Chapter-13 | Ancient One's Voice Call...

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After that night when Batman left feeling depressed, Schiller returned to the Marvel world. Following the adrenaline rush he gave Stark, Daredevil from Hell's Kitchen went into hiding to avoid vendettas. Meanwhile, the young Spider-Man had just acquired his powers but hadn't officially debuted yet. Schiller found himself with some free time on his hands.

Since that night, Schiller noticed he had another opportunity for random chats. Now, he had figured it out: as long as he had a significant impact on someone in a particular world, he could get a chance for a random chat. Clearly, the conversation with Batman that night had left a profound impression on him.

Schiller decided to make use of this downtime. Professor Charles seemed busy with enrollment lately, and Spider-Man was too excited about his new abilities to reply promptly. There was a momentary lack of chat partners, and Schiller was feeling a bit lonely.

So, he decided to use the random chat opportunity. Suddenly, a voice call interface appeared in his mind. This was something he hadn't experienced before while chatting with Charles or Spider-Man.

They had always communicated through text, and Schiller's mind had been filled with chat boxes. But this time, it was a voice call.

Schiller glanced at the profile picture – Sorcerer Supreme, The Ancient One!!!

Sorcerer Supreme, The Ancient One, had sent a voice call invitation. Should he accept it? And what should he say?

Schiller scratched his head but ultimately accepted.

"...Mysterious voice from the Space, where do you come from?"

Schiller received a series of sounds, although calling them "sounds" might not be entirely accurate. They were more like thoughts and brainwaves. Schiller didn't hear any actual sound, but he understood the other side's message.

Schiller replied using his own thoughts, "Who are you?"

On the Himalayan mountains, seated on a cushion in a lotus position, The Ancient One was deep in meditation. Suddenly, she furrowed her brow as a voice responded to her.

The Ancient One often sought answers from the chaotic Space voices during her meditation. Echoes from the Space represented different mystical signs in her mind. She could use these Space voices to divine, cleanse her mind, and find tranquility.

But these Space voices were always disordered, without any logical notes. The Ancient One firmly believed that any conscious entity wandering in the Space was a future Cosmic God.

So, she immediately became alert. She focused all her mental energy. Her thoughts were incredibly powerful, capable of scanning all nearby Space in an instant. However, after a thorough scan, she found nothing unusual.

The voice that replied to her seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. It had no origin, and there were no energy anomalies.

Schiller knew The Ancient One was formidable. If you combined her with the comic book lore, she was several times stronger than in the movies. And now, she wasn't the young Batman; she was at her full power. Nevertheless, Schiller intended to take a risk.

He said, "Answer me... answer me..."

"Wherever you're from, stay away from Earth!" The Ancient One's response was stern.

"Guardian of Earth? Answer me..."

"I am Earth's Sorcerer Supreme... who are you... and why emit a cosmic signal?"

"I come from Carcosa... the Hastur star system, Lake Hali... the dark Sun is high in the sky..."

The Ancient One received a series of incomprehensible messages from the other side. She knew that connecting with an unknown entity in Space for a conversation was highly dangerous. But she needed to ascertain if this entity posed a threat to Earth.

The messages from the other side were cryptic and complex, but The Ancient One picked up on a few recurring elements: Carcosa, Hastur, Lake Hali.

After a convoluted exchange, The Ancient One pieced together that the other side was likely issuing a warning. She heard the repeated phrase, "When the stars align, the old days return..."

The Ancient One believed that the person on the other end might be called "Hastur," residing in a place called Carcosa with a "Lake Hali" covered in thick mist. Their enemies, known as the "Elder Rulers" or demon gods, were set to return to Earth when the stars aligned.

Under The Ancient One's persistent questioning, she understood that the other entity appeared to be imprisoned, unable to confront its enemies personally. Instead, it was broadcasting signals near Earth to warn its inhabitants.

However, The Ancient One knew that the life forms of Earth were fundamentally different from these Cosmic Gods. They couldn't hear these cosmic signals. If she didn't meditate daily, no one would understand what the other being was saying.

Even for The Ancient One, she couldn't fully comprehend the Brainwave signals sent by the other entity. It seemed to contain too much information, including references to the Elder Rulers, the head demon god, Azathoth. The other side appeared eager to convey all this information, but sadly, The Ancient One couldn't fully grasp it.

