The instant the liquid metal dripped down, the air in the control room froze.
The droplet of silver liquid hovered three centimeters above the Void Walker's head, as if held aloft by some invisible force.
Fine ripples spread across its surface, each one shimmering with an eerie glow.
The Void Walker's Void Origin seemed to sense something delicious. It began surging upward on its own, forming black vein-like patterns across the smooth shell of its body.
The markings writhed beneath the surface like blood vessels, converging toward the crown of its head.
Then the liquid metal finally descended.
The moment contact was made, everything exploded.
Silver and black energies clashed like two colossal serpents, instantly tangling together with a piercing hiss.
The Void Walker's body arched violently. Its spine crackled as vertebrae snapped and shifted, while its limbs convulsed as though struck by lightning.
The liquid metal spread with frenzied speed.
It flowed down from the crown of its head, covering the face, engulfing the neck, and creeping across the shoulders toward the torso.
Every inch of skin it touched was consumed by silver, only for blackness to surge back a moment later.
Two completely different powers fought for dominance.
Wanda tightened her hold on Adam.
Chaos Magic instinctively formed seven layers of barriers before her.
She could feel the madness saturating the air—a conceptual-level distortion created by the collision of two supreme powers.
Everything in the room that wasn't bolted down began trembling.
Metal panels buzzed.
Sparks burst from the edges of laboratory tables.
The golden Eye of Agamotto on Strange's forehead opened to its fullest extent.
The power of the Vishanti transformed into layers of runic arrays that enveloped the control room, forcibly stabilizing space itself as it teetered on the edge of collapse.
Levi stood at the center.
Both arms were extended.
Golden-red and silver-white radiance erupted from his palms.
The Phoenix Origin and Control Origin operated simultaneously, constructing a five-meter-wide domain of laws around the Void Walker.
Within that domain, every energy conflict was forcibly constrained within controllable limits.
Deep within his eyes, every detail of the fusion between liquid metal and Void Origin was reflected.
A faint smile curved his lips.
This was exactly what he wanted.
Two powers at the furthest extremes, forced into symbiosis under his will, creating the ultimate lifeform beyond any existing definition.
Three minutes into the fusion, the Void Walker's body began undergoing a fundamental transformation.
The silver liquid metal no longer merely coated the exterior.
It was penetrating deeper.
Much deeper.
Tony stared at the scan results.
The metallic particles were invading the cores of the Void Walker's cells in a manner that completely defied known physics, rewriting the very definition of its existence.
The Void Origin refused to yield.
The black energy retaliated like a living organism, infiltrating the metal and attempting to convert it into part of itself.
The two forces reached a deadlock.
Neither could fully suppress the other.
The Void Walker unleashed a shrill scream.
The sound did not emerge from its throat.
Instead, it erupted simultaneously from every pore of its body.
Visible shockwaves slammed into Levi's law domain, sending rings of golden sparks rippling outward.
Its limbs began flailing wildly.
Streams of Void energy shot from its fingertips, carving black fissures through the air.
Beyond those cracks lay the deepest reaches of the Inner Universe's Void, radiating an overwhelming hunger to devour everything.
Clark clenched his teeth.
Every instinct he possessed as Superman screamed at him to rush forward and stop this madness.
But Wanda stopped him with a hand and shook her head.
She understood.
Interrupting the process now would cause the fusion to spiral completely out of control.
The Void Walker would become a mindless monster driven only by destruction, while the liquid metal would destabilize and self-destruct, triggering a catastrophic chain reaction.
Veins bulged on Levi's forehead.
The Concept of Greed erupted with full force.
A pitch-black vortex spun wildly within his palm, generating a terrifying pull.
It was not physical attraction.
It was conceptual enforcement.
He was imposing a new definition upon both powers.
You are not enemies.
You are one.
Your purpose is fusion.
Your purpose is symbiosis.
Your purpose is to become something greater.
