Inside a dim, echoing church, four or five men gathered like cultists, radiating an aura of darkness and dread.
They all knelt on the cold stone floor, faces solemn with unwavering devotion. What made the sight so unsettling were their eyes — pitch black, as if thick clouds of shadow clung to their sockets like layers of dark smoke.
Buzz…
As if in answer to their fervent prayers, the flickering light within the church began to twist and gather, forming a ghostly, half-formed human face above them.
Yet the face did not appear truly solid — it hovered in the wavering shadows, there and not there, like a nightmare drifting at the edge of waking.
"Hail to the almighty Lord Dormammu!" the kneeling men chanted in unison, their voices trembling with fanatic devotion.
Dormammu — dread lord of the Dark Dimension — had long cast his gaze upon Earth, and his power was beyond question.
"Well done, my faithful. Your chance has come…" Dormammu's flickering eyes moved over the dark magicians, his words rolling like a distant storm.
"Command us, Lord Dormammu!"
Hearing Dormammu's promise, the dark magicians bowed even lower, their foreheads nearly pressed to the stone, their faith absolute.
"Three Stones have surfaced on Earth. The Time Stone lies with the Sorcerer Supreme — far beyond your grasp. The Space Stone is now the prize of Earth's defenders and Thanos alike — you cannot claim it either. But the Mind Stone… the Mind Stone is your one true chance. Seek it. Take it. Prove your devotion…"
Dormammu's spectral face lingered for only a moment more before it flickered and dissolved into the shadows, the gathered light fading into nothingness.
"The Mind Stone…" Kaecilius, leader of the dark magicians, slowly rose once Dormammu vanished. A cold resolve gleamed in his shadowed eyes.
He knew exactly what the Mind Stone was — and for a sorcerer like him, it was a prize above all among the six Infinity Stones.
A chance to serve Dormammu. A chance to wield power beyond belief.
Well, Alex naturally had no idea what had just transpired in that dim church. Right now, all his focus was on studying the Mind Staff. Of course, he was also keeping an eye on what was happening at Stark Tower and with the Avengers — but in his mind, it hardly mattered whether he joined the upcoming battle or not.
For Alex, the main goal had always been to seize the Mind Stone. Now that he'd done it, he had no reason to get involved in the war again. Besides, he was no longer part of the Avengers — so why would he step out again?
When it came to this battle, he'd already made all the arrangements he needed to inside Stark Tower — he'd done his part.
On this day, Alex sat cross-legged, quietly cultivating the Sacred Heart Technique. The Wushuang Sword lay beside him, and the Mind Staff rested across his legs.
The Sacred Heart Technique naturally included a method for tempering the spirit. Today, Alex was using it to strengthen his mind. Suddenly, the gem on the Mind Staff flickered with a faint light — then that light slowly seeped into Alex's body.
A cool, subtle power, like a gentle stream, lingered in his mind. Alex immediately felt his thoughts sharpen — his spirit clearer than ever before.
Most noticeably, he found that the spiritual tempering method within the Sacred Heart Technique now seemed to be catalyzed — his mental power was growing at a rapid pace.
"What is this? The power of the Mind Stone? So the Mind Stone can actually speed up mental cultivation?"
Sensing that this cool force was boosting the Sacred Heart Technique's effect on his spirit, Alex was both shocked and pleased.
Alex had always placed great importance on the strength of his own spirit and soul. Even generating Armament Haki required solid mental power — so over the years, whether he was practicing the Yijinjing or the Sacred Heart Technique, he had always treated spiritual tempering as vital.
Now, realizing that the Mind Stone could actually accelerate his mental training, Alex was naturally thrilled.
It really was one of the six Infinity Stones in the Marvel universe — powerful beyond measure. Not only did it hold boundless energy, but it could also help his spirit grow stronger at an amazing pace — a priceless treasure indeed.
Immersed in cultivation, Alex lost all sense of time — all he could feel was his mental power continuously expanding.
And as his mental power increased, his crystal points naturally rose as well.
The crystal points represented the strength of all the powers within his body — whether it was mental energy, internal force, or any other ability, it could all be measured this way.
Boom boom boom…
However, he didn't know how long had passed when suddenly, a burst of heavy explosions rang out in the distance, snapping Alex's attention back to reality.
At the same time, he could hear car horns blaring outside, people screaming — chaos everywhere, as if the end of the world had arrived.
Hearing all this, Alex's heart stirred. He rose and walked over to the window.
He pushed open the shutters and looked out. In the distance, he could see a brilliant beam of light piercing the sky, connecting heaven and earth. At the same time, a space portal had appeared in midair.
Tiny black dots, like swarming ants, were pouring out of the portal in a dense stream.
"What is this? Has the space wormhole opened? So the battle between the Avengers and the Chitauri army has begun…" Alex realized at once what the appearance of the portal and the alien swarm meant.
Out there on the battlefield, the Avengers and the Chitauri forces were surely clashing by now.Alex hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should really just stand by and watch — or get ready to step in.
Crack!
But right then, the space right in front of Alex suddenly fractured like a broken mirror — thin cracks spreading and multiplying in an instant.
The chaos outside seemed to fade far into the distance at that moment.
"Huh? What's happening?" Alex frowned slightly, staring at the strange cracks splintering the air right before him.
At the same time, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching, making his heart tense.
Without hesitation, the Wushuang Sword leapt into his hand with a sharp hiss. Following the sound, he saw four or five figures emerging from the broken space — each radiating an evil, heavy aura…