Avengers Tower had changed after Lagos.
The building was still busy.
Scientists still worked in the Hope Organisation laboratories. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents still moved through its secured corridors. The Avengers still trained, held meetings, and prepared for whatever threat came next.
But something had changed beneath the surface.
The laughter was quieter.
The conversations were shorter.
Everyone was carrying the weight of what had happened.
Steve had become more withdrawn.
Natasha was unusually thoughtful.
Sam spent long hours reviewing mission footage.
Wanda rarely stayed in the common areas for long.
Even Tony, who normally filled the Tower with noise simply by existing, had become more serious.
KB noticed all of it.
He didn't comment.
He knew there were wounds that couldn't be healed by technology.
Some needed time.
Others needed people.
And sometimes, perhaps, they needed something completely unexpected.
That morning, KB was in his laboratory.
The solar-moon serum remained under controlled testing.
Several new restrictions had been added after Lagos.
KB was examining a molecular simulation when Alexa's voice suddenly came through the laboratory.
"KB."
He didn't look up.
"Yes?"
"I have detected something unusual."
KB stopped working.
"Define unusual."
"A new enhanced individual."
That caught his attention.
"Where?"
"New York."
KB turned toward the main display.
A map of Manhattan appeared.
"Who?"
"Unknown."
"Abilities?"
"Enhanced physical capabilities."
KB raised an eyebrow.
"That's vague."
"I have limited information."
A series of images appeared.
Security camera footage.
A blurry figure moving across rooftops.
Another image showed him hanging upside down from a building.
Another showed him stopping a robbery.
Another showed him leaping between buildings.
KB stared.
The figure wore a strange red-and-blue costume.
It looked...
Homemade.
The mask was slightly uneven.
The material appeared inexpensive.
The spider emblem across the chest looked like it had been designed and attached by hand.
KB smiled.
"What is that?"
Alexa replied,
"His costume."
"I can see that."
"It appears to be homemade."
KB laughed.
"I know."
Another image appeared.
The figure was standing on the side of a building.
Alexa zoomed in.
"His preferred designation appears to be..."
A pause.
"...Spider-Man."
KB blinked.
"Spider-Man?"
"Yes."
"That's what he's calling himself?"
"Apparently."
KB leaned back.
"Interesting."
Alexa continued.
"He has been observed stopping street crimes, interfering with armed robberies, assisting civilians, and preventing several accidents."
"Any fatalities?"
"None associated with his activities."
KB nodded.
"Good."
He looked at the footage again.
The young hero jumped from one rooftop to another.
There was something strangely graceful about it.
Not trained.
Not polished.
Improvised.
But effective.
KB smiled.
"How long has he been active?"
Alexa answered immediately.
"Approximately ten to fifteen days."
KB stopped smiling.
"Ten to fifteen?"
"Yes."
"When exactly?"
"I cannot establish the exact date due to gaps in the available surveillance data."
KB thought for a moment.
Then his expression changed.
"Oh."
Alexa waited.
KB looked toward the screen.
"The timing."
"Yes."
"After Sokovia."
"Correct."
KB folded his arms.
"So the little spider appeared after the war."
"That is the most probable conclusion."
KB stared at the footage.
He remembered Sokovia.
The destruction.
The fear.
The people who had lost their homes.
The Avengers returning to the Tower carrying wounds that couldn't be seen.
Perhaps the appearance of another young hero wasn't a coincidence.
Maybe someone had watched the Avengers.
Maybe someone had seen what happened in Sokovia and decided that they wanted to help.
KB smiled.
"That's actually rather nice."
Alexa raised an eyebrow.
"In what way?"
KB looked at the screen.
"Everyone here could use some good news."
The footage showed Spider-Man stopping a car that had lost control.
KB chuckled.
"And bringing in a little spider might brighten everyone's mood."
Alexa processed the statement.
"Would you like me to contact him?"
KB's expression immediately became thoughtful.
He shook his head.
"No."
Alexa paused.
"No?"
"Not yet."
"Why?"
KB looked at the footage again.
The young hero was clearly inexperienced.
But he was trying.
