Solomon had brought his newly completed alchemical artificial life form, Dinah, to test her intelligence in a realistic setting. At Kamar-Taj, everyone already knew her origins, making a fair assessment impossible. The funeral served as the perfect opportunity for this Turing test, with Solomon and Stark acting as evaluators. Solomon even considered introducing Dinah to J.A.R.V.I.S., hoping the interaction between Stark's AI and his alchemical creation could lead to mutual improvement.
Dinah interacted seamlessly with others, her alchemical body masking any unnatural qualities. However, her reserved demeanor often led to awkward pauses in conversations. During these moments, she would mentally reach out to Solomon for help. Watching from afar, Solomon felt an almost paternal urge to cheer her on. Integrating the homunculus' alchemical soul into the meticulously crafted construct had been a monumental challenge. Any incompatibility risked rendering her incapable of properly expressing emotions or thoughts, especially in her facial movements. To avoid the uncanny valley effect, Solomon had worked tirelessly to make her expressions and gestures indistinguishable from a real human's, poring over countless anatomy books and papers.
"How much programming did you do?" Stark asked in a hushed voice. "She's as sharp as J.A.R.V.I.S., but she was just a metal skeleton a few days ago. What models did you use for natural language processing? J.A.R.V.I.S. is still using a bag-of-words approach. Maybe it's time I upgrade him."
"An alchemical artificial life form's intelligence is indistinguishable from a human's once it's equipped with an alchemical soul," Solomon replied, sipping champagne—the only drink he could legally consume as a minor. His eyes followed Dinah, who was clumsily attempting to comfort Audrey. "For some reason, my creations always feel a bit awkward. Her asking me to introduce her was probably the bravest thing she's ever done. Captain Rogers already suspects she's my doing. His evaluation won't count."
"Got it." Stark scratched Rogers' comments off his phone. "When are you going to let Dinah and J.A.R.V.I.S. chat? It could push both of them to improve."
"She's not an AI," Solomon corrected. "And not today."
"Of course not—it's Coulson's funeral," Stark agreed.
"No, not tomorrow either."
"Why not?" Stark asked, taken aback.
"I'm busy. And I wouldn't trust you to leave her alone at your mansion. Don't act like you wouldn't try to take her apart. And just so you know, she's a homunculus—no screws involved."
After the funeral, Solomon and Dinah returned to Kamar-Taj. Solomon couldn't muster the courage to bring her back to the witches' apartment, especially given how suggestive her design turned out to be. His nerve evaporated at the thought of facing Bayonetta. Delaying the inevitable for at least one day, he decided to prepare himself mentally—Bayonetta's whip hurt more than he cared to admit.
Solomon instructed Dinah to sit on the bed, placed Cheshire Cat in her arms, and told her to wait for his return. She complied without complaint, quietly holding the cat, her gaze fixed on nothing in particular.
The young mystic, however, remained unsettled. He still wasn't certain of Dinah's alignment, but that was a concern for later.
"Master…" Solomon began hurriedly upon entering the Ancient One's chamber.
The Ancient One raised a hand to calm him, her expression serene. "I know. Mordo has already informed me about your concerns."
Solomon sat on the cushion, recounting Coulson's resurrection in detail. He explained how his spell had only brought Coulson back to a near-death state, with the GH-325 serum seemingly completing the process. His conclusion was clear: "I suspect Hell's involvement."
The Ancient One nodded thoughtfully but posed a question instead of a direct response. "Why did you cast the spell on Coulson?"
"Because Coulson is destined to save the world," Solomon replied, pointing to his eyes and the silver key hanging from his neck. "His resurrection was meant to happen through GH-325. My spell merely accelerated the process; it wasn't decisive."
"I have seen what you've seen through the Eye of Agamotto," the Ancient One said. "Coulson's future deeds will indeed save Earth. However, that timeline belonged to a Coulson who was gravely injured, not killed, aboard the Helicarrier. In another possibility, he survives but is left incapacitated." She paused. "In the face of similar disasters, what would you choose?"
"To revive Coulson."
"Exactly," she affirmed. "That's why I struck a deal with Mephisto. To retrieve Coulson's soul from Hell, I weighed the lesser evil. Compared to the cataclysmic events we foresaw, making a deal with the devil was a necessary compromise."
"What does Mephisto want?" Solomon asked, begrudgingly agreeing with the Ancient One's logic. Even a deal with the devil paled in comparison to the extinction-level events that loomed. Still, he was certain Mephisto had his own schemes in play.
"A vessel," the Ancient One replied. "Mephisto wants us to send one of his avatars on Earth back to Hell."
"What?" Solomon blinked, stunned. "Why? Doesn't Mephisto enjoy leaving his avatars on Earth?"
"This touches on the theory of idols," the Ancient One explained. "Consider the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as one. Not all avatars are loyal servants. The most diligent among them often die first. One of Mephisto's avatars left behind a descendant on Earth—a child of the Devil. If that avatar were to take over the descendant's body, it would create a trinity: Devil King, Devil Avatar, and Devil's Child, merging their powers. It would be no different than Christ's incarnation. By taking over the body, the Devil's Child would gain Mephisto's full authority on Earth. Mephisto cannot allow this to happen."
"So… we're helping Mephisto clean up his mess?"
"I signed the contract on my own," the Ancient One said with a sly smile. "You're not bound by it, Solomon. Telling you this fulfills my obligation, and Mephisto knows it. But he has no choice. With every passing day, the chance of his avatar usurping him grows. He also knows that I would intervene to prevent a demonic power grab. While Mephisto has tools like Ghost Rider, even he knows that Johnny Blaze is… unpredictable."
"So, what's the plan?"
"To leave Mephisto empty-handed," the Ancient One said. "Between two evils, we choose the lesser. The old devil is out of options."
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! Only $5 per novel or $15 for all!!] [[email protected]/Mutter]
[+50 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
Hello, if you enjoy mythology novels, I invite you to check out "I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother", a story inspired by Norse mythology