By noon, Cindy had already received her admission notice.
She stared at the acceptance email in her inbox, along with the printed letter in her hand, and fell into deep thought.
New York University… is it really this easy to get into?
...
It was lunchtime. The four girls sat together on their private rooftop terrace, snacking, resting, and chatting.
Mayday noticed Cindy's faraway look.
"What's wrong, Cindy?"
Cindy tucked the letters away and sighed.
"College feels a little too easy to get into. We only mentioned it this morning, and by noon, I'm accepted."
"Isn't that normal?"
Peni spoke up.
"In New York of 3145, if two of the three major corporations endorsed someone, the mayor could be replaced the very next second."
"The three major corporations?"
Gwen's curiosity was piqued.
"What kind of companies? How powerful are they?"
"They're incredibly powerful. They control military tech and all kinds of industries."
Peni listed off a few examples before explaining further.
"Back then, a single super-corporation had the economic strength of what today would rank as the world's third-largest nation, and military strength close to the second."
She gave them a rough picture of her world.
Only then did the others begin to understand what an extreme capitalist world really looked like.
Super-corporation scale = Nation.
Super-corporation owner = President.
Super-corporation shareholders = Mayor.
Of course, it also depended—some were family-owned empires, others run by conglomerate shareholder systems.
But no matter what, the leaders of super-corporations held more authority than the president.
At that time, even the president couldn't make decisions freely for the country. But family-run corporations could.
"That's terrifying."
Mayday gasped.
"Companies stronger than nations? That's insane."
Gwen nodded.
"Under extraordinary power, rules become meaningless."
"Peni's world is still relatively normal—no superhuman powers."
"But in our universe, beings who can casually destroy planets are everywhere."
Peni: ???
"Destroy planets?!"
She froze.
"That's actually possible?"
"Uh… yeah."
Gwen's own strength was all single-target attacks. If she had large-scale AoE powers, she could cripple a planet too.
Not obliterate it into dust, but ruin it to the point of collapse.
She gave an example.
"We Spider-Women are just mutations, tiny in the spectrum of superhuman strength. But there are races born with powers that go far beyond ours."
"Ever heard of the Celestials?"
Cindy, Mayday, and Peni all shook their heads.
"Wanda, Hela, and I once saw them when we were with Lorien."
Gwen's voice grew serious.
"They're bigger than Earth itself. Just a single head was nearly the size of our planet."
"When one appeared at the edge of Earth's orbit, three massive eyes lit up the sky."
"Look up, and what you see is a head larger than Earth."
"Can you even imagine that?"
The three shook their heads at once.
Gwen went on.
"The Celestials are Universal-level beings—immense beyond measure, able to teleport across galaxies. They're the universe's top scientists and the most powerful entities in existence.
"They can create black holes, stars, entire planets—and destroy them just as easily. That's what they are."
Cindy, Mayday, Peni: !!!!
"So powerful?!"
Peni was completely stunned.
They can create black holes? Stars too?
And that's considered life?
"Of course. But you'd never guess—after that encounter, they were chased off by a little girl."
"Huh?!"
Twist, twist, another twist!
Gwen had just finished describing how powerful the Celestials were. Now she was saying they'd been driven away by a little girl.
The three still understood the implication.
Cindy asked, "Was that little girl really that strong?"
"She should be, but the issue is..." Gwen smiled. "Her dad is even stronger—one of the Five Abstract Entities, Multiversal-level."
"Whoa~~~!"
All three were stunned.
So that's how it was! No wonder they ran at the sight of a little girl.
But another question cropped up.
Cindy replayed the earlier lines in her head and suddenly caught on.
"Wait, Gwen. What do you mean by 'Universal-level' and 'Multiversal-level'?"
Mayday and Peni nodded.
"Yeah, are those tiers?"
Only then did Gwen remember.
"Right, I never explained combat tiers to you. Now's as good a time as any."
"At the Multiverse scale, power is broadly divided into Elder God–level, Sky Father–level, Universal-level, Multiversal-level, and so on."
"There may be levels above Multiversal-level, but I don't know. Maybe only Lorien does. He said not to overthink it—knowing too much isn't always good."
Curious as ever, Cindy jumped in first.
"Then what tier are we?"
"All below Elder God–level."
Everyone: "..."
"No finer breakdown below Elder God–level?"
Gwen thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"Doesn't seem like it. From Elder God–level onward, each step is a world apart."