He was protecting people.
He wasn't seeking fame.
At least not obviously.
KB smiled.
"Let him grow."
Alexa remained silent.
KB continued.
"Keep an eye on him."
"How closely?"
"Enough to know if he's in danger."
"And if he is?"
"Then we intervene."
"Understood."
KB turned back toward his work.
Alexa asked,
"Should I monitor his identity?"
KB paused.
"Yes."
"Should I identify his location?"
"Yes."
"His family?"
KB glanced toward the screen.
"Only for security purposes."
"Understood."
"And Alexa?"
"Yes?"
"Don't contact him."
"Understood."
KB returned to the serum calculations.
But his thoughts had already moved elsewhere.
The little spider.
Red and blue.
Homemade suit.
New York.
Young.
Brave.
Probably terrified.
KB smiled.
He knew exactly where this story should lead.
But it wasn't his place to take him there.
.....
The evening over New York was unusually quiet.
From the upper floors of Avengers Tower, the city looked almost peaceful.
Millions of lights stretched across the horizon, windows glowing like tiny stars trapped among towers of steel and glass. Cars moved through the streets far below. Somewhere in the distance, sirens occasionally broke the silence before fading again.
Life continued.
That was perhaps the strangest thing about tragedy.
No matter how heavy one person's heart became, the world continued moving.
Wanda Maximoff stood alone beside one of the enormous windows.
Her arms were folded tightly around herself.
She had been standing there for several minutes without moving.
The television behind her was muted, but she didn't need to hear the reporters anymore.
She had already heard enough.
Lagos.
That single word had become enough.
Images continued flashing across the screen.
Damaged buildings.
Emergency workers.
Crowds.
Politicians.
Reporters.
And photographs of those who had died.
Wanda lowered her eyes.
Her fingers trembled slightly.
She could still remember it.
Rumlow.
The explosion.
The sudden realization that people around them were going to die.
There hadn't been time to think.
She had acted.
Her power had wrapped around the explosion and pulled it upward.
For one brief moment, she had thought she had succeeded.
Then—
The building.
The windows shattering.
The screams.
Wanda closed her eyes.
"I should have controlled it."
A voice answered from behind her.
"Perhaps."
Wanda opened her eyes.
She didn't turn around immediately.
Only one person in the Tower would answer her like that.
Not with empty reassurance.
Not by immediately telling her that everything was fine.
Not by pretending nothing had happened.
KB walked toward her carrying two cups.
He placed one on the table beside her.
Wanda glanced at it.
"Tea?"
"Yes."
She looked at him suspiciously.
"No coffee?"
KB's expression became solemn.
"Tony has already committed enough crimes against beverages."
For the first time that evening, the corner of Wanda's lips moved.
Barely.
KB noticed.
Naturally, he pretended not to.
He leaned against the window.
For several seconds neither of them spoke.
Wanda eventually whispered,
"People died."
KB's expression softened.
"I know."
"Because of me."
"No."
Wanda finally looked at him.
"KB—"
"People died because Rumlow decided to detonate an explosive device surrounded by innocent people."
"But I moved it."
"Yes."
"And it hit the building."
"Yes."
Wanda stared at him.
There was no cruelty in his voice.
But there was also no attempt to hide reality from her.
Perhaps that was why she could speak to him.
Everyone else had been careful around her.
Too careful.
Steve had defended her.
Natasha had tried to comfort her.
Clint would probably have told her that she had saved more people than she realized.
All of them meant well.
But Wanda didn't want someone to tell her she had done nothing wrong.
She wanted to understand.
She looked down at her hands.
Red energy flickered faintly around her fingertips before disappearing.
"Sometimes I hate them."
KB's eyes shifted toward her hands.
"My powers."
Wanda swallowed.
When I was younger , I thought they were something that could help me change things. Then Ultron happened. Sokovia happened. Now Lagos.
Her voice grew quieter.
"Everywhere I go, something happens."
KB remained silent.
Wanda finally asked the question that had been troubling her for months.
"How do you do it?"
KB raised an eyebrow.
"Do what?"
"Control it."
Wanda turned toward him completely.
