Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Child of Chaos

Not long after, Tony had finished calibrating the detection device. Since the Battle of New York, to guard against space portals opening in unknown places, Tony and Doctor Banner had developed an instrument to detect spatial fluctuations. But because it had not yet been field-tested, it needed to be adjusted at a site where such fluctuations actually existed. This trip to Antarctica happened to provide exactly that.

However, the results matched Qu Yizhi’s account: the spatial rift seemed to have been concealed by something.

After a brief discussion, everyone still resolved to step into that strange chamber.

Naturally, they also witnessed the ancient sacrificial rite. Although the group remained fully lucid, they nonetheless followed the people around them and joined in the sacrificial dance.

At last, Qu Yizhi stepped forward and pressed the switch. The spatial rift appeared once more, and the figures of the group vanished together.

...

After discovering that the Avengers had entered that Antarctic space, Al turned his attention to the Hydra base in Bermuda. It seemed the other side was about to make its move.

Just as Al was considering his next plan, he suddenly felt an immensely evil and chaotic aura envelop Midgard.

Al rose at once and looked toward the trio of Atanis, who had come running after sensing the presence. He said, "Stay alert. It would be best not to leave here for the time being." Having said that, he vanished in a flash.

The three of Atanis bowed in return and gazed into the boundless void. Master Gu Yi was confronting Dormammu, and His Majesty Al had gone to confront the newly emerged demon god. It was all because their own cultivation was insufficient; otherwise, they could have lent aid from the side.

Al stepped out in a single stride into the cosmos. Beneath him, the azure planet should have continued its usual steady course, but that vile aura had tugged at it, causing a massive earthquake. In that one sudden assault alone, no one knew how many innocent lives had perished.

"Come out. What are you waiting for? I am already here." Al lifted a hand and lightly brushed it through the air. The trembling planet gradually calmed, yet that evil force stirred once more.

Though this power was the first of its kind he had ever felt, he instantly recognized its source: the Child of Chaos, Nyarlathotep. A presence so similar to Eamon’s, yet with subtle differences, was simply too distinctive to mistake.

Although Al had slept in the divine realm ever since his birth, sleep did not mean ordinary mortal slumber. Through slumber, the gods fused deeply with law itself; through law, they observed the world and influenced it. The identity of the God of Darkness could not be concealed within the laws, so Al had long ago known of the other’s existence.

For any true god, the true name would be inscribed upon that universe. So long as the universe endured, the true god would endure forever. One level above, for the chief gods, their true names would be carved upon the entire multiverse. As long as the multiverse did not perish, the chief gods would not die. And at the highest level, the creator gods had their true names etched into the laws of the world itself, forming the very foundation of the multiverse’s existence. No matter how many times the multiverse was born or destroyed, the creator gods were eternal and imperishable.

Al’s situation, however, was special. When he traversed worlds, he fused with the laws of that world and inscribed his own true name. Yet because of his unique nature, he became the only being in the entire multiverse who was not a creator god, but whose true name was nevertheless engraved upon the laws themselves.

When he crossed over, Eamon’s remnant soul had attached itself to him and was therefore regarded as part of him. Because of this, the world’s laws did not inscribe Eamon’s name. Unfortunately, Eamon had received too little of the grace of law, and so awakened earlier. He began setting his schemes in motion far in advance, seeking to defy heaven and change his fate.

It should be understood that the throne of Ignorance ought to have been inherited by Al as one whole. By convention, such perfectly opposed laws were inherited by a body’s own avatar, but Eamon cleverly exploited his identity and stole the throne of Ignorance. After that, he quietly developed his power in the shadows. And Nyarlathotep was an unexpected accident in the course of Eamon’s rise.

Nyarlathotep had originally been an avatar created by Eamon in order to refine his own divinity. Because of the special nature of the office of Ignorance, Eamon had exhausted every possible means in pursuit of reason, trying to separate out the chaotic part of himself. Alas, he failed.

Thus Nyarlathotep was born. This evil god, by virtue of the circumstances of his birth, could be regarded as Eamon’s independent avatar. Eamon had tried to make himself lucid, but instead rendered himself even more chaotic, while this separated fragment of an avatar successfully inherited his cunning.

Therefore, after Eamon divided off that aspect of himself, all plans and stratagems were handed over to Nyarlathotep. Yet the increasingly irrational Eamon looked down on him deeply. But by then Eamon no longer possessed wisdom, and could only leave Nyarlathotep to his own devices, allowing him to become the so-called messenger of the Outer Gods, the divine voice that conveyed the will of Azathoth.

And now, this cunning Child of Chaos had appeared directly in Midgard, giving Al a faint sense of foreboding. After all, although he now existed in the form of the Mind Stone and was, in theory, invincible, this scheming evil god would naturally not be ignorant of that fact.

Under Al’s wary gaze, Nyarlathotep emerged from the black mist. He presently wore the guise of a ravishing maiden, her face half-hidden behind a fan. But this did not inspire any fondness in Al. As the God of a Thousand Faces, Nyarlathotep had left his legend in countless civilizations, and none of them were pleasant.

Nyarlathotep had always delighted in deception and the seduction of intelligent beings. He was forever meddling in the development of civilizations, guiding them step by step toward prosperity and splendor, then leading everything step by step toward its end. Since the establishment of the Interstellar Court, there had already been who knew how many tragedies caused by him.

The Star Spirit Empire had long sought to capture him. Even Al, after all, could not surpass the world’s limits in power, so the Star Spirit Empire had hoped to seal Nyarlathotep’s avatar, or drive it away. Unfortunately, they had never succeeded.

And now, this crafty God of a Thousand Faces had appeared directly before Al. If the other side did not possess absolute confidence, then it must have had help from someone else—for instance...

"The Aether Particle."

Al’s gaze turned cold as he looked at the red substance in Nyarlathotep’s hand. After the Dark Elves summoned the Aether Particle, Al had long held suspicions about that strange Reality Stone, and now Nyarlathotep had unquestionably confirmed one of them.

"My, my, no need to take offense, Your Majesty Al. The Aether Particle is ownerless, so naturally it goes to whoever is destined to possess it." Nyarlathotep transformed the Aether Particle into a folding fan and used it to conceal his smile.