Three weeks had passed since the fall of Hydra.
Washington was still recovering from the collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D., governments across the world continued uncovering hidden Hydra cells, and news channels remained flooded with revelations from Natasha Romanoff's leaked intelligence.
For the first time in months...
The Avengers had no battle to fight.
Nestled on a quiet street in New York, near Stark industries stood Happy Café.
Unlike the towering skyscrapers surrounding it, the café carried a warmth that made anyone who entered feel at home.
To the public, it was simply a peaceful café renowned for its coffee.
To Earth's Mightiest Heroes...
It was the one place where they could forget the weight of saving the world.
Behind the counter, KB carefully brewed coffee with the same patience he showed in his laboratory.
Benjamin watched with folded arms before shaking his head.
"You know..."
"The founder of the Hope Organisation personally making coffee is still something I'll never understand."
KB smiled.
"The Hope Organisation has hundreds of brilliant scientists."
"It doesn't have anyone who can make coffee exactly the way I like it."
Benjamin chuckled.
"I suppose that's one way to justify it."
Before either cousin could say another word, the bell above the café door rang.
Tony Stark entered first.
Pepper Potts followed close behind.
Then came Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Sam Wilson and James Rhodes.
Tony looked around the familiar café before grinning.
"I leave you alone for three weeks..."
"...and you're still hiding behind an espresso machine."
KB placed a steaming cup before him.
"If I stop making coffee, Tony..."
"...people might start believing I'm important."
Tony accepted the cup with a laugh.
"Too late."
One after another, the group gathered around the large wooden table near the window.
No armour.
No uniforms.
No weapons.
Only friends.
Rhodes lifted his coffee.
"To surviving another crisis."
Tony raised an eyebrow.
"You'll have to narrow that down."
Laughter echoed through the café.
Pepper smiled.
"I think we've officially had too many."
Steve leaned back in his chair.
"I'm starting to lose track myself."
Sam looked around the table with a smile.
"A month ago I was helping veterans."
"Now I'm sitting with the Avengers discussing how many global disasters we've survived."
Tony nodded sympathetically.
"Congratulations."
"You're officially one of us."
The conversation drifted naturally.
Tony complained about rebuilding his workshop after AIM's attack.
Pepper reminded him that rebuilding his sleeping schedule was equally important.
Rhodes nearly laughed into his coffee.
"I've been telling him that for years."
Tony pretended not to hear.
Steve quietly spoke about the aftermath of Hydra's downfall.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. is gone."
"But the people who believed in it aren't."
Natasha nodded.
"Neither are the people still hunting Hydra."
Her words brought a brief silence.
Clint casually broke it.
"I'm still voting for retirement."
Natasha smiled.
"You've been voting for retirement since New York."
"And yet..."
"...you're still here."
Clint shrugged.
"I make poor life choices."
The entire table burst into laughter.
KB looked towards Tony.
"So..."
"How many Iron Man suits now?"
Tony smiled proudly.
"I honestly stopped counting."
KB nodded thoughtfully.
"That sounds expensive."
Pepper answered before Tony could.
"It is."
Everyone laughed.
KB turned towards Steve.
"Still carrying that notebook?"
Steve reached into his jacket and produced the familiar notebook.
"It helps."
KB smiled.
"I've heard smartphones are becoming popular."
Steve looked completely unconvinced.
"I prefer paper."
Tony immediately pointed at Steve.
"See?"
"I'm not the only one refusing to modernise."
KB looked towards Natasha.
"How many identities this month?"
Natasha calmly took another sip of coffee.
"Six."
KB pretended to think.
"I expected seven."
"The month's not over."
Benjamin quietly laughed.
Finally...
KB looked at Clint.
"Missed any arrows lately?"
Clint answered instantly.
"No."
KB looked at Benjamin.
"I've spent years trying to prove him wrong."
Benjamin smiled confidently.
"You never will."
Tony looked between the cousins.
"So..."
"Does Benjamin ever disagree with you?"
Benjamin answered without hesitation.
"No."
Tony sighed dramatically.
"That's completely unfair."
KB shook his head.
"Benjamin exaggerates."
Benjamin looked at him with complete sincerity.
"I don't."
Once again, laughter filled the café.
As the conversation settled, KB quietly walked over to Steve carrying another cup of coffee.
He placed it gently before him.
Steve looked up.
