Elsewhere, Tony awakened in his underground workshop and found himself staring at the familiar surroundings once again.
“JARVIS, report everything that happened to my body after one o’clock.”
JARVIS’s voice immediately filled the laboratory.
“Sir, from 1:00 p.m. until the present, your physical condition was as follows: body temperature, 36.5 degrees Celsius; heart rate, 80 beats per minute. No significant abnormalities were detected. However, the minor symptoms of palladium poisoning remain present.”
Tony hadn’t built his armor yet—not even the original Mark I—and the miniature Arc Reactor in his chest had never been required to operate at full output.
If its only job was powering the electromagnet that kept the shrapnel from reaching his heart, the new reactor could theoretically keep running for the rest of his natural life.
At its current rate, palladium poisoning was hardly an immediate concern.
Satisfied that nothing had happened to his body, Tony walked over to the camera and played back the recording.
On the screen, he simply appeared to have fallen asleep.
His body had never disappeared or left the workshop.
Then what exactly had been sitting in that magnificent palace?
His soul?
Tony couldn’t prove it, but that was the most plausible explanation he had.
“JARVIS, order a few things for me.”
He began listing them.
“One case of new silver-white candles. A bouquet each of Black Baccara roses and yellow peonies. One silver ritual dagger. Grapes. Salmon. A case each of red wine, whiskey, vodka, and baijiu.”
JARVIS asked, “Do you have any preference regarding the brands of the grapes, salmon, or alcoholic beverages, sir?”
Tony thought for a moment.
“Whatever’s most expensive that can still be delivered today.”
“Very well, sir. The order has been placed.”
“And have a hundred thousand dollars’ worth of gold bars prepared and delivered with everything else.”
“Certainly, sir.”
With that taken care of, Tony returned to work on his new armor while waiting for the supplies to arrive.
…
Afghanistan.
Raza, the leader of the Ten Rings cell that had kidnapped Tony Stark, had escaped the massacre simply because he hadn’t been inside the cave when Kez attacked.
When he finally returned, every man he had left behind was dead.
Raza and his remaining fighters began collecting the bodies while searching the cave for anything useful.
Before long, they discovered a stack of blueprints inside the chamber where Tony had been held.
Raza arranged the individual sheets together and finally saw the complete design.
The Mark I.
Tony might have been rescued, but this design could still be valuable.
‘Obadiah should pay quite a bit for something like this.’
One of his men suddenly came running over, visibly shaken.
“Boss! Boss, you need to see the surveillance footage!”
Raza immediately left the cave and followed him to the monitoring room.
“Did the cameras catch whoever rescued Stark?”
The footage began playing.
Raza watched Kez Merlin carve his way through the cave.
His expression changed.
That made things considerably more complicated.
As one of the Ten Rings’ regional leaders responsible for operations in Afghanistan and the surrounding Middle East, Raza knew more about the supernatural than most ordinary men.
The only reason he had escaped Kez’s attack in the first place was that he had been away reporting to Xu Wenwu, the leader of the Ten Rings.
Seeing unmistakable magic on the security footage was therefore enough for him to understand the implications.
“This needs to be reported to the boss.”
Raza stared at the image of Kez on the monitor.
“The man who took Stark might have something he’d be interested in.”
…
Elsewhere, Pepper Potts personally delivered everything Tony had ordered, including the one hundred thousand dollars’ worth of gold bars.
Yinsen, who had recently begun working for Tony, came with her.
“Tony, everything you asked for is here. The gold too.”
Yinsen placed a briefcase on the table and opened it.
Inside was a neat row of small gold bars worth exactly one hundred thousand dollars.
Tony looked over the supplies, nodded, then turned toward Yinsen.
“So, how are you settling in?”
Yinsen smiled.
“I’m still getting used to life here.”
His tone became more professional.
“But part of my job now is making sure you undergo regular medical examinations. We need to monitor your health.”
“That Arc Reactor in your chest still carries some risk.”
“I’m looking into safer long-term alternatives.”
Tony nodded.
“If you find something better, I’ll consider it.”
Then he gestured toward the door.
“I’m not keeping either of you here. I’ve got some experiments to run.”
Pepper showed no offense at being dismissed.
“Fine. I still have work waiting at the company anyway.”
She looked toward Yinsen.
“Come on.”
Yinsen nodded and turned back toward Tony.
“Goodbye, Mr. Stark.”
Once they were gone, Tony carried everything downstairs into the workshop.
He locked the laboratory door and switched the glass walls to privacy mode, turning them opaque so no one outside could see in.
Then he took four silver-white candles from the box and positioned them at the four corners of a table.
“Black Baccara rose, upper left. Yellow peony, upper right. Queen Nina grapes, lower left. Norwegian salmon, lower right…”
Tony followed the Fool’s instructions carefully as he assembled the altar.
Next, he placed the silver ritual dagger in a cup of clean water.
After allowing it to rest there briefly, Tony removed the dagger and walked a complete circle around the altar, using it to establish a sealed Wall of Spirituality.
Once the barrier was complete, he returned the dagger to its place and applied a drop of red wine, whiskey, vodka, and baijiu to the four candles respectively. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Tony took a slow breath.
Then he faced the completed ritual and began reciting the invocation.
“The Fool that doesn’t belong to this era;
“The Prime Merlinean who commands magic;
“The mysterious sovereign of Beyonder Characteristics.
“I pray for your aid.
“I pray for your favor.”
After completing the prayer, Tony placed all of the prepared gold bars in the center of the altar.
Almost immediately, he sensed something change.
A faint current of air seemed to move through the sealed space.
Then crimson light began to gather.
…
At the Arcana Cabana, Kez Merlin was examining the information the system had provided about the Sequence 8 Clown Beyonder Characteristic.
“Let’s see where you are.”
His eyebrows rose.
“The last recorded location was New York?”
“Interesting.”
Kez studied the details more closely.
“Why does this address look familiar…?”
Then recognition hit him.
“The Continental Hotel?”
He stared at the information.
“Did an assassin pick it up?”
Whatever the case, that Characteristic could wait until he finished dealing with his immediate responsibilities.
Just then, faint, illusory voices reached him from somewhere beyond ordinary perception.
Kez immediately understood what was happening.
Without wasting any time, he sent his spirituality above the gray fog.
The crimson star representing Tony Stark was shining brilliantly.
Kez reached out and touched it.
The scene of Tony’s ritual immediately unfolded before him.
Watching a man whose entire life revolved around engineering, armor, and cutting-edge technology solemnly performing a mysticism ritual almost made Kez smile.
He couldn’t help wondering which would ultimately become more absurdly powerful: a Tony Stark who advanced along the Paragon Pathway, or one of those alternate-universe versions of Iron Man who learned actual sorcery.
If Tony ever reached the end of the Paragon Pathway and ascended to godhood, Kez suspected this version would probably win.
“Your prayer is granted.”
Kez’s voice crossed the connection.
Back in Tony’s workshop, the words descended directly into his perception.
“Your prayer is granted…”
“Granted…”
“Granted…”
“…granted.”