Abstract and Substance

Magical energy was a wondrous force born from consciousness, transcending the physical realm.

This energy lingered within everything in the world. Even a tiny cell contained incomparably immense power. The primary ability of wizards was to communicate with and wield this energy.

To ordinary people, the world was monotonous and dull. But through a wizard’s eyes, it was a vibrant fantasy realm filled with all manner of bizarre magical beasts and monsters.

Those "demons" from other dimensions wandered through and occupied the gaps within reality from perspectives ordinary people could never perceive, drawing upon the life force of living beings and the magical energy within their souls.

Before the old days, wizards led by Doctor Strange had fought these "nonexistent" monsters in secret, using magical energy from other dimensions to kill or drive away those invaders of reality one by one.

But in the wasteland world of this moment, the magical dimensions had already become disconnected from reality. Even fantastical hidden realms like Asgard and Avalon had completely lost all ties with this world.

In other words, to cast magic here, one had to use magical energy from the wasteland world itself. Energy from other dimensions could no longer be drawn upon.

That was precisely why Shadow King had looked so shocked when it saw Zhang Ye capable of using and converting magical energy.

As an abstract entity that had existed for who knew how many years, Shadow King’s history could be traced back to ancient times. Nothing understood the origins and mutations of magic better than it did.

Yet now, as it looked at the Black Wizard before it, Shadow King suddenly felt the same sense of danger it would have felt facing the Ancient Gods.

Converting magical energy was no easy task. If any Black Wizard could accomplish it, that undoubtedly meant they were at least an existence on the level of a Dimension Lord.

And in the wasteland, if someone claimed that a new "Dimension Lord" had been born in this incomparably barren age where magic had faded, no being on the magical side would believe such nonsense. It was simply impossible.

"Converting energy isn’t easy, but fortunately, I have a little help." Zhang Ye wore a cruel smile as he controlled his magic.

With the Time Twister’s timeline filtering device, Zhang Ye could manifest magical energy across dimensions. After all, it was designed to filter timelines, so compressing magic and altering its voltage was not particularly difficult.

With Miss Minutes operating on two fronts beside him, Zhang Ye could handle magical energy from different dimensions with ease while casting spells.

"Who exactly are you!?" Light burst from Kitty’s eyes as her body began to swell, as though something terrifying had been stuffed inside her and was now preparing to burst out.

"Is that your last word?" Zhang Ye asked in return.

Kitty let out a miserable shriek. The next moment, her entire body exploded, forming an enormous magical vortex at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Under the influence of that violent wind, the figures of the X-Men, Iron Man, and War Machine that had been there earlier began to float into the air and gather together with the gale.

Zhang Ye could not describe what he was seeing. Simply put, it was like several brightly colored lumps of clay being kneaded together. Those figures twisted and wailed without end before finally merging under an immense force and becoming a colossal being.

It was an enormous bald humanoid creature, entirely dark black and covered in all sorts of hard keratinous growths. It stretched its body and let out a shuddering moan from its gaping maw.

Then it lowered its head to look at Zhang Ye, its eyes filled with killing intent.

"You do not belong to this world, wizard!"

"Neither do you, monster."

Zhang Ye shot back coldly. When Shadow King had revealed its "true form" just now, Zhang Ye had clearly "heard" echoes from the souls of the X-Men.

They were not the true souls of the X-Men. So many years had passed, and those souls had long since become incomplete. What Shadow King controlled now were merely fragments of the heroes’ souls.

But even so, those fragments had continued their faint resistance. They were only fragments of memory, yet they still retained the will to charge toward evil. Though that resistance was incomparably weak, it had never ceased for more than forty years.

"You should not have toyed with the souls of the dead, much less reached into this world. But I have to say, I’m truly glad you’re here, because you’ll become the nourishment I need most." Flames leaped incessantly in Zhang Ye’s hand, flickering with a terrifying light.

"Don’t be so arrogant, wizard! I was born from the first nightmare. I am the substance of all distorted and abstract creations. I am an existence you have never encountered in your life—you cannot even glimpse my true form!"

Shadow King’s power erupted. In an instant, the entire X-Men base began to tremble. The tables, chairs, and benches all came alive, their forms turning deformed and grotesque.

Everything underwent bizarre changes. The piano began playing on its own, its eerie music stirring chairs covered in eyeballs. The trembling floor let out strange laughter, and countless sharp teeth could be seen in the cracks in the ground.

"Then I’m looking forward to getting a good look."

Zhang Ye struck out with his palm, and ghostly green flames surged up like a tsunami, rapidly igniting everything around them.

The blazing flames filled with restorative magic swept outward. In an instant, the entire room was filled with green firelight. The objects that had been constantly turning abstract gradually stabilized amid the flames, then slowly melted like candles.

"If you still maintained a connection to the astral plane, there really would be little I could do to you. But now, you’re already at the end of your rope!"

Green light flashed in Zhang Ye’s eyes. Beneath him, countless tentacles formed from flames writhed and bared their fangs.

Shadow King felt like a small boat in a storm. Those terrifying flames were gradually reaching its origin. If it did not do something soon, it would disappear from this world completely.

At that thought, Shadow King’s massive body immediately began to change. A red-haired woman’s upper body struggled its way out from the top of its bald head.

"Wizard, let’s die together!"

Zhang Ye raised his head, and his expression changed at once.

Before a massive wave of energy struck, the last thing Zhang Ye saw was a phoenix crying out across the heavens.