Chapter 239: MD-Chapter 238 Initial Mastery
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"You want me... to consider what?" Bucky opened his eyes, looking at the incessantly talking man.
Arthur smiled. "Consider whether I'm the one deceiving you, or if the group you're loyal to is the one truly lying to you!"
"There's no need to consider that." Bucky shook his head.
"No, there is." Arthur raised a finger. "Before this, you attacked me. You aimed a rocket launcher at me, yet I haven't inflicted any pain on you, have I? So why not think about why I'm doing this?"
"It's a scheme, a trick." Bucky said calmly, "I don't know your intentions, but you must have an agenda."
Arthur thought for a moment. That reasoning did make sense.
"What a headache."
Scratching his head, Arthur suddenly summoned the 'Eye of Horus'. Golden light enveloped Bucky, and his injuries visibly healed.
Arthur focused intently on Bucky's expression.
At first, there was anger, but as his body healed, confusion and uncertainty replaced it. However, nothing beyond that emerged.
Arthur let out a deep sigh. "You still don't recognize me?"
"No... even if you healed my injuries, I won't betray..."
Before Bucky could finish, Arthur punched him.
Bucky tried to dodge, but his hands were bound, and Arthur moved too fast, leaving no time to react. He passed out instantly.
"This is going to be difficult," Arthur muttered.
Bucky's situation was an issue that needed resolving. It was the thorn between Tony and Steve.
Finding a perfect solution? It was easier said than done.
Arthur scratched his head, deciding that starting with Bucky was key. He needed to help him remember more of his past and see what choices he would make from there.
Only then would Arthur consider the next steps.
Running several plans through his mind, none seemed reliable.
He had only seen a few movies; he wasn't some all-knowing prophet. Predicting human emotions was anyone's guess.
Arthur pondered whether he should grab some psychology books and give them a read. Maybe it would help...
---
For now, Bucky's situation was unresolved, and Arthur remained in Asgard. Any plans would have to wait until he returned to Earth.
In the meantime, Arthur continued his training with Frigga, learning how to master the Tesseract's powers. In truth, Frigga could only guide him to a limited extent at her level; most of it was up to Arthur himself.
Mastering control over his internal power, learning how to use and channel the energy of the 'Magic Cube'— Frigga had no experience with this and could only ensure Arthur's safety while encouraging him to experiment as much as possible.
"Mental energy is intertwined with internal energy. Understanding, mastering, and using them all require intense focus. To achieve complete control, stronger concentration and powerful mental energy are necessary."
Frigga stood before Arthur, holding out the Tesseract. "Try it."
Arthur understood her intent. In fact, he had already undergone many such tests over this period.
He reached out, touching the Tesseract, and absorbed it.
The next moment, the Tesseract vanished.
Frigga remained silent for a moment before breaking into a smile. "You can go back to Earth now."
Arthur glanced at the Tesseract inside his Disassemble space and exhaled gently.
It looked simple, but it had taken countless trials to reach this point.
To absorb the Tesseract, Arthur first needed to achieve a high degree of control over it, which was no easy task.
Currently, the space energy within him was no longer a vague mist; it had become tangible, like countless drops of water merging into a beautiful, unified mass.
Within it, a bright light shone, illuminating a corner of Arthur's body. The link between it and the colorless energy had also strengthened significantly. Progress was visible, and the results were substantial.
To store the Tesseract in the Disassemble space, Arthur's command over space energy had to reach a very high standard. He needed to channel his internal space energy to form a space barrier around the Tesseract without triggering its properties due to energy fluctuations.
Only when a stable space barrier and a stabilized Tesseract reached a subtle balance could Arthur imprint it with his mark and store it in the Disassemble space.
It sounded simple, but the process consumed countless hours of brainstorming and effort from both Arthur and Frigga before putting it into practice.
"You are the smartest person I have ever met," Frigga said, standing at a distance with a gentle smile as she watched the complex expression on Arthur's face. "Odin always said you were special, and that fate would favor you uniquely. I now agree. Hold fast to the principles in your heart and move forward boldly; don't fear taking a wrong step and falling into the abyss."
Arthur bowed slightly to Frigga and grinned. "Then I'll be off?"
"Go ahead. But if you wish to use the Tesseract to boost your internal space energy, I suggest doing so at Kamar-Taj," Frigga advised. "Without supervision, I'm afraid you might lose control."
Arthur nodded, agreeing with her. Extracting energy from the Tesseract was an immense task. Until the Disassembler could break it down, caution was paramount.
At the same time, Arthur considered something else. Odin had once forcibly helped him enhance his colorless energy level and 'swallow' the Power Stone's energy. When his colorless energy reached a certain peak, would he be able to control and absorb space energy on his own?
"This could be seen as borrowing before being able to Disassemble," Arthur reassured himself. He turned to leave but was suddenly stopped by Frigga.
Before he realized it, he was already in the Golden Palace's grand hall. Odin, holding Gungnir, sat on his throne.
Arthur looked at Frigga with a deadpan expression, while Frigga smiled slightly. "You should at least say goodbye to him, or Heimdall won't activate the Bifrost so easily."
With that, Frigga disappeared.
Arthur sighed helplessly and raised his head to look at Odin, feeling a sense of resignation, as if ready to face whatever might come.
(End of Chapter)