Anyone who tried to invade Adam's mind, spirit, or consciousness inevitably found themselves stunned by the scenes inside his brain.
As the dominant consciousness, guarded and reinforced by the minds of countless Xenomorphs, he was an exceedingly rare lifeform across the entire universe.
Adam had long understood that the more numerous and individually powerful the Xenomorphs became, the stronger the protective force shielding him would grow.
This also amplified the mental power he could wield. In the future, achieving his own specialized form of Xenomorph astral projection would pose no problem. As long as his consciousness was strong enough, every descent... even across universes... would have its burden shared among innumerable Xenomorphs.
Exactly like how the Ancient One cultivated countless ascetic monks to shoulder the debt of her magic, Adam had taken a superficially similar but fundamentally different path. Using his unique abilities, he had constructed something akin to an entire magical system.
The Ancient One studied the person before her. A few seconds ago he had been Adam; now he had reverted to Reynolds and the Xenomorph embryo.
She had never probed Adam's mind directly, but she had sensed that the mental architecture within him was profoundly different.
"So many people think Adam is simply lucky... that he stumbled upon the Xenomorphs by chance or obtained them from some hidden dimension. In truth, Adam himself is the most special one of all."
The Ancient One sighed softly. If this had been decades or even centuries earlier, as Sorcerer Supreme she would have used every means at her disposal to suppress Adam and prevent him from expanding his influence on Earth too aggressively, lest it destabilize the entire planet.
At the very least, she had no desire for the world she protected to become overrun with Xenomorphs. That would be disastrous.
Nor did she want to stand in opposition to someone like Adam.
But now the Ancient One could no longer afford such concerns. She had far more important matters to attend to.
Forcing Dormammu to retreat this time had left her badly weakened. Countless ascetic monks in Kamar-Taj had perished.
Left to her own devices, she rarely needed to draw on them so heavily. She had left a larger reserve for Strange as a precaution, but this situation had been exceptional.
With a thud, Reynolds collapsed unconscious.
The Ancient One waved her hand and sent him through a portal back to the Weyland Building.
"I know your condition is poor right now as well, but I must remind you: if one day you truly achieve what you intend, you must leave Earth some breathing room… Because I likely won't live to see that day, let alone stop you. That is no longer my responsibility," the Ancient One said.
It sounded like a farewell. Perhaps she had already prepared for the worst.
So, who had she chosen? Strange again? Spider-Man was already dead, so a Sorcerer Supreme Spider-Man was certainly out of the question.
Adam pondered this as his severely drained mind slipped into a rare deep sleep.
He slept for two full days.
Two days wasn't long, but the outside world had already been turned upside down. Things certain parties had desperately tried to conceal could no longer be hidden.
The greatest shockwaves spread across the other realms connected by the World Tree. Numerous sky-father level beings had watched the unprecedented battle from afar. They had witnessed Dormammu being gradually forced back by two humans from Midgard, snatching a few strange creatures before retreating into the Dark Dimension.
It had been an incredibly perilous fight. Powerful individuals throughout the World Tree could clearly feel the transmitted aftershocks.
In any other cosmic region, countless planets would likely have shattered and suns would have been extinguished.
"Dormammu still withdrew. I thought Midgard's strongest was the Ancient One, but another ferocious figure emerged, with a completely different fighting style."
The Ancient One using magic was normal... Midgardians were famously frail among the Nine Realms, with the lowest average combat strength. But a sudden appearance of an extremely skilled close-combat powerhouse demanded attention.
Agents from various realms scattered, using every method to gather information. They soon learned what had recently transpired on Midgard.
"Adam? Xenomorphs? Parasitism? Chestbursters? How fascinating. Such bizarre creatures existing on Midgard of all places."
In Muspelheim, Sindr... the Queen of Fire and daughter of Surtur, herself a sky-father level powerhouse... opened her eyes with keen interest as she reviewed the flood of information she had received.
"At the end, when Dormammu made his move, he risked attacks from those two humans just to strike directly at Midgard. It seems he was after these Xenomorphs. Yet no matter how I look at them, they don't seem impressive enough to captivate a god."
