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Chapter 184 - The Ancient One’s tip -180

 

The Ancient One stepped through the portal and found herself within the secured confines of SITE-19. This facility was one of the largest and most secure within the SCP Foundation network, making it a logical starting point for her investigation. She cloaked herself in an invisibility spell, her presence undetectable to the security cameras and personnel.

 

Navigating the sterile hallways, she moved silently, eavesdropping on conversations between researchers and staff. Bits and pieces of information floated to her ears—mentions of the recent catastrophe at SITE-160, the chaos that had ensued, and the unknown entity that had been involved.

 

Two researchers passed by her, their voices hushed but urgent. "Did you hear about SITE-160?" one of them whispered. "Total disaster. They say it was because of an anomaly breach."

 

"Yeah, I've heard. They're saying it's related to a keter class SCP," the other replied. "So dangerous even the SITE director knows nothing about it, or so I have heard."

 

She moved further down the corridor, catching another conversation between a security officer and a scientist.

 

"Security's been doubled since the SITE-160 incident," the officer said, adjusting his helmet. "They're not taking any chances."

 

"No kidding," the scientist replied, glancing around nervously. "I've got three different containment anomalies to worry about, and now this. What's worse is they won't tell us the full story. Typical."

 

The Ancient One's concern grew as she continued to listen. The Foundation was on high alert, dealing with multiple crises simultaneously. Though at least if they could handle it with a nuclear bomb, it didn't need her intervention. So, she was free to focus on the bigger threats.

 

The Ancient One needed to gather more specific information about this unknown demon, and she knew the best place to find it would be in the office of the SITE Director.

 

Finding the office was straightforward. She slipped inside, the door closing silently behind her. The room was immaculate, filled with books, artifacts, and a large mahogany desk with a sleek computer terminal. The Ancient One moved quickly, weaving a spell to freeze time within the room. Papers that had been fluttering in the breeze from an open window paused mid-air, and the clock on the wall stopped ticking.

 

She approached the computer, her fingers glowing with a soft, mystical light as she bypassed the security protocols effortlessly. The screen flickered to life, and she quickly navigated the Foundation's database, searching for any information related to this door to another world.

 

The file was extensive and detailed, outlining the entity's origin, its immense power, and the catastrophic consequences of its potential escape. SCP-2317, known as "The Devourer of Worlds," was a demon of unimaginable power, bound by ancient magic and seven pillars in a dimension accessible through a single, mysterious door.

 

The most alarming part was the condition of the seals. They were failing, weakening with each passing day, and the Foundation had been struggling to find a way to reinforce them. The containment procedures were elaborate, involving powerful enchantments and the constant monitoring of the demon's prison.

 

As she read through the details, the Ancient One's concern deepened. She had hoped the Foundation might know more, but they knew nothing she hadn't been able to find out already. She knew her magic could temporarily strengthen the seals, but a permanent solution required a more profound understanding of the ancient magic that bound the demon.

 

With a shake of her head, the Ancient One closed the file and reversed the time-freezing spell. The papers fluttered back down onto the desk, and the clock resumed its ticking. She cast another invisibility spell and slipped out of the office, moving back through the corridors towards the portal she had created.

 

Once outside the facility, she deactivated her invisibility and prepared to contact the Foundation anonymously. Using a spell to disguise her voice and location, she made the call.

 

"This is a tip regarding SCP-2317," she said, her voice altered and unrecognizable. "The seals are failing faster than you realize. The entity within is more dangerous than anticipated. Reinforce your containment procedures immediately and seek assistance from those who understand ancient magic."

 

Before the operator could respond, she ended the call and destroyed any trace of her spell. She knew the Foundation would take the warning seriously and hoped they would act swiftly to prevent a disaster.

 

She didn't know the full extent of the Foundation's abilities, but she figured that with a bit of urgency added on from her, they might unleash their full might in trying to contain this demon, which might help or just point her in the right direction.

 

The Ancient One took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the situation. She had done what she came for. As she prepared to return to Kamar-Taj, she resolved to try and figure out more about the magic holding SCP-2317 and the Foundation's efforts to contain it. The safety of the world depended on whether or not they could find a solution.

 

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Alexander couldn't help but massage his temples as he got the reward for the containment of SCP-2317. Sure, the reward was amazing, giving his physical body a boost and a half, making him strong enough to make Captain America look like a weak ass child.

 

Though it wasn't anything too special, after all, within the Foundation, there were dozens of others who also had this enhancement. Still, it was good that he finally recovered this bit of his power.

 

But as good as the reward was, and as good as the news of the successful containment of a dangerous SCP object was, the bad news surrounding the situation couldn't be downplayed.

 

The fact that someone had reported the location of this SCP to the Foundation wasn't something that could be ignored, much less since they hadn't just done so about a strange door to another world.

 

No, whoever this was didn't just know about the Foundation but also about SCP-2317, even knowing its SCP number, which meant that they had a high level of knowledge about the Foundation.

