Inside the core chamber of the Meteor Base.
Wanda sat cross-legged in a corner, a strand of crimson energy coiling around her fingertips. She was waiting for Levi.
Space twisted. A goldenč£ē¼ tore open.
Levi's clone stepped out.
Wanda opened her eyes, a flicker of relief crossing her face. But it quickly turned into confusionāthe clone's aura had surged dramatically, and two distinct lights wrapped around him.
White light in his left handāgentle.
Black radiance in his rightācold.
The two forces clashed within his body, yet were forcibly compressed together.
"Youā"
Before Wanda could finish, the Chaos Magic within her suddenly stirred restlessly.
The clone ignored her and walked straight toward the depths of the chamber.
Levi's original body sat there, eyes closed in meditation, eleven laws circulating slowly around him.
The clone stopped in front of him.
They locked eyes.
Then the clone turned into a stream of light and merged into Levi's forehead.
Levi's body trembled. His eyes snapped open, black and white flickering within his pupils.
The entire chamber began to distort. Walls cracked. The floor split apart.
Wanda stepped back, forming a shield with Chaos Magic.
She could feel itāinside Levi, a storm was erupting.
The light of the Vishanti.
The chaos of the Darkhold.
Two forces clashed, devoured, and fused within him.
Black-and-white patterns spread across Levi's skin.
Wanda tried to step forward to help, but an invisible force stopped her three meters away.
All she could do was watch.
Levi's consciousness sank inward.
Within his mental world, eleven laws flowed like rivers around a black holeāthe embodiment of his Concept of Greed.
Now, it was in chaos.
Two new forces collided violently.
Pure white lightāwarm, orderlyāthe essence of the Book of the Vishanti.
Pitch-black currentsāviolent, chaoticāthe foundation of the Darkhold.
They refused to yield, each collision sending up massive waves.
Levi observed coldly for three seconds.
Then the Greed-black hole began spinning faster.
"Quiet down."
His will manifested as a massive hand, reaching directly toward both forces.
He intended to strip them.
Strip the order, protection, and rule-consciousness from the Book of the Vishanti.
Strip Chthon's corruption, madness, and destructive will from the Darkhold.
Leaving only pure power.
The process was painful.
Both forces resisted fiercely. The Darkhold's essence lashed out wildly at Levi's consciousness.
Countless images flooded his mindādestroyed planets, wailing souls, devoured universesā¦
Chthon's whisper echoed.
"Accept me⦠become my vessel⦠and you will gain power beyond all thingsā¦"
Levi smiled.
"That's it?"
The Greed-black hole expanded violently, swallowing all whispers, temptations, and corruptive will.
Not resisting. Not purifying.
Just eating it.
Your will? Keep it. I'll take the power.
The process lasted an hour.
When Levi opened his eyes again, his mental world had calmed.
Eleven rivers of law had become twelve.
The new oneāa pure river of darkness, devoid of any ideology.
It stood in balance and opposition to light.
The twelfth lawāLaw of Darknessāwas complete.
Levi's body stopped trembling. The black-and-white patterns faded, and his aura began to rise.
Wanda approached, reaching out toward his faceābut stopped midair.
She felt it.
A force was awakening within Leviāresonating with her Chaos Magic, yet different.
Familiar. And terrifying.
Suddenly, the entire base shook violently.
Wanda's expression changed as she reinforced her shield.
"What's happening?"
Levi opened his eyes. Black and white flickered within his pupils.
His perception expanded, covering the base, extending outwardāpiercing matter and touching the dimensional barrier.
He saw it.
At the boundary between reality and the Dark Dimension, ač£ē¼ was being torn open. Beyond it lay endless darknessāand within it, a single eye slowly opening.
No whites. No pupil.
Only pure darkness.
Its gaze pierced dimensions and locked onto Levi.
Chthon.
An ancient dark godāthe source of Chaos Magic.
"You⦠stole what is mine."
The voice echoed in Levi's mind, layered with countless wailing souls. Every syllable corroded thought.
