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Chapter 173: Narrow-mindedness
Tony grinned savagely.
Kaecilius was an ambitious man, someone who would risk everything to achieve his goals, even betting on a slim chance of success. Tony admitted that.
But when their ideals clashed irreconcilably, one of them was destined to die. Kaecilius, that bigmouth from the enemy faction, had followed the Sorcerer Supreme for many years and knew too many secrets.
If for no other reason, Tony had to find an opportunity to kill this guy simply to protect the secret of the Eye of Agamotto.
Agamotto, a renowned Archmage in Earth's history, was the first to discover and master the Time Stone, sealing it within a powerful vessel that he carried with him. After his death, it was kept in Kamar-Taj, to be inherited by the next Sorcerer Supreme.
Many knew the Eye of Agamotto was a powerful magical artifact of Kamar-Taj, but very few knew that it contained the Time Stone.
Tony moved decisively. He crouched fiercely, slamming his fist into the ground with all his might. The instantaneous burst of power made the veins on his entire arm bulge, intricately patterned, as if frenzied young dragons were coiling across Tony's body, making the twisting veins even more terrifying.
The ground exploded with a deafening roar.
Countless Transformers swarmed forward. Each one had a towering, imposing frame. Their variously colored bodies reflected a menacing, cold light under the scorching sun.
"Tony, I'm giving you one last chance. Surrender to me, and I can plead with the great Dormammu to grant you immortality!"
Kaecilius glanced disdainfully at the swarming war machines. The sheer number of these behemoths, combined with their tight, coordinated movements, was something few could completely ignore.
Yet Kaecilius did just that.
"Hehehe, immortality? There are plenty of people on Earth who can achieve that. Why would I need to risk cooperating with that old schemer Dormammu?"
Immortality held the least attraction for Tony.
For starters, there was Azazel, who had lived for five thousand years. All he had to do was look for the Brotherhood of Mutants, and he could find him. If he wanted to go through a bit more trouble, he could run over to Egypt and dig up Apocalypse, the ancient ancestor of all Mutants. That guy's ability to transfer his soul was also terrifying.
At worst, he could go study Vampires and, while he was at it, dig up Dracula from his slumber in the Middle East.
Cooperating with Dormammu? That guy would screw you over so badly you wouldn't even have your underwear left.
"How is that possible? Do you think just anyone can resist the erosion of time?"
Kaecilius shook his head, a mocking expression appearing on his handsome face. He shook his long robes, disgustedly brushing off the dust as if cleaning away trash.
The dismissiveness Kaecilius displayed was a common failing among many Kamar-Taj sorcerers: they always looked down on worldly things.
"I can see that you have a favorable impression of the Sorcerer Supreme, just like all those who have been deceived. You're all the same. You only know she is a Guardian, but you completely ignore her dark mentality."
In the cavern Tony had smashed open, a subtle electric current slithered past, mingling with the countless cables on the ground.
"A dark mentality? Everyone has one. Even a great philanthropist who has done countless good deeds will occasionally feel dissatisfied and contemptuous towards the poor who only accept charity. Just like right now—while I'm verbally rejecting the great Dormammu's invitation, I'm mentally plotting your death. How dark of me," Tony said with deadpan sarcasm.
He had no interest in wasting words on someone who had been brainwashed by Dormammu. Kaecilius only saw the ways the Sorcerer Supreme had deceived and hidden things from him; he failed to see the hope she had brought to humanity.
What kind of hellhole was Earth a thousand years ago? Ancient humans spent most of their energy praying to gods and buddhas instead of engaging in production. Earth was controlled by various Pantheons, and numerous Deities fought each other every other day to compete for population and followers, plunging the world into misery and devastation.
At that time, the humans of Earth were truly no different from livestock raised by the Deities.
Humans are truly a special species. The X-Gene contained within them was entirely created by the "Celestials," who hold Authority over the rules of the Universe.
In other words, the human species had a very high starting point from the very beginning, being one of the Celestials' experiments.
But it was also a tragedy. Tens of thousands of years ago, the most powerful natives of Earth fought a civil war against each other, which ultimately led to their repeated fragmentation.
One example is enough to show how powerful Earth was tens of thousands of years ago.
The race that produced Thanos—the Titan Eternals—were the losers of an internal conflict on Earth twenty thousand years ago. They were forced to flee Earth, were hunted down by the Kree along the way, and suffered heavy losses before finally settling on a moon of Saturn to recuperate.
This continued until the birth of Thanos, who wiped out the Titan Eternals.
