Chapter 633: Cruel Reality
"Why are you here, Sorcerer?" asked the Eternal Consciousness.
"I'm here for a few reasons," Edward explained. "Do you know about the Convergence? Can you tell me any information?"
"The higher truths of the universe cannot be revealed."
"Even to someone trying to protect you and your existence?"
"Yes," nodded the Eternal Consciousness.
"Can't you be a little more flexible?" Edward suddenly missed Cronai. Although she was also rigid, she was definitely more flexible than this one.
"Rules and regulations bind me, so I cannot, no, I must not, utter certain truths."
"Fine," Edward said, slightly exasperated. "Can you at least help me in protecting this timeline?" He explained the [Dimension Stabilizer Enchantments] and how he wished for the latter to help him set them up.
The Eternal Consciousness did not immediately reply and seemed to be pondering. Then, in its usual cold and mechanical demeanor, it stated, "Your actions are within the authorized rules. Show me the enchantment."
Edward displayed a complicated rune, and immediately afterward, he activated his Cosmic Awareness. He sensed a slight tremor throughout the universe, followed by an invisible magic circle surrounding it. As he designed it, the enchantment drew a tremendous amount of energy from all dimensions.
"Do you have any other business with me?"
"No," Edward replied. He had already deduced that this Universe Will would not be as cooperative as Cronai, so there was nothing more to discuss.
"Farewell, then."
Edward opened his eyes and sighed. "Did you get any data?"
"Yes, but nothing too extraordinary," Morgana responded. "But it's better than nothing."
"The world fusion is the best opportunity to observe and gather data on Universe Will, so it's fine if we don't get anything now. So, let's prepare."
Edward sent the good news to everyone involved before quickly building a special device to better observe the fusion process on both a micro and macro level. A few days later, he received news from Loki that Thanos was eliminated, and the Mind Stone came into his possession.
Edward did not care for Thanos' disappearance. If Loki had not dealt with him, he would have done it himself. Additionally, he knew this would not be the last time he dealt with Thanos. When it came to the multiverse, no one knew what kind of Thanos variant he'd have to deal with one day.
Once everything was prepared, Edward decided to accelerate the process. So, he contacted the Ancient One, Odin, and Ra to descend on the new timeline and eliminate all the powerhouses from Tier 7 to Tier 10. Then, the group dragged that universe closer to theirs and waited for the result.
Stark Tower:
Edward, the Avengers, and SHIELD sat in a room with multiple screens showing places all over the universe. Everyone watched intensely for the result as this event could determine how they operate from now on once the Convergence truly starts.
"It's starting," Edward said with his eyes closed, and everyone became even more focused. However, nothing was happening on the screen. Of course, only someone with Cosmic Awareness like Edward could sense and observe such a change on a cosmic scale.
He saw how the two universes attracted each other, like two magnets very close to each other. The process should have released a space-time curvature gravitational wave with disastrous effects, but the stabilizer did its job, preventing any accidents.
"The first step is completed," Edward stated as he opened his eyes. "What's going to happen next?" He did not have to wait long to find out what the next step was. On the screen, everyone saw brilliant lights appearing everywhere in the universe, bringing with them people.
"So, the residents of the universe were teleported to ours?" Edward commented. "Why not the other way around? Is it because we previously weakened them?" He observed every detail while also deducing as much information as possible.
After the teleportation, the Avengers felt some relief, believing that this was the extent of the changes. Although it will be troublesome after the universe's population suddenly doubles, it should be manageable. However, they were quickly proven wrong.
The teleportation of these people was not random but purposely chosen. Every individual with a variant was directly teleported next to their counterparts, no matter where they were in the universe. Then, after these variants gazed upon each other, their eyes turned red, and they immediately started killing each other.
Edward stood up from his chair, observing this universal battle of variants. He saw one human stabbing a variant of herself, and the dead body turned into a golden light that entered her body. The red dissipated from her eyes, and the realization of her actions dawned on her, making her appalled. She staggered backward and held onto her table for support, but she fell on the ground as she accidentally broke the table,
'Her strength suddenly increased, and she cannot properly control it,' Edward analyzed before looking at all the screens. The same thing was happening everywhere in the universe, including Asgard. However, the All-Father quickly acted by using his powers to bind all the variants from the other universes and allowing his people to kill them.
Edward immediately followed him by casting a universal spell to help the people of his universe. With his action, the mindless slaughter and fighting ended.
"This is horrifying," Steve commented.
"Why did they suddenly turn mad?" Tony asked before turning to Edward. "Well?"
Edward hesitated to speak.
"If you know something, this is not the time to hide it," Fury added, making Edward sigh.
"I've suspected that the Convergence was an extreme training method using the entire multiverse."
"Training? For what?" Natasha asked.
"Something terrible."
"More terrible than what you have shown us?" Hawkeye asked.
"What do you think?"
"What could possibly require using the multiverse as a cruel training method?" Tony asked, his face slightly pale.
"I don't know exactly, but we're dealing with things on an incomprehensible scale," Edward replied. The room became dreadfully silent.
"Let's not discuss this. I need to leave."
"Where are you going?" Fury asked.
"I must wipe out most of these people's memories and seal their newfound power. Otherwise, the situation will become even more complicated."
Fury immediately realized his intentions. If so many people on Earth suddenly acquired superhuman strength and had to deal with the psychological repercussions of killing someone, the planet would immediately descend into chaos and anarchy. But this situation was even worse since it was on a universal scale.
Edward quickly left. He could have erased the universe's memories on his own or even sealed these people's strength. However, he had to worry about the reaction of the Hell Lords and Demon Gods. He can't do anything about these people; this event has alerted them. Once they start to mess things up, the situation will become more complicated than he would ever want to.
So, he needed Odin's and the others' help to ensure that the memory wiping and strength sealing was potent enough that these bastards could not break it and cause problems. It would be best if the Eternal Consciousness could help, but he had a feeling that the bastard would not intervene in the "internal affairs" of the universe.
Edward contacted them and told them of his plans. They agreed, and he then tried to convince the Eternal Consciousness with no result. Then, with the help of the others, he cleaned up the mess.