Location: S.W.O.R.D. Blacksite – Manhattan Sublevels
Time: 11:47 p.m.
Dark, cold, and underground.
Perfect place to hide a secret.
But I wasn't here to hide.
I was here to steal the truth.
The system's Shadowborn alert had led me here—coordinates embedded inside that Project Nightfall file I stole from SHIELD's server. A classified S.W.O.R.D. facility masquerading as a decommissioned subway station.
But nothing in this city stays buried.
Especially when it breathes.
[Witcher Senses Activated]
> Motion Detected – 4 Entities
Pulse Signature – Muted
DNA Match: 3 Human, 1 Unknown
I crouched near a sealed metal door, placed a palm over the control panel, and whispered:
"Aard."
The sign burst like a shotgun, flinging the door off its hinges.
Smoke rolled into the hall.
Then came the gunfire.
---
I moved like a ghost.
Three SHIELD operatives. Standard issue rifles. Poor visibility.
I dropped the first with a snap kick to the throat, disarmed the second, and used her as a human shield against the third's burst fire. One electro-dart to the neck finished him.
Then silence.
And beyond that… a pulse.
Faint, rhythmic. Like a heartbeat through metal.
I followed it.
---
Room 6B – Quantum Holding Cell
Inside, floating in the middle of a magnetic suspension chamber, was a black orb the size of a football.
It wasn't solid.
It pulsed like liquid ink—rippling with impossible geometry, occasionally flickering to reveal… something beneath.
A face?
A scream?
A shadow?
My system pinged hard.
[Scan: Shadow Core]
> Origin: UNKNOWN
Composition: Dimensional Bleed, Temporal Residue
Containment: Experimental Phase Lock (S.W.O.R.D. Alpha Protocol)
Status: Aggressive, Dormant
Threat Level: Cosmic Tier (Suppressed)
Associated Entity: "Shadowborn"
There it was.
Proof I wasn't insane.
S.W.O.R.D. had captured a piece of the Shadowborn's source.
And hidden it here.
---
Then came the voice.
"It talks to you, doesn't it?"
I spun, blade half-drawn.
The speaker was a woman in a dark S.W.O.R.D. uniform, leaning against the wall like she'd been expecting me.
Sharp cheekbones, sharper eyes.
Maria Hill.
"I figured you'd find this place," she said. "Fury thought you might."
"How long have you known about the Shadowborn?"
She didn't answer right away.
Instead, she circled the containment chamber, gazing at the orb.
"We picked up that thing six months ago. Just after a gamma burst anomaly in Nigeria."
"Before the Avengers even formed."
She nodded.
"And long before you showed up on our radar."
---
I crossed my arms.
"This isn't Hydra. It's not alien either. It's older."
"Exactly," Hill said quietly. "Our scientists think it predates linear time. Every time we run a scan, it shows results from timelines that haven't happened yet."
That sent a chill through me.
Multiversal bleed. Echoes from futures that might never be.
"And now it's awake," I said.
"No," she corrected. "Now you woke it up."
---
Location: Brooklyn Safehouse – Later that Night
The scan data from the orb sat on my HUD, unreadable by normal systems.
But my system wasn't normal.
[Decrypting Unknown Format…]
> Unlock Successful
Reward: Template Fragment (Mystic Tier) – "Stephen Strange: Arcane Initiate"
Skill Gained: Minor Spellcasting – "Cantrip: Arcane Sigil + Binding Seal"
Trait Gained: Dimensional Awareness I (Passive)
Magic.
Not the kind Doctor Strange wielded in his prime. But the beginning.
The foundation.
I extended my palm and focused.
An arcane rune blinked into existence—unstable, flickering like a newborn star.
It fizzled after a few seconds, but the potential was there.
I'd officially crossed into the supernatural.
---
I checked the system menu.
Template Loadout – Current:
John Wick (Combat Reflex Mastery)
Deathstroke (Strategic Augmented Physiology)
Geralt of Rivia (Signs, Alchemy, Enhanced Senses)
Moon Knight Fragment (Stealth Phase Cloak)
Thor Fragment (Lightning Pulse I)
Doctor Strange Fragment (Arcane Initiate)
A killer.
A tactician.
A monster hunter.
A godling.
A fledgling sorcerer.
No longer a man.
Not quite a god.
Something in-between.
---
Then came the mission alert.
[System Alert: Sign-In Available – Day 56]
> Reward: Random Bloodline (Tier: Rare – Mythical)
Processing…
Result: UZUMAKI BLOODLINE (NARUTO – FRAGMENTED)
I stared.
Not from this world.
Not even from this universe.
A ninja clan from a fictional anime now running through my veins?
[Bloodline Effect – Stage 1 Unlocked]
Increased vitality and chakra-like reserve
High pain tolerance
Regeneration: Minor
Mental Fortitude: Boosted vs corruption and psychic intrusion
The system wasn't playing fair anymore.
It was rewriting me.
---
Next Morning – Stark Tower Private Lab
"You're glowing," Tony said, walking in with coffee. "And not metaphorically. Like, actual glowing. Is that a new thing?"
I was levitating. Barely. My feet hovered two inches off the floor.
"Magic," I muttered.
Tony blinked. "Damn. You really are becoming the Swiss Army Knife of power sets."
"I need your help analyzing something," I said, tossing him the S.W.O.R.D. orb data.
He skimmed through it.
"Temporal noise… multiversal leakage… fractal coding… Whoa. This thing's not just alive—it's aware."
I nodded. "And it knows me."
Tony rubbed his temples.
"So what's the play?"
I clenched my fist.
"Project Nightfall was a containment strategy. But it's already failed."
He looked up.
"And?"
"And now I hunt the things that come out of the dark."
---
Location: Bronx Industrial District – That Night
The Shadowborn had resurfaced.
Stronger. Faster. Smarter.
But I was stronger too.
I unleashed Arcane Sigils as traps, triggered Thunder-enhanced strikes, and laced my attacks with chakra-fueled power surges.
Lightning arced.
Steel flashed.
Magic sang.
In the end, I stood victorious.
Bruised, exhausted, but alive.
[Quest Complete: Dark Mirror – Phase I]
> Reward: Legendary Draw – "Template Unlock: Blade (Daywalker)"
Bonus: Chakra Gate Concept Blueprint (Locked)
---
I fell to my knees.
Another soul added to my growing arsenal.
Another enemy defeated.
But they were only the beginning.
Something bigger was coming.
And I was the only one evolving fast enough to stop it.
---