Knock! Knock! Knock!
When the door opened, he greeted Daniel, who directed him where to go.
Thanking him, Peter handed him a box of tea he had made using medicinal herbs he had bought and grown in the garden on the lower level.
He walked down the corridor until he found the Ancient One studying a floating cape.
"Hello, Peter."
"Ancient One. It is nice to see you."
"And you are still as paranoid as ever. What brings you to the Sanctuary today?"
"I wanted to know if you had, and could lend me, a book about linking a weapon to oneself."
"I have it," she said before turning around and looking him up and down, making him raise an eyebrow. "If you had come a week ago asking for such a book, I would have flatly refused because of your fragmented and unstable soul. But I see it is gradually being repaired. Have you already contacted your ancestors?"
Hearing that, Peter's expression became serious as he looked her straight in the eyes.
"You knew?"
He noticed she was about to speak.
"Do not give me any mystical speeches, Ancient One. You knew. Why did you not tell me?"
"Because if I had told you, it would never have happened."
She turned around.
"Follow me. What do you want this book for?"
"I want to create a weapon and imbue it with this, anchoring it to my soul."
He showed her a vial.
She frowned slightly as she examined it.
"Be careful with that. It is dangerous."
"Very dangerous."
"I know. I have it under control."
He put the vial away, although the Ancient One remained unconvinced.
The two of them walked through one of the Sanctuary's corridors until they reached a door.
Inside were countless bookshelves stretching across the room.
Following the Ancient One, Peter stopped before one of the shelves.
She raised a hand.
Several books floated down from the upper shelves and gently landed in her grasp.
"Here. This one will help you control that. And this is the one you asked for."
"We use similar methods with our weapons, but never anything as dangerous as what you are proposing. We always let the weapon choose its wielder."
"You mean the relics? The ones that contain too much magic for an ordinary person to wield."
He opened one of the books while speaking.
"So the excess magic is bound to an object, allowing the relic to contain power that the wielder otherwise could not."
The Ancient One hid the lower half of her face behind her fan, wearing a faint, lopsided smile.
She wished the young man standing before her had chosen the path of sorcery.
She could sense the immense potential hidden within him.
Unfortunately, he had already decided against walking that road.
All she could do was nurture that potential in whatever way she could.
"The only way to know if you are ready for a relic... is when the relic decides you are."
Peter closed the book.
"Thank you for the books."
Suddenly, he turned his head toward a particular corner of the room.
His gaze lost focus.
For a few brief seconds, he saw the image of a young man torturing someone.
All he could hear were agonized screams...
...and the distorted voice of the young man repeatedly calling out a name.
For a fraction of a second, the Ancient One saw Peter's left eye change from hazel to a brilliant golden yellow.
In that instant, she looked into it.
She saw an entire galaxy.
She also felt the darkness within him.
It was completely out of sync with the rest of his energies.
The sensation twisted violently before disappearing.
Peter concealed both his annoyance and his surprise almost instantly.
The vision shifted.
The young man became another figure.
A man with crimson skin, as though burned alive, and glowing red eyes overflowing with power.
Then that face changed once more.
Another man.
His face reflected nothing but pure rage.
He slaughtered countless people in countless different ways.
Peter blinked several times before finally returning to reality.
He rubbed his forehead, trying to ease the migraine pounding inside his skull.
"Thank you for everything."
With that, he left.
----------------
Peter stood inside the cave wearing nothing but a black tank top, cargo pants, and boots.
He was repairing several circuits attached to a massive twenty-six-foot metallic ring.
Working alongside him were five NS-5 robots, helping him install circuitry, hand him tools, and move heavy equipment around.
"615, perform a full scan of the photon chamber and make sure there are no leaks."
"The Zynothium cannot come into contact with the photon particles. That could become a colossal disaster for us."
And, as a side effect, send me to who knows where... or tear me apart.
The NS-5 nodded and immediately carried out the order.
"Honey, how did the simulation go?"
"There is an eighty-seven percent success rate and a thirty percent failure rate," Cortana reported.
"Eh?...did you malfun...I mean that doesn't add up"
"I included your luck in the equation."
"Oh."
He smiled.
"Well done."
"We should probably reduce the rotational speed of the gears. At their current output, the heat would melt the surrounding circuitry."
"But we have the emergency nano-interruptors."
"If you want to spend hundreds of dollars every time we open a breach."
"I may be rich, but money does not grow on trees."
"And that would be a complete waste of cash."
"Okay."
"Then we will have to fi—"
"Replace the smaller gears and nearby circuit components with tantalum ones."
Cortana immediately updated the simulation.
"The tantalum carbide alloy we developed can withstand temperatures of up to eight thousand degrees Celsius."
"The success rate has increased to ninety-five percent."
"The failure rate dropped to seven percent."
"See?"
Peter smiled sideways.
"I am the best."
"How is HERMES progressing now that you redesigned the software using the satellite systems we hacked from S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"It will be ready soon."
"Just like IRIS."
"Perfect."
"And the Watchtower?"
"There are still a few issues, but they are minor."
Peter nodded.
"Good."
"By the way, I have already reviewed the quantum calculations and the particle diffusion systems."
"The last thing I want is to end up trapped in the Quantum Realm."
"I still cannot believe you actually designed all of this."
"What?"
"A two-way teleportation system capable of sending you anywhere on Earth, provided the coordinates are correct?"
"Yes."
If she is impressed by this, I cannot imagine her reaction when I begin building the dimensional and multiversal travel machine, he thought with quiet amusement.
"Well."
"I will leave the rest to you."
"The remaining work is straightforward."
"You should be able to finish it in thirty minutes at most."