Chapter 1063: The Astonishing Mortal (Part Forty) (Patreon)

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In the midst of this unusual surge of power that swept across the sky of Earth, Loki, Strange, and Thor, who was having dinner at Eddie's place, were the first to notice the anomaly. Thor swiftly stood up with a "whoosh" and rushed to the window, gazing outside.

Simultaneously, Venom emerged from Eddie's body and joined Thor at the window, peering outside. However, Eddie's eyes couldn't perceive any anomalies; he had to rely on Venom's symbiote factor to deduce what might be happening on a higher-dimensional level.

Soon, Eddie took two steps back, picked up his mobile phone, and dialed, but all he got was a busy signal. No one answered his calls. He dialed a few more times, still no response. He sighed, putting the phone down, saying, "Iron Man might be in trouble."

Schiller, who was sitting somewhat dazed at the dining table, suddenly gripped the knife tightly. He vigorously shook his head and said, "JARVIS... find JARVIS!"

"I tried calling, but it's no use," Eddie sighed. "Unless he gave up the contact info he provided me before."

Thor wiped his mouth, took out his mobile phone, and said, "Stark Tower has an official hotline to Asgard. This number won't be abandoned."

Thor struggled a bit as he dialed the number, but the response remained a busy signal. Eddie shook his head, saying, "Looks like JARVIS is in trouble too."

Schiller extended a finger toward the mobile phone on the opposite side of the table. Eddie followed his gesture, picked up the phone, and Schiller instructed, "Emergency dial, press '3,' and find Ultron."

Soon, Ultron's voice came through the phone, "JARVIS is completely offline. The 24 communication lines we share and the 140+ laboratory communication lines he manages, all silent. Sir, JARVIS might be in trouble."

"What the hell?! Tony and JARVIS in trouble together?" Eddie squeezed the mobile phone, frowning. Thor shook his head, "It's likely JARVIS is in trouble, causing Tony's predicament. Haven't you noticed the anger within Tony's power?"

This was happening in reality, not within the frames of a comic. It was facing his corpse directly, not hearing about it. It was beyond his plan, not something he orchestrated.

"But why would JARVIS be in trouble?" Eddie puzzledly asked. "He's the most powerful artificial intelligence in the world. As long as human networks exist, he shouldn't be in danger."

Schiller, however, thought of something else. Turning his head to Thor, he asked, "Does Asgard have an Infinity Stone?"

Loki and Strange turned to look at Schiller. Loki stepped forward, embraced Schiller's shoulders, and said, "I apologize for what you've been through recently. However, everything is within Tony's control. You won't be in danger. We hope to provide you with treatment to make you feel better."

Schiller's plan to kill superheroes and send them to heaven was mostly theoretical. He didn't personally act; he just made plans and waited for their execution, listening for successful results.

The two brought Schiller to Stark Tower. Without JARVIS control, there were no security measures inside the building. They easily reached Stark's laboratory.

Facing news of death and confronting the scene of death are entirely different. Many people, upon hearing news of death, might feel intense sadness, wail uncontrollably, and lose emotional restraint.

He walked up to JARVIS' body, looking up at the tall mechanical form. However, everyone present, including him, could only see that it had malfunctioned; nothing else was apparent.

While distributing Member Gifts at Sanctum Sanctorum, Strange faced the Ancient One's formidable power multiple times. Until now, he realized his power and understanding of magic were far from comparable to the Ancient One's.

"Now it seems rewinding time is the best option," Strange frowned. "Even though we don't understand the principles, returning him to his initial state should work."

This kind of shocking separation between life and death had overwhelmed grief. The practical impact drowned out the sadness within, filling the brain with chaotic thoughts, leaving no room for tears.

On the highest spike, a glowing red gem was embedded, while other spikes had several gems, each shining with different meanings.

It was Schiller's first time facing a real superhero death unprepared.

Schiller noticed that when he saw Stark's corpse, his mind didn't conjure images from the comics but scenes from their real interactions. It was as if the Tony Stark in front of him and the Iron Man he knew from the comics were two entirely different individuals.

Thor, hands on hips, said somewhat helplessly, "Humans entrust their fate to an artificial intelligence. Aren't you afraid it might malfunction?"

"Oh, my, you've come at just the right time!" Loki sarcastically said. "A little later, and we would have successfully saved the world."

Thor paused, puzzled, "Infinity Stones? What are those? Asgard has quite a few gems..."

Schiller stood there, a combination of the emotions of both. Logic told him Stark hadn't died; after all, Iron Sorcerer, that enormous figure, was currently outside of space. Nevertheless, facing the scene of Iron Man's death still had a significant impact.

