"Hah... I’ve poured in so much at a loss—paying out of my own pocket, putting in my own labor. I’m starting to feel like so live-in son-in-law marrying into the family."
Selene tilted her head back. Across the vast distant heavens, the stabilized Source of the Sea of Realms shone clear as moonlight upon water, radiating pure and flawless brilliance.
She lay back, letting the Sea of Multiversal Space-Ti cradle her in brief repose. The dinsions of the multiverse rose and fell with her breathing. Selene felt the strands of the River of Ti she had only just sorted flowing between her fingers. The universe like flowing silks wound warmly and intimately around her shimring silver hair, as though they were one and the sa.
Murmur...
"So I really am being treated like a live-in son-in-law, my dear ’senior.’" With her eyes open, it was day. With them closed, night. Half dozing, Selene’s brows relaxed, her crimson lips curving upward in a teasing arc.
What was a live-in son-in-law?
In the old sense, it ant a man who married into the bride’s family and settled in her household. In a broader sense, it referred to soone of low status—a poor hostage taken into a wealthy family, unable to redeem himself after the term expired, thus forced into marriage. Of humble standing, often sent to serve or stationed at the frontier in place of others.
Selene’s position in relation to "God" was much like that of such a hostage before a wealthy clan.
Perhaps the analogy was not entirely accurate. Selene’s own capital was anything but low. In fact, it was so abundant that even "God" instinctively coveted it. But the aning was roughly the sa.
To strengthen "God’s" wealthy household. To add bricks and mortar to its construction. To submit beneath "God’s" banner. Compared to that, was it not like being a live-in son-in-law?
"God" wished to annex Selene—to bring everything that belonged to her within His domain of omniscience and omnipotence. For that, He was willing to offer a status equal to—or even surpassing—the first master under His system, the Living Tribunal, a rank He had already sealed and destroyed in the form of the [First Firmant] (the first Eternity), along with the benefit of opening a sub-omniversal universe.
And in order to assu the position of [First Firmant] and beco the highest-ranking [Eternity] beneath "God" within the Marvel system, Selene had to pour in endless investnt, bringing her own provisions to pioneer and perfect her own sub-omniversal universe.
Throughout this process, "God" and the Creator Gods beneath Him would provide Selene with nothing beyond observation rights and limited authority to intervene in matters concerning the Empire’s Demon Inquisitor Chapter 117th Fleet, which had mistakenly entered the Earth-199999 world.
In other words, it was a classic empty-handed sche.
"God" exchanged a blank check—a newborn multiverse that had been barren at its inception—for the infinite infusion of new worlds, new systems, new possibilities, and new substance that Selene invested. And what He did in return was rely unbind the multiverse and restrict the path toward an omniversal universe exclusively to Selene.
As for how to nurture that newly born multiverse into one comparable to "God’s" omniversal universe—that was entirely Selene’s problem.
Was Selene at a loss?
Yes and no. But there was no doubt that "God" profited far more.
On the path of omniscience and omnipotence, "God" had traversed realms of profundity far beyond Selene’s current depth. More comprehensive than mbrane theory. Embracing all phenona. Containing every ideology, space, law, and dinsion—everything known and unknown—while simultaneously transcending and surpassing all.
Calling Him "senior" was no exaggeration.
The origin frawork of the omniversal universe that He displayed and dissected before Selene was priceless knowledge to any who sought it. It pointed her toward the direction of advancent.
That was her tuition fee.
The only infuriating part was... damn it, being such a sucker felt awful no matter how she thought about it. It had always been Selene scamming others. Being taken advantage of was a novelty. And this ti, what she had paid out actually exceeded the total of all the advantages she had ever taken from others combined!
And she even had to help count the money for Him!
The money was hers. The work was hers. The profit was created by her. Yet when it ca ti to divide the earnings, two million went to soone else, and only one million belonged to Selene.
My money!
Endure for a mont and the more she thought about it, the greater the loss. Take a step back and the more she thought about it, the angrier she beca.
After paying so much, Selene had to find a way to squeeze Him a few more tis and earn it back.
"God" coveted Selene’s supre Honkai dinsion and the boundless multiverse under the Sacred Selene Empire. Likewise, Selene kept her eyes on "God’s" travel funds and accumulated savings.
