Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1567 The Lunar War (Seventy-Nine)

The afterglow of the setting sun danced in the valley streams, like burning flames.

Jia Ying stood there, unwilling to leave. She watched as the walls of the Kree laboratory, constructed of polished, square-shaped stones, were embedded in the steep cliffs. The cold steel doors were closed, and the helipad was open, like the gaping maw of a hungry, lurking beast, waiting for its prey to walk into its trap. This was the first time Jia Ying had seen the Kree. Their blue skin and humanoid features explained why the Kree had chosen humans as subjects for their genetic engineering experiments. These blue-skinned, alien races descended the valley, heading towards the primitive humans who had come seeking refuge there.

Due to some kind of animism, primitive humans began to worship and fear areas covered by shields.

They gathered at the foot of the cliffs in caves and clearings carved out of the fir forest. All the primitive humans, driven by bloodlust and who had attacked the laboratory, were killed by technology they couldn't comprehend. Thus, mythology was born among these primitive people. They believed that gods resided on the cliffs, possessing the secrets and wisdom of lightning, even though they had never seen any of them. Only the image of a giant ship chasing the sun, glimpsed in ancestral legends, was painted on the rock walls and caves.

"I'm very interested in this history," Jia Ying said. "You seem much easier to talk to than before."

"Because that's what you hope for, madam. What you see is merely a reflection of a dream, a certain aspect of the world projected onto my mind. Just like the emperor you saw in Attilan, that was also a reflection. However, not everyone can bear the side of me as an emperor, yet I cannot leave that identity."

"What should I call you?"

"You can call me Joshua, Ms. Jiaying."

"Is this your real name?"

"I have no real name. To be precise, you cannot understand my real name." The Emperor watched as the cold steel gate on the cliff slowly closed, and the superstitious and timid primitives walked cautiously behind the Kree. They had seen flames unleashed from the hands of their so-called gods, and thus offered up the strongest warriors of their tribes—in their belief, this was the necessary path to becoming demigods. "Here you will only see cruel experiments and bio-engineering knowledge that you cannot comprehend. Don't waste your time, Ms. Jiaying, we are going to see the remains of the so-called gods of this world."

"God? I remember you're an atheist." Jia Ying's face, which bore a striking resemblance to Daisy Jensen's, wore an almost identical expression of mockery. "I just hope you won't point at a Kree corpse and show it to me."

"I am a materialist. For me, the word 'God' does not possess the omniscient and omnipotent attributes found in the Abrahamic pantheon. If God truly exists in this world, then the word 'God' is merely a term used to describe this creature, just like when we visit a zoo and see lions, we often see plaques that say 'feline'."

"Very interesting." Jia Ying let the emperor hold her hand. "You have a great sense of humor."

Suddenly, the stars shifted, morning and night rapidly alternating, the high-speed flashing exceeding her information processing capacity, making her dizzy. A hollow, high-frequency flapping sound drilled into her ears and then disappeared, repeating this cycle until the jumping stopped. When she opened her eyes, she found herself standing on a large black rock, with a snow-covered plain stretching from her feet to the dark gray horizon. Only when she turned her head did she notice several corpses, emitting wisps of black smoke, lying on the nearby snow, while heat emanated from her other side, almost drying her skin.

The corpses were covered in a tar-like substance, and a closer look revealed that their limbs and skeletons did not conform to any creature in this world. Even as just skeletons, Jia Ying still believed these creatures originated from the nightmares of a mentally deranged patient; bone claws and sharp teeth were fused together, and several skulls grew from bone plates—everything was combined in a terrifying way. The heat drew near, but Jia Ying did not feel any burning pain.

"Don't worry, time travel always has its troubles. But that's not the most formidable obstacle." Jia Ying glanced at the longsword in the emperor's hand, emitting a faint golden light. He moved with the ease of slicing through meat, without even a drop of sweat on his forehead. "Don't worry about the heat. You can feel the heat only because you perceive flames to cause such damage. This world is subjective, idealistic; this is a dream. As long as your will is strong enough, you can change anything."

"You killed these creatures?"

"I have killed many similar creatures. They are born from our souls and consciousness, and they are a nightmare and curse that all intelligent races in the material universe cannot escape. At least for now, they cannot escape. Dimensions beyond the material can create many miracles, and we must use them with caution."

Where are we?

"When life on Earth was just beginning."

A colossal shadow rose from the horizon, the earth trembled and cracked, mountains collapsed. The entire world, like a Lego set, gradually crumbled in the terrifying earthquake. Jia Ying looked up and saw a pair of enormous eyes appear on the distant horizon, tinged blood red by the afterglow. Then, a jet-black body, seemingly cast in steel, strode in, like a Titan from Greek mythology. This giant, with golden stripes like electrical circuits on its body, appeared slow but was actually incredibly swift. Every movement of its limbs unleashed terrifying earthquakes, and storms raged in the sky. Amidst the flashes of lightning and thunder, Jia Ying saw black blood flowing from the Titan's body. This blood cascaded down the ground like waterfalls, forming deep craters, and then seeped into the earth, forming rivers of flowing black blood.

The Titans walked toward them, splashing black blood like a torrential rain.

Even from a distance, Jia Ying felt as if she would be blown away by the gusts of wind stirred up by the Titan's shifting limbs. If the Emperor hadn't gently grabbed Jia Ying's shoulder, she would have been terrified by the sight, for no one could imagine a mountain range rushing toward them at a visible speed.

"What is this?" Jia Ying screamed almost frantically, "What is this?!"

"God, the God of the material universe. But even the God of the material universe can be corrupted. Do you know about the cooperation between single-celled organisms at the beginning of life? For example, mitochondria. Mitochondria were originally single-celled organisms until they infiltrated our ancestors and formed a symbiotic relationship."

