"Kahndaq, you are finally willing to see me?" Dane nodded and smiled at her.
But the Spirit of Kahndaq remained expressionless. She seemed somewhat different from Angelis, not the type to be very close to humans.
"You trapped me in this dream, isn't it precisely because you wanted me to appear?"
Dane found a seat for himself, like a true King.
"Kahndaq, you should be able to see all the efforts I have made for this city, and you should also know what I want."
"eternal metal?" she whispered softly.
Dane nodded: "That's just one aspect. I need a completely trustworthy base. You have had contact with the Wizard Council, so you should understand easily."
"But you already have the Rock of Eternity." She said with a calm expression.
"That place is not suitable for a large number of people to reside, as it can easily cause some dangers. I need a ~city~ that exists in the Real World."
The Spirit of Kahndaq closed her eyes: "Must it be me?"
"I am a magical creation, Kahndaq. No city in the Real World is more suitable for me than you."
Kahndaq fell into deep thought.
She felt only helplessness in her heart. If she could, she really didn't want to yield.
Kahndaq, like its people, was a place that pursued freedom, yet in reality, this country was rarely truly free, always being enslaved by various people.
First it was King Acton, who worshipped demons, and now it was the International Gang.
However, Kahndaq knew very well that the person currently in charge of the International Gang was a descendant of Acton, and their goal was still the unfinished work of their ancestor from thousands of years ago.
This millennium-long destiny, after all its twists and turns, still returned to the bloodline of Acton.
Actually, to be fair, Dane's support for the rebels in recent years had, to some extent, slowed down the International Gang's momentum.
It prevented the mastermind Ismail from having time to search for the lost crown of his ancestor.
From this perspective, everyone in Kahndaq should thank him, but the help he brought also brought war to Kahndaq, which was an undeniable fact.
This also made Kahndaq somewhat dissatisfied. In fact, she had hoped that Shazam would lead the Justice League to directly sweep away the International Gang, which would minimize the losses suffered by Kahndaq.
But Dane didn't like this approach; that would be like wanting a free ride, and would he suffer that loss?
So Dane ignored the Spirit of Kahndaq's dissatisfaction and spoke frankly: "Now I have two options; you choose one."
"First, you and I sign a contract. From now on, Kahndaq will belong to me personally. I will take over all power here, both real and magical."
"In this way, we will be a family from now on. Your affairs are my affairs, and I can destroy the International Gang with a flick of my hand."
"Second, you stay in this dream forever. This appearance of the city is your nostalgic memory of Kahndaq in its prime, isn't it?"
"You can stay in this beautiful dream forever. Although the Real World is a bit more complicated, I can still acquire this city through other means. At that time, I will still help you get rid of the International Gang."
"Now, it's up to your choice."
Because he wanted a complete Kahndaq, Dane did not demand the souls of all Kahndaq people, unlike the demons who invaded Los Angeles.
He no longer needed such things now; he had already become the God of Death.
As the God of Death, even without the cooperation of the Spirit of Kahndaq, the souls on this land could still be his property whenever he desired.
The reason he still wanted Kahndaq was to make the Justice League a political entity. Having an organizational form was not enough; it also needed tangible territory.
This way, on the official front, it can deter some evil forces from coveting superhumans.
Moreover, the Justice League also needs a secret Base that completely belongs to them.
The original Hall of Justice, in the end, was still within the United States, and not entirely safe.
Dane had another plan: he wanted to establish several space stations in space to monitor threats from deep space, so he needed a launch Base completely controlled by Umbrella itself.
NASA was a big sieve, with spies from every department, and he didn't trust them.
Kahndaq was very suitable as a new launch Base, and relying on the eternal metal ore vein, it might even be possible to forge a path of combining science and magic.
Furthermore, Kahndaq is close to the sea, and it might even be able to establish some contact with the Undersea Kingdom; their seawater ionization technology is quite good.
It's cleaner than nuclear energy, and the energy conversion efficiency is also higher.
It could allow Earth's technology to move beyond the 'boiling water' stage.
Facing the two choices Dane presented, Kahndaq fell into deep thought.
This seemingly gave her a choice, but in reality, she had no choice at all.
