Dimension Traverse (Part 2)

"You know, this time I'm going to invent a really powerful bomb—one that can maintain world peace with just a single use." After dinner, by the pool, Stark excitedly introduced his latest weapon.

"Iron Man is about to appear." Watching the enthusiastic Stark, Shen Fei thought to himself. Although Stark hadn't named the weapon yet, as soon as he described its function and power, Shen Fei knew exactly what it was: the Jericho Missile, the catalyst that turned Stark into Iron Man.

Why do you sell weapons? For world peace.

In a way, Stark held the same mindset. Weapons were meant to deter—just like nuclear weapons. Since their advent, while small-scale conflicts never stopped, large-scale wars had basically ceased, especially between countries that possessed them.

Unfortunately, Stark's intentions were good, but the other board members of Stark Group didn't see it that way—especially his uncle. Small conflicts around the world never stopped, and some were deliberately instigated. Come on, if everyone made peace, who would they sell weapons to?

Shen Fei had no intention of interfering with Stark becoming Iron Man. After all, if his involvement caused Iron Man to never exist, that would be a huge problem.

Besides, he had his own matters to attend to, and they were no less significant than Stark becoming Iron Man.

Although his strength was considerable now, Shen Fei had always been averse to becoming a superhero. He wasn't as noble as Iron Man or Spider-Man. Especially the kind of thing where you risk your life to save someone, only to be blamed by the person you saved—Shen Fei didn't have the magnanimity of Iron Man and the others. Helping when he could was fine, but risking his life? No thanks.

Speaking of which, Shen Fei deeply admired Spider-Man. Spider-Man never used his powers for personal gain; instead, he lived a down-and-out life, even sacrificing love for it. This made Shen Fei, who constantly used his abilities to benefit himself, feel a bit ashamed. Of course, shame aside, when it came time to secure benefits, he'd still go for it.

If Spider-Man had obtained the Op-Op Fruit's power, he'd probably be desperate to cure all incurable diseases on Earth.

"Key of Solomon, Grand Grimoire, Malleus Maleficarum, Necronomicon, Dimensional Theory, Invisible Sun, Book of Cagliostro." After that, aside from occasionally running experiments, Shen Fei had been diligently studying the magical texts stored on the tablet from Kamar-Taj.

Once the Vibranium Ant-Man Suit was finished, Shen Fei had the idea of traversing dimensional worlds. It was dangerous, but some worlds couldn't be avoided just because of the risk.

It had to be said—humans were strange creatures. Back then, Shen Fei's highest dream was to sleep until he naturally woke up, count money until his hands cramped, live in a villa with a pool, and throw swimsuit parties. Now, that goal was nearly achievable. In theory, he could live like Stark, indulging in a debauched lifestyle. Yet in reality, he hadn't even been with a single woman.

"Hell, Heaven."

Hell and Heaven existed in the Marvel world. In the past, Heaven's angels would occasionally appear, but now Heaven had long ceased to show any divine signs. Hell, on the other hand, still had people returning now and then—like a certain motorcycle-riding Ghost Rider.

Thankfully, these two dimensions were generally inaccessible to ordinary people.

Some dimensional worlds had built-in rejection abilities. Without sufficient strength, you simply couldn't enter. Heaven and Hell were exactly like that.

"So Dormammu isn't beyond time after all."

"I've come to bargain." That was how Doctor Strange repelled Dormammu. For a long time, many believed Dormammu was beyond time. Shen Fei had thought so too. The reason he said "had" was because the Book of Cagliostro explained this issue.

Dormammu wasn't beyond time. If he were, he wouldn't have fallen into Strange's time loop.

The reason Dormammu could perceive the time loop, and why Strange didn't use a time loop against Thanos, was because Dormammu and Thanos were different kinds of beings.

The Book of Cagliostro divided time into narrow and broad senses. The narrow sense referred to time in a single world; the broad sense involved the infinite multiverse. On that front, there was only a concept.

But this perfectly explained why Dormammu could sense the time loop—because Dormammu was a being from another dimension, where the timeline was different from this world's.

One second in this world could be a year in another. In that regard, it was somewhat similar to the Quantum Realm. Traveling to the past, no matter how long passed, was just five seconds to the present.

This didn't mean that a person moving from one world to another was free from that world's time control. If that were the case, Shen Fei himself would be such a person, and he wouldn't be subject to this world's time either—impossible.

Dormammu could detect the time loop because he was a dimensional being. He himself was the Dark Dimension. The body he entered Earth with was only a small part of his vast form. So he was both subject to this world's time and able to perceive the loop.

It was like a person watching an infinitely looping video. The people inside the video couldn't tell it was looping, but the viewer could.

The viewer and the people in the video existed in two different dimensional spaces. Dormammu had placed part of his body into the infinite loop video, while the rest remained as the viewer.

At this point, Shen Fei had to admire Strange. No wonder he was the next Sorcerer Supreme. During that infinite loop, he must have died countless times.

As a dimensional being, Dormammu's concept of time was vastly different from Strange's. Even so, Strange persisted until Dormammu grew impatient and retreated. That alone showed how many times he died—far more than the movie could ever convey.

It also proved the Time Stone's power, allowing Strange to step outside the timeline within his own world, making him both a person in the video and the viewer.

"Good thing I have Pym Particles, or I wouldn't dare do this." Shen Fei wasn't recklessly barging in. That would be playing with his life. He had some confidence, and its source was Dr. Hank Pym's Pym Particles.

Dimensional space and the Quantum Realm were similar—hard to navigate without a sense of direction. But with Pym Particles, it was different.

"I wonder if I'll be able to come back, or when. Forget it, no time to dwell on worldly possessions now."

After preparing everything he could and hiding what needed to be hidden, Shen Fei activated the Ant-Man Suit, shrinking himself to a quantum state. Then he opened a portal and plunged headfirst into dimensional space.

"What a dazzling, colorful world."

The surroundings were just like when Ancient One had led his soul into dimensional space before. For the Wasp, entering the Quantum Realm meant never getting out. But for Shen Fei, that wasn't an issue.