Queen Sindr was intrigued by the Xenomorphs, but after every assessment, she couldn't see anything particularly remarkable about these parasitic lifeforms.
If the Xenomorphs themselves weren't special, perhaps their origin was?
Every sky-father level existence had long transcended ordinary life. At the most basic level, their minds far surpassed conventional computers. In an instant they could calculate countless possibilities and eliminate them one by one.
More and more beings realized that what interested Dormammu might not be the Xenomorphs themselves, but Adam... especially with Kaecilius already dead.
"Hmph. So the one who created the Xenomorphs is a Midgardian? I was planning to drag out the mastermind after conquering Asgard. I didn't expect him to reveal himself."
The sky-father who knew the Xenomorphs best was naturally Laufey, ruler of Jotunheim. Far too many of his people had already fallen to these fearless creatures.
These things adapted with terrifying speed, existed purely for battle, and possessed corrosive blood capable of eating through super-alloys. Their species started at a very high level. Frankly, if placed in the distant past, a Xenomorph realm might well have appeared among the worlds hanging from the World Tree.
Because the Xenomorphs deserved it.
"What surprises me more is that if the creator of the Xenomorphs is a Midgardian scientist capable of mentally controlling them, that would be one thing. But now it seems otherwise. One of his subordinates actually traded blows with Dormammu…" Laufey narrowed his eyes, a hint of caution appearing in his blue gaze.
As an old-school god-king, he would gladly erase Adam and claim the Xenomorphs as a vassal race for the Frost Giants if given the chance. Nothing would suit them better.
But not now. He had to be cautious. If Adam could wield that kind of power again... the kind he used against Dormammu... even Laufey would have to weigh whether provoking such an enemy before fully dealing with Asgard was worth it.
"Even the Ancient One only reached sky-father level after centuries of Kamar-Taj's ancient heritage and relying on magic. But Adam? How much time has he had?"
Laufey couldn't understand it. Many other sky-fathers couldn't either. Even more distant cosmic regions saw ancient civilizations and entities turning their attention toward this development.
The tiny planet Earth had become a topic of discussion for many powerful figures.
"Hey, Quill, did you hear about that battle? The coordinates were right near your homeworld, right? Yondu snatched you from there, didn't he?"
"Oh, damn it... stop asking me about that. I've answered it a thousand times. I was just a kid back then; I don't remember anything about Earth! And I have zero interest in going back!" Star-Lord irritably shoved away the drunkard in front of him. "I couldn't care less about whatever happened on Earth!"
Life among the Ravagers felt like a dead end. He was already planning his exit.
But Earth? That backward planet with laughably short lifespans actually had powerhouses like that?
Star-Lord even suspected it was the wrong place entirely.
Still, he committed the name Adam to memory. Just as Adam had told Dormammu, there was no more effective way to announce yourself to the universe than by stepping on an ancient demon god to do it.
On Earth itself, chaos reigned.
Anyone who wasn't blind or a fool had seen the terrifying demon god appear in Earth's outer space.
Some history enthusiasts even stepped forward with old papers once dismissed as the ramblings of madmen, arguing for the existence of extra-dimensional demons. Though the released information was fragmented and incomplete, it was enough for people to grasp what they had truly faced.
"First Thor appeared, seemingly proving Asgard is real. Now some god from a dark realm? Is this universe even the one we thought we knew?"
"I saw powerful sorcerers stepping up to protect Earth. Those streaks across the sky were magic, right? Magic actually exists in this world."
"Vampires were bad enough. Now we've got myths and gods from other worlds. I feel like I've woken up in a parallel-universe Earth."
For Earth's people... especially ordinary civilians... these recent days had been overwhelmingly intense. They were forced to repeatedly update their understanding of reality amid one cataclysmic event after another. The worldview they had built from school and the internet had been shattered in less than a year.
They could understand Tony Stark... he was a billionaire who built powered armor with technology. They could understand the Hulk... he was a biochemical monster.
But the further things went, the less sense it made. The world was quietly transforming into something unrecognizable, with all sorts of bizarre individuals appearing at once, as if the entire human race had suddenly crossed over.
As it turned out, when humanity as a whole began re-examining their world, it drove people to pore over history, myths, and legends with fresh eyes.
