I was scrolling through the System Shop while taking a short break from my research. Most of the listings were the usual things—some interesting spells, a few pieces of advanced technology from other universes, several magical artifacts, and a handful of rare bloodlines. Useful, certainly, but nothing that immediately caught my attention.
Then I found something that made me stop scrolling.
Soul of Morgan le Fay (Caster)
The soul of Morgan le Fay will fuse with the host. The host will gain the soul, memories, knowledge, magical abilities, and experience of Morgan le Fay.
Cost: 200,000 System Points
I stared at the listing for several seconds.
Then I immediately purchased it.
I had more than enough points. The Foundation had been expanding rapidly for years now. Successful containment operations, research breakthroughs, recovered anomalies, recruitment programs, technological advancements, and dozens of other projects had generated a ridiculous amount of System Points. I hadn't purchased anything major in quite some time, so my reserves had grown to absurd levels.
The moment the purchase was completed, agony flooded my body.
Memories.
Knowledge.
Power.
Thousands of years of experience slammed into my mind all at once.
I saw Camelot.
I saw Britain.
I saw fairies.
I saw betrayal.
Again.
And again.
And again.
A woman who had spent centuries trying to save a land that seemed determined to destroy itself.
A queen who ruled for two thousand years.
A witch whose understanding of magecraft bordered on the absurd.
A genius whose magical knowledge rivaled entire civilizations.
For several minutes I simply sat in silence while the memories settled.
When it finally ended, I slowly opened my eyes.
The world looked different.
Not physically.
Conceptually.
My Glam Sight was already analyzing magical flows throughout the room. I could see ley lines beneath the Foundation facility. I could see enchantments woven into nearby artifacts. I could see weaknesses in magical barriers that would have previously taken days to identify.
More importantly, I understood them.
All of them.
Every spell Morgan knew.
Every ritual.
Every curse.
Every bounded field.
Every method of enchanting items.
Every technique for constructing magical domains.
Every lesson accumulated across thousands of years.
I leaned back in my chair.
"...Well."
That was certainly worth two hundred thousand points.
Unlike some abilities I had acquired before, Morgan's knowledge integrated perfectly with my existing talents. My Witchcraft, Nasuverse Magecraft, Marvel Magic, and other magical systems weren't conflicting with each other. Instead they were combining into something significantly more dangerous.
I still looked exactly the same.
I wasn't changing that.
I had Herta's appearance and I fully intended to keep it.
Besides, I was already accustomed to this body.
The Fourth Mirror materialized beside my desk.
The projection adjusted its glasses and immediately looked me up and down.
"Oh dear."
"What?"
"You got stronger again."
I smiled.
"Noticeable?"
"To me? Extremely."
The Fourth Mirror sighed dramatically.
"At this point you're becoming a walking magical catastrophe."
"That's probably accurate."
"You're smiling."
"Because that's a compliment."
The projection rolled its eyes.
I opened several status screens while reviewing my newly acquired abilities.
The amount of information was ridiculous.
Morgan's understanding of Territory Construction alone could revolutionize Foundation facilities. We could create magical strongholds that enhanced researchers, strengthened containment systems, suppressed hostile anomalies, and generated magical energy on their own.
Her Item Construction abilities were arguably even more valuable.
Mystic Codes.
Enchanted weapons.
Magical armor.
Artifacts.
Bounded-field generators.
Reality anchors enhanced through magecraft.
The possibilities were endless.
Then there was her understanding of portals.
That immediately got my attention.
The Space Stone remained one of our highest-priority objectives, but Morgan's Infinity Mirror and Water Mirror techniques could potentially bridge part of that gap.
Not completely.
Nothing replaced an Infinity Stone.
But it was still incredibly valuable.
Speaking of Infinity Stones, my thoughts drifted back toward the Foundation's current research project.
The Power Stone.
The Reality Stone.
The Time Stone through the Ancient One.
Three Infinity Stones.
Three concepts of existence given physical form.
Alex and I had spent weeks researching applications.
Infinite energy generation.
Advanced containment technologies.
Weapon development.
Reality stabilization.
Power generation.
Manufacturing.
Space manipulation.
The list never ended.
Honestly, the stone I wanted most remained the Space Stone.
The applications for containment were absurd.
Infinite corridors.
Pocket dimensions.
Spatial prisons.
Containment chambers larger on the inside.
Teleportation networks.
Emergency evacuation systems.
Reality-locking barriers.
Entire Foundation sites hidden inside folded space.
It would revolutionize containment procedures overnight.
The Soul Stone was equally tempting.
Most anomalies could adapt to physical attacks.
Many could adapt to energy attacks.
Very few could adapt to having their soul ripped out.
I wasn't entirely convinced even SCP-682 could easily recover from that.
The Mind Stone was another terrifying possibility.
The Foundation officially didn't brainwash people.
Unofficially...
Well.
Let's just say several O5 members would immediately begin proposing very questionable ideas.
Fortunately—or unfortunately, depending on perspective—we didn't have access to those stones yet.
So I focused on current priorities.
"Fourth Mirror," I said.
The projection immediately appeared beside my desk.
"Yes?"
"Status report."
Several holographic screens appeared instantly.
"Foundation operations continue normally. Site construction projects are ahead of schedule. The Ancient One has submitted fourteen recommendations regarding magical containment. Julius has caused three incidents this week."
"Only three?"
"Three documented incidents."
"That sounds more accurate."
The projection continued.
"SCP-028 research remains active. Alex has submitted seventeen requests for additional funding."
"Approved."
"You didn't even read them."
"It's Alex. If he's asking for money, he's already spent it."
"Fair."
Several more screens appeared.
"Sophie has completed negotiations with Marshall, Carter and Dark. Containment transfers are proceeding successfully. Current casualty reports remain below projected estimates."
"Good."
"And Sophie has been working for eighteen consecutive hours."
I frowned.
"Again?"
"Again."
"Tell her to take a break."
"I've told her six times."
"And?"
"She ignored me."
I sighed.
That sounded exactly like Sophie.
"Schedule mandatory leave."
"I already did."
I stared at the projection.
The projection stared back.
We both knew Sophie would probably find a way around it.
The Fourth Mirror suddenly smirked.
"Oh."
"What?"
"You have a message from Julius."
I immediately became suspicious.
"Why are you smiling?"
The projection's grin widened.
"Because it includes photographs."
I slowly closed my eyes.
"...What did he do this time?"
The Fourth Mirror projected the images.
A few seconds later I understood.
Cleopatra was going to murder him.
Again.