"I still think about Bucky."
KB took the seat beside him.
"He saved your life."
Steve nodded slowly.
"I know."
"But I couldn't save him."
For several moments, KB remained silent.
Then he spoke softly.
"People with compassionate hearts rarely remember everyone they saved."
"They remember those they couldn't."
Steve stared into the rising steam.
"Do you really think he'll come back?"
KB smiled gently.
"The Winter Soldier chose to save Captain America."
"One day..."
"Bucky Barnes will choose to save himself."
Steve's expression softened.
"I hope so."
KB raised his cup.
"I usually have a good feeling about these things."
Tony immediately pointed across the table.
"There it is."
"The confidence."
KB laughed.
"No."
"Experience."
The café echoed with one final round of laughter.
Hours slipped away unnoticed.
Eventually, everyone rose from their seats.
Tony clasped KB's shoulder.
"Don't disappear without calling."
"I'll do my best."
Pepper smiled warmly.
"Take care."
"You too."
Steve shook KB's hand.
"It was good seeing everyone together again."
KB nodded.
"We should do this more often."
Sam grinned.
"Next time, breakfast's on Tony."
Tony looked horrified.
"I suddenly remembered I have another meeting."
Even Steve laughed.
Clint adjusted the quiver across his back.
"If you ever need an archer..."
KB smiled.
"I know exactly where to find one."
Natasha gave KB a knowing look.
"Try not to attract another international incident."
KB raised an eyebrow.
"I'll make no promises."
Everyone shared one last laugh before stepping out into the busy streets of New York.
KB and Benjamin remained standing outside Happy Café, watching their friends disappear into the morning crowd.
Benjamin folded his arms.
"Peace doesn't last long around us."
KB smiled faintly.
"No."
"But that's what makes moments like these worth remembering."
The two cousins locked the café and walked towards a waiting Hope Organisation vehicle parked across the street.
As they settled inside, Alexa's calm voice filled the cabin.
"Good morning, KB."
"Good morning, Benjamin."
KB smiled.
"Morning, Alexa."
"Anything urgent?"
A crimson holographic projection appeared above the dashboard.
A map of northern Spain slowly rotated.
At its centre pulsed an unfamiliar crimson light.
Benjamin's expression turned serious.
"Source?"
Alexa replied immediately.
"Unknown."
"The energy signature does not correspond to any terrestrial, extraterrestrial or interdimensional phenomenon contained within the Hope Organisation database."
KB studied the projection in silence.
Then his smile slowly faded.
"If even you cannot classify it..."
"...then whatever awakened in Spain is unlike anything we've encountered before."
He looked towards Benjamin.
"Change today's schedule."
"We're heading to Hope Organisation Headquarters."
"Understood."
The vehicle pulled away into the New York traffic.
Behind them, Happy Café welcomed its first customers of the day, completely unaware that only moments earlier the Avengers had been sharing coffee within its walls.
Thousands of miles away...
Deep beneath the mountains of northern Spain...
A crimson glow pulsed once more.
With every heartbeat...
Its hunger grew stronger.
The Hope Organisation Headquarters stood on the outskirts of New York, away from the city's endless noise.
It was neither a military fortress nor a corporate skyscraper.
It was a sanctuary of innovation.
Scientists from every corner of the world worked together without discrimination of nationality, race or religion, united by a single belief:
Knowledge existed to serve humanity.
As the Hope Organisation vehicle passed through the main gate, the security system recognised its passengers instantly.
"Welcome back, KB."
"Welcome back, Benjamin."
The gates opened silently.
Inside, laboratories buzzed with activity as researchers worked on medical breakthroughs, clean energy projects, nanotechnology and humanitarian innovations. Autonomous drones carried equipment between buildings while engineers and doctors exchanged ideas in open discussion.
No one saluted KB.
No one treated him like a celebrity.
Instead...
"Good morning, KB."
"Morning, Doctor."
"Your cancer regeneration paper was brilliant."
KB smiled warmly.
"Thank you."
Benjamin looked around with amusement.
"You know..."
"They're more interested in discussing research than the fact you helped save the world."
KB chuckled.
"That's exactly how I wanted it."
A few minutes later, the two cousins entered Project Genesis, the central command centre of the Hope Organisation.
The room dimmed automatically.
A massive holographic globe slowly emerged from the centre of the floor.
