The museum was filled with the kind of quiet reverence that old buildings seem to demand. Asher, Ben, and the others wandered through the exhibition halls, gazing at the objects displayed behind glass cases while a tour guide, a woman with glasses and a pinched, disagreeable expression, droned on about one boring artifact after another.
Asher started yawning. Only Max and Gwen seemed genuinely interested, listening attentively to every word.
Then the tour guide stopped in front of a particular display case.
Inside sat a book with a blue cover adorned with golden medallions. The moment Asher laid eyes on it, something stirred in his chest, a mysterious, almost magnetic pull that made his skin prickle.
Gwen felt it too. Without conscious thought, she drifted closer to the cabinet, her expression curious and fascinated as she studied the ancient tome.
"This is a priceless treasure," the tour guide announced in her nasal voice. "The Archamada Book of Spells, which contains ancient magical incantations and rituals dating back to the late fifteenth century."
Gwen's eyes lit up, and she immediately recited the rest of the description in perfect unison with the guide.
The tour guide shot Gwen an irritated look. "Perhaps you'd like to lead the tour, little miss?"
With that, the woman clutched her belongings and stalked ahead, pointedly ignoring Asher and the others. She was clearly offended.
"Nice work, Gwen!" Asher grinned, coming up beside her with genuine approval in his voice. "You finally got that guide to shut up. I was about to fall asleep."
"Don't be fooled by the old lady," Ben added, leaning in conspiratorially. He glanced back at the tour guide's retreating figure. "She's probably older than that book."
Both Asher and Gwen laughed at that.
"The Archamada Book of Spells..."
Asher's smile faded as he turned back to study the tome, his eyes bright with interest. 'If I remember correctly,' he thought, 'this spellbook can amplify magical abilities. And Gwen has those latent powers, magic or something close to it. This could really help her develop them.'
He glanced sideways at Gwen, then frowned slightly.
The problem was simple: he couldn't just take the book. That didn't fit who he was or what he stood for.
'Hold on, I remember something from the original timeline. Someone's going to try stealing this book... though I can't quite recall who.' Asher's fist hit his palm with sudden realization. 'Perfect! I'll let them steal it first, then take it back as a trophy. That way, it's totally legitimate!'
Now all he had to do was wait for the thief to show up.
"Asher, what are you thinking about?" Gwen waved her hand in front of his face, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You spaced out there for a second."
"Oh, nothing, I was just thinking about what we should have for lunch. After all this walking, I'm getting hungry." Asher rubbed his stomach, deflecting the question smoothly.
He'd barely finished speaking when,
BOOM!
A massive explosion tore through the museum wall, shaking the entire building! Dust and debris rained down from the ceiling as visitors screamed and scattered.
A huge hole had been blown clean through the reinforced stone wall, and smoke billowed into the exhibition hall.
'Speaking of Cao Cao, here comes Cao Cao himself,' Asher thought wryly, his mouth twitching. 'Seriously? We were just talking about the book, and now this happens? Do I have some kind of elementary school student curse or something?'
"Where is the Archamada Book of Spells?!"
A sinister figure floated through the gaping hole in the wall. He wore flowing black robes and carried a twisted staff, his face painted to resemble a skull. A necklace of strange stones glowed faintly around his neck. The man looked every inch the dark sorcerer.
His cold voice echoed throughout the museum.
"You, who are you?! This is a restricted area!" The tour guide and several staff members stared at the floating man in shock and terror.
"Asher, go transform, we'll handle things here!" Max reacted immediately, whispering urgently to Asher.
But before Asher could even respond,
FLASH!
The dark magician raised one hand. A stone in his necklace blazed with light, releasing an overwhelming surge of magical energy!
BANG! BANG! BANG!
In an instant, every person in the museum, including Asher, defied the laws of gravity. Their bodies shot upward and slammed against the ceiling, held there by invisible force!
"He's a practitioner of dark magic!" Asher made a quick assessment based on what he could see. "And he's here for the Archamada Book of Spells!"
"I didn't expect the spellbook could actually enhance magical power," Gwen said, her voice tinged with amazement despite their predicament.
The others, staff, tourists, and the guide, weren't as composed. They screamed in terror, trembling as they clung to the ceiling like flies on flypaper.
For them, this man who could make people float with a wave of his hand was something out of a nightmare. A devil.
"The Archamada Book of Spells... at last."
The dark magician's eyes locked onto the spellbook in its display case, and excitement flickered across his painted features.
He drifted toward it.
"Asher!" Ben, Gwen, and Max all turned to look at Asher simultaneously. Their movement was difficult, the floating spell made everything awkward.
"Leave it to me. I won't let him succeed."
Asher shifted his body with effort, managing to maneuver himself toward a corner of the ceiling. There, he activated the Omnitrix and cycled through the available transformations until he found the one he wanted: Heatblast.
SLAM!
His palm struck the Omnitrix's faceplate!
FLASH!
A brilliant green light exploded in the corner of the ceiling!
"What's that?!" "Is it another monster here to attack us?!" "Oh God, we're all going to die!"
Everyone stared at the sudden burst of light in horror, their imaginations running wild.
The dark magician became instantly alert. His eyes narrowed as he focused on the glowing corner. "I have no accomplices at all. What's happening over there?!"
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Flames erupted, their crackling filling the air!
The intense fire quickly overwhelmed the green light of the transformation.
And then Heatblast emerged, hovering in place like Apollo himself, the god of light made flesh. His body blazed with living flame, a stark contrast to the dark magician's deathly pale appearance.
"What are you?!"
The dark magician gripped his staff tightly, staring at Heatblast with deep suspicion and wariness. His instincts screamed danger.
This corner... was not safe.
"Me?" Heatblast raised one flaming finger, pointing dramatically at the dark magician. His voice rang with righteous authority. "I'm just a hero passing through, here to stop villains like you!"
He was totally hamming it up, and he knew it. But what was the point of being a hero if you couldn't enjoy the moment?
Of course, he'd never allow the dark magician to hurt innocent people!
"Ding!"
"Sign-in target detected: Dark Mage Hex!"
"Drive Hex out of the museum to complete the sign-in!"
At that moment, the system's voice rang in Asher's mind. So the dark magician's name was Hex, and sure enough, he was far more powerful than small-time villains like Zombozo and his gang!
"Stop me? You can try!"
Hex's eyes blazed with murderous intent. Without another word, the necklace around his neck flared with dazzling light!
Dark magic erupted in full force!