(Zayne's POV)
The sky was still blue. The air was still quiet. But inside my mind?
A damn storm was brewing.
I sat in the backyard of my apartment, the same place I usually came to meditate. While the city buzzed in ignorant peace, my thoughts drifted somewhere far beyond — toward responsibility, purpose, and legacy.
It was time.
Time to build my base.
No more procrastination. No more delays. I needed a secure headquarters. A place where I could train, research, rest, and if necessary… fight without restraint. Especially after what happened with Hulk, I knew that things were only going to escalate from here.
"Grid," I called out mentally, my tone resolute, "I need to choose the best possible location for my base. Got any suggestions?"
There was a slight pause — probably the Grid judging me from whatever cosmic control room it operated from — before a prompt flickered before my eyes.
[Analyzing planetary terrain...]
[Filtering optimal base construction sites based on concealment, security, natural energy flow, dimensional interference, and tactical advantage...]
Huh. This was sounding more like real estate shopping for a fortress than just "pick a cave and start welding."
Suddenly, several options popped up in a glowing blue holographic grid:
[🔹 Shadow Veil Island – Located somewhere in the Pacific, cloaked by natural electromagnetic storms and deep fog banks that cause all electronic or magical tracking systems to fail. The island is uncharted and uninhabitable by normal standards, but perfect for concealment.]
[🔹 Crimson Dune Expanse – A hidden desert plateau in North Africa that's completely cut off from satellite scans and covered in unstable space-time anomalies. Energy is dense here. Some say it's where Atlantis might've relocated in ancient times.]
[🔹 Echo Ravine (Antarctic Perimeter) – Beneath the icy crust lies a vast network of crystalline caves, undetectable to heat signatures. However, its location is brutally cold, and the terrain unstable without modification.]
[🔹 Verdant Fang Jungle – A lush, unexplored rainforest tucked deep within the Amazon, guarded by sentient plant-life that instinctively attacks intruders. Rich with natural energy and mystical potential, but also insanely dangerous.]
[🔹 Stellar Chasm – A collapsed meteor crater located in the Himalayas, housing unknown materials and shielding properties from cosmic scans. The high altitude makes it difficult to access without teleportation.]
All were solid. All had pros and cons.
But I'm not a tourist.
I want security, concealment, and nature. But I don't want to be murdered by sentient trees or spend my days freezing my ass off.
"Grid," I said again, "why are all these places far from New York?"
[To encourage the host to develop a personal teleportation array.]
[Overreliance on Grid shortcuts will reduce future potential. Manual construction and strategic thought processes are optimal.]
"Tch... Teaching me lessons now, huh?" I chuckled, shaking my head.
But deep down, I liked it. This wasn't just about building a hideout. It was about mastering my tools. Becoming what I needed to become.
After considering the options carefully, I made my decision.
"Shadow Veil Island it is."
[Excellent choice.]
[Would you like to teleport now and begin initialization?]
"Wait," I said quickly. "Let me get my gear. And prepare the shielding first. I don't want some alien overlord or multiversal god peeking through the curtains while I'm laying bricks."
[Deploying: Absolute Shield Dome [EX]] (A/N) Don't worry, guys, it's for the base, but he has to use it to prevent any form of tracking)
The moment I said that, space distorted around me like heat waves on asphalt. I could feel the power rip through the atmosphere as a massive barrier of pure Omni-force, encoded with layers of dimensional encryption, wrapped itself around the coordinates.
[Shield deployed. This zone is now cloaked from all sensory types — mystical, technological, divine, infernal, prophetic, and fate-based. Status: Undetectable.]
"Perfect."
Time to build.
--- ✦ ---
(Location: Shadow Veil Island)
The teleport was instant — red light, a short gust of energy — and then I was standing on damp grass surrounded by mist.
The island was… hauntingly beautiful.
Thick fog roamed lazily across dense trees, while black cliffs lined the edges like ancient guardians. No birds chirped. No wind howled. But the silence wasn't dead — it was expectant.
Like the island itself was watching me.
I walked into the chosen clearing, opened my system inventory, and said:
"Grid, deploy the barrier here and unload the materials."
As long as I deploy the barrier in the base, it will work simultaneously for any moment, and I teleport to the base.
[Affirmative.]
Suddenly, space warped in front of me, and crates of luminous, glowing materials — each the size of a small SUV — landed on the ground with silent precision.
As I looked over the supplies, I was stunned.
These weren't just metal and plastic.
These were rare.
These were elite.
They were glittering under the sun, like damn disco lights.
I was almost sure these were the kind of materials multiversal blacksmiths would kill to get their hands on.
I scanned through the pile quickly.
— Trionium Alloy: A vibrationally adaptive supermetal that regenerates over time when damaged.
— Eclipse Obsidite: A dark-purple crystal-metal hybrid that can reflect both light and magical attacks, mined from collapsed stars.
— Aethersteel Framework: Used in building palaces on higher planes. Resists entropy, time erosion, and dimensional collapse.
— Mythanite Cores: Infused with primordial chaos energy, used to power ultra-high-energy systems like planetary shields or ship drives.
— Phantomroot Wood (Stabilized): Grows in no light, used for resonance-based equipment or stealth tech.
— Zerolith Fiber Glass: A flexible energy conductor used in ancient civilizations that predate our universe.
This wasn't just a base I was building.
This was a stronghold worthy of a god-tier warrior.
"Damn… Grid really didn't hold back on the quality."
[Correction: All rewards are based on host performance. If host continues to exceed mission expectations, higher-grade materials and blueprints will be unlocked.]
"Noted. I'll keep up the good work then."
I pulled out the Terrain Customization Card and activated it.
[Initializing: Terrain Optimization Protocol]
[Please specify desired landscape structure: flat, dome, multi-layered, underground, hybrid.]
"Hybrid. Multi-tiered layers with underground levels and a flat central area for the core structure. Forest perimeter maintained for camouflage."
[Processing…]
The ground rumbled.
The trees reshuffled like respectful guardians, the land flattened in specific patterns, and a massive crater-like basin formed in the center of the island. Slowly, platforms began to raise, and stair-like formations stretched toward the sky.
The fog never cleared — it simply swirled around the changes.
I stood there, in awe, watching this god-tier landscaping unfold like some surreal art project.
A few moments later, a quiet chime echoed in my ears.
[Base terrain customization complete.]
[Primary construction may now begin.]
[Recommendation: Begin by anchoring the Universal Habitat Core — this will stabilize the zone and allow dimensional expansion.]
I nodded.
Time to get to work.
But as I stood there — surrounded by crates of divine materials, rare modules, and enough construction tech to make Tony Stark sweat — I realized something:
This wasn't just about making a base to hide in.
This was a monument.
A declaration.
That I Zayne was the fortress of the Multiverse and even more.
And he wasn't going anywhere.
Not until the multiverse was safe… and maybe not even then.
--- ✦ ---
I did not want to use common materials like Vibranium, Nth metal and the likes. What do you think of these materials?
Power stones, guys