"Sorcerer Lucas, I have been observing you for a long time."
Lucas looked at the Creator. The Creator's figure was right before him, but the voice remained ethereal, as if coming from the depths of the starry sky.
And...
Lucas's expression was a bit strange.
The Creator of the Elder Gods before him...
His appearance and style was almost identical to Eternity in Lucas's impression.
The vast starry sky was his body, with countless stars adorning it. It was as if the Universe was his body.
"You've been observing me for a long time?" Lucas asked.
Although he had experienced a lot since coming to Marvel, it had only been three to five years at most.
Three to five years should just be a blink of an eye for a being like the Creator, who has existed for at least billions of years, or even longer, right?
Star-like specks flickered on the Creator's face. Even without facial features, Lucas could read his expression. It was a mixture of wistfulness and joy.
"Empty, void years, billions of years are but a moment. But time filled with anticipation, every second is incredibly long."
The Creator paused, his joy radiating out without concealment.
Lucas, Ancient One, Gaea, and Atum felt it clearly.
The Creator was rejoicing for the salvation of the Elder Gods survivors.
This Creator of the Elder Gods had never given up on the Elder Gods throughout the billions of years. He had made many efforts, but always with little effect. But finally, after a long time, he had found hope.
Feeling this joy, the only Elder God still remaining on Earth-616, Gaea, couldn't help but wipe away tears from her eyes.
Then she looked at Lucas, her eyes sparkling. "Sorcerer Lucas, please help us."
Lucas's eye twitched, and he secretly diverted a wisp of his mind to control his body's reaction.
Gaea's expression and tone reminded him of Wanda last night.
When Wanda was overwhelmed by her abnormal mental state, Lucas wasn't much better.
Most people gain clarity after the fact, he was the same. But he had no 'after the fact,' only short timeouts during breaks and fouls.
Lucas looked straight ahead, his eyelids lowered, facing the great 'heart'.
"That is my wish."
"But…"
Lucas's gaze was still on Gaea, but the Creator knew it was his turn to speak.
"Sorcerer Lucas, I want to offer twenty percent of the World Tree's energy as a thank you for helping me heal the Elder Gods." The Creator's voice was full of sincerity and anticipation.
The stakes he offered were also very tempting for Lucas.
However…
Lucas maintained his lowered gaze, pondered for a moment, and then slowly spoke after Gaea straightened up, "Creator, there's one thing I don't quite understand. Are the surviving Elder Gods worth such a great price from you?"
The Creator seemed to smile.
He looked up into the depths of the starry sky, remaining silent for a long time.
Lucas and the others followed his gaze.
Ancient One, Gaea, and Atum saw the twinkling stars in the depths of the Universe.
Lucas saw it.
Those layers of cosmic barriers, the desolate world beyond endless space and time.
Shadow Dimension?
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
The dim world that the Creator was looking at was extremely similar to the Shadow Dimension he had visited before, where Neith and several other Elder Gods resided.
The Shadow Dimension and this dim world were probably fragments of a Universe that had already died.
Lucas pondered, turning his inquiring gaze to the Creator, hoping he could explain further.
Perhaps sensing Lucas's probing look, the Creator sighed leisurely, "I have touched stars, and I have witnessed the light of countless suns."
In the depths of the starry sky, an illusory figure appeared. The illusory figure slowly reached out and cupped a speck of light from the depths of the Universe in his hand.
"But none of them belonged to me, they could not make me feel a moment of warmth."
"My world has long since withered, and only desolation remains in my heart."
Crack!
The illusory figure's palm suddenly closed, and a dazzling light burst forth from the gaps in his fingers.
Countless light-years away, a supernova exploded, instantly illuminating the entire galaxy. Innumerable stars forming matter were thrown outward at sub-light speed.
The Creator looked at the dim world again, his voice gradually rising and falling. "That is my world, it was once full of stars. Now, it is utterly desolate."
"I want revenge."
"Revenge against those who destroyed my world and extinguished my stars."
The Creator's voice was firm and powerful.
However, Lucas's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.
The Creator was speaking in riddles, and he couldn't quite understand.
Guessing and inferring, he came to a conclusion.
The Creator's world was destroyed, and he created the Elder Gods, hoping to use their power for revenge.
But who was he? Who were his enemies? Why did he specifically need the Elder Gods to achieve his revenge?
These three questions lingered in Lucas's mind, leaving him puzzled.
Twenty percent of the World Tree's energy was indeed not easy to obtain.
The Creator was so generous, he probably intended to tie him to his faction.