Levi's lips curled upward.
"Stole?" He stood, twelve laws circulating at once. "I just took what I wanted."
Chthon's fury burned within theč£ē¼.
A massive hand of darkness extended outward, reaching for Levi.
Where it passed, space collapsed, matter disintegrated, and time distorted.
Wanda moved to actābut Levi stopped her with a glance.
"Don't. This is between me and him."
Levi raised his right hand. A sphere of black light formed in his palm.
The newly formed Law of Darknessāsame origin as Chthon's power, yet fundamentally different.
Chthon's darkness was corruption, destruction, madness.
Levi's was pure powerāstripped of all will and redefined by greed.
The two collided midair.
No explosion.
Only silence.
At the microscopic level, a violent struggle unfolded.
Chthon's hand stopped three meters awayāunable to advance.
"Impossible! You are mortalāhow can you wield my power?"
Levi raised his left hand.
White light appearedāthe essence of the Book of the Vishanti.
Light and darkness bloomed together in his hands.
"Your power?" Levi chuckled. "The moment I copied it, it stopped being yours."
He brought his hands together, forcibly merging the two forces.
Black and white intertwinedāorder and chaos collidingāforming a Taiji pattern in his palm. Its energy made the dimensional barrier tremble.
"And one more thing," Levi said, his gaze piercing theč£ē¼, locking onto that eye.
He pushed the fused energy forward. A black-and-white beam surged along Chthon's arm, shooting straight through theč£ē¼.
"Wanda is not your vessel."
The beam struck the eye.
A deafening scream erupted from the Dark Dimension.
The giant hand shattered into fragments. Theč£ē¼ shrank violently as Chthon was forced back.
Before it closed, Levi heard the final whisper:
"This is not the end⦠I will returnā¦"
"Anytime."
Theč£ē¼ sealed.
Silence returned.
Wanda stepped forward, her gaze fixed on Levi, emotions tangled.
"What⦠was that?"
Levi flexed his fingers, feeling the flow of twelve laws within him.
"An old relic who didn't know his place. Came looking for troubleāgot sent back."
Wanda frowned.
She could tell he was understating it. Even the aftershock from that presence had made her Chaos Magic recoil.
"That voice said you stole something," she said hesitantly. "What did it mean?"
Levi looked at her, not hiding the truth.
"The essence of the Darkhold. The source of your Chaos Magic."
Wanda's expression changed.
She knew where her power came from. The Ancient One had told herāChaos Magic was one of the oldest forces in the universe, created by Chthon.
"So⦠it's been watching me?"
"It was." Levi stepped closer, tapping her forehead. "Not anymore."
A stream of energy flowed from his fingertip into her.
A fusion of darkness and light coursed through her Chaos Magic, sealing every connection to Chthon.
Wanda closed her eyes, sensing the change.
That faint sense of being watchedāgone.
Replaced by an unprecedented freedom.
"Thank you," she said softly.
Levi withdrew his hand. Suddenly, his communicator activated.
Loki's voice came through.
"Levi, the vanguard of the Council of Kangs has entered the main universe boundary," Loki said gravely. "According to TVA monitoring, the main force will arrive in six hours."
Levi's eyes sharpened.
Six hours.
He looked at his handsāwhite light flowing in one, black radiance pulsing in the other. Twelve laws in perfect harmony, stronger than ever.
"Tell Thor to get Stormbreaker ready. In six hours, we'll go meet these time-hopping locusts."
He turned to Wanda, a hint of apology in his gaze.
"Sorry. Break time's over."
Wanda shook her head. Crimson energy rose around her.
She could feel itāher Chaos Magic was evolving. The energy Levi had infused seemed to have awakened something dormant.
"I'm fine. Actually⦠I think I got stronger."
Levi raised an eyebrow. His mental force swept over her, confirming itāher Chaos Magic was rapidly evolving.
Interesting.
There was a resonance between his Law of Darkness and her Chaos Magic.
But that could wait.
Right now, there were more important matters ahead.
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