Dreaming of the Parallel Universe
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters
"What? Xu did this?"
Nick Fury shot up from his seat, one eye fixed sharply on Natasha Romanoff, who sat across from him.
"Of course. I was there," Natasha replied, her tone firm.
From the moment Xu Mo had brought her straight to the island, she understood: he had meant for S.H.I.E.L.D. to see what he could do. That was why she didn't conceal anything from the Director now.
"Don't joke around, Natasha. This isn't funny," Agent Maria Hill interjected, frowning as she tapped at the holo-screen before her.
"The signal you sent half an hour before the incident still pinged from Florida. How could you possibly have appeared at the Sentinel Services building in New York within minutes?"
"I don't know the science behind it. But Xu… he simply raised his hand, drew a circle in the air, and a doorway appeared right in front of us."
As she spoke, Natasha mimicked the gesture, tracing a circle with her hand.
"I know it sounds impossible—but it happened."
Her voice wavered slightly. Even she realized how unconvincing it sounded.
"I believe you," Fury said suddenly, lowering himself back into his chair.
Both women turned to him in surprise.
"I once read about this kind of sorcery in a classified file," Fury explained.
Natasha's eyes lit up. "Exactly! At the time, they called it magic."
"It seems I made the right call investing in him," Fury said, allowing a rare smile. The stronger Xu Mo became, the greater the return for S.H.I.E.L.D.
---
S.H.I.E.L.D. Dormitory
After her debrief, Natasha hurried back to her quarters.
She pulled a small booklet from her pocket—[Thunder Blade]—and studied it intently.
The further she read, the more exhilarated she became.
Half an hour later, she was in the training room downstairs, standing before the heavy sandbag she always used.
Drawing on her lifelong combat training, Natasha recalled the force-manipulation method described in the manual. She clenched her fist and drove it forward.
"Wrong," she muttered the instant she struck.
The motion was off. She adjusted, tried again, and again.
Three hours later, sweat drenched her, and frustration gnawed at her patience. Hundreds of punches—and nothing.
Snapping, she threw a careless strike. But this time, instinct aligned with technique. Two forces combined in a split-second—
BOOM!
The sandbag exploded, torn apart under the impact.
Natasha froze, staring at her hand in disbelief.
"…I really did it."
She reached for her phone, ready to call Xu Mo—only to realize she didn't have his number.
Resolving to thank him in person, she carefully memorized the booklet, then destroyed it as instructed.
---
Island of the Dead — Star Tower
Xu Mo sat cross-legged in the training chamber.
He had sent Annie home that morning; she planned to return after spending time with her parents.
Yesterday's battle had cost hundreds of lives, but most were ordinary people. The points he gained—barely fifty thousand—meant little to him now.
More importantly, he had broken through to the planetary level of psychic power. With that, he was confident he could finally perform dream walking.
He had already told Emma not to disturb him.
At his thought, the Dark Book materialized before him, opening to the page on dream walking.
Xu Mo closed his eyes.
The ritual that had once eluded him now flowed with surprising ease.
His soul separated from his body. The Dark Book dissolved into a black stream of light, embedding itself into his forehead as a glowing sigil.
Then, he was pulled into a vortex.
---
When Xu Mo opened his eyes, he stood in a strange, infinite void.
Ahead stretched a breathtaking sight:
At the heart of the void floated a massive, radiant sphere. From it extended thick glowing lines, branching like roots and arteries. They split, and split again, until countless strands spanned the cosmos.
Each line pulsed with light, some thick, some impossibly thin.
From the Dark Book's records, Xu Mo knew: each strand was a parallel universe. The thicker the strand, the greater the supernatural power within that world. The thinnest threads marked mundane universes with no powers at all.
He found his own world's line—a colossal trunk among branches.
"So… my world really is at the ceiling of power," Xu Mo whispered.
According to the ritual, touching a line would send his soul into that parallel world, where it would inhabit his counterpart's body—the perfect vessel, being 100% soul-compatible.
For his first attempt, Xu Mo chose a thin strand—a powerless world, ideal for practice.
His spectral form drifted toward it. The strand's gentle pull seized him. He could have resisted, but instead surrendered, letting it draw him in.
Darkness. Dizziness.
Then—clarity.
---
He awoke in a cramped bedroom.
Beside him, a blonde girl with wavy hair lay sprawled across the sheets. The messy room and scattered tissues suggested… vigorous activity had taken place.
The girl rose casually, stretching with no modesty.
"I need to get going. Jim and I are catching a movie tonight."
"…Jim?" Xu Mo muttered.
The technique left him with no memories of this body's life. Only the vessel—no context. Judging by her tone, Jim was another man.
Yet she'd said it so freely.
The blonde smirked at his confusion.
"Jim's my boyfriend, of course."
"What?" Xu Mo's expression twisted.
But then it hit him: in this world, his counterpart was apparently still carrying on multiple relationships at once.
The girl rolled her eyes. "Oh, stop acting innocent. I told you I wanted to break up with him, but you refused!"
Xu Mo's eyes widened.
"…Oh, hell."
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