# Chapter 19: The New Lord's Domain
As the first rays of sunlight filtered through the warehouse windows, Lin Chen sat in quiet contemplation while Daisy slept peacefully in the bedroom, her body recovering from the traumatic awakening of her Inhuman abilities.
His mind, however, was far from peaceful. The acquisition of the Dark Dimension had fundamentally altered his understanding of the cosmic hierarchy.
He was no longer merely a powerful individual—he was now a dimensional lord, one of the most significant beings in the multiverse.
But I'm not the only one, Lin Chen thought, his enhanced mental power allowing him to process vast amounts of information simultaneously. There are others like me—other entities who rule over their own dimensional realms.
His knowledge of the Marvel Universe provided him with a comprehensive understanding of these beings:
Mephisto: The demonic lord of a Hell dimension, an ancient and cunning entity who specialized in corrupting and collecting souls. He ruled through manipulation and contracts that bound mortals to eternal servitude. Mephisto was particularly dangerous not because of raw power, but because of his strategic intelligence and willingness to play the long game.
Umar: Dormammu's twin sister, an equally powerful Faltine entity who had long sought to usurp her brother's throne. For eons, she had coveted the Dark Dimension, viewing it as rightfully hers. With Dormammu now gone, she would undoubtedly make her move soon.
Satannish: Another Hell-Lord, originally an offshoot of the same dark energies that had spawned Dormammu before his banishment. Satannish ruled his own infernal realm and was always seeking to expand his influence across dimensions.
Hela: The Asgardian goddess of death, who ruled over the realm of Hel. She was less interested in magical conquest than in the flow of souls and the balance between life and death. Her power was immense, and her realm was filled with the spirits of dead Asgardians.
Nightmare: The lord of the Dream Dimension, an entity that fed on the psychic energy of sleeping creatures across the universe. His realm was composed of the collective unconscious of all sentient beings, making it uniquely difficult to assault or defend.
Chthon: An ancient Elder God and master of dark magic, currently bound to the dimension of Wundagore Mountain. He had authored the Darkhold, a grimoire of immense dark power, and his influence touched all forms of chaos magic.
Cyttorak: The extra-dimensional mystical entity who empowered the Crimson Gem and was the source of the Juggernaut's power. His realm was built on concepts of unstoppable force and immovable object, and he granted portions of his power to champions who served him.
Lin Chen's expression grew serious as he considered the implications.
Each of these beings will perceive my acquisition of the Dark Dimension as a major shift in the cosmic power structure.
Some will see opportunity. Others will see threat. All of them will react.
He stood and walked to the window, gazing out at the city that was just beginning to wake.
The most immediate threat will be Umar, he concluded. She's coveted the Dark Dimension for billions of years. She won't accept that it now belongs to me—a relative newcomer who's been in this universe for less than a year.
Mephisto and the other Hell-Lords will be more calculating. They'll test my defenses, probe for weaknesses, but they won't commit to full assault until they understand my capabilities. That gives me time.
Hela will observe from Hel. She's pragmatic and won't act unless the balance of death is disrupted. As long as I don't interfere with the flow of souls, she'll remain neutral.
The others... they'll wait and see. For now.
Lin Chen's thoughts turned to the Dark Dimension itself—the vast realm he now commanded.
The Dark Dimension is not a singular, movable object, he realized, his enhanced mental power processing the dimensional mathematics. It's an infinite, pan-dimensional reality that exists across multiple planes of existence simultaneously.
He closed his eyes and reached out with his consciousness, feeling the full scope of his new domain.
The Dark Dimension was truly infinite in the most literal sense. It had swallowed countless other realities over millennia, absorbing their mass and energy into its own endless, bizarre landscape. Each absorbed dimension added another layer to the complexity of the realm.
Time doesn't exist here in any linear sense, Lin Chen observed.That's why Doctor Strange's time loop was so effective against Dormammu—he existed outside of time and couldn't comprehend being trapped in a temporal paradox.
The laws of physics within the Dark Dimension were fundamentally different from normal reality.
Matter could be created or destroyed with a thought.
Space could be folded, twisted, or expanded infinitely.
Energy existed in forms that had no counterpart in the material universe.
And now, all of this is an extension of my will, Lin Chen thought with awe. Just as Dormammu was one with this dimension, I am becoming one with it. The entire realm responds to my consciousness.
He opened his eyes, and for just a moment, they glowed with the purple-black energy of the Dark Dimension before returning to normal.
