"What's that smell? Why is it so awful?"
The scent of chemicals always takes time to fully fade.
Diwan woke up while Karl was showering. She wrinkled her nose, catching a strange, unpleasant smell.
Hearing movement in the bathroom again, she immediately lost all traces of sleepiness.
Soon—
Karl came out of the bathroom, wearing loose pants. His perfect physique was on full display in front of her.
Diwan had seen his body too many times already. At this point, she felt nothing special about it.
"Where did you go so early?" she asked casually as she got out of bed and ran her fingers through her hair. "That smells like chemicals… did you go to a hospital?"
Karl gave a low hum. "Something happened. I went to investigate."
Diwan walked into the bathroom. "And?"
"Found nothing. I've been put on the wanted list again."
She paused mid-toothbrushing and looked at him.
"What happened this time? Don't tell me it's that village again?"
Karl nodded. "Yeah. Still the highest-level wanted order. Anyone who sees me is allowed to kill me."
Diwan rolled her eyes. "Let them try. Then they can cry in front of me."
Karl smiled, got dressed, and went out to buy breakfast for her.
Neither of them seemed particularly bothered by the situation.
Wanted?
Who would dare arrest Karl?
And who even could?
After her shower, Diwan was drying her hair when Karl returned with breakfast.
As she blow-dried, she asked, "With something this big, no one's investigating?"
Karl walked over, took the hairdryer, and started helping her.
"Plenty of people are investigating. But if even I can't find anything, they won't either."
Diwan sat down and started eating, enjoying being taken care of.
After swallowing a bite, she asked with satisfaction, "So what are you planning to do?"
"I'll stay at Tony's place for a while."
Her hair was dry now, tied up neatly.
Karl said, "Don't go. You'll have to deal with jet lag."
Diwan took a sip of milk. "Please, I'm not going there to flirt with your four-limbed friends. And besides, out of sight, out of mind."
Karl pinched her cheek. "Stop being sarcastic. You won't stay long anyway. When you come back, you'll complain about not being able to sleep."
"Don't worry about me. I'm going."
She got up to pack.
There wasn't much to do—just take her mirror and move it if necessary.
Karl sighed. He couldn't really stop her. And honestly, if she didn't go, she'd probably cause trouble anyway.
"…It's August. Why are you packing winter clothes? We're going to the U.S., not the Arctic."
Seeing her toss down jackets into the bag, Karl couldn't help complaining.
Diwan replied seriously, "It's called being prepared. What if we end up going to the North or South Pole? Do you want to come all the way back here again?"
Karl nodded. "Fair point."
Then frowned. "But why would we go to the poles? We're just staying in Georgia for a while."
"I'm leaving. Any objections?"
With that, she opened a portal and stepped through.
Karl reacted instantly—just before the portal closed, he reached in, expanded it, and followed her inside.
Avengers Base
The two of them ran into Happy.
"Happy, are there any spare rooms?" Diwan asked first, as if she owned the place.
They were all familiar with each other—no need for politeness.
"Yes. Tony prepared plenty, just in case new members join."
He led them to pick a room.
All the rooms were similar—it just depended on personal preference.
Diwan chose one farther from the main area, somewhere quieter.
Karl didn't go in. After noting the room, he headed straight to Tony's workshop.
Tony was resting—probably spending time with Pepper.
The workshop had everything except a bed.
Soon, Diwan came over too.
She saw Karl sitting there like a statue, staring at the stones, turning one in his hand as if deep in thought.
"You're here looking at these stones again?"
Her voice snapped him out of it.
Karl looked up.
"I want to find the killer as soon as possible. The magic at Kamar-Taj slightly interferes with sound transmission—I need a clearer environment."
Diwan walked over, picked up a stone, and examined it.
"Why do you care so much about this?"
Karl took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
"…Because I'm curious."
She frowned. "Curious? About what?"
"Even I don't know. I just want to know who—or what—is behind this."
"Did you find anything?" she asked.
Karl hesitated. "This… might not be caused by a human."
"As for what it is, I still have no clue. Just a rough guess."
"What kind of guess?" she pressed.
Karl shook his head.
Diwan kicked him lightly. Karl brushed off the dust.
"I'm not sure. It's just speculation."
"Only saying half of it—how annoying," she said, pinching his face.
"I'm serious this time. I'm not messing with you," Karl said, pulling her hand away.
Diwan raised an eyebrow, smiling.
"So you were messing with me before?"
Karl replied seriously, "That was a slip of the tongue. Go out and have fun—I need quiet to focus."
She didn't leave.
The entire base was quiet anyway. There was nothing to do outside.
Diwan pulled out her phone and started browsing.
Karl continued thinking.
Neither of them spoke, yet there was no awkwardness.
Even if they only exchanged a few words a day, being near each other made them feel at ease. Their hearts naturally calmed.
The night grew dull.
After nearly two hours on her phone, Diwan got bored.
She walked over to Karl and opened her arms.
He understood immediately.
Karl pulled her into his arms, letting her rest.
"Have you ever annoyed me? Even for a second?" she asked.
Karl looked down at her. "No."
She nodded in satisfaction and said nothing more.
Her head rested in the crook of his arm, her legs stretched across another chair.
Recently, the Black Crow Stone had significantly improved Diwan's physical condition.
At her current level, her strength was about five times that of an adult man.
The changes were gradual, not sudden.
And her stone was much smaller than Karl's.
Karl's own stone had once put him to sleep, altering his body completely.
When he woke up, it had turned fully black and fused perfectly with him.
Earlier, Karl had mentioned three possibilities—partly because he didn't know where his stone came from.
Logically, there shouldn't be a second Black Crow Stone.
Yet he could clearly sense that Diwan's stone shared the same origin.
Karl reached into her clothes and took out the pendant.
The black core remained unchanged. It would take a long time to fully turn black.
"What are you doing?" Diwan asked, confused.
Her body tensed instinctively—even though it was Karl.
Karl put the pendant back and said seriously:
"Don't let anyone see it. Not even me."
"This stone is tied to your future."
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