You covet . I keep an eye on you. It was all transactions. All interests. What moral burden was there to speak of?
If she wanted to flip the table, how could she do it?
The answer was simple: it was difficult. She could not win by overturning it.
The breadth of the Marvel conceptual universe exceeded Selene’s current limits. Moreover, if she wished to strengthen herself and climb higher, she had to walk this path. There were countless side roads, but the great path ultimately converged.
On the pursuit of ultimate omniscience and omnipotence, "God" was her senior. She needed His experience, His "quality" and "quantity," and everything else. But she could not defeat Him, and He would not simply give it—because that would an His own disqualification.
Therefore, flipping the table was not an option. That would only lead to total loss. She needed a different line of thought.
Did "God" possess rationality?
Yes and no. At tis He appeared desireless and selfless. At tis He resembled a clock operating strictly according to preset procedures, or an infant following pure instinct for self-benefit. At tis He seed like a selfish tyrant with obsessive control. At other tis He was deeply humane—a kindly old man, a true saint wandering the mortal world to experience its countless facets.
All of that was Him. And none of it was Him.
Selene focused on one point alone: "God" could be disqualified.
How to cause "God" to lose His status.
Within the Marvel world, no being born there would conceive of such blasphemous thought. It was a lost concept—abandoned, shattered, terminated, and rejected by all things. A taboo.
But Selene knew it.
Everything she was doing now was based on that knowledge. She intended to bring that discarded Marvel taboo back into the light of day.
Because she knew. She understood. And that ant the taboo had once existed. Only later, as "God" adjusted and deepened Himself, that segnt of tiline—those possibilities—had been unconsciously sealed away by Him, becoming taboo.
The key to that taboo was Thanos.
In the past, the future, and the present—within so dead world and tiline—he had once reached the summit. He had defeated and absorbed Galactus, Master Order, Lord Chaos, the gods of Love and Hate, the god of Ti Kronos, the Stranger, Eternity, Infinity, Death, and the Living Tribunal Adam, sealing his tiline completely.
He had forced "God" to fall from OAA (One Above All) into AAO (Above-All-Other).
He had stepped beyond the God of reality.
On that basis, Selene had guided and pushed Thanos forward.
She was wagering big.
"However, the one who wielded the [Reality Controller] will never reappear." Selene raised her head, her gaze deep and focused as she looked into the Void Sea of Realms—composed of dust-like motes and mayfly-like specks drifting like foam and threads—as though she ant to capture every flicker of light within it.
The [Reality Controller] had once been a device placed within the Marvel world by "God"—OAA—to regulate the fabric of reality itself. Ordinary beings could not even know of its existence. Even if soone found it, they would almost certainly be unable to touch it, much less wield it. And now? Most likely "God" had already destroyed it.
"The ’Limiter’ should be enough to make up part of the difference." Selene lightly tapped her chin with a finger, pondering a mont longer before smiling faintly. "Saitama plus Thanos. Both naturally bald, both pure physical types. They should be quite compatible. Eternal bloodline plus the ’Limiter’—infinite potential and infinite possibility. A win-win."
Of course, Selene understood that so-called potential ant nothing if it was never realized or broken through.
She needed to create the conditions for Thanos.
With the Marvel world itself having connected through Selene’s will, as new sources of power were born and new conceptual branches fused into the Marvel world through her "investnt," it was only natural that the ’Limiter’—a law even more elusive than the Eternals’ infinite possibilities—had already drawn Their attention.
"Guard Earth well, my Saitama. As a hero." Selene extended her hand. Her slender fingers tore open the void, and a real-ti image of Earth within the Earth-199999 world appeared—
On the streets of Manhattan, outside the New York Sanctum, the bald caped hero was carrying out today’s routine of punishing evil and upholding justice.
It had to be said—New York was truly a blessed land. Even though the Divine Empress Order’s conscription had nearly swept away street-level heroes and villains alike from across regions, even clearing out prisons of their "talent," the vacant blue ocean left behind quickly attracted a fresh wave of ambitious figures.
New York’s public security seed even worse than before.
The facts proved that the problem lay with the environnt. Removing part of the disease addressed the symptoms, not the root.
