But who would ever complain about becoming stronger?
Karl wanted anything capable of increasing his strength. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken all the Olympian goddesses into the Shadow World in the first place.
Although part of it was admittedly to satisfy his own desires, the sign-in opportunities they provided were real.
And judging from the rewards he had just received, the benefits were enormous.
Karl handed the Kryptonian Codex of Life to Vastness.
At the same time, he imposed the highest possible access restrictions.
Other than Karl himself, nobody could access, examine, or even perceive the Codex's internal information.
Karl then glanced at the Cosmic Gate inside his System Space.
After some consideration, he decided not to take it out yet.
Although he was currently inside the Shadow World, which was concealed by the System and impossible for outsiders to detect easily, Karl had no intention of leaving the Marvel Multiverse right now.
Even if he traveled to another universe, his most likely purpose would be helping Black Phoenix search for more Phoenix Force fragments.
There was no need to rush.
The Celestials and the TVA still had to be dealt with first.
...
Karl had forgotten to adjust the time flow when he entered the Shadow World.
As a result, four days had passed in the outside universe.
Karl had disappeared without explanation for four whole days.
Naturally, everyone aboard the warship had begun worrying.
Even the Olympian goddesses in Karl's enormous quarters looked uneasy.
After being moved onto the warship, none of them had attempted to leave the room even though the doors were no longer sealed.
Their thoughts had long since become centered around Karl.
As far as they were concerned, everything they needed was already here.
They had little interest in exploring the warship.
La, however, had been stunned when she first entered.
Dozens of extraordinarily beautiful women were gathered inside.
Their divine garments differed greatly in style, and some were far more daring than anything La normally wore.
When she finally learned that all of them were goddesses from the former Olympian pantheon, her surprise only deepened.
During her time aboard the Skyblade VII, La had learned a great deal about Earth's history and mythology.
Naturally, she knew about the Greek gods.
Vastness bluntly informed her that these goddesses now occupied a position around Karl somewhat similar to hers.
La remained silent for a long time.
Then she simply asked Vastness to transfer all her belongings into the room.
She selected a bed relatively close to Karl's enormous central bed and quietly settled there.
The Olympian goddesses didn't say much.
They weren't particularly friendly toward Karl's previous women.
In their eyes, every woman around Karl was a rival for his affection.
Only by surpassing the others could they gain more of Karl's favor, earn a higher position beside him, and perhaps one day bear his children.
Therefore, both sides generally ignored one another.
When Yan, Hela, and Black Phoenix entered the room, they behaved much the same way.
Yan walked directly toward Karl's enormous central bed and sat down without hesitation.
Black Phoenix and Hela occupied the opposite side.
Hera, Gaea, Rhea, Aphrodite, and Persephone exchanged strange looks.
Even when Karl wasn't present, none of them would casually sit on that bed.
They only approached it when Karl personally brought them there or gave permission.
To them, that place belonged to his principal wives.
Seeing how naturally Yan, Hela, and Black Phoenix occupied it immediately ignited their competitive spirit.
They wanted to reach the point where they could behave just as freely around Karl.
Elsewhere aboard the warship, Ganata, Great Wanda, and Little Wanda knew about Karl's enormous collection of women.
May, Raven, Helen Cho, Natasha, Yelena, and several others still had no idea that dozens of Olympian goddesses were currently living inside his quarters.
...
Whoosh!
Karl suddenly appeared upon the magnificent throne inside the enormous room.
Yan, Black Phoenix, and Hela reacted instantly.
Before most of the Olympian goddesses could even turn around, all three women were already beside Karl.
Yan directly sat beside him on the throne.
Black Phoenix and Hela occupied the armrests on either side.
Only afterward did Hera and Gaea register that Karl had returned.
The difference in strength was obvious.
However, Karl wasn't paying attention to any of them.
Golden light completely covered his eyes.
He was using Concept Modification.
His target—
every Infinity Stone aboard the warship.
Karl began modifying the conceptual restrictions binding the Stones to their original cosmologies.
From this point onward, their abilities would no longer cease functioning simply because they entered an incompatible universe, dimension, or special space.
Instead, their authority would adapt to the fundamental laws of whichever universe they entered.
The instant Karl began rewriting those concepts, Yan, Hela, and Black Phoenix felt an indescribable sense of death envelop them.
For a fraction of a second, it seemed as though something fundamental to reality itself was being touched.
Then the sensation disappeared.
The three women stared at Karl in shock.
Karl had already finished.
All of his Infinity Stones had been conceptually modified.
They were no longer restricted solely to Marvel's cosmology.
Even after entering another universe, they would retain their fundamental abilities, adapted to that universe's laws.
Karl then moved his remaining Infinity Stones into the warship's core.
He had originally obtained ninety-six.
Six had already been given to Yan.
The ten Reality Stones previously used during construction had remained integrated with the warship rather than being destroyed.
Therefore, exactly ninety Stones still belonged to the warship's systems.
Now all ninety were concentrated within its core.
Space.
Reality.
Power.
Soul.
Mind.
Time.
Multiple sets of all six Stones.
With ninety modified Infinity Stones acting together, the warship's destructive capability had undoubtedly reached the Single-Universe level.
If all of their power were unleashed simultaneously, destroying an entire universe was no longer impossible.
Karl wasn't worried about someone stealing control of the ship either.
He possessed absolute highest authority.
Vastness held secondary administrative authority and operated the vessel on Karl's behalf.
Nobody else could override Karl.
Furthermore, the core contained another safeguard—
the Ego Gem.
The seventh Infinity Gem associated with Nemesis had properties completely different from the standard six Gems.
Karl's version had already been adapted for the warship's systems and could interfere with hostile attempts to seize or overwrite its central intelligence.
More importantly, Vastness's true core wasn't physically located inside the warship at all.
Its main body remained protected within Karl's System Space.
Even if an enemy possessed computational power exceeding Vastness, directly invading or controlling its true core would be nearly impossible.
Otherwise, what would be the point of calling it System Space?
...
After completing everything, the golden radiance covering Karl's eyes gradually faded.
His newly transformed golden pupils were revealed.
Only then did Karl notice the expressions of Yan, Hela, and Black Phoenix.
All three were staring at him with obvious shock and lingering fear.
Karl frowned slightly.
At that moment, Hera and Rhea approached carrying pastries.
The unmistakable affection in their eyes immediately improved Karl's mood.
He looked back toward the three women beside him.
"What's wrong with you guys?"
"What kind of looks are those?"
...
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