Zed, after transforming into his Second Stage form, turned to look behind him. A circular space gate, crackling with orange sparks, materialized.
The Ancient One walked up to Zed with unhurried steps and said, "Absorbing another self to achieve singularity, and using that as a foundation to climb a higher peak. This path is indeed powerful, but also extremely dangerous!"
Zed knew that the power of Zi-O's Second Stage wasn't inferior to the Ancient One's own strength.
If the Ancient One only used a little of the Time Stone's power, the time-based abilities of Zi-O's Second Stage would be enough to deal with it.
And the Vishanti's magic, as well as Dormammu's dark energy, were not something that could be easily employed.
Zed said guardedly, "But I succeeded! That's enough! If there's nothing else, Master Ancient One, I'm going back to save someone."
The Ancient One blocked Zed's path. "You have already changed the fates of Peter Parker and Ben Parker once. This time, the convergence of the worldline is fate's self-correction. You cannot interfere again!"
Without further ado, Zed summoned the Maximum Time Sword, the weapon of Zi-O's Second Stage. The sword now appeared even more slender in Zed's hands, resembling the minute hand of a clock.
With the hour and minute hands combining to form the Maximum Time Sword, Zed pointed it at the Ancient One.
"Get out of the way!"
The Ancient One spread her hands, two energy fans appearing in them. She spoke slowly, "Don't make another mistake!"
"Then let's fight!"
Zed swung the Maximum Time Sword, his sword moves like a storm, enveloping the Ancient One.
But the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj weren't just frail, ranged attackers; they were battle mages.
The Ancient One spun her fans, deflecting Zed's sword moves with ease. The other fan closed, becoming like a short sword, and stabbed towards Zed's throat.
Zed dodged, barely avoiding the blow, then swung his right leg towards the Ancient One's waist. The Ancient One floated back, evading Zed's leg whip, and dispelled her fans, beginning to cast a spell.
The Crimson Bands of Cyttorak materialized out of thin air and lunged towards Zed, seeking to bind and restrain him.
Zed swung his sword, severing the initial chains that attacked him. He then pulled back to create distance and activated his Maximum Time Sword, pressing the charge button.
Blinding golden light erupted from the Maximum Time Sword, forming a super-sized lightsaber. Pink characters appeared in the air, imprinted on the blade.
"King's Maximum Slash!"
Zed roared as he slashed downwards.
The Crimson Bands of Cyttorak converged, attempting to block this unparalleled strike.
However, this spell was known for its versatility and flexibility, not its defensive capabilities. Even with countless chains combined, they couldn't stop the slash.
The power of the King's Maximum Slash burst forth, cleaving through the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak with ease and still possessing enough force to head towards the Ancient One.
Ancient One calmly extended her hands and used the Shield of the Seraphim to block the aftershocks of the King's Maximum Slash.
"I see it! Your next move!" The pointer on Zed's Zi-O's faceplate spun, bringing Zed images of the future.
"I also see your sword technique!" The Eye of Agamotto on Ancient One's chest also opened slightly, revealing a sliver of green light.
"I see you seeing me seeing you."
"I also see you seeing me seeing you."
"Enough! This is going nowhere!"
Zed and Ancient One both stopped fighting.
Without an overwhelming advantage, once they fell into a cycle of time-based powers, this fight would last until the end of time.
Neither Zed nor the Ancient One wanted to fight to the death right now.
This battle was more of a test, a way to gauge the other's current strength. The result of that test was that neither was willing to go all out, and neither could truly defeat the other.
Therefore, the battle had lost its reason to continue.
Zed was the first to sheathe his blade, saying, "Master Ancient One, save your strength for Dormammu! Your successor still needs your guidance, and I need to save my strength to fight Thanos. How about we call it a draw?"
The Ancient One sighed, then closed the Eye of Agamotto, saying, "I hope you will protect this world, and not bring it to ruin."
After saying that, the Ancient One turned and left, no longer wasting time on Zed.
She needed to go back and properly prepare her successor's training plan, otherwise, after her death, there would be no one to restrain Zed.
Then, Zed turned and stepped through the mirror.
Celebrate! He is the Time King, who surpasses all Riders, transcends space and time, and understands the past and future. At this moment, he transforms into Kamen Rider Zi-O Second Stage, and a new history has begun.
As soon as Zed returned to the real world, Woz was already there, waiting and loudly celebrating the birth of Zi-O Second Stage.
Zed was about to say something when Peter jumped in front of him, holding Ben's body, and urgently said: "Quick! Save him! You promised me you'd turn back time! Please!"
Zed gestured for Peter to put down Ben's body and then reached out a hand towards Ben's body, saying, "Turn back! Time!"
