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Chapter 513: Confessions in Dreams (1)

Within the Sanctum Sanctorum, Strange walked briskly through the brilliantly lit corridor. Upon entering the living room, he saw Loki sitting on the sofa, sipping tea. Seeing Strange's arrival, Loki stood up and asked, "What's going on now? Is Schiller up to his tricks again?"

"Who knows?" Strange's expression changed from his previous anxious sadness. He said, "If I'm not mistaken, he probably became a follower of the Egyptian pantheon and had some Egyptian god guide his soul to the underworld. He might be causing havoc there, or even in the Egyptian heavenly realm."

He sighed and then took a seat across from the sofa. He continued, "For people like us, physical death is never the end. Does the soul just dissipate five minutes after death? Give me a break!"

They substituted tea for alcohol and began speculating about Schiller's intentions.

Strange had more information, so he began, "I don't know how Schiller managed to get in touch with the Moon God Khonshu, but it's clear he managed to deceive that big bird head. I only recently became the Sorcerer Supreme, and I haven't had the chance to delve into so many scrolls. What's the deal with the whole Egyptian pantheon?"

Loki recalled and then said, "When the Egyptian pantheon was active, I should still have been unborn. But later on, I encountered a few Egyptian gods. However, they were all animal gods and didn't reside in the heavenly realm."

"As far as I know, there was a war that erupted in the Egyptian heavenly realm during the Egyptian pantheon's time. After that war, the majority of the animal gods and some of the weaker gods on the fringes were expelled." Loki stroked his chin as he reminisced.

"So, the relationship between the gods in the heavenly realm and the animal gods we're familiar with isn't good?" Strange asked.

"Correct, didn't you know that already? The Panther God, Lion God, Vulture God, and Hawk God all don't reside in the heavenly realm. They each have their own fragmented dimensions, but they used to live in the heavenly realm before, only to be kicked out."

"The Egyptian pantheon wasn't particularly strong to begin with, and they still had internal conflicts?" Strange shook his head. "From what I know, even their stronger gods like the Sun God and the God of the Underworld couldn't compare to the main gods of Asgard, not to mention Odin and the new God King Thor."

"In fact, regardless of which pantheon it is, it's hard to surpass Asgard. After all, we control the World Tree, effectively ruling over the Nine Realms," Loki took a sip of his hot tea, sighed, and continued, "With Thor having cleared out that warmongering faction that was lost in slaughter and destruction, Asgard has been rejuvenated. It will only grow stronger from now on."

"Speaking of which, what kind of god is Khonshu?" Strange asked.

"Khonshu? I remember he's some sort of Moon God associated with changes in moon phases," Loki, living up to his reputation as the know-it-all of the cosmos, understood the ins and outs of gods big and small. "Since he's a Moon God, he should be a nature god, right?"

"But he has a falcon head, and a skeletal one at that. It's different from the nature gods I've encountered before," Loki contradicted himself.

At this point, Strange and Loki exchanged a glance, evidently deducing the same conclusion. Strange tapped the table with his fingertip and said, "Moon God Khonshu belongs to the Ennead of Heliopolis, but the ones currently governing the heavenly realm are the Ennead of Thebes. Moreover, Khonshu also possesses the appearance of an animal. From what I've seen, the gods of the heavenly realm have a very negative attitude toward him, constantly talking about capturing him and bringing him back for judgment."

"Demon gods don't know how to keep their temper in check. I guess Schiller managed to sweet-talk Khonshu after a heart-to-heart chat," Strange continued his line of reasoning. He said, "The Egyptian pantheon probably has a place similar to your Asgardian Hall of Heroes. When their followers die, their souls go there. This could also explain why Schiller's soul disappeared immediately after his physical death..."

"After Schiller's soul was guided to the Egyptian pantheon's underworld, the gods there are definitely in for trouble. Khonshu probably intends to use Schiller's power to get back at those nature gods."

"Khonshu's motives don't really matter," Loki shook his head and said, "What's important is Schiller's motive. What does he want?"

"I heard that the Egyptian pantheon has the ability to resurrect their followers. What's that all about?" Strange asked Loki.

"All abilities related to resurrection must receive approval from Mysterious entities. The Hall of Heroes that Asgard possesses is the same," Loki hesitated for a moment and continued, "But even in Asgard, this is a secret, and not even Thor now knows the exact details."

"Alright, let's set that question aside for now," Strange said as he pondered. "After detecting Schiller's body and soul condition, I knew Stark would definitely think he's truly dead since his Mech armor can't detect souls. Do you think Iron Man's outburst was within Schiller's expectations?"

"Of course, otherwise, why would he fake his own death? He could just let Khonshu take him to the underworld directly. Faking his death scene is definitely meant to provoke someone," Loki shook his head and continued, "But based on what I understand about him, if he really wanted to eliminate the sealed demon gods on Earth, he didn't need to hurt Stark's feelings."

"I was thinking the same thing," Strange confirmed Loki's guess. "Schiller once told me he's not the kind of person who resorts to any means to achieve his goals, or rather, he despises such people. Because once someone reaches that point, it means they're cornered with no way out. Schiller always has an escape."

