Naturally, Karl, who was currently in the Main Universe, had no idea what was happening deep within the Multiverse.
At least, his life at Kamar-Taj was extremely comfortable.
Ever since his previous lesson, the Sorcerers had treated him with tremendous respect.
Whenever he walked past them, they would look at him with unmistakable reverence.
Someone else might have let that kind of treatment go straight to their head.
Karl wouldn't.
He had long since grown accustomed to it.
Karl's original plan was to spend some more time around Kamar-Taj, observe the Sorcerers' talents, and see whether he could discover any forgotten or overlooked books.
However—
While he wanted a little peace and quiet, trouble came looking for him first.
That day, Karl was casually wandering around when Strange came looking for him.
Seeing Strange approach, Karl was somewhat surprised.
"Strange, you're always ridiculously busy. How did you find the time to come looking for me?"
Strange really was busy.
Things in the Main Universe were completely different from Karl's universe.
The various factions here were extraordinarily complicated.
Mutants.
Inhumans.
Even Atlanteans.
Then there were all the different cosmic factions whose interests converged on Earth.
Conflict came from every direction.
There was some kind of battle happening on Earth almost every day.
A fight here.
Another fight there.
Superheroes and all kinds of inexplicable villains seemed to spend their lives beating each other senseless.
As one of the core members of both the Avengers and the Illuminati, Strange naturally had an enormous number of matters to deal with.
And that wasn't even counting the various Extradimensional Spaces surrounding Earth.
His life was extraordinarily troublesome and extraordinarily busy.
So why had he come looking for Karl personally?
Strange, however, showed no intention of joking around.
His expression was somewhat serious.
"Karl, there's something important I need your help with."
"But first, there's a guest we need to meet."
Strange replied.
"Who is it? Why are you being so mysterious?"
Karl asked curiously.
"You'll understand when you meet him."
"I don't think anyone would refuse to meet this particular guest."
Strange said.
Hearing that only made Karl even more curious.
"If you're putting it that way, then I really do have to take a look."
"Let's go."
Karl stood up.
Karl respected other people's boundaries.
Unless there was a reason, he wouldn't casually spread his Mental Force throughout Kamar-Taj and scan everyone inside.
Most of his power normally remained restrained within his body.
So when a visitor arrived at Kamar-Taj, Karl genuinely hadn't noticed.
He followed Strange toward the main hall.
Before long, he saw the guest Strange had mentioned.
The man was powerfully built and stood more than two meters tall.
He had a thick beard, and his hair was wildly disheveled.
The exposed muscles on his arms were exceptionally developed.
At first glance, he looked almost like a Viking warrior.
Yet the aura surrounding him was extraordinarily mysterious.
Karl froze.
Could this really be the person he was thinking of?
"Karl, allow me to introduce him."
"This is one of the three great Vishanti—Agamotto the All-Seeing!"
Strange introduced him with enormous respect.
The Sorcerers of Kamar-Taj drew the overwhelming majority of their power from the Vishanti, the source of White Magic in this world.
Naturally, Strange felt both immense respect and gratitude toward the Vishanti.
"Strange, there's no need for that."
"In front of him, I can hardly call myself 'great.'"
Agamotto hurriedly waved his hand.
His level of existence might be higher than Karl's.
But when it came to actual combat strength—
There was a very real possibility that Agamotto wasn't a match for this young man.
He certainly wasn't going to act arrogantly in front of Karl.
"So it's Lord Agamotto. It's an honor to meet you."
When Karl had still been weak, he had benefited greatly from Agamotto's power and assistance.
Showing him some respect now was only appropriate.
But—
An existence like Agamotto had actually appeared here personally?
The gods of the Marvel world generally remained far above ordinary affairs.
Most of the time, they existed almost entirely in the background.
Unless something threatened the survival of the universe itself, they rarely appeared in person.
For an entity like Agamotto to personally become involved was even rarer.
Karl immediately developed a very bad feeling.
And sure enough—
His instincts were correct.
Agamotto let out a long sigh.
"Alas. A great calamity is about to sweep across the Multiverse."
Agamotto wore a deeply concerned expression.
Karl, however, didn't respond at all.
He wasn't stupid.
He had seen this kind of setup enough times to know what usually came next.
Whenever someone opened a conversation like this, they were probably about to ask you to risk your life for free and receive nothing in return.
Respect was one thing.
If Agamotto himself were in mortal danger, Karl would certainly consider helping him.
But an entire Multiversal catastrophe?
There were plenty of cosmic beings whose job it was to deal with that.
So Karl simply maintained a polite smile and listened attentively without volunteering a single word.
Agamotto glanced at him.
His solemn expression immediately cracked.
"You really are a cunning brat."
"You already know what I'm trying to say, yet you deliberately refuse to respond."
"Don't you understand that if the Multiverse itself falls into disaster, you won't be able to remain unaffected either?"
Agamotto said.
Karl smiled faintly.
"First tell me exactly what's happening."
"If this truly is something I should intervene in, then naturally I won't hesitate."
"But if you don't even tell me what the problem is, I can't exactly promise to act."
Karl understood perfectly well that a disaster threatening the entire Multiverse could eventually affect him too.
However—
This was the Marvel world.
The great One-Above-All and the Living Tribunal existed here.
There were beings far above Karl capable of dealing with threats that truly endangered all existence.
This wasn't a world where everything depended on him personally.
Naturally, he wasn't in any hurry.
Hearing his response, Agamotto could only look helpless.
"Very well."
"Then I'll explain it, and afterward you can decide whether you should intervene."
"Do either of you know about the dark side of the world?"
Agamotto asked.
"No."
Karl answered honestly.
The Marvel world was ridiculously complicated.
He knew plenty of its various concepts and cosmic lore, but certainly not everything.
"Then allow me to explain."
"Where there is light, there is darkness. That is simply one of the natural principles of existence."
"Originally, neither had any particular effect on us."
"But once living beings developed intelligence, light and darkness also began to take on the distinction between good and evil."
"The accumulated evil will of countless beings eventually gathered in the deepest layer of existence."
"From that, the dark side of the world was born."
Agamotto paused.
After glancing at the two men listening intently, he continued.
"The world has a dark side."
"Naturally, people do as well."
"For most people, their darker impulses remain suppressed by reason, so they never cause any serious problem."
"But the four great cosmic entities born alongside this universe are different."
"Oblivion."
"Death."
"Infinity."
"Eternity."
"They were born alongside the fundamental rules of the world."
"Each of them embodies a particular aspect of existence."
"With that kind of power comes a corresponding burden."
"They were born carrying the will of the world, and naturally they also possess responsibilities tied to it."
"But the moment something possesses thought, darkness can arise within it."
"And when the dark side belongs to a god..."
"That becomes something entirely different."
Agamotto's expression grew heavier.
"This cosmic catastrophe—"
"Begins with Abraxas, the dark side of Eternity."
Having reached that point, Agamotto let out another sigh.
(End of Chapter)
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