Omniscience in Marvel 113

Title - Recovery, Retrospection and Timeskip 2

…

In the dimly lit chamber of the imperial palace, the flickering light from the oil lamps cast long shadows on the walls adorned with mosaics. The room was filled with a heavy, somber silence, broken only by the faint rustle of the night breeze through the open window and the labored breaths of the emperor.

Alexios I Komnenos lay on a grand, ornate bed, his once vigorous frame now frail and weakened by years of illness and the burdens of empire. His silver hair and beard contrasted starkly with the pale, lined skin of his face.

Despite the evident pain, his eyes remained sharp and reflective of a life filled with triumph and struggle.

Beside him stood Leucadius, now an old man himself, his once powerful form bent slightly with age but still emanating an air of quiet strength and wisdom. His eyes, filled with both sorrow and admiration, were fixed on the emperor. Leucadius's robes, though simpler than those of the emperor, spoke of a lifetime of service and loyalty.

"Leucadius," Alexios whispered, his voice raspy but still carrying the weight of command, "have the preparations been made?"

"Yes, my friend," Leucadius replied softly, leaning closer to hear better. "Your son John is ready to take the mantle. The empire will endure."

A faint smile touched Alexios's lips. "Good. Ensure he remains vigilant... the empire's enemies are relentless."

Leucadius nodded. "Your legacy will guide him, as it has guided us all."

"It gladdens me to hear that." Alexios said and gave Leucadius a hard stare. "Just once…" The emperor muttered.

"Hmm?"

"You've only ever called me Emperor…once." He said with a smile. "And it was on the day I was crowned. Since then, you've been with me for half a century."

"Hahaha, what friend won't do the same?"

"Indeed. What friend won't do the same." The emperor's eyes closed briefly, a peaceful expression settling on his face. "It is a comfort to know you are by my side, old friend."

Leucadius clasped the emperor's hand gently. "Rest now, Alexios. Your duty is done."

In the stillness of the night, surrounded by the echoes of his reign, Alexios I Komnenos took his final breath, the burden of empire slipping from his shoulders. Leucadius bowed his head, a silent tear tracing down his cheek, as the Byzantine Empire entered a new era under the guidance of Alexios's heir.

Raising his head to look at the now dead emperor, Leucadius' aged appearance immediately reverted as he went from a 70+ old man to a man in his mid thirties. "It was a nice experience my friend."

Unlike his other friends like King David whom he rarely spent time with physically, Alexios or Alex, as he loved to call him, was a friend who he'd had a lot of experiences with. Fun, sad, joy, happy, heartbreak, love and many more.

Leucadius was present through all this with his eyes entirely fixed on the man. He truly was deserving of being an Emperor, a True Leader. Although he knew that there were many that surpassed him in the past and more that will surpass him in the future, Leucadius felt that, in and of itself, Alexios was a wonderful Leader.

"I guess it's about time I died and left it all to my 'son'" he thought and created a clone that would only last a month. Its sole duty was to ensure that Alex was buried properly and that John was made the next Emperor.

In the entire Empire, no one boasted more power than Leucadius'. Not even the Prime minister and members of the Imperial Court. And to make it more mind boggling, Leucadius had no official post whatsoever.

Alexios had once asked why he rejected them all and Leucadius merely laughed and said. "The moment I take on that post, I will no longer be your friend."

Of course, Leucadius actual thoughts were: How could God serve a mere man?

Arrogant as it may sound, it wasn't supposed to happen. The moment that happens, Leucadius' dignity as God of The Heaven, The Most High himself would be ruined.

As for the Emperor's Soul, Leucadius wasn't keen on playing favorites and would leave it all to his son's discretion.

"Hmm…should I leave a mark on this City? It'll later come to be known as Istanbul, a state in Turkey…Nah. No remarkable thing will happen here anyways, it's a good thing I got a Part or Israel given to my 'family' as a gift." Leucadius said and stretched.

"Damn, using time magic to age myself accordingly was stressful." He said and walked towards the balcony from which he could see the beautiful imperial capital. "What a sight."

…

Leucadius POV

All the way from (Constantinople)Istanbul, Nicea(Iznki) and (Antioch)Antakya in Turkey, Belgrade in Serbia, Durazzo in Albania to Thessaloniki in Greece, I had endeavored to have a large chunk of land out under my name.

I've been thinking about it all these time and have decided to settle on one Name. Of course, I already have the name Leucadius, which is singular. I have no father to answer from, similar to all the Eternals who have one name and one name only.

Odin goes by Borso, Thor by Odinson, Zeus and his siblings by Panethiakos or something and other Gods too. My Godly name is of course, Leucadius, but as a Human only 'I' go by Leucadius.

My 'son' will go by Aurelius Lucius.

I know. I have nothing relating me to Gold, but it was either Aurelius or Albus, Argentum or Candidus.

Yup. Albus or Candidus meant White while Argentum, Silver. Of the three names, only Aurelius sounded Roman so I took it. Plus, it sounded cooler.

Since trade was being conducted by bronze, silver and gold, I knew that comparing it to the gold standard of the future 21st century, I was already a billionaire. But there were still over 900 years to go.

