It started with a dream.
Not mine.
Wanda's.
She stood at the center of a world made of glass.
Every step cracked the surface beneath her, revealing fire, machines, and silence.
At the center of it all—
The Mind Stone, glowing, humming, whispering.
> "Merge."
> "Ascend."
> "Erase the error."
And the error…
was me.
---
I woke up before she did.
She was sweating, her fingers twitching, red energy leaking from her veins like veins of lightning.
The Stone was reaching for her, and it was getting harder for her to resist.
---
[System Alert – Wanda Maximoff: Resonance Threshold 52%]
⚠️ MIND STONE INITIATING PARTIAL FUSION
> Risk of permanent psychic merger: HIGH
Risk of emotional volatility spike: EXTREME
Emergency Override Recommended
---
I used the interface to trigger a localized dampening field around her—my system pulsing with blue geometric light. Her body relaxed. For now.
But we were out of time.
---
Later – Sanctum Sanctorum, New York
Doctor Strange stood in front of a levitating sphere of tangled energy—my system interface, projected through a binding rune I could barely understand.
> "This… thing you're carrying," he said, "isn't just a game engine."
> "No kidding."
> "It's a reforged shard of something far older than our reality."
He flicked his fingers, and the image shifted: dozens of universes, all showing versions of me.
Some died.
Some burned.
Some became monsters.
> "In every world this system touched, it offered power. Choice. Control."
"But in almost all of them… the user went mad. Or worse."
I felt cold.
> "So what's different about me?"
Strange looked straight into me.
> "You're not the original host."
---
[System Core Revelation Unlocked]
> Original User: Unknown | Status: Corrupted | Multiversal Hostline Severed
Current Host: [YOU] | Override Status: STABLE
Unique Trait: Reconstructor
You are the first to resist systemic collapse past Phase II.
---
> "It means," Strange continued, "you might be the first one to finish the story without becoming the villain."
> "Might," I said.
> "The system is evolving, whether you choose it or not," Strange said grimly. "That decision is now."
---
[CRITICAL SYSTEM CHOICE – LOCK OR EVOLVE]
🌀 Option A: System Lock
> Freeze system at current level
Prevents timeline corruption
Disables new skills beyond current tree
Secures Wanda's fusion limit
❗ You'll be stuck with what you have
🔥 Option B: System Evolution
> Unlocks full Class Tree: "Architect of Alteration"
Access new cosmic-level quests
Grants ability to reshape event triggers
💀 High risk: Multiversal detection, incursion events, permanent loss of control
---
I stared at the floating options.
Peter's voice broke the silence.
> "You said you were here to win, right?"
> "Yeah."
> "Then don't play scared now."
Wanda stepped beside me.
> "If the world's going to fall apart, let it fall around us. Not because of us."
I made my choice.
I hit Evolve.
---
[System Evolution Initiated]
> Updating Core Framework…
Unlocking Class Tree: Architect of Alteration
New Ability: Event Editor – modify key Marvel events
New Passive: Branch Anchor – lock one character to your timeline permanently
Wanda Maximoff anchored.
Mind Stone Sync Stabilized.
Ultron Fragment Quarantined in Deep Layer.
You have taken control of the script.
---
Strange sighed.
> "Then God help us all."
The room trembled as energy rippled through reality itself.
A pulse exploded from me like a second heartbeat across the sky.
In Wakanda, Shuri looked up.
In the Quantum Realm, Janet gasped.
In deep space, Carol Danvers flinched.
And in a dark corner of the multiverse…
Someone else woke up.
Not Thanos.
Not Kang.
Something older.
Watching.
Smiling.
Waiting.
---