After returning to Earth-404, the group went their separate ways, each returning home to their mothers.
Lucas and G'iah were exceptions, they had no such place to go.
G'iah chose to stay at Wanda's house, diligently meditating to accelerate her absorption of the white energy.
She aimed to reach Lucas's required strength standard as soon as possible, so she could embark on the journey to find dimensions.
G'iah's enthusiasm for learning was high. In her heart, she was striving to save the Skrulls.
She was the savior of the Skrulls!
She was definitely not Lucas's subordinate.
Meanwhile, Lucas returned to the bookstore and quietly began to read.
However, this time, he was not reading children's animal novels, but...
The darkhold!
The darkhold, written billions of years ago by the fallen elder god, Chthon, the source of black magic.
It was both a book of spells and a dark artifact.
Through the darkhold, one could influence reality, open energy channels, and borrow the power of Chthon, allowing an ordinary black magic sorcerer to achieve immense power instantly.
Of course, the price was also very steep. At best, one's sanity would be affected, leading to an unaware obsession. At worst, Chthon would project himself, seize the body, and usurp it.
But Lucas was not an ordinary sorcerer.
Lucas opened the darkhold, and blank pages gradually filled with text.
This was a language Lucas had never seen before and did not recognize at all, but it did not prevent him from understanding the information contained within the text.
It was as if these words were not carriers of information, they were the information itself.
As Lucas flipped through, powerful black magic spells unveiled their mysteries to him.
The ocean of black magic was vast, and the darkhold seemed endless, every page Lucas turned revealed a new one.
For a time, Lucas was immersed in the sea of knowledge, unable to extricate himself.
Just as Lucas opened the darkhold.
On Mount Wundagore, in the sealed Dark Temple, a humanoid stone statue, over ten meters tall, trembled slightly. A moment later, a small portion of consciousness from a mysterious dimension descended upon it.
It was Chthon.
He sensed that someone in this Universe was reading the darkhold and they were reading it continuously, without interruption. This was a sign of being drawn to the darkhold.
He believed that it would not be long before that person's mind would be corrupted by the darkhold, and they would be unable to resist borrowing his power. At that time, he could collect that person's soul, occupy their body, and return to reality.
Ten days and ten nights passed quietly.
Chthon noticed that the person had closed the darkhold. But Chthon was not in a hurry, he was very patient.
In the bookstore, Lucas closed the darkhold and stored it in the Mirror Dimension.
Lucas, oh Lucas. How can you be so depraved.
Have you forgotten the schedule you set earlier?
I can't keep indulging in reading like this, day and night.
Lucas secretly scolded himself.
His Sacred Body made him tireless, hunger-free, and constantly full of energy. Without realizing it, he had read for ten days and ten nights straight, not at all like a human, and almost forgot about his important matters.
After scolding himself for a moment, Lucas got up, opened a portal, and went to Earth-65.
When they had returned from Earth-120703 earlier, Gwen had also returned to Earth-65 to visit friends and family during the school break.
Before leaving, she reminded Lucas to pick her up when school was about to resume.
And after this period of hard work by construction workers, plus some black technology assistance, New York had initially completed its repairs, and the entire city was back in operation. Schools for all grades were also about to resume.
After picking up Gwen and bringing her back to Earth-404, three days and three nights passed.
On the fourth day, Gwen, looking listless, went to school with Wanda and G'iah.
Lucas also resumed his healthy routine of guarding the store and reading during the day, and exercising and resting at night.
As for why four people were at the same school, but Pietro went to school alone?
He was too fast.
While Lucas enjoyed a peaceful life, undercurrents surged in various places.
On Mount Wundagore, Chthon had begun to question his existence.
He could feel that the person was reading his darkhold every day. And he was reading at an extremely fast pace, absorbing a large amount of information from the darkhold.
But he did not understand why that person had never used any of the magic from the darkhold.
Shouldn't a normal sorcerer practice after learning spell knowledge?
— — —
At a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. Base.
The new S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Coulson, S.H.I.E.L.D. General Commander Hill, Captain America Steve Rogers, Hawkeye Clint Barton, and Black Widow Natasha Romanoff gathered for a secret meeting.
Also present were the rumored deceased former S.H.I.E.L.D. Director, Nick Fury, and the second-generation Wasp, Hope Van Dyne.
After Clint expressed surprise and joy upon first seeing Nick Fury alive, the meeting quickly got down to business.
The reason for this secret meeting was that Hope, during an operation to apprehend HYDRA, had obtained important information using her special ability to shrink her body with Pym Particles.
After deciphering it and following the clues, Nick Fury realized how severely S.H.I.E.L.D. had been infiltrated.
If S.H.I.E.L.D. tried to eliminate these HYDRA members on its own, the operation would surely be leaked. At that point, the situation would escalate and become uncontrollable.
To keep the operation secret, Nick Fury needed to call upon another group of Agents not officially part of S.H.I.E.L.D. to arrest the HYDRA members within S.H.I.E.L.D.. But this could easily cause suspicion and resistance from original S.H.I.E.L.D. members.
"So, I need Steve, Clint, and Natasha to lead teams and execute this plan together."
"With Steve's influence, we can minimize the rebellious sentiment among other S.H.I.E.L.D. members."
"At the same time, Agent Coulson and Agent Hill will also assist you."
Nick Fury explained to everyone the purpose of gathering the Avengers.
Steve pondered for a moment, then nodded, agreeing to Nick Fury's arrangement.
After discussing the operational details, the meeting concluded.
Steve, Clint, and Natasha went to coordinate with the Agents to prepare for the operation.
Coulson and Hill returned to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion Headquarters to oversee things.
Hope, meanwhile, rushed back to her room to open another meeting.
A one-on-one debriefing with the Hell Lord Mephisto.
Completing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mission and discovering HYDRA's secret intel was merely an accident.
Hope's true work during this period was to search for Agatha for Mephisto.
And now, she had finally found a clue.
Agatha had taken on the guise of a private tutor, living in seclusion in New York, tutoring twins from a milk tea shop.
In the room, Hope outwardly sat in front of a computer, writing her monthly work report. In reality, she was conversing with Mephisto within her mind.
"My apostle, Hope Van Dyne. If your information is accurate, I will fulfill my promise."
But if there are any errors or omissions, do not blame me for being untrustworthy.
(End of Chapter)
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