American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

226. The Vessel for the Watcher’s Eye.

It seemed that calculating the time required to shorten the recording of the universe was now impossible.

The Watcher's Eye was filled with excessively complex information, and just organizing and processing these files was already a hassle. Miss Minutes simply didn't have the capacity to calculate anything else.

It made sense. After all, this was a "camera" that existed before the universe itself, storing all the video files from the beginning of time until now. Cleaning up and backing up these .AVI files wasn't going to be easy.

"You can increase the transmission power a bit. Otherwise, at this rate, we'll be wasting a lot of time," Alex said, looking at Agatha, paying no mind to the information lightning surrounding him.

"Ah... okay," Agatha responded, not knowing how to describe her feelings anymore. She looked at Alex as if he were a monster.

As an old witch who had lived many years, Agatha considered her knowledge to be comprehensive, but she had never encountered anyone like Alex before.

Withstanding the erosion of incalculable ages was not an easy task. Even she couldn't last five minutes, let alone other dark wizards. But seeing Alex's relaxed demeanor at this moment, it seemed effortless for him.

To achieve this, Alex had already transcended humanity in Agatha's eyes. She observed Alex carefully, feeling that his entire being was filled with the unknown and the mysterious.

After a pause, Agatha increased the information transmission and spoke up to remind him.

"The information in the Watcher's Eye is just the first hurdle. Even if you clear all the records inside, you still won't be able to break its usage permissions. Recklessly using this eye, you will still be marked with the 'Watcher' brand."

Upon hearing this, Alex thoughtfully nodded. The "curse" of the Watcher was indeed a tricky issue. With Miss Minutes's capabilities, she couldn't yet reverse-hack into the Watcher's Eye to obtain higher-level permissions. However, Alex didn't say much more. After all, he never intended to personally use this eye. As he had mentioned before, he wanted to find an obedient vessel for it.

"If I create a lifeform as its vessel, could that potentially bypass the system and make it work for me?"

"Impossible," Agatha immediately retorted, but then she paused. "Wait... perhaps it could work. If all the stored information is gone, then even an ordinary person might be able to bear the power of this thing, but..."

"But what?" Alex inquired.

"But... you must understand, once the eye merges with a lifeform, that lifeform's consciousness will be corrupted by the concept and brand left by the 'Watcher.' At that point, he will no longer be 'him,'" Agatha warned.

"I see, a mental contamination by an upper-narrative entity, right?" Alex frowned, picking up on the key point in Agatha's words.

Alex had encountered so-called "upper-narrative" beings before. As one of the Watchers, who recorded various major events across the Marvel multiverse, Alex had a decent understanding.

Compared to that bizarre giant cocoon, the Watcher's corruption was still within a controllable range.

"Don't worry, I didn't intend to use just any ordinary person as the vessel. I'll create a new life with magic to fulfill that role. Artificial intelligence is still intelligence, and it will be easier for a created being to be controlled by its creator," Alex explained.

The Watcher's Eye was a valuable asset, and Alex had no intention of handing it over to just anyone. To firmly control it, creating a magical construct was the only option.

"Creating life is indeed a solution, but are you sure an artificial soul can become the vessel for the Watcher's Eye? And there's another issue: if the life you create is taken over by the Watcher's permissions, you'll lose control over it."

Agatha considered the feasibility of this plan and then voiced some unpredictable concerns.

"Although I'm not very knowledgeable about science, I do know that if a machine has two programs, the one with higher permissions will have unlimited control over the machine's data."

"Well, what if my permissions are higher than his?" Alex suddenly asked. Hearing this, Agatha's hand shook, nearly breaking the transmission spell. She quickly steadied her magic and stared at Alex in disbelief, her expression a mix of shock and awe.

Faced with Alex's astonishing words, Agatha instinctively chose not to respond. She now felt that Alex was either a madman with outlandish ideas or an extremely terrifying existence.

Time passed slowly, and both Alex and Agatha fell into a strange silence. Agatha didn't want to get too involved with this mysterious being, while Alex was discussing with Miss Minutes the steps to control the Watcher's Eye.

According to Miss Minutes's calculations, using the Watcher's Eye required a sentient being as its vessel. Consequently, the Watcher's brand would corrupt that sentient being, altering its consciousness to become part of the "Watcher." However, solving this problem wasn't necessarily difficult, in a sense.

This was something they had to thank Deadpool for. As one of the few characters in the Marvel Universe who could break the fourth wall, Deadpool's existence had given Alex and Miss Minutes a great idea. Namely, making a mad creation even more insane to reach a relatively balanced state.

In simple terms, it was using madness to counter madness, pushing a lunatic further into insanity so that it would, under Alex's guidance, find a balanced state and return to "sanity." It was a case of two negatives making a positive. But an idea was just an idea. To achieve this feat would test Alex's control over magical energy.

Fortunately, the abstract magic gained from devouring the Shadow King was immensely helpful in this situation.

"The information has been fully transmitted. It's up to you now."

The stream of informational lightning around them gradually subsided, and Agatha, panting heavily, spoke. She now appeared even more aged than before, indicating the immense toll it had taken on her.

"Thank you."

Alex nodded, then turned his serious gaze toward the massive eye floating in mid-air. He knew that the real challenge was just beginning.

What kind of body should he create to serve as the vessel for this eye?

....

30 advanced chapters on p@treaon
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227. The Death Omen Bird.
228. The Stagnation of Magic.
229. Bullseye's Log – Part Three.
230. Fisk Lake City.
231. The Meeting.