Inside S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, the atmosphere was tense.
Nick Fury's single eye narrowed sharply as the monstrous being, known as Taotie, spoke. Fury had heard many terrifying things in his life, but this one chilled him to the bone.
Taotie had not denied its ability. It hadn't said "I cannot." It had simply said "I never thought about it."
That meant if it wanted to, it absolutely could.
"Damn it…" Fury muttered, a cold shiver running through him. His face hardened with fear. This thing's power was beyond anything S.H.I.E.L.D. had ever contained.
On the screen of light that broadcast the containment interview, James leaned forward, studying the creature.
"…Simple thinking limits you from knowing your true abilities," James said softly. "It's like primitive people holding a gun but only using it as a harder stick."
Then he changed the subject abruptly. "What did those people who came before us ask you to eat?"
"There are too many things," Taotie answered, its voice rumbling like thunder in the cavern. "From a man's poverty, sickness, and death… to the second moon, the fall of kingdoms, and even people's faith. Do you really want me to list them? There are countless."
The live broadcast exploded.
Millions of viewers froze in disbelief.
The idea of devouring sickness, poverty, or even death was staggering enough. But the mention of a second moon being swallowed whole sent shockwaves across the Marvel world.
Inside S.H.I.E.L.D., Natasha Romanoff's jaw dropped.
Before now, she had never fully understood what Taotie meant when it said "devour." She had always assumed it was just eating physical matter.
Now she realized the horrifying truth—
Taotie could devour concepts.
If it devoured a person's "poverty," that person would never know poverty again. If it devoured "sickness," they would never fall ill. If it devoured "death," they would not die.
This was not simple destruction. This was rewriting reality.
Fury's face paled as he whispered, "The second moon… Could it be that the Foundation's world once had two moons? And one was erased… devoured by this monster?"
If that was true, then James and his team never knew about it because their knowledge of it was devoured too.
Fury clenched his fist. For the first time in years, he felt true fear.
On the screen, James frowned. "The second moon? But… we only have one moon."
Taotie raised its head. Its many patterned eyes shifted uneasily. "The one who ordered me to do it didn't just want me to swallow the moon. He made me eat everyone's memory of it too. He said too many unbearable things had happened on it."
Silence fell.
Even James froze, unsure how to respond. The revelation was too much at once.
The livestream audience filled with chaos—millions of voices asking the same question.
What happened on the second moon?
James finally spoke again: "You must have done this more than once."
Taotie answered without hesitation.
"If you're asking about the 'natural' things you assume are normal but were actually caused by me… I devoured 'Datong,' 'qi,' dragons, gods and ghosts, entire mountain ranges, rivers, islands, even vast stretches of sea. I've eaten time that flowed too slowly, lifespans that passed too quickly… countless things."
The livestream erupted like a tsunami.
"Holy sh*t! Did it just say it devoured time?!"
"This is insane—this monster can rewrite reality itself!"
"Oh my God… everything we think is normal could be a lie…"
"Too terrifying. This isn't just a creature—it's the hand that reshaped history!"
In S.H.I.E.L.D., Natasha whispered, "Does this mean… the Foundation world's current reality has been altered, again and again, by Taotie?"
Fury clenched his jaw. "So the world they live in is not the original one. It's a world rewritten countless times, shaped by the whims of whoever commanded this beast."
The thought was maddening.
On the screen, James stood silent, his eyes closed.
Taotie shifted uneasily. "I'm sorry," it said suddenly. "Most of it wasn't my choice. I was forced. Except for the elephant—I hated him even before I was imprisoned."
The audience gasped. A monster like Taotie, apologizing? That was unthinkable.
James opened his eyes. "Why don't you run away?"
"I can't," Taotie said bitterly. "The man who trapped me used my mother's bones to shackle my legs, my father's teeth to clamp my mouth, and the flesh of my loved ones to build this cave. I've been here for thousands of years. If I left… it would only make it easier for those who hunt me to find me."
James's voice turned sharp. "How can anyone deal with you?"
Taotie shuddered. "I can't say."
James's gaze hardened. "Would you harm the world if given the chance?"
"Why do you assume I'm the villain?" Taotie asked, almost angrily. "Humans call me greed, lust, gluttony. They even spread tales that I was foolish enough to eat myself. That's slander!
True greed is in the humans who command me. They beg me to devour their poverty, their pain, their enemies… even the entire world. I am only what they make me. Who, then, is the true embodiment of greed—me, or them?"
The livestream audience froze.
This was a Keter-level containment object, the child of Yaldabaoth, the Supreme God. Yet its words carried the weight of bitter truth.
Maybe it wasn't the villain. Maybe it was a victim.
Inside S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury whispered, "Greed… humans…" His expression shifted as he realized something terrible.
On the screen, James stayed calm. "You said enough to prove you are a threat. That is why I keep asking if you'd destroy the world."
Taotie sighed. "I can't do anything now unless ordered. My bindings won't allow it."
James suddenly asked, "Do you long to be free of the restraints?"
The question struck like a thunderbolt. Taotie hesitated, then whispered, "Maybe."
James shook his head. "That may never happen."
"…I understand," Taotie murmured.
James pressed further. "Still, you've admitted to past crimes. You once devoured six sons before you were captured. Who knows what else?"
Taotie coughed unnaturally, clearly hiding something. It refused to answer.
James let it pass. "What are your plans now? You'll remain contained. But I promise—the abuse you suffered before, when others used you to satisfy their greed, will not continue."
"I don't know if you can keep that promise," Taotie said. "I'm too old to care. I just want rest. Peace."
James studied the chains made from Taotie's family remains. "It must be painful, bound by their corpses."
"You come here again and again," Taotie said irritably. "Yet you never tell me what you want me to eat."
James paused. "Maybe one day, if you cooperate, I'll let you devour your own aging."
Taotie blinked, stunned. "You'd… consider that? Not for yourself, but for me?"
It sounded almost moved. "Others only saw me as a tool. But you… you at least think of me. That makes you different."
James cut him off. "That's enough. The interview ends here."
As he turned to leave, Taotie grew desperate.
"Wait!" it called out. "I know you've placed barriers outside. You're not just keeping me from escaping—you're preventing others from commanding me. For that… I thank you.
I haven't had anyone to talk to in centuries. If you could visit more often… we could talk. Please."
James glanced back, then gave a cold but faint nod. "See you later."
And with that, he left, the monster's patterned eyes following him with a strange mixture of longing and fear.
The broadcast ended.
Across the Marvel world, a heavy silence fell.
They had all witnessed the impossible power of Taotie. A being capable of swallowing not just matter, but concepts themselves. A creature that could erase the moon from existence and devour the very idea of death.
The comparison came naturally—
It was like watching a caged tiger. Ferocious, terrifying, yet chained by forces even greater.
But when James walked out of the containment room, he immediately contacted Victor Hale, the Overseer O5-10.
"SCP-CN-500," James reported, "was discovered to have had its restraints broken in the past. People used it for selfish desires. It cannot cause destruction on its own, but in the hands of greedy men, it reshaped reality over and over again."
He paused, his eyes narrowing. "Perhaps it is not the greedy beast. Perhaps it is humanity's greed, exposed through it."
From the other end of the line, Victor Hale's cold voice responded:
"Then it will be reclassified as a Thaumiel-level project."
The second moon was gone. The truth was buried. And now, the Twin Gods had taken notice.
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