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After a brief moment of thought, Arthur chose not to wake them. He stood up, pushed open the door, and walked out of the meeting room.
His gaze slowly swept across every corner of the spaceship. A moment later, he arrived at the cockpit.
The spaceship had already entered hovering mode. The cockpit was completely empty. Through the radar and the glass in front of the cockpit, Arthur could clearly see the bizarre scenery of Vormir Star not far away.
"So now… this shouldn't be an illusion trap woven by the Soul Stone, right?" Arthur quietly let out a breath of relief.
He then turned around and headed back to the meeting room.
Since this place wasn't a trap but real, that meant they had already encountered the Soul Stone's first wave of influence before even landing on Vormir Star.
It was like a silent demon, slipping quietly into everyone's body, guiding their souls into one illusion after another.
At the same time, memories surfaced in Arthur's mind, his limited and superficial understanding of this stone from before he had crossed over.
"It can steal, manipulate, and even modify souls!"
Arthur exhaled softly, re-entered the meeting room, and looked at everyone present.
They all seemed to be trapped in dreams to varying degrees.
Where had the guidance of their souls taken them?
Should he wake them all immediately?
Faced with this question, Arthur didn't dare act rashly.
The Soul Stone's uniqueness was something no other stone possessed, it slipped in like a night breeze, moistening everything silently.
Everything had already happened without a sound, and yet he himself had been completely unaware. Everything he had experienced over the past few hours had felt utterly real.
It didn't merely construct an illusory scene, what was worse, it perfectly recreated each person's abilities, and even their personalities.
Arthur couldn't be certain whether what he had just experienced was something only he went through, or whether everyone had shared the same experience.
What he was even less certain about was this: if he woke them now, would they truly awaken? Or would reckless interference prevent their souls from returning to their bodies?
Although the latter concern sounded absurd, this wasn't simple illusion magic, it was entirely possible!
His fingers lightly tapped on the tabletop. In the next second, Arthur had made his decision.
He couldn't take the risk.
Especially when it involved the lives of everyone present, he absolutely couldn't act impulsively.
He let out a quiet breath. "I'll take care of all of this. You wait for me…"
As soon as he finished speaking, his figure flickered and vanished from within the spaceship. When he appeared again, he was already out in space.
He put on his mask. The Raven God's wings unfurled behind him in an instant. In the next moment, acceleration enveloped his body, and he shot toward Vormir Star like a streak of black light!
For Arthur, acceleration had always been a somewhat awkward ability.
Although its inherent power was impressive, allowing him to easily break through speed limits in an instant,
the enormous energy consumption per second was something even Arthur couldn't sustain.
But from the moment he first obtained this skill until now, a very long span of time had already passed. Arthur's strength had long since surpassed something as simple as a "triple jump" in growth. The energy within his body had undergone several evolutions, and now he could draw energy directly from the universe at any time to replenish himself. As a result, a once-luxurious ability like acceleration had become standard equipment for him.
When teleportation encountered distances that could not be reached, acceleration instead became more convenient and efficient.
In less than ten minutes, Arthur's body pierced through the atmosphere and entered Vormir Star.
Along the way, Arthur tightly locked down all his focus and spirit, constantly paying attention to any possible abnormalities. He didn't believe that if something truly invaded his soul, he would be completely unaware of it.
What had happened on the spaceship was likely because no one had expected the Soul Stone to strike so quickly.
His wings spread wide as Arthur hovered in midair.
The Eye of Horus soared into the sky, blinking with streams of light as it took in the surrounding terrain at a glance.
Arthur's expression shifted slightly. "So it wasn't entirely useless after all…"
In the world constructed earlier by the Soul Stone, they had already traversed this planet once.
Now, comparing the real surroundings with the world fabricated by the Soul Stone using his memory, Arthur discovered that every landform he could recall matched perfectly.
In other words, he could use this to easily find that mountain!
His wings beat, releasing a sharp, space-rending screech. In just an instant, Arthur arrived at his destination!
Before he even landed, he saw a black shadow slowly rising.
Without a word, Arthur flicked his wrist and pulled out a sniper rifle from the Disassemble Space. He shouldered the weapon, aimed, drew in cosmic energy, and fired!
The moment the energy-wrapped shot left the barrel, a massive ripple spread through the void.
Amid the thunderous roar, the bullet turned into a streak of light and, in the blink of an eye, crossed the void, appearing almost instantaneously at the black shadow's head.
A shot straight through the brain!
The shadow shattered instantly, vanishing without a trace.
"As expected!"
Arthur frowned slightly. He had already anticipated that this shot would achieve nothing, yet he remained unmoved, standing calmly in the void.
Then came a loud boom as the bullet struck the mountain wall, far beyond what a sniper rifle should have been capable of producing.
A massive crater appeared on the mountain, sending countless rocks flying!
Without hesitation, Arthur raised the gun again.
Before he could fire, he suddenly looked up, and saw a face, red to the extreme, appear right in front of him. Its hands seemed unsure how to move as it opened its mouth wide and lunged forward with a vicious bite toward Arthur!
The clash of teeth rang out with a crisp sound,
but Arthur's figure had already vanished.
Instead, the muzzle of a gun was now pressed against the back of the attacker's head. At the same time, Arthur's infuriating voice, one that had haunted Red Skull like a curse for countless years, rang out once more:
"Long time no see, you red-faced freak."
Red Skull ground his teeth in fury. "Damn you! The passage of time didn't take you away, instead, it gave you transcendent power!!!"
"If even a villain like you can scrape by and survive in a place like this," Arthur let out a soft breath, "what right does time have to take me away?"
Then his tone hardened. "Listen. I don't plan to waste words with you. Take me to that damn thing, I'm going to smash it to pieces!"
(End of chapter)