"Your power."
KB's faint smile disappeared.
"You have so much power that sometimes I don't even understand what you are capable of."
She paused.
"And yet you're never afraid of it."
KB looked through the glass toward the city.
Wanda continued.
"How?"
A long silence followed.
Then KB said,
"I am afraid of it."
Wanda froze.
She hadn't expected that answer.
KB slowly raised one hand.
A tiny golden light appeared above his palm.
It was no larger than a firefly.
Warm.
Gentle.
Harmless.
"Power isn't frightening because it can destroy."
His fingers closed.
The light vanished.
"Power is frightening because someone eventually has to decide when to use it."
Wanda watched him carefully.
KB continued,
"There may come a moment when one of our unintentional actions causes the death of an innocent person."
Wanda's expression changed.
KB looked directly into her eyes.
"And if that day comes, we must accept responsibility."
His voice remained calm.
"But responsibility and hatred are not the same thing."
Wanda's brows furrowed.
"We shouldn't hate our power because we failed once. And we shouldn't hate ourselves because we made a mistake."
"But people don't come back because I learned something."
"No."
The answer came immediately.
Wanda flinched slightly.
KB's eyes remained gentle.
"They don't."
He stepped closer.
"That is precisely why you must learn."
Wanda stared at him.
"If mistakes had no consequences, learning from them would be easy."
KB glanced toward the television.
"The painful lessons are the ones that remain."
He looked back at her.
"You cannot change what happened in Lagos."
Wanda's eyes lowered.
"But you can decide whether Lagos becomes the moment Wanda Maximoff started fearing herself..."
He paused.
"...or the moment Wanda Maximoff began understanding herself."
Her eyes slowly lifted.
KB smiled faintly.
"A person who learns from their mistakes is already greater than the person who believes they never make any."
He suddenly looked toward the laboratory floor.
"And we happen to have an excellent example living in this building."
Wanda blinked.
"Who?"
"Our Iron Man."
Despite herself, Wanda laughed softly.
KB nodded seriously.
"Yes. The great Anthony Edward Stark."
"Don't let Tony hear you calling him great."
"He already calls himself that."
That earned another small laugh.
KB's expression softened.
"But think about him."
Wanda's smile slowly faded.
"Tony has made mistakes."
KB looked toward the city.
"Many."
A pause.
"Many, many mistakes."
Wanda shook her head.
KB smiled before continuing.
"His weapons hurt people he never intended to hurt. His fear helped create Ultron. His decisions have caused consequences he still carries."
Wanda became quiet.
"But what makes Tony remarkable isn't that he never fails."
KB's voice grew softer.
"It's that every time he truly understands his failure, some part of him tries to become better."
Wanda looked toward the floor.
"He builds another armor."
"Sometimes."
"He changes something."
"Usually after arguing with everyone first."
Wanda smiled again.
"That sounds more accurate."
KB nodded.
"But yes."
His gaze returned to her.
"He learns."
Wanda stared at him.
"So don't hate yourself, Wanda."
He gently tapped two fingers against her forehead.
"Understand yourself."
Her eyes widened slightly.
"Understand your power."
His fingers moved down and lightly touched her hand.
"Understand your fear."
Then he placed his hand over his own heart.
"And understand why you choose to fight."
Wanda remained silent.
"Maybe..."
KB smiled.
"...you'll find your answer."
Something inside Wanda loosened.
Not disappeared.
The guilt remained.
The pain remained.
But for the first time since Lagos, she felt as though she could breathe without hearing screams.
She looked at KB.
"You always have an answer."
"Absolutely not."
Wanda raised an eyebrow.
KB whispered conspiratorially,
"Sometimes I just speak confidently and hope nobody notices."
Wanda laughed.
A genuine laugh this time.
KB smiled.
For several seconds they simply looked at each other.
Neither seemed eager to move away.
Wanda's fingers were still beneath his hand.
She noticed.
KB noticed that she noticed.
Neither moved.
A faint redness appeared on Wanda's cheeks.
"You know..."
Her voice became softer.
"...you're very strange."
"I've been informed."
