OG!Cale has time travel powers? Is that canon or is it headcanon? So why did he make the deal if he could go back in time on his own? I think I'm confused, I'm definitely understanding something wrong.
https://www.tumblr.com/darkside9995/780521552832839680/i-dont-remember-if-i-mentioned-this-before-but?source=share
Good question! In canon, OG Cale was never stated to have any specific powers at all. No mention if he ever developed swordsman's aura as a soldier, or if he knew any magic, or if he ever possessed an Ancient Power of his own – not even the Annual Rings of Life. He told KRS!Cale where to find his mother's power, but he never explained whether he obtained it in the TBOAH timeline, or if he simply knew on sight what it was (when he witnessed the White Star grab Choi Han and make that "time is warped for you" comment). Basically, OG Cale's skillset is 100% a mystery. It was stated he was completely average in body strength when Cale transmigrated at the age of 18, and his plate was naturally weak (unless the plate was originally OG KRS's, not OG Cale's, which might make things even more confusing).
But I kinda figure that OG Cale had to be strong by the time he reached 40. He made that comment that in TBOAH timeline, "all sorts of strong people gathered under Alberu Crossman for that final battle", and since he was present – and he survived long enough to get "buried under the bodies of his comrades", meaning he couldn't possibly be the weakest one there if he was one of the last to die!! – it all means that 40-year-old OG Cale just HAD TO be someone quite formidable even if he never went into detail, when he spoke with KRS!Cale. Not to mention that he was fit to replace the OG KRS - the insane workaholic Team Leader who had a 100% success rate - in a soulswap with such success that others only noticed a weird personality shift, and not a "skill issue".
Basically, all signs point to OG Cale being really, really strong. And the possibilities of what that entails are endless.
But then we come to the problem called "Regression", and uhhh.... how do I say this... we have exactly ZERO information on it, if not NET NEGATIVE??? Like... no one ever mentions it even as a possibility! No one considers regression as a thing people can do – heck, not even the GODS are supposed to be able to do it! In fact, Choi Han tells Cale in the Sealed God's test that gods are supposedly unable to send someone in time. Either it's a plot hole or a freaking lie – and considering how TCF gods are proven LIARS, I'm inclined towards the latter!
So how did the God of Death pull his time-travel scheme off, then!? You tell me!!! 😂
My original thoughts were something among the lies of, "God of Death used some sort of divine, limited-in-use Deux Ex Machina that let him regress a whole world through the deal with OG Cale". However... now we know there is quiteeee a few gods who (slight spoiler alert, but I'm keeping it very light) are not only antagonistic towards the God of Death, but also several insanely powerful gods who are straight up pure evil! If THEY had any time-travel on their hands, they would have used it to destroy Cale and everything he stands for a long time ago. Heck, the one villain in Part 2 with time powers was freaking crazy, and he could only PAUSE time, not REGRESS it!!
So... my second theory was that the God of Death has a single unique, ultra SECRET time-revealed power, that he could use only once, and now he will probably be forced to retire soon. Which seems plausible, all things considered.
However, my third and current theory is that there was a mixture of factors. Yes, OG Cale himself can have some sort of time-travel related potential, and the God of Death was able to combine it with his own power and use it to their advantage. Or maybe God of Death got an item or the help of another person who was able to manipulate time. Maybe there's a whole freaking plotline in TCF waiting to be explored in that direction. Who knows! NOT ME!! Lol
Look, my point it this: time travel is CONFUSING when you consider how the multiverse works in TCF. From my understanding, only one world should have been affected by the regression. But so far no one, not even our dimension-travelling villains the Hunters, seem to notice that regression has taken place!! Isn't that strange?? It freaking is!! So I hope we get an explanation on it sometime in the future, because my nerdy brain is exploding from all the unanswered questions!!!!
...I hope I was at least to answer your question, haha. OG Cale has no confirmed powers of his on in current time. Only the ones he inherited from OG KRS, after he transmigrated.