Meanwhile, the victors on Earth underwent several evolutions. After another inspection by the Celestials, they were directly exterminated by them. Those who remained were the ancestors of modern humans.
After that, they were raised like livestock by the various Pantheons, stripped of their freedom.
This lasted until a thousand years ago, when the Celestials descended upon Earth for the third time to inspect humanity's evolution and came face-to-face with the World Tree Pantheon deities who were farming humans.
The result was simple. The various Pantheons were utterly crushed by the members of the Celestials. Having suffered grievous losses, they withdrew from interfering in the fate of Earth's people on a large scale for the first time.
It was also at that time that the current Sorcerer Supreme seized upon this precious power vacuum, free from the interference of Deities, and rose to power. After taking command of Kamar-Taj, she forcefully severed the reaching tentacles of the numerous Pantheons, sparking many great wars.
The result was that Odin retreated to Asgard, no longer daring to enter Earth without permission. Zeus took Olympus and vanished without a trace, disappearing into some hidden dimension to nurse his wounds.
The Pantheon of The East, who called themselves "Immortals," suffered the most miserable fate. It was their misfortune to be right on the Sorcerer Supreme's doorstep. She was determined to pin down the Immortals and beat them senseless. Whenever she had nothing better to do, she would go to the Heavenly Court to stir up trouble, blocking their gates and launching a massacre. Countless high-and-mighty Immortals were left as corpses on the spot.
This Pantheon of Immortals was also the most thorough in their retreat; they simply fled into the Cosmos and refused to return, no matter what. As long as that madwoman, the Sorcerer Supreme, was alive, they would not come back.
The exact details of that period of history have long been lost, but one can imagine it was a storm of blood and gore, filled with countless corpses. It was in this treacherous environment that the Sorcerer Supreme grew stronger with every battle, ruthlessly dragging one terrifying enemy after another out from the shadows and killing them one by one.
The freedom humanity enjoys today was carved out by the Sorcerer Supreme's own hands through arduous and bloody battles. An unknown number of high-level lifeforms left their piled-up corpses all over the small planet of Earth.
Even the Guardians wanted to dispatch the Green Lantern Corps to garrison Earth and transform the strategically located planet into a stronghold, but they too were forcefully expelled by the Sorcerer Supreme.
Earth belongs to the people of Earth. This all happened within the last thousand years, after the rise of the Sorcerer Supreme.
(end of chapter)
Tony grinned savagely.
Kaecilius was an ambitious man, someone who would risk everything to achieve his goals, even betting on a slim chance of success. Tony admitted that.
But when their ideals clashed irreconcilably, one of them was destined to die. Kaecilius, that bigmouth from the enemy faction, had followed the Sorcerer Supreme for many years and knew too many secrets.
If for no other reason, Tony had to find an opportunity to kill this guy simply to protect the secret of the Eye of Agamotto.
Agamotto, a renowned Archmage in Earth's history, was the first to discover and master the Time Stone, sealing it within a powerful vessel that he carried with him. After his death, it was kept in Kamar-Taj, to be inherited by the next Sorcerer Supreme.
Many knew the Eye of Agamotto was a powerful magical artifact of Kamar-Taj, but very few knew that it contained the Time Stone.
Tony moved decisively. He crouched fiercely, slamming his fist into the ground with all his might. The instantaneous burst of power made the veins on his entire arm bulge, intricately patterned, as if frenzied young dragons were coiling across Tony's body, making the twisting veins even more terrifying.
The ground exploded with a deafening roar.
Countless Transformers swarmed forward. Each one had a towering, imposing frame. Their variously colored bodies reflected a menacing, cold light under the scorching sun.
"Tony, I'm giving you one last chance. Surrender to me, and I can plead with the great Dormammu to grant you immortality!"
Kaecilius glanced disdainfully at the swarming war machines. The sheer number of these behemoths, combined with their tight, coordinated movements, was something few could completely ignore.
Yet Kaecilius did just that.
"Hehehe, immortality? There are plenty of people on Earth who can achieve that. Why would I need to risk cooperating with that old schemer Dormammu?"
Immortality held the least attraction for Tony.
For starters, there was Azazel, who had lived for five thousand years. All he had to do was look for the Brotherhood of Mutants, and he could find him. If he wanted to go through a bit more trouble, he could run over to Egypt and dig up Apocalypse, the ancient ancestor of all Mutants. That guy's ability to transfer his soul was also terrifying.
At worst, he could go study Vampires and, while he was at it, dig up Dracula from his slumber in the Middle East.
Cooperating with Dormammu? That guy would screw you over so badly you wouldn't even have your underwear left.
"How is that possible? Do you think just anyone can resist the erosion of time?"
