543. Rebuilding the Rock of Eternity.

Rebuilding the Rock of Eternity was no easy task.

For Alex and Billy Batson, it was an extremely challenging endeavor.

Alex's understanding of the Rock of Eternity came only from fragmented memories. He remembered that the Shazam family used its unique magical energies to traverse various magical dimensions, experiencing wondrous new worlds.

Perhaps because the Shazam family was made up of children, the magical dimensions they visited were often fairy tale-like—populated with creatures like orcs, white-bearded elders, pixies, fairies, and other fantastical beings. It was almost like an adult version of The Wizard of Oz.

But back then, Alex had been too busy marveling at those strange and fascinating worlds to seriously ponder how the Rock of Eternity linked all those magical dimensions together.

Billy Batson, on the other hand, was much the same. Although he had embarked on numerous interdimensional adventures, he had relied entirely on the legacy of the Council of Wizards. Asking him to recreate such a construct from scratch left him stumped.

Fortunately, with Miss Minutes's assistance—and after accompanying Alex on his travels through parallel universes—she had compiled some records on the connections between universes and dimensions.

With the Timepad's massive computational power, they could at least drill small portals into different dimensions.

"In the past, we used two methods for traveling between dimensions. One was through doorways—like a set of magical doors, each connecting to a specific dimension. We would label the doors accordingly," Billy recalled, his tone tinged with nostalgia.

The memories made Billy feel a pang of sadness. He missed his family terribly. If his brothers and sisters hadn't been sacrificed, how wonderful it would have been to reunite here and now.

Shaking off those thoughts, Billy pressed on.

"The other method was a steam train. It connected to the Magic Continent. Since the Magic Continent was closer to Earth and also part of the planet, we could reach it by simply taking the magical train."

"I see," Alex said with a nod. "So what we need now is something like the magical doors since the dimensions we're seeking aren't on Earth."

"Yes and no," Billy replied, shaking his head.

"The magical doors could indeed work, but you're misunderstanding the process. The doors weren't created to open new dimensions directly—they were built after the Council of Wizards personally established connections with those dimensions.

"The Rock of Eternity exists between Heaven and Hell. It's a stabilizing anchor point for balancing the dimensions. In other words, to connect with those dimensions, we first need to locate them.

"But since Red Skull banished all the magical dimensions, we've lost the fixed coordinates for them. Finding those dimensions again will be incredibly difficult."

"So you're saying that without locating those dimensions, even if we rebuild the Rock of Eternity, we can't bring magic back to this reality?" Alex frowned.

"Exactly," Billy said, spreading his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "That's why I said this is such a troublesome task. Who knows where those dimensions were banished to?"

Alex fell into deep thought.

He had previously attempted to locate the lost magical dimensions using various methods. Unfortunately, he'd come up empty. Even the Watcher's Eye could only show vague directions through a haze of mist.

But navigating blindly was like groping an elephant in the dark. They might get lucky and stumble upon a dimension like Avalon. Or they might crash straight into Hell's borders, where the demon lords would be far less hospitable.

Still, this was Alex back then. Now, with the tremendous power at his disposal—and the Wasteland Universe as a backup energy reserve—he was far less concerned about encountering demon lords.

"Here's the plan," Alex said after some thought. "Let's rebuild the Rock of Eternity first. I have my own methods for locating those dimensions. Once we've rebuilt it, we can proceed step by step."

"That's fine," Billy agreed. "But what will you use as a vessel to traverse these unknown dimensions?"

Billy raised another critical issue.

"I know your teleportation magic is impressive, but without precise coordinates, your portals could easily dump us into dimensional rifts. The spatial turbulence there would tear us to shreds."

"A vessel..."

Alex pondered for a moment, and two names popped into his head.

"I'll have Tony Stark and Reed Richards come up with something. They're two of the smartest people in this world. Reed even built a Time-Sled capable of traveling through timelines. I'm sure they'll have a solution."

"As long as you've got a plan, I won't worry. Let's get started on rebuilding the Rock of Eternity," Billy said, eager to begin.