For a time, Earth boiled like a pot of soup. Even the splashes felt like Xenomorph acid burning the skin, making people scream in pain.
There was nothing to be done. In the past, organizations like S.H.I.E.L.D. could still try to cover things up. Even after the New Mexico incident where Adam had lifted Mjolnir and drastically altered the weather over a wide area, they had managed to limit the spread of information.
But when Dormammu arrived, they were powerless.
The most immediate consequence was that everyone began actively seeking supernatural power. They had witnessed firsthand how powerful the two individuals who stood against Dormammu were, and it gave them an overwhelming sense of security.
Though the distance was vast and even advanced astronomical equipment couldn't capture the full fight, humans only needed to know that individuals could stand against monsters from other worlds. That was enough.
"I think I recognize that guy glowing with golden light... it's the superhero called Sentry. He's one of Adam's followers!"
"Damn it, we couldn't get a clear shot of his face with any equipment. We only saw him take off from the Himalayas! When did Sentry go to the Himalayas?"
"Look around the world... who else has abilities like Sentry's? Well, there was that guy who appeared on Broadway, but he's been missing for a while. Besides, who else would step up during an extinction-level crisis?"
"You all focused on Sentry. I noticed the one giving him orders. Sentry works for him! The other indistinct figure was probably someone Adam sent too... maybe Adam himself."
Few in the mundane world knew the Sorcerer Supreme, but they knew Adam.
In recent events, Adam's presence had been frequent. Even when he wasn't visible, his Xenomorphs were everywhere... slipping through shadows like ghostly assassins, ready to strike with their rigid tails. That was the common impression of them.
More and more people were beginning to understand what happened after being parasitized by a Xenomorph.
The leap to superhuman status was an overwhelmingly tempting prospect now.
After all, mutants with powers were feared and hunted, but Xenomorph hosts were different. All they had to do was join Adam.
"The Xenomorphs are the future. Become one. Join the glorious evolution!"
"We could start a Xenomorph cult and lure in regular people to scam them…"
"If you want to die, leave me out of it. Get lost. From now on I'm distancing myself from people like you. Who knows if the evil god you're worshipping is even real."
Then someone dug up Weyland Corporation's recruitment notice again. Countless people swarmed toward it, desperate to join Adam's ranks and become superhumans safely, without side effects.
As for the risk of chestbursters… they knew about it, of course. But as long as they did what they were supposed to and didn't betray Adam, why would that happen to them?
Masses of people gathered around the Weyland Building every day, binoculars in hand, watching intently for any movement. Whenever Xenomorphs moved through the area, frenzied devotees chased after them in worship.
Truthfully, if Adam hadn't been able to sense the mental states of those Xenomorphs in real time and issue commands, countless reckless ordinary people would have died at their hands.
When Adam awoke, he glanced out the window and saw a dense sea of people. His super-hearing picked up nothing but fervent shouting.
"It's even livelier than before. If I opened the doors even a crack, these people would swarm in without hesitation."
Adam drank a pot of hot water, smacking his lips. The crowd outside was a bit noisy.
As everyone knew, Adam had never been particularly interested in parasitizing ordinary humans.
"What exactly happened? My head feels foggy, like I had a fragmented dream. My whole body aches with injuries. Even constantly repairing myself with stellar energy will take time to fully heal."
Reynolds... unusually... rode the elevator up to meet Adam. Once robust and powerful, he now looked gaunt and pale, clearly suffering severe life-force damage.
Through the lingering memories in his mind, Reynolds vaguely realized he might have done something extraordinary.
"Rejoice, Reynolds. Look at the crowds outside. They're cheering for what we accomplished."
Adam pointed outward. "That body of yours personally helped drive back a demon god."
Reynolds hesitated. "Did I really do that? I remember it was you…"
"We did it. Together, Reynolds," Adam interrupted.
"Yes… together…"
Reynolds murmured, his eyes soon brightening. He decided he didn't need to overthink it. He could simply enjoy what they had now.
He stepped forward, dragging his weakened body, and flew straight out of the Weyland Building. He forced the sluggish energy within him to stir, glowing brilliantly with golden light. Naturally, this triggered countless cheers and screams from below, filling Reynolds with deep satisfaction.
