ALL NOVEL Chapter 23: Echoes of Chaos
"Peter, calm down, Peter."
Ned placed his hand on Peter's shoulder to help him settle down and then said, "You're an Avenger who has fought aliens in outer space. You should be able to accept the existence of the multiverse, right?"
Hearing this, Peter, who had just been calmed by Ned, immediately jumped up again. "Oh! Crap! Ned, are you saying you're from the multiverse?"
"Yes, Peter," Ned nodded.
"Then why are you a sorcerer? My Ned is just a nerd," Peter asked.
Hearing Peter's question, Ned replied, "Because my grandma always told me that our family has extraordinary magical talent, and my fingers often tingle."
"Oh! I remember now! Ned always said his fingers tingled too! Uh… I mean, the Ned from this world," Peter exclaimed excitedly.
"Alright, alright. I don't care about tingling sensations, or whether your little buddy is a couch potato or a magical genius, but Mr. Parker, it's time to go home."
Just as Peter was getting worked up, Stark suddenly appeared and interjected.
"Okay then, other-worldly Ned. Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
"Alright, folks, let's all take a day off and prepare for the feast. I really need to rest. Oh, by the way, Stark, your farm has beer, cola, and fries, right?" Thor stretched his back, letting out a comfortable groan, then turned to Tony Stark.
"Uh… you're going to drink yourself to death someday," Iron Man quipped as he walked off the battlefield to meet Pepper.
"Everyone, the war is over. Let's all take a break, adjust to the new life, and don't forget the gathering at Stark's farm in three days," Captain America announced after seeing Iron Man leave. He then turned to Ned and asked, "Mr. Leeds, do you have a place to go? If not, you're welcome to stay at my place for a couple of days."
"Thanks, Captain, but Dr. Strange just invited me to Kamar-Taj," Ned replied.
"Alright then," Captain America nodded.
"Look! That handsome muscular guy is the Supreme Sorcerer from another universe!"
At Kamar-Taj, a group of ordinary sorcerers were secretly spying from a distance as Strange and Wong escorted Ned to the Supreme Sorcerer's quarters. They whispered among themselves, pointing at Ned.
"Nonsense. If he's the Supreme Sorcerer, why isn't he wearing the Eye of Agamotto?" one skinny sorcerer retorted.
"But he has the Cloak of Levitation!" the chubby sorcerer countered.
"Well… maybe, like us during those five years, his Eye of Agamotto was taken away?" The skinny sorcerer, now uncertain, tried to reason.
"Shit! Our universe aside, where the enemies have no morals, but how could another universe also be like this?"
"How could Kamar-Taj's sacred artifact just be taken away? Is the Supreme Sorcerer so weak? You dare insult Kamar-Taj? Guys, let's teach him a lesson!"
Out of nowhere, the first sorcerer grew furious at the suggestion and rallied the others to beat up the skinny sorcerer.
Thud, bang, pow.
A chaotic scuffle ensued. When it ended, the skinny sorcerer lay on the ground, battered and bruised, covered in marks from punches and kicks, looking utterly pitiful.
"I'll tell you this: Kamar-Taj's honor is not to be insulted!" The chubby sorcerer spat on the skinny one's face and strutted away with his followers.
"Do you desire power?"
"Who's there?!" The skinny sorcerer, despite his pain, scrambled to his feet and nervously scanned his surroundings.
"Do you desire power?" the voice asked again, mysterious and persuasive, but the sorcerer couldn't locate its source.
"Who are you? Where are you? What do you want?" The terrified sorcerer, trembling with fear, tried to appear brave.
"Look to your right..."
The voice sounded again. The sorcerer turned cautiously, conjuring two magic shields for protection, and peeked from behind them. "Where… where are you? I don't see anything!"
"..." The voice went silent for a moment, seemingly disheartened. It sighed before continuing, "Look down."
The voice emitted a faint glow, drawing the sorcerer's attention.
"Huh?" The sorcerer followed the light and noticed a peculiar red glow emanating from the grass. Mustering his courage, he crept closer.
Peering down, he saw a strange stone, the size of a fist, lying quietly in the grass, pulsating with an eerie red light. The sight sent shivers down his spine.
"Ah!!! Strange!!! Supreme Sorcerer!!! Help!!! A malevolent being from the Outer Dimensions has invaded Earth!!!"
In a flash, the skinny sorcerer wrapped the stone in his robes and bolted towards the Supreme Sorcerer's quarters, screaming for help as he ran.
"What's going on?"
Daniel, who was passing by on his way to see Wong, noticed the disheveled sorcerer running and shouting. Seeing the panic and hearing claims of an Outer Dimensional invasion, Daniel immediately summoned his magic shield and stopped the fleeing sorcerer.
"Master Daniel?! Thank goodness! Help me!" The skinny sorcerer, as if seeing his savior, rushed forward and unwrapped a part of his robe to reveal the eerie stone.
"Master Daniel! Look at this stone!"
"Ah!!!"
Daniel glanced at the stone and instantly felt a dizzying surge of bloodlust and chaos. He barely managed to control himself, channeling his inner strength and slapping his own forehead with a loud smack to regain composure. Letting out a painful groan, he finally stabilized himself.
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