"Not bad. I just posted a message on the Internet, and actually found the Darkhold Book."
After Kain obtained the Darkhold Book, he immediately felt a strange pull from it.
He had felt something similar many times before—especially while practicing black magic, corrupting a wizard's soul using raw emotion.
But this book was different. It was far more sinister. Just practicing black magic in its presence seemed to form a direct connection with Sithorn.
"It's like a disguise," he muttered.
As he probed the book with his magical senses, Kain discovered a layer of camouflage surrounding it. He used his power to shatter the illusion, slowly revealing the true form of the dark divine book.
"It looks just like I imagined. But which dark book did Agatha take? Are there two different ones—or are they copies?"
Kain thought for a moment, but gave up once he realized he couldn't figure it out. For now, he decided to try the spells recorded in the book. But before that, he needed to protect his soul.
In addition to mental shielding, he prepared soul-defense measures using magic runes and alchemical items.
"If you gain power, you will be corrupted—but I'm only studying the spells and using my own magic to cast them. As long as I don't draw directly from Sithorn's power, I shouldn't be corrupted."
Curses. Corruption. Mind control. Summoning dimensional demon gods. Projecting dreams across the multiverse.
The spells within the Darkhold Book were extremely evil—completely opposite to the teachings of Kamar-Taj.
Magic is a program that alters reality. The Darkhold Book's magic distorts reality far too aggressively. To perform these spells, one must use large amounts of Sithorn's power, thereby becoming his puppet without even realizing it.
But Kain had never drawn power from external dimensions. He always relied on his own magic to shape reality—his magic was self-contained.
Spells like curses and mind control? Kain skimmed past them. He already knew those. However, the curse magic in this book seemed more potent—worth using as a reference at least.
What truly intrigued him was the magic of Dreamwalking.
There must be many versions of "Kain Pent" across the multiverse, but only one was truly him.
"Soul tendrils... sensing dimensional echoes... using your soul to detect another version of yourself. Then you sneak in, putting that version to sleep—and walk in its place. That's why it's called dreamwalking.
How was this spell even created? Were all ancient mages this much of a genius?"
Once Kain grasped the underlying principle of dreamwalking, he immediately felt the power behind it. By entering the body of another version of himself in a different universe, he could control it like a sleepwalker—while the other version remained fully aware of what was happening.
If Kain used another version of himself to cast spells from the Darkhold Book, the consequences—such as corruption—would fall on that version instead.
Still, he didn't plan to use this method unless absolutely necessary. It was a last resort.
"Deputy Director Carter, welcome. The President has already informed me that you'll be overseeing field agents moving forward. Your credentials and authority have been processed. You may review them at your convenience."
Director Sim smiled as he greeted Sharon Carter. Formerly the head of the FBI's General Intelligence Bureau, Sim had since joined the Super Personnel Bureau, overseeing intelligence operations.
However, he had long known that managing field agents was out of his league—and he was happy to leave it to someone more capable.
"I understand, Director Sim. We'll still need your support in future operations."
After leaving Kain Manor, Sharon Carter and Simmons had changed identities—Carter becoming the Deputy Director of the Super Personnel Bureau, and Simmons a Level-7 clerk in the Logistics Department.
"I won't disappoint the President," she said firmly.
Director Sim smiled and said, "That's good. Then the next task will be handed over to you, Deputy Director Carter."
Sharon Carter nodded and left Sim's office. Perhaps because of her background in the FBI, she found that many departments and structures within the Super Personnel Bureau resembled the FBI—but with one key difference: the Bureau had a large number of superhuman field agents.
Her first assignment was to clean up the remnants of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra still operating within the United States.
After General Ross refused to let the new government go soft on them, true peace in the U.S. had yet to be achieved. Sharon also hoped to persuade former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to return to duty under her command, which would significantly increase her influence within the Super Personnel Bureau.
The fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. was already a settled matter. Sharon understood that clearly. She wasn't doing this to rebuild the organization, but to find a secure place for her former colleagues—and perhaps, like her Aunt Peggy, she saw this Bureau as her one big opportunity.
If she didn't seize this chance, then all her sacrifices would have been for nothing.
Now, watching the Ross administration's stance on S.H.I.E.L.D.—shifting the battleground to foreign countries—she knew this was her moment.
Meanwhile, Kain paid no attention to political developments. Ever since acquiring the Darkhold Book, he had been completely focused on studying the spells within.
He merely glanced at the last few pages that contained the most dangerous dark magic, but refrained from using them. What fascinated him most was the dreamwalking black magic—and Kain had always been deeply intrigued by the multiverse.
Aside from eating and chatting with Betty, he declined nearly all other activities.
Even the Space Stone had been placed inside Kamui space, gradually releasing energy to power his upgrades.
Once the enhancement of Kamui space was complete, Kain relocated the Space Stone underground, into the Hive. There, it continuously released energy to update mechanical sentries and battle suits with new tech.
The Space Stone's energy output was vastly superior to that of the Arc Reactor. When the same weapon was powered by the Stone, its destructive power increased four or five times.
In addition to researching the Space Stone's energy for the Hive, Kain also worked on transforming various superhuman warriors for Umbrella, and occasionally recruited new magic-sensitive students for his Magic Academy.
Speaking of the Academy, Kain found a particularly useful spell in the Darkhold Book: Soul Tentacles—a spell that allows the caster to divide their soul into multiple parts, enabling them to control multiple bodies at once.
When used with Wood Clones, the result could last for several months, even longer.
After mastering this technique, Kain created six Wood Style clones, each infused with part of his soul via the Soul Tentacles. Estimating the duration, he calculated that—using Transformation Magic and soul-restraint energy—each clone could last for nearly a year.
"Setting aside summoning dimensional creatures, which is just absurd and unnecessary... let's try dreamwalking black magic."
Once he made the decision, a surge of powerful magic erupted from his body. He sat cross-legged in the void, as a dark red magic circle formed beneath him, pulsing with sinister light.
As the spell activated, a cacophony of voices filled the space. No one was around him—Isaac would never dare to disturb him during such a moment.
'Pent!'
'Kain pent, open your eyes!'
'Kain, turn to page 36—the teacher is asking you a question!'
The voices became louder and clearer, echoing directly in his ears.
Then, suddenly—Kain opened his eyes.
He found himself in a strange classroom, surrounded by unfamiliar classmates and a completely foreign environment. A stern-looking Black female teacher stood at the podium, tapping a question on the blackboard with visible irritation.
She stared at him and said, "Student Pent, are you even listening to my lecture?"
Kain blinked, then looked down at his smaller hands, realizing he was in a younger body. Regaining his composure, he quickly replied,
"Yes, teacher. I'm listening."
…
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