"Some people are born gifted. Some are made. Others... others are just chosen by the wrong kind of miracle."—Riri Williams
Jakarta, IndonesiaKael's Room – 3:12 AM
Kael Iskandar stared at Riri Williams like she'd just stepped out of a Marvel movie.
Which, technically, she kind of had.
Ironheart—the Ironheart—was floating outside his window, boots humming with repulsor thrust, her red-and-gold armor glowing softly against the dark sky.
"You're real," Kael finally said.
"Last time I checked." Riri smiled. "May I come in?"
Kael nodded awkwardly and moved aside as she drifted through the open window, her armor folding back into a sleek backpack unit. Her presence filled the room. Confident, cool, a little intense. He immediately became hyper-aware of the mess on his desk.
"So… how much do you know?" he asked.
"Enough to know you're carrying something dangerous," she said, pointing to the shard sitting quietly next to his open sketchbook. "That thing's a multiversal bleed fragment. I've only seen readings like this once before—when Strange nearly unraveled half of reality during the Temporal Spiral."
"That doesn't sound great."
"It wasn't." Riri took a breath. "Thing is, it didn't just bond to you—it recognized you."
Kael blinked. "Recognized me as what?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out."
Before Kael could ask what we meant, her suit emitted a low beep.
"Uh-oh," Riri muttered. She tapped her wrist.
A holographic map bloomed between them, centered on Jakarta. Two red pulses flashed south of the city—followed by a larger, deeper red fissure opening mid-air.
"Okay, that's new," Riri said. "Something just followed your signal."
"You mean… through the sky crack?"
"Yeah," she said grimly. "And if I'm reading this right—it's alive."
Elsewhere – Java Rainforest Ruins03:24 AM
The trees burned silently.
A shimmer in the air pulsed once, then twisted into a humanoid shape—faceless, translucent, cloaked in the same color as forgotten memories.
It sniffed the air—though it had no nose—and murmured in a thousand voices:
"A beacon. Finally."
It stepped forward, melting into the dark, leaving black glass footprints behind.
Back in Kael's Room
Riri was already moving.
"Suit up," she said, armor forming again.
"Suit up? I don't have a suit!"
"Then stay close to me and do exactly what I say. You're not a civilian anymore, Kael."
"Wait, what does that even mean?"
She pointed to the shard. "It didn't choose a scientist. Or a soldier. Or a sorcerer. It chose you. That means you have something none of us do. Maybe not strength or skill…"
She looked him in the eye.
"…but maybe you're the only one crazy enough to survive what's coming."
[To Be Continued in Chapter 4 – Eidolon]