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Chapter 519: Schiller's Descent into Madness (1)

From Stark's perspective, connecting the clues they had gathered so far, the first thing was that Schiller not being controlled by the Moon God Khonshu wasn't beyond Stark's expectations.

He didn't believe that someone who had built such a towering structure of thoughts in the mental realm would easily be manipulated by a single god. He suspected it was a scheme devised by Schiller. However, upon entering Schiller's world of consciousness, Schiller's past experiences exceeded Stark's expectations.

A child on the verge of overcoming autism, just as he was regaining the ability to speak, witnessed the brutal murder of his parents, causing him to lose his voice once again. This sort of tragedy was heart-wrenching regardless of where it occurred.

Later, on the second floor of the asylum, they witnessed how young Schiller had developed a homicidal alter ego due to childhood trauma.

What troubled Steve and Stark even more was that the Schiller they had known before—Doctor Schiller—appeared entirely normal. His language skills were intact, and he even exceeded average intelligence. Moreover, he had utilized his scholar-type autism to contribute to human civilization significantly, achieving commendable results.

One could say that even if Schiller wasn't their friend, hearing this story would still be inspiring. It was in Humanity's nature to be moved by those who overcame adversity and rose above their circumstances, deriving the motivation to advance from their tales.

However, they later learned from Khonshu that Schiller was delving into the secrets of resurrecting followers of the Egyptian pantheon. This stirred unpleasant associations, especially for Stark, who could empathize with losing parents to accidents.

Just as he had advised Schiller earlier, when he had learned of his parents' deaths, he had spent sleepless nights pondering ways to undo it all. It was safe to say that if he had known back then that the Egyptian gods could resurrect their followers, he would have disregarded everything and paid any price to bring his parents back.

Because Stark had gone through such experiences, he understood the danger in such a mindset. On the journey to resurrect life, one could encounter forbidden knowledge, and the more one delved into it, the more entranced they became. In the end, they might disregard others' lives, paying any price to become a lost soul driven solely by obsession.

Upon learning that Schiller was seeking to uncover the secret of resurrection, Stark felt extreme anxiety. Psychological trauma could be treated, childhood shadows soothed, but if Schiller truly embarked on such an extreme path, even if Stark knew he could ascend to the One-Above-All, he wasn't certain he could stop Schiller's fanaticism.

He understood that he had to pull Schiller back before he descended into that quagmire, preventing things from reaching an irreparable point.

From what he had seen and heard, his speculations were reasonable. In truth, it was difficult for anyone in this world to resist the temptation to resurrect loved ones. No matter how firm or intelligent they appeared, no one could guarantee they wouldn't be swayed by personal desires when faced with such a question...

Humanity lived within the flow of time, everything constantly drifting downstream. Some forms of sadness could never be fully rectified.

However, Humanity also perpetually fantasized about reversing time, returning to the source to amend their past sorrows.

Each person had their own story, their own sadness, and there were always those who put these unrealistic fantasies into action.

Stark wasn't one to openly express his emotions. His character was complex and even eccentric. He tended to evade certain emotions and rarely made emotional promises to others, having lacked this capacity due to disappointments in the past, particularly concerning family and love.

However, this time, he even put aside his awkward emotions and sincerely tried to convince Schiller. He even made an emotional promise, hoping Schiller wouldn't get entangled in that quagmire, not even taking the first step.

But after hearing these words, Schiller felt thoroughly puzzled. He genuinely had no idea what was happening.

The fact that Stark and Steve had entered his Temple of Thought following the Radiance Alliance base markers' path was entirely unexpected.

From his perspective, although Stark and Steve's journey appeared smooth and they easily entered his Temple of Thought, Schiller knew very well that the high tower had sophisticated defense mechanisms, and not just anyone could enter.

Moreover, he hadn't taken all of his personalities with him; many remained inside the tower working. So how did Stark and Steve just walk in? And it seemed they had misunderstood something?

Schiller was puzzled because he hadn't sought out Death to truly resurrect anyone. He actually wanted to strike a deal with Death.

In fact, Schiller had known about Asgard's Hall of Heroes for a long time.

Having read comics, he was aware that everything in the universe ultimately converged at the abstract entity of Death. Asgard had employed special means to retain souls from Death's grasp.

However, back then, Schiller hadn't entertained such thoughts. He knew that during Asgard's prosperous era, and Odin's peak, they were powerful enough to negotiate with Death. Odin having the Hall of Heroes was reasonable, a testament to Asgard's standing in the universe.

As for Schiller, after evaluating the significance of human civilization and looking at his pile of plans and schedules, he felt there was no need to interact with the Five Cosmic Creators so early.

However, his mindset had changed recently, with two main reasons.

First, the funding needed was substantial, the Avengers were overwhelmingly powerful, and Hydra, whether in quantity or quality, fell short, particularly in quantity.

Although the recent Hydra operation was satisfying in that they eliminated threats, Hydra wasn't exactly naive. They didn't regrow rapidly. After sending so many to hell, the number left on Earth was already scarce. Avengers wanted a share, S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted a share; where was Hydra supposed to replace enough members for them all?

