Mysteries On Marvel

No!

It wasn't that the dreadful whispers had grown weaker. In fact, they were even more maddening this time than before.

To be precise, Eren's mind was now far stronger than it had been in his last advancement. It was this strength of spirit that gave him a far better resistance to those insanity-inducing murmurs. That was why he felt as though the whispers had diminished in power.

The misty, illusory gibbering—both terrifying and tempting—once again echoed in Eren's ears and mind. With every "firework" bursting within him, his head felt as though it expanded and contracted, contracted and expanded, over and over.

Within that cyclical surge, Eren gradually reined in his racing thoughts. Without consciously realizing it, he slipped into a meditative state, focusing on marshaling his rapidly intensifying spirituality.

He had no idea how much time passed. But at last, he opened his eyes again, having wrestled the bulk of his newfound power under control.

The violent shocks to his system from the advancement also slowly subsided. The itching throughout his body began to ease, and his arms—flickering between transparent and solid—returned to normal.

…

A few minutes later, once he'd fully suppressed the last bit of unruly spirituality, Eren rose slowly from the couch.

As soon as he stood up, an aura of mystery and charm flooded out of him. From that moment onward, Eren had truly stepped through the gates of the Mid-Sequence, becoming a genuine, extraordinary Magician.

…

At the same time Eren achieved his advancement, the hidden Scale of Fate above the River of Fate trembled once more. With each rhythmic pulse, additional black motes and streams of foul air shook loose from the scale and fell into the endless current below.

As the river churned, these dark flecks merged into the gleaming, silvery drops of water. Each droplet of that celestial river was itself a living being's destiny, and once tainted by those sinister black sparks, the fate of each life changed, twisting away from what it had been.

Meanwhile, all those beings and objects already tainted by the black motes found themselves absorbing yet more corruption, accelerating further mutation—turning all the more fearsome and warped.

…

Having successfully reached the Mid-Sequence Magician, Eren stretched a little, eager to sense how this new form differed from Clown.

First, his movements felt far more nimble; both hands moved with an almost supernatural dexterity. Beyond that minor physical enhancement, the arcane powers bestowed by the potion had been imprinted within his mind in an inexplicable, mystical way—etched into his very psyche and, in some sense, into his genetic code.

Magician is considered formidable at Sequence Seven. It includes a wide array of extraordinary abilities, quite unlike the spellcasters who rely on chanted incantations. As a Magician, Eren could cast spells swiftly without chanting, complex rituals, or even infusing spirituality; often, a simple gesture would suffice to invoke a spell or spell-like effect.

After sifting through the wealth of new esoteric knowledge in his head—beyond the little tricks of minimal practical use—Eren found that the Magician's main capabilities were ninefold.

One of them, Paper-to-Blade, had already been available at Clown. Now strengthened by his advancement to Sequence Seven, it not only let him transform paper into razor-sharp edges but also temporarily shape it into clubs, bricks, or other weapons.

Besides that, the Magician's powers also included Damage Transfer, Flame Leap, Air Bullet, Paper Substitute, Flame Manipulation, Illusion, Breath Underwater, and Bone Softening.

Damage Transfer allows Eren to shift a wound from one part of his body to another via touch, turning what could be a lethal injury into a mere flesh wound. It's a lifesaver of a skill, though sadly limited to once at a time without rapid reuse.

Paper Substitute transforms a piece of paper he's carrying into his double—swapping places with Eren for a crucial instant. Not only can it take a fatal blow for him, but it also helps weaken the damage of certain curses. These two defensive abilities alone vastly improve his survival odds.

Bone Softening allows him to temporarily soften sections of his skeleton, letting him slip free of restraints.

Breath Underwater grants him a five-meter "tube" of air while submerged, letting him safely remain below the surface.

Flame Leap is a kind of short-range teleportation within thirty meters through any trace of fire—either preexisting or one left by Eren himself. It's like blinking from one flame to another.

Collectively, these escapist powers epitomize the hallmark of his "play it safe" approach. Even at the start of the Mid-Sequence, where the powers begin to show major qualitative shifts, the hallmark of the "cautious trio" pathways still holds true: a large chunk of Magician's skills revolve around staying alive and slipping away.

But Eren had to admit—he liked it that way.

He also possessed more direct abilities, like Flame Manipulation. Within a thirty-meter radius, he could command any existing fire—shaping it into streams of flame that could burn enemies or objects.

Once he fully digests Magician or advances further, he'll even be able to conjure fire from thin air. Whether used to escape in tandem with Flame Leap, or to attack with waves of flame, it'll be extremely useful.

Then there's Air Bullet, where a snap of the fingers or a shouted sound can create projectiles on par with handgun bullets. As Eren ascends the Sequences, the power of Air Bullet will scale accordingly—eventually reaching the force of artillery shells, potentially.

