Chapter 1402 The Return of the Old Ones (X) (Patreon)

In DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Gazing at the huge Black Sun, the central black hole-like core of the Sun was unfathomably deep, but it was filled with countless mysterious patterns, and the light emanating from around it had no color, as if a black paint had been used to outline the ethereal and light contours on the canvas of the world.

The dance of the particles was like rising Fire, making it impossible to take one's eyes off the inscrutable movement patterns, and Shang-Chi felt that his Soul was about to be drawn into the endless mysterious patterns, so terrifying, grand and magnificent.

Shang-Chi unconsciously walked towards that direction, he stretched out a hand, as if wanting to touch the Light of the Sun, but it just hung there silently, not responding to anything.

Shang-Chi had thought he would communicate with the Gods deep in the Stars, but when he stood here, he realized that they were not communicable, for they themselves represented knowledge and truth.

In the moment of gazing at them, endless knowledge flowed into his brain, not some kind of energy, skill, or enhancement, but these truths that cannot be described by any cumbersome words or language, which is the true power bestowed upon him.

Scenes after scenes flooded into Shang-Chi's mind, a man lying on a sickbed groaning in pain, the Avengers gathered around him, the frantic intertwining of hands, the endless proliferation, killing, chaos, assimilation, invasion...

Then it was an extremely complex system, starting from the center of Space, countless monsters spreading out according to their positions, each with their image, name, personality, and hobbies...

All the stories were preserved in the form of pictures in his memory, and Shang-Chi had never felt his memory space so clear, as if everything had suddenly been straightened out, and he could even precisely retrieve a certain memory at a certain time point.

And the knowledge and truths he had gained by just gazing at the Black Sun had become a black notebook with the Black Sun pattern on the cover, quietly falling into the vast memory space, and Shang-Chi walked up and picked it up, beginning to flip through it.

Soon he was immersed in the story of this "Cancer Space", not knowing how long had passed, and when he finally finished reading the entire story, he gently opened his eyes, leaving his memory space, not taking any of the powers they had sought, but yet taking the key to victory.

Shang-Chi exhaled a breath, finding that Reilly had already opened his eyes, and a few seconds later Quill also woke up, they exchanged a glance, and they both knew what the other had obtained.

"This is truly amazing, isn't it?" Quill gave a cold smile and said, "The one called the God of Endless Proliferation is also one of them, unfortunately we cannot directly invoke his true name, but I think you should have understood what he has done to this Space."

Reilly's eyes were filled with rage, obviously this story had made him extremely angry, he pounded the ground with his hand and growled, "Ma'vil has abandoned his honor, he chose to cling to life, and ruined the Space!"

Suddenly, a shadow covered him, Jessica stood behind Reilly, looking at them curiously, she hugged the gun in her hands and said uncertainly, "Did you... succeed?"

Shang-Chi sighed and said, "Don't worry, we're not crazy, the ancient one who responded to our call doesn't seem to spread madness and chaos, he is the bearer of knowledge, truth and prophecy, so we got the truth from him."

"What truth?" Jessica was a bit puzzled.

"The truth of this Space."

Quill patted the ground next to him, gesturing for Jessica to sit down, Jessica was still a bit wary, but she didn't see any changes in Shang-Chi and Reilly, their bodies didn't grow tentacles, and their eye contact wasn't crazed.

She thought, well, even if they're crazy, what's the big deal? At worst, they'll just kill her, and she's been wanting to die anyway.

With this kind of self-destructive and indifferent attitude, Jessica sat down by the campfire and began to listen as the three of them took turns telling the story of this Space.

"The Astonishing Captain Ma'vil, a Kree Hero who once helped Earth, has dedicated his life to the peace of Space, and he has earned the respect of the Avengers and many human Heroes, so when he fell seriously ill and was on the verge of death, they all went to visit and comfort him."

Shang-Chi opened the conversation, giving some examples to depict Ma'vil as a great interstellar heroic figure.

"But what the human Heroes didn't know was that Ma'vil had already succumbed to the disease, he had abandoned his past glory, only to cling to life." Reilly gritted his teeth and said, "When he felt pain and helpless, he gazed at the Stars, heard the Call of the Stars, and responded to the call in order to survive."

"You are the same." Jessica did not get infected by the grief and indignation in Reilly's tone, she just evaluated very objectively, "Everyone wants to live, I don't think resorting to any means to do so is despicable."

"Yes, of course he can sell his body and soul to live for himself, and no one can blame him for that, he can choose to follow his God to the depths of the Stars, completely merge into the unconscious foolishness of Eternity, becoming unaware and senseless."

"But he didn't do that." Quill sighed softly, "Ma'vil may have initially just wanted to live, but when he saw what was in the depths of the Stars, he realized he could gain immense power, use that power to conquer and destroy, and gain power, and so he went completely mad."

Jessica pursed her lips, she had the urge to refute, but in the end it turned into a tentative inquiry, "Won't you do the same?"

"Absolutely not." Reilly looked into Jessica's eyes, and Jessica saw the heavy power in his eyes, Reilly repeated, "At any time, I will never sacrifice my friends to gain any unjust wealth for myself, never, never."

Jessica was touched for a moment, but she was not used to this kind of emotional expression, so she just shrugged her shoulders in a pretentious disdain and said, "Okay, you're really great."

