Although Protea possessed temporal manipulation abilities, it hadn't reached the point of freely controlling time itself.
The Ancient One couldn't help but feel curious about Marcus's statement.
If he hadn't truly mastered temporal power, what explained the time fluctuations she had just detected?
"If I'm not mistaken, you're referring to this," Marcus said.
As he spoke, his arm transformed into Protea's form, and with a wave of his hand, he altered the flow of time around him.
Now the Ancient One understood—Marcus was indeed manipulating time, but his influence had limited scope. Rather than disrupting the timestream itself, he was merely intercepting time within a specific pocket of space.
This had minimal impact on the broader universe. Marcus wasn't changing the timeline; he was simply pausing time in a localized area.
"So that's what you're doing," the Ancient One sighed.
She hadn't expected Marcus to use this particular method of temporal manipulation.
Through the Eye of Agamotto, she clearly sensed that Marcus was indeed unbound by conventional time, just as he had claimed.
The present Marcus existed simultaneously in the past and future—not physically, but in a metaphysical sense.
Though he couldn't reverse time as the Eye of Agamotto could, he had at least touched the boundaries of temporal manipulation.
"Speaking of which," Marcus said with a grin, "that necklace you're wearing contains the Time Stone, doesn't it? Any chance you could share some of its energy with me?"
Marcus knew the Time Stone, like all Infinity Stones, contained limitless energy. He also recognized the impossibility of the Ancient One surrendering the Eye itself, so he simply requested a portion of its power. He could always acquire the complete Stone later.
The Ancient One paused momentarily at his request, then shook her head.
"The Eye of Agamotto is of paramount importance. It safeguards the future of our world. I cannot share its energy with you," she said. "However, I can offer you some power from the Dark Dimension instead."
Her refusal didn't surprise Marcus. The Eye was her essential tool for defending against interdimensional threats. Revealing its temporal capabilities might compromise dimensional security.
However, her willingness to substitute power from the Dark Dimension caught him off guard.
"That works for me," Marcus nodded with a smile. "I'd welcome any power not native to our dimension."
"After all," he added, "these other realms have coveted Earth for ages. Maybe its time we collect some backpay?"
As he spoke, a fragment of shadowy energy materialized behind the Ancient One's head. Marcus finally understood what "colorful blackness" truly meant.
Guided by the Ancient One's will, the dark energy rapidly condensed, forming a sphere approximately the size of an infant's fist that hovered before Marcus.
"This is yours," she said.
After transferring the Dark Dimension power to Marcus, the Ancient One opened a portal and departed.
Marcus grasped the dark energy directly, infusing it into an empty augment crystal.
"I'll call this augment with Dark Dimension power 'Shadow Force.' Simple but fitting."
After casually naming his new augment, Marcus returned his focus to shaping additional warframes.
"What armor should I create next?"
After brief contemplation, another warframe materialized in his mind—the sharpshooter Mesa. Her power differed completely from his previous warframes. Her ability centered on the twin firearms she wielded.
Regardless of her position, her bullets could strike targets with unerring accuracy, unleashing a relentless hail of gunfire that could overwhelm any enemy.
Following the familiar process, Marcus emerged from the energy cocoon, now resembling a blindfolded cowboy.
Regulator pistols were mounted on his arms, ready to deploy at a moment's notice.
"You truly deserve the title of sharpshooter," Marcus mused. "This perception alone surpasses other warframes."
Mesa possessed extraordinary concentration and responsiveness, granting her heightened perceptual abilities and lightning-quick reactions to her surroundings.
With a slight flick of his wrists, the Regulator pistols flipped into his hands. The moment he gripped them, Marcus experienced a vastly enhanced awareness of his environment.
He sensed that every bullet fired from the Regulators would strike precisely where he intended, guided by sheer force of will.
"This is what it means to be a true gunslinger."
Mesa's abilities, both offensive and defensive, revolved around firearms and ammunition.
She could accumulate shooting damage, eventually releasing a round with tremendous force that inflicted massive damage.
She could deploy an energy lasso to interfere with enemy weapons, causing various malfunctions in their firearms.
She could also generate a specialized energy shield that not only reduced incoming damage but reflected attacks back to their source.
These capabilities defined a true sharpshooter, and Marcus felt thoroughly satisfied with this warframe.
In the game, he had frequently used Mesa, her Regulator pistols creating streams of lethal projectiles that swept away all enemies in sight.
Though Mesa lacked the flashy, visually spectacular abilities of other warframes, her gunslinging prowess certainly matched their power.
"This is excellent. I can play the role of gunslinger when needed."
While Marcus possessed decent marksmanship, he couldn't naturally achieve Mesa's perfect accuracy or guaranteed hits.
After experiencing Mesa's capabilities for a while, two distinctly styled warframes appeared in his mind.
"It seems my final warframe must be chosen between these two."
The two frames he envisioned were Ash [Shadow Assassin], with his ninja aesthetic, and Baruuk, who embodied monastic discipline and restraint.
"Ash is a true ninja, and his abilities reflect that distinctive style.
Baruuk is a monk with exceptional endurance, but when pushed to his limits, he transforms the anger in his heart into a devastating storm.
Neither is an easy choice."
These two distinctive warframes possessed unique powers.
Marcus fell into deep contemplation—which should claim his final shaping quota?
After weighing their respective abilities, Marcus finally reached his decision: he would shape Ash.
Though Baruuk's abilities were impressive, Marcus was particularly drawn to Ash's combat potential.
Compared to Baruuk's restraint-focused approach, Marcus preferred Ash's aggressive attack style.
The ability to move rapidly through enemy ranks while delivering lethal strikes perfectly complemented the assassin methodology of a ninja.
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