The end of time, the Void.
Purple lightning storms raged across the sky. The giant cloud monster named Alioth opened its abyssal maw, capable of devouring entire dimensions, and bore down on the few tiny ants hiding behind rocks.
It was a suffocating despair.
Loki clutched his dagger tightly, his palms slick with cold sweat.
Though Maria and Natasha were wearing their embarrassing battle suits, they had no time to care about their image now. Their faces were paler than their white and purple bodysuits.
"It's over... this thing can't be dealt with by magic at all..." Loki mumbled to himself, his eyes unfocused.
Just at this critical moment—
Buzz!
An orange light portal, like a divine miracle, ripped open out of thin air in the void behind them.
A blond man, dressed in an expensive suit, hands in his pockets, and an elegant smile on his lips, strolled out of it.
That was their nightmare, and also their only savior at this moment – Frieza.
"M-master?!"
Loki's eyes widened, almost crying with joy.
In that instant, he felt Frieza's devilish face was even more endearing than Odin's.
"You came to save us! I knew you wouldn't abandon your loyal servant!"
Maria and Natasha exchanged glances. Although they were a thousand times unwilling to admit it, their tense nerves did relax the moment they saw this man appear.
It was like falling into a lion's cage, only to have a T-Rex charge in. Though the T-Rex was more terrifying, at least the lions wouldn't dare touch you.
"Oh my, the environment here is truly awful."
Frieza didn't even bother to glance at the colossal beast lunging at them, merely swatting away dust in front of his nose in disgust.
"It's not my style as a boss to make my employees work in such a harsh environment."
"Roar!!!"
Alioth seemed enraged by this tiny creature, letting out a soul-shaking roar.
The massive purple smoke instantly accelerated, attempting to swallow the ignorant blond man whole.
"So noisy."
Frieza frowned slightly, a flash of displeased crimson in his eyes.
"A mere dirty wisp of exhaust dares to shout in front of me?"
"An ill-mannered savage."
Frieza slowly raised his right hand. At the tip of his index finger, the familiar purple energy ball, radiating destructive power, instantly condensed.
This time, he put a little more effort into it.
"Begone."
Death Ball!
Whoosh—Boom!!!
The purple energy ball, like a shooting star, instantly plunged into Alioth's massive body. Following that was a violent explosion powerful enough to illuminate the entire void.
The terrifying energy shockwave literally blasted a huge hole in the purple cloud that covered the sky and earth.
Alioth let out a pained wail, its colossal body forced to retreat.
"So... so strong!" Loki watched, dumbfounded.
He could even blast back a monster that devours time? Is he even human?
However, Frieza's frown deepened.
He noticed that although the cloud had dispersed, it was rapidly reassembling under the influence of the laws of time.
"Tsk, is it really a multiversal watchdog?" Frieza pondered for a moment.
This thing had no physical form, purely composed of temporal and spatial energy. While physical and energy attacks were effective, it was difficult to completely eradicate it.
Unless he could transform into Golden Frieza and directly obliterate this dimension.
But for now...
"Forget it, arguing with a ball of air is too demeaning."
Frieza decisively pulled out the stolen Time Twister and pressed a few buttons on it.
"Let's go, back to the company."
He glanced at the few employees behind him who were still dazed.
"What? Or do you want to stay here and be dessert for this marshmallow?"
"No! We're going! Immediately!" Loki shook his head like a rattle-drum, being the first to rush into the light portal.
Maria, Natasha, and Wanda dared not delay, quickly following suit.
Frieza cast one last look at the reassembling monster, letting out a cold snort.
"I'll deal with you next time."
With that, he elegantly stepped into the light portal.
—
New York, Manhattan, Frieza Tower penthouse.
Buzz!
The orange light portal flashed, and several figures appeared out of thin air.
The sunlight outside the window was still bright. The experience of wreaking havoc at the TVA and confronting monsters in the Void earlier felt like a mere illusion.
Frieza glanced at the wall clock, only one second had passed.
"This is the beauty of the Time Twister."
Frieza happily walked back to his chair and sat down, even having the leisure to cross his legs.
"Alright, although there were a few minor setbacks, our staff is now complete."
He scanned the group of shaken subordinates before him.
"Loki, go organize today's schedule."
"Maria, Natasha, you two continue with the recruitment. Tonight, I will personally select my Frieza Force members."
Frieza's tone became a few shades more serious, his crimson eyes carrying astonishing pressure.
"Remember, I want elites, the kind that look evil and have a villainous aura. Don't bring me any useless rabble to fill the numbers."