More importantly, I can use the Dark Dimension as a hub for travel, he realized. I can tunnel through it to reach any point in the multiverse almost instantaneously.
The possibilities were staggering. He could enter the Dark Dimension from New York and emerge in Tokyo in seconds. He could access other universes entirely, traveling to alternate realities that existed in parallel to this one.
He could even invade the domains of other dimensional lords, using his home dimension as a staging ground for assault.
Earth-616, the primary Marvel Universe, is directly accessible. The Negative Zone, the Quantum Realm, pocket dimensions created by powerful entities—all of them are within reach now.
But with this power came responsibility and danger. Other dimensional lords would not tolerate a newcomer disrupting the established cosmic order.
I need to secure my position, Lin Chen decided.The Dark Dimension is filled with the crupted souls and entities that Dormammu enslaved over billions of years. I need to bring them under my control, establish my authority completely before someone challenges me for the throne.
---
The Dark Dimension - Central Nexus
Lin Chen opened a space portal and stepped through into his new domain.
The Dark Dimension was simultaneously beautiful and terrifying. Purple-black energy swirled through impossible geometries. Structures that defied Euclidean mathematics floated in the void. Entire absorbed universes existed as pocket realities within the larger dimensional space.
And everywhere, there were souls.
Billions upon billions of consciousness, the remnants of civilizations that Dormammu had consumed over eons. Some were screaming in eternal torment. Others had gone mad from the timeless existence. Many had simply faded into background noise, their identities lost to eternity.
Lin Chen raised his hand, and the full authority of the Dark Dimension flowed through him.
"HEAR ME," his voice resonated across infinite dimensional space, reaching every consciousness within his realm. "I am Lin Chen, Lord of the Dark Dimension. Dormammu is no more. I have claimed his throne and his power."
The response was immediate—confusion, disbelief, hope, and fear all mixed together in a cacophony of psychic noise.
"Your suffering ends now," Lin Chen continued. "I am not Dormammu. I do not rule through torment and consumption. Submit to my authority willingly, and you will find peace within this realm. Resist, and you will be destroyed completely."
He reached out with his consciousness, touching each trapped soul individually. Those who accepted his authority were granted relief from their torment—not freedom, but at least respite from pain. Those who resisted were annihilated, their essence scattered across the dimensional void.
Within hours, the Dark Dimension had been pacified. The screaming stopped. The chaos subsided. An eerie calm settled over the infinite realm.
Lin Chen stood at the central nexus of his domain, feeling the full weight of billions of souls now bound to his will.
This is true power, he thought. Not just personal strength, but dominion over an entire dimension of existence.
But his moment of contemplation was interrupted by a disturbance at the dimensional boundary.
Someone was trying to force their way in.
Lin Chen's enhanced perception immediately identified the intruder's energy signature, and a cold smile crossed his face.
Umar. Right on schedule.
---
The Dark Dimension - Boundary Layer
The dimensional fabric tore open with violent force, and through the rift stepped a figure of terrible beauty and power.
Umar the Unrelenting was nearly identical to her brother Dormammu in raw power, but where he had been all consuming flame and cosmic terror, she was cold fury and calculated destruction. Her form was humanoid—tall, statuesque, with skin that seemed to shimmer between solid matter and pure energy. Her eyes burned with purple fire, and her presence radiated absolute confidence.
"Well, well," Umar's voice carried across the dimensional void, rich with contempt and amusement. "The usurper finally reveals himself. I sensed my brother's destruction from across the multiverse. I felt the Dark Dimension's power shift to a new master."
She floated closer, her form growing larger with each moment, until she towered over Lin Chen like a titan.
"Tell me, little mortal," Umar continued, her tone mocking. "How did you manage to steal what is rightfully mine? Did you find some loophole in Dormammu's defenses? Some weakness he was too arrogant to protect?"
Lin Chen remained calm, his expression neutral. "Dormammu was defeated by his own nature. He couldn't comprehend being trapped in a temporal paradox. I simply claimed what he could no longer hold."
"Simply claimed," Umar laughed, a sound like breaking glass and screaming winds. "You speak as if the Dark Dimension is a toy to be picked up off the ground. Do you have any idea what this realm represents? The power it contains?"
"I understand perfectly," Lin Chen replied. "Which is why I won't surrender it to you."
Umar's expression darkened, the amusement fading into cold fury. "Surrender? Oh, little mortal, you misunderstand the situation entirely. I am not asking. I am not negotiating. I am informing you of reality."