"Beings below Elder God–level can't defeat an Elder God–level even by ganging up, so sub-tiering below that doesn't mean much."
"From Elder God–level upward, qualitative change beats quantitative change."
Put simply, dogpiling stops working.
Back then, Iron Man, Spider-Man, the Sorcerer Supreme, Star-Lord, Drax the Destroyer, and Mantis together still couldn't beat Thanos at Elder God–level. They almost pulled it off—until Star-Lord punched them right into an Endgame scenario.
Now everyone understood how the Multiverse's tiers were arranged.
Mayday's curiosity kicked in next.
"Then what about you, Gwen?"
"Me?"
Gwen cleared her throat, a little embarrassed.
"Lorien said I'm Sky Father–level+, but I'm not sure exactly where. I haven't fought many heavy-hitters."
In Gwen's memory, the Egyptian gods felt… average. Big, sure, but not exactly terrifying. She had fought a Celestial seed—but it wasn't even born yet, so did that count?
The three girls were floored.
"Sky Father–level?!"
By that logic, Sky Father–level was a step above Elder God–level!
"So you're that strong, Gwen!" Peni said, delighted.
Cindy nodded, thoughtful.
"No wonder Lorien told you not to go yesterday and only sent Mayday and me. If you'd gone, it would've been an instant wipe."
Seeing their reactions, Gwen felt a little relieved. She'd worried being too strong might make her stick out.
But that wasn't how it worked. She was the captain of the Spider-Alliance. The stronger she was, the more secure her teammates felt.
Who doesn't want a powerhouse leading the way? Who doesn't love an easy win?
"Oh, right." Mayday suddenly remembered something. "Then what about Wanda, Lorien, and Hela? What are their levels?"
"Don't tell me..."
"You're overthinking it," Gwen said, hands on her hips with a grin before Mayday could finish. "Wanda gets bullied by me every night. As a sorcerer, her physical body is too weak. Of course, her magic is insanely strong. Converted, she's probably about on par with me."
"As for Hela, she's just Lorien's little pet. If Lorien tells her to head east, she'll say west-north-south—but her body will still go east."
"As for Lorien..."
At the mention of his name, everyone perked up.
Gwen thought about it, but examples failed her, so she simply said, "Just know he's an all-powerful god. I can't really put it into words.
"Whatever he chooses to exist should exist—and have meaning."
"But Lorien is truly, truly good. He lives earnestly, works joyfully, and enjoys life. Treat him like a good friend."
Live earnestly, work joyfully, enjoy life.
Hearing that, everyone felt something click. It sounded like the right way to live.
Buzz~~~
At that moment, Peni's watch vibrated. She glanced down—class alarm.
"Let's pause here. Time for class."
"We'll fight crime tonight and chat while we're at it."
Gwen turned and leapt away. The others followed, heading to their respective classrooms.
...
Meanwhile.
On the rooftop where "Stephen" had been buried earlier—
Pfft~
Boom~
The pile of dirt and bricks slowly shifted aside. A dust-covered figure suddenly sat upright.
He opened his eyes and scanned the area. Then he shut them briefly, sensing, before snapping them open again, his voice low and eerie.
"Finally found you, little bug."
Before he even stood up, this "Stephen" began weaving spells with his bare hands.
Dark shadows surged around him, his body breaking free of the earth as he floated cross-legged in midair. The sky darkened at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The next moment, countless wraiths burst from within "Stephen's" body.
They snarled, screamed, roared, threatened, cursed—
"Stephen! You've broken the laws of demons!"
"We've come to take your soul, Stephen!"
"Rip off his head! I want to see his spine!"
The swarm of shadows clawed at him.
But "Stephen" only grinned viciously. With a flick of his hand, a black-and-red tome appeared in his grasp.
Forming another seal, he suddenly pried open his withered jaws.
"Zzzra~!"
His mouth split wide, the corners tearing open into a grotesque Joker's grin.
From that maw poured a black suction force. The spirits crowded around him were dragged inward.
"No! Stephen, you used a forbidden art!"
"How dare you! Lord Chthon will consume your soul!"
"No, don't eat me—ahhh!"
The wraiths wailed as they were sucked down his throat.
Even as they were devoured, some clung desperately to the corners of his torn mouth, refusing to go. But once Stephen's jaws finally snapped shut, they were gone.
Silence fell.
At last, Stephen opened his eyes again—a savage smile curling across his face.
"Christine, America… and the Stephen of this universe… I'll make sure you all meet an unforgettable end."