Rock of Eternity

Zhang Ye and Constantine’s departure went unnoticed by everyone.

With their masterful teleportation magic, they could infiltrate anywhere in this world without being discovered.

After Lady Shiva led the others into the fortress, they each began to rest and recuperate. It was the first time the two groups had gathered together, and there was quite a lot for them to discuss, especially for the four outsiders.

Damian Wayne and Jason, sure enough, still intended to settle things with their fists. Both of them had been bottling up their anger, wanting nothing more than to beat the other senseless—or be beaten senseless themselves—to vent it.

However, Jason had been injected with the Super Soldier Serum. Once he went all out, the fight became completely one-sided. Damian Wayne had trained under the same master as him, and with such a huge disparity in strength, he could only lie on the ground and cry out in pain.

Meanwhile, Zhang Ye followed Constantine to the Rock of Eternity.

This was Zhang Ye’s first real visit to the place hailed as the birthplace of magic on Earth in the DC Universe.

"Centuries ago, everyone could witness and approach the Rock of Eternity with their own eyes. Its gates stood open to anyone in need, and its halls were overseen by the Council of Eternity—"

With a cigarette hanging from his mouth, Constantine pointed at the ruined platform in the distance. Seven stone chairs could still vaguely be made out there, though they had long since been reduced to rubble.

"It was a group made up of seven wizards. They were the most outstanding figures in Earth’s magical world, the closest beings to the Old Gods. They swore to safeguard all magic."

Quietly listening to Constantine recount this history, Zhang Ye had to admit that hearing Shazam’s past from his mouth gave it a rather different feeling.

"Later, someone who had fallen into darkness released the Seven Deadly Sins. Those cunning primordial demons returned to the world, killing every member of the Council of Eternity. In the end, only the wizard Shazam remained. He chose to seal the Rock of Eternity and hide all magic from mortal sight."

"Until a successor could reclaim control of this place. The child you brought here—Billy."

At that, Constantine grinned and looked at Zhang Ye.

"However, the wizard clearly didn’t know that his seal on magic led to the birth of schools like occultism, spiritualism, and druidism on Earth. It also gave the denizens of Hell an opportunity to meddle in reality."

Zhang Ye could see the mockery in Constantine’s smile. For someone who appeared so cynical and carefree, it was the best camouflage. After all, everyone in this world carried knots in their hearts that were hard to untangle.

And Constantine understood those words more deeply than most.

"What a shame. Such a great place." Constantine casually overturned a rock, revealing a shattered magical artifact beneath it. "If this hadn’t happened, plenty of the treasures here could have sold for a fortune. Shazam should have protected this place."

"He—I mean, they—did their best to protect it." Zhang Ye looked into the distance. That was the entrance to the Rock of Eternity, but it had already become a mass grave. Countless Parademon corpses were piled there, along with several human skeletons.

Though he did not possess a Wizard’s Eye like Zhang Ye’s, Constantine could perform similar magic.

Looking at the ruins, Constantine understood what Zhang Ye meant. When Billy followed the Justice League to Apokolips for the assault, the only people left to defend this place were his other "brothers and sisters."

Like Billy, they were all adopted children. Though they were not related by blood, they were no different from real family. That was why Billy had shared Shazam’s power with them.

These children, all of whom wielded Shazam’s power, formed the current Council of Eternity. At the same time, they were Philadelphia’s famous superhero team.

But while they were powerful, they still found it difficult to withstand the endless Parademon army.

"So, you still haven’t told me where the Seven Deadly Sins are."

Not wanting to dwell on those unpleasant memories, Zhang Ye turned to Constantine and asked.

"You’re really impatient." Constantine shrugged. "All right. My tracking magic won’t be wrong. I’m certain those bastards are somewhere here."

"The Seven Deadly Sins were indeed sealed here, but weren’t they already released? Why would they come back here?" Zhang Ye asked curiously.

Hearing that, Constantine pointed at the destroyed ancient platform and answered.

"Look over there. That’s where the Rock of Eternity connects to seven magical continents. There are also secret passages nearby leading to even more dimensions. Most of them have been destroyed, but with the Seven Deadly Sins’ abilities, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to join forces and pry open a door."

"I see. They wanted to use those teleportation passages to escape this world." Zhang Ye nodded thoughtfully.

No wonder. Earth was about to be destroyed, and those creatures born from the sins of life naturally would not remain here. The universe was vast; there were countless more planets and dimensions for them to corrupt.

"Yes. Aha!" Constantine suddenly cried out excitedly. "Here! I found traces of them."

Hearing him, Zhang Ye immediately refocused and walked toward Constantine.

Beneath the Rock of Eternity, Constantine extracted a trace of magical residue hidden behind reality. It was an incredibly difficult-to-distinguish mystical energy. Though it was only a trace, Constantine could not even discern its source.

"What is this?" Zhang Ye leaned closer.

"I’m not entirely sure, but I’m certain the Seven Deadly Sins are here. It seems they really did open a tunnel to another dimension from here before, but some terrifying presence tore open the rift and forcibly dragged them back."

Constantine sensed the faint magical energy, his brow tightly furrowed. "This is summoning magic. What terrifying power. It could force the true forms of demons to descend into this world across dimensions, and at the level of the Seven Deadly Sins, no less."

"Could someone besides me have set their sights on the Seven Deadly Sins?" Zhang Ye frowned as well, unable to understand how someone of such a high caliber could still be acting in this world. "Don’t tell me the Seven Deadly Sins have already been dealt with by someone else."

"That won’t be the case. I told you, my tracking magic won’t be wrong." Constantine shook his head, then shifted his gaze away from the magical residue and scanned the surrounding area.

"I can be certain those seven are still here, hidden somewhere in this place."