Chapter 436: The Mysterious Man Appears
"Kamar-Taj?" Misty knitted her brows. What on earth was Kamar-Taj?
"You don't know about Kamar-Taj?" Silas was surprised. He had assumed she knew the origin of the spells she was using. Since the magic in her hands came directly from that source, he hadn't expected her to be completely in the dark.
"No. What is it?" Misty answered honestly.
"The magic you're performing right now comes from Kamar-Taj. It's the sacred land where sorcerers study their craft." Silas gave her a brief overview of the mystic sanctuary.
"So that's how it is. Can you take me there to see it?" Misty's eyes lit up with curiosity. A place where sorcerers gathered must be truly magnificent.
"I'll take you when I have a chance—assuming 'Horse-Face' isn't in a bad mood." Silas chuckled. He didn't mind, but he feared a certain sorcerer might give them the cold shoulder.
"Horse-Face?" Misty asked, even more curious.
"It's his nickname. His name is Doctor Strange, and he's the current Sorcerer Supreme." Silas began to recount Strange's story. Misty listened with rapt attention, and before they knew it, they had arrived at her front door.
"Since you're home, I'll be going now," Silas said, stopping at the gate.
"Mmhmm. Are you free tonight?" Misty started to turn away, but then suddenly spun back to ask.
"Tonight? Yeah, why?" Silas was quite free at the moment, essentially just waiting for the "Purple Sweet Potato" to make his move.
"Then come find me tonight. I want to show you the magic I've learned." Misty gave Silas a brilliant, radiant smile.
Silas laughed. "No problem at all. I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do."
"See you tonight then!" Misty waved and headed inside, clearly in high spirits.
"See you tonight," Silas murmured, watching her walk away. Once he was sure no one was looking, he had Blacklight temporarily disable the nearby surveillance cameras, opened a portal, and stepped directly into his home.
Queens
"Where's Peter?" Upon returning, Silas noticed Peter wasn't home, even though Peter had left school before him.
"Blacklight, check on what Peter is doing."
Blacklight could communicate directly with Gaia—the AI on Peter's suit—without Peter's knowledge. "Querying Gaia... Gaia says Peter is currently following Gwen."
Silas laughed. "Is that really necessary?" He knew Peter was just worried about her, but the image of Peter in full Spider-Man gear tailing her from the rooftops was a bit much.
"Is the Mind Stone still secure?" Silas asked.
"Yes, Master. However, we have recently captured minor energy fluctuations emanating from the stone," Blackfish appeared beside Silas to report the anomaly.
"Mmhmm. It seems Thanos is trying to sense its location," Silas guessed. The Mind Stone was originally given to Loki by Thanos; Silas didn't believe for a second that the Titan hadn't left a "backdoor" or tracking method on it.
"Just keep an eye on it," Silas waved Blackfish away.
As Blackfish retreated, Little Black stepped forward. "Master, we have successfully completed our research on the Nano-Armor."
"Oh?" A flash of surprise and delight crossed Silas's eyes. He hadn't expected the Shadow Khan's round-the-clock research to outpace even Tony Stark. Then again, Stark had been distracted by the Civil War.
"Let's go. I want to test it out." Silas tossed his backpack onto the bed and followed Little Black into the laboratory base within the Shadow Kingdom.
Outer Space
Within a massive interstellar starship, a piercing white light erupted before the gathered Asgardians. As the light faded, a familiar figure appeared.
"Thor?" Heimdall said, his voice filled with relief. Thor had been gone so long they had begun to fear the mysterious stranger had deceived them.
"I'm back." Thor stepped out of the light as it dissipated into nothingness.
"If you'd stayed away any longer, we would have had to use him as your funeral sacrifice," Loki joked, glancing at the mysterious figure clad in black standing nearby.
"I told you I wasn't lying." The mysterious figure was completely shrouded in black mist, looking like an unfathomable abyss.
"Thank you. They were indeed in trouble, but I handled it," Thor said. He didn't even blush while lying—he couldn't exactly admit he had gone all that way just to get beaten up and sent back.
"Is that so?" Loki looked at Thor with pure skepticism.
"Of course," Thor said, maintaining a stoic front.
Loki sneered. "I am the God of Mischief. I can smell the familiar scent of a lie all over you."
"Next time, I'm going to break your nose," Thor growled, his bluff called.
Loki shrugged innocently. "You're the one who said there should be no lies between brothers." Thor was silenced; he had indeed said that, mostly because Loki was usually the one doing the lying.
"Since Thor is safe, I shall take my leave," the mysterious figure said in a detached tone.
"Thank you for everything," Thor nodded. "Without your help, that truly would have been the end for us."
"Farewell." The mysterious figure vanished into thin air, leaving only a small object lying on the floor.
"What's this?" Loki frowned, walking over to where the figure had stood and picking it up.
"What is it?" Thor asked, coming closer.
Loki examined it for a moment and shook his head. "I'm not sure." It was a rectangular box crafted from an unknown black metal. Its obsidian surface felt cold and radiated an ominous aura. "But I have a feeling it's nothing good."
"Why don't I feel that?" Thor snatched the box and shook it. It made a rattling sound; something was inside.
"My intuition tells me that box should never be opened," Loki said, taking a step back as if to avoid a potential blast.
Thor groaned. "What are you afraid of, Loki? We are warriors of Asgard."
"Mmhmm," Loki replied dryly.
Seeing Loki's caution, Thor clipped the box to his belt. "Since the mysterious man left it, I'll hold onto it for now. He'll come looking for it once he realizes it's missing."
Thor assumed it was an accidental drop. Loki, however, didn't share that optimism. Could a being that powerful really be so careless? There was definitely something wrong here—something big.
"Just be careful, brother. The Asgardian people cannot endure another disaster," Loki warned.
"I know." Thor's expression clouded with a brief moment of sorrow for their lost home. "By the way, did you ask Earth about our immigration?"
"Uh..." Thor scratched his nose. "I spoke to the Avengers."
"The Avengers?" Loki was stunned. "What good does talking to them do?"
"Is there a problem?" Thor asked.
Loki sighed, nursing a headache. "Never mind. What was their opinion?"
"I think they agreed," Thor said vaguely. He had actually left before getting a final answer.
"???" Loki felt he should never have trusted his brother with such a task.
Suddenly, a cry rang out: "Something's wrong! A fleet is approaching!"
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