Reborn as the God-Emperor in Marvel

Loud crashes echoed from deep within the valley. The sound wasn't just from angels petrifying and shattering on the ground, but also from the collapse of ancient structures.

The setting sun, which should have lingered on the western horizon for a while longer, suddenly disappeared, replaced by a full moon rising into the sky amid thick clouds. For a brief moment, Solomon felt disoriented, wondering if he had lost track of time.

He quickly realized that time had been artificially sped up—sunrise and moonrise were no longer following natural laws. As soon as night fell, the Sunrise and Crescent Valley was engulfed in lightning and thunder, and the temperature plummeted. Solomon had no choice but to lower Pegasus' flight altitude, lest he meet a foolish end by lightning strike.

Such a scene wasn't shocking in the magical world, where anything was possible. What piqued Solomon's curiosity was the source of the magic or force that had caused this situation. The valley was shrouded in an eerie atmosphere, as though it were a place cut off from the outside world, with its own rules of nature, where the switch between day and night seemed as simple as pressing a button. The endless fog and the constant lightning-filled clouds seemed unnatural as well.

Of course, Solomon couldn't draw any conclusions just from these phenomena. After all, he hadn't felt himself pass through any demi-plane. But the presence of the statues of the Lumen Sage and the witch in the distance made it clear that this scene was definitely connected to the magic of these two factions.

Solomon reminded himself that now wasn't the time to dwell on these mysteries. If he were truly interested in this type of magic, he could explore it later. For now, the serpent-like Inspired angels were flying in one direction, and the other angels—such as Dear and Decorations, as well as Cachet & Compassion—had lost interest in Solomon, no longer chasing him. It seemed they had more important tasks at hand.

This allowed Solomon to breathe a small sigh of relief.

The Inspired angels were heading toward the Sage statue, but Solomon didn't see them return. Earlier, Cereza had appeared on the winged platform of the Sage statue, and at that time, neither Bayonetta nor Solomon had been interested in investigating the two statues. But now, after all their wandering, they were back at the same place.

With his sharp eyesight, Solomon, riding on Pegasus, could see large chunks of stone being lifted into the air in the distance, as if a powerful wind were swirling around the area. The clouds overhead raced across the sky, and the endless fog in the valley was blown like waves crashing against the towering structures.

"Pegasus, my dear friend," Solomon said, "can you still walk on your hooves? We might not be able to fly anymore—the wind is too strong. Besides, I'm sure you don't want to be struck by lightning, do you?"

Pegasus let out a displeased neigh, its voice clear and resonant, cutting through the fog and thunder, echoing throughout the canyon. It snorted and shook its head, whipping its white mane into Solomon's face. Pegasus seemed to scorn Solomon's doubt in its abilities. They weren't exactly on good terms; if it weren't for Athena's orders and the golden reins, Pegasus wouldn't have agreed to carry Solomon in the first place. Still, apples were always a treat, and there were none sweeter in the Astral Plane.

The white-winged horse began galloping along the steep cliffside, occasionally flapping its wings to provide lift and help clear gaps in the mountains. Despite the rocky terrain, Solomon hardly felt any bumps—it was as if they were still flying through the air.

He looked up and saw the two massive statues in the distance. A giant angel appeared there, surrounded by a swirling wind, with the clouds rotating around it like a vortex on the ocean. It hovered above the stones and fog, but moments later, the angel vanished, and the storm subsided.

"What does this mean?" Bayonetta was standing on the platform atop the head of the Sage statue, and a figure in a red leather outfit stood on the opposite side of the platform. The giant angel floated in front of the woman and demanded, "This is the second time! Explain why you are interfering!"

"Your incompetent subordinates are the ones in your way," Jeanne said disdainfully, raising her gun. "I'll handle this my way. You don't need to intervene."

As soon as Jeanne finished speaking, the angel vanished with the toll of an invisible bell. Bayonetta narrowed her eyes, puzzled as to why Jeanne would help her by driving away the angel of Temperantia, one of the Four Virtues, representing the element of wind, just like Fortitudo.

"I assume you've started to regain some of your memories since you arrived here?" Jeanne turned to face the witch. "Feeling better now, Bayonetta?"

The witch adjusted her glasses and asked in a playful tone, "Who are you? Don't tell me you're my long-lost sister."

"Sister? Don't be ridiculous. You and I once fought for the Witch's throne." Jeanne's initial anger subsided quickly, though she raised her gun and aimed it at Bayonetta. A voice inside her urged her to kill her former rival, but Jeanne took a deep breath, pushing that thought aside. She said, "Sleeping Beauty, now that you're back, it's time to resume our fight."

Jeanne gave Bayonetta a powerful sense of déjà vu. Each time they clashed, Jeanne helped Bayonetta recover bits and pieces of her memories. Bayonetta wasn't about to refuse such an opportunity, whether it was for the sake of regaining her past or simply out of her innate competitive nature.

Her memories lingered on Jeanne thrusting a sword into her chest. Oh, and the angel Fortitudo, as well as the crazed, mindless crowd charging the gates. But that angel was long dead—Bayonetta had killed him herself. She didn't know exactly what had happened back then, but killing Fortitudo had brought her some sense of satisfaction.