Beside it appeared Alexa's golden holographic avatar.
"Good morning, KB."
"Good morning, Benjamin."
KB nodded.
"Show us the anomaly."
The globe rotated.
Europe enlarged.
Northern Spain.
A crimson pulse appeared beneath a mountain range.
Immediately, every surrounding display flickered.
Benjamin frowned.
"Electromagnetic interference?"
Alexa answered instantly.
"Negative."
"The anomaly exists beyond electromagnetic, gravitational and quantum spectrums."
KB's relaxed expression disappeared.
"Replay the first detection."
The room darkened.
Satellite recordings reconstructed the event.
At first...
A tiny crimson spark.
Then—
A violent eruption of crimson light spread beneath the mountain.
The surrounding landscape seemed to distort.
Not physically.
Almost...
As though reality itself had trembled.
Benjamin narrowed his eyes.
"I've never seen anything like this."
Alexa continued her report.
"I have compared the energy signature against every known database."
"Tesseract."
"No match."
"Arc Reactor."
"No match."
"Extremis."
"No match."
"Chitauri energy."
"No match."
"Asgardian energy."
"No match."
Benjamin folded his arms.
"So whatever this is..."
"It doesn't belong to anything we've encountered."
Alexa projected another series of satellite images.
Dense forests.
Healthy one day.
Withered the next.
Rivers gradually losing aquatic life.
Entire flocks of birds abandoning the region.
Predators migrating without explanation.
Benjamin's expression became serious.
"The ecosystem is dying."
Alexa nodded.
"The deterioration continues expanding outward from the anomaly."
KB slowly circled the hologram.
"What about civilians?"
A second display appeared.
One missing hiker.
Two shepherds.
A family of campers.
Then...
Entire villages reporting unexplained disappearances.
"No bodies recovered."
"No signs of violence."
"No biological evidence."
Benjamin frowned.
"They simply vanish."
KB quietly corrected him.
"No..."
"They're being erased."
Silence filled the command centre.
Alexa displayed thermal imaging.
Everything surrounding the mountain gradually cooled.
Life itself seemed to retreat.
KB enlarged one satellite photograph.
Every tree leaned away from the centre of the anomaly.
Benjamin stared.
"The forest..."
"...it's afraid."
KB nodded quietly.
"Every living thing is trying to escape."
Alexa interrupted once more.
"There is additional footage."
A surveillance recording appeared.
A lone deer wandered into the affected forest.
Halfway across the clearing...
It froze.
No predator attacked.
No explosion occurred.
Without a single visible injury...
The animal collapsed.
A faint crimson mist rose from its body before disappearing into the mountain.
Benjamin replayed the footage.
Again.
And again.
Finally...
"What was that?"
KB watched the recording frame by frame.
His expression grew unusually grave.
"The body remained."
"But something invisible..."
"...left it."
Benjamin looked at him.
"You mean..."
KB nodded slowly.
"The soul."
The room became deathly silent.
Even the surrounding scientists stopped their work.
Alexa processed the latest calculations.
"If the current expansion continues..."
"The affected zone will double within nine days."
"In twenty-six days..."
"It will reach Madrid."
"In eighty-four days..."
"It will threaten continental Europe."
Benjamin looked at the expanding crimson circle.
"If we're wrong..."
"We lose precious time."
KB calmly replied,
"And if we're right..."
"...humanity is facing its first soul-based catastrophe."
For several long moments, no one spoke.
Then KB looked at Benjamin.
"It's time."
Benjamin understood immediately.
"I'll prepare."
Several nearby scientists exchanged confused glances.
One of the senior researchers stepped forward.
"Prepare... what?"
Benjamin smiled faintly.
"Our strongest protector."
The scientist looked around.
"I don't understand."
KB simply smiled.
"You don't need to."
Benjamin nodded respectfully and walked toward the private launch chamber.
Only a handful of people in the entire world knew the truth.
To the public...
KB was the brilliant founder of the Hope Organisation.
To Earth's Mightiest Heroes...
He was something else entirely.
Aureon.
The golden guardian who appeared whenever humanity faced a crisis too great for ordinary heroes.
His true identity remained known only to the Avengers, Benjamin, Alexa and a trusted handful within Hope's highest leadership.
The world had never connected the humble scientist named KB with the legendary protector who descended from the skies.
Inside the private chamber, Benjamin waited in silence.