"What do mitochondria have to do with this thing?" Jia Ying practically screamed. The sight she was witnessing was beyond the comprehension of most people; she was nearly driven mad with fear, her mind shattered as if crushed by the Alps. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed such a colossal creature existed. "It's a giant!"

"The blood flowing from this dead god entered the Earth's ecosystem, forever altering the potential of primitive single-celled organisms. This is also why the Kree chose humans as subjects for their genetic engineering experiments. Humanity's potential is enough to allow us to ascend to the top of the galaxy and rule over all things; the blood of this giant flows in our veins. However, this gift is also an inescapable curse. Humanity's potential is so great that our connection with another spiritual dimension is unusually close."

Suddenly, Jia Ying found herself standing on a soft, white carpet.

When she looked up, she found herself standing in the palm of a hand, the very hand belonging to the emperor who had brought her there. In the blink of an eye, she saw the emperor standing beside the mechanical deity, walking side by side with the black-clad one. The earth rushed past her, forests, lakes, and mountains appearing as miniature landscapes on the lawn in front of houses, small and unreal, the curvature of the earth fully revealed to her—reminding her of the comic books she had read as a child. They were simple line drawings, usually horizontal rectangles, in only black and white—she remembered the emperor's words: this world is subjective and idealistic; with enough willpower, one can create anything in this dream.

"Under certain circumstances, psionic beings will emerge from the human race. The Inhumans are the result of the Kree using genetic engineering to try to mine and manipulate human psionic genes, because in Kree mythology, they were created by this god of the material universe." He said to Jia Ying, "Imagine you are a giant, and then stand next to me. Close your eyes and use your imagination."

Are you in my mind? Or in my dreams?

"What's the difference, Jiaying?"

The drumbeats around the campfire gradually rose, each heavy strike accompanied by a hissing sound of gushing carotid artery blood and leaking air. The drumbeats grew increasingly intense and rapid, the spray of arterial blood accelerating, and a bizarre chorus of voices squeezed from deformed, twisted throats, mingling with the thick smoke rising from the various indistinguishable chunks of internal organs thrown into the fire. The chorus was pushed to ear-piercing high-frequency tones that ordinary human vocal cords could not produce, causing dizziness and cold sweat to pour down one's forehead.

The drumbeats stopped abruptly, and the sweet smoke rising from the campfire was inhaled and slowly exhaled by the aliens who had formed a circle around it. Surprisingly, none of the aliens who tasted the smoke fainted due to lack of oxygen; on the contrary, they were invigorated.

They lowered their voices and whispered excitedly to each other.

The topics of conversation revolved around the chronic damage caused by years of hard labor and diseases resulting from genetic mutations. The seemingly endless torment of chronic illnesses had been alleviated, and even previously weak and exhausted bodies felt incredibly light after inhaling the smoke. Even the wounds of deserters conscripted by the Attilan royal family and then collectively betraying them showed visibly healing after drinking holy water and inhaling the smoke. These impoverished people, living deep within Attilan Star Fortress and suffering from severe genetic mutations, turned their fervent gazes to the crowned figure standing on the high platform at the priest's call. This figure had brought salvation to them, the forgotten, and alleviated their suffering. For these people, Maximus was nothing less than the most brilliant light that had appeared in their eternally gloomy lives, and the promises made by this sect seemed to have been fulfilled.

"The Savior has arrived!" the priest proclaimed. "We will take up arms and create a kingdom belonging to the true God!"

Maximus held up a head with both hands. Even after washing away the blood, Peryl's pale face remained beautiful. He descended the platform, placing the head inside the priestess's body, soaked with the blood of the sacrifice. He obediently smeared the blood on his face, then chanted ancient hymns in an unbroken chorus—a language that predates the creation of the Inhumans. From the very beginning of the Kree civilization, this language circulated within the ancient Kree sects, gradually permeating this genetically engineered race along with the Kree's education of Inhuman psychics. Maximus had never learned this language, yet now he could fluently chant complex mythological hymns. The lyrics praised a God older than the universe, and the ancient prophets who received miracles from "angels," rising from the masses to become rulers who devoutly believed in God.

The dead are brought back to life, heavenly fire is summoned, wind and rain are controlled, and the stars are altered.

People sang praises of the true God's power, even though they didn't understand the meaning of these hymns; it was the only education they had received. As the song continued, the flesh of Maximus's head gradually peeled away, revealing stark white bones. Even Peryl's cleansed, naked body, placed in the pool of blood, was torn apart by the blood that gradually seeped into her flesh. It seemed as if an entire century had passed, or perhaps only a few breaths, before all evidence of the priestess's existence vanished completely. The priests, even more fanatical, led the choir, lashing the surrounding believers with multi-headed whips, adding agonizing screams to the increasingly shrill harmonies.

Makasims instinctively reached out his arm.

What had been a thin layer of blood seemed to have transformed into an endless abyss. Maximus's shoulder sank into the blood-covered stone slab, his arm thrashing in the viscous, foul liquid as if searching for something. Suddenly, he stood up, clutching something tightly in his hand. The priests cheered, whipping their followers even harder, while the fanatical cultists, their faces beaming with joy at the pain, chanted "Return, return!" with glee. The priestess, her entire body covered in viscous blood, her long hair plastered to her scalp, opened her eyes. Ignoring the surrounding noise, she stared at Maximus with her snow-white pupils.

She vomited a clot of dark blood.

"I have returned." She turned around, her nearly congealed, viscous blood slowly dripping from her body, exuding a captivating charm that perfectly blended allure and violence. "I have seen the truth of the gods." She turned to her followers and announced, "You should worship your king, for he is here."

(End of this chapter)