AutumnXd
patreon
CHAPTER 149 ( PLAT )
🕑 Added 2025-09-04 16:31:00 +0000 UTCThor and the others had already gone to Muspelheim to deal with whatever rebellion was brewing there, and Aidan's formal magic studies had come to an end for the time being. Therefore, after Aidan had spent weeks deciphering the information on the Monument of Life and Time and absorbed considerable knowledge about rune magic, he was ready to set off for Nidavellir to meet the dwarves and learn their legendary smithing techniques.
But first, he had more research to complete.
Nearly two months had passed since he'd started his deep dive into Asgard's archives. Aidan was sitting cross-legged on the cold stone floor of the Atlantis study room, his consciousness floating in that strange state between sleep and meditation. Outside in the main library, his physical body hovered three feet above the ground, sustained by magic that kept his vital functions running while his mind explored elsewhere.
He was out of his body - a technique he'd learned from studying ancient Tibetan meditation practices combined with Asgardian soul magic. While the soul state didn't feel physical exhaustion, it couldn't leave the body for too long without risking permanent separation. But using it to replace sleep worked perfectly, allowing him to study for days without the usual human limitations.
The Atlantis study wasn't very large compared to some of the other specialized chambers, but it was packed with knowledge and information about the lost civilization. Scrolls, tablets, crystal data storage devices, and books filled every available surface. Almost every room in the library was a historical archive related to a different civilization - it was clear that Asgard must've consciously collected information about every major culture across the cosmos over the millennia.
Makes sense, Aidan mused as he floated between towering bookshelves. If you're gonna rule the Nine Realms, you'd better understand what you're ruling.
After two months of intensive study, he'd basically become fluent in Atlantean script. Although he wasn't quite at the level of a native speaker, it was still pretty easy to decipher stone tablets and ancient texts that would've been completely incomprehensible to most scholars.
He'd just finished reading the last untranslated book in the collection - a technical manual about something called "gravitational harmonics" - and carefully placed it back in its designated position. The library's organizational system was so precise that misplacing a single volume could apparently cause minor dimensional disturbances.
His soul slowly drifted back toward his physical form, the sensation like sinking into warm water. After returning to his body and taking a moment to recall and organize everything he'd learned, he slowly opened his eyes and stretched muscles that had been motionless for hours.
Alright, let's see what I've got.
Atlantis, the capital city of Poseidonia, had been unlike anything that existed on modern Earth. The city was built as a series of concentric circles floating on the ocean, with each ring arranged from low to high toward the center like some massive amphitheater. The central part housed the government and most advanced research facilities. The overall design reflected the absolute pinnacle of artistic and architectural achievement, with crystalline spires that could manipulate light and stairs that led to comprehensive schools where children learned to manipulate reality itself.
Among the prehistoric super-civilizations, the most remarkable scientific achievement of Atlantis was its energy system. At the center of this system was something called a magnetite - a crystalline substance that could actually alter Earth's gravitational and magnetic fields. The technology was so advanced that it made modern physics look like cave paintings.
But it was also what destroyed them.
The reason for Atlantis's demise was the catastrophic explosion of their central magnetite. The blast threw Earth's gravitational field into complete chaos, killed all the Atlanteans simultaneously through some kind of resonance effect, and caused their entire continent to sink beneath the waves in a matter of hours.
Talk about a cautionary tale about messing with forces beyond your understanding.
Now, Aidan took out the Monument of Life and Time and began deciphering the symbols carved into its surface with his newly acquired knowledge. The words seemed to glow faintly as he read: Life, Time, Light, Gravity, Evolution, Transcendence...
In the end, Aidan pulled back from the tablet, genuinely excited by what he'd discovered. It really was something worthy of Odin's treasury. To his surprise, the circular stone didn't just record knowledge about the evolutionary equation of life - it also contained a complete overview of magnetite technology and its applications.
This was because, according to the evolution equation, magnetite was absolutely necessary. It served as a catalyst in the initial stage of consciousness evolution and marked the beginning of life's true transcendence beyond physical limitations.
The evolution described wasn't physical transformation in the traditional sense, but the evolution of consciousness itself - basically the systematic development of the human brain's untapped potential. The physical body would gradually become less important as consciousness evolved, eventually becoming optional rather than necessary.
It reminded Aidan of a movie from his previous life called "Lucy." There was this persistent legend that humans only use ten percent of their brains, leaving the other ninety percent dormant. In his past life, that claim had been largely debunked as pseudoscience. But in a world with legitimate superpowers and cosmic entities, maybe anything was possible.
According to the Atlantean research, the progression worked like this:
At 20% brain development, you'd be essentially a god among ordinary people. The brain could store and process information exponentially faster, reaction times would increase dramatically, and the magnetite would grant basic electromagnetic manipulation abilities.
At 40%, the body could be consciously deconstructed and reorganized at the cellular level. You could rewrite your own biological programming and control matter through mental commands alone.
