After completing the two warframes, the remaining Aya Stars in Marcus's possession floated outward, surrounding him and forming another energy cocoon.
Having decided to shape Caliban [The Sentient], Marcus would proceed without modifications.
Caliban represented the fusion of Warframe technology with Sentient essence, simultaneously harnessing the power of both formidable forces.
Hum~
A beam of energy radiated from the cocoon as it shattered, fragmenting into particles that dissipated into the air.
Marcus now resembled a semi-mechanized being, encased from head to toe in a hardened metallic shell.
Carefully sensing his new capabilities, Marcus gained an understanding of this warframe's potential.
The metallic shells covering Caliban were actually Sentient fragments embedded within the armor. He could separate these entities from his body at will, commanding them to fight alongside him.
Gently stroking the warframe, energy began to swirl around his form. Then, a strange entity emerged from behind him—humanoid in size but with unnaturally slender limbs and arms like elongated rods.
Sentient Companion
This construct was a Conculyst separated from his body, possessing formidable offensive capabilities and remarkable adaptability.
Against most conventional weapons, it could adjust and compensate, eventually using its rod-like arms to destroy enemies.
Conculysts were among the most frequently encountered Sentient units, their extraordinary adaptability making them extremely resilient.
As the warframe designed to command these Sentient fragments, Caliban shared this powerful adaptability. Any attack entering Marcus's perception range would be instantly analyzed, allowing his armor to swiftly adjust to counter that specific threat.
"Does it have even greater adaptive capacity than Revenant?" Marcus wondered.
Caliban's enhanced adaptability made it formidable, but equally impressive was its devastating attack potential.
The warframe possessed tremendous destructive power. Its attacks carried explosive energy, inflicting massive damage to everything surrounding its target.
Dismissing the Conculyst, Marcus allowed energy to envelop the warframe until it vanished.
With three warframes now shaped, he needed to consider his remaining three slots.
"Which Warframe should I shape next?"
Marcus descended into deep contemplation. He desired many warframes, but his limited Aya Stars supply forced difficult choices.
Glancing at the Mind Scepter and Tesseract on the table, Marcus leaned back in his chair, fingers interlaced, gently rocking.
"Speaking of which, Earth will holds four Infinity Stones.
Besides the Space Stone and Mind Stone, the Reality Stone will appear Europe on the convergent that give access to the place the Aether was sealed by Odin's father, and the Ancient One possesses the Time Stone..."
As he spoke, Marcus's eyes suddenly brightened. He knew which warframe to shape next—the tactical engineer Protea [Temporal Sentinel], which commanded temporal and spatial power.
Time was a mysterious force. The Ancient One, wielding the Time Stone, could easily repel invasions from different dimensions.
Even Doctor Strange, future Sorcerer Supreme, would use the Time Stone to negotiate with Dormammu of the Dark Dimension, forcing that realm's master to retreat from Earth.
In this world, beyond the Eye of Agamotto worn by the Ancient One, nothing could freely manipulate time.
Protea [Temporal Sentinel] was a warframe that mastered temporal and spatial power. She could travel freely through time, utilizing forces from the past to combat enemies in the present.
"I've decided—Protea [Temporal Sentinel] will be next. I want to experience the power of manipulating time and space."
With his decision made, the energy cocoon enveloped him once more.
As seconds passed, the cocoon's light intensified. With a crackling sound, a warframe resembling a female battlefield technician materialized in the room.
After manifesting, Marcus remained still, acutely aware of time flowing around him.
Energy gathered in his hand. With a gentle push toward the air, everything around him instantly fell silent, frozen in place.
"So this is the temporal-spatial manipulation that Protea commands!"
Marcus marveled, then dispersed the energy from his hands. Time around him resumed its normal flow.
He had gained understanding of Protea's capabilities. The temporal control this warframe possessed differed somewhat from the Time Stone's power.
Protea could traverse timestreams freely but couldn't reverse time for others. At most, she could suspend time within a certain radius—precisely what Marcus had just demonstrated, halting all temporal flow in his vicinity.
Meanwhile, in Kamar-Taj, the Ancient One sensed this disturbance.
"Someone is manipulating time?"
The Ancient One glanced toward the New York Sanctum. As Sorcerer Supreme intimately connected with the Eye of Agamotto, she was exquisitely sensitive to temporal fluctuations.
Even the slightest temporal distortion couldn't escape her perception.
Upon detecting this manipulation, the Ancient One quickly opened a portal and rushed to the New York Sanctum.
New York Sanctum
The sorcerer stationed there had just prepared a pot of tea and settled into a rocking chair with a thick book.
Whoosh
A portal crackling with sparks opened abruptly, and the Ancient One stepped through.
"Sorcerer Supreme?"
The guardian of the New York Sanctum was momentarily confused. Why had the Sorcerer Supreme suddenly appeared?
As he began to rise, he saw the Ancient One walk past without acknowledgment, heading directly outside.
"Is something wrong, Sorcerer Supreme?"
Watching the closed sanctum doors, the guardian shrugged slightly, returning to his rocking chair and book.
Outside the New York Sanctum, the Ancient One closed her eyes, concentrating to locate the source of the temporal disturbance.
After a moment, she opened her eyes. The space around her rippled like water, and she vanished from the sanctum's entrance.
At that moment, Marcus was still experimenting with localized temporal control.
Energy condensed at his fingertips again as he prepared to continue his attempts, when a sound behind him caught his attention.
Hiss...
Accompanied by the sound came a voice.
"You're manipulating time?"
Hearing this, Marcus turned around. Protea [Temporal Sentinel] disappeared amid a swirl of energy.
"You came all this way just to ask me that, Ancient One?"
Recognizing Marcus, the Ancient One couldn't hide her surprise. She hadn't expected him to be the source of the temporal disturbance.
"You've mastered temporal power?" she asked.
"Mastered temporal power?" Marcus shrugged. "Hardly. I'm simply no longer bound by it."
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