After the second set of stairs the couple took, Arthur started to think that maybe he really was lucky.
'Because if that's not the way to the catacombs, I'm eating my shoes.'
________________________________
And his luck really was great, he thought, gazing at the lush vegetation that seemed to cover the floor of the entire room. Some flowers were radiating a violet glow, giving the room a sort of ethereal feeling. The ceiling was low, further accentuating the feeling of oppression on the visitors.
Arthur stood still, taking in the room, looked around once and started to get a little wary of his own plan.
Because, in his memory, the Heart Shaped Herb was to be mashed, liquefied and drunk. He looked around the room to find some sort of bowl to crush and squeeze the Herb.
'Fuck, there doesn't seem to be any near me at least.'
Just when he started questioning what he should do next, the king and the queen reappeared in his view. He heard them talk in a low voice while looking at a particularly vibrant Herb.
'Maybe this one is for T'Challa, I suppose this level of brightness is for when the herb is ready to be ingested.'
In the room were multiple Heart Shaped Herbs that were as bright, some were even brighter. One in particular seemed to glow even stronger than the others. It was in the far corner of the room, and it was the only herb in its vicinity.
Arthur was not surprised when the royal couple started walking back up to the palace. They'd already spent almost 10 minutes looking at the Herbs and muttering to themselves.
When he could confirm that he was finally alone, he quickly started searching the room for some bowl. Too much time after starting his research did he think about looking by the entrance, and just beside the door were 5 vibranium bowls ready to use.
'Fuck me.'
Taking one, Arthur started walking towards the brightest Heart Shaped Herb in the corner of the room.
'If my theory about my power is correct, I should be able to choose which natural phenomenon can actually affect me. I think I will be able, when drinking the Heart Shaped Herb, to accept the good effects and reject the bad.'
'I probably also could not be affected by gravity, maybe even time. My powers are supposed to affect the whole universe, there's no reason the laws of physics should be excluded from "the universe".'
While Arthur was having an internal monologue, he quickly started crushing the Heart Shaped Herb in a bowl. Some time passed before the mixture started becoming liquid and smooth.
'It's probably insane to test my theory at such a juncture but well, need must.'
Steeling himself, Arthur sat down on the vegetation and swallowed the whole content of the bowl in one gulp.
He immediately lost consciousness.
___
Inside Arthur's Mind
___
Looking around what seems to be an infinite expanse of water, he was standing still on it.
"Ok, now THAT was not part of the plan"
"NOW, NOW, NOW, WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE, A LITTLE MORTAL"
Arthur heard a booming voice coming from behind him. He quickly turned around to find himself face to face with a 10 meter high black panther.
He looked at the beast, took a deep breath, and pushed down the incoming panic attack in favour of not ignoring the angry panther.
He first muttered "I suppose I'm in deep shit now" before looking up and saying, in as non threatening a tone as possible, "you must be Bast, I can't say I expected it but it is nice to meet you."
The panther goddess tilted her head before squinting her eyes and giving him a look over.
"HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME, LITTLE THING?"
"You are Bast, the goddess. Isn't everyone supposed to know your name?"
"EVERY WAKANDIAN IS SUPPOSED TO KNOW IT, YES. BUT YOU ARE CERTAINLY NOT WAKANDIAN, SO HOW COULD YOU KNOW IT?"
Her eyes started glowing, before he shivered, feeling as though someone was looking at his very soul.
"HUMM, HOW INTRIGUING.YOUR MEMORIES AND THOUGHTS LIE BEYOND EVEN MY GAZE."
"HOW?"
She looked at him, seemingly even more closely than before. He frowned at her question, before replying.
"How what?"
"HOW CAN A MORTAL'S THOUGHTS BE BEYOND MY REACH?"
She then started circling around him, observing him from different angles. She was searching for some form of answer, or clue as to why this human was more interesting than others before him.
"YOU ARE NOT WAKANDIAN. YOU ARE NOT A GOD NOR A SPIRIT. YOU DON'T SEEM TO BE WEARING ANYTHING MAGICAL AND YET I CANNOT SEE EVERYTHING THAT MAKES YOU WHO YOU ARE."
Taking inspiration from the great Tony Stark may not have been his greatest idea, but it was the first thing he thought to respond.
"I see, performance issue, it's not uncommon. Don't worry about it."
"PERFORMANCE ISSUE?"
She looked at him for a few seconds before snorting, then laughing out loud at the unpredictability of the human before her.
"YOU ARE A VERY BRAVE LITTLE MORTAL, AREN'T YOU?"
"Thanks, I try."
Arthur wasn't sure he made the right choice when making the joke, but dealing with a laughing kitty goddess was largely better than dealing with an angry panther goddess.
"BUT DON'T THINK THAT YOUR LITTLE JOKE MAKES ME FORGET HOW SPECIAL YOU SEEM TO BE."
"I wouldn't dare to."
"GOOD, STILL YOU ARE PROBABLY THE MOST INTERESTING HUMAN THAT I HAVE SEEN SINCE I ASCENDED TO DIVINITY. BE PROUD."
Bast was still slowly circling him, still trying to see what made him special. Arthur was becoming more attuned to the rhythm of the chat with the goddess.
"NOW, TELL ME, WHY SHOULD I GRANT MY BLESSING TO YOU THROUGH THE HEART SHAPED HERB?"
And it was at this moment that Arthur realised he fucked up. He had prepared a plan based on some research, a lot of half guesses and old memories of a film that only showed a minuscule portion of Wakanda and its customs.
Of course he couldn't know, but he should have known that he didn't know everything there was to know.
His arrogance came from thinking that because he saw some movies pertaining to the life of an entire universe, he knew everything.
He didn't know everything. He had done some light research on the internet and based his assumption on these results, ignoring the fact that the very existence of Spider Man in 2011 already deviated from the MCU. Who knew what else could be different?
Is Captain America good? Is Tony Stark still willing to make the sacrifices when needed? Is it the universe where Gwen goes on to have Norman Osborn's children? He didn't know, and in that moment, in front of a literal Goddess, he made the decision to research a lot more about this world if he came back home alive.
Taking a deep breath, he stammered an answer to the panther goddess, the only answer he thought could get him out of here alive.
"I know things, things that I am not supposed to know, and I have a power that allowed me to infiltrate Wakanda and come here."
_____