Tony's training soon finished since Edward chose a more hands-off approach with him. Once everything ended, he called the three members of SHIELD: Fury, Coulson, and Maria Hill. As soon as they arrived, they looked around at this white room.
"I would like to launch a complaint," Coulson said.
"What is it?" Edward asked.
"Why are we together while everybody has a one-to-one training session?"
"That's a fair complaint," Edward nodded. "The test is about to start. You only need to stand before that ball."
"You're not even going to respond?"
"Do you want me to be a jack-ass and tell you the cold truth?"
"Never mind," Coulson said, slightly hurt. However, Fury and Maria remained calm. They knew they were not heroes; they had heroic qualities, but they understood, at their core, that they were government workers. So, they proceeded with the test. Edward looked at the results, and a strange look flashed in his eyes.
'Well, at least there are some normal results,' Morgana commented.
'Indeed.' Besides Fury, the other's tests were regular, but only by the standards of the Avengers. By all the other standards, even the Empire, they were excellent. Edward pondered how to train them.
"Is something wrong?" Fury asked.
"No," Edward reassured. "Maybe." he changed his mind. Everyone looked at him in confusion.
"Do you know your greatest talent?" he asked Fury, and the latter shook his head.
"Besides your abilities as a top spy, your greatest asset is luck."
"Luck? As in, I'm lucky?" Fury was confused. He never considered himself lucky, and he could not imagine how this was a power.
"Luck is an illusory thing but also a potent force," Edward explained. "However, in your case, it has manifested in the form of survival. In other words, you're not lucky in the typical sense, but when in danger, you can always find a way out. Even the universe will actively help you escape."
Fury frowned. During his long career, he faced countless dangers, some of which he survived through sheer luck. But he never thought this would be a talent.
"Wouldn't that mean no one could kill the director?" Maria asked. However, Edward shook his head: "Everything is subjective. For example, if I wanted to kill him, even if the universe materialized itself and intervened, it could not stop me from eradicating him."
The three understood his words. Fury's luck might be extraordinary, but his luck will be useless when faced with these beings that can influence things on a cosmic scale.
"However, if you were more powerful and had access to certain abilities, this would be another case," Edward said with squinting eyes.
"Do you have something planned?" Fury asked.
"I have a mission for you, but it's voluntary."
Fury immediately frowned. Although he'd only meant Edward for a short period, he could tell he was willing to enforce his views and ideas on others. Yet, such a person was asking for his permission.
"Is it dangerous?" Coulson asked.
"Extremely," Edward told the truth.
"How dangerous are we talking about?" Fury asked.
"If something goes wrong, even someone like me will die instantly."
Coulson almost gasped, while Maria and Fury could not contain their calm demeanor. "What kind of mission is so dangerous?"
"I want you to infiltrate a timeline with a Multiversal Entity and gather information on them."
Fury had to use every fiber of strength in his body not to curse. After Clint and Natasha's training, everyone knew the Tier Classification of Strength. They knew Edward was Tier 10, meaning he could effortlessly influence an entire universe. They also learned about higher tiers.
"Are you trying to kill me?" Fury asked, trying to control his emotions.
"Listen to me first," Edward stated. "I won't send you blindly. First, your soul will have to reincarnate into that timeline."
"Reincarnate? As in, become another person? And maybe even a baby?" Coulson asked, interrupting him. However, Edward calmly explained.
"You'll eventually awaken your memories, and your current personality will be the dormant one," Edward explained. He won't let Fury follow the same path as his clone, where he's born with his memories and forced to grow up instantly. If Fury has a traceable identity in that universe, it will be easier for him to integrate and hide himself.
"Second, I'll engrave the spell: Fortune Eyes into your soul," Edward continued. "It will allow you to see your own luck and others. With it, you'll be able to predict danger and better use your survival talent."
Fortune Eyes is one of the Empire's accomplishments after years of studying the Felix Felicis (Luck) Potion and the concept of luck as a whole. Unfortunately, Luck seems to be a branch of Destiny Magic, meaning Edward's talent in that area was mediocre, so he rarely used it.
"Third, I'll give you a [Synthesizer]," Edward added.
"Synthesizer?"
"It's an artifact that can make anything you need for your mission to succeed," Edward explained. "I'll program it to build you a Tier 10 Suit just after you're born to protect you."
"It can build anything?" Fury asked for confirmation.
"Yes, anything." Alright, Edward was bragging, but the synthesizers' limitations were minimal. He doubted Fury would ask it to build something that fell into these limitations.
"Can it build a universe?" Coulson asked as a joke.
"That's easy," Edward nodded, almost making the SHIELD agent choke. Then, he remembered what kind of entity he was dealing with. Fury was deep in thought.
"Director, you're not really thinking about this, are you?" Maria asked.
"I am."
"But…"
"We're living in an unprecedented time, and everyone must pull their weight," Edward said. "With me here, our timeline does not need to worry too much about Tier 10 threats. However, Tier 11 or higher is something else. Although I have plans to prepare to deal with these entities, my confidence in this matter is too low. If Fury can gather some basic information about these entities, it will help me prepare to deal with them."
"Do you have a way to deal with Tier 11 Entities?" Fury asked.
"Yes, but it's still in the works." Edward did not elaborate further. These people were weak, meaning their minds were easily read. Additionally, Fury might be reincarnating soon, so he needed to be on the lookout in case someone caught him and searched his soul.
"Alright, I'll do it," Fury said. The others opened their mouths but did not say anything.
"You're a real man; I admire your courage," Edward praised.
"Thank you." Fury did not know whether he meant those words or was just acting how the people in power treated people willing to sacrifice themselves for their causes. Regardless, he also knew how to maintain relationships.
"For this plan to succeed, we must take a few precautions," Edward continued. "First, you won't be born on Earth. Earth is usually the center of many major events in the universe, meaning that countless powerful entities have their gazes on it. We need to minimize the possibility of your discovery.
"Additionally, I cannot provide the [Synthesizer] with too much energy, or there is a risk of someone discovering your reincarnation. The artifact will be programmed to draw energy from the universe and the surrounding dimensions. However, it would be best for you to actively search for better energy sources, like the Infinity Stones.
"However, these artifacts are also hot potatoes, so it's best to decide after figuring out the situation of that timeline."
Fury nodded.
"Secondly, you must understand that if a Tier 11 entity catches you, the synthesizer will instantly eradicate your soul," Edward said calmly.
"What? You can't do that," Coulson said.
"No, he must," Fury said. "We can't risk anyone tracing my origin to our timeline."
"Exactly," Edward nodded. He could have sent only a piece of Fury's soul into reincarnation. However, such an approach had a hidden danger: it's possible to calculate the cause and effect of that soul even if a piece is destroyed. Forget Tier 11. Even a Tier 10 entity good at divination, or even Curse, can find the origin of Fury's soul and trace it to this timeline.
As such, Fury's entire soul must reincarnate. The process of reincarnating and assimilating with the new timeline will further isolate his cause and effect with this Earth, and once the soul dies, the cause and effect will be permanently severed.
"Don't worry about your death since you can rely on Project Phoenix to live again."
"What's that?"
"I'll copy your memories, store them, and if your soul dies, I'll transfer them to a clone. You won't technically be the same person since your soul will be different, but you'll still be you."