And like that, Anthony slowly drifted into the world of dreams, entering the very dream he had just been thinking about. He didn't know that his wishes were about to come true—and more. His life was about to take a complete turn for the better, though not without its own challenges.
Would he be able to utilize the world-shattering changes that would soon be placed in his hands? Would he be able to face the challenges that were coming his way? Would he be able to turn his dream into reality if he possessed the necessary talents and more to back it up?
Or would he be crushed under the weight of his own ambition?
....
Somewhere far away—beyond the solar system, beyond the galaxy, beyond even the universe itself, in the vast sea of chaos where countless universes floated like grains of sand—there existed a mysterious being.
That being looked at the sleeping Anthony with a smile, one more mysterious than the very revelation of how the universe came to be known to gods and demons alike.
"Now this will be interesting," the mysterious existence muttered.
With a snap of his fingers, a ball of light appeared in his hand—so massive that its true size was beyond measure. It pulsed with an energy that could not be described in mortal terms.
Without hesitation, he threw it toward Anthony's universe.
"With this gift, and a few tweaks, all things are set."
And just like that, as if he had never been there to begin with, the mysterious being disappeared from wherever he existed.
Meanwhile, the ball of light began to shrink again and again as it traveled, compressing itself until it was no larger than a grain compared to the vast universe—though still bigger than many galaxies combined.
It struck the universal membrane directly.
A ripple spread across the boundary, a visible distortion tearing through the fabric like a stone thrown into still water. The sphere pierced through it and disappeared into the endless interior of the universe at a speed no one could follow—not even beings as powerful as Superman, or perhaps even beyond him. After all, in a universe so vast, it was only obvious that extraordinary beings existed somewhere within it.
Though none of them saw the sphere itself, they sensed the spatial waves it left behind when it breached the universal membrane.
That disturbance did not go unnoticed.
A few mighty beings detected the spatial fluctuation. In an instant, they appeared near the enormous tear in the universal membrane, their gazes fixed on the fading ripple, trying to understand what had just entered their domain.
They all sucked in cold breaths. Breaking the universal membrane like that was not something any being within the universe could accomplish alone.
One of them stood nearly two meters tall, with two dragon horns curving from his head, a long dragon tail swaying behind him, and massive wings folded at his back. His aura was destructive, disturbing the very peace of space itself as special barriers around him continuously contracted and expanded under the pressure.
"You all feel this aura?" he asked, eyes narrowed at the spatial gap in the universal membrane that was already beginning to heal.
"Yes, I do," another voice replied.
She was a breathtaking woman, the kind whose beauty alone could bring kingdoms to their knees. An elven woman. Her long hair flowed behind her as her sharp eyes studied the distortion. "But I can't fully understand it. It carries the qualities of the spatial element… yet there is something within it that feels superior to space itself."
"Indeed. I sense it as well," said another figure—a blue-skinned, humanoid being with a single horn rising from his forehead. He belonged to the Azura race. His expression was calm, but his eyes gleamed with interest. "Something powerful and mysterious has entered our universe. And its mystery may aid us in our pursuit of true eternal power beyond this universe."
There were others present too, though their faces remained unseen, hidden in shadows or concealed by their own means.
They all nodded silently.
Without further words, as suddenly as they had appeared, they vanished once more—leaving that patch of space empty again. Each of them departed toward places unknown, none certain where the disturbance had gone, nor what it truly was.
But one thing was clear.
Something extraordinary had entered their universe.
Meanwhile, far out in space, the radiant sphere of light continued forward, unaware that its presence had already been detected. Even if it had known, it would not have cared.
It hurtled ahead at tens of thousands of times the speed of light—perhaps more. Its speed was so absurd that it could not truly be quantified. Its brilliance, once vast beyond measure, had now shrunk to a size no larger than Earth itself, and it continued compressing as it traveled. It only stopped shrinking when it became no bigger than a table tennis ball.
As if summoned by fate—or perhaps predetermined by the mysterious being—a portal appeared ahead of the now tiny sphere. It was more than large enough to swallow it whole. Without slowing in the slightest, the ball of light shot straight through the portal at the same impossible speed.
Had any sufficiently powerful being been present at that moment, they would have been shocked beyond belief.
The fluctuation the portal released was no simple spatial gateway. In fact, it was most likely generated by the sphere of light itself. The aura it emitted, and the disturbance it left behind, were staggering. Countless beings would have slaughtered one another to possess such a thing. Even from the faint residual fluctuation alone, they would instinctively know the immeasurable benefits it held—if they were capable of comprehending it.
But by fortune—or perhaps fate—no one was there to witness the phenomenon at a level they could comprehend. No one saw what happened next. The portal, just as it had appeared, vanished. Along with it, every trace of aura and fluctuation disappeared, leaving behind not the slightest hint of its presence.
Back in Anthony's now darkened room, the sun had dipped below the horizon only moments ago. A thin sliver of streetlight slipped through the curtains, barely lighting the space.