"Frequently?"
"Tony keeps records."
Wanda moved slightly closer.
"Maybe I like strange."
KB's smile slowly changed.
"That sounds dangerous."
"Maybe."
Their eyes met.
The noise of the city seemed to disappear.
The guilt.
The Avengers.
The Accords.
The growing tension surrounding them.
For one small moment, there was only them.
And then—
KB's entire body froze.
His smile vanished.
Wanda immediately noticed.
"KB?"
He didn't answer.
Something had changed.
Not in the room.
Not in New York.
Not even in their universe.
Something had looked at him.
No.
Someone.
KB's pupils contracted.
For the first time in years, an instinct buried deeper than thought screamed inside him.
Danger.
Not ordinary danger.
Not death.
Something far beyond it.
His divine senses expanded instinctively.
Space.
Nothing.
Time.
Nothing.
Dimensions.
Nothing.
Reality.
Nothing.
And yet—
The gaze remained.
Wanda stepped closer.
"KB?"
He barely heard her.
His consciousness reached outward.
Then upward.
Then somewhere that could not truly be described as either.
And suddenly—
His eyes met another pair.
KB stopped breathing.
For less than an instant, the walls of Avengers Tower disappeared from his perception.
He saw—
A river.
Not water.
Time.
Countless realities flowed through it like reflections.
Birth.
Death.
Creation.
Destruction.
Universes appearing like bubbles and disappearing like sparks.
And beyond that river...
Someone sat upon a throne.
KB stared.
The figure looked like him.
Older.
Not physically.
There was no meaningful way to measure age in those eyes.
It was KB.
And yet—
It wasn't the KB standing beside Wanda.
The figure's eyes contained an exhaustion that the present KB had never experienced.
His body carried wounds.
Not wounds of flesh.
Cracks of darkness crossed portions of his divine form, occasionally glowing with an indescribable radiance beneath them.
He had been recovering.
His eyes had been closed.
Until now.
The future KB slowly opened them.
His gaze traveled backward.
Across ages.
Across collapsed timelines.
Across the River of Time itself.
Until he saw a younger version of himself standing beside Wanda Maximoff.
For the first time in countless ages...
worry appeared in his eyes.
The future KB murmured,
"So it begins."
Present KB's heart stopped for a fraction of a second.
The words did not travel through sound.
They crossed time itself.
Only he heard them.
His future self looked directly at him.
Then he whispered something else.
Something Wanda could never hear.
Something the universe itself seemed forbidden from recording.
Present KB's eyes widened.
Shock crossed his face.
Then the connection vanished.
The Tower returned.
"KB!"
Wanda grabbed his arm.
He blinked.
His breathing remained calm, but his expression had changed.
Wanda had never seen that look before.
Not during Sokovia.
Not against Ultron.
Not even when facing the Soul Devourer.
"What happened?"
KB remained silent.
He looked toward the window.
Far beyond the stars.
His future self's words remained inside his mind.
He slowly closed his eyes.
"...Nothing."
Wanda immediately frowned.
"That was not nothing."
KB glanced at her.
She was worried.
He smiled.
Not his usual mischievous smile.
Something quieter.
"Something I need to understand."
Wanda wanted to question him.
But something in his expression stopped her.
Instead she tightened her grip on his hand.
KB looked down.
Then back at her.
The darkness in his expression softened.
"Don't worry."
Wanda sighed.
"You tell me not to hate myself, then suddenly stare into space like you've seen the end of creation."
KB blinked.
"That's oddly specific."
Wanda narrowed her eyes.
KB smiled.
But somewhere deep within him...
the warning remained.
Beyond the River of Time
There was no universe here.
No dimension.
No conventional concept of distance.
Even eternity was merely something that could be observed.
Beyond the River of Time existed a realm where countless realities appeared smaller than stars.
And at its center stood a throne.
Calling it enormous would have been meaningless.
Size was a concept belonging to lower realities.
The throne did not merely exist within creation.
Creation existed within it.
Countless multiverses shimmered across its structure.
Some were young.
Some ancient.
Some contained civilizations that had conquered galaxies.