 

Something that none should currently have. So first, there was the risk of Skrull infiltrators and knowing some unknown person knowing the Foundation's secrets. It really wasn't a great time for kicking back and relaxing.

 

Alexander leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. The anonymity of the tip-off about SCP-2317 gnawed at him. The Foundation's secrecy was paramount, and the idea that someone outside their organization possessed such detailed knowledge was troubling.

 

Worse yet, he had few clues as to who the fuck it could be. Given that talked about ancient magic he was tempted to think about the Ancient One, but given that she was no doubt the greatest expert on that around, why would she ask them to contact her?

 

It made no sense for it to be her, but he also couldn't think of anyone else who could possibly learn about the Foundation without being found out. Unless of course there was someone else out there he wasn't thinking about.

 

The Marvel universe was massive, with far more people within it than what was shown in the latest round of Marvel movies that he knew about. Countless comics had their own characters which might be able to find out about SCP-2317.

 

Then came the question of whether the warning should be trusted, and if they did believe it, what could the Foundation even do about the devourer of worlds. Sure, he still had SCP-99999 as a last resort, but he didn't want to use that, even if possible.

 

However, other than that, the Foundation didn't really have many other options to pick from. There was no secret plan, other than that whole song and dance that was Procedure 220-Calabasas.

 

Alexander grimaced as he considered Procedure 220-Calabasas. It was an elaborate ritual involving specific actions and items to be performed in a precise sequence, and it was supposed to temporarily reinforce the seals of SCP-2317.

 

And it was nothing but a scam, having no effect at all, just something to make it appear that the Foundation had the situation under control.

 

The ugly truth was that even the O5 council didn't have any way to stop the chain and seals from breaking. At most, there were some top-secret plans to use other SCPs of equal danger to try and stop the devourer of worlds once it broke free.

 

Nothing much other than a few desperate final attempts at saving the world once its end was unavoidable. Hoping for a miracle.

 

Alexander couldn't help but look down at his finger. The Ring of Life, one of the ten rings of Solomon. The ten rings could be used together to invoke the Wisdom of Solomon. The ultimate tool for finding the answer to any and all problems.

 

Or at least that was what it was supposed to be. They had never tried it… or at least had no memory of ever doing it. It was just too risky, too many unknowns.

 

It was truly a final desperate gamble—something they had promised they would never use… though clearly, given the existence of his system, they had used it, and it had somehow led to the current situation.

 

Alexander didn't see them being willing to use Solomon's wisdom for something, even as dangerous as SCP-2317, not unless all other options were already tried and proven unable to stop the devourer of worlds.

 

Even he himself didn't want to do it, unwilling to trust in Solomon; after all, he had personally betrayed him and taken control of the Foundation from him. Not something that particularly fostered trust between two people.

 

No, that wasn't a solution; perhaps, however, the Marvel universe had a few. One possibly being the Ancient One. She was someone well used to dealing with demons and powerful threats that couldn't be dealt with by normal means.

 

Another possible solution was the infinity stones. Even just the space stone alone might be able to seal off the door leading from the world in which the entity is sealed to Earth, salving the problem for good.

 

While getting all of them and having them snapped would likely be a fix-all tool, it was also unlikely to happen. Though not totally impossible.

 

"It could work… four appears on earth…" He whispered as he thought about the idea. The space and time stones were already on Earth. And in the future, it was highly likely that the mind stone would be sent down here in an attempt on the space stone.

 

He could also understand why Thanos would do that. After all the space stone was likely the most valuable stone for him.

 

None would allow someone like Thanos to gather them all, the entire universe would team up to stop him. And no matter how might he was, he wouldn't be able to win unless he already had at least three, if not four.

 

But with only the space stone, as long as he knew where the rest was, he would be able to gather them all within hours. Leaving no time for others to figure out his plans, much less stop him.

 

That was why, in the MCU, he didn't do anything for a long while. He needed to know where they were before he could act; only when he was sure he could gather them all and get an infinity glove made did he act.

 

So, he should still send the mind stone to Earth in an effort to trade it with the space stone. Not to mention, it would allow him to judge Odin's current power through his response.

 

The plan was sound, and it could play into Alexander's and the Foundation's hands. Getting the space and mind stone shouldn't prove too difficult, Shield and Hydra had done it, so why not the Foundation?

 

The reality stone should also come, and if they played their cards right, they should be able to prevent Foster from getting it. Instead, someone from the Foundation should allow them to possibly deal with the dark elves since, without it, they wouldn't be too powerful.

 

Though their fleet was a problem for sure. So maybe it would be best to let Asgard suffer their sneak attack rather than Earth.

 

Then there was the time stone, which, after dealing with the dark dimension, didn't really get used much. Making it possible to take it without affecting things too badly.

 

At which point only the power and soul stones were left available for Thanos. Something that wouldn't make him strong enough to deal with the four stones held by the Foundation. Allowing them to defeat him and claim all six plus the glove.

 

Yes, the more Alexander thought about it, the more he liked the potential of that idea.

 

 

A/N

 

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