Chapter one

"Fuck!" cursed the Ancient One. "What's going on?"

One moment, she was sipping her tea. Then suddenly, the barrier protecting the Earth shattered, as if it had been rammed by a giant bulldozer. Before she could grasp what was happening, the ground started to tremble, and it was happening all over the planet. Initially, it was faint, but as the seconds passed, it grew increasingly violent. To make matters worse, there was a massive, unidentifiable presence whose aura seemed intent on suffocating all life.

As if that wasn't bad enough, a piercing, terrifying sound exploded everywhere, rendering the weakest unconscious.

Panicking, the Ancient One tried to open the Eye of Agamotto, but to her horror, it wasn't working. Even the energy she drew from the Dark Dimension was nowhere to be found. Her mystic vision was also down. On a magical level, she was completely blind. The forces at work were beyond her power or even her comprehension. Everything she tried to implement was useless. While everyone around her was in a frenzy, a sinking feeling, summarized in one question—"how?"—overwhelmed her deepest being. She had failed without even putting up a fight.

As this morbid resolution settled within her, everything suddenly stopped. The barrier, which had vanished, reappeared as if nothing had happened. Even the books and other objects scattered on the floor due to the quake were back in place, as if time had rewound.

Under different circumstances, she would have been more than happy for everything to return to normal. But now, her sense of insecurity was only growing. Grabbing the Time Stone hastily, she projected herself into the past with a lump in her throat and great apprehension.

Her doubts were confirmed: this event was in no timeline. But why did she remember it if it no longer existed in time? Why did the temple masters still have those bewildered looks on their faces, indicating they remembered it just as she did?

Even though she had no confirmation yet, she was sure of one thing: this was anything but trivial or inconsequential.

As she was about to move for an emergency meeting, she froze without warning: her mystic vision had detected an anomaly. "This is impossible!" she cried silently.

---

**Asgard**

As the god guardian tasked with protecting Asgard's entrance, Heimdall's sight was superb. Few things could escape his gaze in the nine realms. And among the nine, Midgard was the least likely to elude his watchful eyes.

So how? How could Earth change under his constant watch without him noticing? It was as if a mirage had been cast over his eyes. Usually, Earth had five continents, but without warning, a sixth had appeared in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The second he laid eyes on this continent, he knew a catastrophe of immense proportions had struck the nine realms. Those who had appeared were powerful and dangerous; there was no need for a second look to realize that. Without wasting any time, Heimdall moved towards the golden palace. The All-Father needed to know about this event as soon as possible and act accordingly.

---

**SHIELD, Unknown Base**

Chaotic. There's no other word to describe what was happening at the moment. Agents were running around like headless chickens, with supervisors shouting orders at the top of their lungs. From time to time, agents collided and exchanged heated words, such was the tension of the situation.

Fury, stationed in his office, watched the chaos below while pacing nervously, clearly anxious. He was waiting for a report from Maria Hill on what had caused this debacle. The World Security Council was relentlessly badgering him for a plausible explanation for the events. He was a spy, not a fucking seer or omniscient being.

Without bothering to knock, Maria entered the office silently and handed him the report. From the grim look on her face, he felt a headache coming on fast. Taking the tablet, he began to scroll through the report slowly. As he read, his eyes widened. He skimmed the report quickly.

"Agent Hill, you better be joking," Fury said, stunned.

"Not at all, sir," she replied.

"Shit, this wasn't what I had planned for this Thursday morning," Fury laughed bitterly. Honestly, it wasn't the catastrophe he had in mind for today.

---

**.....**

"Kaguyaaaa!" That was Zetsu's cry, echoing in the blood-red night. His hand, blacker than the night, protruded from Madara's chest, who was stunned and paralyzed by the sudden attack. No matter how much he struggled, it was useless; it seemed that damn traitor had done something to him since he couldn't regenerate.

While Zetsu revealed the truth to Madara, the rest of Team 7 was in shock, though it lasted only a moment. Even the great Madara was the product of a scheme, an infinite, macabre Russian doll.

Quickly brushing aside their thoughts and surprise, Team 7 rushed toward Madara as he began to swell like a balloon due to the excess chakra, which was none other than Kaguya's.

They had to hurry to prevent the resurrection of this so-called goddess. Naruto was the first to arrive. However, he noticed something was wrong. Instead of taking a humanoid form, Madara's body continued to swell dangerously, making a horrific sound like glass cracking under intense heat.

This wasn't good, really not good. Even Zetsu was panicking, not understanding what was happening. Being the first to reach Madara, Naruto's senses warned him of imminent danger. Alas, before he could turn back or warn the others, Madara's body exploded in a massive blast, sweeping everything in its path.

To resist, Naruto transformed one of his orbs into a staff and planted it in the ground. It was utterly useless; he was blown away like a flicker in the wind. The explosion exceeded the battlefield, encompassing more space than he could imagine.

Unfortunately, that was only the beginning. What followed made the explosion seem like child's play. A blinding light, a soul-wrenching sound, and gravity that felt a thousand times stronger. In less than a second, Naruto felt his body being torn apart atom by atom and sucked into the darkest abyss. The pain was unimaginable; he had fallen into madness multiple times. Why did it hurt so much when he no longer had a body? Why wouldn't it stop?

As this question plagued him, he felt his scattered body reconstitute at the same speed it had been destroyed. It was just as painful; if he could cry, he would have wept bitterly.

Even though it lasted only an instant, it felt like emerging from a time loop in which he had been killed millions of times. His reconstituted body landed gracelessly on the ground, aching all over.

Always on alert, Naruto tried to get up; there was still a war going on (the enemy could be hiding anywhere). He couldn't let himself go, not when the world's future was on his shoulders, despite everything he had just endured. However, his legs had a different opinion entirely. Less than five steps later, he fell backward, gasping for air, his mouth wide open, desperately seeking air.

Realizing that reckless bravery would solve nothing, he lay there for a good five minutes in a somewhat pleasant stupor. It felt more like camping than a battlefield, he thought with a laugh. And the stars were so beautiful and numerous.

But wait! Naruto suddenly shouted. What kind of sorcery was this? This wasn't the sky he knew. What was that bear-shaped constellation?