Chapter 117: The Power of Universal Laws - Collision of Three Energy Systems
A bonfire crackled in a relatively flat clearing deep in the wilderness, with Ryan and the others gathered around it.
Under the moonlight, the forest was eerily quiet, the popping of burning wood the only sound breaking the silence.
Anthony returned carrying a freshly felled tree, chopped it into sections with his Adamantium bone claws, and added the pieces to the fire.
Ryan, seated in his wheelchair, smiled faintly. "Well, this is just perfect. We've barely been in this universe for two days, and we've already made enemies of the world's most powerful superhero organization."
Wanda's face remained expressionless as she stared into the flames. "That's not my problem."
"I'm not blaming you," Ryan said smoothly. "This world has banned dark magic, so naturally they're targeting you. My point is—you can't fight an entire world alone. You need allies."
Wanda turned to look at him. "You haven't even solved your own problems yet. So tell me—are you helping me, or am I helping you?"
Ryan's greatest value to Wanda was his ability to help her find the universe where Vision still lived.
Anthony paused his wood-chopping and turned to stare at Wanda, his eyes cold and calculating, as if evaluating exactly how to kill her if it came to that.
Ryan chuckled. "Of course I can help you. We're not without resources. You can open a portal back to our home universe and bring through the elite forces from Celestial Island. That way, I can also get the medical supplies I need to heal myself."
Wanda showed no interest in Ryan's proposal. She was only concerned with confirming whether this world contained another version of herself and Vision. If not, she'd simply open another dimensional rift and take Ryan to the next universe, continuing her search for her family.
Cassie, standing nearby, spoke up. "Ryan needs to heal himself first. You can open the portal back home. As long as we retrieve the medical supplies to cure Ryan, we can still help you after that."
Wanda scoffed. "What if opening the portal draws the Celestial here?"
The power of Arishem the Judge, with his six blazing eyes, was beyond mortal comprehension. All living things were insignificant before a being of that magnitude.
Ryan had narrowly escaped death from their last encounter, only to end up in this crippled state. If it happened again, Ryan would surely die.
Wanda naturally didn't want to take such a risk.
Cassie was about to respond when Ryan stopped her. "Cassie, it's time for my medication."
Dawn was still an hour or two away, and if he didn't take the nerve blocker soon, the pain would return with a vengeance.
Cassie opened the medical kit, extracted a dose of the nerve blocker, and moved behind Ryan's wheelchair to administer the injection through his neck port.
Ryan looked at the Darkhold hanging from Wanda's belt. "Is that the Darkhold? Can I take a look at it?"
Wanda glanced down at the ancient tome. "You're not a sorcerer. You won't be able to understand what's inside."
"Maybe I'm a one-in-a-million genius," Ryan said with a slight smile.
Perhaps feeling guilty about not helping Ryan open the dimensional portal earlier, Wanda actually unhooked the Darkhold and handed it to him.
"Be careful. The Darkhold is extremely fragile."
Anthony placed the book on Ryan's lap, and Ryan slowly opened the first page.
The Darkhold contained no written words—only a chaotic array of symbols and arcane inscriptions carved in seemingly random patterns across the ancient pages.
Anthony and Cassie both leaned in curiously, then looked away when they realized they couldn't comprehend anything.
But from Ryan's perspective, it was a completely different experience. The symbols and inscriptions on the Darkhold seemed to come alive, moving and shifting across the pages.
They rearranged themselves, swirling and dancing as dark light emanated from them endlessly.
As these symbols moved, Ryan felt as if his brain had been struck by a sledgehammer. It was like someone had driven two crowbars into his skull and was forcefully prying it apart.
And splitting it open wasn't enough—something else was being forcibly inserted into the gap.
"Nngh!"
Ryan's face contorted in pain. Cassie, who had just finished administering the nerve blocker, immediately noticed something was wrong.
"Ryan? Ryan, are you okay?"
Ryan's jaw clenched, and his eyes rolled back, showing only whites. Then suddenly, Ryan's eyes turned completely black—not just dark, but a mysterious, abyssal black that seemed to connect to the void itself.
Wanda, who had been lost in thought, noticed Ryan's condition and immediately pulled Cassie back. Raising her hand, she unleashed chaos magic, attempting to penetrate deep into Ryan's mind to investigate.
The next moment, Wanda, mid-cast, suddenly froze in place. Her eyes turned blood red.
"That's... impossible!"
Wanda seemed overwhelmed with fear and tried to unleash more chaos magic to defend herself, but the energy in her hands flickered and died. She couldn't access her power.
WHAM!
Wanda, who had been trying to enter Ryan's mind, was suddenly thrown backward. She slid several meters across the ground before coming to a stop.
Wanda gasped for breath, her eyes filled with shock as she stared at Ryan.
Aside from his eyes, which had turned completely black, Ryan looked as if he were dead.
Cassie reached out to wake Ryan, but Wanda quickly stopped her. "Don't touch him! There's death energy inside him. If it's released uncontrolled, we'll all die!"
Cassie and Anthony didn't fully understand death energy, but Wanda did.
After the creation of the universe, vast amounts of energy were generated. Some beings are naturally capable of harnessing this energy. No matter how they channel it, the total amount of energy in the universe remains constant.
Energy is absorbed, then released, and the released energy returns to the universe itself, creating an infinite cycle.