Adam watched Reynolds flying back and forth across the sky and shook his head. It was a small quirk; he'd let Reynolds enjoy it. He wouldn't interfere over such minor details.
Compared to that, Adam preferred devoting more time to improving himself.
"Over these two days, many planets must have received my signal and learned of me… This lays a good foundation for the future. But it also means countless ill-intentioned beings will now have their eyes on me."
Adam stroked his chin thoughtfully, looking resigned. He had to admit there was a mad, reckless side to him. Whenever a chance to advance presented itself, he would never let it slip. He would seize the future like a madman, no matter what.
"One Reynolds isn't enough. Deathstrike is strong too, with clear strengths and weaknesses, but she's not yet a complete sky-father level combat unit. I need more powerful subordinates. Also, Samuel's gene bank project is making good progress. It won't be long until…"
Adam pondered. He had already verified that his consciousness could descend onto Xenomorphs. That was crucial.
He reached out to contact Thor.
In the Asgardian palace, Thor was also straining to understand the Xenomorph before him.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
"Thor, what is it saying?"
Thor looked troubled, frowning. "I've been listening for a while and still don't understand why it wants to ride a sausage to Nidavellir to walk a dog."
Sif thought for a moment. "Maybe it wants custom equipment, like we have?"
"I'm not sure. At the very least, it shows we need to accelerate development of our Xenomorph language courses. Otherwise we won't even be able to hold normal conversations with our Xenomorph brothers."
"But the war isn't over yet," Sif said helplessly. "We need to spread our limited forces across multiple worlds to stand guard against a possible Frost Giant offensive. Aren't you on good terms with Adam? I think we can ask him for help again. It wouldn't be the first time."
The Asgardian warriors all turned eager gazes toward the Xenomorphs present.
After all, asking for help once meant there could be countless more times. It stopped feeling embarrassing after a while.
They hadn't expected Adam to actually don the Destroyer armor and force Dormammu back. Though everyone gradually learned how hard-fought the victory had been... even with the Ancient One's help... it was still something to be proud of. It earned reverent praise from all Asgardians.
"If the All-Father were still alive, he would surely summon Adam after hearing of this," Fandral said with a touch of melancholy.
Everyone present looked downcast... except for Loki, whose face remained stiff.
"I want to know when exactly he plans to return the Destroyer armor. Preferably with Mjolnir too, since he doesn't need it right now!" Loki interjected coldly.
"The Xenomorph tells me that soon Adam will dispatch a new batch of troops to completely end this war," Thor said gravely.
"Does this 'end' it mentioned include Laufey, the Frost Giant king? Is Adam planning to kill Laufey? What a joke! He can't really think he can do whatever he wants within the World Tree, can he?" Loki sneered.
Thor glanced at him, suddenly feeling his brother had grown increasingly unfamiliar. "What if he can?"
Loki merely sneered. He knew Odin wasn't dead and how troublesome his birth father Laufey could be. At worst, Laufey could escape. He didn't believe Adam had the ability to survive and fight in space for extended periods.
No matter how powerful Adam became, he couldn't threaten Asgard or Jotunheim... but he could threaten Loki.
Adam's rapid rise left the ever-arrogant Loki feeling lost. Sometimes he was bewildered: he was superior to Adam in every way and had over a thousand years of age advantage. So why was the gap between them only widening?
A strong sense of unwillingness rose in Loki's heart. Sitting on the throne, he seemed to control everything, yet everything controlled him in return. He had become a mere tool acting in the name of the king, no longer free as before.
"This is our chance. We've gained an incredibly powerful ally. The war will end soon," Thor proudly announced to everyone. After all, Adam and the Xenomorphs were reinforcements he had secured.
At the beginning, Thor had swallowed his pride and shamelessly asked Adam for a Xenomorph force of no more than three digits. Now the total number of Xenomorphs that had reached the battlefield already exceeded ten thousand.
Thor felt deep respect and gratitude toward Adam, pondering how best to express his thanks.
The conversation in the palace was fully overheard by the Xenomorphs and naturally reached Adam. He remained indifferent to the bickering.
