"I am Menes, my Savior."

As if he could see the confusion in Lothar's mind, Menes introduced himself, helping Lothar recall the man he and Hela had met in ancient Egypt.

Menes, the Pharaoh who had unified Upper and Lower Egypt and built statues for both of them. The Menes of that time had been in the prime of his life; the one now was an old man, his vitality waning.

Time is unforgiving.

For those without eternal life, it is always their greatest enemy.

"You're not dead?" Lothar's eyes flickered as he remembered who Menes was. He knew how short the lives of humans were. Thousands of years had passed since ancient Egypt. How could that Menes still be alive? His nature made him immediately suspect something was amiss.

"Based on the life spectrum analysis, Lord Menes must have used the Horus's Eye to survive until now," Woz's analysis gave Lothar a reliable answer.

"You are as wise as ever, Lord Woz," Menes said with a smile, bowing to the now-solid Woz.

Years ago, when Menes was at the end of his life, he had instructed his followers to place his body in a pyramid with statues of Lothar and Hela. After he died, his followers did as he asked.

But the succession of power was anything but peaceful. During the brutal power struggle, one of the royal family members placed the Horus's Eye that Menes had left behind into Menes's sarcophagus to keep the royal treasure safe.

Centuries passed, but no one ever came to retrieve the Horus's Eye. After hundreds of years of absorbing the energy of a decaying corpse, the normally docile extradimensional artifact finally erupted.

Was it not supposed to have some dignity? Did it really look like it enjoyed the energy of a rotting corpse? And so, the artifact forcefully and secretly pulled the dead Menes back from the underworld, and the ancient Pharaoh was officially revived.

After his revival, Menes stayed in the pyramid for a while until his bones were strong again. When he finally emerged, he discovered the world had undergone a drastic change.

After reading the history books and learning about the changes that had happened to ancient Egypt over the centuries, Menes saw the truth of things and began living in seclusion, becoming the founder of the Savior God Cult 2.0.

The reason Nick Fury was confused by the historical records of the Savior God Cult was the time gap between the 1.0 and 2.0 versions.

After thousands of years in seclusion, Menes was sought out by Strange, who had seen a portion of the future. And that's how he ended up in Asgard, standing before Lothar.

"So, all of this... was your plan?" Lothar asked, looking at the Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen Strange.

"I had no other choice for the sake of this universe," Strange said, accepting Lothar's scrutiny as he laid out his entire plan.

The letter the Ancient One left him before she died predicted a universal war. To prevent the Outer Gods from interfering, the Ancient One had gone to gather them, claiming it was for a "tea party." She never came back.

Strange, using the Time Stone that the Ancient One had left for him, had done his best to glimpse bits of the future.

Taking Tony's soul, bringing Lothar the Time Stone, and even digging Menes out of seclusion—it was all to create an environment where he could speak with Lothar in peace.

As for Thor's "death," it was simply a calculated move to draw out the Demon Dragon Nidhogg. After all, Thor wasn't going to die. Even if he wanted to, Odin's power that the old man had left behind wouldn't allow it.

Besides, the way Thor was blinded aligned with Strange's premonition. In the limited future he had seen, Thor, covered in arcane runes and looking like a demon god, was blind.

"This universe is in mortal danger, Lothar," Strange said, his tone sincere. "You are the only one who can defeat Darkseid, and the only one who can save this universe."

Although he didn't trust Lothar, he believed in the prophecy his master, the Ancient One, had left behind. Tony Stark was now a "soul body," and Strange couldn't see any potential in him to defeat Darkseid. He had no choice but to place his hope in Lothar.

"As expected of the Savior," Menes said, giving Strange a well-timed compliment that made The Other, who was still in a daze, snap back to reality. He shot a glare at Menes, gritting his teeth.

Damn it! He beat me to it again!

A wave of panic wrapped around The Other, and the negative emotions made Pietro and Wanda, who were nearby, shudder.

"You're telling me you did all this just to tell me I'm the universe's Savior?" Lothar asked, looking at the long-faced man with interest.

Countless Asgardian citizens had died, the buildings were in ruins, and even Hela's brother had been used as a pawn... Earthlings weren't as boring as he thought. At least they were more interesting than the ones he met when he forced Odin out of hiding.

"Yes, and I hope you'll come to me and learn magic using the Time Stone," Strange said, nodding and stating his final goal. He didn't know how to help Lothar break through his bottleneck, but since the Ancient One said he could help, Strange figured that "help" meant teaching him magic. After all, magic was the only area where he was stronger than Lothar. How could he help him in any other way?

"Interesting," Lothar said, his gaze moving past Strange and landing on the tall stone mural. "But I refuse."

"I'll handle the Darkseid situation myself. I don't need your help." Lothar's refusal was blunt. He didn't trust Strange. The only people he trusted were Thanos, Woz, Hela, and The Other. He didn't want the universe to be destroyed, but that didn't mean he would follow Strange's plan.

"If you want me to trust you, it's simple."

"Bring me the Soul Stone, and you can find me in the Dark Quadrant."

Lothar laid down his condition. He already had five of the six Infinity Stones. Only the Soul Stone, which had a high degree of sentience, was still on Vormir and not yet in his possession. If Strange actually brought it, Lothar wouldn't mind talking to him.

"..." What's wrong with the kids Thanos raised? He gave him the Time Stone, and he still wants the Soul Stone? He's really pushing his luck. Strange's head started to hurt, his temples throbbing.

Meanwhile, on Earth, in Wakanda.

The long-unconscious Captain America, Steve Rogers, opened his eyes under the gaze of a group of Wakandans.

"Where am I?" Steve Rogers remembered the last thing he saw was the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier exploding. And then, nothing. After all, he was on the Helicarrier at the time.

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