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*****
The system's description for 'Zafkiel: Dalet' was simply "The Angel of Time." Fini didn't quite understand the nuances of this label, making it difficult to guess the skill's specific effects before actually activating it.
"Come forth, Zafkiel!"
Suddenly, Fini felt a strange sensation in his left eye. Then, two firearms appeared in his hands—an ancient-looking musket and an antique pistol. Simultaneously, a massive golden clock manifested silently behind him.
"So that's how it works!"
The moment the musket, pistol, and clock appeared, Fini understood exactly what the power of the Fourth Bullet: Dalet entailed. His memory hadn't failed him; Zafkiel was indeed an ability related to time, and the effect of the Fourth Bullet was to rewind time for the target hit.
Fini's mind immediately went to the Eye of Agamotto held by the Ancient One—the Space Stone... no, the Time Stone.
The Eye of Agamotto possessed similar capabilities and could even peer into the future, though it had encountered some "hiccups" when interacting with the system. However, the Eye was not easy to use. Even if the Ancient One handed it to him right now, he wouldn't be able to wield it. As for prying the Time Stone out to use it directly, that would only increase the difficulty.
Zafkiel's Fourth Bullet was far less troublesome.
Through his many extractions, Fini had realized that as long as a skill came from the system, he could use it immediately unless there were extreme circumstances. Even the 'Golden Derivative Magic', had it not been for the restrictions of the Sanctum, would have shown some effect even if he were a newborn.
Fini examined the exquisite, classical twin guns in his hands. The Fourth Bullet required these weapons to function: the pistol for himself, and the musket for his enemies.
Crucially, the bullets for Dalet were manufactured using time—specifically, his own time. In simpler terms: his lifespan.
To Fini's surprise, although the system only extracted the Fourth Bullet, Zafkiel came with an intrinsic secondary ability that solved this problem. Otherwise, he would have had to consider asking the Ancient One how to "borrow" life from Dormammu.
'City of Devouring Time' was a barrier inherent to Zafkiel. It allowed Fini to forcibly absorb the time of living beings to replenish his own. In a way, Fini was now effectively immortal, provided he was willing to continuously plunder the time of others.
"City of Devouring Time!"
Fini attempted to activate the ability. Centered on him, a burst of blood-red light erupted, rapidly enveloping a three-meter radius. Since there were no living organisms within range, he couldn't trigger the "Time Absorption," but he could feel that the ability was still in its infancy. He likely wouldn't be able to absorb much yet.
Still, getting a "buy one, get one free" deal made Fini feel fortunate; he wasn't about to complain. He could sense that the barrier would evolve as he stored more time.
His only regret was knowing that the true Zafkiel possessed twelve different bullets, whereas he was currently restricted to just the Fourth. This made him feel he had been too easy on Killian; he really should have beaten the man a bit longer.
Fini then experimented by consuming some of his own time to fire a 'Fourth Bullet' at himself, hoping to see if he could revert his state back to before the extraction and pull again.
Unsurprisingly, the system hadn't left such a glaring loophole. He wasted a significant amount of his lifespan without the experience bar for the ninth extraction decreasing a single bit. In fact, it actually increased slightly because he was technically using a skill.
Since he was burning his own life, Fini didn't dare waste more. After the test, he deactivated the skill with a heavy heart.
Fini realized the greatest gain from this extraction wasn't the time-reversal of the Fourth Bullet, but the 'City of Devouring Time' barrier. Though he was powerful, he—like the Ancient One—was essentially a human from Earth. He didn't possess the five-thousand-year average lifespan of an Asgardian.
Because he knew the plot, Fini had rarely worried about his lifespan. The Marvel world was far too dangerous; with dimensional invasions, planet-eaters, and the threat of the Snap, living past thirty was already an accomplishment. What use was worrying about immortality?
Only recently, as his strength grew and he acquired the Space and Mind Stones, did he feel secure enough to even consider the matter. Even then, his life was just beginning. Thinking about dying of old age felt a bit premature.
He hadn't expected the eighth extraction to solve that problem incidentally.
Fini sighed with emotion before deactivating his skills and heading home.
Regarding the usage of the Fourth Bullet, Fini's first thought was recovery. If he took damage in battle, a single shot to himself could restore him to his previous state.
Using it on enemies seemed less effective unless he could trigger a massive reversal. Furthermore, since the bullets cost his own time, using it offensively felt like "killing a thousand enemies but losing eight hundred of your own."
Then, Fini thought of the shrapnel in Tony's chest.
Because of Wakanda's friendly attitude, he had been hesitating whether to speak with Shuri and use their medical equipment to perform surgery on Tony. However, he worried about Tony's willingness and Wakanda's general aversion to outsiders, so he hadn't brought it up.
Now with the Fourth Bullet, Fini felt there was no need for Wakanda. He just needed a good surgeon. As long as he had enough time for a single bullet, it would be impossible for Tony to die on the operating table.
Fini figured he could talk to Tony about it tomorrow. He believed that if given a choice, Tony wouldn't want to keep that danger lodged next to his heart forever.
A day passed quietly.
The military moved fast. By the next day, they announced the capture of 'The Mandarin'. However, the scandal involving the Vice President's cooperation was not disclosed. Instead, he was quietly relieved of his duties to keep the matter low-key.
Simultaneously, the military credited the entire success to Rhodey. While Rhodey did his best during interviews to mention the help of two mysterious armored individuals, the official reports ignored them entirely.
Though the media knew exactly who Rhodey was talking about, given the efficiency with which the problem was solved and the lack of combat footage, they were uncharacteristically generous with their praise. For a time, 'War Machine'—at Rhodey's insistence on the original name—became one of the public's favorite superheroes.
"You're sure you're not joking?"
Inside the villa, Tony looked at Fini with deep skepticism after hearing about the surgery safeguard. "Even Einstein didn't believe in time reversal!"
"I don't care if he believed it or not!" Fini rolled his eyes. "You just need to decide if you believe it."
"While I admit I haven't quite figured out some of your abilities yet, I still firmly believe in science!"
Tony didn't answer directly. He dodged the question and changed the subject; deep down, he was still terrified of the surgery.
Fini didn't mind. Time was even more mysterious than space, after all. He scanned the items around him and picked up an exquisite-looking cup.
(End of Chapter)