Shang-Chi frowned and said, "If I were to choose, I wouldn't choose to live like this." Shang-Chi frowned and said, "The pain of death is very short-lived, regardless of how people imagine hell. It's all just imagination; once you're dead, you feel nothing."

"But long-term madness means endless mental torment." Shang-Chi shrugged and said, "It's no better than being bedridden with a chronic illness. If I could, I'd rather die."

"I agree with that," Jessica nodded and said, "If the pain of living is too long, then death is a kind of liberation."

"We still have to keep living, but not in this way." Quill picked up the conversation and said, "Ma'vil deceived all the Avengers' heroes. He told them he was going to die, hoping they could come see him one last time and shake hands with each of them."

Jessica had a bad feeling, and sure enough, Quill said, "Ma'vil brought this madness to the world using the craziness from the stars, infecting all the superheroes."

Jessica swallowed hard and said, "So this is the truth that they all went mad, not some sudden contagious disease?"

The three of them nodded and shook their heads together, Jessica taking a deep breath and gripping the gun handle tightly, but then relaxing again. She looked at the three of them and asked, "So, what was the last question? Who brought this madness?"

"'Myriad Horned'."

Reilly spat out the name, but it wasn't as serious or solemn as Jessica expected. Jessica thought it wasn't the truth, so she continued to stare at Reilly's face. Sure enough, Reilly continued to speak:

"But this is just a pseudonym, or rather, Ma'vil couldn't grasp the whole truth. The ancient god didn't tell him the truth, and 'Myriad Horned' should be called 'Plunder and Zar'."

Reilly called out the name with a strange tone, and Jessica hadn't even finished asking before Reilly explained again:

"I can't say their true names directly, as it would attract their attention. I used Latin to dilute the pronunciation and then translated it into English. It's not important; just remember the pronunciation."

"The question is, how do you know?" Jessica asked, somewhat perplexed, "Is it because the god you contacted told you?"

"Sort of, and we know more." Shang-Chi pulled out a piece of wood and, using the damp water on the sewer floor, drew a strange diagram.

Shang-Chi's hand was steady, thanks to his background in engineering from his past life, making him skilled at drawing. The diagram was chaotic, looking like just a series of arcs, but it was also somewhat lifelike. Jessica saw two ugly creatures in it.

"In the infinite knowledge, I saw their part of the appearance, heard their names, and origin."

"Plunder and Zar are a pair of Ancient Dominator brothers. They are a mass of ugly, bloated, and constantly multiplying flesh, with countless tendrils emerging from the gaps between the flesh, just like I drew."

"Their difference is that Plunder has a pair of wings, while Zar does not. They are connected by a pair of extended tendrils, allowing them to communicate mentally."

"They reside in the ancient city of Arlouza in the Great Horned Star, where the Qiao Qiao People occasionally offer sacrifices to them in exchange for the ominous winds that cover the entire star."

Shang-Chi sighed, looking at his drawing, and said, "Perhaps they two are not the key issue; the key is their mother, known as 'Dark Fertile Goddess', 'Highest Mother', 'She Goat of the Black Mountain', Shub-Niggurath."

"Oh no, I'm getting a headache!" Jessica covered her head and said, "Another name that will make my tongue twist Are these gods trying to test the loyalty of their followers by using their names? If you can't pronounce them correctly, it's not considered devout?"

"I think our main enemy is still the Twin." Quill also pulled out a finger and lightly tapped on Shang-Chi's drawing, saying, "The black Sun is unclear about the mother of the Twin. It only said she has extremely strong reproductive abilities and is very old, often sleeping in the depths of the stars, except during sacrifices when she sends out the young goats to receive offerings. She rarely makes a call."

"But Plunder and Zar's aggression is much stronger." Quill circled the diagram and said, "They often prompt their followers to offer sacrifices to lure in unfortunate victims as food, and it's likely that Ma'vil responded to the ominous winds in his dream and brought the terrifying madness to the real world."

Jessica blinked, but another term in Quill's words caught her interest, so she said, "The black Sun? Is that the name of an ancient being you communicate with? That's quite memorable."

"No, it's just a title or description." Reilly shook his head, saying, "We just saw a black Sun, but we don't know if it's her true form or incarnation, or even her name. It's just that the Sun particles brought us endless knowledge."

Jessica showed a curious expression, nervously fidgeting her hands and saying, "Sounds like it's not bad, knowledge and truth are stronger than ominous winds. So, can I... I mean, can I summon him?"

The three of them looked at each other, unsure what to do. Quill stroked his chin and said, "I don't sense that this ancient being is spreading their cult. They don't need sacrifices, and they haven't spoken to us."

"He just hangs above Carcosa's city, constantly spreading knowledge like a real Sun, regardless of whether you pray to him or not."

"Can I go see him?" Jessica's interested expression deepened.

Reilly showed a hesitant expression, and Jessica patted his back, saying, "No, buddy, I'm not trying to steal someone. Are you jealous?"

"No, it means we don't know how to let you see him. He doesn't have a phone number... does he?"

The three of them looked at each other again, and then, as if they all thought of something at the same time, Reilly smiled.

"It seems there is."

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

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Next Chapter ->Chapter 1403 The Return of the Old Ones (11)