As time flows, Aaron's life gradually returns to normal.
Perhaps Hela realized she wasn't being paid to convince Aaron, so she hadn't approached him for a while. However, as far as Aaron knew, Hela hadn't gone to Asgard either.
Loki was still unwilling to reveal the secret passage to Asgard, keeping his guard up.
She occasionally made appearances in the news, with reports of a mysterious woman in black carrying out assassinations at various locations. In some reports, a new religious organization had emerged—the Church of the Goddess of Death—which worshipped the goddess of death and seemingly granted its followers mysterious powers.
There were numerous eyewitnesses who claimed that members of this church were capable of performing miraculous feats, which led to a growing number of people seeking them out, eager to harness the power of magic.
However, the Avengers and the Bureau of Magic quickly took notice.
Both organizations publicly declared the Church of the Goddess of Death to be a dangerous cult and a terrorist organization, vowing to track them down and eliminate them as soon as possible.
Thor Joins the Avengers
The biggest news in recent times was Thor officially joining the Avengers!
Though long overdue, he had finally chosen to ally with mortals.
His primary goal? Finding Loki and Hela.
Their actions posed a massive threat to Asgard. Odin had once declared that if Thor could bring Loki and Hela to justice, he would be crowned as Asgard's new king.
Yet, in their last battle, Thor had failed to secure victory. This left him deeply frustrated.
Loki alone wouldn't have been a problem—but thanks to the Magic Web, Loki had gained enough magical prowess to rival Thor in battle.
If not for the experienced Heimdall stepping in at a critical moment, Thor might have lost simply due to his unfamiliarity with magic.
Spells such as the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, which bound him completely, and the Mirror Dimension, which left him lost with no escape, made Thor realize the terrifying power of Kamar-Taj's magic.
Even as the God of Thunder, he struggled to handle such sorcery.
In the end, Loki created a diversion and managed to escape.
Thor, unable to give chase, could only return to Aaron, vent his frustrations, down two whole cases of wine, and drink himself into unconsciousness.
Upon waking up, he took Heimdall's advice and joined the Avengers, hoping to leverage Midgard's strongest forces against the growing threats of HYDRA and the Church of the Goddess of Death, led by Loki and Hela.
With Thor's arrival, the Avengers finally gained a high-level magic powerhouse, significantly limiting the influence of Loki and Hela.
Captain Marvel's Challenge
At one point, Captain Marvel challenged Thor to a fight, calling it a "test of strength."
The outcome was unsurprising.
Even without Mjolnir, Thor only struggled at the beginning due to unfamiliarity with her abilities. But once he utilized magic, he successfully subdued her.
What shocked him, however, was that Captain Marvel's cosmic energy form allowed her to withstand his strongest thunder-based attack.
That was unexpected.
Still, it wasn't enough to change the outcome.
This battle solidified Thor's reputation as the strongest Avenger, crushing any thoughts of recruiting him for other missions.
Thor made his stance clear—he would only act against Loki and Hela and would not get involved in Midgard's internal affairs unless there was an external threat.
This was a major blow to Nick Fury, who had hoped to use Thor as a bridge to Aaron and Asgard.
Fury and his team also tried to gather intelligence on Aaron, but the results were disappointing.
Whenever Thor spoke of Aaron, all he mentioned were drunken adventures and battles they fought together—nothing about the Magic Web or Aaron's deeper plans.
It was baffling.
How could someone as close to Aaron as Thor know so little about him?
In the end, they had no choice but to give up on that approach and instead focused on how to harness the Magic Web to enhance their own strength.
The Rise of Magic on Earth
In recent months, the Bureau of Magic had gathered vast resources and, with the help of Stark Industries, built numerous nuclear reactors to generate magical energy.
As a result, the first batch of Magic Bureau recruits gained formidable magical abilities, surpassing even most of the Avengers—excluding Thor and Captain Marvel, of course.
Even with her recent setbacks, Captain Marvel remained the strongest Avenger thanks to her connection to the Space Stone, keeping her ahead of the competition.
However, there was one thing she couldn't accept—
She lost... to Tony Stark!
The once purely technological genius had now become a formidable sorcerer.
His magical prowess grew at an astonishing rate, and through J.A.R.V.I.S., he simulated countless magical duels, honing his combat experience.
Eventually, despite having lower raw energy levels than Carol, Tony used superior magical techniques to defeat her.
This loss deeply unsettled Captain Marvel.
For the first time, she seriously considered connecting to the Magic Web—but her pride held her back.
At the moment, however, only Thor and Tony could pose a challenge to her—not even the Hulk.
Carol could defeat the Hulk with ease.
The Magic Era Unfolds
Meanwhile, thanks to Tony Stark, Charles Xavier was finally able to walk again.
By infusing him with a portion of magical energy and using healing magic, Stark achieved what technology alone could not.
Now, Charles could stand and unleash his telepathic abilities simultaneously.
Among the X-Men, Storm (Ororo Munroe) showed exceptional magical talent—particularly in White Magic—and was quickly rising through the ranks of the Magic Bureau.
At this point, her magical abilities were second only to Tony Stark's, making her his right-hand mage.
To further enhance her magic, she even sought help from Cyclops (Scott Summers), allowing him to blast her with his strongest optic beams, which she absorbed and transformed through the Magic Web.
Her power was now second only to Tony's.
All in all, the world was undergoing a radical transformation due to the emergence of the Magic Web.
Magic was no longer a mystery—it was a reality.
As the Bureau of Magic became more public, the general acceptance of magic grew, sparking a wave of magical learning.
However, the world's governments remained silent.
They weren't foolish—if the Magic Web became widely available, a lucky individual might gain enough power to threaten their rule.
The Next Step: The Power Stone
Aaron had anticipated all of this and chose not to interfere.
Instead, he focused on researching the Time Stone, eventually integrating it into the Magic Web.
As a result, the Magic Web disappeared from the timeline—drifting silently across different time nodes and merging with space itself.
Now, outsiders could no longer perceive it, and even those connected to the Magic Web could no longer detect its presence.
This sent shockwaves through Odin and the Ancient One.
Shortly after, Aaron made another move—this time, one that shook the world far more than before.
Odin was uneasy, and the Ancient One began to wonder if this had something to do with the Time Stone.
After completing this Magic Web upgrade, Aaron set his sights on the Power Stone.
With its vast energy reserves, he could expand the Magic Web to cover the entire universe.
And so, his next target was clear.
According to Heimdall, Star-Lord had recently acquired the Orb containing the Power Stone and was on his way to Knowhere to sell it to the Collector (Taneleer Tivan) for four billion units.
But he wasn't the only one.
Ronan the Accuser was also heading for Knowhere.
Aaron prepared to set off.
But at that moment, a new player entered the game…
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