Chapter 518: Unveiling Schiller's Journey into the Past (Part 2) (Patreon)

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

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Seeing that the circle of Schillers surrounding him had no intention of leaving, Osiris eventually spoke:

"...Balance. The key lies in the Balance used for judgment! And also the Feather used to determine if the judgment is passed. It's a token of great significance..."

"I once struck a deal with a mysterious entity from the afterlife. When I placed the Feather on the Balance and the hearts of my followers on the other side, if the heart weighed more than the Feather, Death would come for them. However, if the heart weighed less than the Feather, Death wouldn't accept them, and they could naturally be resurrected."

Schiller understood Osiris' meaning. In simple terms, resurrection wasn't about truly bringing a dead person back to life. Instead, it involved harnessing the power of Death, one of the Five Primeval Gods in the Marvel universe.

It's widely known that everything in the Marvel world journeys to Death's realm upon dying.

Osiris, through his trade with Death, intercepted the souls of believers on their way to Death's realm. He conducted a so-called judgment. If the judgment wasn't passed, the soul would continue to Death's realm, leading to the person's death. But if the judgment was successful, Death's realm would reject the soul. And if Death rejected the soul, it meant the person was still alive, resulting in their resurrection.

In other words, the resurrected believers weren't reborn; they simply hadn't died.

"I told my followers that as long as they were devout enough and fought fiercely for me, they'd have a chance at rebirth after death. This way, they'd fight with more valor, fearlessness of Death, and would kill more enemies on the battlefield. This pleased the mysterious entity known as Death. That's how we reached the agreement."

"And the so-called judgment process, it's Death himself who judges. After my followers are resurrected, can they create more Death for him? If Death believes the followers can achieve this, he won't accept their souls, allowing them to return to the mortal world and generate more Death."

Schiller nodded, indicating he understood. It didn't come as a surprise. Anyone who dealt with Death in a trade was similarly driven. Death's ultimate aim was just to accumulate more Death.

The Hall of Heroes in Asgard operated similarly. Odin only allowed the bravest warriors into the hall. And the "bravest" meant those who killed the most enemies on the battlefield. When resurrected, this group could naturally generate more Death.

"You made a deal with Death, so why can all followers of the Egyptian pantheon be resurrected?" Schiller inquired.

"I have no choice!" Osiris appeared hopeless. He said, "After making the deal, I realized he didn't just want my followers to bring him more Death. The entire Egyptian pantheon was cursed by him! All the followers of the Egyptian Gods undergo this judgment!"

Schiller suddenly smiled, seemingly mocking. He said, "I remember the myths say that this judgment process is meant to distinguish the guilty from the righteous. The hearts of the guilty would be heavier than the Feather, thus preventing resurrection."

"But now, ironically, the hearts of the guilty are lighter than the Feather. Because Death requires the most wicked criminals to bring him more Death..."

"It's truly ironic, isn't it? Just like all the gods' judgments that divide who's a bad guy and who's a good person. But you're not even human. Why do you think you have the right to set the standards of good and evil for humanity?"

After Schiller, dressed in a white coat, finished speaking, he paid no attention to the torn-apart Osiris, who had been overwhelmed by the other Schillers. Schiller turned and walked back, returning to the large ship moored by the oasis.

Drawing back the curtain, he entered the cabin. The first thing he noticed on the table was the Balance. Indeed, on the other end of the Balance was a Feather, exceptionally light, as if it could float away at a gentle touch.

Schiller walked over, picked up the Balance, and just at that moment, footsteps could be heard from outside the door. He turned to see the plump hippo goddess entering. She seemed unaware of Schiller's presence in the room. She exclaimed and then turned to leave. However, Schiller stopped her.

"Goddess of the Crown, can you do me a favor?"

"Of course, what do you need?" The hippo goddess approached and looked at Schiller, asking, "Are you really thinking of undergoing judgment? But why? You already have this ship!"

"I'm just curious about this process. Can you help me take my heart out and place it on the Balance? Since you've guided people to this ship before, you must be familiar with the process of judgment, right?"

The hippo goddess widened her eyes. "Am I hearing correctly? You want to undergo judgment? But why? You already have this ship!"

"I'm simply intrigued by the process. Can you assist me in removing my heart and placing it on the Balance?"

"This..." The hippo goddess hesitated for a moment, but looking at Schiller's resolute eye contact, she approached and said, "Alright, it's not too difficult."

As she spoke, she reached into Schiller's chest and pulled out a heart resembling a crystal. She then placed the heart on the Balance.

