Knowledge was power. That much was obvious.
But not all knowledge came from books, genes, or brute force.
I stood alone in my lab, the blue glow of GENESIS-5 flickering against the walls, processing new data on mutagenic potential. Emma was still occupied with the Hellfire Club's social gatherings. Trying her best to get in the Inner Circle as soon as possible.
But I was free now. Nothing pressing to do. So I decided to utilise this time.
By going after knowledge. Specifically Magic.
I had mastered dozens of disciplines—scientific, physical, tactical. And most special of all were the handful of chi-based abilities thanks to the months I'd spent going after The Hand members, copying there abilities and reading their minds.
I'd unlocked [Chi Manipulation] that pushed me to a near-mystic understanding of the human body.
I already had Physical based abilities. And as a matter of fact they became more powerfull after copyying from the Morlocks.
But magic?
That still needed work.
And in this world, there was only one branch of magic that I could think of that was the easiest for me to learn(copy).
Voodoo Magic.
What is now known as Voodoo started in Africa as a worship of the gods Vodū and the Loa (minor elemental spirits who serves the Vodū, they possess more limited, specialized gifts that personify forces of nature).
In Africa Dam-Ayido Wede was a relatively minor Vodū god, but in the New World he reinvented himself. He named himself Damballah and instilled into worshippers the belief that he was the Vodū Sky Father, creator of the world. As such, he became the one whose name was normally invoked by new worshippers instead of the real Sky Father Buluku and stronger gods Lusa and Mahu.
Voodoo is type of magic in which by invoking the name of a particular Vodū or Loa and performing ritualistic propitiation, mortals can tap their patron god's power. While anyone can worship the Vodū and Loa, to get their help and power one first needs to become Houngan (Voodoo Priest). Voodoo Priest can be trained only by another Voodoo Priest. If Voodoo Priest lose power they become gangan. Voodoo Priest who pretends to be a god is named zobop, a false god.
Voodoo can be both a good/white magic (pouin) and black magic. As it relies on rituals and invocations to get the power of other beings, it can be assumed that Voodoo is the type of the Exocentric Magic.
This form of magic allows the sorcerer to draw upon the forces from other dimensions, communicate and appeal for assistance to powerful beings that inhabit them. Such beings, known as Mystic Principalities (for example, Cyttorak, Ikonn, Raggadorr, Watoomb, etc.)
The Exocentric Magic is considered to be the most advanced and powerful form of magic, but in order to use the help of the Mystic Principalities, the mage had to learn and perform complex incantations (which often includes the name of the Principality whose help the mage is seeking) and master subtle gestures.
And you can only imagine how powerful Voodoo Magic can be. In Marvel there was even a powerful character named Doctor Voodoo. Heck even Doctor Dooms mother was a Voodoo witch. And everyone knows the power of the magic whic Victor Fucking Von Doom weilds.
I had to learn Voodoo magic.
Even if it did not help me at least it could show me the way to Magic.
So I packed light, and booked a trip to Haiti.
---
In my first three days, I visited every museum, antique dealer, and relic shop in the capital. I found crude charms, tourist junk, and mislabeled trinkets that still pulsed faintly with old power.
Most weren't useful.
But they still had something—fingerprints, history, memory.
I placed my hand on a faded ceremonial dagger in a private museum's backroom.
[Psychometry – Active]
Sweat. Dirt. A blood moon. Chanting in Creole. A woman danced around fire, drawing sigils in ash.
She'd used this to perform a summoning. Not recently, but not ancient either. Forty, maybe fifty years ago.
I recorded it and moved on.
I did this at least fifty times more—each time mapping the ritual lines, building a network of impressions. Faces, places, names. A tapestry forming in my mind. None of them gave me structure or theory—but I was beginning to find patterns.
Some relics were fakes.
But a few were geniune.
[Invocation Ritual Magic (Incomplete)]
[Blood Magic(Incomplete)]
Still—no foundational spellcraft. No basic spells.
They were advanced spells. needed the basic ones to start. I coudn't jsut start witht the more advanced spells.
And even the spells I obtained were incomplete.
I needed people who knew actual Voodoo Magic.
---
I began tracing the memories I'd absorbed.
One shop owner had once been visited by an old man with snake tattoos on both arms. Who semed to be a practioner to me.
Another artifact led me to a faded photo tucked inside the lining of a ceremonial robe: a group of five practitioners, their faces half-obscured by masks.
They weren't dead.
At least three were still active, scattered in the country.
Finally I traced one of the artifacts to an old man.
A man in his sixties. Moved between two villages. Kept a low profile. His thoughts were murky but laced with repetition.
He was shielding his mind.
---
I found him on the third night.
He went by Bako.
He lived in the hills above Croix-des-Bouquets, inside a circle of salt and iron nails. They were Protection wards from what I learned from the memories of the artifacts.
I didn't approach directly.
Instead, I watched.
The System worked as I watched.
[Skill Copied: Voudoun Doll Crafting – Lvl 4]
[Skill Copied: Curses Lvl 5]
[Skill Copied: Spirit Binding Lvl 1]
I needed more.
I approached during one of his nightly offerings.
He stood in front of a carved totem, back to me. A low chant vibrated in the air.
I used my stealth to move into his barrier.
But he noticed instantly.
Not by sound or breathing or smell that I was sure of—then msut be the magic.
He turned.
Old. Weathered. But his eyes glowed faintly.
I let my defenses rise. My telepathy flared.
He responded in kind.
A wall slammed into my senses—not physical, but psychic.
He lunged.
But this wasn't physical.
It was a duel of minds.
I struck with brute force—a wave of thought designed to shatter weaker wills.
He took it. But redirected it through a tethered spirit.
I pivoted. Instead of pushing harder, I slipped past. Threaded a decoy thought into the exchange.
He faltered for half a second. Enough.
I pushed into his mind. To get all the memories related to Voodoo Magic.
And then the System pulsed.
[Skills Learned: Spirit Communion (Lvl 4), Binding Chant (Lvl 3), Dream Projection (Lvl 2), Fire Resistance (Lvl 5)]
Yep. I learned it. It was different from copying.
The thing is. I can copy the existing abilities and skills of the target. But I cannot copy which the target has not learned himself. For example. Bako had leanred different skills but he could only use some of them. Which I was able to copy. But after I read his mind I learned those skills too which Bakon had seen or heard but not learned how to use them.
It was like a srtudent could only solve skills of his own class. But he could have know or heard about the methods to solve problems of higher classes but not able to apply himself.
I pulled back after silently killing his mind.
---
From Bako's memory I got a lead to a powerful and geniune artifact.
René. A priest. He held an artifact once tied to Damballah.
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