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It had been half a month since Hawk returned from his interstellar honeymoon.
He had spent the time settling back into life with Gwen, managing the happy turmoil of post-wedding domesticity. But even in domestic bliss, he hadn't forgotten his primary goal.
The Eighth Sense!
He had told Gwen that he wasn't going to force it.
And he meant it.
But the pursuit of Enlightenment is like looking for your keys. Sometimes, you tear the house apart and can't find them anywhere.
But the moment you stop looking, the moment you let go of the frustration, they suddenly appear right in front of you, sitting on the kitchen counter.
It's that feeling of looking everywhere, only to realize the answer was right beside you all along.
Yesterday, Hawk had felt that exact sensation.
He realized that achieving the Eighth Sense wasn't about grinding harder, throwing more punches, or meditating in isolation.
He needed a conversation.
A conversation with a God.
And not a Dimensional God like Mephisto, who was technically just a highly powerful cosmic landlord. Not a Celestial like Ego, who had the power of a god but the emotional intelligence of a spoiled toddler.
He needed to talk to a True God!
A Chief God. A Pantheon Head.
Fortunately, there happened to be one currently residing on Earth.
The moment the realization hit him yesterday, Hawk had immediately headed for the 'Shady Acres Care Home' in Manhattan.
It was the retirement home where Loki had dumped Odin.
But...
He was too late.
The facility had already been evacuated. A demolition crew was prepping the site to tear the building down to its foundations.
And as a Chief God, even one in the twilight of his existence, Odin's aura was completely masked. Even Hawk couldn't just scan the planet and pinpoint his location.
But that was fine.
Someone knew exactly where Odin was.
Doctor Strange.
So!
Hawk had planned to finish his errands today and then drop by the Sanctum Sanctorum to ask Strange for Odin's forwarding address.
He hadn't expected...
Strange to come knocking on his door first.
It worked out perfectly.
Now, Strange had promised Odin that he would keep his location a secret and make sure he wasn't disturbed.
But promises are relative.
If Strange hadn't looked into Hawk's past, his response to the request would have been a resounding:
Not a chance in Hell!
But now?
Facing Hawk's calm, expectant gaze, Doctor Strange only hesitated for a second. With a wave of his hand, he erased the portal leading to Hawk's backyard and quickly drew a new one in the air, opening a gateway to a breathtaking, windswept cliffside in Norway.
Through the portal.
Odin stood alone on the lush, green precipice, looking out over the vast, churning ocean. It was a picture of serene, tragic beauty.
Hawk looked at the open portal, then at Strange, who was practically holding the door open for him. A classic movie scene flashed through his mind, and his brow lifted.
"You don't need a strand of my hair to find him?"
"...No."
Strange blinked, then answered quickly.
He wanted to ask for one, sure. It was standard procedure for a tracking spell.
But he didn't dare.
What if Hawk took offense? He wasn't about to risk his life for a lock of hair.
Strange's only goal right now was to get Hawk through that portal and out of his Sanctum as fast as humanly possible.
"Goodbye, Mr. Phoenix."
"...Goodbye."
Hawk could practically smell the desperation rolling off the Sorcerer Supreme. He chuckled, offered a casual wave, and stepped through the portal.
Strange didn't hesitate for a microsecond. The instant Hawk was through, he slashed his hands through the air, erasing the portal completely. He let out a massive, shuddering sigh of relief and turned to Wong.
"You never told me he was that terrifying."
"What?"
Wong frowned at Strange, who was suddenly trying to pass the buck. "Mr. Phoenix is a friend of the former Sorcerer Supreme, not mine. Besides, what did you even do? Why are you sweating so much?"
Strange rolled his eyes. He quickly recounted the apocalyptic montage he had witnessed in Hawk's River of Time—a highlight reel that could only be described as 'The Rise of the Demon King.'
As Wong listened to the tale of absolute, genocidal destruction, his jaw slowly dropped until his mouth formed a perfect 'O'.
Strange saw Wong's horrified expression and frowned.
"Wait, you didn't know?"
"Of course I didn't know!"
Wong snapped out of it, his tone indignant. "He's a friend of the Ancient One! A VIP guest of Kamar-Taj! Every time he comes here with his wife, he's perfectly polite and respectful. I always thought he was just a very powerful, very reclusive master of the mystic arts!"
The Ancient One wasn't one to gossip.
Neither was Wong.
So, as far as Wong knew, Hawk was just incredibly strong—strong enough to borrow the Time Stone whenever he wanted, and trustworthy enough that the Ancient One never worried he wouldn't bring it back.
Wong's understanding of Hawk began and ended at: Mysterious and Powerful.
But now?
Hearing Strange describe the absolute carnage he had witnessed in Hawk's past, Wong looked at the new Sorcerer Supreme as if he were a complete maniac.
"Stephen, I told you! When dealing with entities of unknown power, our default stance should be humility. You should be thanking the Vishanti that Mr. Phoenix is friendly toward Kamar-Taj!"
"I know, I know."
Strange rolled his eyes again at Wong, who was clearly channeling the Ancient One's final advice to him, and decisively ended the conversation.