"Even if eradicating these malicious seeds on Earth that haven't fully grown into trees is something Humanity needs to do before entering space, the situation isn't urgent to that extent. Even if it's done one by one, there's enough time. There's no need to provoke Stark, make him explode, and then clean up all at once."

"For the civilization of Humanity, Stark is still a bit more important," Loki made this judgment, standing from an outsider's perspective. He could see more clearly, he said, "It's not even because he might become a steel demon god, but solely due to his intelligence and foresight."

"So, the more likely scenario is that Stark erupts, cleans up the Earth demon gods, and spreads magic power to the lower-level organizations, which is actually a secondary goal, an incidental one," Strange touched his chin, frowning as he continued to think.

"...So, what's the main goal?" Strange posed this question, not expecting Loki to answer, but to his surprise, Loki offered a different perspective.

"Within this entire chain of events, there's only one thing shrouded in mystery, not yet clear."

Loki dragged out his tone, and the two locked eyes. Strange said, "...The secret of how the Egyptian gods can resurrect their followers."

Unlike the serene atmosphere of the guest room in the Sanctum Sanctorum, Earth had turned into chaos.

Of course, in most orderly countries, this matter had nothing to do with the common people. Official organizations were dispatched to deal with the demon gods that suddenly broke free from their seals. While it wasn't a large-scale war, the local battles were intense.

The Avengers who remained at the German-Austrian border were contemplating how to calm Stark down when Steve's phone suddenly rang. He picked up the phone and heard Nick's voice on the other end.

"Captain, send the members of the Avengers team back to defend. Demon gods have broken free from their seals in 12 U.S. states. We're short on manpower!"

Steve took a deep breath and then said, "Understood, I'll send them back."

After hanging up the phone, he looked at Matt and said, "Matt, you take the others back. S.H.I.E.L.D. needs your support."

With the situation urgent, Matt didn't say much. He only asked, "And what about you?"

"I have to stay here. On one hand, I need to make sure Stark doesn't lose control and endanger Earth. On the other hand..." Steve turned his head, looking at Schiller's lifeless body lying on the cold ground. He didn't say anything, but everyone understood his meaning. So, Matt motioned to the others and left.

Spider-Man kept looking back, seemingly unwilling to leave. Matt pulled him away while explaining the possibility of the demon gods' outbreak endangering regular people. After some tug-of-war, they finally got into the car.

Once everyone was gone, Steve's expression revealed weariness. Sadness flowed upward along with the rain, climbing into his eyes.

As a seasoned veteran returning from the battlefield, he wouldn't display sorrow in front of his teammates, as it might bring about their despair. But with everyone gone, Steve couldn't control himself anymore.

He walked to Schiller's body, half-knelt beside it, and placed his shield over Schiller's chest, covering the massive wound. Yet even so, it couldn't hide the undeniable fact that it was a lifeless corpse.

Steve forcefully closed his eyes, his knuckles protruding from the forceful clenching. In the handful of soil he grasped tightly, rainwater and blood were mixed together.

Steve had never thought he'd be uncomfortable with the smell of blood again, but now, even though the bloodstains had been diluted by the rain, the overly strong scent still made him dizzy in waves.

His chest heaved heavily, and he started to hyperventilate. He used the tips of his fingers to cover one of his eyes, trying hard to resist the surging memories and images.

Suddenly, he felt a shadow cast over him. Steve looked up, eyes widening. The blurry raindrops blinked before him. In that moment, he thought he was seeing an illusion because standing before him was Stark, not wearing his combat suit...

He just stared blankly at Stark, but Stark also knelt down. He gazed at Schiller's face and then said, "...You don't believe he's just dead like that, right? Neither do I..."

"But..." Steve uttered the first syllable and then fell silent. The two remained in silence for half a minute. Stark spoke again, "JARVIS and Strange both told me that Schiller is dead."

"He indeed..."

"No, I have one final way to confirm."

"What's that?" Steve looked into Stark's eyes. This was his rarely used beginning of seeking answers from Stark.

Stark extended his hand, pointing to his own temple. "Remember? Schiller had a tower that reaches the sky in his own world of consciousness. If we can find that tower within his world of consciousness, it means his soul still exists. Then, physical death isn't a problem."

Steve pondered for a moment, and then his eyes slowly lit up. He said, "Correct, we can go find Professor X. He might be able to locate Schiller's presence within his world of consciousness!"

"No," Stark rejected this method. A muscle twitched at the corner of his mouth as he continued, "I'll go myself."

Steve looked up at him, unsure if he saw a tinge of guilt in Stark's eyes. But he stood up, gazing at the actual sun that had just appeared on the horizon. He said, "I'll go with you."

Unprecedentedly, Stark didn't refuse Steve's proposal or mock him as he usually did. He stood up, lips pursed, and said, "I'm not a psychologist, and I've never conducted related research. The realm of consciousness and dream worlds are very dangerous. It's probably best for you not to..."

"Tony Stark, do you really think that I'm the kind of person who would flee in the face of such a situation?" Steve looked into Stark's eyes and asked.

Stark had never heard Steve ask a question so seriously, and at that moment, the answer that came to Stark's mind led him to speak, "...You just need to fall asleep, dream. I'll use the power of magic to pull you over."

Stark glanced at Schiller's lifeless corpse on the ground and slowly said, "Have a good dream."

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