"How… how did you get in?"
The old wizard Shazam, who had been resting wearily on his stone throne, suddenly opened his eyes wide—as if a corpse had just been jolted back to life.
He quickly scanned the chamber. The familiar stone seat, the monolithic walls, the silent air—it was all the same. He hadn't wandered outside in his sleep.
But then, who was this stranger standing before him?
For centuries, no one had been able to enter this sanctum except for those Shazam personally guided to the Rock of Eternity. In modern terms, this place was his secret base.
Yet the young man before him had simply appeared—no key, no knowledge of the entrance—just there.
"I'm Malrick Stark, and I'm also a magic user."
The man's voice was calm, confident. He raised his right hand and traced a glowing circle in the air. Sparks ignited, forming the familiar fiery pattern of a Kamar-Taj portal.
"See? That's how I got in," Malrick explained casually. "There's a magic node in Philadelphia that links to the Rock of Eternity. I tested a spell, and it opened."
He spoke as if it were nothing more than finding a hidden door and deciding to step through.
Shazam's eye twitched. To break into his sanctuary as if visiting a neighbor—how brazen!
No ordinary spellcaster could have done this. The Rock of Eternity was protected by ancient magic—barriers layered by the gods themselves.
This young man's composure made it even worse.
It took the wizard a few seconds to process what had just happened. Then realization struck—this was no ordinary intruder. Whoever Malrick was, his mastery of the mystic arts was remarkable.
A magician this powerful, intruding here, could not have come without purpose.
"What do you seek by coming here, stranger?"
Shazam rose from his throne, gripping the Staff of the Gods. His voice boomed through the chamber as he gazed down at Malrick from the stone steps.
"For thousands of years, evildoers have tried to release the demons sealed within these walls. Every one of them turned to dust. Before you take another step toward ruin, consider what you're doing."
The room vibrated faintly with his words.
Malrick tilted his head slightly, unfazed.
Very good, Shazam thought. At least the boy wasn't completely foolish.
Then Malrick spoke, his tone polite but dry. "No offense, Wizard Shazam, but were you perhaps… distracted just now? You didn't seem to hear what I said earlier."
Shazam blinked. "What?"
At first, he recalled the man saying something—but the details were gone, lost in his surprise.
"You said… what again?" the old wizard muttered, slowly stepping down the stairs, leaning on his staff.
Watching this, Malrick couldn't help thinking that perhaps the ancient guardian of magic was, well… a little senile.
Out of respect for the elderly, he repeated himself patiently.
"The world outside is restarting. I came to bring you an heir."
Shazam's eyes widened with sudden understanding. "Ah! So you've come to inherit my power!"
Malrick froze. "That's not—"
"Young man," Shazam interrupted, wagging a finger, "next time you meet an elder, speak clearly!"
The wizard's booming tone carried both pride and amusement. Having lived for millennia, he brushed aside his own misunderstanding without a hint of embarrassment.
He began circling Malrick, tapping the ground with his staff as he examined him from head to toe.
It had been ages since he had seen anyone with such strong magical potential.
(Truth be told, he hadn't seen anyone in a very long time.)
"Not bad," Shazam muttered approvingly. "Very good indeed."
He stopped in front of Malrick, his serious expression softening. "You want to inherit my power, don't you?"
Malrick sighed inwardly. The look Shazam gave him was the same one a butcher gave a side of meat—measuring, weighing, deciding if it was fit for sale.
"Actually," Malrick began, "it's not me—"
"I know, I know everything!" Shazam interrupted again, raising a hand dramatically.
His expression was that of a man who believed he had already seen through the mysteries of life. His ancient beard and weathered face practically glowed with self-assured wisdom.
"I have been hidden away for thousands of years. All records of me in the outside world have long faded. That you could find your way here from scraps of ancient text is quite remarkable."
The wizard turned and walked back up a few steps, his staff tapping the ground in rhythm.
"You may think your potential qualifies you," he continued, "but power alone is not enough."
Even as he said this, a faint smile returned to his lips.
"Only those with a pure heart, unshakable will, and a sense of justice can become my suc—"
He stopped mid-sentence. The words faltered, the smile faded. His face froze in disbelief.
"How is your mind so… impure!?"
The chamber fell silent for a moment.
Then, Shazam jabbed his staff toward Malrick, fury flashing in his eyes.
"At your age, with such mastery of magic, how can your thoughts be this… filthy! They're as clouded as Caesar's were when he met Cleopatra!"
Malrick blinked, half amused, half embarrassed. "That was… an accident."
His mind flashed back to the previous night—Diana had been particularly affectionate, and the memory had clearly lingered a little too vividly.
He hadn't expected the wizard's mystical senses to be so intrusive.
With his usual composure and willpower, he should have easily passed any purity test. Though he hadn't come here seeking the wizard's power, being called out like that was undeniably awkward.
Shazam sighed deeply. "There are no accidents in the world of magic, young man. I'm sorry to say, but with an impure mind like yours, you cannot be my successor."
His tone carried genuine disappointment, as if Malrick had squandered incredible potential.
"Five thousand years ago, I had another successor," Shazam continued gravely. "Because his heart was impure, he fell to madness after gaining power. The destruction he caused still haunts me."
He waved his hand dismissively. "Go. Leave this place. I will not make the same mistake again."
The old wizard turned away, his back hunched under the weight of centuries. His staff echoed faintly against the stone floor as he walked toward his throne.
"Truly," he murmured, almost to himself, "only the hearts of children remain pure enough for such power."
Malrick's eyebrow twitched.
Wasn't that almost word-for-word something from Digimon Adventure? "Only children can be chosen because they hold infinite possibilities…"
He sighed. "Wizard, I think you misunderstood me, I don't wish to be your heir."
Shazam turned, puzzled.
"You don't wish to be my heir? Then why are you here?"
Malrick smiled faintly. "I came here to bring you someone who can."
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