She didn't actually distrust these unknown Space entities, but she couldn't sense their presence, nor did she feel any additional scrutiny on Earth. However, their warning attitude created a sense of pressure. Who were these sudden demon gods?

Furthermore, they seemed to silently infiltrate Earth nearby and broadcast signals. Who could guarantee that they wouldn't affect human minds?

It must be said that The Ancient One's many years as Sorcerer Supreme were not in vain. Her worries were well-founded. If this story wasn't fabricated by Schiller, then the Lovecraftian Mythos lineage would be more than a little mad.

However, it was fortunate that this was just a story Schiller had made up to fool The Ancient One.

Just as The Ancient One was about to continue probing, the communication was abruptly cut off. It seemed that something had gone wrong on the other side.

The entity hadn't made any demands, nor did it seek to lend its power to anyone. It didn't spout any nonsense about rules of Space, which, oddly enough, made The Ancient One trust it somewhat.

Demon gods were rarely adept at concealing their madness and chaos; they couldn't resist their own chaotic nature. If the entity on the other side was dangerous, The Ancient One, with her vast experience, would have immediately traced them through the network and dealt with them.

But now, it appeared that the demon gods on the other side were surprisingly mild and rational. However, The Ancient One didn't let her guard down. This could all be a façade.

Schiller had mastered the art of leaving half the conversation unsaid. He hadn't waited for The Ancient One to ask for more details; he had already ended the call and rubbed his hands, intending to replicate The Ancient One's abilities.

With a click, the system's prompt sounded, "Magic ability (low-level) loaded."

Schiller knew that The Ancient One's abilities were undoubtedly related to the Mystic Side and had something to do with magic.

After loading the magic ability, Schiller began to test it. He discovered that this ability had its pros and cons.

The advantage was that he didn't need to adhere to Marvel's magic system. Schiller could use magic without any cost or side effects. However, the downside was that it was undeniably a low-level magic ability. What Schiller could do included telekinesis within a range of about 10 meters, basic fire manipulation, and a short-range teleportation known as Blink.

The telekinesis range was roughly 10 meters, similar to levitation. Schiller could move objects within this range as long as they didn't exceed his own weight. Large objects like houses or cars were beyond his ability.

Fire magic was hardly offensive. Schiller could ignite a small flame in his palm, equivalent to lighting a cigarette or burning a piece of paper or a book. It wasn't something he could use for combat.

The most useful ability was Blink. Schiller could appear or disappear at any point within a range of about 20 meters. This was sufficient to evade many dangers.

Although using magic didn't require a direct cost, it did consume physical and mental energy. After continuous Blinking five or six times, Schiller would become too tired to stand. More importantly, his mind would be filled with noise, making it difficult to concentrate. This was the result of overusing magic.

However, compared to the high costs other Marvel sorcerers had to pay for using magic, Schiller was already quite fortunate.

The abilities he loaded often had the label "low-level," indicating that these abilities could be upgraded. However, Schiller hadn't yet found a way to upgrade them. He speculated that perhaps increasing intimacy with the chat characters, helping them, or saving them would grant him more advanced abilities.

In extreme situations, consecutive Blinking could allow Schiller to move over 100 meters in a very short time. This ability also ignored obstacles, allowing him to pass through walls.

He could comfortably sit in his Psychological Clinic and, in an instant, appear in a house two streets away. The biggest advantage of this was that SHIELD agents could no longer track him down.

SHIELD agents had arrived in Hell's Kitchen long ago. However, as Schiller had expected, the place was teeming with people, and the local gangs were highly vigilant against outsiders. S.H.I.E.L.D. operations were often met with various obstacles, such as when they rented a building opposite Schiller's clinic and were extorted for a hefty sum.

Once Schiller started using Blink to leave his clinic, SHIELD agents were completely baffled. They hadn't seen Schiller leave, yet after a while, he'd return from the street. Or they'd see him leave but not return, only for him to reappear in the clinic later.

This completely shattered SHIELD agents' assumptions about Schiller's daily routines.

But it only solidified Nick Fury's belief that Schiller was an unpredictable and dangerous individual, especially as his interactions with Stark became increasingly frequent. This wasn't good news, especially since Nick Fury intended to use Stark's sense of justice to manipulate him into working for S.H.I.E.L.D.

Strange occurrences weren't limited to S.H.I.E.L.D. agents; Schiller also noticed strange things around his clinic in recent days. It wasn't until he discovered that a cake in his refrigerator had lost four pounds that he confirmed his clinic had been invaded.