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E.L.L.'s voice echoed across the lab.
At this point in time, the Hive didn't yet exist so Nolan had to absorb Hive-modified genes to complete his plan.
He moved through the lab with practiced ease, already fluent in the genetic modeling. At the same time, he split his focus: half on the genetic framework, the other scanning dimensional coordinates of the Particle Realm.
Meanwhile, he briefed the Ancient One on his plan to ascend to Celestial Father-level.
"A genius solution," she said with a smile. "No wonder you returned to this moment. Your soul hasn't yet been contaminated by other-dimensional power."
In truth, only Nolan's consciousness had traveled back his unique nature allowed him to avoid a direct soul collision. This minimized failure risk.
But even so, memories were at risk of erasure. Informing the Ancient One was a safeguard against total loss.
A massive spider was wheeled in by robots. Nolan typed rapidly across his console and said, "E.L.L., begin constructing the Cradle of Life using my blueprint."
That cradle was essential he needed to imprint two versions of himself, then merge them by force, using his Hive-derived soul-splitting-and-merging mechanism to bypass the dimensional imprinting limit.
"Acknowledged. Commencing construction now," said E.L.L.
As long as the blueprint was available, construction was easy. And resources? Oscorp was now Earth's largest conglomerate acquiring materials was trivial.
Wanda, watching Nolan pace and multitask, quietly turned to the Ancient One. "You said… Nolan came from the future?"
"Yes. That's why I'm here. Nolan is unique. His return doesn't split timelines it overwrites his present self completely."
"From the future…?" Wanda stared at Nolan, the pieces beginning to click. No wonder his urgency had felt so real.
"Solution prepared!"
The super spider had been melted down into a translucent solution countless fine threads floated inside like living circuits.
Nolan summoned Connors, who arrived looking confused wasn't Nolan supposed to avoid experiments tonight? Especially after the morning's chaos with Wakanda? Wanda had stormed into the boardroom, an argument had erupted, and Norman later joked that they might have a new "co-CEO" soon.
Yet here Nolan was back in the lab.
Connor shelved the questions and followed Nolan's instructions.
Nolan climbed into the experimental pod.
He had already run this exact trial in the future. It was foolproof. Still, Wanda couldn't help but worry she could feel the pain emanating from him during the procedure.
Huff...
Nolan emerged from the pod, stretching his neck and exhaling sharply. The feeling was familiar. He had experienced the same thing in the future splitting into thousands of selves, except now he was doing it early.
If his memories were fully erased, the true Nolan would return to the future. But to make that transition seamless, his body had to be upgraded in advance.
Otherwise, the "future" he came from and the "future" that followed this point would be incompatible.
That was the hard lesson from mastering chronomagic: Time travel isn't hard it's controlling consequences that's nearly impossible.
Two robots wheeled in a massive machine, trailing thick cables.
The Cradle of Life.
Under the watchful eyes of Wanda and the Ancient One, Nolan opened a spatial rift and pulled out a block of snowy-white tissue. He frowned.
It was a portion of his brain alive, and pulsing faintly.
He could already feel part of his soul anchored within.
A single thought could recall it. His regeneration was growing new tissue rapidly, but without the rest of his body, his vitality was fading.
The brain can't survive alone for long it needs the rest of the body.
Nolan placed it inside the cradle.
He didn't need to rebuild his entire body just enough to host the brain fragment.
"Use mithril," the Ancient One said, conjuring a pile of silver-white metal. "It'll help sustain your secondary consciousness longer."
Nolan examined the shimmering metal magical particles, normally dormant in the physical world, that danced eagerly around the mithril.
"Perfect," he said, placing all of it into the cradle and uploading the final parameters.
"Begin," he said.
"I'll watch from here," the Ancient One added.
She hadn't expected her pupil to reach the Celestial Father threshold so soon. If successful, Nolan's body and soul would both transcend to that level. Not even she or Odin could rival him afterward.
Nolan reclined on a separate bed. His primary consciousness would imprint on the Particle Realm, a dimension he'd never entered.
His secondary consciousness would handle the Psy-Energy Realm, which he'd been to plenty.
The cradle buzzed to life. Using Nolan's brain tissue as a core, it printed his new self.
Connor's fed energy into the system he didn't know the full purpose, but he could tell this was a mission-critical procedure.
With infinite power from Oscorp's dimensional core, the cradle printed quickly.
A clone of Nolan formed inside.
Its eyes snapped open.
"Begin."
"We don't have much time!"
The two Nolans worked in perfect unison. If they didn't finish before memory deletion completed, everything would fail.
Wanda whispered to the Ancient One, "What's happening? Why are there two Nolans?"
The Ancient One smiled.
"He's forging his own path one unshackled by fate."
To outsiders, it all seemed calm. But Nolan had meticulously prepared for every possibility. He left nothing to chance. That was his nature.
No luck. No chaos. Just inevitability.
With that kind of talent…
He might truly become the singularity of the multiverse.
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