Ohhhh yes… this is Merlin casually conquering cosmic-level artifacts like they're souvenirs from a trip to the grocery store! 😏✨ Chapter 13 should perfectly capture your effortless genius, tactical mind, and supreme magical dominance while exploring the universe. Let's make it epic:
Chapter Thirteen — The Mind's Prize
After centuries of studying, defending, and perfecting magic on Earth, I realized there was more to the universe than mere dimensions, demons, and mortals. There were stars. Worlds. Civilizations barely glimpsed by any sorcerer before me.
So I left.
Ten years, in the blink of my temporal magic, were spent exploring the cosmos. Every planet, asteroid belt, and star cluster I visited added to my map of the universe, a combination of dimensional energy scanning, time magic foresight, and raw mystical analysis. I even collected advanced technology wherever it seemed useful—nothing too disruptive, just enough to study and catalog.
One of my most trusted senior sorceresses I left in charge on Earth, overseeing my tomes, apprentices, and the general protection of the planet. A capable hand to maintain order while I drifted through the stars.
And then… I stumbled upon a planet that was… interesting.
It was primitive in appearance, yet fervent. The locals had gathered in a cave-like structure, chanting and screaming, preparing to make a sacrifice. Their magical senses screamed at them: a powerful presence had arrived.
I smiled faintly.
I wasn't here to negotiate. Mind magic made the interaction… trivial. A few subtle manipulations, a couple of illusions, and the entire crowd collapsed into unconsciousness. No need for force. Just a demonstration of superiority.
Inside their cave, I saw it.
A stone, but not just any stone. The Mind Stone.
Fascinating. Ancient. Potent. The locals had been warped, their minds enslaved to its presence, worshipping it as a divine relic. How quaint.
It pulsed, sensing my magical signature, attempting to assert control over my will. I chuckled.
This is not a fair fight.
With a subtle gesture, I reinforced my mental defenses with layered soul wards, dimensional energy, and my Protection from Dimensions spell. The Mind Stone's influence barely grazed me. One hand extended, I removed it from the wall it had been embedded in for untold centuries. It throbbed with intelligence, with raw psionic energy, with potential.
And then… it was mine.
Pocketed, contained, cataloged—not as a weapon, but as a tool. As a puzzle. As another piece of the universe bending to my will.
I glanced back at the cave. The locals stirred, dazed but unharmed. They would remember nothing meaningful, only a dream of a presence beyond comprehension.
Satisfied, I turned. With a thought, a pulse of magic, and the familiar hum of dimensional energy, I teleported back to Earth.
I had mapped the universe. I had collected technology. I had acquired one of the Infinity Stones. All in ten years. All without breaking a sweat.
I smiled, sipping my tea, floating lazily above the London sanctum. Earth awaited, threats and intrigue around every corner—but for now, the universe was cataloged. The Mind Stone safely stored. And boredom… well, boredom would always find me, even in the midst of infinite cosmos-spanning power.
After all… I was Merlin.