"Niagara Falls is shaped like a 'C'." A pale finger sketched an arc in the air as the speaker continued, "According to ancient Native American lore, they believed this was the mark left by a giant's heel."
"Their murals and sheepskin scrolls have depicted a story—a giant grasping thunder battled with the dwarfs beneath his feet. The giant struck down repeatedly with thunder, scattering the dwarfs in panic."
"The giant believed he had won the war, so he jubilantly started stamping, leaving a huge footprint on the earth. But the giant hadn't anticipated the downstream dwarf warriors would shoot a poison arrow into his heel, defeating him."
"The dwarf warriors who realized they had won didn't see the large pit created by the giant's heel. Their rafts were carried downstream, plunging over the falls."
"A fascinating story, isn't it?"
Coulson caught a hint of amusement in Doctor Sophocles's tone.
This isn't a story that projects its people onto the victor—a more typical approach where they'd say they cleverly defeated the giant and then celebrated their victory.
But in this tale, a complacent and negligent dwarf warrior was utterly destroyed due to a simple pit left by the giant's foot.
Coulson indeed felt a hint of strangeness, a hint of eerie indifference and objectivity in the story.
Though not a scholar, Coulson vaguely sensed that the giant in this story represented the great power of nature and the dwarfs represented the life within it.
Typically, this type of story would either entirely extoll the power of nature—strong and indifferent—constantly punishing and whipping the weak life and giving no room to argue.
Or it would celebrate the resilience and wisdom of human communities, explaining how they used their calm minds and extraordinary wisdom to conquer nature.
But this story is somewhat complex; the giant representing nature is powerful but is ambushed due to negligence. The dwarfs are smart, but were completely defeated because of a moment of complacency.
Yet somehow, Coulson felt this tale of nature's grand yet ruthless power and the human race's wisdom and courage was very realistic, and how even small mistakes could lead to total loss.
"Do you also think this paranormal phenomenon is due to a Native American curse, Doctor?" Coulson asked.
He was standing next to Doctor Sophocles, strolling along a path in front of Niagara Falls.
Many paranormal enthusiasts rushed past them with their equipment, facing the thickening fog; they all looked excited.
Coulson watched this man's expression carefully, but found no signs of strangeness. Or rather, the biggest oddity was how calm he seemed.
"Mister Coulson, did you sleep well?"
Here it was again, the strange topic change, the mystical metaphors, and the thick British accent that gave Coulson a headache.
"I didn't have time to sleep. We packed our bags after we got back and then saw the fog outside. I thought of driving to Maple Avenue."
"Going to see maple leaves? ...How interesting."
The deep voice combined with the heavy British accent was still clear amidst the noise of the waterfall. For some reason, Coulson felt that the Doctor knew what they had encountered.
"Alright, we did run into something," Coulson decided to be honest since he hoped to secure the only seemingly professional ally they had. What other choice did he have? To team up with those paranormal hobbyists?
With extensive agent experience, Coulson felt that the Native American explanation wasn't the right answer, but perhaps Doctor Sophocles could provide what they were looking for.
"We initially planned to drive to Niagara Falls to view the night scene, but our car entered a thick fog... "
Coulson began recounting his experience, but he combined the two instances of accidentally entering the fog, maximizing the description of the Fog Realm's features.
Then he saw Doctor Sophocles raise an eyebrow and nod, saying, "Just as I suspected."
Coulson leaned forward, his face showing interest. He then assumed the posture of a journalist who's just heard major news, "Seriously, Doctor, all those theories about Native American curses are too cliché. If you can give a more reliable theory, gratuity won't be a problem."
But Coulson merely saw those light brown eyes stare at him. They seemed to be looking at him and something beneath his skin.
A shiver ran down Coulson's spine. Just as he was about to say something, the Doctor withdrew his gaze and spoke.
"I hope you can first answer a question for me."
"What is that?"
"What is in New Mexico?"
Coulson broke into a cold sweat.
What could be in New Mexico? Of course, it was the last supernatural case Coulson had perfectly handled: Thor's hammer and Thor himself.
But this was a top-secret case, disclosed neither to the public nor added to any professional database. All eyewitnesses had been silenced.
In reality, there were few eyewitnesses to the incident, as New Mexico was virtually unpopulated. Besides the relevant agents, no one knew the details.
Could it be that these so-called folklore scholars just enjoy running to uninhabited places and squatting for ten years on a foreign object from space? Obviously not.
Since it wasn't a leak of information, nor a first-hand observation, how exactly did the doctor become aware of Thor's hammer?