A clock imprint appeared on Ben's body. As the clock hands spun counter-clockwise, Ben's body began to twitch violently.
Peter watched nervously from the side, not daring to blink, afraid of missing anything. When the clock hands reached zero, Ben opened his eyes.
Peter rushed forward and hugged Ben, crying out:
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It's my fault! Waaah~"
Ben slowly recalled what had just happened, looked up at Zed standing beside him, and muttered to himself:
"Time reversal?"
Ben had suspected that the clockwork man was Zed from the moment he saw the blank watch face hidden inside the pocket watch.
Now, this person had used an incredible time reversal to save him. Ben was almost certain that the person in front of him was Zed.
But Zed had saved him and Peter; he owed them a debt. Since he hadn't told Peter his identity, Ben wouldn't say anything either.
After Ben retracted his gaze, he patted Peter on the back:
"Alright! Stop crying! Didn't I come back to life? Stop crying! We should go home!"
Peter helped Ben stand up and was about to leave. Ben turned around, faced Zed, and bowed in thanks:
"Thank you! I have nothing to repay you with, so I can only return this to you."
Ben said this as he handed the Stingray Watch Face to Zed. Zed didn't say anything and just accepted the new watch face.
Seeing that the other party didn't deny the word "still," Ben knew that he was Zed.
Ben took a long look at Zed before turning and putting his arm around Peter's shoulder as they left.
Zed watched their backs as they gradually disappeared, feeling very sad.
Even if he reversed time, he couldn't reverse the memories in Zed's heart.
But Zed knew that if he had to choose again and didn't come up with a better solution, he would still do the same.
Finally, there was only a sigh!
Shin walked over from a distance and knelt on one knee in front of Zed:
"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
"Get up! Shin! Come and give me a hand!" Zed said, extending a hand towards Shin.
Shin got up and leaned towards Zed's armpit, putting Zed's arm over his shoulder.
Zed was tired!
Shin said as he helped Zed onto the Time Mazine, "I went after Doctor Lizard and Venom, but they escaped through the sewers. Shin couldn't catch them."
Zed chuckled weakly, "It's a good thing you didn't catch them. If you had, you'd be smelling pretty bad right now."
Zed spoke less and less on the Time Mazine, and finally collapsed onto Shin, falling asleep.
Shin wouldn't dare take the weakened Zed home; anyone would be tempted if Ohma Zi-O, with no ability to fight back, was right in front of them.
Shin took Zed directly back to the Illusion Dream Company and, together with Skye, helped Zed onto the bed.
The nearby Kuroto Dan and Woz naturally weren't looking to get involved, so they watched as the two women dragged Zed back to his room.
Woz turned to Kuroto Dan and said, "The Demon King's identity has already been discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D., and other organizations will find out sooner or later. Therefore, the company's secrecy is even more important; it absolutely cannot affect the Demon King's plan."
"Who do you think I am? I am New-Kuroto Dan-Kami-sama! Do you think a small matter like running a company would be difficult for me?" Kuroto Dan crossed his arms, leaning back tactically while glaring at Woz through his nostrils.
"That's for the best!"
While Zed slept, Coulson, far away in the Arctic, was in an investigation aircraft, following professional rescue teams as they checked the ice layer round and round.
"Found it!"
Another investigation aircraft had found the target and sent a signal, waiting for Coulson to issue an order.
"Clear the path and set up camp, waiting for our arrival."
After giving the order, Coulson rushed towards the target location, bundled in cold-weather gear, and walked over to the team leader.
Coulson yelled, trying to make himself heard over the howling wind, "What's the situation?"
"Follow me!"
The two of them walked past the警戒线 and looked into the excavation pit. The leader pointed at a large block of ice and shouted:
"It's this!"
Coulson couldn't help but step forward, brushing away the snow on the surface of the ice to reveal the figure frozen inside.
Coulson stared at the face of the figure and the shield lying nearby and murmured, "You're really alive!"
After being excited for a long time, Coulson remembered his job and opened a communication channel with Nick Fury:
"Sir! We found him! We found him! He really is here! The instruments show he still has a faint life signal!"
Upon hearing the news that Captain America was still alive, even the usually calm Nick Fury couldn't help but get excited. He tried to maintain a calm tone and said to Coulson:
"Bring him back!"
After Nick Fury hung up the communication, he turned to watch the surveillance video in front of Osborn Tower.
Whether it was the new ability to travel through mirrors or the new armor of Zi-O Second Stage, neither was as shocking as the final resurrection.
Nick Fury abandoned his plan to deal with Hydra right now. He was going to indulge these guys whose minds were about to be clouded by greed.
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(End of Chapter)