Marvel Book of Magical Events

Several robed and hooded priests formed a circle, surrounding Maximus in the center. The priestess held a bone bowl made from skulls and inlaid with gems, dipped her fingers into the liquid in the bowl, and smeared it on Maximus's cheeks and chest while the priests chanted, and skillfully painted it into A dizzyingly complex pattern. The latter was half-kneeling on the ground, frowning, impatiently accepting the cumbersome ritual process of the priestess - many of these rituals and symbols have been changed beyond recognition due to the passage of time and the addition of priests of the past generations, but from witchcraft From a perspective, the key directional information has not been lost, and can even be said to be quite complete. In other words, this is a complete witchcraft ceremony, but Maximus knows nothing about it. His eyes have been deeply attracted by the giant sword on the high platform.

Just as he had seen it in his dream, the great sword shimmered with a supernatural silver.

The priests chanted that the Lord of Darkness, the God of Truth, a powerful being beyond time and space favors the subject. Under the surprised eyes of the armed men, several other priests came up and slit the throats of the priests who participated in the ceremony with daggers made of armor plates in their hands, and the latter died with smiles on their faces, happiness and satisfaction, Bo Bo The flowing blood poured into the circular magic circle carved on the ground. The priestess's voice suddenly became high-pitched and trembling, and she felt the pleasure from her toes along the spinal cord to her brain, and the bone bowl in her hand fell to the ground. Her eyes lost focus, as if she were seeing something that didn't exist in the real universe. She even became incontinent because of this, collapsing on the ground and twitching constantly.

Maximus opened his eyes and found that he was not in that ghetto temple.

As the most powerful mind reader in the royal family, he has received the most rigorous psychic training and psychic training. He is able to control his own abilities under most circumstances and can also detect the psychic power of others when necessary. But this time, no matter how he recalled what happened before he opened his eyes, he vaguely remembered that his father and mother called him to the depths of the royal residence. Since his birth, that area has been classified as a forbidden area. No matter which royal member he asked, he could not get a definite answer, as if some information had been erased from their minds - Maximus could understand this. What does it mean? He once deliberately hurt a small animal, and then erased the memory of a few minutes ago, and the small animal would come close to him as if nothing had happened - the only people in the royal family who had the authority to do this were his father and mother , the King and Queen of Attilan, which means that some information about them is not known to others.

"You have always been smart, Maximus. You may have deduced part of the truth from the fragments of words spoken by others. I am sorry that I have been unable to tell you the truth. Whatever information you deduced is temporarily forgotten at this moment. Because I will tell you all the facts without hiding anything. You have an older brother, Maximus. He is the eldest son that your mother and I conceived a hundred years ago, but because his abilities are too dangerous, he will be dangerous to anyone. Attilan even posed a danger, so he had to stay in an isolation room."

"I have an older brother?" Maximus raised his head excitedly and quickly put his doubts aside, "Really?"

"He has seen you as a baby, and he likes you very much." King Agung said with a smile, "Would you like to meet him?"

"Of course, he is my brother." Maximus replied without hesitation, "Can I take Medusa with me? She might be happy to see him! She is my future wife, if this happens I will know, and so will the future queen."

King Agung looked complicated, but finally nodded.

Maximus sat by the fire, a forest he had never seen before shrouded in the deep silence of night. The branches in the fire crackled, and red-hot charcoal branches fell from the tip of the bonfire with white smoke. He was not alone. There were several tired travelers sharing the warm campfire with him. They were wearing thick travel cloaks, their faces hidden under the hoods, and even the firelight could not illuminate them. A handful of people were leaning against them. The silver giant sword looked very familiar to Maximus. Maximus felt like he knew these travelers. Even though he couldn't remember their names for the time being, he felt extremely familiar with these people, as if he had known them since birth.

"Come here, friend." Maximus looked towards the darkness that could not be illuminated by the fire. There was a tall figure at the end of the road, covered in thick shadows like other travelers. "I would like to share the warmth with you on this cold winter night."

The strange traveler came slowly and stood in front of the campfire. Maximus was sure that he did not recognize him.

"Do you know what a winter night is?" With the movement of his arms, the stranger's cloak turned up slightly, and Maximus saw a faint golden shimmer under the cloak. "Do you know where the branches thrown into the bonfire come from?" A tree? Do you know what a tree is, exactly?"

"Why do you care about this?" Maximus asked, "It's very cold here and the fire is very warm. Is there anything more important than this for a long journey?"

The strange traveler still stood, and he raised his head slightly, allowing Maximus to see his noble face. "Have you ever experienced winter, Maximus?" he asked, "the long winter, when everything is covered with snow, and the mountain huts are covered with snow like white tombs. No air can enter the huts, and the fireplaces are constantly burning. Oxygen was consumed, and the door was blocked by tightly packed snow. The people in the house were unable to find food and air, and could only watch themselves slowly suffocate and die."

"Why are you saying this?" Maximus was a little angry at the moment, "If you are not willing to share the bonfire, then leave!"

"Look carefully at the firewood in the bonfire, Maximus." Maximus subconsciously lowered his head and discovered that what was in the bonfire was not branches, but severed arms and legs. At the top of the bonfire was a skeleton licked black by the flames. The strange traveler turned to look at the other people sitting around the campfire. "This is a human matter, you'd better leave now."

"No. We extended a hand of friendship to you, but you rejected it." Maximus heard one of them speak. It was a voice he had never heard before, with endless carnage and fury. "We can fail countless times, but you only have one chance. This universe belongs to us, and you can never win. Now you still have a chance, to be one of us, as long as you sit by the campfire."

"No, I reject you forever." The strange traveler said softly, "I would rather walk into the eternal night and hold up a torch than share your filth."

Another traveler took hold of the silver greatsword beside the campfire and placed it in Maximus's hand.

"The fate has been written in the great sea of ​​souls. You will become one of us, sooner or later, just like other gods who have not yet been born. You don't have to be so hostile to us. We are just the consciousness of the etheric sea. By extension, you can't fight fate. Everything you do will lead to prophecy, because it's all fate, and you can't fight yourself."

"Let's go, this time our chess game is over." The strange traveler raised his head, and Maximus saw his noble face, which was composed of countless kings in the world, filled with rage, and a golden giant sword in its scabbard. Pinned to his waist, he held the hilt of the sword tightly, "Get out of here!"

"That's not necessarily true. We are everywhere. You and humans will never be able to get rid of us."

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