The Thought Imprint looked like nothing more than a simple seal.
But what it stamped was not flesh—it was the soul.
Once someone willingly bore its mark, their soul would remain forever loyal to the seal's master. And that master was Lorien.
Which meant binding Sylvie to him was easy.
Will you take the seal? Yes.
Will you swear the oath? Yes.
Then it's done.
As long as she followed through, that was all it took. Simple.
Of course, sincerity was required. She couldn't harbor thoughts of betrayal while mouthing words of allegiance.
To be blunt, Lorien didn't trust Sylvie.
First: why should he? Were they close? Did they know each other well?
Second: even if he trusted her, could he be sure she trusted him fully? That she wouldn't make a move in secret?
Third: she was the God of Mischief. For her, 99% trust meant no trust at all. Lorien needed 100%.
So in the end, only the Thought Imprint could guarantee trust.
Seal the oath, and then they would truly be on the same side.
Sylvie stared at the imprint in Lorien's hand and at his condition: never betray him.
Strictly speaking…
That was entirely acceptable. If she really gained control of the Time Variance Authority, where would betrayal even come into play? Everything she had would be given by Lorien.
In other words, Lorien would be her patron. Lose him, and she'd lose everything.
After thinking it through, Sylvie gave a firm nod.
"No problem."
She immediately followed up with,
"Where should it be stamped? And how do I swear?"
The placement of the Thought Imprint didn't matter. As long as the person accepted it without resistance, it would take effect.
As for the oath—it was secondary. Lorien only cared about the imprint itself.
"Anywhere is fine. The back of the hand will do. The oath is simple—look into my eyes and repeat exactly what I said earlier."
Hearing this, Sylvie quickly extended her hand.
Lorien lifted his own, ready to press the seal. Sylvie met his gaze and spoke solemnly.
"I swear, Sylvie Odinson will never betray Lorien Su."
Clack.
The Thought Imprint sank into her hand.
Feeling its power take hold, Lorien withdrew his hand, tossed the seal back into the System Space, and watched her closely.
Wanda and Gwen were also watching intently. Everyone wanted to see how Sylvie would react.
But there was hardly any reaction at all.
The only detail Lorien caught was her pupils briefly dilating, then returning to normal. It lasted less than a second.
When the oath was done, Sylvie looked at Lorien with respect.
"Thank you for your trust."
Sensing her inner state, the loyalty now anchored in her very soul, Lorien smiled.
"It should be mutual trust."
Sylvie nodded and didn't press the subject further. That kind of soul-bound loyalty had already turned trust into something instinctive, beyond words.
"What should I do next?" she asked.
"Simple." Lorien met her gaze. "Start by removing those who will never obey—like certain Judges, and Kang."
"But—"
"I know."
Sylvie tried to continue, but Lorien cut her off.
Then, reaching into the void, he pulled out the last remaining pseudo-Black Necrosword.
Before her eyes, he kicked out the malice still clinging to the blade, then tossed it to Sylvie.
"With this, anything you strike will die—even Kang the Conqueror."
Sylvie caught the Black Necrosword in one swift motion. Even though the malice within the blade had already been purged, its lingering killing intent was enough to make her shiver just from holding it.
This was no ordinary sword.
Not even just a divine weapon.
It was a blade with its own will.
Utterly pure.
In simple terms—killing, nothing else.
Feeling the murderous aura within the sword, Sylvie immediately stowed it away. The Black Necrosword melted into black liquid and seeped into her body.
No words were needed. Trust was trust. It didn't need to be spoken aloud.
"Is that enough?" Lorien asked.
"Enough!" Sylvie nodded firmly.
She was the God of Mischief, a great sorceress. With a weapon like this, one strike nearly guaranteed death. She could find countless ways to bring down even beings stronger than herself.
Lorien nodded, satisfied.
"Good. You can begin."
Sylvie stood up. But before she left, Lorien reminded her,
"My help doesn't end here. Bring me results, and I'll reward you with something even better."