Others had never produced a single living creature.
Timelines branched endlessly inside them.
Infinite possibilities.
Infinite stories.
Together they formed what remained of the uncorrupted Omniverse.
And upon the throne sat one figure.
KB.
The Source Throne.
The final bastion holding the surviving Omniverse together.
Invisible waves of power continuously flowed from KB into the throne.
Every moment, he preserved realities that would otherwise collapse.
His eyes slowly opened.
For a long time, he said nothing.
Then he sighed.
"So..."
His gaze remained upon the River of Time.
"...even then, I still couldn't stop myself from giving speeches."
A faint smile appeared.
It vanished almost immediately.
His wounds pulsed.
Darkness spread briefly across his shoulder.
KB closed his eyes.
The wound slowly receded.
The battle had ended long ago.
Yet its consequences remained.
OBA.
Even thinking of that existence caused the surrounding nothingness to tremble.
KB looked toward the distant flow of time.
He had just watched his younger self.
Standing beside Wanda.
Still learning.
Still loving.
Still believing he understood how vast the road ahead would become.
Future KB's expression softened.
"You have no idea."
Then worry returned.
He raised his hand.
A tiny fragment appeared above his palm.
Dark.
Silent.
It seemed less like an object and more like the absence of everything objects were supposed to be.
A remnant.
A tiny surviving fragment of something incomprehensibly greater.
The Source of Oblivion.
KB stared at it.
For countless years he had refused to interfere too deeply with his own past.
Every interference created consequences.
Every alteration risked branching events into directions even he could not completely predict.
But the battle against OBA had taught him something.
They had misunderstood their enemy.
Terribly.
Future KB closed his fingers around the fragment.
"I will help you this time."
His voice echoed through realities.
Not commandingly.
Almost apologetically.
He raised his other hand.
"Come."
Creation answered.
Four presences manifested before the Source Throne.
The first appeared as the embodiment of endless existence.
Eternity.
Beside her emerged a presence representing the boundlessness of creation.
Infinity.
Then came flame.
Not ordinary flame.
Life.
Death.
Rebirth.
A burning force whose cry echoed across realities.
The Phoenix Force.
And finally...
Order.
A presence whose very existence imposed structure upon chaos.
The Law of Order.
All four stood before the throne.
None spoke immediately.
They could sense his injuries.
Eternity finally said,
"You summoned us."
KB nodded.
"I did."
Infinity's gaze shifted toward the darkness covering parts of his body.
"Your wounds have not recovered."
"They will."
Phoenix's voice carried irritation.
"That is what you said before."
A faint smile appeared on KB's face.
"I see you've become better at complaining."
"I learned from watching you."
For a moment, something almost resembling warmth entered the empty realm.
Then KB opened his hand.
The fragment appeared.
The four cosmic beings immediately became silent.
Infinity stared at it.
"That..."
"A remnant," KB said.
Eternity's expression changed.
"Of Oblivion?"
KB nodded.
He moved his hand.
The fragment floated toward Infinity.
"Take it."
Infinity caught it carefully.
"What do you intend?"
KB leaned back against the Source Throne.
"Find someone."
Infinity waited.
"Someone with extraordinary self-discipline."
Phoenix tilted slightly.
"A warrior?"
"Not necessarily."
"A hero?"
"Not necessarily."
"A god?"
KB smiled faintly.
"Definitely not necessarily."
The Law of Order spoke.
"You wish the remnant to choose a host."
"Yes."
Silence.
Eternity looked toward him.
"Why?"
KB's eyes became serious.
"Because the final battle will not be simple."
The four entities became still.
KB continued.
"We prepared for strength."
His fingers tightened around the throne.
"We prepared for destruction."
His eyes darkened.
"We prepared for OBA."
A pause.
"But we didn't prepare for everything standing behind him."
Infinity understood.
"You want more pillars."
"I want people capable of standing when reality itself stops obeying its own rules."
KB looked toward Phoenix.
"And that includes you."
Phoenix's flames surged.
"Explain."
"Choose a host."
Silence.
Phoenix stared at him.
Then Eternity spoke.
