The starry universe.
In this universe there were countless stars and innumerable planets, and life prospered.
For the most part, there was peace and quiet, but something was always happening somewhere, in some corner of this vast and immense cosmic existence.
Suddenly.
Rrrr! Ommnn! Ssss!
A tear appeared in a certain corner of a certain solar system in a certain stellar zone of a certain stellar conglomerate of a certain galaxy in this infinite universe, and through it something emerged and, at an impossible speed, collided with the nearest blue planet.
Elsewhere, far away, in a large golden dome with bronze details connected to an immense sacred continent by a colossal multicolored crystal bridge, a tall, imposing black man in a golden armor and a helmet, with two pointed horns facing upwards, stood stable and still, observing the starry universe with a large sword resting in his two hands, its tip pointed at the ground between his feet.
A powerful and firm aura emanated from him even as he stood there like a statue. Suddenly, his golden eyes turned to a specific corner of the universe. A hint of perplexity and doubt flickered across his impassive face.
'What… I feel like I saw something, but…' As someone tasked with observing the nine realms and being the gatekeeper, guardian, and protector of the Bifrost and the gates of Asgard, Heimdall naturally took his job immensely seriously. Never had he witnessed something that had escaped his senses.
Still looking at that corner of the universe, he focused his eyes even more, making full use of his divine powers and authority. Something capable of escaping his senses at least deserved this kind of effort.
Nothing. He found nothing.
"Midgard…" a whisper escaped his lips as a hint of understanding shone in his penetrating gaze. He was sure that whatever had alerted him and escaped his eyes was somehow related to that small, strange blue planet.
Seeing through space and all illusions, and beholding the majestic and enormous magical shield protecting the planet, Heimdall reluctantly accepted that he might not be able to discover what that sensation had been. Besides, it had been too short and ephemeral for him to spend any more effort and time on something like that. He had his duty and would not allow himself to be distracted for more than those few seconds.
In another space, one outside the universe and between universes, another being, bald, dressed in a majestic blue robe and with sparkling white eyes, grumbled to himself as if narrating or taking notes; in his bright eyes there were hints of doubt and perplexity as he observed a certain blue planet. In all his years of existence, finally something, however minimal and perhaps insignificant or unimportant, had truly caught his attention, piquing his curiosity. He decided to observe this small corner of the vast multiverse he had access to for longer. He decided… to watch.
Earth, Nepal - Himalayas, Kamar-Taj.
Suddenly, a shimmering portal appeared in the stratosphere directly above the hidden mystical city, from which a person in a large yellow hooded cloak that concealed their face emerged.
Two white, emaciated hands pulled the hood back, revealing a face of indeterminate age and a bald head. The Ancient One looked around with a slight frown on her monotonous countenance. A faint red mark flickered between her eyebrows, then disappeared.
With a wave of her hand, a set of intricate and complex geometric yellow lights appeared and expanded, connecting with a huge golden pattern above that seemed to encompass the entire horizon.
"Strange…" She murmured in annoyance and curiosity. Something had definitely breached the Tri-Sanctum Barrier. The problem was, there was no evidence of it. But as one of the beings with the most knowledge and power not only in this world and dimension, she naturally would not simply ignore a feeling, even if it had been so small and momentary that it would be natural not even to notice.
She knew that there were forces constantly trying to enter Earth's domain, dark and evil forces. And with her hundreds of years of existence, she knew she couldn't be negligent; it was better to be paranoid and wrong than not to be and be wrong.
She continued with a series of investigative spells, even using the Eye of Agamotto to check the exact moment of the feeling she had experienced, but no matter what she did or used, she found no results.
She knew she couldn't keep wasting time like this, but she couldn't let it go. The consequences could be disastrous. She decided, in the end, to reinforce the global defenses and alert systems, let more sorcerers patrol the world, and increase the intensity of training in Kamar-Taj.
"The time of change is coming…" with a final sigh, she returned through the portal.
Undercurrents stirred, and the waves of change began to form. A new era was beginning in this vast universe, and somehow this small, strange blue planet called Earth was in the eye of the storm.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Ugh! Damn, my head hurts…" Dylan felt as if someone had stirred his brain with a spoon and sprinkled it with pepper.
The pain was so intense that he felt like crying. He didn't; instead, he took a deep breath and tried to stand up. He couldn't; his body seemed to weigh two tons.
Soon the pain began to subside, and his mind began to clear. And with that, his thoughts began to solidify, and his memories to organize themselves.