Lucas sighed inwardly, then said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "Creator, one reward cannot cover two tasks."
Facing Lucas's slightly displeased question, the Creator merely smiled. "Sorcerer Lucas, who said I needed you to do two things?"
"If I accept your energy and help you heal the surviving Elder Gods, wouldn't I be on your faction?"
The Creator smiled again, saying meaningfully, "Sorcerer Lucas, I have been watching you for a long time, but I have never approached you before. Do you know why?"
Lucas frowned, feeling that this Creator was speaking more and more cryptically, not at all straightforward.
"Why?"
"Because I was waiting, waiting for my enemies to become your enemies."
"Your enemies become my enemies?"
Lucas looked at the Creator in confusion, then waved his hand abruptly. "Impossible. I, Lucas, have always been kind to others."
"Sorcerer Lucas, there are always some people in this world who are particularly overbearing. My enemies, and those who are about to become your enemies, are such people." The Creator smiled again.
His smile was tinged with strong schadenfreude.
"Look, they are here."
The Creator suddenly pointed into the depths of the starry sky.
Lucas, along with a bewildered Ancient One, Gaea, and Atum, looked in that direction.
In the depths of the starry sky, five towering humanoid beings, composed of armor with only energy light flickering within, their bodies indistinct, were rapidly approaching Earth-616.
Celestials.
"Celestials? Creator, your enemies are the Celestials?" Gaea, standing beside him, exclaimed.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her expression somewhat disbelieving.
She and the Creator had known each other for billions of years, yet this was the first time she had heard that the Creator had a mortal enemy. And this mortal enemy was none other than the Celestials, who had visited Earth-616 several times and were renowned throughout Marvel.
"That's right." The Creator nodded affirmatively.
Upon receiving the Creator's affirmative reply, Gaea's expression turned somewhat grim.
Her face darkened, and she asked, word by word, "Then did you create us (Elder Gods) to fight the Celestials?"
Hearing Gaea question the Creator, Lucas withdrew his gaze from the Celestials deep in the starry sky and turned to look at Gaea.
He couldn't help but give a silent nod of approval.
What a good mouthpiece, asking the very question he wanted to ask.
Just then, Atum stepped forward a few paces, shielding Gaea behind him.
Atum's calm and unperturbed gaze fell upon the Creator, and the energy flowing within his body indicated he had already entered a state of alert.
Silence.
A long silence.
Facing Gaea's inquiry, the Creator was momentarily at a loss for how to respond. His face, as profound as the starry sky, now subtly revealed human-like conflict and entanglement.
Seeing this, Gaea's expression softened slightly. She had already read the answer from the Creator's expression.
The Elder Gods were a weapon created by the Creator to deal with the Celestials. But at the same time, the Creator also harbored a deep affection for the weapons he had created.
The Creator's next answer confirmed Gaea's conjecture.
He slowly said, "You are my creations. You see me as a father or elder brother, and I see you as my children. You are not weapons, but my continuation."
Gaea stepped out from behind Atum.
Hearing the Creator's reply, her expression had calmed, and her chest was no longer heaving.
Yet Gaea still pressed on, "What was your purpose in creating the Elder Gods?"
Silence.
Another long silence.
Faced with Gaea's relentless questioning, the Creator fell silent once more.
"Heh."
Just then, a soft chuckle sounded.
The owner of the laugh was none other than an old man with a white beard and hair.
"Ancient One?"
Gaea frowned, puzzled by the Ancient One's laughter.
"Nothing, you all continue." Ancient One waved his hand, looking as if he were merely watching a show.
But clearly, with his interruption, the atmosphere of Gaea pressing the Creator was dispelled.
Gaea smiled helplessly and said, "Let's deal with these Celestials first."
As Gaea's words sounded, it was Lucas's turn to frown.
The Creator's enemies were the Celestials. This was unexpected, yet also reasonable.
Given the domineering style of the Celestials, who knows how many civilizations they had destroyed in the name of judgment?
The Creator's civilization being among them was not surprising.
What Lucas hadn't expected was that he, a lone individual, would be targeted by the Celestials simply because he was a tiny bit too powerful.
Though he wasn't afraid, it was quite annoying.
In his vexation, Lucas abruptly waved his hand. Nothing happened on site, the few people only felt a gentle breeze pass by.
But deep in the starry sky, a six-colored, shimmering cosmic energy, aimlessly drifting, suddenly burst into brilliant light.
The blue halo of this six-colored, shimmering energy mass flashed, overpowering the other five colors.
The next moment, the energy mass vanished from this cosmic space.