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Norway!
The village of Geiranger.
This was Odin's chosen place of exile on Earth.
Hawk stepped through the portal. He glanced back just in time to see it snap shut with comical speed. He chuckled, then turned his attention to the figure standing on the edge of the cliff.
Odin was dressed in simple, brown, woolen robes. He looked like an ordinary, weary old wanderer, devoid of any divine aura.
But a dying tiger is still a tiger. And it is at its most dangerous.
The same rule applied to a Chief God entering the twilight of his existence. In his final moments, he was more terrifying than ever.
To use a different analogy—
He was a legendary Sage running out of lifespan, capable of unleashing one final, catastrophic strike.
Hawk kept this in mind as he walked forward, stopping about thirty feet behind the All-Father.
"God King Odin."
"..."
Odin, who had been staring out at the ocean and the clouds, didn't startle. He slowly turned around.
Stripped of his golden battle armor, he looked frail, his beard entirely white. But his single, remaining eye still burned with the tranquil wisdom of a Chief God.
When he spoke, his voice was saturated with exhaustion, yet it carried the weight of ages.
"Midgard has fallen into the temporal current of this universe. The gears of Ragnarok have begun to turn."
"..."
Hawk didn't take the bait. He looked at Odin, his tone curious and respectful. "How did you fall into Time's trap?"
'By observing the flaws in others, one may perfect their own craft.'
Hawk was confident in his own self-control. He believed he could resist the constant, insidious seduction of Time.
However, Time was the most infuriating, insidious adversary in existence.
Bar none!
So, Hawk figured he could learn from Odin's mistakes to ensure he didn't stumble into the same pitfall.
A technique never works on a Saint twice.
The same principle applies to traps.
He already knew how the Ancient One had fallen for it.
She had told him the story herself.
It was a long story, but it boiled down to one simple truth: The desire to progress, to become stronger, is a fundamental instinct of all intelligent life.
A fox borrowing the terror of a tiger to survive—isn't that just a form of seeking an advantage?
The Ancient One was no different... As the most gifted Sorcerer Supreme in the history of Kamar-Taj, she had reached the absolute peak of mortal power at a very young age. Naturally, she began looking for a way to ascend even higher.
Because of the actions of the second Sorcerer Supreme, Earth was destined to eventually fall into the primary universe's temporal flow.
The Vishanti had intervened and killed the second Sorcerer Supreme for his transgression. But the backlash from altering time had severely wounded the Vishanti, forcing them into a deep slumber.
A slumber they were still in.
Left without the guidance of her predecessors or her patrons, the Ancient One had naturally turned her gaze to the Time Stone.
'If I cannot draw wisdom from the past, why not borrow power from the future?'
She knew the absolute rule: The future must not be seen.
But she believed she was brilliant enough, disciplined enough, to spot any temporal traps before they sprung. She thought she was able to outsmart Time itself.
She was wrong.
Once she realized she was trapped, she tried to fight it. She turned to the Dark Dimension, siphoning power from Dormammu to stave off the inevitable future Time had shown her.
But then, she made a horrifying discovery.
In the vision Time had shown her, she hadn't borrowed power from the Dark Dimension. Yet, after she did, the past and future shifted around her actions... but the ultimate ending remained exactly the same.
"Yes." Odin listened to Hawk's summary of the Ancient One's fall and gave a slow nod.
"You can struggle, you can alter the path, but you cannot change the destined conclusion."
"And what about you?" Hawk steered the conversation back to his original question. "How did you fall into Time's trap?"
Odin let out a soft chuckle.
"For the exact same reason as the Ancient One. I wanted power."
"Power..."
"Yes." Odin nodded, his look distant. "After I conquered the Nine Realms, my ambition was boundless. I severed Midgard from the World Tree, dropping it into this universe. My plan was to use Midgard as a beachhead to eventually conquer this entire reality. But it was a trap. Ever since Zeus transcended Time, Eternity has been paranoid. It absolutely refuses to allow another universe outside of its direct control to exist."
Hawk raised an eyebrow.
"The Ancient One mentioned that. She said Zeus is the only Pantheon Head to ever transcend Time."
"Zeus is... exceptionally cunning."
Zeus might be a degenerate with zero moral character, but there was no denying he was the most effective and ruthless Chief God in existence.
Before he seized power, he played the humble brother, convincing Hades and Poseidon to join forces with him to overthrow their father, Cronus. Together, they shattered Cronus's connection to the earth and banished him to the sky forever.
But the moment the war was won, Zeus instantly turned on his brothers. He banished Hades to the Underworld and exiled Poseidon to the oceans, claiming the throne of Olympus solely for himself.
In terms of Machiavellian statecraft, Zeus was the perfect Chief God.
However, Zeus had no stake in this universe. While he might allow the Celestials to act as his glorified bouncers, it was effectively a declaration of neutrality: he wouldn't interfere in the affairs of the primary multiverse.
So!
Hawk looked at Odin.
"In all the countless millennia since you were trapped... did you never try to fight back?"
"..."
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