Sylvie's eyes widened slightly at that. She looked straight at him and promised,
"I will."
The next moment, she disappeared from the Little Universe within Lorien's home.
Wanda and Gwen watched until she was gone. Only then did Wanda remark,
"She's quite the enforcer. She'll get it done."
Gwen nodded. "Her resolve is strong."
Indeed, the look in Sylvie's eyes showed how seriously she took the mission. The Time Variance Authority had to change.
"Lorien!!!"
Before they could say more, Hela came stomping in from the Little Universe portal, glaring and shouting angrily.
"I felt the aura of the Black Necrosword on that woman who just left! You gave her the last one, but not me! I'll bite you to death!"
She launched herself at Lorien, jaws wide open.
He caught her face mid-leap with one hand and looked helplessly at the squirming girl.
"That sword is for great deeds. What would you even use it for? Chopping vegetables?"
"Mmmph mmmph mmmph!!!"
Seeing she wanted to speak, Lorien let her go.
"Argh!"
The moment he did, Hela grabbed his hand, bit down hard, then snapped,
"Who are you calling useless!?"
"I was planning to kill Surtur too, you know?"
"That's what I meant!"
"I was going to ask you for that sword, but you gave it away!"
"To some woman you barely even know!"
"Ahhh!!!"
Hela had coveted that sword for far too long. She'd wanted it from the very beginning.
If it had gone to Wanda, that would've been fine.
But now Lorien had given it to someone else. And not even Cindy, Peni, or Mayday. That made her furious—worse, it made her feel wronged.
"Alright, alright, I get it."
Seeing her eyes red with grievance, almost on the verge of tears, Lorien pinched her cheek, ready to wipe them away.
Smack~
But she pouted and slapped his hand aside.
"How about I give you something even better later? I promise it won't be any weaker than the Black Necrosword. Trust me."
"!"
At once, Hela's eyes locked onto him.
"Really?"
"When have I ever lied to you?"
"Then you promise!"
Hearing that, she immediately grabbed his hand and blew on it—
Whoosh, whoosh~~
Then pressed it against her own cheek, grinning.
"Go play."
"Now you're fine with it?"
Lorien pinched her cheek again, only letting go when her eyes started watering.
"Go back to your game. I'll give it to you later."
"Alright, I'm going~"
And just like that, Hela stormed off.
She stomped away, but by the time she was hopping back toward her room, her anger was already gone.
The whole scene lasted only a few minutes, but Gwen and Wanda were laughing so hard their shoulders shook.
...
After breakfast, they played around for a while longer until night fell. The weekend slipped by in ease and laughter.
That night, in the master bedroom, Lorien galloped wildly—one man, two horses.
...
The next day, Gwen went to school as usual with the Spider-Alliance. Wanda indulged in her usual lazy sleep-in. Cybertron kept running smoothly. Lorien went to work as always.
Seated in his office, he idly scrolled through the news.
He browsed for a long time, but found nothing of interest.
It was then that he suddenly realized.
"The Marvel storyline… seems like I've already gone through almost all of it?"
He did the math.
Once the Transformers finished their fight with the Annihilation Wave, and Thanos was dead, the story would be over.
He didn't even know what had happened in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3—that was all before he transmigrated.
"Ah… whatever."
Lorien shrugged it off.
As long as he kept checking in, growing stronger, and living his life normally, that was enough.
Speaking of which, he realized he hadn't checked in for quite a while. He hadn't even looked through many of the past rewards.
So he muttered in his heart,
"View historical check-in rewards."
[Ding~!]
[Check-in successful~!]
[Obtained: Leave Slip x10!]
[Obtained: Sword of Rupture: Ea x1!]
[Obtained: Gate to the DC Universe x1!]
[Obtained: Phoenix Force x1!]
[Obtained: Infinity Gauntlet with Full Gems x1!]
[Obtained: ...]
There were many rewards.
But the most important were these—the complete Phoenix Force, the Infinity Gauntlet with all six gems, the DC...
Wait. The Gate to the DC Universe?
The DC world?!
Superman...?