Chapter 160: Oh Sea! You're all Water, oh Goddess! You have eight legs.
Over Washington, three burning Helicarriers trailed thick smoke and flames, crashing straight toward the city and river below.
Inside the bridge of the "insight", Steve and Bucky had just inserted the last chip when the Helicarrier tilted violently amidst explosions and alarms. The powerful g-force pinned them to the floor, unable to move, while the nearby console sparked continuously.
"Hold on!" Steve shielded himself and Bucky with his shield, shouting into the communicator, "Tony! We're falling!"
"I know! I'm working on it!" Tony's voice sounded urgent. Although "the liberty," where he and Hulk were, was in better shape, it was also out of control. Hulk was clinging tightly to a piece of deck that was about to fall off, while Tony was rapidly calculating how to prevent this heap of scrap metal from flattening Washington.
"truth" was in the worst state. It had been torn apart by the "Hell Dragon" and hit by a shot from the main ship; it was disintegrating in mid-air. Lin Huai and Johnny stood on the head of the "Hell Dragon," barely able to stand in the gale. This mechanical dragon, having lost the support of the Helicarrier, was also falling along with countless burning fragments.
"Damn it! We've overplayed our hand this time!" Lin Huai gritted his teeth, gripping a metal horn on the dragon's head tightly, the howling wind filling his ears.
Just as everyone thought it was over, a change occurred.
Three massive circular portals appeared out of nowhere on the descent paths of the three Helicarriers. The portals, composed of golden sparks and complex geometric patterns, rotated silently.
"It's a Kamar-Taj spell!" Steve recognized this power, but he was astonished. The largest portal he had seen at Kamar-Taj was only a few meters wide; each of these three was large enough to swallow a mountain, completely beyond his understanding.
"This power... this energy efficiency... My god, this is simply badass!" Tony's tone sounded very excited. "How is this done? What's the principle? I'll have to ask Russell next time."
The next second, the three burning Helicarriers plunged headlong into the portals. Without an explosion or an Impact, the three giants vanished silently.
Then came a violent crash.
BOOM—!!!
When Steve woke up and pushed away the debris on him, he found he was no longer in Washington. Before him was a scorching Sun and heatwaves, surrounded by an endless desert. The wreckage of the three Helicarriers lay on the sand like small mountains, black smoke drifting into the sky.
He recognized it; this was that desert.
"We're... still alive?" Natasha and Sam crawled out from another pile of wreckage, looking at this unfamiliar desert and breathing a sigh of relief.
Lin Huai and Johnny also stepped out from the wreckage of the "Hell Dragon." Johnny's Hellfire Armor automatically disassembled during the Impact, revealing his true self.
"She made her move," Lin Huai brushed the sand off himself and said softly.
"She?" Steve looked at Lin Huai with some confusion; he had originally thought it was the Sorcerer Ancient One.
Just as Lin Huai was about to explain, a gentle, ethereal voice rang in everyone's ears.
"Well done, children."
Everyone looked toward the sound; a bald woman in yellow monk robes was standing on a nearby sand dune.
"Sorcerer Ancient One!" Steve recognized her immediately.
Behind the Ancient One followed another woman. This woman had ordinary features, wearing a patched linen robe with a belt made of twisted bark. Her black hair draped over her shoulders, and she was barefoot, her feet covered in dust and scars.
Tony retracted his faceplate and whistled: "Hey, Bald Chairman, that was a beautiful piece of waste management. I've shaved my head too; can you tell me how you did that? We're on the same side."
The Ancient One ignored Tony, her gaze passing over everyone to land on Lin Huai.
"Lord Lin, this lady is looking for you."
The Ancient One stepped aside, and the woman behind her reached out, making a light swipe toward Lin Huai.
The next second, Lin Huai's figure vanished like it was erased by an eraser... After a burst of Darkness, Lin Huai found himself standing on a lonely island shrouded in gray fog.
In front of him stood a lady in a black classical long dress. Her face was obscured by a veil, making it hard to see clearly, and she had six arms. Her face was hidden by the veil, her eyes closed, and the surroundings were very quiet—terrifyingly quiet.
"You have come." Her voice was soft, but her words carried an irresistible power.
"I had no choice, did I?" Lin Huai gave a bitter smile.
"You made the right choice." The Evernight Goddess ignored Lin Huai's emotions and said calmly, "You have witnessed the possibility of humanity bestowing divinity. Now, you must remember a few words."
Her voice rang directly within Lin Huai's spirit body.
"When you become a [Magician], the World will be your stage;"
"When you become a [Marionettist], all living beings will be your threads;"
"To achieve the final miracle, you must use your script to direct a stage play that belongs to you."
"Arianna will help you hold off that silver-tongued Demon. Go."
Lin Huai's heart jolted.
"Lies? Demon?"
Lin Huai wanted to ask more, but the Goddess's figure suddenly shattered and disappeared.
Enchanting singing suddenly echoed across the island.
He felt his spirit body being wrapped by a force.
"This is where the Church of the Evernight raises mermaids. Praise the Goddess."
He immediately took out the two main ingredients he had found.
[Dust of an Ancient Wraith], [core crystal of the six-winged gargoyle]... Looking at the two main ingredients for Sequence 5 [Marionettist], Lin Huai swallowed them directly without hesitation.
The singing was like a net, wanting to swallow his spirit body. Lin Huai felt his soul being cut into countless pieces, each with its own thoughts.
Just then, a familiar power descended from above the gray fog, kneading the souls that were about to disperse back together... "Hey! Are you okay?"
Tony's voice pulled Lin Huai back to reality. He found himself still standing in the desert, with everyone looking at him, their expressions somewhat tense.
"I... what happened to me just now?" Lin Huai asked, feeling as if he had been in a daze for a long time.
"You spaced out for a bit, just a minute," Natasha replied, but she was staring intently at Lin Huai, clearly not believing it was that simple.
Just then, the roar of propellers came from a distance.
A black quinjet landed on the sand nearby, the hatch opened, and a tall, one-eyed figure walked down against the light.
"It seems I missed the best part." Nick Fury's voice was as raspy as ever... Inside the ruins of the "insight" bridge, Alexander Pierce woke up coughing. He pushed away the debris on him, stood up, and saw twisted metal and sparking wires everywhere.
He stared blankly at the endless desert outside the window, his mind a complete blank.
He lost.
A total defeat.
He watched the one-eyed man get off the plane and walk toward him step by step, finally letting out a miserable laugh. The laughter contained self-deprecation and also a sense of release.
He slowly raised his hands and leaned against the deformed Commander's seat, his whole body relaxing.
Nick Fury entered the bridge, the dark muzzle of his gun pointed at Pierce's forehead.
"Welcome back, Director." Pierce's voice was raspy, but his tone sounded like he was finally free.