Marvel x Genshin: Mavuika, The Sun Goddess Rules Asgard — Chapter 79

Chapter 79: Crystal of Fire

Despite the unsettling quiet of the past few weeks, Howard Stark maintained his unwavering routine. The Skrulls had vanished without a trace, leaving a void where he expected to find clues. Still, he went to S.H.I.E.L.D. every day, on time, a creature of habit. Any sudden deviation, he reasoned, might alert the vipers hiding in the grass.

As he prepared to leave late one evening, Maria watched him with a worried frown creasing her brow. “You’re going out again? So late? Can’t it wait until morning?”

“There are some documents that need my signature,” Howard offered, the excuse sounding smooth and practiced. His tone softened. “I’ll be back soon. Don’t you worry.”

He reached for his cane, the familiar weight a small comfort, but a calm voice stopped him before he could take a step.

“Wait a moment, Howard.”

Mavuika rose from the sofa, her movements fluid and silent. She crossed the living room, her expression growing serious as she approached. Under the warm lamplight, her amber eyes seemed exceptionally deep, holding a gravity that made Howard pause. He stood still, looking at her with a puzzled expression.

She didn’t speak right away. Instead, Mavuika raised her right hand, palm facing the ceiling.

In the next second, a pinpoint of golden-red light bloomed in her palm. It was warm but not blinding, like a miniature sun held captive. The light began to condense, compressing upon itself, transforming from a gentle glow into a ball of leaping, vibrant flame. The fire danced for a moment before the impossible happened—it began to solidify, its liquid motion crystallizing into solid form.

A few seconds later, a thumb-sized crystal rested in Mavuika’s palm.

It was a perfect hexagonal prism, utterly transparent, yet within its flawless facets swirled a halo of golden-red light. It was as if liquid fire, the very essence of a star, was slowly rotating within its core. The crystal emitted a gentle, comforting warmth, but it held no scorching heat.

“Take this with you,” Mavuika said, her voice calm and solemn as she offered the crystal to Howard. “If you encounter any trouble, crush it. I will know.”

Howard stared, momentarily stunned. He looked down at the gem, feeling the sheer power radiating from it. This was no form of energy native to Earth; it was the pure, undiluted power of a deity. To his scientifically trained eyes, the crystal was a contained star, and as the light flowed within, he could almost perceive countless microscopic runes flickering in and out of existence.

“This is…” Howard’s voice was a bit dry, his throat tight with awe.

“A crystal formed from my fire,” Mavuika explained, her tone as casual as if she were describing a simple trinket. “I’ve sealed a wisp of my power inside. The moment the crystal is broken, no matter where you are, I can instantly sense your location and your condition.”

She paused, her gaze steady. “Of course, I hope you never have need of it. But it’s best to be prepared.”

It was an amulet, a divine ward given to ensure his safety. Howard was, after all, hunting shapeshifting aliens who lurked in the deepest shadows. There was no telling when they might discover his investigation, or what they might do when they did.

He looked at the warm crystal in his palm, his eyes filled with a deep gratitude that words couldn’t quite capture.

“Thank you,” Howard said, his voice thick with emotion. He carefully tucked the crystal into the inner pocket of his jacket, pressing a hand against it. It felt warm against his chest, like a piece of fine jade that had been basking in the sun all day. “I’ll keep it safe.”

After giving Maria a few more reassurances, Howard turned and left, his car disappearing into the night as he drove toward S.H.I.E.L.D.

In the days that followed, time flowed like a placid river. The surface was peaceful, but unknown currents churned in the depths.

Howard adhered to his daily rhythm without fail. Every morning, he dressed in a crisp suit, ate breakfast, and drove to the imposing S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Within those magnificent and cold halls, he reviewed documents, attended meetings, and discussed project timelines with colleagues. To any observer, everything was perfectly normal.

But only he knew the truth. Behind his seemingly focused gaze, his mind was constantly observing, analyzing, questioning.

Every agent who passed his office door, every familiar face that greeted him in the hallway, every researcher who sat across from him at the conference table—Howard was silently dissecting them all. ‘Could this person be a Skrull in disguise? Did that fleeting, unnatural twitch mean something?’

The Skrulls, however, seemed committed to their deep cover. Two full weeks passed, and Howard found nothing. Not a single suspicious sign. The minor inconsistencies that had first alerted him had all smoothed over, returning to a state of unnerving normalcy under his deliberate scrutiny. It was as if the previous anomalies had been a figment of his imagination, or perhaps the Skrull agents had been warned and were now exercising extreme caution.

The atmosphere inside S.H.I.E.L.D. was terrifyingly calm. The data logs for the Tesseract were normal. Security records were flawless. There wasn’t even a whisper of “abnormalities” in the base’s usual gossip mill.

This sterile perfection was, in itself, the greatest abnormality of all, but Howard had no evidence to prove it.

Meanwhile, the Skrull locked away in his own home was becoming a persistent problem.

The green-skinned prisoner was confined to a reinforced storage room in the basement. Maria delivered water and food through a special delivery slot at regular intervals, avoiding any direct contact. Howard had attempted to interrogate the alien several times, but his efforts were met with either stony silence or a cold, hateful glare from those unsettling yellow eyes.

“How long are we going to keep him?” Maria asked softly one evening as she cleared the dinner table. “This isn’t a long-term solution, Howard.”

He sighed, the sound heavy with exhaustion. His wife was right. An alien prisoner hidden in their house was a ticking time bomb. But they couldn’t hand him over to S.H.I.E.L.D.—who knew how many accomplices were waiting there? And they couldn’t simply let him go, as that would undoubtedly alert the enemy.

“Just a little longer,” Howard said, the weariness evident in his voice. “Until we find another clue…”

But clues were slow to come. The investigation had reached a stalemate, and Howard’s life settled into a strange, tense calm. He worked by the book, came home, ate dinner, discussed the lack of progress with Mavuika, and then repeated the entire cycle the next day.

In stark contrast, the lives of Mavuika and Tony were far richer.

Having reclaimed the Flamestrider, Mavuika couldn’t possibly resist the call of the open road.

On the first day, she simply cruised the country lanes near the villa, reacquainting herself with the motorcycle’s powerful performance. By the second day, her range had expanded to the nearby towns. On the third, she rode to a lakeside two hundred kilometers away and was back before lunch.

By the fourth day, as Howard was heading out for work, he saw Mavuika in the garage, checking over the bike. She had the unmistakable look of someone preparing for a long journey.

“Are you…” Howard began hesitantly.

“Going to check out the north,” Mavuika announced, a spark of excitement in her eyes. She held up a map she’d found in his study. “I heard there’s a beautiful mountain road up there. Lots of curves, not many cars.”

Howard opened his mouth, the instinct to warn her to be safe on the tip of his tongue. Then he remembered who she was, what she was capable of, and swallowed the words.

In the end, he just nodded. “Be careful on the road.”

“Don’t worry.” Mavuika grinned, pulling on her helmet. With a flick of her wrist, the engine roared to life, a joyous and powerful sound that echoed through the quiet morning air.