Time stretched infinitely at this very instant, only to be compressed into an almost invisible singularity in the next.
There was no sound.
At the exact moment Carol pulled the trigger, the entire world fell into absolute silence. All explosions, gunfire, and screams were swallowed instantly by an invisible yet domineering force, as if they had never existed.
Then came the light.
An utterly indescribable, perfectly pure blue radiance erupted from the collapsing light-speed engine. It wasn't illuminating the world—it was devouring it. Everything within sight—the burning wreckage of ships, soldiers locked in combat, agents running for cover, even the shock and fury frozen on Yon-Rogg's face—lost all color and form within the blue glow, becoming distorted silhouettes before dissolving completely.
Levi was hiding behind a cargo container, yet the blue light seemed to pierce straight through the thick steel, searing itself into his retinas. It felt less like being illuminated and more like being struck head-on by a train traveling at the speed of light—body and soul shattering in a silent collision.
BOOM—!
The true energy shockwave arrived at last.
The multi-ton container shielding Levi screamed as metal warped, then slid backward more than ten meters like a kicked soda can, slamming violently into the hangar wall and leaving behind a massive crater.
Levi was crushed between container and wall, every bone in his body screaming in protest. A normal person would have been reduced to pulp instantly—but the Super Soldier Serum–reinforced skeleton and his tenacious healing factor allowed him to endure it.
Yet compared to what was happening inside his body, this physical impact was insignificant.
The Tesseract energy that had ravaged him for fifty long years suddenly went completely berserk—like sharks scenting blood. No longer crashing about chaotically, it surged with purpose, funneling violently toward a single point.
Agony beyond words seeped into every nerve. Levi felt himself tearing apart from the inside—every cell screaming, burning, collapsing. It was suffering purer than death itself, the terror of existence being erased.
And then—
The long-silent system reacted.
[W…Warning… Warning! Same-origin… zzzt… high-tier energy detected!]
[Energy protocol… force… zzzt… activation!]
The system's voice was no longer cold and mechanical, but broken and distorted by static—like an ancient radio screaming its final message before burning out.
Levi's consciousness was barely holding together, yet he seized on the most important words:
Same-origin high-tier energy.
[Confirm… zzzt… copy target: Carol Danvers… Current state: Binary Form (Newborn)?]
[Warning: Host… zzzt… physical condition extremely unstable! Forced copying… has… high probability of complete energy-structure collapse… zzzt… annihilation!]
[Warning: System core… critically damaged… this copy will… zzzt… consume all backup power… system… forced hibernation…]
Each warning screamed death.
Levi ignored them all.
Collapse? Annihilation?
To hell with it. How was that any different from his current state? If he didn't gamble now, once the chaos ended, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s lab coats would slice him into ten thousand pieces and mount him as a specimen.
Hibernation?
Sleep, then. As long as he survived, the system could wipe itself clean for all he cared.
This was his only chance.
The first—and last—chance since awakening from the ice into this unfamiliar era.
"Copy."
He made no sound, but the word detonated inside his soul like thunder.
"Copy it!"
[Command… confirmed…]
[Initiating copy… Binary Form…]
In the next instant, a brand-new energy—vast and majestic—was forcibly torn from the heart of that blue radiance and violently poured into Levi's body.
If the original Tesseract energy within him was a feral beast that knew only destruction, then this newly arrived Binary energy was a master tamer—calm, precise, absolute.
When the two same-origin forces met, there was no greater explosion.
Instead, something miraculous occurred.
"GHH—AAAH—!"
Levi finally let out a suppressed scream, his body curling into itself as veins bulged like twisted serpents across his neck and forehead. Beneath his skin, countless streams of light surged wildly—blue and gold alternating—casting him as a flickering, unstable energy being on the verge of detonation.
This pain surpassed being torn apart by Tesseract energy.
Surpassed fifty years of frozen solitude.
This was the agony of life itself being rewritten—genes dismantled and reforged at the most fundamental level.
Yet Levi's will had never been clearer.
He could see how the new energy wrapped around the original chaos, infiltrating it, breaking it down, and reweaving it into a structure so profound he couldn't begin to comprehend.
How long passed—an instant, or an eternity—he couldn't tell.
At last, the pain receded like a withdrawing tide.
In its place came a sensation of overwhelming power.
With a single thought, this force would answer his will and obliterate everything before him.
[Fusion… initiated… energy structure… reorganizing…]
[Fusion complete.]
[Warning: System core overloaded… entering forced hibernation… reboot time… unknown…]
After one final, feeble electronic whine, the system fell completely silent. The familiar interface dimmed and vanished.
Levi slowly unfolded himself and stood.
His bones crackled softly—rebirth.
He looked down at his hands.
A faint, burning golden aura seeped from beneath his skin, forming a thin halo around his body. Mischievous blue arcs of electricity danced at his fingertips, crackling softly.
The ground beneath his feet was scorched black, as if licked by invisible fire.
He had succeeded.
He had won the gamble between life and death.
As the blinding light in the hangar finally began to fade, Levi's expression sharpened. Instinctively, he focused with everything he had, trying to rein in the leaking energy.
Get back in.
All of you—get back in!
The golden aura flickered, then reluctantly withdrew into his body. The electric arcs vanished with a soft crackle.
The effort left him utterly drained. He slipped back behind the deformed container, peeking out cautiously to observe.
The hangar was in ruins.
At the blast center lay a massive circular crater, edges smooth as glass, still steaming.
Carol Danvers lay unconscious at its center, body charred black, chest barely rising.
Nearby, Nick Fury and Phil Coulson crawled from behind cover, dust-covered and shaken, staring in disbelief at the surreal scene.
Yon-Rogg had been blasted dozens of meters away. He staggered upright, assessed the devastation, then looked at the unconscious Carol—cold resolve flashing in his eyes.
Ignoring the remaining firefight, he walked straight toward her.
Levi clenched his fists in the shadows.
He knew exactly what would happen next.
Yon-Rogg would take Carol to Hala, erase her memories, implant false ones, and turn her into the Kree Empire's deadliest weapon—Vers. A living tool.
Should he stop it?
The thought flickered—then died.
No.
His hands were still trembling. He was in no state to fight a seasoned Kree commander. Worse, exposing himself now would make him an even greater anomaly than Carol—a walking energy source both sides would hunt relentlessly.
He couldn't take that risk.
Not yet.
As Yon-Rogg lifted Carol's unconscious body, as a Kree ship descended through the shattered ceiling and enveloped them in a beam of light, Levi slowly relaxed his grip.
His eyes were cold and patient.
Like a hunter waiting for the perfect moment.
First—survive.
Survive…
Then everything else.
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