Like invisible shackles, the Concept of Greed forcibly twisted the liquid metal's instinct for self-repair and the Void Walker's devouring nature toward the same destination.
The effect was immediate.
The Void Walker's struggle weakened.
The liquid metal's aggression slowed.
For the first time, the two forces stopped rejecting each other and began adapting.
Silver and black intertwined across the surface of its body, forming strange mottled patterns.
They resembled ancient totems left behind by forgotten civilizations.
Or perhaps markings belonging to some forbidden entity lurking in the depths of the cosmos.
Reed's voice suddenly sounded through the communications channel.
It trembled with disbelief.
"Fusion successful. Energy circuits are beginning spontaneous reorganization. Molecular structures are stabilizing. This is impossible. It completely violates conservation laws and energy conversion principles—but it's happening."
Tony was equally stunned.
He stared at the wildly fluctuating data streams on the monitor.
His mind went blank.
As one of Earth's greatest geniuses, this was the first time he had truly felt the powerlessness of knowledge.
What was unfolding before him had surpassed the realm of science.
It was a miracle of a higher dimension.
An act of creation that only a true creator could perform.
The Void Walker's entire body was being rebuilt.
Its bizarre limb proportions gradually corrected themselves.
Its torso became more streamlined and balanced.
The entire silhouette transformed into something remarkably harmonious.
Most astonishing of all, faint eye sockets began forming on what had once been a featureless bald head.
There were no eyeballs.
But deep within the sockets, intertwined silver-and-black light flickered ominously.
A vortex-shaped depression appeared in its chest.
All energy converged toward that point.
It functioned like a heart.
Yet visually, it resembled the core of a reactor.
Levi took a deep breath and clenched his right hand.
The law domain contracted instantly.
Like an invisible giant hand, it seized the entire Void Walker.
The silver-black body compressed to its limits.
Its bones emitted strained groans.
The liquid metal coating surged frantically in resistance.
Levi showed no intention of stopping.
The Control Origin transformed into countless silver-white threads that pierced the Void Walker from every direction.
One by one, every remaining unstable energy node was forcibly welded into place.
At that moment, Tony moved.
He slammed down the red emergency button on the control console.
Three massive energy conduits shot from the ceiling, their tips crackling with blue electrical arcs.
The conduits pierced three precise locations on the Void Walker's back.
Those positions had been identified by Reed as the weakest points in its energy circuitry.
The instant the connection was established, the room's lighting dimmed by nearly thirty percent.
Every available watt of power was redirected into the procedure.
Reed's fingers flew across the holographic keyboard.
Sweat dripped into his eyes, but he never blinked.
Displayed on the screen was an incomprehensibly complex three-dimensional model.
The complete architecture of the Logic Virus.
A masterpiece created through the collective wisdom of the Council of Reeds from fifty thousand parallel universes.
Countless lines of code cascaded downward like waterfalls.
Each glowed with eerie violet light.
Within that glow lurked paradoxes capable of tearing apart the very logic underlying Transcendent beings.
"Begin transmission!"
Reed roared.
His voice was nearly shredded.
A torrent of blue data flooded through the conduits and surged into the Void Walker.
Those codes carried both the wisdom and obsession of fifty thousand universes' greatest minds.
Every byte had been paid for with blood and sacrifice.
The Void Walker's body convulsed violently.
The vortex in its chest spun at insane speeds, devouring the incoming information.
But the Logic Virus was too vast.
Too complex.
The paradoxes exploded within its body, attempting to rewrite the foundational definition of its existence.
Cracks spread across the silver-black shell.
Purple lightning danced within every fracture.
The Void Walker released a heart-rending scream.
Its limbs thrashed uncontrollably.
Void energy erupted from its fingertips, carving deep trenches even within Levi's law domain.
Tony watched the energy readings soar.
Twenty thousand units.
Fifty thousand.
Eighty thousand.
The system erupted with shrill overload alarms.
"It can't handle it!" Tony shouted through clenched teeth. "The virus contains far more information than we predicted. At this rate it'll explode from the inside out!"