The trickster god Loki was indeed remarkable. Months ago, Adam would have regarded him with wariness and vigilance. Now that feeling had greatly diminished.
"Unless Loki becomes the Sorcerer Supreme of this universe, he is no longer an enemy I need to face with full force. There won't be another battle like the one in New Mexico."
Adam prepared to complete the latest round of expansion, then send the army en masse to the Asgardian continent to end the war once and for all.
He needed enough captives to secure a place within the divine power chains of the World Tree.
With his left hand he would send Xenomorphs to Kamar-Taj to study magic; with his right he would push hard on divine power, chasing closely behind.
"Hm? Wait... how did a strange one slip into my Xenomorphs…"
As Adam lowered his head to plan how to quickly assemble a large army, his expression shifted. He looked in a certain direction.
Weyland Building, 93rd floor.
A newly born Xenomorph that had just completed its chestburster emergence stood blankly amid the bloody mess of a vampire's chest cavity. It swung its head, looking around in confusion as it sensed its surroundings.
The other Xenomorphs immediately noticed something off about the newcomer. Even the freshly emerged ones quickly gathered, surrounding the anomalous Xenomorph.
"Where is this? Why am I here?? There's so much flesh and blood… and I feel excited about it… Wait, something went wrong with this reincarnation!"
The oddly behaving Xenomorph stared in shock at its situation. The moment it opened its eyes, it found itself surrounded by a horde of bizarre monsters. The inexplicable scene terrified her.
As a mutant with reincarnation abilities, Moira had never encountered anything like this in her previous two lives... at least in those, she had always started as a mutant. How had it turned out like this this time? Not even human, let alone a mutant?
When Moira looked down at her body, she was utterly stunned.
"Is this my body? White skin, sharp claws, and this tail… and my body is constantly growing rapidly. This is me? No... I don't even have eyes! I'm really not human anymore!"
The Xenomorph trembled all over. Her emotions were far more complex than those of an ordinary Xenomorph. She opened her mouth, instinctively wanting to speak, but could only produce a few simple sounds.
Hiss! Hiss!
The surrounding Xenomorphs responded with the same language, questioning her.
Moira was horrified to discover that she understood them.
She tried to run, but the moment she moved, the surrounding Xenomorphs swarmed her and easily pinned her down.
Soon, however, the Xenomorphs eyeing her hungrily seemed to receive some command. They released her, stood quietly around her, and went about their own business.
Only this special Xenomorph remained, standing alone.
"Who am I now? Where am I? I'm a mutant. After reincarnating, I should help Professor X and Magneto unite to fight humanity. Why am I like this? Did my power malfunction and reincarnate me as a monster? What even is this creature? I never heard of anything like it in my first two lives…"
The Xenomorph curled into a ball, shivering. She was just a girl who had lived through three lives.
All her reactions, every thought and feeling, were perceived by Adam.
Adam pondered for a moment, then acted without hesitation. He launched a mental invasion into the unusual Xenomorph, forcibly browsing through her memories of the previous two lives.
Moira immediately sensed Adam's presence. Reason told her to resist fiercely... her mind was vital and she couldn't let some unknown monster rummage through it freely. But on a deeper level, she followed absolute instinctive obedience. The violent contradiction nearly drove her mad.
"Who are you? What do you want? You did this, didn't you? What did you do to me?"
"Calm down, Moira. I know you're afraid, but fear won't solve anything. It only makes problems worse until they become an inescapable black hole. An unusual beginning isn't necessarily a bad thing. For you, this might be a new life that lets you change your fate." As Adam browsed Moira's memories, he communicated with this unprecedented Xenomorph on the mental plane.
He saw Moira's struggles in her previous two lives... humiliated, bullied, and dying miserably each time.
"I never expected something this interesting. A mutant with reincarnation abilities actually reincarnated as a Xenomorph? Was it because the battle with Dormammu disrupted the old temporal order? Causing a slight deviation in the original fate line? No wonder the Ancient One dislikes revealing futures seen with the Time Stone. She says everything ahead is chaotic."
Adam was utterly fascinated. It was like discovering a new toy. He toyed without restraint with this being who possessed a Xenomorph body but the soul of a young girl.
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