Thor had never seen a true god. The most powerful being he had known was his father, Odin, who, although not a true god of the universe, still embodied immense strength. After Odin's death, Thor delved into Asgardian texts, learning much about the divine.
As Thor looked at Wang Yan now, it felt as if he were seeing a god. One glance seemed to determine his fate.
"Thor, are you alright?" a voice interrupted Thor's thoughts.
Thor shook his head, snapping back to reality. When he looked at Wang Yan again, he seemed normal, as if what Thor had just seen was an illusion.
"I'm fine," Thor replied, shaking his head. "I've brought Asgard's magic."
Wang Yan accepted the magical artifacts Thor brought and nodded. "Thank you. Come, Thor, let's begin."
"I'm about to reshape the entire universe's timeline, except for Earth's, rewinding it to before all this happened. When you return, some may have lost memories, but that's normal. Don't worry too much," Wang Yan explained.
Wang Yan, now wielding divine power, was still getting accustomed to his abilities. Rewinding an entire universe's timeline was no small feat, and he couldn't guarantee there wouldn't be any anomalies.
Thor nodded, understanding. Some lost memories were a small price to pay if his people could return.
"Wang Yan, just do it. As long as my people come back, that's all that matters," Thor said earnestly.
Wang Yan nodded. He then took Thor and flew into the sky. In an instant, they left Earth and arrived in space.
Thor was the king of Asgard but was only accustomed to floating in space with the Rainbow Bridge's assistance. However, surrounded by a magical aura, he felt no discomfort.
Looking at Wang Yan, Thor saw him remain calm as he raised a hand. Thor felt a terrifying aura emanate from Wang Yan. The Earth seemed to separate from the universe, time standing still, becoming a world apart.
Thor took a deep breath, waiting for Wang Yan to reshape the universe. Wang Yan didn't act immediately but first reviewed the Asgardian magic Thor had brought. While it didn't specifically address altering timelines, it gave Wang Yan insights and ideas.
After a moment, Wang Yan focused on the universe before him, his eyes glowing brightly. Countless threads connecting stars and planets appeared, forming the fabric of the universe's laws.
Wang Yan touched one thread, and the universe began to rewind. Events on distant planets replayed, and the dead revived, returning to their original state. Wang Yan controlled the timeline, rewinding to before the Death God's appearance. The universe gradually returned to normal.
Wang Yan sighed in relief as he saw the universe restore itself. Though everything went as planned, he couldn't help but sweat. Even battles hadn't taxed him this much.
"Reshaping the timeline is indeed troublesome," Wang Yan said, exhaling. "It drained much of my magic and some divine power."
Thor was stunned. Altering the entire universe's timeline and reshaping it was a monumental task, yet Wang Yan only mentioned it as a significant drain on his power.
"Alright, the timeline has been reset. If nothing unusual happens, it should stabilize," Wang Yan said, checking the universe's status.
Thor, too, hoped there would be no anomalies. Thankfully, everything seemed stable.
"It looks like there shouldn't be any problems," Wang Yan said after a while, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Thor, do you want to return to Asgard directly, or come back to Earth with me first?" Wang Yan asked.
"I'll go back to Earth with you first," Thor decided. Wang Yan had helped him immensely; he couldn't just leave without showing gratitude.
The two returned to Kamar-Taj on Earth.
"Thank you so much," Thor said upon returning, seeing everything as it was.
"No need," Wang Yan waved it off. Without Thor's request, he wouldn't have had the chance to use this power or understand its magnitude. Now, if he needed it in the future, he wouldn't be as unprepared.
As they chatted in Kamar-Taj, the universe's changes caught the attention of certain beings.
In this world, many powerful beings existed, including a unique race: the Celestials.
The Celestials were some of the universe's earliest life forms, considered the guardians of universal laws. They judged and destroyed civilizations, using planets to birth new Celestials. For instance, after ancient times on Earth, they created the Eternals and Deviants and placed a Celestial seed for future birth.
They also eradicated unworthy civilizations, as shown when the Collector displayed a Celestial using the Power Stone to destroy a planet.
The Celestials possessed immense power, not just relying on Infinity Stones. The strongest among them rivaled gods, capable of creating and destroying multiverses. Even the weakest Celestials were far more potent than Sky-Fathers, among the universe's mightiest beings.
Their immense power made them arrogant, intervening when they deemed it necessary. However, they knew better than to provoke certain entities, like Galactus. Even knowing he consumed countless planets, they pretended not to notice.
After Wang Yan and Thor left, the altered timeline drew their attention.
Three pairs of eyes glowed in the universe, seeing everything.
As the Celestials' Judicator, he was to detect and eliminate civilizations that needed purging.
Usually, he absorbed cosmic energy unless summoned by the Celestials. But now, he felt a ripple of temporal energy. As a powerful Celestial, he recognized it as someone altering the timeline, violating their laws.
He opened his three pairs of eyes, his psychic power spreading, tracing the source of the temporal shift to a small, distant planet.
"Earth?"
"Isn't this planet supposed to be a breeding ground for a Celestial? The Celestial should have already been born. Why is this happening?"
The Celestials had internal divisions. Some used planets to birth new Celestials, like Titan and Earth. After the Celestials' birth, life on those planets typically perished. Yet, Earth's population thrived, which was perplexing.
"Has the Celestial not been born, or was it stopped by someone?"
As the Judicator, he was unaware of the Celestials' seed plans. However, what he saw suggested interference.