"I think we have to think long and hard about this," Connors suddenly said. "What exactly is the so-called principle of ascension? What is its safety level? Is there a possibility of unforeseen situations? These are all questions to ponder. I do not support any attempts without any safety guarantees..."
"Although I always disagree with your overly conservative approach to experiments, this indeed is a problem." Stark thought aloud, "The last ascension was more of a coincidence than a precise experiment. Whether this coincidence can be replicated, and what kind of anomalies might occur after replication, and whether these anomalies pose a risk, are all things we can't determine right now."
Just as Shiller was about to speak, Strange said, "Indeed, even though you often say that the study of the occult is like solving a riddle, I must tell you, we also have related safety regulations. Everything related to Demon Gods and magic must be approached with utmost caution. The human soul is fragile and the consequences are unimaginable if it is corroded by power."
"From S.H.I.E.L.D.'s perspective, we also need to ensure Stark's safety," Natasha said. "His wisdom is irreplaceable and has strategic significance for human civilization. If we can't ensure his safety 100%, it's better not to attempt it."
"Well, then, let's study how to handle this ascension attempt in a way that ensures maximum safety while still achieving our goal?" Shiller added.
At that moment, Peter abruptly asked, "Can I leave now? I have class this afternoon."
"Go on, go on." Everyone waved their hands, Stark told him, "The car is parked downstairs, be careful on the road."
Although he said this, after Peter left, he reminded Jarvis to constantly observe Peter's situation. If anything abnormal happened, the others would be able to arrive at the scene in time.
After leaving, Peter went to class at New York University. Although Stark's intention to turn into a Demon God was very important, he couldn't skip class just after the start of the semester.
After finishing his afternoon class, Peter found himself with nowhere to go. Gwen was busy with her internship, Pikachu wasn't at the clinic, and Stark and Connors were busy with the ascension experiment. After some thought, Peter decided to go to the lab in Stark's Building and complete the experiment from the previous stage.
Just as Peter entered Stark's Building, he saw a small figure running towards him.
"Helen? Didn't Miss Pepper say you went to dance class? Have you already finished?" Peter asked.
Before Helen could answer, Pepper came in. She held her forehead and said helplessly, "This little one learned an entire Swan Lake routine in just one class session. The dance teacher said I should send her to a ballet company in Russia for more professional education. She simply doesn't have the ability to teach such a gifted dancer."
Peter's eyes widened, and Helen gave him a smile. Surprised, he asked, "Oh, your teeth?"
Helen's teeth had changed to look like a normal human's. Apart from her two fangs being slightly sharper than those of a normal person's, she looked no different from an ordinary human child.
Furthermore, her somewhat frightening vertical pupils had disappeared, replaced by brown eyes identical to Stark's.
"Because I want to be the same as everyone else," Helen said. "Otherwise, people would look at me with strange eyes."
"You're speaking fluently now?" Peter was somewhat surprised as he held Helen, looking at her and asking.
Then, he gently weighed the little girl, saying, "Is it my illusion? She seems to have gotten much heavier."
"It's not an illusion," Pepper answered. "Stark told me that according to his research results, Helen's growth rate is about six times that of a normal human."
"My God, so she can grow up quickly?" Peter said with his mouth wide open.
"I can control my growth rate. If I don't want to grow up, I will always maintain this appearance." Helen grinned proudly.
"That's really amazing. There are so many things in this world that exceed my understanding," Peter exclaimed.
Then, he put Helen down. Helen blinked and asked in confusion, "Peter, why are you glowing?"
"Glowing? I'm not...oh, are you referring to the so-called Power of Faith that they mentioned? I don't know what's going on either, but Mr. Stark and the others said..." Peter explained.
Helen nodded as if she understood, then walked away with Pepper.
By the time Peter arrived in the lab and began preparing for the experiment, Helen came running in.
"Didn't lock the lab door properly? A leak could cause trouble!" Peter immediately went to the door to check if he had forgotten to lock it.
Helen hopped onto a table and said, "Your door is closed properly, I teleported in."
"Oh, I forgot. You know magic, but who taught you how to teleport?"
"My mom…or maybe my dad…now it's dad." Helen explained.
Peter was a bit confused, but he suddenly realized, "You're not talking about Loki, are you??"
"Exactly, Loki Odinson."
"But…" Peter wore a very complicated expression and said, "Isn't Mr. Stark your father?"