There were no armour racks.
No mechanical assembly lines.
No nanotechnology capsules.
Only stillness.
Moments later, KB entered.
Benjamin smiled.
"Ready?"
KB nodded.
He closed his eyes.
The room became silent.
A warm golden radiance slowly gathered around him.
Unlike Iron Man's armour, nothing mechanical emerged.
No metal assembled.
No machines activated.
Golden-blue light flowed gently around KB's body like liquid sunlight.
Ancient symbols shimmered for a brief instant before dissolving into the light.
Piece by piece...
The magnificent golden armour of Aureon manifested around him, not forged by science, but brought forth through a divine power that no technology could analyse or replicate.
Benjamin lowered his head respectfully.
Even after witnessing it countless times...
The sight never failed to inspire him.
KB slowly opened his eyes.
Their calm warmth remained unchanged beneath the golden helm.
Alexa spoke softly.
"Hope Aircraft One is prepared."
Benjamin transformed into Valorian as advanced nanotechnology flowed across his body, forming his silver-and-blue armour.
Science and divinity now stood side by side.
KB looked toward the holographic image of Spain.
"Let's find out what has awakened."
The massive hangar doors opened.
Outside, Hope Aircraft One waited with its engines already humming.
Far beneath the mountains of northern Spain...
The Hope Organisation's hypersonic aircraft sliced silently through the clouds, leaving New York far behind.
Inside the cockpit, KB stood with his hands clasped behind his back, calmly studying the holographic projection of northern Spain. Beside him, Benjamin, now suited as Valorian, monitored the latest satellite feeds while Alexa continuously updated the anomaly's movements.
"The corruption has expanded another three kilometres," Alexa reported.
"No signs of military activity?"
KB asked.
"Negative."
"No known organisation has entered the affected zone."
Benjamin frowned.
"Either no one has discovered it..."
"...or no one who did managed to return."
Silence settled inside the aircraft.
Several hours later...
The towering mountains of northern Spain appeared on the horizon.
Snow-covered peaks surrounded ancient forests untouched by modern civilisation.
Yet something felt wrong.
The deeper they flew...
The quieter the mountains became.
No birds circled above.
No animals could be seen below.
Even the wind seemed unusually still.
Hope Aircraft One landed on a secluded plateau overlooking the valley.
As KB stepped onto the mountain, he paused.
The air itself felt heavy.
Benjamin slowly scanned the surroundings.
"My instruments are functioning normally."
"But..."
"They're telling me this place should be full of life."
KB knelt and gently touched the ground.
The grass appeared healthy.
The soil remained fertile.
Yet...
There was no life within either.
He slowly stood.
"The mountain is alive."
"But its soul isn't."
Even Benjamin felt a chill.
Thousands of miles away...
New York was enjoying a rare day of peace.
With S.H.I.E.L.D. dismantled after Hydra's exposure, a small group of trusted personnel had begun transferring their remaining operations to Avengers Tower under Tony Stark's sponsorship.
The tower buzzed with controlled activity.
Engineers installed secure communication systems while technicians integrated what remained of Fury's intelligence network into Stark's infrastructure.
Tony leaned comfortably against a holographic workstation.
"I never imagined I'd end up sponsoring what's left of S.H.I.E.L.D."
Rhodes smiled.
"Yet here we are."
Steve looked around the bustling operations floor.
"It's a fresh start."
Sam nodded.
"A better one."
Suddenly...
Jarvis' voice echoed through the tower.
"Sir."
Tony looked up.
"What is it, Jarvis?"
"I have detected an unusual energy fluctuation originating from northern Spain."
Every conversation stopped.
A holographic globe appeared.
The same crimson signature Alexa had detected now pulsed across Jarvis' display.
Tony frowned.
"That's... new."
Steve stepped closer.
"Any idea what we're looking at?"
Jarvis replied immediately.
"I have compared the signal against all known records."
"No match."
Tony folded his arms.
"I really hate hearing those two words."
"No match."
Rhodes looked towards Steve.
"Think it's connected to KB?"
Tony's expression changed.
"There's a very good chance."
Without hesitation, he activated a secure communication channel.
"Get Fury."
Moments later, Nick Fury's image appeared through an encrypted hologram.
His expression remained as unreadable as ever.
"You'd better have a good reason for interrupting my day."
Tony gestured towards the hologram.