At 50%, the magnetite would begin to be consumed and merged directly into your consciousness, strengthening magnetic field control. You could interfere with other people's bioelectric fields and control metal objects across vast distances. Your perception would expand to include the entire electromagnetic spectrum.
At 60%, the magnetite would be completely fused with your consciousness, and you'd gain control over gravity itself. That's some serious cosmic-level power right there.
At 70%, the evolving consciousness would outpace the physical body's ability to contain it, and the body would begin to gradually collapse. But you'd gain control over the strong and weak nuclear forces and could produce matter from pure energy.
At 80%, you'd exist in a state of pure consciousness - the fundamental state that existed before matter was created.
At 90%, you could travel through time, but not affect or change it. Pure observation of temporal flow.
At 99%, you could actually communicate with time itself as if it were a conscious entity.
At 100%, you'd break free from the constraints of time entirely and exist outside normal causality.
Okay, that's either the most incredible discovery in the history of consciousness research, or the most elaborate fantasy ever conceived.
The whole process seemed more like a roadmap for controlling the universe and then transcending it entirely. After 60%, all the descriptions were purely theoretical speculation since no one had apparently ever reached those levels and survived to document the experience.
According to the Atlantean records, they weren't originally from Earth anyway, but aliens who'd migrated from the Orion constellation sometime in Earth's distant past. Even the destruction of the Third Sun civilization - the Murian culture - had apparently been caused by Atlantean interference.
Aidan had a growing suspicion that such a powerful civilization might've been deliberately destroyed by some cosmic entity that considered them a threat. When you start messing with fundamental forces of reality, you probably attract some unwanted attention.
Following the equations carved into the stone tablet, Aidan began researching what materials would be needed to actually produce a magnetite. He was genuinely interested in this evolutionary path, especially since it offered something he'd never considered before.
He'd always been thinking about taking the road of mechanical ascension in the future - gradually replacing biological components with superior technological ones until he became more machine than man. But now that this consciousness evolution equation was right in front of him, the choice seemed obvious. Why become a better machine when you could become something that transcended physical existence entirely?
He wondered if Odin had ever practiced this life evolution equation. If so, maybe he could trade for a magnetite or at least get advice on the process. But the chances seemed pretty slim. As the ruler of the Nine Realms, Odin not only had to fight wars constantly but also deal with inherited family powers and responsibilities. Managing nine different realms when you're getting old probably didn't leave much time for consciousness expansion experiments.
Plus, if you wanted to practice the life evolution equation, you needed to fuse the magnetite directly into your consciousness. There was no telling if that would conflict with Odin's existing Odin-force powers. Mixing cosmic energy sources seemed like a recipe for disaster.
Of course, Odin might not even care about this stuff. He might've just tossed it in the treasure vault as another interesting artifact to collect dust.
As for Aidan himself, he was basically starting from zero. He was just a mortal human whose magic energy was borrowed from external sources through his dimensional storage and various artifacts. There was nothing inherently special about his biology or consciousness.
Not exactly something to be proud of, he admitted to himself, but it also means I don't have existing power systems that could interfere with the evolution process.
A lot of different theories and possibilities flashed through his mind, but in the end, he'd have to do his own research to figure out what was actually possible. The theoretical framework was fascinating, but theory and practice were often very different things.
Although he didn't know if the stages after 60% were real or just Atlantean speculation - since none of it had apparently been confirmed through actual practice - the early stages were more than enough for his current needs. Of the four fundamental forces of the universe, gaining control over electromagnetic force and gravitational force would put him on par with some of the most powerful beings in existence.
However, it'd probably be incredibly difficult to cultivate safely. With a normal human lifespan, the highest someone could realistically reach was probably only 50% - and that would require decades of dedicated practice and perfect conditions.
After carefully going through the translation again and confirming there were no errors in his interpretation, Aidan stored the stone tablet back in his dimensional space and closed his eyes to meditate, letting all the new information settle properly in his memory.
Soon, he opened his eyes again and took out the enchanted leather map that would transport him to different sections of the library. Time to move on to the next phase of research.
"Let's see... Vanaheim study," he muttered, focusing on the magical search function. The map glowed softly as it processed his request. "Found it!"
He felt the familiar displacement sensation as the library's transportation system activated, then found himself standing in a much wider study chamber. The color scheme here was closer to forest green, creating a more natural, organic feeling compared to the austere blues and grays of the Atlantis section.
The walls were covered with rock inscriptions that looked like they'd been carved by people who actually lived outdoors instead of in crystalline cities. Most of the books were bound in leather that still carried the faint scent of whatever creatures had originally worn it. Everything here felt more primal, more connected to natural forces rather than cosmic transcendence.
Alright, time to start learning about Vanir magic, he thought as he approached the first set of texts. Because the White Queen had helped him establish a comprehensive translation database during his previous studies, the deciphering process should be much faster this time.
Let's see what the Vanir knew about consciousness and power that the Atlanteans missed.
Comments
KnifesAreCool
If you do a love interest Shuri? They should be the same age I think
