Soft.
Warm.
Gwen stirred beneath the blankets, slowly waking as the last traces of sleep faded. Her eyes opened to a ceiling washed in gentle light, the quiet calm of morning settling over her.
Then memory caught up.
What happened last night.
A faint blush spread across her face.
She couldn't deny it—there had always been something between her and Noah. And whatever else could be said about him… he knew exactly what he was doing. The night had been intense, overwhelming at times—
But not something she could dismiss.
"You awake?"
Noah's voice drifted in from the kitchen.
"Get cleaned up and come eat. I made breakfast—don't expect this kind of treatment twice."
There was a hint of smugness in his tone.
Gwen let out a quiet huff, pushing herself upright—
Then paused.
Her body felt… different.
Lighter.
Stronger.
Like she had more energy than she knew what to do with.
"Noah?" she called out. "Why do I feel like this?"
From the kitchen, Noah didn't even turn around.
"Think of it as a small upgrade," he said casually. "I helped your body adjust a bit. Nothing too dramatic—just enough to push you past normal human limits."
He flipped something in the pan.
"You'll notice it more over time."
Gwen frowned slightly, trying to process that.
"…You're saying I'm not normal anymore?"
"You're better than normal," Noah corrected.
By the time she stepped out of the bathroom, the table was already covered in food.
Far more than necessary.
And all of it smelled incredible.
Noah leaned back in his chair, glancing at her.
"Oh, and I already spoke to your dad," he added casually. "He knows you stayed out."
Gwen froze.
"…You what?"
Her expression immediately turned complicated.
That wasn't reassuring.
If anything, it made things worse.
She could already imagine the conversation—her father trying to stay calm while dealing with the fact that Noah Vale had called him directly.
And given Noah's position…
There wasn't exactly room to say no.
"Relax," Noah said, watching her reaction with mild amusement. "It's handled."
That didn't help.
At all.
She sat down anyway, picking up a spoon.
"I'll eat myself," she said quickly when Noah gave her a look.
He raised an eyebrow but didn't push it.
For a while, the room was quiet.
Noah watched her eat, resting his chin lightly against his hand.
Part of him felt a flicker of regret.
Something he'd made before—something that would've made this situation a lot more… interesting—had been lost when his storage space was destroyed.
I'll just make another one later, he thought.
Far away, in another world—
Inside a dim prison beneath Mount Hua—
Yue Buqun stood over a kneeling prisoner.
His hand pressed firmly against the man's head.
The prisoner trembled violently, his face twisted in pain.
Around them, several others lay unconscious.
Energy flowed.
Not naturally—but forcibly drawn out.
It surged from the prisoner into Yue Buqun, cycling through his body before settling deep within him.
When it ended, the man collapsed.
Yue Buqun exhaled slowly, his expression filled with satisfaction.
"This method… works," he murmured to himself.
Over the past few days, his strength had grown at a noticeable pace. What he had lost before was slowly being restored.
And with it—
Something far more personal.
A faint, almost emotional smile crossed his face.
At that moment—
A notification appeared in the Interdimensional Chatroom.
A quiet, mechanical prompt.
The conditions had been met.
Back in New York, Noah's attention shifted slightly.
He glanced at the interface.
Yue Buqun had advanced.
That was fast.
Noah smirked.
Motivation really does wonders.
The system prompted him:
The chatroom could now upgrade.
More members.
New features.
Noah didn't hesitate.
He confirmed it.
The upgrade completed instantly.
Capacity expanded.
And a new function appeared—
Automated selection.
The system could now actively search for individuals from higher-potential worlds.
Noah tapped the option once.
"Let's see what you find," he muttered.
Then he closed the interface, losing interest for the moment.
Meanwhile—
Storm clouds gathered.
Far beyond New York.
Thor moved across the land like a force of nature.
Each step carried him dozens of meters forward, the ground cracking beneath his feet.
Thunder rolled overhead.
The sky darkened in response to his fury.
He wasn't flying.
He didn't want to.
This was deliberate.
Every step was a release of anger.
Every impact carved his path toward a single destination.
New York.
The disturbance didn't go unnoticed.
Satellite systems picked it up almost immediately.
Unusual weather patterns.
Rapid movement.
A single figure tearing across the landscape.
In the White House, Tony Stark stared at the incoming data.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Within seconds, he placed a call.
Noah's phone rang.
He picked up, mildly annoyed.
"What?"
Tony didn't waste time.
"We've got something heading your way. Fast. Whoever it is, they're dragging a storm with them."
A brief pause.
"And one of our strike teams in Mexico just went dark. Hundreds of men. Gone."
Noah glanced toward the window, unimpressed.
"And?"
Tony blinked.
"And it's probably connected! This guy's not normal—Xavier tried to get a read on him and couldn't. Something's blocking him."
Noah sighed.
"And you're telling me this because…?"
"Because he's heading straight for New York!"
Noah's tone turned flat.
"You've got Magneto. You've got Xavier. Figure it out."
He shifted slightly, already losing interest.
"If I have to handle everything myself, what exactly am I keeping you around for?"
Tony opened his mouth—
But Noah cut him off.
"Call me when it actually matters."
Then he hung up.
Tony stared at the silent phone.
"…Unbelievable."
Back in the hotel, Noah tossed the device aside.
For him—
This wasn't worth worrying about.