Chapter 464 - 464: Symbiote 0464: The Doctor

A nuclear explosion blasted the entire observatory to smithereens, leveling an entire city in the process. It wasn't only a single nuclear explosion, but all over the planet, hundreds of nuclear warheads exploded simultaneously over most major cities. For a planet already ravaged by war after being treated as a playground by two gods, this was a crippling blow and wiped out billions of lives in an instant.

At this moment, Alex's sole body remaining on this planet was floating above the sky of Wakanda, which had been subject to the same nuclear explosions as the rest of the world. Not only the capital, which was supposed to be under a barrier, but many of their outpost cities under simpler camouflage had also been outright vaporized by the intense explosions.

For Alex, not only had he pulled Susan into his Soul Dimension, but he'd also retreated every single one of his bodies on the planet the moment his Sixth Sense flared. While he could easily tank a nuke and far more, he didn't believe the explosion was all that had been prepared by this unknown enemy. And observing the view below, he was glad he'd taken that precaution. The radiation that normally accompanied a nuclear explosion had been modified on a conceptual level by the power of the Reality and Soul Stones. Adding

Not only that, but Alex identified traces of a power that was very familiar to him — ‹Soul Devour›. Far beyond the area affected by the direct explosion, wherever the radiation passed, people were instantly dropping dead. Their deaths were almost identical to how the magicians Alex had sent to retrieve the Infinity Stones had died.

That effect looks potent enough to affect me even with the protection of the Soul Stone's authority…

Just as the thought crossed Alex's mind, he noticed a lone sign of life near the Cosmic Cube.

Not wanting to take any risks, he used the Space Stone to shift his position closer to the person approaching the Cube, wanting to identify whom he was dealing with.

"Your efforts are interesting, Symbiote. But ultimately fruitless…" A deep voice reached Alex's ears before he could even reach his destination. A massive interference seemed to overpower his Space Authority, directly switching his destination to the center of the sun. In the moment he came into contact with the interfering force, he observed that it was more than just Space Authority. At first, he sensed that the intensity of the Space Authority was more than double what he possessed, likely around twenty percent. However, that wouldn't be enough to overpower Alex's Space Authority and outright redirect his destination. There was another aspect to the use of Space Authority that Alex detected.

It felt similar to how Mystic Arts' portals used Dimensional Energy to warp the fabric of space systematically by using runes to create a stable passage across space.

Can you use techniques with Infinity Stones?

As Alex's body slowly got vaporized by the intense heat at the center of the sun, he couldn't help but ponder the use of the Space Stone that had suddenly transcended his original understanding of Infinity Stones completely. Even the most powerful uses of the stones he'd seen had been direct applications. Even tools like the Infinity Gauntlet could only provide an optimal channeling path to enhance the synergy between the stones.

First, the modified nuclear radiation that somehow incorporated the ‹Soul Devour› ability, and now the technique to channel the Space Stone's authority with a systematic process to significantly optimize and enhance the effects of Space Authority.

As Alex found his body in the center of the sun, he didn't resist, feeling the unbelievably intense temperature break through his innate ‹Elemental Immunity› and directly vaporize his body into its basest atoms.

…

Inside Alex's soul, Susan blinked as he freed her from his control, allowing her to move freely.

"Alex?" She asked, curiously looking around the place. She directly ignored the endless amounts of miscellaneous items that were littered all around and focused on the only source of light in this place. The core with the Infinity Stones. "Is this how your soul looks from the inside? Alex?"

"I'm here…" He said, appearing right beside her in his physical form. His face had a complicated expression, a mix of somberness and exhaustion with hints of defeat.

"What's wrong?" Susan asked, immediately identifying Alex's complex emotions. "Was our enemy too terrifying and forced you to run with your tail between your legs?"

"No," he shook his head. "He teleported me to the center of the sun before I could even get a glimpse of his face."

"I imagine that…wasn't very pleasant."

"Surprisingly, no," he said sarcastically. "It took less than a second before that body was vaporized into atoms. I didn't even have the time to get crushed by the Sun's gravity. Elemental Immunity, my ass… More like Elemental Resistance."

As if throwing an internal tantrum, Alex directly modified the name of his ‹Elemental Immunity› to ‹Elemental Resistance›.

A second later, he somewhat calmed down and reverted it to Immunity. At the scale of the sun, the temperature is so far beyond mere fire that it would start its surroundings on a subatomic level. Alex was unfairly blaming his ‹Elemental Immunity› for that.

"Did you at least find out who it was?" Susan asked.

"Oh, I identified him all right," he said. "He's actually your acquaintance."

"What? Who?"

"The man himself, Victor Von Fucking Doom…" Alex said. "Leave it to him to overturn my worldview the moment his first variant shows up in this cluster."

"Victor?" Susan raised a brow. "Wait, first variant? Isn't my Earth's Victor working for you?"

"Oh, that was a lie," Alex said casually. "I forgot to tell you about it last time. I never even met your planet's Victor. He was long gone by the time I came into the picture."

"You aren't in the best mental state right now, so I'll leave you be," Susan said flatly. "But once you're done, we're going to have a nice, long talk."

Alex awkwardly rubbed his nose and turned away from Susan.

"What's on your mind?" She asked as Alex remained silent for a few seconds.

"Well, Doom just humbled the fuck out of me," Alex said. "I'm still processing the fact that he's using systematic techniques to harness the power of the Infinity Stones. To focus and channel such powerful authorities… Beating that isn't going to be easy."

"So you're scared of my ex?" Susan asked, amused.

"Don't flatter yourself," Alex said. "Your planet's Doom is the weakest one of the lot from what I've observed."

"You sound frustrated about losing out today…"

"I still got my hands on an Infinity Stone," he said with a shrug.

"How, though?" Susan asked.

"The logical conclusion I've reached is that I was being toyed with," Alex said. "He wanted me to see the Space Stone before triggering the chain reaction and blowing up half the planet."

"What?" Susan looked at him with wide eyes. "Half the planet?"

Alex shook his head with a 'Don't ask' look on his face. "But his method of teasing me also revealed that he knows almost nothing about the intricacies of my race. When he couldn't sense that particular Space Stone on me, he stopped caring…"

"He sounds…like Victor," Susan sighed. "Petty and loves to see the hope drain from his competitors' faces."

"All right, stop worrying about me," Alex said. "I still have a planet to bring into my fray. Let's go."

"Wait," Susan said, stepping closer to him. "You're still bringing that planet into Gaia?"

"Yeah…" Alex raised a brow as Susan practically stuck to him, wrapping her arm around his neck and resting the other on his chest.

"Aren't you worried about any traps that might have been laid out for you?" She asked, her hand trailing lower along his abs.

"No," he shook his head, not reacting as Susan's hand slipped into his lower. "If he could break through Gaia's fortifications, he would have long done so. The planets have individual shielding as well, along with the overarching outer shield. His so-called traps won't affect anything outside the planet."

"Don't underestimate him again, Alex," Susan said, grasping something as her hand started moving in rhythmic motions. "I was there when you set up the new Gaia. His goal could just be to gain access to the Nascent Celestial…"

"What are you doing?"

"I don't want to leave yet," she said, her face taking on a sultry smile.

"Of course…" Alex sighed in defeat as Susan pressed her lips against his. He was well aware of the allure of being inside his soul to his hosts.

***

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