"Jarvis picked this up."
Fury studied the crimson anomaly for several silent moments.
Then...
"He already knows."
Steve looked surprised.
"KB?"
Fury nodded once.
"Hope Organisation detected it hours ago."
"He and Benjamin are already on-site."
The room fell silent.
Sam crossed his arms.
"So they're ahead of us."
"They usually are," Fury replied.
Tony looked at Steve.
"We should head over."
Before Steve could answer, Fury shook his head.
"No."
Everyone looked at him.
"KB contacted me before departing."
"He specifically requested that no large deployment be sent unless absolutely necessary."
Tony sighed.
"Of course he did."
"He doesn't want unnecessary attention."
Fury nodded.
"And he doesn't know what he's walking into."
Fury remained silent for a moment before making his decision.
"Romanoff."
Natasha stepped forward.
"Yes?"
"You and Barton will head to Spain."
Clint looked up from cleaning one of his arrows.
"I was hoping today would stay quiet."
Fury almost smiled.
"It never does."
Natasha nodded.
"We'll provide reconnaissance and support."
"No direct engagement unless KB requests it."
"Understood."
Tony looked towards Steve.
"So..."
"What about us?"
Fury answered before anyone else could.
"You four stay in New York."
Steve frowned.
"What if they need backup?"
"If they do..."
"They'll ask."
Fury looked directly at Tony.
"Right now, the world's still recovering from Hydra."
"Avengers Tower is becoming the centre of what's left of our intelligence network."
"Someone needs to remain here."
Tony finally nodded.
"Fair enough."
Rhodes stretched comfortably.
"Guess that's our day off."
Sam laughed.
"I forgot superheroes were allowed those."
Steve looked unconvinced but accepted Fury's judgement.
"If anything changes..."
"We're on the first flight."
Fury gave a single nod.
"I know."
Meanwhile...
Far away in northern Spain...
KB stood at the edge of a silent valley.
Benjamin walked beside him.
Neither spoke.
The mountain itself seemed to breathe.
A faint crimson glow pulsed somewhere beneath the ancient earth.
KB slowly closed his eyes.
For the briefest moment...
He felt it.
Not hatred.
Not anger.
Not even malice.
Only an endless...
Hunger.
His eyes opened.
"It's awake."
Benjamin followed his gaze toward the mountain.
"So are we."
Hidden deep beneath the stone...
Something smiled.
And for the first time in centuries...
It sensed worthy prey had come to find it.
A cold mountain breeze swept across the silent valley.
KB stood at the edge of the cliff, his golden eyes calmly surveying the endless forests stretching beneath him. Beside him, Benjamin remained equally vigilant, while Alexa continued analysing the anomaly through Hope Organisation satellites.
For several minutes...
No one spoke.
Benjamin finally broke the silence.
"The corruption is still spreading."
KB nodded.
"But slowly."
Benjamin looked towards the crimson mountain.
"We have two choices."
"We explore immediately..."
"...or gather more intelligence before entering."
KB folded his arms, carefully weighing every possibility.
"If we rush in without understanding our enemy..."
"...we may walk straight into its trap."
Benjamin agreed.
"And if we wait too long..."
"...more innocent lives may disappear."
Before KB could answer, Alexa's voice echoed through their communication system.
"Incoming encrypted transmission."
"The sender is Natasha Romanoff."
KB accepted the call.
Natasha's holographic image appeared before them.
"We've arrived."
"Clint's with me."
"There's a small town about ten kilometres from your position."
KB smiled.
"We'll meet you there."
Less than thirty minutes later...
The four reunited in a quiet mountain town nestled between towering peaks.
The streets appeared peaceful.
Children played near an old fountain.
Shopkeepers greeted passing neighbours.
Yet beneath the town's ordinary appearance...
An uneasy silence lingered.
Even the locals spoke in hushed voices.
Natasha noticed it immediately.
"They're hiding something."
Clint nodded.
"They've seen something."
The four entered a small family-owned café overlooking the mountains.
As they sat together, maps and satellite images appeared across the holographic table projector Benjamin had brought with him.
Natasha studied the growing crimson zone.
"Hope Organisation's report wasn't exaggerating."
Benjamin shook his head.
"If anything..."
"It understated the problem."
Clint leaned back.
"So..."
"What exactly are we dealing with?"
KB looked towards the distant mountain.
