The First Firmament was extraordinarily powerful.
He stood at the very pinnacle of the Multiverse.
Furthermore, because of the immense advantages granted by his body and his race, even beings who had surpassed the multiversal level were helpless against him.
It was not difficult to understand why.
In the primordial era, the ancient gods created by the First Firmament had fought a catastrophic war.
Their battle shook all of existence and overturned entire worlds.
Yet even a war of that magnitude had merely shattered the First Firmament's body.
His power was obvious.
It was no exaggeration to say that among all multiversal-level beings, he was unquestionably the strongest.
Even Oblivion, the most powerful of the Five Great Gods, could not shake him in the slightest.
Unless an existence on the level of the great Living Tribunal intervened, no one could truly oppose the First Firmament.
Unfortunately, the Living Tribunal was responsible for maintaining the balance of existence.
He was an impartial and dispassionate entity.
As long as the First Firmament did not directly attack the Multiverse, the Living Tribunal would not intervene.
The Living Tribunal did not care about anything else.
The Living Tribunal might not care about the immensely powerful First Firmament, but the countless living beings within the Multiverse could not afford to ignore him.
The Multiverse was their home.
Even the Five Great Gods, who existed as abstract entities, could not disregard the First Firmament's existence.
Within the Multiverse, the Five Great Gods held exceptionally unique positions.
They were responsible for maintaining the balance of the entire world.
Eternity and Infinity were responsible for the birth of life.
Oblivion and Death were responsible for the destruction of life.
Galactus maintained the balance between the two sides, allowing the Multiverse to continue existing.
The Five Great Gods opposed one another, yet they were intimately familiar with one another.
At the same time, each of them remained wary of the others.
However, there was one point upon which they all agreed.
Their existence depended upon the continued existence of the Multiverse.
Even though they possessed the power to destroy the entire Multiverse, they could never do so.
Instead, they had to protect it.
The existence of the First Firmament was therefore an enormous threat to all of them.
On this occasion, the Five Great Gods, who had not gathered together for countless years, finally met once more.
Four of the Five Great Gods were abstract entities.
Strictly speaking, abstract entities did not possess fixed physical appearances.
The forms humans perceived were merely representations that the human mind could comprehend.
Only Galactus could exercise some degree of control over his physical form.
Nevertheless, to make communication easier, the five of them still manifested visible forms.
Once the Five Great Gods had gathered, they simply stared at one another.
"How long has it been since all five of us last gathered together?"
Eternity looked at the other four gods and could not resist asking.
"Eternity, you have spent far too much time interacting with mortals. You no longer behave like a god."
Oblivion spoke coldly.
He and Eternity represented opposing laws of the universe.
Their very natures were incompatible.
No matter what Eternity said, Oblivion always seemed compelled to contradict him.
"Heh."
"Even behaving like a mortal would be better than acting like an emotionless block of wood."
Eternity immediately mocked him in return.
"That is enough. We did not gather here today to listen to the two of you argue."
"We need to discuss how this situation should be handled."
"You should all understand what kind of existence the First Firmament is."
"He may not dare to launch a direct assault upon the Multiverse, but who knows what other methods he might employ?"
"One mistake could result in the complete collapse of the Multiverse."
"Have you forgotten how the previous incarnations of Eternity died?"
Galactus's hoarse voice reverberated around them.
The expressions of the powerful gods immediately became solemn.
Even the Five Great Gods could die.
Furthermore, the names of the Five Great Gods did not necessarily refer to single, unchanging individuals.
They were more like titles.
The same was true of the Living Tribunal.
Over the countless years, the position of Living Tribunal had changed hands several times.
They were all called the Living Tribunal, but they were not actually the same individual.
The current Eternity was likewise not the original incarnation of Eternity.
Several previous incarnations had been killed because of the First Firmament.
Therefore, after sensing the First Firmament's presence, Eternity was naturally the most nervous among them.
"The First Firmament poses an enormous threat to the entire Multiverse."
"We cannot afford to lower our guard."
Eternity spoke with an exceptionally serious expression.
"The important question is how we intend to deal with him."
"He is the First Firmament."
"It does not matter if you die, but do not drag the rest of us down with you."
"If the Multiverse loses its balance, the Living Tribunal will not show us any mercy."
Oblivion spoke coldly.
The Five Great Gods possessed certain privileges within the Multiverse.
At the same time, they were also bound by restrictions because they were required to maintain the balance of the universe.
If anything went wrong with the world, the Living Tribunal would immediately hold them responsible.
"Oblivion has a point."
"The Living Tribunal will not spare us merely because of our long association."
"We must ensure that the First Firmament is unable to cause any trouble."
"Preferably, we should eliminate him completely."
Death spoke in an equally forceful tone.
"That is indeed the case."
"However, who thwarted the First Firmament's scheme this time?"
"He invested such an enormous portion of his will, yet gained absolutely nothing in return."
Infinity asked curiously.
"I know. It was one of Kamar-Taj's Sorcerers Supreme."
"It appears my foresight was correct."
Eternity spoke smugly.
He had no direct relationship with Karl.
However, he was on good terms with the Ancient One.
In fact, the Ancient One was under his protection.
That gave him a perfectly reasonable excuse to approach Karl in the future.
Having an existing connection placed him in the most advantageous position.
"A mortal?"
Infinity exclaimed in surprise.
The Marvel Universe placed enormous importance on natural talent and bloodline.
Most powerful beings were born powerful.
The Five Great Gods, the Celestials, the Beyonders, and similar entities were all powerful from birth.
Even the most extraordinary mutants relied upon their natural gifts to become powerful.
There were very few truly powerful mortals.
For an ordinary mortal without an extraordinary bloodline to repel the First Firmament's will was nothing less than a miracle in their eyes.
"This mortal's talent is indeed exceptionally rare."
"I even believe that among all mortals, his talent for magic may be unsurpassed."
"His understanding of magic is superior to that of certain gods."
"If he is allowed enough time to develop, he may eventually become a powerful ally to us."
Eternity spoke.
"That is true."
"He even destroyed one of my avatars. Among mortals, he can already be considered exceptionally powerful."
Galactus also spoke with admiration.
Throughout their immeasurably long lives, they had encountered countless remarkable mortals.
However, there had been very few as extraordinary as Karl.
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]