“Well, while we're waiting for Alex to absorb the cosmic storm and become a god—which is when I assume we’ll get kicked out of this universe and end up in another—I might as well look around and see if this version of Earth has anything worthwhile. A souvenir, as it were. Naturally, after searching for anything interesting, I found nothing. Not surprising. Modern-day Earth just doesn’t have anything to offer anyone. It really is the Dark Ages, contrary to people’s belief that they’re far more advanced. In reality, they’re a lot more primitive than the ancients. Sure, the technology is more advanced, but the species itself has regressed quite a bit.

"It's funny—on this version of Earth, they had mutants in ancient times, and yet no one ever considered whether the mutants' abilities helped build the pyramids. In fact, I’m pretty sure Apocalypse, one of the oldest mutants, was the one who built the pyramids on this Earth."

"Similarly, I believe that on various Earths, there may have been people with magic or supernatural abilities at some point. But I’m not saying the pyramids weren’t built by humans. Rather, I agree humans participated in their construction. I’m just saying they had help—maybe from magic, some supernatural entity, or a mutant meta-human of sorts. The point is, the construction wasn’t done without advanced technology or some kind of magical or supernatural means. That’s the only way it makes sense. Why else would an Earth devoid of such things seem so out of place? It may sound speculative, but considering the possibility that surely makes sense, doesn’t it? People don’t want to admit it because it would mean admitting they’re not as capable as mutants. And of course, they’re not. Power makes mutants better than humans. Even those with seemingly useless abilities are still better suited for survival than ordinary humans."

Naturally, I set up a dining area in the middle of the African savanna and was proceeding to eat my bowl of rice—well, demon rice, to be specific—when a helicopter flew into my barrier. I had, of course, set it up to keep the annoying winds from knocking over my table and all my delicious food. It’s a very limited supply stored in Sophie’s dimension from Tempest. We stocked up on it, but it’s still limited since we can’t replenish anything from Earth’s vile, disgusting food.

"Nick Fury stepped out of the helicopter. I snapped my fingers, and a chair appeared. 'Here,' I said. 'Have a seat.'

I smiled and added, 'I’d offer you some of this delicious demon rice, but unfortunately, it’s kind of poisonous to humans. Well, technically, it’s not poisonous. Demon rice is a magical plant, so it has a high concentration of mana. If a human eats it, they would die—high concentrations of Mana is basically poison to humans. Though I suppose someone who can use magic might be fine. Even one of those mutants with barely any abilities would probably be okay. Their physiology is just more resilient than a human’s, even if they don’t have the best or coolest powers.' And so, he sat—Nick Fury himself."

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"So, what brings you here, Nick Fury?" I asked.

Nick Fury replied, "I want to modify the fountain so we don’t get any more mutants."

"Oh, you mean a Majin?" I said, tilting my head. "Not really sure you’d call a Majin a mutant, though. I’m sure you already know, since many of your S.H.I.E.L.D. agents have been using my fountain, but a Majin is a type of monster. Specifically, Majins are monsters with a high degree of intelligence and full sentience. While monsters can include a variety of creatures, from mindless beasts to highly intelligent beings, Majins are always the latter."

I continued, "Anyway, the fountain can’t be adjusted like that, even if I wanted to. It’s determined by your own subconscious. But I suppose a Majin isn’t too different from a mutant. You might even consider them an evolved version of one. Still, I have no intention of adjusting the fountain," I interrupted. "This benefits Earth as a whole. More powerful beings can protect it. Yes, some people might misuse their powers, but that doesn’t matter. Elevating humanity as a whole is the best option."

He raised an eyebrow. "The greatest strength of humans is their sense of urgency, born from their short lifespans. It allows them to advance much faster than any other species. But it’s also their greatest weakness. Their society advances faster than it can handle, making it highly unstable. Your sense of urgency drives you to prioritize short-term gains over long-term benefits. This leads to shortcuts, and those shortcuts come at a price."I continued, "As a result, your societal structures struggle to keep up with your rapid advancements. You see it all the time—businesses fail because of short-sighted decisions that come back to haunt them, only to be bailed out by governments. Your species has regressed in many ways. This is true on every Earth in the modern era. People believe they’re more advanced now, but they’re wrong. Ancient civilizations built their societies around an understanding of human nature. They knew you couldn’t get rid of it, so they designed their systems around it."

"In the modern era, the line is blurred. It’s harder to see where it is, and that causes more problems."

"The truth is, people today are actually less advanced than those in ancient times. What’s more advanced is your technology, but the people themselves are becoming more primitive. By suppressing their true nature, they don’t acknowledge it—and by not acknowledging it, they’re not in control of themselves. They’re being controlled by their instincts and tendencies."

Nick Fury smirked. "Think about it. Despite what you believe about ancient times, most of your understanding is based on modern biases. You judge the past through the lens of your own recent history. Take Ancient Greece, for example. If a woman wanted to sleep with another woman, or a man wanted to sleep with another man, no one cared. And yet, in recent history, that was considered unacceptable. Even now, it’s still not fully accepted, though things are changing."

"I’m not saying racism, sexism, or homophobia didn’t exist back then, but they existed in smaller doses. The majority of people weren’t like that. In fact, they were more accepting. So yes, you’re getting better in some ways, but far behind ancient people."