"Oh, and clean up the mess and bodies here."
"Yes... Master."
Though physically and mentally exhausted, under the dual threat of the soul contract and the brain bomb, the few could only obediently accept their orders and withdraw.
Once only he was left in the office, Frieza slowly opened the system panel.
[Current accumulated Fear Pointa: 415 billion / 500 billion]
"Oh-ho-ho..."
Looking at the long string of numbers, Frieza let out a satisfied laugh.
In this trip to the TVA, although he couldn't deal with the mastermind Kang, the Fear Points was absolutely maxed out.
Especially that last wave of destroying the TVA headquarters, it was a huge harvest.
"Less than a hundred billion more, and I can unlock my third form." Frieza's eyes glittered with greed.
That Alioth earlier made him realize that while his current power was invincible on Earth, it was still somewhat lacking in the multiverse.
He must become stronger as soon as possible.
Not just for enjoyment, but for survival.
He casually pulled out the Infinity Stones from his pocket, which looked like glass marbles.
Red, purple, blue, green... they shimmered in the sunlight.
"Such beautiful colors."
Frieza toyed with these stones that could drive the entire universe mad.
"Unfortunately, without that golden gauntlet, these stones cannot unleash their full power."
He knew there was an Infinity Gauntlet in Odin's vault. It was fake, of course. The gems on it were fake, but the gauntlet itself was real.
But that wasn't important.
The other one was still with the Dwarf King in Nidavellir, or had already been custom-made by Thanos.
"Should I go to Asgard and snatch that gauntlet for temporary use?"
Frieza stroked his chin, then shook his head.
"No rush."
"Earth is the biggest contributor to Fear Points right now."
"Once I've harvested all the Fear Points on Earth and unlocked a stronger form, it won't be too late to go to Asgard."
"At that time..."
Frieza's lips curved into an extremely cruel smile.
"Bringing my cosmic army to descend upon Asgard, pulling that old man Odin from his throne... That scene would surely be quite something, wouldn't it?"
"Ohohoho..."
...
Meanwhile.
Underground New York, within a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. base.
For the first time, the Ancient One lost her calm and all-knowing composure.
Just moments ago, through the Eye of Agamotto, she saw that the timeline, once as stable as a long river, had suddenly shattered into countless garbled codes.
The organization named TVA, the entity that maintained the stability of the timeline, had vanished.
In its place was a chaotic, mad future full of variables.
And the source of all this pointed to that man – Frieza.
"What's wrong?"
Steve, with a full beard and a dejected look, quickly asked when he saw the Ancient One in such a state.
Beside him was Tony tinkering with instruments, and Bruce, silently hugging his knees.
"The situation is worse than I imagined." The Ancient One spoke directly, without preamble.
"That person called Frieza just did something that could destroy the multiverse."
"I really want to banish him to the Dark Dimension right now."
The Ancient One sighed, a deep apprehension in her eyes.
"But... I can't."
"His power is growing too fast, so fast that even time cannot catch up to him."
Hearing even the Sorcerer Supreme say this, Tony's hand trembled, and the wrench in his hand fell to the ground.
"Even magic is useless? Then what are we waiting for? To die?"
"No."
The Ancient One's gaze swept over everyone present.
"We still have a chance."
"Our top priority now is to unite all forces that can be united."
"I heard that Frieza is openly recruiting an army?" The Ancient One asked.
"That's right, it's all over the internet. Black Cat, Bullseye, even Doctor Octopus went to queue for interviews." Tony pulled up a virtual screen, filled with photos of villains queuing.
"Since he's recruiting, then we will too." The Ancient One said gravely.
"In this world, there are not only villains who want to cling to power, but also many guardians hidden in the shadows."
"Inhumans, mutants, street heroes..."
"Even..." The Ancient One looked at Thor, who had been silent by the side.
"We need Asgard's help."
Thor, who had been looking down, somewhat withdrawn because Mjolnir was crushed, suddenly looked up.
At that moment, the lightning in his eyes flashed again.
"That's right."
Thor stood up. Although he no longer had Mjolnir, his fighting spirit was returning.
"That monster not only humiliated me, but also the glory of Asgard."
"I need to go home."
"Such a terrifying threat is no longer something Midgard can face alone."
"I must ask my father, the All-Father, to unleash Asgard's true power."
Steve took a deep breath, picking up his somewhat worn shield.
"Then let's get to work."
"No matter if he's a god or a devil, as long as the Avengers aren't all dead, he won't be able to do as he pleases on this planet."