The team exploring the building was led by Riley, with the Scarlet Witch Wanda at the end. The two most powerful members of the team ensured the safety of the group, one at the front and one at the rear. After circling the building, they finally found a hole leading underground on the side facing the cliff.
"It looks like a hole formed when the spire fell and hit the loose ground. We can't be sure if there's a door inside. I want to throw a light stick in there, but I'm not sure if it'd trigger a chain reaction."
Star-Lord Quill squatted down, peering into the hole which was only pitch black. He sought a way to illuminate it.
Jarvis came forward, touching lightly above his eyebrow. A flash of luminescence raced through his brown-red pupils as a terrain scanning device activated, presenting the terrain as a blue grid in his eyes.
He also approached the hole, saying to Star-Lord, "You are right. There indeed is a hole beneath us, but we can't determine if there's a door inside. It'd be better to illuminate it and then see."
"I'll do it." The Scarlet Witch stepped forward, habitually attempting to light the place using magic. She stretched out her hand, and red energy converged into a luminous spot.
Star-Lord curiously peered over, stood, walked a few steps to Wanda, and asked, "Are you from the God Clan?"
Most of the races he had encountered in the cosmos that could use magic energy were members of the God Clan. Wanda shook her head and replied, "No, I'm a mutant."
As she spoke, the light in her hand grew brighter. Just as she was about to send the magically lit spot into the cave, it suddenly 'popped' and was extinguished.
"What's wrong?" Jarvis, somewhat concerned, asked her.
Wanda frowned but didn't say anything. She tried to gather magic energy again, but this time the light remained absent. Wanda sighed, stating, "I don't know, but I can't seem to concentrate."
"Is there a problem with Xeseon, the source of your Chaos Magic?" Jarvis asked further.
Wanda shook her head, "No, my connection with Xeseon is stable, and even without him, I can summon Chaos Power to cast spells. But I feel my thoughts are somewhat scattered … I should have paid more attention in my meditation classes at Xavier College."
Wanda had a stressed expression: her eyebrows were slightly knitted and the corners of her mouth were downturned. The lapse in her performance at a crucial moment seemingly frustrated the Miss Witch.
Jarvis quickly patted her shoulder, saying, "It's alright. We can use a flare. Mr. Quill, based on the terrain scanning information, there's nothing underground, you can safely throw the lighting device."
Quill nodded without saying anything, pulling out a small square device from his tool bag. Based on the material and craftsmanship, it likely originated from the Kree Empire or one of its subordinate civilizations.
Quill threw the palm-sized square device into the hole. With a neat 'whoosh', the inside of the cave was illuminated by a blue light. It was a large hollow area, and opposite the narrow wall of rocks and soil, a warm-toned light was peeping through.
"That might be a window of this building. Are those shards of glass? It seems the window has been broken, we could perhaps enter from there." Jarvis suggested calmly, offering the group a sense of safety.
No one blamed Wanda for her unusual performance as, apart from Jarvis, everyone else felt a bit unsteady. Riley exhaled, saying, "My spider-sense has been weakly tingling. I've never felt this way before. I clearly haven't received any harm, and there's no danger nearby, but something keeps buzzing at the back of my mind."
"There's a persistent disorder in the flow of Qi inside me." Xu Shang-Chi, flipping his hands, seemingly struggling to describe his feelings in English, touched his eyes and said, "The method I learned from SWORD can't even complete a full cycle, it keeps getting interrupted. But nothing is blocking my power, I just can't concentrate."
He kept glancing left and right, looking rather flustered. Riley rubbed his arms, which were covered with goosebumps.
As for Spider Man, he defeated his fears by staying active. He quickly stood up, jumped in place, then said, "Alright, I'll go down first. I have spider-sense. I can dodge in advance if there's any danger."
"I'll go down with you." Wanda spoke up from behind Riley. "I can use magic to make us land noiselessly, to avoid disturbing anything. I'm sure there's something inside."
Without much ado, Riley nodded and Wanda stretched out her hands. A red light enveloped them both as they flew in through the hole. They never touched the ground, directly heading towards where the warm light was coming from.
"It's freezing down here." The Scarlet Witch shivered. "I feel it's at least 20 degrees below zero. If not for the magical shield, we'd barely be able to move."
Once they landed, Riley was the first to look at the broken glass on the ground. He took a few steps towards where the light was seeping in, and just as Jarvis had predicted, they found a broken window.