"You intend for all of us to do so."
KB nodded.
"Find individuals worthy of carrying portions of your power."
Infinity asked,
"From which universe?"
KB's answer came immediately.
"Don't restrict yourselves."
The cosmic beings exchanged glances.
"Character matters more than origin."
KB's gaze settled on the fragment of Oblivion.
"Especially for that."
Infinity looked at the darkness within her hand.
"You understand what could happen if the wrong individual receives this."
"I do."
"The Source of Oblivion cannot be entrusted lightly."
"That's why I said self-discipline."
KB's expression became grave.
"Not ambition."
"Not intelligence."
"Not righteousness."
"Discipline."
His voice echoed across the Source Throne.
"Someone capable of possessing the power to erase everything..."
"...and choosing not to."
Infinity slowly closed her hand around the fragment.
"I understand."
Eternity bowed her head.
"We will search."
Phoenix's flames intensified.
"And if none are worthy?"
KB smiled faintly.
"Then choose no one."
The Law of Order nodded.
"A wise restriction."
KB looked at them.
"You are not weapons."
That surprised them.
"You are foundations of existence. Whoever carries your power must understand that power isn't permission."
His gaze briefly returned toward the River of Time.
For a moment, he remembered Wanda.
The younger version of himself speaking to her.
Don't hate your power. Understand it.
Future KB smiled bitterly.
How many times had he eventually needed to learn his own lesson?
Eternity noticed.
"You saw something."
KB didn't answer.
Eternity did not press further.
Eventually the four cosmic entities bowed.
"We will do as you ask."
KB nodded.
"Go."
Their forms disappeared.
Infinity vanished into endless space.
Eternity dissolved into the flow of existence.
Phoenix departed in a storm of cosmic fire.
The Law of Order disappeared without disturbance.
Silence returned.
KB remained seated.
Then—
A colossal shadow moved behind the throne.
Eyes opened.
Ancient.
Divine.
The form stretched beyond realities.
An enormous serpent appeared, its coils seemingly capable of surrounding entire multiverses.
Slowly, the serpent descended.
Its form changed.
Scales became skin.
The enormous divine creature became a man.
Benjamin.
He walked toward the Source Throne.
Even after everything that had happened...
some things never changed.
Benjamin looked at KB.
KB looked at Benjamin.
Benjamin sighed.
KB immediately said,
"Don't."
"I haven't said anything."
"You were about to."
"I was."
"I know."
Benjamin crossed his arms.
"Was that really necessary?"
KB's smile disappeared.
He knew exactly what Benjamin meant.
"The hosts."
"The interference."
Benjamin glanced toward the River of Time.
"You looked into our past."
"Yes."
"And spoke to yourself."
"Yes."
Benjamin's expression hardened slightly.
"You spent ages telling everyone else not to interfere with causality."
KB raised an eyebrow.
"I also spent ages telling Tony not to make dangerous artificial intelligence."
Benjamin stared.
KB sighed.
"Fair point."
Benjamin stepped closer.
"Brother."
The word changed something in KB's expression.
No titles.
No Source.
No supreme being.
No throne.
Just—
Brother.
KB looked tired.
"I have no choice."
Benjamin became silent.
KB stared at his hands.
"The me of that time is still not strong enough."
Benjamin looked toward the River of Time.
He could see countless histories flowing through it.
A younger KB.
A younger Benjamin.
The Avengers.
Tony.
Steve.
Natasha.
Wanda.
People who had once believed Thanos was among the greatest dangers they would ever face.
How innocent those days seemed now.
Benjamin quietly said,
"We weren't weak."
"No."
KB looked at him.
"We were strong."
A bitter smile appeared.
"Just not strong enough for what was coming."
Benjamin's gaze shifted toward KB's wounds.
"You still haven't recovered from OBA."
Silence.
Then KB spoke.
"When OAA passed the mantle to me..."
The surrounding realities trembled faintly.
"...and merged with me so we could confront OBA, I thought it would finally be enough."
Benjamin remembered.
How could he forget?
Existence itself had nearly ended.
OAA had surrendered the mantle.
KB had inherited it.