Finally, one of the Magician's signature powers is Illusion—crafting an environment containing colors, sounds, scents… illusions so vivid as to fool people and other intelligent beings. Paired with Eren's mental cultivation and hypnotic methods, this power would prove a living nightmare for anyone who becomes his enemy.

…

Taking stock of all these newly "awakened" abilities, Eren chuckled. "Looks like another sleepless night ahead."

So many wonderful powers had manifested all at once; there was no way he could resist putting them to the test. Moreover, with Paper Substitute in the mix, he'd need to hurry up and craft a stash of paper doubles for emergencies.

…

While Eren was experimenting with his freshly awakened powers, a heavily guarded building elsewhere in the city was in full lockdown.

Inside, Alexander—secretly the leader of Hydra, publicly a minister of the World Security Council—was presently enduring his official duties. Namely, being chewed out.

By preliminary count, casualties in the Harlem disaster numbered over a thousand, with countless more missing or injured. In a world-class metropolis like New York, the havoc was catastrophic—and as the Council's leading figure, Alexander was taking the brunt of international criticism.

Multiple governments were demanding answers, and a high-ranking official from the federal defense department had even abandoned all decorum to berate him without mercy. All Alexander could do was stand at attention and weather the storm.

At last, the meeting ended. Alexander shut off the video feed and exhaled heavily. He took a sip of bourbon, then picked up a still-active phone nearby.

"Nick, I'm sure you heard everything just now. The damage in Harlem was enormous… I have to give the Feds and the international community an explanation. And you…"

He paused before continuing coolly, "You owe me an explanation too."

On the other end of the call, silence persisted for a moment. Finally, Nick's voice replied: "I'll get you that explanation, Alexander."

Seeing the "call ended" prompt, Alexander allowed himself a faint smile, then tucked the phone into a specially made drawer. With that done, he picked up his glass, strolling from the bright conference room into an adjacent darkened chamber.

The moment he stepped into shadow, his aura shifted. In a mere second, the upright, righteous minister vanished—replaced by the Hydra leader lurking behind the curtain.

No one else occupied that dim room except Alexander's long-haired assistant. However, three laptops cast faint blue glows across the darkness.

"Sir," the assistant said, "the Baron and that Madam are ready. We can open the line at any time."

Lounging on a leather sofa with his whiskey in hand, Alexander replied, "Let's begin."

The secretary nodded and tapped a control on the table. In the next instant, three figures masked by darkness appeared on the laptop screens.

"You're late again," complained the person on the left screen the moment the connection was established.

Before Alexander could reply, a raspy female voice cut in:

"Enough chatter. Let's get right to business. We all saw those horrifying creatures in Harlem, yes? Alexander, that's your turf. Got anything on what they were?"

Leaning his head back against the sofa, Alexander said, "The first ones that showed up, the Abomination and the green brute, are confirmed to be byproducts of an experiment run by the General Ross from the military."

"The military can create monsters that powerful now?" the Baron on the left remarked grimly. "Then I'll have to speed up my own work."

"No," Alexander corrected. "My intel suggests the appearance of both Abomination and that hulking green monster was an accident. The General can't fully control them. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been fighting each other in the streets. That doesn't mean he won't refine his experiments and come up with a controllable model eventually…"

After he finished, that raspy female voice chimed in again:

"I see. The military… Alright, my people will infiltrate the General's circle soon to steal his research data. But what about that demon and angel that appeared afterward? Are we actually seeing mythical beings come to life?"

Alexander rubbed his throbbing temples. "I don't know. So far, I have no leads on the demon or that six-winged angel. Nick might know something, though; I'll find a way to extract that intel…"

That was about the extent of the meeting between the Hydra branch leaders. After a quick intelligence exchange, it ended. The Baron's screen went dark, followed by Viper's.

Just as the third laptop—its display full of random codes—was about to go dark, Alexander called out, "Doctor, I'm about to accelerate the Insight Project. I'll need your help."

"Certainly."

The single English word that appeared on the glitchy screen indicated assent before the system shut down.

Relieved to have the Doctor's support, Alexander let out a quiet sigh.

Once every laptop was dark, his black-haired assistant handed him a set of military satellite photos.

"Minister, according to these images—and the fact that Tony purchased a funeral service company a few hours ago—we can deduce the clown who caused us trouble died in that demon's last counterattack. Should we revoke his file?"

Glancing at the shot of the clown disintegrating into ash, Alexander replied impassively, "He's dead—so yes, call it off. No point wasting resources on a corpse.

Though, if you ask me, dying like that is letting him off easy."

(End of Chapter)

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