Chapter 8: Starting from the Big Bang
"This story is very long. To make it easier for you to understand, I may have to first explain the nature of this world..."
Since Orion Cross had already decided to bring out real information, his previously lazy and relaxed posture naturally changed.
"Please go on."
Nick Fury and Carol exchanged a glance, then nodded seriously.
Snap.
At some point, Hela had walked back over and sat down beside Carol.
Facing everyone’s gazes, Hela casually shrugged. "I’m also very curious. There isn’t a trace of divinity on you, yet you’re filled with an aura of death that even I find intoxicating. There is no way you only killed a little over a thousand Asgardian soldiers."
Orion Cross curled his lips and, without saying anything more, began directly. "A long, long time ago..."
"Enough with the long, long time ago. Why don’t you just start from the Big Bang?"
Hela waved her hand impatiently.
Although Nick Fury and Carol did not speak, both of them secretly nodded, clearly sharing Hela’s thoughts.
"A long, long time ago, before this universe was born, within the boundless void, in a chaotic and disorderly world, there existed six great singularities."
Carol, Nick Fury, and Hela: "..."
Impressive. He really was starting from the Big Bang!
"These six great singularities were time, space, power, soul, mind, and reality."
"After the Big Bang, these six singularities transformed into six Infinity Stones containing endless power of law. They scattered to every corner of the universe and have been pursued by countless generations ever since."
"However, these six stones are not things that can be controlled casually. For ordinary people, touching one may result in serious injury and banishment at best, or complete annihilation of both body and soul at worst."
"But there are also an extremely rare few chosen ones who are granted cosmic secret energy by the stones and become powerful superheroes."
As he said this, Orion Cross looked at Carol.
She was the chosen one among chosen ones. The power she had obtained from the Tesseract even surpassed the might displayed by a single stone itself.
"You’re saying the Tesseract is one of those six singularities... no, one of those six stones?"
Nick Fury frowned slightly and asked tentatively.
"Correct."
Orion Cross nodded faintly, then looked at the stunned Carol and said, "The Tesseract is the container of the Space Stone. Although your superpower doesn’t seem to have anything to do with space, without the power of the Space Stone, it would have been impossible for you to freely enter and leave Odin’s seal with energy impact alone."
"So that’s how it is."
Captain Marvel, Carol, nodded with sudden realization.
The original Carol had been like an infant who had just obtained a submachine gun and learned how to pull the trigger. Now, she finally understood the principle behind a firearm firing bullets.
"Then where are the other five stones?"
Nick Fury did not disappoint Orion Cross and indeed asked such a question.
"After finding out that aliens exist, you still have ideas about the other five stones?"
Orion Cross smiled as he looked at Nick Fury and asked.
After Orion Cross’s reminder, Nick Fury’s expression immediately turned somewhat ugly. He even felt that the Tesseract that Goose had just spat out had become a hot potato.
An ordinary man is innocent, but possessing a treasure makes him guilty. Nick Fury immediately thought of that point.
"This Infinity Stone originally belonged to Asgard."
Hela, who was sitting to the side, cut in.
"According to records, during World War II, the Tesseract was called the Dragon’s Jewel... I didn’t expect it to truly be Odin’s treasure."
Nick Fury immediately felt a bit of a headache. He really wanted to find flaws in what Orion Cross was saying, but reason told him that everything Orion Cross said was true.
It was not only logically tight and without loopholes, but also explained the unknown phenomena that had already happened.
"That’s why. Earth already has two Infinity Stones, so stop staring at the others. At least while they’re in the universe, let other people help Earth divert some attention."
Orion Cross spoke to Nick Fury in a lecturing tone.
"Yes, I understand."
Nick Fury subconsciously nodded, then realized something was wrong. "Wait. You said two?"
"What, getting ideas again?"
Orion Cross saw through Nick Fury’s little thoughts at a glance. Right now, this future King of Agents had not yet reached the point where his emotions never showed on his face.
"You know very well how much harm this kind of thing could cause if it fell into the hands of evil people. For example, during World War II, the Tesseract was used by Hydra..." Nick Fury opened his mouth to explain.
"You can rest assured. Even if you, Nick Fury, defected to Hydra, she would never defect. She has been a guardian protecting Earth from invasions by other dimensions for several hundred years."
Orion Cross curled his lips and spoke.
"Sorry. I’ve seen too many betrayals, so it’s hard for me to easily trust anyone."
A trace of curiosity toward the "guardian" Orion Cross mentioned flashed through Nick Fury’s eyes, but he still chose to stick to his own view.
"Then there’s no helping it. Because no matter how much I say, you won’t believe me. In that case, there’s no need to continue."
Orion Cross spread both hands and said.
"So after talking for so long, you still haven’t mentioned a single thing about your own past."
Hela, who had been quietly listening from the side for half the day, suddenly spoke.
"No one will believe me even if I say it, so why bother?"
Orion Cross shrugged.
"I can help you."
Hela slowly stood up and walked in front of Orion Cross.
"What are you doing?"
Orion Cross looked at Hela, who had walked up to him and inexplicably closed her eyes, and could not help feeling puzzled.
"Shut up. I’m recalling how to use that magic."
Hela snapped at him, then continued standing there in place.
The other three silently exchanged glances for five minutes and finished the instant coffee in their cups. Hela finally ended her recollection.
"This is a mind magic that can allow the target to trace back their past memories. Those memories can be viewed by the caster..."
At this point, Hela slightly changed her words and looked at Orion Cross. "However, I made some modifications. You can choose on your own to block off memories you don’t want seen, and you can also let the two of them see them."
"So you’ve turned yourself into a relay and a projector?"
Orion Cross fell silent for a second before speaking.