Then their existences had merged.
For one impossible moment, KB had stood beyond almost every law that governed reality.
They had believed victory was certain.
KB laughed quietly.
There was no humor in it.
"We thought we could overpower him."
Benjamin lowered his eyes.
"We were wrong."
"Very."
KB leaned back.
"We only knew the tip of the iceberg."
The words hung heavily in the void.
Benjamin clenched his fist.
"OBA wasn't merely stronger than expected."
"No."
"He had prepared."
"Yes."
"And his subordinates..."
KB's expression became colder.
"That's the problem."
He looked toward the Omniverse resting within the Source Throne.
"We both reached the same level."
Benjamin nodded.
Half-Step Absolute Reality.
A realm of existence so far beyond conventional cosmic hierarchies that even beings once considered omnipotent could scarcely comprehend it.
KB continued,
"You and I can hold the wall."
His eyes narrowed.
"But OBA has subordinates only one rank beneath him."
Benjamin's jaw tightened.
"And we don't."
"No."
A long silence followed.
Benjamin finally asked,
"Then what happens when they attack together?"
KB didn't answer.
That silence was enough.
Benjamin turned away.
For perhaps the first time in countless ages, the divine serpent looked genuinely worried.
"How long will your recovery take?"
KB looked at the cracks of darkness across his arm.
"I don't know."
Benjamin turned sharply.
"You don't know?"
"The wounds aren't physical."
"I am aware."
"They aren't spiritual either."
"I know."
"They damaged my connection to the fundamental Source."
Benjamin's expression became grim.
KB looked toward him.
"I can recover."
"How?"
KB sighed.
"Slowly."
Benjamin stared.
"That's your plan?"
"No."
KB's smile returned slightly.
"That's my recovery."
He raised one finger.
"The plan is considerably more complicated."
Benjamin rubbed his forehead.
"Of course it is."
"We need to reformulate everything."
KB looked toward the River of Time.
"The previous strategy assumed OBA would be the central threat."
"He is."
"Yes."
KB's eyes narrowed.
"But defeating the king means nothing if his generals destroy the board while we're fighting him."
Benjamin understood immediately.
"So the hosts..."
"Future pillars."
"Eternity."
"One."
"Infinity."
"Another."
"Phoenix."
"Another."
"The Law of Order."
"Another."
Benjamin looked toward where Infinity had disappeared.
"And Oblivion?"
KB became silent.
Finally he said,
"That one worries me."
"Then why do it?"
KB stared into the distance.
"Because sometimes the power most capable of destroying everything..."
His eyes returned to Benjamin.
"...is exactly the power needed to prevent everything from being destroyed."
Benjamin sighed.
"I hate when you make dangerous ideas sound reasonable."
"I've had practice."
Benjamin walked toward the throne.
Only now did his gaze truly settle upon it.
The Source Throne shimmered.
Within its structure existed multiverses.
Countless.
Each one containing universes.
Each universe containing lives.
Stories.
Civilizations.
Heroes.
Villains.
Families.
Children.
Dreams.
Every second, realities threatened by corruption were stabilized by KB's presence.
His power surrounded the remaining uncorrupted Omniverse like an invisible shield.
Benjamin stared at his brother.
KB wasn't simply sitting on a throne.
He was carrying creation.
Every wound he sustained weakened that shield.
Every moment he rested was still a moment spent protecting everything.
Benjamin's expression softened.
"You're tired."
KB didn't answer.
"Brother."
"I'm fine."
"You've been saying that since we were young."
"It has an excellent success rate."
"No, it doesn't."
KB chuckled.
Benjamin stood beside the throne.
For a while neither spoke.
Two brothers.
One carrying the Source.
The other guarding him.
Against an enemy neither had fully understood.
Benjamin eventually looked toward the River of Time.
"Do you think changing the past will work?"
KB followed his gaze.
Far away—
A younger KB stood beside Wanda.
She was smiling now.
Her hand remained inside his.
Future KB watched them.
Something warm appeared in his tired eyes.
"I don't intend to change him."
Benjamin glanced at him.
"Then what are you doing?"
