In broad daylight, the entire battlefield was filled with spirits. The souls of the dead Titans had all been summoned by Thanos using the Soul Stone.
These spirits had translucent bodies, pale faces, and decaying flesh with bones exposed in many places. Pale flames floated in their eyes.
If they had appeared at night, they would have been enough to scare the timid to death.
Even in broad daylight, suddenly seeing so many spirits packed together made it impossible for Doctor Strange and the others to remain calm.
By now, Spider-Man, Star-Lord, and the others who had been knocked unconscious had gradually woken up.
The moment Spider-Man opened his eyes, he saw Titan spirits all around him. He immediately let out a scream and jumped to his feet.
"Oh my God, what's going on?"
"Please, don't possess me."
"Oh God, please save me."
Spider-Man frantically made the sign of the cross over his chest.
"What the hell?"
Star-Lord held his head and looked at the countless spirits around him.
"Where's Thanos?"
"Where is Thanos?"
"And what's with all these ghosts?"
Drax, whose body was covered with red markings, shouted as he charged at one of the spirits. He slashed wildly with his twin daggers, but only cut through empty air, accomplishing nothing.
"Calm down."
Mantis placed a hand on Drax's head. Her two antennae glowed.
"They're not Thanos. They're just the souls of the Titans."
The one Drax was attacking happened to be a Titan who looked very much like Thanos. Naturally, the spirit, with pale flames drifting in its eyes, had no interest in Drax.
After waking up, everyone gathered around the Sorcerer Supreme. Doctor Strange cast a barrier, preventing the surrounding spirits from entering.
Spider-Man walked over to Doctor Strange, opened his helmet, and looked around.
"Where's Mr. Stark?"
Doctor Strange's expression was grave, "He's gone."
"No... it can't be...", Spider-Man's eyes widened, "Mr. Stark wouldn't just leave like that. He wouldn't abandon us."
Doctor Strange didn't answer. He looked solemnly into the distance, toward the Conqueror and Thanos surrounded by spirits.
Only then did Star-Lord and the others notice Alex.
But the Guardians of the Galaxy had never dealt with him before, so they didn't recognize him.
Star-Lord asked, "Who's that guy?"
"The Conqueror."
Doctor Strange said, "The man I mentioned before. The one I believe came from another universe."
"Him?", Drax shook his head, "He doesn't look that strong."
Doctor Strange glanced at the man who was determined to avenge his wife and daughter.
"You can't judge some people by appearances."
"Like the Conqueror. I think even Thanos may not be his match."
Star-Lord looked at Doctor Strange in disbelief, "You've got to be kidding me, man."
"That's Thanos."
"That bastard sacrificed Gamora to get the Soul Stone."
"You've already seen how powerful he is."
Doctor Strange said quietly, "Six years ago, on the day New York was invaded, the Conqueror appeared."
"He wanted to take away two Infinity Stones. It was my master, the previous Sorcerer Supreme..."
"It was the Ancient One who managed to keep one of them."
"Keep in mind, my master could only keep one, and that was six years ago."
"Now, six years later, my master has passed away, but he's still alive."
"He can only be stronger than he was six years ago."
Star-Lord and the others couldn't help looking toward Alex.
Alex naturally noticed their gazes, but he paid them no attention. Right now, the only one he cared about was Thanos.
"You actually want to play magic with me?"
"Fine. I'll play with you."
He raised a hand, opened his inventory in his vision, and took out the Darkhold.
A mass of pitch-black energy appeared in Alex's hand. Within that filthy, dark, evil aura, the divine artifact, the Darkhold, slowly rose.
The moment Doctor Strange saw the book wrapped in darkness with countless sparks drifting around it, he was startled.
"Impossible!"
"How does he have the Darkhold?"
Doctor Strange had read about the Darkhold in an ancient text and knew exactly what it was.
Star-Lord and the others all turned to look at him.
Doctor Strange gave a brief explanation, "The Darkhold is the most terrifying and evil book of magic in this universe."
"It was written by an ancient god who fell and became a demon. It contains all of his magic, all of his evil magic."
"It is the opposite of the Book of the Vishanti that we use. It's a book of magic that should never be used."
Spider-Man looked nervous, "How could something so dangerous end up in his hands?"
"I wish I knew."
Doctor Strange gave a bitter smile.
"He already controls several Infinity Stones, and now he has the Darkhold. I can't imagine how Thanos is supposed to deal with him."
Drax shouted, "Isn't that a good thing?"
"If he kills Thanos, the universe will be saved."
Star-Lord glanced at him, "Didn't you hear what the wizard just said?"
"That's an evil spellbook. You don't seriously think a guy called the Conqueror is a good person just because he has something like that, do you?"
Drax hitched up his pants, "When I first met you, I didn't think you were any good either."
"So who knows? That's just how people are."
"Maybe if you dance for him, he'll join us."
Star-Lord spread his hands speechlessly.
At that moment, Alex opened the Darkhold and turned to one of its pages.
Across from him, Thanos had already pointed a finger at him.
"Kill him!"
The overlord of the galaxy gave the order for the countless spirits to attack.
The spirits looked toward Thanos. Hatred flashed within their pale gray flames. Being awakened from their eternal rest and forced under someone's control was clearly not something they appreciated.
If they could, they would probably strangle Thanos first.
But they had no choice.
The Soul Stone held absolute dominion over them.
So the spirits could only let out hollow roars at Alex, venting all their hatred on him. They glowed with green light as they shrieked, flew through the air, and circled around Alex.
Everyone who witnessed the scene would remember it for the rest of their lives.
Countless spirits swirled around Alex, their densely packed forms creating a storm.
A storm of spirits!
Standing at the center of the storm, Alex calmly lowered his hand, causing every line, pattern, and symbol on the page to light up one after another.
Necromancy, Command the Dead!
This necromantic spell could awaken the dead and command them. Since the spirits had already been awakened, Alex could skip the first step and move directly to commanding them.
Black energy spread out beneath his feet, racing across the ground as it drew the image of a black skull.