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When Arthur left the Knowhere, the overwhelming hunger that had gnawed at him began to fade, like a tide gradually pulling back. The farther he traveled, the weaker the sensation became.
Eventually, it completely vanished, leaving Arthur, strangely enough, feeling... full.
He glanced back. Floating in the vastness of space was the colossal head of an ancient, long-dead being, its sheer size rivaling that of a small star. It was almost impossible to imagine the terrifying grandeur this entity must've commanded when it was alive.
Yet, even with the strange satisfaction in his stomach, Arthur still felt a deep, primal urge to consume something.
Even now.
"What the hell is going on with me?"
Arthur rubbed his stomach, frowning, as he shook his head. Something about this felt deeply wrong.
"What's wrong with you?" Thor's voice broke through the moment, concern flickering on his face.
Arthur managed a crooked smile. "If I knew, I'd tell you." He shrugged helplessly. "II have no clue."
"Could it be…"
Thor crossed his arms, his brow furrowed as he stroked his chin, clearly mulling something over.
Arthur glanced sideways. "Could it be what?"
Thor hesitated for a moment, then spoke. "Well… I can't be certain, but… I've been watching your power grow at an insane rate. Honestly, it's kind of unnatural. I've never seen anyone level up like this in all the realms without something giving way."
He sat down, arms resting on his knees. "Cap, Banner, even I, we all gained our powers differently. But once we had them, they didn't grow much. You, on the other hand… When I first met you, you were just a stronger-than-average Earthling. Strong enough to stand toe-to-toe with Loki. But now? Loki wouldn't last a minute against you."
"…So what are you trying to say?" Arthur sighed. He understood what Thor was getting at, it just took the big guy forever to get to the point.
"I mean," Thor continued slowly, "what if this is some kind of side effect of your power growth? Some backlash?"
He added, "But here's the weird thing: this didn't happen before. It only started after we went to Knowhere."
Arthur had already been thinking along those lines. He had his own suspicions. But the Disassembler wasn't supposed to have side effects. That feeling of hunger, it didn't feel like a malfunction. It felt like a craving. Like an inner compulsion to consume something... something like that massive, celestial head.
'Wait a freaking second.'
A thought clicked into place.
Consume?
Was Disassembling essentially the same as consuming? Stripping something down to its purest form and then... integrating it?
Maybe... just maybe, that hunger wasn't even from him.
Maybe it was coming from the Disassembler.
Arthur's eyes widened as he thought of this. 'Could it be that the Disassembler was the one drawn to break down the ancient lifeform's remains? That it had sensed something in the head, something it instinctively recognized as "disassemblable," and projected that desire onto him? Translating as hunger?'
'But why that? What made that particular head of the ancient entity so special that the Disassembler would be driven to break it down?'
Since arriving in this universe, the Disassembler had been bound to him, integrated at a soul-deep level. Any anomalies inside him were likely connected to it.
But until now, the Disassembler had never malfunctioned or caused any trouble.
It didn't have a mind of its own. No AI, no voice, no sentience. Just a silent, incredibly powerful tool embedded deep within his being.
So why... now? Why this strange, almost emotional reaction?
Arthur's thoughts swirled, but he got no closer to an answer. The only thing he could do now was wait for the Disassembler's next upgrade, maybe then he'd finally get some kind of prompt, a hint, or an explanation.
Though, considering how uncommunicative the Disassembler had been, that was probably wishful thinking.
This cheat-code-level system of his wasn't exactly talkative. It operated more like god-tier technology designed by a civilization far beyond Earth, brilliant in function, silent in operation.
After chasing these thoughts around in his head, Arthur realized his mind was spinning in circles.
"I mean... it probably won't cause a meltdown or anything... right?" He mumbled aloud.
Thor shot him a look and rolled his eyes. "And you're asking me that? Are you okay now or what?"
"I'm good," Arthur replied, shaking off the last remnants of dizziness. He stood up, waved a hand, and summoned a pile of metallic scrap onto the table beside him.
Chaos reigned all around them.
Thor stared at Arthur, utterly confused. "So... let me get this straight. He told you everything he knew, and you still took part of his collection?"
Arthur shrugged. "To be fair, it was just a small part of his collection. And honestly, he didn't have much to offer, it was a waste of time. More importantly, I needed to send a message. Something like... 'I'll be back.'"
Thor raised an eyebrow. "Then he's definitely going to be on alert next time."
"That's exactly the point," Arthur said, grinning.
He tapped his finger thoughtfully on the table before glancing at Thor. "See anything you like? Go ahead, take it."
Thor shook his head. "No need. I don't have any use for this stuff."
"In that case, don't mind if I do." Arthur swept the rest of the Collector's valuables into his Disassembler storage system. "Alright. Time to head back."
"The Soul Stone..." Thor narrowed his eyes at Arthur. "You know something, don't you?"
"I do," Arthur admitted. "But now's not the time to go after it. I need to regroup first. Once I've figured a few things out, I'll reach out to Steve, get everyone together, and we'll go as a team. I've got a feeling... we'll run into an old friend when we get there."
Thor tilted his head. "If you're not going after the Soul Stone right now, why did you bring me along in the first place?"
Arthur blinked, surprised. "Wait... you seriously didn't realize?"
He leaned forward, grinning. "Having you here made it way easier to get a meeting with the Collector. If I showed up alone wth no reputation and no rare artifacts, he'd never even consider talking to me. What was I gonna do, knock on his door and say 'Hey, let me in'?"
Thor's jaw dropped. "You know... I can't even argue with that. Fair enough."
Arthur chuckled. "Alright then, gear up."
"For what?"
The very next second, Arthur activated the ship's return sequence. In an instant, the two of them materialized in the cold vacuum of space.
Thor's expression darkened. "Would it kill you to give a little warning?!"
"I did!" Arthur called out as he immediately reached out. "Heimdall!"
(End of Chapter)