The hippo goddess explained to Schiller, "Originally, for each you present, I should extract a corresponding number of hearts and place them all on the Balance. However, considering the current situation, if I do that, I might miss several thousand years of work, so..."

Schiller expressed understanding and stared at the Balance. Soon, his eyes widened in shock. The tray containing his heart was slowly rising.

Indeed, the light and airy Feather seemed about to take flight, yet it pressed down the tray on the Balance, causing Schiller's heart to rise.

"Is this thing broken?" Schiller asked, full of doubt.

Just as he was about to step forward to tap the Balance, urgent footsteps sounded from outside. With a "swish," the curtain was lifted, and Stark and Steve walked into the room one after the other. Standing outside was Khonshu, who had brought them here.

Schiller was quite surprised by the appearance of Stark and Steve. He hadn't expected them to come looking for him here. He had assumed that the two were probably outside, mourning his corpse.

However, after the initial surprise, Schiller paid them no more attention. A more intriguing toy was right in front of him—exploring the secrets of the Balance was his current choice.

Schiller walked to the other side of the table, gazing at the end where his heart was elevated. He speculated that perhaps being divided into many versions of himself had resulted in his heart not being heavy enough. So, he summoned two more personalities and had the hippo goddess extract their hearts to place on the tray. However, the tray remained still, showing no sign of descending.

Schiller attempted various combinations of personalities—some excessively prone to violence, while others had never harbored such intentions. After exhausting various permutations and combinations, no combination was heavier than the Feather. In other words, no matter how he arranged things, Schiller could pass the judgment, he could resurrect.

Sighing, Schiller realized that adhering to the rules wouldn't work. He decided to apply external force. He extended a hand and pushed down on the tray containing his heart. While concentrating, he noticed the tray starting to move downward.

Schiller adjusted his grip for better leverage. Placing the Balance at the edge of the table, he exerted force on one end of the Balance, pushing it down with determination.

Amidst the metallic creaking sounds, just as he was about to make his heart heavier than the Feather, he suddenly saw a pale, slender hand appearing on the tray with the Feather. It also began pushing the tray downward.

Wide-eyed, Schiller observed this turn of events. He gritted his teeth and continued to press his side of the tray downward. However, the hand on the other side was also applying force, pushing the tray with the Feather downward.

In other words, Schiller aimed to make his heart heavier than the Feather to avoid passing judgment, while the person on the opposite side insisted on him passing judgment.

After a struggle, Schiller finally couldn't hold on any longer. He let go, and with a loud crash, the tray with the Feather landed directly on the desktop. The tray containing Schiller's heart was elevated, flinging his heart off the tray.

Gasping for breath, Schiller glared angrily at the Balance. After spending so long in this world, he had finally encountered a real opponent?

Ignoring the bewildered looks from the others, he began using various methods in a desperate attempt to push down the end of the Balance.

At this point, the underlying principles no longer mattered; the primary goal was victory.

Schiller worked busily with clangs and clatters. Stark and Steve had no chance to intervene. They couldn't even fathom what Schiller was doing.

Eventually, Schiller, after much effort, had made no progress. He tossed aside the tools in frustration, crossed his arms, and looked at the Balance. "Death, are you there?"

"To be honest, I didn't expect you to be so strong. If I had brought my suit today, I would have shown you what 'unite' truly means..."

"Alright, can you come out? I want to talk to you about something."

"Death! Death! Are you there? Answer me!"

Amidst Schiller's shouting, Stark approached and put a hand on Schiller's shoulder. "Schiller, calm down!"

"I know, I know. You've had some really tough experiences. Maybe you have a lot of sadness you want to make up for, but this method won't work..."

Stark sighed, his tone becoming emotional. "Countless nights, I've thought about what it would be like if I could find a way to resurrect my parents."

"I even took concrete steps. I began searching for every material related to resurrection, even considered building a time machine to go back to the day they died and keep them at home."

"I think anyone would have thought about this. When their loved ones leave them, they're bound to wish they could go back or resurrect them."

Stark covered his eyes with his other hand. "But I discovered that in chasing this fantasy, I lost more. I stayed up night after night, becoming worn out. I started drinking heavily, reuniting with them in hallucinations. But in the end, I gained nothing..."

Stark looked seriously into Schiller's eyes.

"If you designed such a complex and intricate plan just to resurrect your parents, then let me tell you..."

Golden light flickered in Stark's brown eyes as he continued:

"The love and family you've missed out on, it's not something only they can provide... we can too."

Schiller stared into Stark's eyes, his mouth slightly agape, then he asked, "Thank you, I'm touched, but..."

"What are you saying?"

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 519: Schiller's Descent into Madness (Part 1)