"Oh, yes, he is my father, what's wrong?" Helen confirmed proudly.
Peter opened his mouth, unsure what to say, just as Helen continued, "Actually, Thor Odinson is my dad too."
"So…" Helen, with her still somewhat chubby fingers, snapped her fingers effortlessly. With a "ding-ding-ding", three halos appeared behind her.
Peter was left dumbfounded, at this moment, Helen asked, "What's with the strange golden light on you?"
"Uh, I'm not quite sure, but Mr. Strange said…"
Peter briefly explained to Helen what the power of faith was and what happened during the bat incident. Helen pondered for a moment and said, "This definitely has something to do with the Morlun family they mentioned... By the way, have you ever tried to use this power intentionally?"
Seeing the little Helen act all grown-up in front of him, Peter found it very amusing. He picked up Helen and said, "The last time I saw you, you couldn't even talk."
Helen shook her head and said, "Learning language is not hard, magic is a bit more difficult but still manageable, the hardest to me… is emotion."
"Emotion? Do you have to learn emotion?" Peter was puzzled.
Helen said nothing more, the expression on her face held an complexity that did not match her age, it was filled with perplexity, confusion, and longing.
Soon, the two started to study the energy within Peter. Standing in front of the lab bench, Peter said, "Dr. Strange mentioned that this could be the cause of my recent hyperactivity, but so far, I haven't noticed it having any other effects than making me more excited."
"It must have some purpose, otherwise it wouldn't have caused changes in your body... I think you can try to use this power," Helen suggested.
"I don't quite trust this unknown power," Peter frowned, appearing hesitant.
Helen stood on the lab table in front of Peter, thought for a moment, then extended a hand and placed it on Peter's shoulder. Peter paused, not knowing what she was doing.
A faint, visible golden light radiated from Helen's hand, spreading all over her body. It seemed Peter had realized what she was doing; he said, "Helen, stop! This power might be dangerous, and you're too young…"
Before Peter could finish, the golden light on Helen vanished. The halo behind her shone brighter than before.
Peter looked at Helen in awe, asking, "Can you extract this power?"
"Yes, and I can convert them into magical energy that I can use…" As Helen rolled her eyes, Peter found her expression in that moment very similar to Loki's, as if they had been carved from the same mold.
Taking into account Helen's complex background, Peter decided not to get too hung up on the reasons for Helen's existence. If he were to think about it in detail, his worldview might shatter.
After a moment, Helen said, "If I can harness this energy, it means you certainly can too, but maybe because you've never learned magic, you don't know how to use it.... How about I teach you magic, is that okay?" Helen looked at Peter. Peter, dumbstruck, watched her say, "I can try to learn, but I'm not sure I'll be able to."
"We can try." Helen said, "Close your eyes, start to meditate, focus your mind, create a pattern in your mind, its outer part should be circular..."
Peter did as she instructed. After a while, he noticed a human figure appearing in his field of view — it seemed to be his shadow.
"That's your soul, you see? If you maintain this state and guide the shadow you see to leave the body, you can achieve soul roaming... but it's better you don't do this. It consumes a lot of soul strength and makes you feel extremely weary."
"Mr… Ms… or Mr Loki told you all this?" Peter asked.
"Yes," Helen replied, then continued, "Alright, now focus on your soul and observe if there are any abnormalities..."
"Abnormalities?" Peter concentrated hard to observe and then he noticed, a faint golden thread surrounding his soul. Without Helen's reminder, Peter's consciousness began to follow this golden thread.
He felt as if he had passed through a barrier. Vaguely, he saw a group of shadows streaking across the sky.
Just as he was about to take a closer look, a terrifying tide of darkness engulfed him. Resulting, Peter woke up with a fright, drenched in cold sweat. Helen ran up to the water dispenser, filled a cup for Peter. After handing it to him, she asked, "Did you see something terrifying?"
Peter nodded with lingering fear. Helen, however, said, "It's okay, it's normal. When you connect with a certain mysterious power, the images you see aren't necessarily positive. Can you recall what you saw?"
Though Peter didn't want to recall the scene, he tried his best to think about it, then said, "I saw a group of shadows... not human, more like some sort of animals..."
"Animals?" Helen asked, "I don't know much about animals. What do you think it looked like from the animals on Earth?"
Peter thought hard and said solemnly, "Bats... they were bats."