Dim light pierced his eyelids, awakening his sleeping consciousness. Chaotic memories played like a long, poorly edited film, scattered images flashing by in an instant like scenes glimpsed from a passing carriage.
Familiar figures flickered in and out of his mind—his old classmate Reed, his ex-girlfriend Susan, and other vague, shadowy faces. Some smiled, some were cold, all like actors in a stage play wearing false masks.
A jumble of sounds surged in as well, flooding into his brain like backflowing waters. Those piercing words laced with mockery gradually became clear. Negative emotions scorched his insides like poisonous fire: his girlfriend leaving him, Reed's warnings, and the betrayal of his business partner. The scenes replayed over and over in his mind.
"From this day forward, there is no Victor Doom—only Doctor Doom!"
Vaguely, he saw himself smash a glass display case and place the steel mask gifted by the Latverian government over his face. Blazing currents raced across the metal body's surface, and intense resentment and unwillingness welled up within him!
He wanted to scream, but his consciousness was like an adult trapped inside a tiny bottle, unable even to turn over. A roaring black flame erupted, and Victor Doom's emotional memories gradually faded away. Pride bordering on inferiority, arrogance taken to the extreme—those intense emotions condensed into a new personality that took control of his body and mind!
With a boom, like the ringing of a great bell, the memories in his mind shattered like mirrors. He finally opened his eyes. Harsh light stabbed into his retinas with extreme hostility, and he instinctively narrowed his eyes. Only after adapting to the bright surroundings did he slowly examine the environment around him.
Hmm... his movements seemed restricted!
He struggled and discovered that he was secured to a metal device resembling