Kaecilius shook his head, a mocking expression appearing on his handsome face. He shook his long robes, disgustedly brushing off the dust as if cleaning away trash.
The dismissiveness Kaecilius displayed was a common failing among many Kamar-Taj sorcerers: they always looked down on worldly things.
"I can see that you have a favorable impression of the Sorcerer Supreme, just like all those who have been deceived. You're all the same. You only know she is a Guardian, but you completely ignore her dark mentality."
In the cavern Tony had smashed open, a subtle electric current slithered past, mingling with the countless cables on the ground.
"A dark mentality? Everyone has one. Even a great philanthropist who has done countless good deeds will occasionally feel dissatisfied and contemptuous towards the poor who only accept charity. Just like right now—while I'm verbally rejecting the great Dormammu's invitation, I'm mentally plotting your death. How dark of me," Tony said with deadpan sarcasm.
He had no interest in wasting words on someone who had been brainwashed by Dormammu. Kaecilius only saw the ways the Sorcerer Supreme had deceived and hidden things from him; he failed to see the hope she had brought to humanity.
What kind of hellhole was Earth a thousand years ago? Ancient humans spent most of their energy praying to gods and buddhas instead of engaging in production. Earth was controlled by various Pantheons, and numerous Deities fought each other every other day to compete for population and followers, plunging the world into misery and devastation.
At that time, the humans of Earth were truly no different from livestock raised by the Deities.
Humans are truly a special species. The X-Gene contained within them was entirely created by the "Celestials," who hold Authority over the rules of the Universe.
In other words, the human species had a very high starting point from the very beginning, being one of the Celestials' experiments.
But it was also a tragedy. Tens of thousands of years ago, the most powerful natives of Earth fought a civil war against each other, which ultimately led to their repeated fragmentation.
One example is enough to show how powerful Earth was tens of thousands of years ago.
The race that produced Thanos—the Titan Eternals—were the losers of an internal conflict on Earth twenty thousand years ago. They were forced to flee Earth, were hunted down by the Kree along the way, and suffered heavy losses before finally settling on a moon of Saturn to recuperate.
This continued until the birth of Thanos, who wiped out the Titan Eternals.
Meanwhile, the victors on Earth underwent several evolutions. After another inspection by the Celestials, they were directly exterminated by them. Those who remained were the ancestors of modern humans.
After that, they were raised like livestock by the various Pantheons, stripped of their freedom.
This lasted until a thousand years ago, when the Celestials descended upon Earth for the third time to inspect humanity's evolution and came face-to-face with the World Tree Pantheon deities who were farming humans.
The result was simple. The various Pantheons were utterly crushed by the members of the Celestials. Having suffered grievous losses, they withdrew from interfering in the fate of Earth's people on a large scale for the first time.
It was also at that time that the current Sorcerer Supreme seized upon this precious power vacuum, free from the interference of Deities, and rose to power. After taking command of Kamar-Taj, she forcefully severed the reaching tentacles of the numerous Pantheons, sparking many great wars.
The result was that Odin retreated to Asgard, no longer daring to enter Earth without permission. Zeus took Olympus and vanished without a trace, disappearing into some hidden dimension to nurse his wounds.
The Pantheon of The East, who called themselves "Immortals," suffered the most miserable fate. It was their misfortune to be right on the Sorcerer Supreme's doorstep. She was determined to pin down the Immortals and beat them senseless. Whenever she had nothing better to do, she would go to the Heavenly Court to stir up trouble, blocking their gates and launching a massacre. Countless high-and-mighty Immortals were left as corpses on the spot.
This Pantheon of Immortals was also the most thorough in their retreat; they simply fled into the Cosmos and refused to return, no matter what. As long as that madwoman, the Sorcerer Supreme, was alive, they would not come back.
The exact details of that period of history have long been lost, but one can imagine it was a storm of blood and gore, filled with countless corpses. It was in this treacherous environment that the Sorcerer Supreme grew stronger with every battle, ruthlessly dragging one terrifying enemy after another out from the shadows and killing them one by one.
The freedom humanity enjoys today was carved out by the Sorcerer Supreme's own hands through arduous and bloody battles. An unknown number of high-level lifeforms left their piled-up corpses all over the small planet of Earth.
Even the Guardians wanted to dispatch the Green Lantern Corps to garrison Earth and transform the strategically located planet into a stronghold, but they too were forcefully expelled by the Sorcerer Supreme.
Earth belongs to the people of Earth. This all happened within the last thousand years, after the rise of the Sorcerer Supreme.
(end of chapter)