"Giving him possibilities."
KB looked toward the timelines.
"He still has to make every decision."
"He still has to suffer every consequence."
"He still has to become me."
Benjamin's expression became complicated.
"And if he doesn't?"
KB smiled.
"Then perhaps he'll become someone better."
Benjamin stared at him for several seconds.
Then laughed quietly.
"You've changed."
"Have I?"
"Yes."
Benjamin looked toward his younger self somewhere within the flowing histories.
"But somehow..."
He shook his head.
"...you're still exactly the same."
KB smiled.
Then the Source Throne trembled.
Both immediately became serious.
One multiverse flickered.
Then another.
A faint darkness touched the outer boundary of the Omniverse.
Benjamin turned.
"Corruption?"
KB's eyes narrowed.
"No."
He stood.
The movement alone caused countless realities within the throne to shine.
His injuries screamed.
He ignored them.
Benjamin stepped beside him.
"What is it?"
KB stared beyond creation.
Beyond time.
Beyond even the domain of the Source.
Something had moved.
Something distant.
Something patient.
KB's expression became grave.
"They noticed."
Benjamin's eyes hardened.
"Already?"
KB slowly clenched his fist.
Golden radiance spread around the Source Throne.
The shield surrounding the uncorrupted Omniverse strengthened.
Countless multiverses shone like stars.
Behind KB, the throne seemed infinite.
Before him waited an even greater darkness.
For a moment, he remembered what he had told Wanda.
Don't hate your power.
Understand it.
Learn from your mistakes.
KB closed his eyes.
Then opened them.
Calm returned.
"We lost the advantage once because we believed we understood our enemy."
Benjamin stood beside him.
"And this time?"
KB looked toward the darkness beyond the Omniverse.
"This time..."
A faint smile appeared.
"...we learn."
Back in Avengers Tower, Wanda was still holding KB's hand.
Only a fraction of a second had passed.
She had no idea that somewhere beyond time itself, a future version of the man standing beside her was holding together countless multiverses.
She only knew that something had frightened him.
And that bothered her.
"KB."
"Hm?"
"You were telling me to understand myself."
"I was."
"Then perhaps you should follow your own advice."
KB stared at her.
Wanda smiled.
"Understand whatever just frightened you."
For once, KB had no immediate response.
Then he laughed softly.
"That's unfair."
"What?"
"Using my own wisdom against me."
"You taught me."
KB looked at her for several seconds.
Then his expression softened.
"Apparently you're a dangerous student."
Wanda stepped closer.
"Maybe I learn quickly."
KB smiled.
Outside, New York continued shining.
Neither of them knew exactly what tomorrow would bring.
The Accords.
Division.
Secrets.
Bucky.
Tony.
Steve.
A little spider beginning his journey through Queens.
A politician in Britain whose path would eventually collide with theirs.
Wars beyond Earth.
Wars beyond universes.
And somewhere unimaginably far in the future...
a wounded man sat upon the Source Throne, protecting an Omniverse while preparing for a final battle against an enemy whose true strength he had once disastrously underestimated.
But that future had not arrived yet.
KB looked at her.
Then at their joined hands.
His smile returned.
He did not pull away.
For this one moment, there was no Source Throne.
No OBA.
No OAA.
No final battle.
There was simply KB.
And Wanda.
Two people standing above New York, learning that power was not measured only by what someone could destroy.
Sometimes...
the greatest form of power was having every reason to fear yourself—
and choosing to become better anyway.
Far beyond the River of Time, Future KB watched that moment for the final time.
Then he closed his eyes.
"Grow stronger."
The River of Time flowed onward.
His fingers tightened around the Source Throne.
"And enjoy these days while you still can..."
A tired smile appeared on his face.
"...you foolish younger me."
Behind him, Benjamin shook his head.
"You know he can't hear that."
Future KB's smile widened.
"I know."
Benjamin raised an eyebrow.
"Then why say it?"
KB opened one eye.
"Because I'm still me."
Benjamin stared at him.
Then sighed.
Some things, apparently, survived even the end of eternity.
And perhaps—
that was a good thing.