Without wasting time, Alex followed Billy Batson toward the underground chamber of the Hong Kong Sanctum.

As they walked, Alex called out to Miss Minutes in his mind.

'You heard all that, didn't you? Relay the situation to Tony and Reed. I'll need them to create a device in the House of Mystery capable of navigating fractured spatial rifts.'

[Don't worry, sir. While you were discussing the details, I already sent them the information.]

Miss Minutes's soothing voice echoed in Alex's mind. She had been preparing for the next steps even before Alex and Billy raised the issues.

"You always know what I need." Alex chuckled.

[It's my duty, after all~]

The House of Mystery exists outside the timeline, giving them plenty of time to develop the device Alex needed. Coupled with Tony Stark and Reed Richards' incredible intellect and hands-on capabilities, their progress was swift.

In fact, their speed in developing the device might even surpass Alex and Billy Batson's efforts to rebuild the Rock of Eternity.

As they opened the ancient doors and descended the old stone staircase, the torches along the walls automatically ignited one by one, illuminating the path for Alex and the others.

"This is my first time here," Alex remarked, marveling at the design, which was completely different from the New York Sanctum he remembered.

"Ha! You should come here more often. This place is so much better than the ruined New York Sanctum or the half-collapsed London Sanctum." Billy said, turning his head as they walked.

As they spoke, Billy led Alex to the lowest level of the Sanctum.

Descending the final steps, made of pearwood with intricately carved handrails, they entered a vast, open platform. In the center of the stone floor was a large yin-yang symbol surrounded by the eight trigrams and ancient inscriptions.

"We're here. This is where magical runes used to be placed. After the Sanctum fell, this area was abandoned, but it's the perfect spot to install the Rock of Eternity now," Billy explained, gesturing at the grand space before them.

Billy had long since given up hope of ever rebuilding the Rock of Eternity, but Alex's arrival reignited his confidence.

Looking around the pristine, expansive area, Alex glanced at Billy in surprise. It was clear that Billy wasn't just idly talking earlier—he truly intended to establish a new Council of Wizards here.

Alex's gaze lingered on the golden dragon relief on the ceiling. After a moment of thought, he spoke.

"Here's the plan. I'll take out the Eternium, and you'll place it on the ceiling, directly above the yin-yang symbol. Then I'll see if I can link the Eternium to the Sanctum's magic."

"Got it," Billy replied without hesitation. With a determined shout, he called out, "SHAZAM!"

Crack!

A bolt of lightning tore through the air, stirring up a cloud of magical dust. In an instant, Billy Batson's frail body transformed into the muscular and towering figure of Shazam.

Raising his hand, Alex formed a series of intricate gestures. The space in front of him slowly began to tear open, revealing a massive, sharp metallic structure emerging from the rift.

"Pull it out, and I'll create the magical circuits," Alex instructed.

Upon hearing this, Shazam sprang into action. He quickly approached the enormous piece of metal, his powerful arms straining as he lifted the colossal Eternium.

This immense piece of metal had been acquired by Alex from an international contact. The International Syndicate had been mining Eternium in Kahndaq for years. While much of it had been crafted into weapons, a large reserve of the material remained untouched.

With Barry Allen's assistance, Alex had managed to collect all of it without much difficulty. He had even used magic to fuse the fragments into a single, towering pyramid-shaped spire in advance.

Gripping the apex of the spire, Shazam used his full strength to hoist the entire structure out of the magical rift.

As the rift closed with a wave of Alex's hand, he extended both arms forward, channeling an immense surge of magical energy. The power within him roared to life, radiating outward with such intensity that it illuminated the entire sanctum.

Rebuilding the Rock of Eternity was no easy task. It wasn't as simple as just installing the Eternium in a chosen location.

The Rock of Eternity, the lair of the Council of Wizards, was far more than a mere structure. It served as a hub connecting countless dimensions, bridging heaven above and hell below—a testament to its extraordinary significance.

Now, with all dimensions severed from the physical world, Alex faced the monumental challenge of not only rebuilding the Rock but also magically binding this piece of Eternium to the reality of their dimension. Only then could the Rock of Eternity regain its full power!

.....

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