Newly ford gangs fought everywhere for territory. anwhile, for a hero driven purely by interest, the monotonous routine of study, interdinsional demon extermination, and magical training left Saitama unbearably bored. At the instigation of a certain curly-haired doctor who had yet to earn the title of "Doctor Strange," the bald caped hero made his official debut—bold and upright.
It was his old trade.
Although New York, North Arica, and even the entire world were hardly ideal in terms of public order—with plenty of hotheaded lunatics who slapped their foreheads and demanded the impossible—compared to the endless monster disasters of City Z back in his ho world, Saitama felt quite at ease. Using heroic acts to relieve academic pressure felt comfortable.
The North Arican authorities and the United Nations Security Council were also aware that the Divine Empress Order’s customs officer stationed on Earth was warmhearted, imnsely powerful, and approachable—yet willing to handle trivial street-level hero work. From catching thieves and robbers to helping the elderly cross streets and searching for lost pets, if he encountered it, he helped.
The Black president had even signed an executive order in the White House to award Saitama an annual Best Vigilante dal.
There was public admiration and heated discussion. Naturally, there were also those with ulterior motives who approached Saitama in conversation, asking whether he was an Earthling. Saitama said no. His hotown lay within a Sequence I world under the Divine Empress’ domain. From that, quite a bit of background information about the Divine Empress Order was indirectly gleaned.
Selene regarded this with indifference.
"Oh? He’s even connected with that little spider—and getting along quite well." Watching the scene of the two chatting on a New York street after dashing out of Kamar-Taj for fresh air like students escaping class, Selene fell into thought.
Spider-Man might be rely a neighborhood street hero, yet one of the very few manifestations of Marvel’s true "God" had once taken the initiative to contact Peter Parker.
He had bypassed Peter Parker’s spider-sense and healed his injuries. After a brief, heartfelt exchange, He vanished.
"Luck—or causality?" Selene narrowed her eyes.
In any case, placing Saitama on Earth had been the correct decision.
Within the Marvel world, heroic conduct aligned with the laws themselves. And Earth—was the embodied manifestation of the multiverse, the heart-concept of [Eternity], foremost among the five great cosmic creator gods.
"A land blessed with spiritual excellence. Indeed." Selene murmured softly. "The key to the gate of higher truth—I have handed it to you."
From whom did the concept of the ’Limiter’ originate?
Saitama.
Saitama was essentially the fragrant bait Selene had cast into the Marvel world—without poison.
Whether it was the Living Tribunal or Eternity and the other creator deities, They would inevitably absorb and assimilate the new possibilities and variables Saitama brought into the Marvel world. Once new laws ford, they would manifest within the hidden aspect of all life in the universe—because Eternity was the universe itself.
By the sa logic, when the Heroic Spirits dispatched by Selene died within the Marvel world, would not the hybrid spiritrons and the blessed ’Limiter’ within them also return to that universe’s Eternity? Otherwise, without benefit, would He grant Selene such latitude within the rules?
"The hidden law in gestation is already in place. Now it is ti to guide it forth."
No matter how much Thanos adored the goddess [Death], the fact that he was born within the current universe symbolized by [Eternity] could not be changed. Before ascending to godhood, if [Eternity] gestated a new law, then that law would certainly be able to influence him.
In other words, Thanos already possessed the latent condition to hold the ’Limiter.’ The key lay in when [Eternity] would activate this law and bestow it upon all living beings.
Perhaps very soon. Perhaps never.
Selene had no intention of waiting, nor did she wish to see a modified and castrated possibility beco reality after Eternity and the Living Tribunal interfered. She needed decisive action—seizing this precious window of opportunity, and while it was on the verge of birth yet not fully born, cook the rice before it could remain raw.
That was what the Servants were for.
She intended for Thanos to absorb the magical energy spiritrons, cosmic energy, and the hybrid energy of the ’Limiter’ dispersed upon the Servants’ deaths after killing them.
Yes. In essence, the Servants were supplents Selene had delivered to Thanos.
That included Esdeath. It also included her Beast Goddess Gorgon incarnation. Through practical combat, the Servants had already activated the ’Limiter.’ Once absorbed, the ’Limiter’ within Thanos would beco unprecedentedly active.
"This is my special care for you, Thanos."
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