Suddenly, Coulson remembered something. The name of Niagara Falls in Indian language implies the roaring of thunder or the roaring of the Thunder God.
Does this matter have something to do with the Thunder God?
Wait, which Thunder God?
Although the current Thor is the Thunder God, Odin, the Father of All Gods, also claims to be the master of Thunder. This, combined with Shiller's story of the giants and the dwarf clan.
So the giants are Odin and the dwarf clan, the Indians?
But how could the Indians possibly defeat Odin? This is not just an ant fighting an elephant, it is a nematode fighting a Homo sapiens. Their evolutionary levels are not comparable, and high intelligence is useless in such a context.
But the description of the giant holding thunder does sound like Odin, but I've never heard of Odin having the ability to cause dense fog.
No, my thinking might be a bit limited. Thinking back on the instance of Thor's hammer falling from the sky and being immovable once it hit the ground, causing numerous phenomenon. Could this be the same case?
Something didn't happen in Asgard again, causing something to fall down, did it?
The more Coulson thought about it, the more likely it seemed because he didn't think there was anything on Earth that could produce the effect of time-space travel like the Fog Realm.
Special agents at Coulson's level all know about the Supreme Magician and Kamar-Taj's existence, as well as the operation of Earth's Defense Network and if Kamar-Taj didn't respond, it means it is not intentional invasion.
If it isn't an intentional invasion and can both cause powerful widespread anomalies, it can only be a divine artifact that accidentally fell onto Earth.
Coulson's heart pounded at the thought of this. During the fall of Thor's hammer, they were indeed powerless because Odin had cursed the hammer. Other than those approved by the hammer, no one else could lift it.
But if this is another artifact left over by Asgard or some other powerful alien civilization, S.H.I.E.L.D. might have a chance to contain it.
S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't a charity organization. They collect powerful and dangerous supernatural items not just to store them, but also to utilize their immense abilities.
The Director would be very happy, Coulson thought, but he must get more intelligence from the doctor. The usual indirect questioning had become ineffective.
Coulson stopped, turned around, and sighed. He pulled out his badge from the pocket and flashed it to the people opposite, saying, "Special Agent of the Homeland Strategic Defense Attack and Logistic Support Bureau, Phil Coulson."
"Doctor, since you've learned about some events that happened in New Mexico, let's cut to the chase. This event may be similar to what happened in New Mexico, but it's far more significant. Can you explain the story you just told?"
The man opposite him showed no surprise and calmly responded while looking at Niagara Falls.
"In a catastrophe, a God fell, leaving his mark on this land. Perhaps that's what you're looking for."
"Where can it be found?" Coulson asked immediately.
The man walked to the railing of the path and stood there silently. Coulson walked beside him, his field of view filled only by Niagara Falls.
A few minutes later, Coulson briskly descended the steps. Some people on the side looked at him, asking "How did it go? Did you receive any useful information?"
"May, grab your gear and follow me. We need to take a closer look at the falls." Coulson motioned to his assistant.
Without a word, May quickly collected her things and prepared to leave. But Simmons blocked them, asking Coulson, "What's the matter? Where are you going?"
Coulson said nothing, just touched his gun at his waist and proceeded forward, gesturing, "Don't worry about the equipment, we'll be back soon."
Coulson quickly arrived at the path closest to the waterfall, pulling May along, and they headed toward the bottom of Niagara Falls.
The further in they walked, the thicker the mist became. When they got close to the water of Niagara River, the mist was so thick they could see nothing.
Coulson hesitated, feeling that he should've brought more people along. But considering it's just initial exploration, it shouldn't be dangerous. With that thought, he took a step forward and was suddenly enlightened.
Right below the Niagara Falls, where all phenomenon appeared, was the clearest place. What was even stranger was that the mist outside did not block the moonlight. Instead, it magnified it, making the place exceptionally bright.
Coulson looked up. The waterfall was grand and the noise was so loud it was unbearable. Luckily, they had worn their earplugs in advance and only had to face the impact of the sound waves.
But as he listened, Coulson realized something was wrong. This noise didn't entirely come from the waterfall. It seems like there was a rhythmic sound wave in the noise, unlike any sound that nature could make.
Coulson instantly pressed his earphone and heard Fitz's voice. Coulson said, "Now I am going to turn on the recording device. Can you help me analyze whether there are any problems with the sound waves where I am now?"
Once he got the affirmative answer, Coulson pulled out a miniature microphone from his pocket and started recording. Soon Fitz responded.
"Something's wrong, Phil. That's not the noise from the waterfall. You need to get out of there, you need to… Zzz… Zzz… Zzz…"