Back to New York

"It's time to leave," Chronos said, standing up.

At eighteen, Chronos was 1.85 meters tall. He didn't look overly muscular at first glance, but his hidden muscles were sharp and packed with power. Despite the youthful look on his face, he could easily be mistaken for someone in their twenties.

"Are you ready to go?" Yingli asked, watching him.

Yingli had expected this day to come eventually, though she hadn't anticipated it happening so soon. After all, Chronos had only been practicing for about six months.

"My research needs a lot of information that I can't get here," Chronos explained. He handed Yingli a card with his contact details. "The Tarot Secret Realm does great with Qi, but staying connected with the outside world will be useful."

"If you need anything, just reach out."

Chronos knew the Soul Eater was a serious threat. From what he understood, it was powerful enough to be on par with a Sub-God Father and could destroy entire civilizations if it devoured enough souls.

But it wasn't coming out anytime soon, since it usually waited for major events like the fall of key figures before making a move.

"Okay," Yingli said. She didn't try to keep him longer. She trusted that with Chronos's skills, the Tarot Secret Realm's problems would be sorted out quickly.

Chronos nodded and headed out. He knew creating a small universe would be tough, but he was ready for the challenge.

Even if Chronos successfully creates the small universe, it'll only be barely self-protective in the Marvel world. The small universe's full potential really kicks in when you reach the seventh sense.

At the start, with just the basic awakening, it's about peak human physical fitness and enhanced five senses—sort of like the sixth sense.

When you reach the sixth sense, the small universe starts to show decent combat abilities with supersonic movement and some superpowers. But it's still limited by the surface.

Only when you hit the seventh sense does the small universe truly come into its own. The sixth and seventh senses are a big step up from each other.

So, Chronos knows he needs to plan ahead. The Tarot Secret Realm is a small dimensional space that's ownerless and attached to Earth.

If everything goes as planned, he could use it as a springboard to become a dimensional lord, but that's still a long way off.

"It's time to head back," Chronos said, looking toward the distant west. There, he could operate more freely.

In Marvel's timeline, 2012 marks the start of major events.

The Avengers were also formed this year.

It's only been 10 years, so there's still plenty of time.

With Yingli's guidance, Chronos said his goodbyes to the Tarot's dragon and the other members of the Tarot Secret Realm.

"The sky is high, and the birds can fly freely..." Chronos marveled at the vastness of the outside world, a smile spreading across his face.

In the early morning sunshine, he looked even more striking. Thanks to Qi, Chronos's physical fitness had reached the peak of human capability.

His overall strength was even greater than that of enhanced individuals like Captain America. With his Qi abilities, even someone like Spider-Man might not be a match for him right now.

With this level of power, he could easily protect himself in the early stages. Even though Chronos wasn't sure which parallel universe he was in, he knew it was relatively safe until the major events began.

There were still over ten years before the time flash caused by Thanos, giving Chronos ample time to reach a higher level.

Though he had been away from the United States for a while, Chronos was still a legal citizen.

Before he left, he had arranged for a professional manager to handle his parents' inheritance, so he wasn't worried about being without a home.

Ten hours later, Chronos successfully arrived back in the United States.

"I'm back..." Chronos said, gazing at the city before him.

It had been eight years since he had left, but New York City seemed not to have changed much.

"Aspros, I'm back..." Chronos dialed the number he hadn't called in a long time.

"Boss, you're finally back!" Aspros answered, a mix of surprise and excitement in his voice. It was hard for him to believe that the boss who had been away for eight years had actually returned.

When Chronos first met Aspros, the latter was still a war orphan—homeless and struggling. Chronos had given him the name Aspros.

Chronos had been just eleven years old then, while Aspros was sixteen. He still remembered that moment vividly: a very young, strikingly handsome boy had reached out to him in a dark corner. It was as if he had seen a divine presence.