No matter how beautiful everything here was, a dream was just a dream; it wasn't reality.
And no matter how bad reality was, it was her city, and she loved it more than anything.
So she could only choose one. Kahndaq didn't complain; survival of the fittest was the law of the World, and even as the Spirit of Kahndaq, she acknowledged this.
Besides, Kahndaq had had a Master for thousands of years. Having Shazam as Master was much better than those hyenas who only knew how to destructively exploit this land.
"I choose the first one." There was no ripple of emotion in her tone.
"A wise choice."
Dane nodded in satisfaction. He beckoned and, with a grab, pulled a scroll of parchment from the void, handing it to Kahndaq.
But she only glanced at it, fixing her gaze on Dane's eyes:
"Can you promise me that you will treat Kahndaq and its people well?"
Dane could accept this request. He had already taken the greatest benefit, so there was no need to quibble over small matters.
So he solemnly said to Kahndaq, "I promise that in my lifetime, I will not let Kahndaq experience war again."
Anyway, major events in the DC Universe mostly happened in the United States. If it were the people there, Dane really wouldn't dare to make this promise.
The Spirit of Kandake said no more, imprinting her "blood" and a portion of her "spirit" on the scroll.
Instantly, Dane felt a mental connection form between him and Kahndaq. He was a little surprised.
This was the first time he had signed this type of contract, so he didn't know the effect would be like this. No wonder she seemed unwilling earlier.
So, after signing the Master-subordinate contract, the subordinate's psychological activities could be known by the Master!
Moreover, the Master could actively open and close this mental connection, including transmitting their thoughts to the subordinate.
Dane wanted to try it, so he casually extracted a memory and transmitted it.
Kahndaq looked up: "I can receive it, so please be careful when choosing to transmit information, and don't transmit anything... very private."
She coldly turned her head away, but Dane distinctly saw her earlobes turn red.
Could the transmitted information be that specific?
Dane was surprised, and Kahndaq didn't seem as unfeeling as he had imagined.
Once a life form possesses its own thoughts and personality, it's very difficult for it not to develop emotions and the like.
Dane, who had some research on Emotional Spectrum energy, could feel this point.
However, now was not the time to study her. Since Kahndaq was already in his hands as he wished, many plans could continue to advance.
First, he had to strangle the International Gang.
Previously, he let them be so that the Kahndaq people would learn to fight for themselves. Now, that goal had been achieved.
But not all struggles yield good results, and real-World factors cannot be ignored. Although the International Gang was only a Base organization, it had money!
With money, they could hire countless mercenaries to fight in war zones, where human lives were not worth much.
But Kahndaq naturally lacked war potential. The economy and weapons could still be secretly provided by Umbrella Corporation, but not the people to fight.
Can a population of several million really be like a certain hexagram country, engaging in total war? What about the domestic economy then?
So, it was time for him to come out and sort out the situation.
However, he couldn't use the identity of Shazam. This persona was the leader of the Justice League and couldn't be tainted. He still had politics to deal with!
So, after he brought Kahndaq out of the dream, he softly uttered "Shazam," and a bolt of lightning flew from the sky, striking him back into his mortal form.
Kahndaq looked at him in surprise, not knowing what he meant, but she quickly understood.
The power of Death activated, dark divine power dyed his sclera black, while his irises turned golden, and a divinity emanated from within him.
A black cloak generated from the void and draped over him. Under the moonlight, his skin was unnaturally White.
At this time, Dane's apparent age was already 19, and his face was very young.
And it's estimated that his apparent age will be fixed here from now on. Not counting the Shazam body, his true body also became a genuine God of Death.
With the authority granted by Death as support, he didn't need to rely on human faith to survive like other gods, and... thinking of the numerous souls still in his inventory, he didn't lack consumables at all.
However, this style of treating souls as consumables was more like a demon than a God of Death... "You, you are Shazam?"
Kahndaq, who was beside him, saw him change instantly and couldn't help but ask.
Dane snapped his fingers in front of her eyes, dispelling the confusion spell. Only then did Kahndaq finally see clearly.
After all, before and after the transformation, the two actually looked the same; it was just that the Shazam form was more mature.
He smiled at Kahndaq:
"Now, you should call me God of Death."
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