Snow fell in heavy silence over the Carpathian Mountains.
The black sky above was streaked with lightning, and the wind howled through the jagged cliffs like a living thing.
A lone figure moved through the storm—Su Zhan, dressed in black tactical gear, eyes glowing faintly in the dark.
Ahead, buried into the mountain face, was a Hydra fortress: cold steel, humming generators, and a single insignia carved into the rock—a skull with curling tentacles.
He smiled faintly. "Found you."
The system's voice echoed softly in his mind.
[Objective: Infiltrate Hydra Base – "Black Nest."]
Estimated Enemy Count: 112.
Warning: Multiple energy signatures detected. Source—unknown.
Su Zhan crouched behind a ridge, surveying the base. Guards patrolled the entrances, drones buzzed overhead, and red sensors lined every path.
He took a breath, then closed his eyes.
A flicker of orange light pulsed beneath his skin—his fire energy adapting, blending with the cold air. In seconds, his body temperature dropped to match the environment. The heat signatures vanished.
[Thermal Concealment Active.]
"Let's get to work."
Inside the Hydra Fortress
The corridors were silent except for the hum of machinery. Su Zhan moved like a shadow, dispatching guards with precision—one flicker of flame here, one silent strike there.
Everywhere he looked, he saw Hydra's fingerprints—experiments, genetic tanks, artificial organs suspended in fluid. The stench of science without conscience.
He stopped at a sealed door marked "PROJECT ORIGIN."
His pulse quickened.
[Restricted Area – Genetic Archive Detected.]
"Origin…" he murmured. "Let's see what you're hiding."
The door hissed open after a brief override. Inside was a laboratory filled with glass chambers, each holding something almost human—bodies twisted by mutation, nerves laced with circuitry, veins glowing faint green.
And at the center of the room stood a single containment pod, larger than the rest.
Su Zhan approached cautiously. Inside floated a man—no, a clone. His face was eerily familiar.
"...Me?"
The realization hit like a punch. The same features. The same scar near the jawline. The same faint mark on the wrist.
He wasn't just looking at a copy. He was looking at the original template.
The system's voice trembled for the first time.
[Data anomaly detected.]
Cross-referencing genetic code…
Match: 100%.
Subject ID: "Project Origin — Prototype Host."
Su Zhan froze.
"Prototype… host?"
[Revealing archived data…]
A holographic recording flickered to life in front of him—an older man in a lab coat, Hydra insignia emblazoned on his shoulder.
"Day 147," the scientist said coldly. "The Origin Host experiment continues. Subject Omega—the fusion of multiple energy serums—remains unstable. However, our dimensional breach experiment yielded… unexpected results. One of the test subjects vanished entirely—absorbed by the rift. The energy signature matches the Host template."
Su Zhan's chest tightened. "A dimensional breach…"
The scientist continued, "If our calculations are correct, the lost subject may have crossed into a parallel reality. If recovered, he could become the perfect vessel—self-sustaining, adaptive, and infinitely evolving."
The recording ended.
Su Zhan stood in silence.
"...So I'm not a random transmigrant," he muttered. "I'm their experiment."
It all made sense now.
The King System, the stabilizing power, his sudden arrival in the Marvel universe—it wasn't divine fate. It was science. Hydra's science.
And if Hydra created him once… they could do it again.
The door behind him hissed open. A voice spoke—a woman's, cold and calm.
"Impressive. You found your own grave."
Su Zhan turned.
She stepped out of the shadows—tall, sharp-eyed, clad in Hydra combat armor. Platinum hair, crimson lipstick, and the unmistakable Hydra symbol on her chest.
"Madame Viper," he said slowly. "I was wondering when you'd show up."
"Hydra doesn't lose assets," she said. "You're proof of concept, Su Zhan. The one that got away."
He smirked. "Sorry. No refunds."
Her eyes narrowed. "You could've been a god under Hydra. Instead, you ran. But that's fine. I'll just dissect you and make ten more."
Dozens of soldiers stormed in behind her.
Su Zhan sighed. "You really don't learn, do you?"
He raised a hand. The air shimmered.
A wave of fire exploded outward—silent, white-hot, pure. The soldiers screamed as their weapons melted in their hands, armor liquefying.
Viper leapt aside, firing a plasma pistol. The bolt seared through his shoulder, but the wound closed almost instantly.
Su Zhan looked at her through the smoke, eyes glowing gold. "You're right about one thing."
"And what's that?" she hissed.
He smiled. "I am a god."
He vanished.
The next instant, the entire chamber erupted in light.
When the smoke cleared, the facility was burning.
Files, servers, and cloning pods—all reduced to molten ruin. Viper's body was nowhere to be seen, but Su Zhan knew better. Hydra never died. It multiplied.
He stood before the shattered containment pod that once held his clone.
His reflection in the cracked glass looked back at him—fire in his eyes, darkness in his grin.
[Main Quest: Project Origin – Completed.]
Revelation Unlocked: Su Zhan = Dimensional Variant of Hydra's Origin Host.
New Ability: Dimensional Resistance (Passive).
New Quest: The King's Path — Phase 5: Rise of the Variant.
Su Zhan looked up at the burning sky.
Snow and ash fell together, glowing in the firelight.
"So Hydra made me," he said softly. "Then I'll make sure they regret it."
He turned toward the mountains, flames fading behind him.
"Time to burn the world clean."