Aryan paused, as if an afterthought had just struck him. "Oh. I forgot to mention something rather important."
Every head snapped toward him with the speed of a closing trap. Tony's eyes narrowed into slits. "I don't like your tone when you say 'important.' That usually means 'life-altering."
Aryan raised a hand to calm the room. "If you want to communicate with any member here—privately—you can do so by using the honorific as a gateway."
Namor leaned forward, his interest sharpening. "Explain this sorcery."
Aryan said. "You speak the honorific in your thoughts and direct your intent toward the person you wish to contact. The message will reach them instantly, regardless of the distance or the walls between you."
Wanda didn't react with surprise this time; she simply looked at him with a knowing gaze. "You used it before," she said quietly.
Tony glanced between them, his eyebrows shooting up. "Used what? When?"
"The honorific," Wanda continued, her eyes never leaving Aryan's. "He contacted me before. When I was still in Sokovia."
Aryan inclined his head, acknowledging the truth. "I asked if you needed help."
"And you offered a new life," Wanda added. "A way out for me and my brother, Pietro."
Namor's expression shifted—interest turning into curiosity. "Across borders? Through the deep?"
"Across realities," Aryan corrected calmly.
Tony let out another slow whistle. "Okay. That's officially more than just a long-distance call. That's a multiversal ping."
Wanda folded her arms, looking thoughtful. "When it reached me, it didn't feel like a voice. It felt like… someone knocking, very politely, inside my head. A resonance."
"That is exactly how it is designed to feel," Aryan allowed a faint smile.
Tony tilted his head, his mind already trying to reverse-engineer the concept. "Let me guess—secure, end-to-end encryption, and it completely ignores every known law of physics?"
"…Yes."
Tony nodded. "Of course it does. Why would I expect anything less?"
"One more thing," Aryan added.
Everyone groaned in unison, the sound echoing off the stone pillars. Aryan continued, unphased. "You can call for assistance using the honorific if you are in dire danger. If a member is in peril, the others will receive a notification."
Tony's eyes lit up. "A cosmic distress flare? Now we're talking."
"But," Aryan cautioned, "the other members must choose to respond. It is not a command. If they agree to help, the system can teleport them near your location instantly."
Namor's brow furrowed. "A teleportation of that magnitude… there must be a price. Nothing in the ocean is free."
"There is," Aryan replied. "The price for an emergency intervention is one million dollar."
Silence fell over the table.
"…Please tell me that's not an entry fee just to say hello," Tony muttered. He leaned back, rubbing his face with his hands. "Even cosmic-scale cooperation runs on a budget."
Wanda stared at Aryan, her eyes flashing with a mix of amusement and exasperation. "You knew all of this and didn't think to tell us?"
Aryan shrugged. "You didn't ask."
Tony slapped the table. "That is absolutely not how critical system mechanics should be introduced! Where's the tutorial? Where's the pop-up window?"
Namor let out a sharp laugh. "You surface people are truly strange. You argue over the price of a miracle."
Aryan opened his mouth again, and the table collectively tensed. "Oh—and one more thing."
"I'm going to start charging you for every 'one more thing'," Tony grumbled.
"There is a newcomer benefit," Aryan said calmly. "You should check your interface. Top right corner."
Wanda was already tapping at the air. "…There's a gift icon. A shimmering one."
Namor and T'Challa found it simultaneously. "I see it," Namor muttered.
"If you select it," Aryan explained, "you can claim a function called the 'Transmutation Ledger."
Tony blinked as he opened the menu. "That sounds like a fancy word for 'bank.' Tell me it's a bank."
"It allows you," Aryan said, "to convert physical items, materials, or resources directly into usable currency within this space."
Wanda stared at him, stunned. "You forgot to mention that? Aryan, we've been talking about budgets for twenty minutes!"
"That is literally the most important part!" Tony exclaimed, throwing his hands up.
Namor's expression shifted from curiosity to something much sharper. The King of the Deep began to see the potential. "You mean," he said slowly, "that objects from my kingdom can be converted directly into the currency of this castle?"
Aryan nodded. "Yes. I've tested it myself."
"But," Aryan continued, raising a finger to forestall the inevitable excitement, "it is not generous. It does not follow the markets of the surface."
Tony squinted at his screen. "Define 'not generous.'"
"Gold, titanium, rare composites—it doesn't matter," Aryan said. "If the market value on Earth is two thousand per gram, the system won't give you two thousand. Sometimes it gives half. Sometimes thirty percent. The rate fluctuates based on the system's own internal logic."
Namor frowned deeply. "On what basis? Who sets the value?"
"That's the part I'm still analyzing," Aryan admitted. "It doesn't care about demand, speculation, or national inflation. My theory is that the Castle values items at their original intrinsic worth—their elemental purity—not the bubbles created by human scarcity."
Wanda tilted her head. "So… no cheating the system with a stock market crash."
"No," Aryan said. "It doesn't accept inflation."
There was a brief silence as they all stared at their interfaces, the power of a universal exchange sitting at their fingertips.
"You hid that," Tony said flatly.
Aryan blinked innocently. "I… forgot?"
"That is not something a man like you forgets," Wanda said, half-amused, half-exasperated.
Namor crossed his arms. "You've been sitting on a universal recycling system and didn't think to mention it while we discussed the price of power?"
Tony stared at Aryan. "Do you have a checklist? Because I'm starting to think you're skipping the most important pages on purpose."
Aryan sighed, a picture of feigned sheepishness. "In my defense, this place comes with… a lot of footnotes."
Wanda shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips. "Is there anything else you've 'casually' held back?"
Tony leaned forward, his eyes narrowed. "Any buttons we haven't clicked? Any icons glowing ominously? Any truths about the reality you're sitting on?"
Aryan paused. They all leaned in, the air in the castle thick with anticipation.
"…Oh," he said. "Right. One more thing."
Wanda groaned loudly. "Of course."
"Klein mentioned," Aryan continued, "that in his universe, every member of the Tarot Club eventually became a god."
Dead silence. The fog seemed to freeze.
Tony blinked, his mouth slightly open. "…I'm sorry, what? Did you just drop the 'G' word?"
Namor's eyes narrowed until they were like shards of obsidian. "Define 'god' in the context of this system."
Aryan lifted both hands in a gesture of uncertainty. "He said that through the process of growth and the exchange of power within the system, they all attained divinity. He didn't explain the details—only that it was their eventual outcome."
Wanda stared at him, her heart hammering against her ribs. "And you're just mentioning this now? After the gold exchange rates?"
"I wasn't sure it applied here," Aryan said honestly. "Different universe. Different logic. Different outcomes. I didn't want to give you false hope."
Tony laughed once—a disbelieving sound. "So there's a non-zero chance we all end up divine? That's the 'loyalty program' reward?"
Aryan smiled faintly. "Klein wasn't certain either. He just said it was a possibility."
Tony leaned back, shaking his head in a mixture of awe and exhaustion. "Fantastic. Join a mysterious fog castle, get terrible exchange rates on gold, and maybe ascend to godhood. No pressure at all."
Namor exhaled slowly, a strange smile forming on his face. "And here I thought today was already unusual."
Wanda glanced at Aryan, her expression softening but remaining firm. "Next time—please—tell us everything first."
Aryan nodded solemnly. "I'll try."
No one at the table believed him.
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