The quinjet landed silently at the cliffside mansion in Malibu. Tony Stark didn't even change out of his dust-covered casual clothes before he and the others carefully carried Lin Huai's body into his massive, empty underground workshop overlooking the entire Pacific Ocean.
The laboratory, usually filled with rock music and the sound of welding robotic arms, was now deathly silent, save for the cold hum of running servers. Lin Huai's body was placed on the most sophisticated medical platform in the center, where all vital sign readings showed a piercingly straight line.
"Jarvis, pull up... pull up all his previous prayer recordings and audio data." Tony Stark's voice was hoarse and dry. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the face that had lost all color. Like a drowning man clutching the last piece of driftwood in a storm, he frantically compared every syllable of the Hermes Language prayer on the holographic screen, using all the rigor of a scientist to perform the most unscientific task.
"Tony, you need to rest," Natasha said as she walked over, her voice also somewhat raspy.
"No!!!" Tony roared without looking up. "He still owes me a complete theory of mysticism that he hasn't finished explaining! I haven't even touched the fringes of mysticism yet, how can my Chief consultant die!!!"
After confirming the pronunciation of the prayer countless times, he took a deep breath and stood directly in front of the platform. Banner, Natasha, and Coulson, and even Mage Russell, stood behind him.
With a nearly devout posture he had never shown before, Tony led the group in sending a mortal's humblest plea to that existence in the void.
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era;"
"The mysterious ruler Above the Gray Fog;"
"The king of yellow and black who wields good luck."
...Above the boundless grayish-white fog, Lin Huai sat quietly in the lowermost High-backed chair.
The prayers, filled with sorrow and hope and spanning the entire Universe, echoed continuously in his ears like the clearest radio waves.
Lin Huai wanted to respond. He felt himself suddenly sink and begin to fall, flying toward his own body... Once, twice, three times... In the laboratory, no matter how many times the group repeated the prayer, the body lying on the platform remained cold and unresponsive.
The last hope seemed to have been shattered.
Tony's shoulders slumped completely. He could no longer support himself and fell weakly to his knees beside Lin Huai's body. Like a child who had been robbed of everything, he sobbed uncontrollably, "I'm sorry... Lin... I caused this... I'm sorry..."
Just as Tony was drowning in grief, a hand gently patted his shoulder, and a warm voice sounded in his ear: "Hey, Tony, mysticism isn't like tightening screws; it's not that simple. Sometimes you need a little more patience."
"I know! I know it's not that simple!" Tony said, crying without looking up. "But Lin... Lin is really dead! Only The Fool, only that damn god can save him now..."
Wait.
Tony's sobbing stopped abruptly. He felt something was wrong. This voice... why was it so familiar?
He stiffly and slowly raised his head, meeting that face he knew all too well, which was now wearing a helpless smile.
Lin Huai was standing right beside him, perfectly fine, without a single scar on his body.
"It's you...?"
The others in the building finally noticed this eerie scene. Everyone's eyes widened, as if they were witnessing the most incredible sight in the World. Pepper and Betty, who had rushed down from upstairs, even screamed from the extreme visual and psychological shock, their eyes rolling back as they fainted outright, only to be caught by a frantic Happy.
"Hi, everyone," Lin Huai spread his arms and gave an exaggerated smile. "Sorry for making you worry."
"This... what exactly is going on?!" Tony grabbed him, and after confirming he was solid, roared with excitement.
"Take it easy, take it easy," Lin Huai soothed him. "This is all the great power of The Fool. He is the ruler Above the Gray Fog, but He was also once called the God of Wishes and the God of Miracles by His believers."
He looked around at everyone's shocked faces and said, smiling, emphasizing every word:
"And returning from the dead is a miracle."
While everyone was still processing this massive amount of information, a ring of golden sparks expanded in the center of the living room. Sorcerer Ancient One walked out, accompanied by Russell and a worried-looking Roxanne.
The Ancient One looked at Lin Huai with an expected smile on her face and handed him a silver box and a primitive-looking holy emblem.
"The materials for your promotion to [Magician], and... this."
Lin Huai's gaze fell on the holy emblem, and his pupils suddenly constricted. This was exactly the holy emblem he had seen on the Archbishop of the Church of the Evernight at Sefirah Castle!
"An existence asked me to tell you," the Ancient One's voice was soft but every word was clear, "you did very well this time. Go find yourself. Sometimes, you can also pray to Her; She will grant you concealed power. I think you know what I mean."
Lin Huai solemnly took the holy emblem and the materials. He knew what this meant... That night, a grand celebration party, like a celebration of survival, was held at the cliffside mansion in Malibu.
Soft jazz flowed through the open-air party area. Well-dressed waiters moved through the crowd carrying champagne. The infinity pool in the distance merged with the Pacific Ocean under the setting sun, presenting a golden, luxurious splendor. Tony Stark, uncharacteristically, did not dominate the center of the dance floor. Instead, like an overly enthusiastic host, he clinked glasses with everyone, an exaggerated smile on his face, as if trying to wash away the day's sorrow with alcohol.
Steve was covered in bandages, looking out of place at the party. He lay on a medical bed at the edge of the gathering, but he was also full of excitement.
However, amidst this laughter and joy, only Johnny Blaze seemed out of place.
He sat alone at the bar away from the crowd, drinking gloomily. In his mind, images of his team members' tragic deaths played repeatedly. That guilt and pain completely isolated him from the surrounding festive atmosphere.
"Hey, don't be like that." Roxanne sat down beside him with a glass of juice and comforted him gently. "It's all over, Johnny. We're all still alive, and that's what matters most."
Looking at his girlfriend's concerned face, Johnny felt a warmth in his heart. Just as he was about to force a smile, his expression suddenly froze.
Right behind Roxanne, he saw a vision. An elegantly dressed old man was giving him a playful and possessive smile.
The vision flashed and vanished, but it was like the coldest branding iron, searing itself into Johnny's heart.
He was a soul bound by a contract. As long as that contract existed, he could never hope to escape that Demon's control, never hope to truly embrace a normal person's life. All the struggles, battles, and even death and resurrection he experienced might, in the eyes of that Lord of Hell, be nothing more than an interesting play.
He simply didn't deserve freedom right now.
"I... I want to be alone." Johnny's face became incredibly pale. He suddenly pushed Roxanne away, not even daring to look at her again, and walked quickly into the depths of the mansion, slamming the door shut.