Breakthrough Failure

The portal closed behind him.

The golden sparks died out, leaving behind a faint scent of sandalwood in the air.

He stood motionless on the cold alloy floor.

Two forces hummed within him. One was green: time. The other was blue: space. They shared the same origin, like brothers separated for years, drawing each other in as they circled and intertwined into a slowly rotating yin-yang symbol.

This was a sign.

There were too many things inside him, too much of a mess. Logan's regeneration, Steve's serum, Carol's energy, Ego's cells, Odin's bloodline, and the rudimentary understanding of force and space he had developed himself. Everything had been crammed into one body like a chaotic stew. It worked, but it always felt awkward and unwieldy.

Now was the time to melt it all into a single piece of iron.

He needed a place where he would absolutely not be disturbed.

Chu Hang extended his right hand toward the air before him. As if pulling open a zipper, he made a light swipe.

Space split apart.

On the other side of the rift was not anywhere he had ever been, but a bizarre Mirror Dimension. Cities and streets twisted and folded like wildly growing vines.

He stepped inside, and the rift behind him closed.

With a thought.

The entire mirrored New York City collapsed in an instant like building blocks crushed by an invisible hand, breaking down into the purest streams of data. The next second, those data streams recombined.

A pure white, boundless void took shape.

Beneath his feet was a crystal floor as smooth as a mirror. Above him was darkness of the Devouring Law that swallowed all light.

This was his laboratory.

Chu Hang sat cross-legged, his consciousness sinking into his body.

First, he needed a new framework.