"I don't know."
"And that's precisely what concerns me."
Natasha rarely saw KB admit uncertainty.
That alone told her how dangerous the situation might become.
Suddenly...
Benjamin's eyes narrowed.
"So did yours."
KB quietly closed his own eyes.
The world around them seemed to disappear.
Their consciousness expanded effortlessly.
Mountains.
Forests.
Villages.
Rivers.
Everything within hundreds of kilometres unfolded before them.
Omnipresence.
The divine perception granted only to KB and Benjamin.
Countless lives appeared like stars scattered across the land.
Then...
One star moved differently.
Deep within an unexplored cave high in the mountains, a lone adventurer carefully pushed aside loose rocks.
His flashlight swept across the darkness until it stopped.
A small black stone rested upon an ancient pedestal.
It looked utterly ordinary.
Rough.
Weathered.
Almost indistinguishable from countless roadside stones.
Only one detail set it apart.
A faint crimson pulse.
Slow.
Steady.
Like a heartbeat.
The adventurer frowned.
"A rock?"
Curiosity overcame caution.
He reached forward.
His fingers brushed its surface.
The world froze.
The crimson pulse exploded into brilliant light.
Before the startled adventurer could react...
The light rushed into his body.
His scream echoed through the cave.
Every muscle convulsed violently.
Dark crimson veins spread beneath his skin.
His eyes slowly opened.
Their natural colour had vanished.
Only a deep crimson glow remained.
He stood motionless.
Breathing heavily.
Then...
A single whisper escaped his lips.
"So..."
"...hungry."
His head turned instinctively.
Not towards food.
Not towards water.
But towards the nearest living soul.
An overwhelming desire consumed every remaining fragment of his humanity.
Devour.
Far away in the mountain town...
Benjamin's eyes opened instantly.
His face had become unusually pale.
He spoke directly into KB's mind.
"This is bad, Brother."
KB slowly opened his own eyes.
The playful smile that rarely left his face disappeared completely.
For the first time since arriving in Spain...
His expression became utterly serious.
He had seen enough.
Whatever slept beneath those mountains...
Had just found its first servant.
Natasha watched the sudden change.
She had fought beside KB long enough to recognise it.
He never lost his composure.
Not unless the danger was real.
She exchanged a silent glance with Clint.
Clint gave the faintest nod.
Neither of them asked questions.
Neither of them interrupted.
If both KB and Benjamin looked this serious...
Then the situation had already gone beyond anything they had expected.
A heavy silence settled over the table.
Finally, Natasha spoke.
"What did you see?"
KB looked towards the distant mountains.
His voice remained calm.
But its warmth had vanished.
"We're too late."
Benjamin slowly stood.
"The anomaly has chosen its first victim."
Clint instinctively reached for his bow.
Natasha's expression hardened.
"What happens now?"
KB's gaze never left the crimson peaks beyond the town.
"The hunt..."
He said quietly.
"...has begun."
Far above the mountains...
Dark clouds gathered over the ancient cave.
Deep within the adventurer's eyes...
The crimson light pulsed once more.
And somewhere beneath the earth...
.....
The quiet café fell into complete silence.
No one reached for their coffee.
No one looked away from the crimson mountains beyond the window.
KB remained motionless, his eyes calmly fixed upon the distant horizon.
Then...
He slowly closed them.
Benjamin recognised the gesture immediately.
Without a word, he remained silent.
KB was no longer observing the present.
He was looking beyond it.
Time itself unfolded before him.
Through Omnipotence, countless futures blossomed like branches of an endless tree.
He witnessed villages swallowed by fear.
Cities collapsing into chaos.
Armies unknowingly strengthening the very enemy they sought to destroy.
Then his vision pierced the heart of the mountain.
Buried beneath ancient stone lay countless crimson fragments, each radiating an unnatural hunger.
The instant he perceived them...
Understanding came.
Not through deduction.
But through certainty.
His eyes opened.
Benjamin looked directly at him.
Neither cousin spoke.
They didn't need to.
Their thoughts intertwined effortlessly.
"A fragment..."
Benjamin's voice echoed only within KB's mind.
"...of the Source."
KB gave the slightest nod.
"Corrupted when a being beyond mortal comprehension wounded Creation itself."
Benjamin's expression darkened.
"OBA..."
"Yes."
A long silence followed.
"Even a fragment has become this dangerous."
