Two weeks had passed since Malrick returned to Earth.
On this quiet day, the darkness outside the Solar System suddenly rippled.
Firefly-like particles of light spilled from the silent vacuum.
The particles quickly gathered and condensed, forming Malrick's towering silver-blue Rege Duo Clone.
"Two weeks, and I've fully mastered the rules tied to the remaining three Infinity Stones."
Malrick's voice carried calm satisfaction as he looked toward the faint glow of the Solar System.
By turning himself into a conceptual being and merging with the universe, he had completed a journey that would normally take millennia.
"Time, Space, Reality, Soul, Mind, Power."
In his pupils, a miniature universe appeared, collapsing and rebuilding itself endlessly.
His left fingertip traced shifting structures in the void as each rule manifested around him.
Space warped, time folded back on itself, and reality reshaped in shimmering waves.
"The universe was born from the Big Bang on these six foundations.
They are its framework."
He paused, then continued, "And beyond that framework lie the deeper core laws.
Eternity, Infinity, Death, and Annihilation.
They aren't just entities.
They are the operational rules that keep this universe running."
Malrick now clearly understood how to advance further using the Starry Sky System.
The six stone rules formed the framework of a universe, while concepts like Eternity and Infinity represented the universe's core source principles.
In the Starry Sky System's terms, fully understanding one of those core principles meant reaching the limit of a single universe.
In Marvel, fully comprehending a conceptual law, such as Eternity, also led to a transcendent level beyond the normal boundaries of a universe.
"But my Rege Duo Clone already has transcendent single-universe strength.
When my main system catches up, who knows how far I will go."
Possessing power beyond a single universe made one transcendent, but unless someone could affect the entire multiverse at once, all such power still fell under the same classification.
Compared to the Rege Duo Clone's explosive growth, the Starry Sky System was slow, but Malrick valued it deeply.
It enhanced his understanding of existence and strengthened his Kryptonian genes.
"It's time to break through to Immortality."
He drifted toward the Solar System.
After several light-years, his vast form compressed into a beam of light and sank into his physical body on Earth.
On a balcony, Malrick's Kryptonian body opened its eyes.
"To reach Immortality, I have to prepare an unclaimed dimension.
That contract I made with Dormammu finally comes in handy."
With a spell, his consciousness crossed layers of reality and entered the Dark Dimension.
The scenery was unchanged.
An endless, sunless expanse filled with drifting purplish-black remains of shattered worlds.
The air reeked of sulfur from corroded, honeycombed planetary cores.
Broken planets and twisted remnants floated in a thick sea of dark energy.
Although the place lacked living creatures, Malrick sensed echoes of countless dying screams.
He wondered if Dormammu's vicious nature came from living in such a place.
"Dormammu, long time no see."
Malrick spoke through his consciousness.
Dormammu stirred from sleep.
The Dark Dimension had no time, so Dormammu spent most of his existence in slumber.
But today he looked exhausted, his massive fiery head slightly withered.
"Who calls me?"
Dormammu muttered in confusion.
Normally, those who borrowed his power could not speak to him, and his cultists could not summon him by name.
He moved through the tides of dark energy until he found Malrick's consciousness.
The entire Dark Dimension roared as waves of energy surged in outrage, crushing debris in every direction.
"It's you!"
Dormammu erupted, flames turning darker with fury.
As a being born of the Faltine race, fire came naturally to him, and the shade of his flames reflected his mood.
Right now they were nearly black.
"Sorcerer Supreme, you dare enter the Dark Dimension again?
Good.
Very good.
This time, I will…"
"I'm only here with my consciousness.
What exactly do you plan to do to me?"
Malrick replied calmly.
Dormammu froze, then snarled, "Only your consciousness?
Get out!"
A surge of dark energy crashed toward him.
"Dormammu, I'm here to settle our contract.
Do you intend to break it and risk the Vishanti stripping your authority?"
Malrick allowed the energy to pass harmlessly through his projection.
At once, the raging tides halted.
Dormammu's voice trembled with anger.
"They can't take my authority.
I don't fear them."
"I've fulfilled my part.
I helped Strange, and I never stopped you from absorbing dark energy.
What else do you want?"
He sounded irritated, even wounded.
With no concept of time, it felt to him as though Malrick had been feeding on his dimension endlessly.
Malrick reminded him, "We agreed on three terms.
You still owe me the locations of unclaimed dimensions."
Dormammu repeated the words slowly.
His flames flickered in frustration before he relented.
"I'll tell you.
After that, the contract is over."
"No.
You'll still lend energy to Kamar-Taj for free."
"You don't have to remind me.
The other terms end today."
"That's fine.
But don't try anything.
It won't end well for you."
Dormammu's flames betrayed every emotion.
They flashed like warning lights, plainly exposing his bad intentions.
Malrick didn't care.
He had his own plans as well.
Dormammu conjured a sphere of dark energy containing the dimensional coordinates and threw it at Malrick.
A wave of force immediately swept him out of the Dark Dimension.
Back on Earth, Malrick lifted a finger, forming a trail of golden symbols representing the coordinates.
"Hmm.
This place is located in the Realm of Split.
Dormammu is definitely plotting something."
Malrick smiled faintly.
The Realm of Split existed outside the Earth Dimension.
Under Marvel's structure, the Earth Dimension sat at the core, with five layers radiating outward: Inner Dimensions, Outer Dimensions, Realm of Split, Faraway Realms, and Unknown Realms.
Inner Dimensions included places like Asgard or Jotunheim, reachable by physical travel.
Outer Dimensions required magic.
There, time and physics weakened or vanished entirely.
Many universes existed in these layers, each ruled by powerful beings.
The Crimson Cosmos, for example, existed there and obeyed the rules Setorak established.
Beyond that lay the Realm of Split, home to numerous dimensional worlds.
Dormammu ruled one such realm, the Dark Dimension.
The Vishanti's forces resided there as well, alongside various hellish realms.
Dormammu had given Malrick an address located at the same level as his own dominion.
If it were truly unclaimed, Dormammu would have consumed it ages ago.
His confidence meant there was a trap waiting.
A trap suited Malrick perfectly.
It gave him a legitimate excuse to deal with Dormammu later.
"Even knowing it's suspicious, I'll still take a look."
After sending a quick message to his friends, Malrick flew upward from Earth.
His casual clothes shifted into a sleek battle suit.
In space, he sliced the air with one hand.
Space split open, allowing him to cross into the Outer Dimensions.
The region felt hollow, not vast but strangely lifeless.
Rule structures were faint and unstable.
Breaking through another barrier, he entered the Realm of Split.
This was different from traveling across parallel worlds.
Here, it was incredibly difficult to sense universal laws.
Even the Infinity Stones weakened in this environment.
Every being here followed its own power system.
The strong dictated the rules.
In many dimensions, if the master wished for an apple to fall upward, it would.
And Malrick continued deeper.
---