Chapter 625: [Scarlet Wizard]
"What do you want to do now?" Morgana asked while showing her a list. Edward's lips twitched, and he sighed. He glanced at it, and something soon caught his eye: "Chaos Magic? That should be interesting." He teleported to Wanda's body from Earth-125.
Her body floated at the center of a room surrounded by countless magic circles. Edward first summoned the data gathered from her body and immediately started testing. A red hue appeared in his hands, and with thought, he created a jet of flame. Edward waved his hand to change the room into a zoo, and with another thought, he changed it into a desert.
"A very potent form of magic," Morgana commented.
"I don't like it."
"Seriously?" Morgana looked at him in shock. "I didn't think I would live until the day there was a magic you didn't like."
"There is divine magic."
"That doesn't count," Morgana rebutted. "So, why don't you like it? Is there something wrong?"
"Just like its name, this magic has no rules and regulations. If you can tap deep enough into the Chaos Dimension and draw enough Chaos Energy, you can mold reality to your will. This is not magic, and more like reality warping masked as magic."
"Your argument is flawed since magic can be described as a form of reality manipulation," Morgana stated.
"That would be stupid," Edward replied. "In fact, I just thought of a plan that will provide us with the greatest data about the capabilities of Tier 11."
"Oh, I'm now intrigued."
"Do you remember in the Multiverse of Madness, Wanda from Earth-616 was way more powerful than her variants?"
"I do."
"Why do you think that is?"
"Many reasons could explain it," Morgana replied. "She had the Darkhold, and combining that with her intense grief, it's normal for her to be way more powerful. Additionally, Earth-616 was once the Sacred Timeline, meaning there is a chance that this brought her some advantage."
"A fair analysis," Edward nodded.
"You think I'm right? So, what's your explanation?"
"My theory is that the title of [Scarlet Witch] can only belong to one variant. Wanda-616 is so powerful because of that title."
Morgana's eyes immediately lit up as she figured out his plan, "You want to take the title from her?"
"Correct."
"Wanda-616 was able to destroy all the Darkhold that exists in the Multiverse, and that's a Tier 11 feat. If you succeed… However, this plan is not as easy to pull off as you say. All signs indicate that only Wanda can be the Scarlet Witch, meaning no outsiders who can use Chaos Magic can take that position.
"We can bypass this restriction by creating a clone based on Wanda's Life Code. However, the most challenging aspects of this plan are how to get the title, how to get the Darkhold, and how to control such a powerful clone."
Edward nodded. "Getting the title is relatively easy. The source of Chaos Magic is the Chaos Dimension, so we only need to elevate our affinity to that dimension to a sufficient level — just like Barry was to the Speed Force."
"This might work, but don't forget that there is a chance that once Wanda-616 is revived in the Sacred Timeline, she might take the position back."
"I don't doubt that for a minute," Edward agreed.
"So, should we try to kill her before she revives?"
"Do you think that's a good idea?"
"Probably not," Morgana replied. "It seems that beings like Chthon, the creator of the Darkhold, lust after her power and maybe even soul. We also have to consider whether the God of Story, Loki, will allow us to intervene in the affairs of Earth-616."
Edward nodded. Chthon was a Tier 11 Demon, and GOS Loki was Tier 12, meaning they were all entities he could not handle currently.
"Alright, so our plan is to use this clone to gather data on Tier 11 strength," Morgana concluded. "Next is how to get the Darkhold. Wanda destroyed all copies, and our previous attempts in the past three years to get a copy failed."
"The answer to both our remaining problems is the same — the Power of Law," Edward responded. "We can give the clone some of my mastery of magic and access to my Time Law. Then, it can summon a copy of the Darkhold from the river of time."
Edward previously tried this method but failed. However, he was now confident in this method since the clone would have the backing of the entire Chaos Dimension.
"As for how we can control the clone? The answer is the same — Soul Law. Wanda could pull off these Tier 11 feats, but all other aspects of her being — soul, body, and mind — could be classified as ordinary. So, what we have to do is ensure the clone does not follow the Arcane Path, follow the same path as Wanda, and put a kill switch on its Divine Flame.
"We will be fine if we don't tell it about it."
"In that case, we cannot give the clone your memory since that would create a suspicious personality. It can have your knowledge but not your personality."
"No need to say it like that," Edward complained.
"You also need to achieve a 10 Willpower and regain control over your Law before this plan starts," Morgana organized.
"Alright. Let's immediately get started. You create the clone, and I'll start increasing my willpower," Edward replied before suddenly thinking of something. "Make the clone a man, give him a similar background of grief as Wanda, and call this project the [Scarlet Wizard]."
"Why?"
"Once he loses the title, eliminating him would be a waste. So, let's send him to Earth-616 and see if he can woo Wanda. Maybe we can secretly manipulate her through him."
"Aren't you worried about playing with fire?"
"I am, but in this current mess, we need to make more bold moves if we want a chance at winning and surviving," Edward replied. This world was a training ground for him for the upcoming war, so he needed to evolve and adapt. Otherwise, once he genuinely gets involved in Merlin's War, he might suffer terribly with his usual conservative and safe approaches.
"Alright." Morgana started her work while Edward walked toward the room with the experimental multiverse to increase his willpower. "Oh, don't forget about Loki."
Edward needed to cast the Shadow Clone Jutsu, leaving it to talk to Loki once he returned. Edward started to experience the lives of trillions of people with different races, ethnicities, and even species. He even lived the life of unicellular organisms and the process of evolving into multicellular organisms and complex organisms.
All these memories should have overwhelmed his mind, but the process of this training method was for him to resist being assimilated or losing his sense of self while experiencing all these lives.
The process started easily since his soul was so powerful. However, it became more challenging after a few trillions or more lives. He was already struggling once he had experienced the life of every single being in 1 universe. But, he continued with other universes in that Small Multiverse.
Luckily, the process worked. Edward could feel his willpower increasing every minute, and he was so close to passing that last threshold.