Not giving anything to the Avengers wasn't an option. Stark and Captain America clashed daily. Killing Hydra to settle their differences was already a civilized approach. After all, they couldn't really let them engage in a civil war, right?...

However, S.H.I.E.L.D. did need Hydra. With Hydra, S.H.I.E.L.D. held weight and status. Nick and Schiller were planning some tricky maneuvers as well. With that in mind, the budget fell short.

But if there were a Hall of Heroes similar to Asgard's, the situation would change.

Schiller could resurrect the Hydras that the Avengers had taken out, send them to work for S.H.I.E.L.D., then eliminate them to boost performance. After that, he could resurrect them and deliver them to the Avengers.

This would create a perfect closed-loop Hydra industry chain.

Schiller had seriously considered how to sustain the Hydra industry chain. After all, Hydra members were people, not materials. People couldn't be revived after death. To reproduce, he couldn't just go around kidnapping children for brainwashing. Besides the moral issues, the time cost of cultivating a Hydra villain was too high.

But if resurrection were possible, that changed the game. The current batch of Hydras in the world, especially mid- to high-ranking members, could be considered ruthless or deserving of punishment. For these people who had repeatedly been taking advantage, there would be no moral dilemma in having them repeatedly revived. After all, if you've done so much evil, what's a few more deaths? The phrase "a thousand deaths are not enough" suited them well.

If the resurrection's capabilities were even stronger, the previously defeated Nazis could be brought back into play. With organizations like the SS and Wehrmacht joining Hydra, half could work for S.H.I.E.L.D. while the other half served as target practice for the Avengers. It would be an almost perfect ecological cycle, a sustainable fishing scheme!

Another reason Schiller had Death in his sights was the Egyptian pantheon.

Asgard and Odin could deal with Death due to their extraordinary strength. Schiller had no argument against that; they spoke with power. Odin had ruled over the Nine Realms for so long, and in a way, he had been a protector of human civilization. Having a Hall of Heroes was only fitting for Asgard's standing, making human civilization safer.

But what about the Egyptian pantheon? What made them worthy? Did their leader rival Odin's strength? Did their overall power measure up to Asgard's? Did their civilization compare to Asgard's? Had they contributed as much to humanity as Asgard had?

Since the answers were negative, why should they be able to deal with Death? Were they qualified, given that they were constantly engaging in internal strife and warfare?

In short, Schiller was resentful.

You could argue that human civilization couldn't match Asgard's advancement, and Schiller could accept that. After all, they were on a higher level, naturally endowed with more abilities. Add Odin's heavenly meteor to that—having weathered numerous Space disasters—Asgard's privileges were justifiable.

However, when looking at the struggling Egyptian pantheon, so many demon gods crammed into a single dimension, expelling a group due to space constraints, occupying a temple to manipulate human followers on Earth, it was like a cancer to Earth.

If you argued that they weren't civilization and couldn't be compared to Asgard, Schiller could still bring out demon gods for comparison, like Mephisto. Mephisto's hell and Asgard's Hall of Heroes were comparable. Mephisto could intercept souls on their way to Death's realm, showing that Mephisto and Death also had dealings.

However, these demon gods of the Egyptian pantheon, you couldn't even single out one; Schiller wasn't even sure if they could defeat Mephisto.

So why should they have such privileges?

With this mindset, of course, Schiller thought, if they can, why can't I?

To be fair, I've contributed plenty to Death's record, right? How many Space demon gods died during the Knull incident? Space demon gods, just like Death, ultimately end up in Death's realm.

The Radiance event, not to mention continuous member gifts, first exploding stars, then black holes. That month alone, if Schiller hadn't earned a top spot in Death's records, the entire Space would be up in arms on his behalf.

Given this, if the Egyptian pantheon could have it, why couldn't I? With this in mind, Schiller naturally formulated a plan to replace Death and negotiate with her, to potentially acquire a Hall of Heroes. This was, in fact, his ultimate goal.

Of course, in typical Schiller fashion, he wove countless incidental objectives into this ultimate goal.

For instance, explore Marc's psychological state along the way, prepare for his thesis, harvest some wool from the Moon God Khonshu's moonlight abilities, release a personality that had long been confined in the asylum to get some fresh air.

Stage a fake death to make the Avengers and the Sorcerer Supreme realize the true nature of these gods, provoking them to eliminate demon gods on Earth before Humanity formally ventured into Space, dealing with internal threats.

Acquire a means of transportation for Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters in the dream world to solve the school bus problem.

Do a favor for animal gods like the Moon God Khonshu, Panther God Bast, and Hippopotamus Goddess. Help them take revenge against nature gods who once exiled them.

Find a suitable reason to turn nature gods into the next batch of member gifts, and extract from Osiris the method he used to trade with Death.

Finally, use this method to achieve his ultimate goal: to meet Death and negotiate with her.

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