A being like Zod was something the Marvel Universe had simply never seen before.
After all, matter with mass greater than a black hole either got expelled from the material universe outright, or it destroyed the material universe.
But he possessed a miraculous bio-field. Even with mass exceeding that of a black hole, he could contain his own mass, allowing Zod to reside comfortably within the material universe.
Otherwise, becoming a calamity more terrifying than Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds, would have been the norm.
After all, with Zod Heath's current mass, even if he did absolutely nothing, he could annihilate everything within trillions of light-years. And after devouring all the matter, energy, time, and space within those trillions of light-years, he would only increase his own mass further... so in effect, merely standing still was enough to destroy the universe!
But this was actually Zod Heath's path to growing stronger, really. A God of Destruction who grew more powerful by devouring everything—as long as he consumed enough universes, sooner or later he would become a multiverse-level deity.
One could say his upgrade path was extraordinarily clear and had no bottlenecks whatsoever. Countless single-universe and super-single-universe dimensional demon lords or powerhouses would probably be green with envy if they knew.
"You've taken a liking to her?"
Esdeath asked, arms crossed.
After all, this Captain Marvel was far better-looking than the one in the movies. Plus Zod Heath had been getting more and more excessive lately, having even created an entire legion of angels.
"What are you thinking?"
Zod said he wasn't that kind of person. Beyond his figurine-girls, he had no interest in other beauties.
The Mind Stone flared with golden light, and Captain Marvel clutched her head in agony, writhing on the ground.
"Her mental fortitude is truly remarkable."
Zod was somewhat surprised, though before him, such fortitude was useless.
Fueled by the Power Stone, the Mind Stone could exert its power to the fullest extent, and in an instant, Captain Marvel was brought under its control.
She became the newest lapdog of the Kryptonian Empire.
"Your Majesty!"
Captain Marvel rose to her feet.
"How delightfully tasteless."
Esdeath shrugged, though subduing Captain Marvel was for the best—this way, those who could resist the Kryptonian Empire grew fewer and fewer.
"Not that I mind how much territory you conquer, but blowing up an entire planet just from the aftershocks of battle..."
Zod looked at the planet that was gradually becoming a dead world. Because the planet's core had been destroyed by the battle between Esdeath and Captain Marvel, its gravitational field had collapsed. Before long, it would likely be captured by the gravity of the nearby star and become part of the star's fuel, at which point the planet would vanish completely.
"Never mind. I'll ask the Ancient One to borrow the Time Stone to restore it."
Zod said.
He didn't particularly care about life, but planets were another matter. Planets were renewable resources, after all—every world suitable for biological proliferation was a treasure.
As for whether the Ancient One would be willing, Zod figured she would agree.
After all, the current Zod no longer feared any of the Infinity Stones.
On Earth, the Ancient One, Sorcerer Supreme, was fishing as usual, and by the way, beating the daylights out of any dimensional demon lord foolish enough to take the bait.
And thus she reaped a fresh batch of curses from new dimensional demon lords.
"Ancient One, you'll die a horrible death!"
"Ancient One, when you die, your soul belongs to me!"
"Ancient One, pay your debts and return what you owe—it's only right and proper! Why did you hit me?!"
Among the dimensional demon lords, one particularly pitiful Dormammu was mixed in.
The Ancient One's expression didn't change in the slightest. She treated it all as the bewitchment of dimensional demon lords and turned a deaf ear.
As for her soul belonging to you after death?
Go say that to Eternity and see whether Eternity agrees.
Backing her wasn't just the trinity of dimensional demon lords, the Vishanti, but also one of the Five Cosmic Entities, Eternity himself. The Ancient One would have you know: all you dimensional demon lords are trash!
And then, at that very moment, an existence no less formidable than a dimensional demon lord descended.
He tentatively knocked on Kamar-Taj's barrier, which immediately drew the attention of the previous Sorcerer Supreme—the forger of the Eye of Agamotto—Agamotto himself.
Agamotto was the offspring of the Elder Goddess Oshtur, born over a million years ago. Therefore, it was highly likely that this Agamotto was none other than the very Agamotto who was one of the trinity of the Vishanti.
The forger of the Eye of Agamotto, and the earliest possessor of the Time Stone. Among the Prehistoric Avengers, he was also the intellectual pillar, the earliest to unravel the mysteries of the universe. The prehistoric superheroes called him the All-Seeing Eye. He was an omniscient and omnipotent existence who held an extremely high status in his time.
As for what the Prehistoric Avengers were, suffice it to say they were all monsters—for example, Wu Fengji, the Iron Fist who shattered the complete Phoenix Force with a single punch, was one of them.
Odin was also a member of the Prehistoric Avengers.
Agamotto had assumed some dimensional demon lord was being brazen enough to knock on his barrier.
But when he looked over, he found it wasn't a dimensional demon lord at all, but a single-universe-level powerhouse existing in the material dimension!
This was outside Agamotto's jurisdiction—or rather, outside his scope of responsibility.
Combined with how polite Zod's knock had seemed, Agamotto simply ignored the fact that Zod had opened a hole in the barrier and stepped through.
The Ancient One was momentarily stunned to see Zod appear out of thin air in Kamar-Taj. Had Kamar-Taj's barrier failed?
Without using the Eye of Agamotto, the Ancient One had not seen the future, so she had no idea Zod would come looking for her.
Besides, ever since Zod had become a single-universe-level powerhouse, the Time Stone could essentially no longer see his future.
"Long time no see, Sorcerer Supreme."
Zod said with a smile.
The Ancient One looked at Zod, a trace of wariness rising in her heart.
Because among all the futures she had seen before, not a single one contained the future of Zod paying her a visit today.
"Long time no see, Mr. Heath."
The Ancient One nodded.
"I've come to ask the Ancient One for a favor—to restore a destroyed planet to its original state."
Zod Heath said calmly.
"You wish to borrow the Eye of Agamotto?"
The Ancient One furrowed her brows.
"I bear no ill will, nor do I intend to take the Time Stone for myself."
Zod very candidly used the Mind Stone to project his intentions.
"The Eye of Agamotto cannot leave Kamar-Taj. That is Master Agamotto's decree."
The Ancient One shook her head.
Oh, please. During the Infinity War with the Avengers, Doctor Strange wore it around his neck when he went out—who knows how far from Kamar-Taj he got.
Zod thought to himself, not believing a word of it.
"But the Sorcerer Supreme can leave Kamar-Taj."
The Ancient One blinked, then continued.
A moment later.
Using the Space Stone, Zod brought the Ancient One to the planet already being captured by the star's gravity.
The Ancient One's expression was calm. She formed seals with both hands, and the Eye of Agamotto around her neck opened, revealing the green gem within.
/-\
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