their minds.

Suddenly—they recalled something.

At the dawn of the universe, they had indeed seen that younger brother of theirs!

Although he hadn't appeared afterward, their memories of that ancient presence—of the one who embodied light, heat, and positivity—remained vivid and unmistakable.

Most importantly—

He had existed even before them.

Such a mysterious being—how could they possibly forget?

As they thought about it, the Five Eternals' faces grew increasingly strange.

Now, they each possessed two conflicting sets of memories.

One memory saw Syd as their younger brother.

The other saw him as an ancient elder, a figure older and greater than themselves.

For a moment, their minds were in complete turmoil—unsure which memory was real.

Even Eternity—the personification of Time—carefully examined reality but found no flaws.

No sign that anything had been tampered with.

Confused and uneasy, the others turned to Eternity:

"Eternity, what's going on?"

Infinity, Death, Oblivion, and Galactus all reached out to him telepathically, seeking answers.

But—

The next second, they heard Eternity's own confused voice:

"I don't know either..."

Even as he answered them, Eternity's consciousness returned to the birth of the universe, searching for clues.

After careful examination, he was stunned to discover that—

Syd had indeed existed at the dawn of time!

Yet this conflicted with all their previous memories!

Could it be that their memories had been wrong?

Or perhaps... tampered with?

But that was impossible.

At that moment—

Infinity, full of doubt, couldn't help but voice her thought:

"Could it be... our little brother traveled back through time and altered the past?"

Hearing this, Galactus, Oblivion, and Death all felt a jolt of realization—maybe that was the answer?

Yet surprisingly—Eternity did not agree.

After a moment of deep thought, he shook his head and said:

"You all know—I am Time itself.

If our little brother had traveled back and altered the past... there's no way I wouldn't have noticed."

At those words, the other four fell silent.

(End of Chapter)

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