Noah looked through the data left behind by the Ancient One and the All-Father Odin and fell into deep thought.
What they had left him was essentially a structured outline of their experiments, along with records of the few successful attempts they had achieved.
The data was divided into two steps.
The first step involved using specific characteristics of the Reanimation Jutsu to forcibly open a passage between the material world and the World of the Dead.
That part had already been completed.
Relying solely on their overwhelming strength and the spell's unique nature, the Ancient One and Odin had forced their way through. Even so, just accomplishing this step had nearly drained them completely.
Opening the barrier of a world was an almost inconceivable feat.
Even as tenth-tier or higher beings, it exceeded what they should have been capable of.
If not for the spell's highly specialized elements, they likely would have had no solution at all-or worse, their final attempt might have consumed them outright.
But once that step was finished, what remained became the true problem.
Locating.
The second half of the data was filled with experiments and conjectures that were almost entirely theoretical. They simply no longer had the strength to push further.
After reading through it, Noah realized something.
While the core of the magic was soul summoning, the most difficult part had never been the summoning itself.
It was entering the World of the Dead.
After the recent upgrades and adjustments, Noah's Domain was now equivalent to an independent, relatively complete universe.
Within his Domain, the connection to the World of the Dead was so clear it didn't need to be searched for.
There were no layers to break through.
It was right there.
This changed everything.
It allowed Noah to ignore the first half of the data almost entirely and focus solely on the latter portion.
"I really didn't expect the Soul Stone," Noah muttered after putting the data down, "the one I thought was the most useless, to have such an exaggerated effect."
He wasn't the only one who had underestimated it. The Ancient One and Odin likely felt the same.
For mages like Noah-who had more or less abandoned soul-based power-the Soul Stone had always seemed pointless.
Yet in a newly formed universe, its effect was absurd.
Its Rules granted nascent life independent souls.
"A universe with independent souls will naturally be noticed by the World of the Dead," Noah thought. "A connection forms automatically, drawing in the souls of the deceased."
That alone saved him the most dangerous step.
No need to force a path open.
"So what's left is summoning, searching, and retrieval," Noah murmured. "Retrieval shouldn't be too troublesome... right?"
Despite himself, a trace of nervousness surfaced.
What if he angered the ruler of the World of the Dead by taking a soul?
That wouldn't end well.
Then again, countless worlds and universes were doing similar things. He had never heard of the master of the World of the Dead reacting violently.
Even Phil Coulson had been resurrected in some branch storyline.
Noah decided not to overthink it.
Rubbing his chin, he shifted his focus to practical matters.
He needed experiments.
Real ones.
To verify whether the conclusions drawn by the Ancient One and Odin were correct.
That immediately raised another issue.
Test subjects.
Noah frowned slightly. He didn't have any close friends who had died unexpectedly. As for strangers, he had no connection to them and no desire to use them as materials.
Disturbing the dead was not something he took lightly.
Without the consent of the deceased's family, he refused to do it.
After a long stretch of thought, someone finally came to mind.
Tony.
Five years ago, he had mentioned this possibility to the kid. Now that the magic had reached the testing phase, Tony was the most appropriate choice.
Of course, if Tony refused, Noah wouldn't push it. Personal will mattered.
With that decided, Noah left his office.
After briefly explaining his intentions to the Ancient One, he left London and headed straight for the Avengers Base in New York.
What he saw there caught him off guard.
Inside the base was a full group of Avengers-from the other universe.
For a moment, Noah even thought he was seeing double when he spotted Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Ant-Man.
"...You guys still haven't left?" Noah asked after sitting down in the lounge, looking at them strangely. "I thought you'd be gone by now. And Strange, you came too? Look at my disciple-don't you think he turned out better than you?"
The Supreme Sorcerer Strange smiled faintly.
Only now did he truly understand what Noah had meant when he left their universe.
Looking at the version of himself here, the differences were obvious.
As for who was stronger, he didn't say.
But after years of grinding against Dormammu, he suspected he might still have the edge.
Shaking his head, he chose not to respond.
Noah, on the other hand, felt... different.
"It's still early," Tony said with a grin. "No rush to head back. Besides, meeting another version of yourself is rare. Way more interesting than anything else."
"I don't see the appeal," Thor snorted, glancing at his older counterpart. "The gap between us is huge. And you look ancient. I'm a mage now, you know. You've got, what, thirty years left? I'll live five to ten times that if nothing goes wrong."
The older Tony rolled his eyes.
Annoying, but impossible to refute.
This universe's Tony looked like he was barely in his thirties, nowhere near fifty.
And Noah Fenier was even worse.
Born in 1980, he should have been in his forties by now, yet he looked barely twenty.
From what Tony understood, a mage like him could easily live hundreds-maybe thousands-of years.
At first, Tony had found that idea deeply anti-human.
Then he reconsidered.
Could people like this even be called human anymore?
Had anyone ever seen a human wipe out an entire army alone?
That kind of power made even nuclear weapons look tame.
"So," Tony said, turning back to Noah, "why are you here? Kicking people out?"
"If that's the case, I fully support it. This group is basically a spy ring. I've lost count of how many pieces of experimental equipment they've broken."
"Nope." Noah spread his hands. "I could, but they did save you. And I don't really have a reason to drive them away."
"Man, that's disappointing..." Tony shrugged, clearly not serious. "Then why are you here? Feels like you've got something planned for me. Mage intuition."
"Mage intuition?" Noah laughed. "Didn't know you'd developed that."
Then his expression settled.
"But you're not wrong. My research has reached its limit. It's time for real experiments."
The others exchanged confused looks.
Experiments?
Magic experiments?
Tony, however, froze.
How could he forget?
What Noah had told him.
What Noah had promised.
Had he reached that stage already?
Like Tony's own research into time travel, this was the point where theory met reality.
"...Is it really time?" Tony asked after a long pause, barely containing himself. "Are you sure?"
"The certainty isn't great," Noah replied honestly. "This kind of magic is taboo. I doubt anyone before me ever dared attempt it. I can't promise success-but I can promise the soul won't be harmed."
Tony exhaled and nodded.
"That's enough. Failure rates are normal. So you need a test, right?"
"Exactly." Noah didn't hide it. "And you're the most suitable. You started preparing five years ago. If anyone succeeds, it should be you."
Tony nodded again.
He had been preparing for five years.
The war hadn't stopped him.
He was ready.
All that was missing was the magic itself.
"This is worth trying," Tony said firmly. "I trust you, Noah."
"Good." Noah didn't waste time. "Prepare yourselves. We'll begin immediately."
"Hold on," the other Tony finally cut in. "What are you even talking about? What kind of experiment is this?"
Tony turned to look at him.
"Resurrection magic," he said calmly.
"I'm going to resurrect my parents."