Strange shook his head, "You've got the cause-and-effect relationship reversed. It's not because JARVIS is powerful that he takes on so many tasks. It's because humanity, in its developmental phase, pursues efficiency and speed excessively, forcing us to rely on intelligent life to handle vast amounts of data that humans can't manage."

Having said that, he picked up a wire, and at that moment, Strange pressed a button beside him. A burst of electricity surged in the middle of the wire. Loki exclaimed, his arm twitching as he threw the wire away.

Having spent more time with the Ancient One, Strange inherited her meticulous personality and firmly remembered her teachings, especially the one about those who manipulate time sinking into the quagmire of time.

Then, Loki and Strange were seen worrying over a computer, with Stark's lifeless body lying on the lab table behind them.

Schiller gently pushed away Loki's hand, turning his head to look at him, saying, "You did it. I wasn't joking."

"Damn it! My magic isn't working! Do we really have no choice but to go back in time? But what if it causes some other impact..." Strange muttered to himself with some difficulty.

Strange, however, focused his gaze on the most important gem on the crown, taking out the Eye of Agamotto.

When facing the corpse of deceased loved ones or friends, some people might appear numb, unable to shed tears.

Eddie noticed that Schiller seemed more alert. Hesitating for a moment, he told Thor, "Let's go. To Stark Tower. We need to find out what's going on."

"It's precisely because of humanity's endless pursuit of efficiency that JARVIS controls more and becomes stronger," Strange said.

With the Time Stone in hand, Strange stood up, sighing, "If you don't have a better idea, I'm going to attempt time reversal now. JARVIS must not disappear."

He glanced up at the sun high above New York and said, "JARVIS controls all construction projects on the Mercury Base, real-time calculations of interstellar transportation routes within the Solar System, and even assists in the few spaceships humanity has. Without him, relying on human scientists to calculate routes using primitive methods, we couldn't even get a ship to sail."

The only Stark directly facing them had switched to a magic core. Soul left the body and followed Schiller to Heaven instead of being killed by Schiller directly.

Loki patted his forehead, recalling what he saw in space, and reminded Thor, "It's the Aether particles, the ones you embedded in the crown before. Remember?"

They lacked knowledge in hardware, let alone software. Any issues arising with an intelligent life of JARVIS's level surpassed their understanding, and repairing it was even more out of the question.

Strange looked out the window and said, "Death won't let Stark go so easily. We can't gamble on him returning in time to fix JARVIS. If JARVIS malfunctions, it will create a mess in the Solar System development plan."

The crown had a distinctly Asgardian style, maintaining the usual Nordic aesthetics. Nine spikes adorned the circular crown, with the central one being the highest. The two beside it were slightly shorter, while the next two protruded outward. Overall, it had a higher middle and lower sides.

This made Strange more cautious about the equipment left by the Ancient One, especially the Time Stone, Eye of Agamotto. Generally, he avoided using them. If necessary, it was in a small range, resetting the time of minor characters with less significant impacts, never touching important figures.

As Strange's journey to becoming the Sorcerer Supreme significantly differed from the comics, he didn't undergo the Ancient One's trial before taking up the role. Moreover, when he became the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One hadn't completely stepped down yet and was still happily scavenging in space.

Thor explained, "This is the Crown of All Nations I crafted after succeeding to the throne. It includes metals unique to Asgard and other civilizations from the Nine Realms and other dimensional civilizations within the Nine Realms, including Vibranium representing the central courtyard."

Strange turned again, looking at JARVIS's mechanical body, saying, "JARVIS sacrificed himself to give Tony an anchor. Now, we must pull him back to ensure this golden duo continues contributing to human development."

Thor could see Stark's soul was gone through his physical form. It didn't resemble an ordinary death, leading him to speculate that Stark might have used Death to do something else.

Thor suddenly realized, then summoned his own crown, holding it in his hand. Everyone, except Loki, who had seen Thor's crown for the first time, gathered around.

Seeing Stark's corpse, the reactions of the three were varied. Eddie was extremely shocked, finding it unbelievable and unclear how things had escalated to this point.

"Take me... take me to Stark Tower," Schiller said somewhat hesitantly, "Immediately take me there!"

At this moment, Loki's voice broke his contemplation, "Honestly, you guys shouldn't have come. Can any of you understand computers better than us?"

Now Strange and Thor were both certain: these two gems were of the same kind.

"Asgard has always preserved Aether particles, but we've never utilized this gem. All-Father stored it in the warehouse of the Celestial Palace... yes, the same warehouse where Destroyer was placed before."

When Thor mentioned this, Strange widened his eyes and said, "You actually stored such a powerful item in a warehouse with this level of security?!?!"

He then looked at Loki in even greater shock, "And you, between stealing this gem and stealing Destroyer, chose to steal Destroyer?!?!"

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 1064: Astonishing Mortals (Forty-One)