This process of utilization is the manifestation of cosmic power—simply expressed through different methods and wielders.
Cosmic energy is further subdivided into numerous types, each representing a fundamental force embodied by abstract entities.
For example, Wanda's chaos magic and the Darkhold both derive from a god named Chthon, the Elder God and origin of dark magic. Chthon is merely one entity within the greater cosmic hierarchy.
The death energy within Ryan is on the same tier as the power of Eternity, Infinity, Entropy, and Oblivion—it represents one of the most primal laws of the universe. Even a trace amount is enough to terrify someone like Wanda.
Death energy is immensely powerful, yet it cannot be controlled by mortals.
The chaos magic connected to the Darkhold had triggered the death energy within Ryan's mind. As a fundamental universal law, the death energy would not tolerate provocation and immediately launched a counterattack against the chaos magic.
Ryan and the Darkhold were merely conduits—the true battle was occurring on the level of cosmic laws themselves.
Just as the chaos magic was about to collapse and the Darkhold was on the verge of destruction, another force within Ryan suddenly unleashed its power.
BOOM!
Golden light erupted from Ryan's paralyzed body, surging toward his brain. The death energy absorbed the chaos magic while simultaneously resisting the golden cosmic energy from the Celestials.
This was absolute torment for Ryan as the host. His brain felt like it was exploding, being churned into paste.
Just as Ryan's consciousness was about to collapse entirely, the three energies suddenly calmed down and retreated to their respective corners.
Ryan's black eyes returned to normal, and he blinked twice, focusing on Cassie.
Before Cassie could express her relief, Ryan's eyes rolled back again and he lost consciousness.
Wanda, climbing to her feet, returned to the campfire and retrieved the Darkhold from Ryan's lap.
Cassie was desperately worried about Ryan, but there was nothing she could do to help him. Her face twisted with concern and frustration.
Wanda returned to her tree stump seat to continue warming herself by the fire. Seeing Cassie's expression, she saw a reflection of her younger self—a woman who had fallen deeply in love.
Cassie was luckier than Wanda had been. Although Ryan was paralyzed, he was still alive.
But Wanda had killed her beloved Vision with her own hands during the battle with Thanos, only to watch him be resurrected and killed again by the Mad Titan.
After a long silence, Wanda said in an unexpectedly gentle voice, "Cassie, he's fine. He's just exhausted."
Cassie looked at Wanda gratefully. "Thank you, Wanda."
Wanda smiled—a rare expression she hadn't worn since Vision's death. Perhaps she was finding hope in the possibility of seeing Vision again, or perhaps it was Cassie's presence, but Wanda's mood had actually brightened considerably.
"Do you love him?"
The question was abrupt. Cassie paused for a moment before nodding gently.
"Maybe... a little."
She and Ryan hadn't had any dramatic romantic encounters, no storybook moments. They'd simply known each other casually, talked comfortably, and eventually became close friends who could share anything.
She loved watching Ryan focus intently on his experiments, and the domestic comfort he radiated when he cooked.
Later, after being pulled into this universe by Wanda, although nothing dramatic had happened, Ryan had consistently protected her and soothed her insecurities.
This was the first time since Thanos's snap and Scott's disappearance five years ago that her deep sense of vulnerability had been truly addressed.
Gradually, Cassie had developed a sense of dependence on Ryan.
Wanda chuckled softly. "I can tell he has feelings for you too."
"Really?" Cassie wasn't sure if Ryan actually liked her romantically, or if he was just being protective as a friend.
Wanda nodded with certainty. "Absolutely. I've been through this before. The way he looks at you is... different."
Cassie's heart felt warm after hearing this. She turned to look at Ryan, who was still unconscious, and whispered, "I just hope he recovers soon."
The two women continued chatting, completely ignoring Anthony, who was still chopping wood and feeding the fire.
Anthony, feeling thoroughly invisible, had been listening with pricked ears the entire time. Then, just as he was getting invested, the conversation suddenly stopped.
Anthony turned his head cautiously and found both women—one older, one younger—staring directly at him.
"Ahem."
Anthony stood abruptly. "I'll go hunt for food in the woods."
The grim warrior Anthony had never feared the strength of any enemy, but he absolutely dreaded the sudden awkward silence.
Ten minutes later, Anthony returned with a deer and two rabbits. His Adamantium claws made quick work of the prey, cutting them into pieces and skewering them on sticks to roast over the campfire.
Suddenly, a voice called out from across the clearing: "Hey! I'm demanding proper treatment under the Geneva Convention here! You three are about to devour an entire deer. How about sharing some with the prisoners of war?"
Anthony glanced at Johnny Storm and Susan Storm, both chained to a tree with mystical restraints, then turned back to his cooking without saying a word.
"Hey, man! Why are you just staring at me without saying anything? You got dementia or something? Or is the new trend shooting silence beams from the back of your head? Give me some kind of reaction here! Seriously, are you under some kind of mystical gag order?"
Johnny's mouth kept running non-stop.
Even Susan, standing beside him, couldn't take it anymore. She hissed, "Shut up, you idiot! Do you want to piss him off so badly that he skins you like that deer?"
Susan was hoping desperately for rescue from the Illuminati. Johnny, meanwhile, seemed intent on getting himself killed.
End of Chapter 117
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