Reed didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the screen.
His fingers moved so quickly they blurred.
He adjusted the transmission speed in real time, desperately seeking the perfect threshold.
The Logic Virus had to be implanted intact.
The vessel couldn't be allowed to collapse.
It was like dancing on the edge of a blade.
One mistake meant total catastrophe.
Clark could no longer watch.
He charged forward and grabbed one of the conduits.
The moment his hand touched it, a terrifying surge of energy erupted along the metal surface.
He was blasted backward.
His body slammed into the wall.
A charred hole burned through the chest of his suit, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Wanda cried out.
Dark red tendrils of Chaos Magic shot forward and caught him before he hit the ground.
Levi paid no attention to the chaos behind him.
His entire focus remained fixed on the creation before him.
The Void Walker's screams grew weaker.
Its struggles gradually subsided.
But this was not death.
It was a deeper transformation.
The vortex in its chest had expanded to its absolute limit.
Purple lightning and silver-black energy intertwined into a strange cocoon that enveloped the entire body.
Levi could feel it.
The Logic Virus and the Void Origin were undergoing an irreversible reaction.
The code was no longer simply being stored.
It was rewriting the deepest logic of the Void Walker's existence.
The wisdom of fifty thousand universes was being integrated directly into its instincts.
The process was unimaginably dangerous.
One error would trigger total collapse.
Yet it also contained limitless potential.
Levi closed his eyes.
His consciousness sank deep into his Inner Universe.
Within that realm forged from his own will, countless stars revolved through the Void.
Each represented one of the powers he possessed.
He reached into the deepest darkness.
There slept the combat will he had accumulated through countless battles.
Pure.
Violent.
Unyielding.
He seized the sharpest fragment of it.
Using the Phoenix Origin, he separated it from himself.
Using Soul Laws, he rewove it into a miniature consciousness core.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't a soul in any conventional sense.
It was an artificial construct.
A primitive consciousness created solely for combat.
Its structure contained no emotions.
No desires.
No self-awareness.
Only two things existed within it:
Absolute obedience.
And an endless instinct for destruction.
Levi opened his eyes.
A golden-red flame ignited within his palm.
Floating at its center was a sphere of light no larger than a thumb.
The mere aura emitted by that sphere caused everyone present to unconsciously step back.
Carefully, Levi pressed the sphere into the center of the vortex in the Void Walker's chest.
Silence descended upon the control room.
Everyone held their breath.
Every gaze locked onto the glowing sphere as it slowly disappeared into the silver-black body.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Nothing happened.
Tony was just about to speak—
The Void Walker's eye sockets suddenly ignited.
Twin beams of intertwined silver and black light erupted skyward.
They tore through the ceiling and shot into the depths of the Void.
The cocoon surrounding the creature shattered instantly.
Countless fragments dissolved into streams of light and vanished.
The Void Walker slowly rose to its feet.
Its movements were smooth and natural, as though it had never undergone a life-and-death metamorphosis.
It lifted its head.
Its empty eye sockets fixed upon Levi.
Then it dropped to one knee.
Its right fist pressed against its chest.
Its head lowered.
The purest gesture of submission.
Not fear.
Not coercion.
But recognition from the deepest level of its being.
It knew who had created it.
Who had given meaning to its existence.
Who alone deserved its loyalty.
Levi extended a hand.
The Void Walker respectfully lowered its head into his palm.
An information stream instantly formed between them.
It transcended language itself, transmitting intent directly between consciousnesses.
Levi reviewed all of its internal data.
The Logic Virus had been implanted perfectly.
The Transcendent metal core had been completely subdued.
The Void Origin had achieved unprecedented stability.
Most importantly, the artificial soul was functioning flawlessly.
There was no sign whatsoever of independent self-awareness.
"From this day forward," Levi said calmly, his voice echoing through the silent control room, "your name is Zero."
"You are the first."
"And the strongest."