"Let's go first, today has been too much chaos." The Ancient One thought it was best to leave.
Although it was a conflict between the younger ones, it seemed that Alaric had been too merciless, and Loki, struck by the illusion, had suffered a deep psychological trauma. Now everyone was shocked, while Loki received Frigga's quiet comfort.
The Ancient One felt it would be inappropriate to stay.
"All right, I leave Thor's condition to you. Take care of him."
Odin said nothing. The situation was already turbulent enough, and the Ancient One could not stay away from Earth for too long.
His greatest worry was Loki, that he might break under the weight of everything that had happened.
This disciple of the Ancient One proved himself far more wicked than Loki himself.
And that behind such an innocent, beautiful face!
He couldn't even imagine the shock Loki endured when he thought he had killed his mother and brother with his own hands.
"Ancient One, come back again when you can." Frigga smiled warmly as she bid farewell.
"Alaric, you are also welcome to come more often. Too bad Thor wasn't at home, you could have met him."
At those words, Loki trembled.
Please, don't come anymore!
I'm afraid!!
Loki's confidence had been completely shaken by Alaric.
It wasn't only about the illusions. His methods were darker, crueler, and more insidious than Loki's own tricks.
Compared to him, Loki began to believe that he himself was actually mild, almost good!
Fortunately, everything that happened had only been an illusion.
He never wanted to feel again the pain of losing his mother or Thor.
Even if he desired the throne, Loki dreamed of obtaining it with Odin's approval, not in such a way.
Before Frigga, who had taught him since childhood, Loki felt deep respect.
It was beautiful to regain what he thought had been lost.
After that event, Loki no longer pretended to be indifferent before his mother.
Even when Thor returned to Asgard a few days later, Loki embraced him sincerely for the first time.
Thor, Sif, and the others looked at him in confusion, wondering if Loki was preparing some new trick. They remained on guard.
But Loki, for Thor's sake, explained nothing. From Frigga and Odin he asked silence about everything that had happened.
After all, it was too humiliating!
From that moment, Loki changed his behavior. He no longer provoked conflicts but withdrew to his chamber and devoted himself entirely to studying magic.
The next time he saw that damned Alaric, he would return all the pain and humiliation to him!
"Wait, Alaric!!"
…
Alaric, who had returned to Kamar-Taj, did not care about Loki. In his eyes, Loki was only an unreliable schemer, good at surviving and skillfully adapting to circumstances.
Except for that one time when he was careless before Thanos, Loki knew how to survive.
Because of this, Alaric did not consider him a real threat.
In the days that followed, Alaric continued to take books from the library and tirelessly study all forms of magic.
…
[By studying and practicing astral magic, you have mastered the power of the soul, entered the plane of spirit, and achieved a breakthrough - Soul Projection.]
[Soul Projection: you can use your spiritual power to project your soul and appear anywhere on Earth.]
[By studying and practicing mirror magic, you have understood its essence and created illusions almost indistinguishable from reality.]
[Reality Magic: just as you control and shape the mirror world, you can distort reality itself.]
[By studying and analyzing the Shields of the Seraphim, in combination with knowledge of space, you have created the Infinite Ring.]
[Infinite Ring: a shield composed of nine rings, each ring representing a layer of spatial distance. Absolutely defends against any attack, the distance between the attack and the user becomes infinitely extended.]
[By studying and practicing the sword of Vishanti, you have mastered how the power of the God of Magic transforms weapons and created the Supreme Divine Weapon.]
[Supreme Divine Weapon: the shape and power of the weapon are determined by the user. The power of the God of Magic can be summoned in any form.]
…
"Phew! Finally, I have mastered several key magics of Kamar-Taj!"
"Now I should be able to compare myself to Strange… Doctor Strange, at least the one who has not yet studied the Book of the Dark God!"
Alaric set down the book of magic and felt genuine joy.
At last, he had become a true master!
And not just any, but a master at a high level!
Except for the Ancient One, who was considered a mage of the Skyfather rank, few could stand before him.
"Only… I am not sure what my power level is now. The Skyfather level may still elude me… but could I already be counted among cosmic-level beings?"
In his mind, he went over the hierarchy of power in the Marvel cosmos, as fans once ranked it:
Surface Level
As the name suggests, these are heroes whose abilities are limited to the boundaries of a planet and who can only act on its surface. Most Earth heroes belong to this rank, under normal circumstances that includes Iron Man, Captain America, Black Panther, Winter Soldier, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and many others.
Cosmic Level
Heroes of this level already possess abilities that can destroy entire cities or fleets. Captain Marvel is a typical example, at full power she can destroy a city in moments, and even pierce a planet.
Heavenly Father Level
In this rank are beings like the Ancient One and Odin. Also, some demons who rule dimensions, such as Mephisto, lord of Hell.
Single-Universe Level
The difference between this and the Skyfather level is not huge, but the boundary of power is far higher. Those at this rank can not only destroy planets but also affect the stability of an entire universe.
Multiversal Level
Here begins the true pinnacle of power. Even the weaker ones at this rank can influence multiple parallel universes. And since the Marvel cosmos is made up of countless parallel universes, there are countless heroes below this threshold, but only a few reach it. Only certain universes can create a being of multiversal rank, and the most powerful among them are unique, they exist only once across all parallel worlds.
Because of this, the Ancient One wondered whether Alaric was actually such a being, since in parallel universes she had found none of his counterparts.
However, he was not that yet.
At this level are eternal beings such as Eternity, whose very body is the embodiment of the multiverse. Alongside him stand abstract entities: Annihilation, Infinity, Death, and Eternity. They have existed since the birth of the multiverse. Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet in the comics also reaches this rank.
Cosmic Omnipotent Level
This is the absolute peak of the Marvel universe. The Living Tribunal, the cosmic judge, stands here as the guardian of balance. Before his power, even the Infinity Gauntlet is not worth mentioning, he can reshape the entire Marvel cosmos. Above them all stands OAA – The One Above All – the supreme being and ultimate God in Marvel.
Alaric did not have excessive demands.
He did not want to immediately reach the supreme divinity.
But to become a leader at the multiversal level, that was his dream.
And toward that goal still awaited him a long, but thrilling path.
–––
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