Sweating and tired, with no extra energy to be surprised or question himself, Dylan accepted, in a somewhat calm and natural way, a fact he had just realized.
He had transmigrated to another world, another reality. But the most surprising thing was that this had happened 18 years ago, but only last night did his memories of his past life surface. And all at once, 29 years of life. From a spoiled child, to a rebellious teenager, to an adventurous young man, and finally to a mercenary adult.
In his past life, Dylan had been an ordinary person, with ups and downs, a failed marriage, no children. If there was anything noteworthy, it was that when he was 26, he decided he was tired of his routine and decided to risk himself in better-paying jobs. He got a pilot's license and found work transporting things here and there… A shame, however, that in just three years he was caught and arrested for illegal electronics smuggling. Yes, that's right. Electronics.
After five months in jail, after taking and giving several beatings, he finally ended up truly enraging some tough guys. There were 6 of them, and they cornered him in the bathroom with improvised blades and daggers.
Dylan might have been ordinary, but he always valued his physical well-being and always liked to fight, even if in 29 years he had never had the chance to prove his skills—that is, until he was arrested.
Five months in that hell was enough to awaken senses and instincts he never thought he'd have, and more importantly, cruelty. He managed to send three of them to their maker before taking the first stab wound to his thigh. Then he still managed, with pure hatred and fearlessness, to permanently incapacitate another for the rest of his miserable life before they finally hit his jugular. What followed was a series of stabbings, too many to count.
What a pathetic life. Dylan analyzed his past life as if watching a movie. And indeed, that's how it felt. He couldn't feel attachment to his old life and old self. It had nothing to do with how he lived or how he died—I mean, at least he died fighting, and for that, Dylan felt somewhat proud. But he had already lived 18 years in this life, and these 18 years were much more present and impactful for him. Besides, this was his life now, his world; he couldn't feel much connection to his past life.
Of course, he couldn't be completely indifferent, because his soul was still the same. He knew that even though his old memories were only surfacing now, much of what he is and how he developed over the past 18 years was due to his past life experiences. And now, with the complete assimilation of his memories, he knew he had changed a little, even if he didn't yet understand how much or in what way.
"Speaking of worlds…" Dylan looked out the window next to his bed. He lived in the penthouse of an apartment complex in Midtown, next to the commercial area and near Hell's Kitchen.
The sun was just beginning to show itself in all its glory on the horizon, the sky a beautiful shade of red and orange. The city was beginning to wake up, that is, for every working citizen.
"So… Marvel, huh."
According to his memories, Dylan knew he had transmigrated to a universe called Marvel. The problem was that he remembered absolutely nothing about this universe! Not even plots, characters, nothing!
And he knew this was no accident. After his life was cut short and before being reborn into this world, he was taken to another plane of existence where he met a kind of high-dimensional creature. The creature had spouted a lot of nonsense, but in summary, it was fascinated by humanity's ability to create fantastic stories and worlds. And so it decided to try it itself, but instead of starting from scratch, the creature "gave birth" to several new universes, each containing a story developed by humanity. The creature had made worlds and universes like those of DBZ, Naruto, Marvel, DC, Harry Potter, and many others real!
But not satisfied, it decided to capture the souls of some people who had just died and send them to these universes as external and unpredictable factors, and then observe the unfolding!
And because it said that if he knew the plot and the characters from the beginning, it would take away much of the surprise factor and wouldn't be interesting, the high-dimensional creature completely erased his memories of the universe he was being sent to, only letting him know what it was and what type it was—comics, anime, movies, etc.
And then, after saying that besides sending him to the universe in question and providing him with a randomly selected "golden finger," the creature said it would not interfere with anything else. So if he happened to be reborn in a war zone and died without even leaving infancy, that would be his bad luck!
As for why he only now received all (or almost all) his memories back, it was because the creature didn't want him to treat this world as a game and everyone else as NPCs. In this, Dylan had to nod in admiration, because indeed, despite remembering everything now, he couldn't treat that world as fake or a game. That was real, he was real, his mother had been real…
Remembering his mother, who had died two years prior, Dylan trembled a little. He remembered what the creature had said about not intervening in absolutely any aspect beyond placing him in that world and sighed regretfully. He would never forgive himself if his beloved mother's death had somehow been his fault.
Shaking his head full of black hair, Dylan finally stood up, having regained his strength, and went to the window, still admiring the sunrise of a new day.
He was tall, at least 1.88m, strong, slender, and athletic.
"Alright, then… what now?"