Marvel's master of cosmic magic-Chapter 807

"Relying on the City of Silver alone won’t be enough," Rowan Mercer muttered. "I’ll search the Godforsaken Expanse again."

After giving Colin Ilford his final instructions, Rowan returned to that desolate realm where divinity had long since rotted into silence.

He searched for days.

Then he found it.

A second surviving settlement.

Moon City.

According to the fragmented records preserved by its people, Moon City had existed for three thousand seven hundred and twenty-two years. It had once been established under the command of a forgotten sun god, tasked with watching over the endless gray fog that swallowed the horizon.

When that god fell, no new orders ever came.

But the mission remained.

So they endured.

With no normal food sources, Moon City’s inhabitants survived by hunting warped creatures steeped in toxins and curses. Over generations, those poisons reshaped them.

Twisted limbs.

Unnatural skin.

Eyes that glowed faintly in the dark.

They looked monstrous.

They lived worse than the people of the City of Silver.

When Rowan appeared, he offered them two things.

A cure.

And escape.

He healed their bodies.

He promised to lead them out of the Godforsaken Expanse.

Moon City did not hesitate.

Their faith followed instantly.

Along with hundreds of new believers willing to spread that faith beyond the wasteland.

One week later.

Across the Kingdom of Loen, the Empire of Feysac, Intis, Feynapotter, and the nations of the southern continent...

Identical reports appeared on the desks of churches and official supernatural agencies.

"Recently, individuals claiming to be followers of the Fool have appeared in multiple cities.

They preach in slums and refugee districts, stating that those who place their faith in the Fool may travel to a floating city known as Sky City, where all illnesses can be healed.

They claim lost limbs can be restored.

Those unwilling to return to their original homes may settle permanently within Sky City.

Interviews with recovered individuals confirm the existence of a city suspended in the air.

The city is inhabited by priests of the Fool, each possessing extraordinary healing abilities.

All treated individuals, regardless of condition, have fully recovered.

No lingering corruption has been detected.

Permanent residents are granted farmland and paid for their labor, allowing them to live ordinary but stable lives.

Those who wish to return to their families may do so, but must maintain belief in the Fool."

Two days more.

That was all Rowan needed.

Fresh from another Tarot gathering, Rowan lay back in the small cradle he used as a physical anchor, quietly sensing the changes within himself.

Everything was almost complete.

The path he walked required one simple principle.

Let others witness miracles.

Let others have their wishes fulfilled.

Sky City accomplished both.

The sick were healed.

The starving were fed.

The desperate were given shelter.

They saw miracles.

They received what they prayed for.

At the same time, the city itself functioned as a living stage, populated by Rowan’s controlled constructs and growing numbers of residents, creating a self-sustaining illusion of genuine life.

A perfect foundation.

Naturally, churches and governments attempted to intervene.

Naturally, they failed.

Rowan targeted only those already abandoned by society.

Dying beggars.

Terminal patients.

Refugees.

Not political dissidents.

Not cult-minded fanatics.

And every missionary he sent came from the City of Silver or Moon City.

Veteran supernatural operatives.

Each carried a specially crafted key capable of returning them to Sky City instantly.

If one was captured, elite teams would extract them.

If that failed, Rowan himself would.

With gods unable to descend freely and no organization possessing the strength to block him outright, suppression became impossible.

Surveillance was all they could manage.

Rowan’s faith grew.

Sky City expanded.

The final threshold drew near.

"Two days," Rowan murmured. "At most."

Then—

A voice echoed inside his mind.

Urgent.

Panicked.

"Rowan! Rowan! Help me!"

Rowan’s brows knitted together.

Miles Reed.

He was still stationed in Tingen.

Nothing in Tingen should be capable of pushing Miles to this point.

Miles had Rowan’s backing.

And support from the remnants of Emperor Roselle’s legacy.

He had already advanced to a powerful operative tier, and carried enough enchanted equipment to cripple even veteran enemies.

Something was wrong.

Rowan vanished.

Tingen City.

Night Watchers’ newly constructed headquarters.

Aurelion’s avatar stood in the corridor, a translucent crystalline object hovering above his palm.

He examined it with satisfaction.

Then he glanced at Leonard Mitchell.

"Since you were sensible, I’ll spare you." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Leonard said nothing.

He couldn’t.

Blood soaked the floor beneath him.

Aurelion’s gaze drifted toward another figure lying nearby.

Miles Reed.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

"A capable operative," Aurelion said lightly. "Yet you hide in a backwater city like this... and somehow possess a disturbing number of dangerous artifacts."

After receiving Elias Voss’s location from Adrian Crowe, Aurelion had dispatched a high-level avatar to Tingen.

Not his true body.

Never his true body.

Caution had kept him alive for centuries.

Subduing Elias Voss had been effortless.

But these so-called Night Watchers had surprised him.

Especially this young man.

The boy’s collection of bizarre tools had nearly caught Aurelion off guard.

Which made him curious.

He was about to ask another question.

When a familiar voice echoed behind him.

Calm.

Cold.

Amused.

"Interesting... we meet again."

Aurelion’s pupils shrank.