"Still not awake, are you?" Jeanne appeared behind Bayonetta, her hand steady, her gun aimed directly at the witch's vital point. As Bayonetta turned to face her, Jeanne fired a shot directly at Bayonetta's eyes.

The bullet spiraled toward its target, but Bayonetta dodged it at the last moment and immediately returned fire. Their moves were almost identical, but this time, Bayonetta had the upper hand. After a few exchanges, she raised her leg and kicked Jeanne off the platform.

"Those idiots just can't stay out of this! But it's not all bad," Jeanne muttered in frustration. Before her, the platform and its connection to the statue were suddenly severed by a mysterious force. The storm that had briefly subsided roared back to life, lifting the massive platform into the sky, spinning it rapidly. Jeanne, as competitive as Bayonetta, saw this as a challenge. She leaped back onto the platform from the stone wall and, like Bayonetta, defied gravity, standing firmly on the spinning ground.

The wind howled through the valley, growing stronger the closer they got to the two statues. If it weren't for Pegasus, with its immense strength, Solomon would have been knocked over by the swirling gusts, or worse, blown into the sky. Still, the powerful winds affected them. Solomon and Pegasus had to squint and fold their wings to avoid the dust and debris being carried along.

Through his blurry vision, Solomon saw the Sage statue's head break apart, caught in the swirling winds. The head collided with the witch statue's head, sending both massive chunks of stone crashing into the statues, shattering into a dangerous mass of whirling debris, spinning fast enough to pulverize anything in its path. Solomon didn't see Bayonetta, but he caught sight of a sleek black panther leaping from the ruins, crossing through the howling winds and over the full moon in the cold night sky.

He had a feeling, an instinct, that the incredible magical energy confirmed the panther's identity. But before Solomon could pursue on Pegasus, a portal crackling with sparks opened beside him. As it reconnected him to the real world, Solomon's phone rang.

Ignoring the phone, Solomon turned his attention to the portal.

"Solomon," Mordo stood on the other side, "the Ancient One is summoning you. And you don't have time to waste."

Solomon, surprised, asked, "What happened?"

"I don't know," Mordo replied, his expression somewhat odd. "Not long ago, the Ancient One brought back a little girl, and no matter what, she won't stop crying. But the Ancient One said that you'd be able to handle it."

"A little girl?" Cereza!

Solomon was stunned that the Ancient One knew about Cereza, but he quickly dismounted and sent Pegasus back. He stepped through the portal and entered the snowy courtyard of Kamar-Taj.

"The Ancient One is waiting for you in the meditation chamber," Mordo said before hurrying off, as if he had something urgent to attend to. Solomon glanced around the main square, noting that all the apprentices who should have been training were gone, the library was sealed, and it seemed that every sorcerer had disappeared overnight.

With growing questions in his mind, Solomon made his way to the Ancient One's meditation chamber. Before he could open the door, he heard the sound of childish laughter. It was unmistakably Cereza's voice—he'd recognize that crybaby's voice anywhere. In fact, just hearing her cry triggered stress responses in Solomon, making him feel the urge to clean or calm a child.

When Solomon entered, he saw Cereza sitting at

 a long table, hugging a stuffed doll and a plump, short-haired gray cat. The Ancient One was offering her candy. To Solomon's surprise, there was no crying; Cereza and the Ancient One were getting along quite well.

"Big brother!" Cereza noticed Solomon as he entered, her face lighting up with joy. "Big brother! Are you here to take me to find Mommy?"

"A little later, Cereza," Solomon replied, turning his attention to the Ancient One. The Ancient One sighed and said, "You were never this fun as a child. You'd always lock yourself in your room, never laughing or crying. I even thought you had developed a form of childhood autism. But I'm an old woman now, and you should at least let me have some fun caring for a little one."

Solomon sat beside Cereza, ruffling the little girl's hair and taking the grumpy gray cat from her arms. "Master, where is everyone? I saw Mordo rushing off—has something happened?"

"Nothing too serious," the Ancient One replied calmly. "While you were ensuring Bayonetta stayed on her set path, Kamar-Taj must also ensure that Jubileus' resurrection isn't exposed to the world. You know how advanced technology is nowadays—if a satellite were to focus on Vigrid, the angels' secrets would be revealed. Vigrid, being a high-tech city, attracts more attention than you can imagine. Mordo and the others are preparing a large-scale spell to encase all of Vigrid within the mirror dimension."

"I'm sure my senior brothers and sisters can handle that," Solomon replied, then asked, "So why was I summoned back?"

"You forgot about Cereza," the Ancient One reminded him. "Make sure to take her to Vigrid."

"What? That's a battlefield! Absolutely not!" Solomon's eyes widened in disbelief, his expression stiffening as if he had heard something outrageous. The Ancient One had never seen him so emotionally agitated before. His voice rose unintentionally. "Cereza won't survive for more than a few minutes there! There are so many angels…"

"Take her," the Ancient One said, her expression unchanged. "It's part of the plan. Solomon, I'm afraid you have no choice."

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