KB looked once more toward the mountains.
"Which is why it must never be allowed to mature."
The telepathic conversation ended as naturally as it had begun.
Natasha and Clint noticed only one thing.
KB's usual playful smile had vanished.
Natasha finally broke the silence.
"What did you see?"
KB looked toward the distant mountains before answering.
His voice remained calm.
But unusually solemn.
"This isn't an ordinary threat."
Clint folded his arms.
"Alien?"
KB slowly shook his head.
"No."
"Older."
Natasha frowned.
"Asgardian?"
Again, KB shook his head.
"Older."
The answer lingered heavily in the room.
He continued quietly.
"What lies beneath those mountains..."
"...is a fragment of something that once belonged to Creation itself."
Clint exchanged a glance with Natasha.
Neither interrupted.
KB continued.
"It wasn't born evil."
"It became corrupted."
Natasha studied him carefully.
"What corrupted it?"
For the first time...
KB hesitated.
Then he answered with only part of the truth.
"A being whose existence should never have been possible."
Silence filled the room.
"You've fought it before?"
Natasha asked.
KB looked out the window.
"No."
"But I know the scar it left behind."
Neither Natasha nor Clint fully understood what he meant.
They didn't need to.
The seriousness in KB's voice told them everything they needed to know.
Benjamin activated a three-dimensional map of northern Spain.
His analytical mind immediately shifted to strategy.
"The corruption is spreading through living souls."
"It will continue expanding."
Evacuation routes appeared across the map.
Hospitals.
Mountain passes.
Nearby towns.
Benjamin calmly outlined the first stage.
"We quarantine the affected region."
"Evacuate every settlement closest to the mountains."
"Prevent anyone from entering."
"Deploy Hope Organisation medical and rescue teams."
He paused.
"But there are weaknesses."
KB stepped beside him.
With a few precise movements, additional layers appeared across the hologram.
Emergency shelters.
Supply chains.
Drone surveillance.
Observation posts.
Communication relays.
Psychological support teams.
Civilian transport corridors.
"If panic spreads..."
KB explained,
"...the corruption wins before it ever reaches them."
Benjamin smiled.
"I calculated the battlefield."
KB returned the smile.
"And together..."
"We protected the people."
Natasha couldn't help but admire the cousins.
Benjamin analysed every possibility.
KB perfected every detail.
KB turned towards Natasha.
"I need your help organising the evacuation."
"No panic."
"No rumours."
"Only calm."
Natasha nodded immediately.
"I'll handle it."
KB then looked towards Clint.
"I need someone watching every approach to these mountains."
"If anything comes out..."
"I want to know before it reaches another innocent life."
Clint rested a hand upon his bow.
"You'll know."
KB gave a grateful nod.
"I never doubted it."
Far away...
Deep within the forests...
The transformed adventurer wandered aimlessly.
The hunger inside him refused to disappear.
It whispered constantly.
Consume.
He no longer remembered why he had climbed the mountain.
He no longer remembered his former life.
Only hunger remained.
Night fell.
Along an abandoned trail, a group of armed scavengers surrounded the lone traveller.
One laughed.
"Easy money."
The stranger remained silent.
His crimson eyes slowly lifted.
Moments later...
The forest became quiet once more.
The scavengers' bodies collapsed lifeless onto the ground.
No wounds.
No blood.
Only empty shells.
As each soul disappeared into him...
Knowledge flooded his mind.
Languages.
Weapons.
Survival.
Instinct.
The corrupted fragment adapted through his subconscious.
Without effort...
New abilities awakened.
Devouring Trait — Level One: Soul Sense.
He could perceive nearby living souls.
Moments later...
Devouring Trait — Level Two: Soul Devour.
Every consumed soul strengthened him.
Then...
As the final soul merged into his own...
Devouring Trait — Level Three: Soul Memory.
Every memory.
Every skill.
Every experience.
Now belonged to him.
He looked at his trembling hands.
Fragments of countless lives echoed inside his mind.
His old name had become meaningless.
A new one emerged from the darkness within.
A slow smile crossed his face.
"The Soul Devourer..."
The title felt natural.
As though it had always belonged to him.
High above the valley, KB looked towards the crimson mountains once more.
His expression remained composed.
But deep within...
He understood.
This was only the beginning.
The fragment had awakened.
Now...
It had found its champion.