A lot can happen within that time frame. My status as God aside, I had Time Magic, knowing the value of a land ahead of anyone was a cheat privy only to me.

However, I wasn't just indiscriminately enriching myself, I was indiscriminately enriching myself under the cover of the government.

There'll be a time when all those places will be placed under a specific country different from the Empire, so the first thing I did was pick a baby, engraved a specific DNA in them, and then I groomed and brought them up as my Sons.

Other than Aurelius Lucius who was my clone, every other person was made to be my son. I couldn't carelessly act like Zeus in this situation so I did the next best thing.

Their core doctrine will be to control and manipulate the areas they can reach through trade…or money.

There won't be anything like a succession battle, Branch family and main family as all power will be concentrated on the Family. Each family will have the sum total of a hundred Assassin from the League of Shadows, all trained and supplied to them by yours truly with the aid of the Ten Immortals.

I couldn't be bothered to know their names as they were scum of the earth right from when I found them and they've stuck to that trait ever since.

Since then, a couple decades have passed. Everything was going well on Earth, people were born every minute of the day and people died all the same.

The booming business of the era was basically Silk between the Eastern countries and the western ones. The Vikings, along with the Church's Crusade Boosted European economy through plunder and trade.

There were times when the Crusaders also resorted to Plunder and the Vikings trade. It was comical to see in a way.

Following this trend, I. The early 13th century, a commercial alliance, the Hanseatic League, popped up and dominated the Baltic maritime trade. In the beginning stages of their formation, they faced a lot of trials, but through something out of a Novel, it grew to become what it was.

And according to my Future readings, they'll exist way past the 16th and into the 17th century. An impressive feat.

In the small village that will grow into what will be known as Florence, Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici came up with an Idea that Revolutionized the concept of banking.

It was interesting enough that this wasn't done entirely by him. A…rather distant descendant of Aurelius Lucius by the name Leuca De Medici collaborated with this young Giovanni by providing his banking houses with rather distinctive protection.

(A/N: Medici is a term usually given to very wealthy families in the 13th Century)

A rather interesting occurrence which I didn't see coming, it wasn't an unpleasant one though.

Normal POV

During the mid-fifteenth century, a lot of things happened, one of which brought a sad smile to Leucadius' face. "So the empire finally fell…"

That was all Leucadius said before life continued. Kingdoms rose and fell, it wasn't out of the ordinary that an Empire with over 700 years of Existence was not unique.

Still, it was a feat in and of itself. Leucadius admitted this. And with their fall, came the rise of the Ottoman's Empire.

The Century wouldn't come to close without mentioning two of the humans that really impressed Leucadius. One being Johannes Gutenberg and the other being Leonardo da Vinci.

Johannes invented the movable Printing Press, a revolutionary technology that allowed for the mass production of books and other printed materials, greatly enhancing the spread of knowledge and literacy.

The Gutenberg Bible, printed around 1455, is one of his most famous works and is considered a masterpiece of typography and design, one of which Leucadius had a copy.

The other being Leonardo became popular for his paintings, which included "The Last Supper" which he painted between 1495–1498 and "Mona Lisa" which he painted between 1503–1506.

These works are and will come to be celebrated for their innovative use of perspective, composition, and human expression. However, what most didn't know was that these paintings were Leonardo's attempt at rediscovering himself.

Following his death, Leonardo's notebooks, which contained numerous designs and concepts, many of which were ahead of their time were discovered.

These include anatomical drawings, concepts for flying machines, hydraulic pumps, and war machines which demonstrated a remarkable understanding of mechanical principles and human anatomy

This led Leucadius to think of the only person who could've made this happen, intentionally or not.

"Phastos." Leucadius muttered to himself.

He knew for a fact that Phastos was never happy with how Ajax felt that the humans weren't ready for certain Scientific and Technological knowledge.

Leucadius didn't want to bother looking into the Eternals' past as he didn't see the need for it. Due to his connection to them, they'd come to an agreement to not interfere with each other unnecessarily.

Leucadius had also promised to never impact any form of knowledge to humans. A Promise he made without batting an eye. To him, the thought of doing that was both a waste of time and an inconvenience.

Anyways, Leucadius couldn't be sure of course, but it was either Phastos had a hand in this or Leonardo was just that much of a genius thG transcended his time.

"There was another theory though…Leonardo was a scientist who died during a science experiment and was replaced by a dead artist from one point in time."

"I fail to see how that's possible sir." Aspect was quick to reply while chewing on a piece of biscuits placed in front of him. He and Leucadius were in a large garden located in one of their many mansions around the world.

At the sight of Aspect eating, Leucadius didn't even bother to reason it as there was no need. "Come now. Nothing Is impossible and you know it. Not even you could feel any form of abnormal Astral fluctuation on him."

"That's the exact reason why I find it impossible."

"Isn't that what all overpowered characters always say only to be wrong? For all we know some all powerful power might be at work." Leucadius huffed and took the entire plate of biscuits.

"How childish." Aspect murmured to himself before looking away.

"You…"