She raised her hand, and cosmic energy gathered around her—power that had been accumulating for billions of years, waiting for this exact moment.
"The Dark Dimension should have been mine when Dormammu first claimed it. I was denied my birthright by my brother's treachery. Now that he is gone, I will take what has always belonged to me. You are merely an obstacle—temporary and insignificant."
Purple fire erupted from Umar's hands, blasting toward Lin Chen with enough force to vaporize planets.
Lin Chen didn't move. He simply raised his hand, and the Dark Dimension itself responded to his will.
The attack dissipated harmlessly, absorbed by the dimensional energy that now served him.
"You forget something important, Umar," Lin Chen said calmly. "You may have been born in the Faltine Dimension. You may have existed for billions of years. But I am the Lord of the Dark Dimension now. Here, in this realm, my word is absolute law."
He gestured, and reality bent around Umar, trapping her in a cage of compressed space.
[DING!]
[Detected: Energy Manipulation available for absorption!]
[Detected: Dimensional Magic (Faltine Variant) available for absorption!]
[Detected: Enhanced Mental Power +15.3 from combat with dimensional entity!]
[Confirm acquisition Y/N?]
"Yes," Lin Chen confirmed mentally.
Umar screamed with rage and shattered the spatial cage with brute force. Her power was immense—equal to Dormammu's in every meaningful way.
"Impressive trick, mortal!" she snarled. "But parlor tricks won't save you from me!"
She transformed into pure energy, becoming a living storm of cosmic power that filled a significant portion of the dimensional space. Lightning that could crack stars arced through the void. Flames hot enough to ignite atmospheres erupted in every direction.
Lin Chen transformed as well, allowing the Dark Dimension's power to flow through him completely. His mortal form expanded, growing to cosmic scale until he matched Umar's size and power.
The two titans clashed in the void, their battle reshaping reality itself with each exchange.
Umar struck with cosmic fire—Lin Chen countered with dimensional energy.
Umar compressed space to crush him—Lin Chen expanded it to break her hold.
Umar manipulated time locally—Lin Chen's temporal powers negated the effect.
[DING!]
[Detected: Cosmic Fire Manipulation (Faltine Flames) available for absorption!]
[Detected: Reality Warping (Dimensional Scale) available for absorption!]
The battle raged for what might have been hours or days—time had no meaning in the Dark Dimension. Each combatant was evenly matched in raw power, but Lin Chen had one crucial advantage: this was his domain now, and every particle of energy within it answered to his will.
Gradually, inevitably, Umar began to lose ground.
"Noooo...!"
She screamed, her form flickering as Lin Chen's dimensional authority overwhelmed her attacks. "This is impossible! I am Umar the Unrelenting! I am a Faltine, born of pure energy! I cannot be defeated by a mortal!"
"You're right," Lin Chen replied, his cosmic form looming over her diminishing avatar. "You can't be defeated by a mortal. But I'm not mortal anymore. I am the Dark Dimension. And you are an intruder in my realm."
He reached out with the full authority of his domain and seized control of the dimensional energy that Umar was using to sustain herself. Without that external power source, her strength began to fade rapidly.
Umar felt her power draining away, felt her connection to the dimensional energies being severed by Lin Chen's absolute authority.
For the first time in billions of years, Umar the Unrelenting felt true fear.
"Wait," she gasped, her form shrinking back to humanoid size. "Wait. I... I miscalculated. You are more powerful than I thought."
Her pride warred with her survival instinct, but ultimately, survival won.
"I concede," Umar said bitterly, the words like poison on her tongue. "The Dark Dimension is yours, Lord Lin Chen. I acknowledge your authority and withdraw my claim."
Lin Chen studied her carefully, sensing that her submission was genuine—for now. Umar was pragmatic enough to recognize when she was outmatched, even if it galled her to admit it.
"You may leave," Lin Chen said, releasing his hold on her energy. "But remember this moment, Umar. The Dark Dimension has a new master, and that will not change. Challenge me again, and I will not be so merciful."
Umar's eyes burned with barely suppressed rage, but she bowed her head in acknowledgment. "Understood, Lord of the Dark Dimension."
She opened a portal back to her own domain and fled through it, disappearing in a flash of purple fire.
As the portal closed, Lin Chen felt the various abilities he'd absorbed from the battle integrate into his existing powers.
[DING!]
[Energy Manipulation absorbed and integrated!]
[Dimensional Magic (Faltine Variant) fused with existing magical abilities!]
[Cosmic Fire Manipulation integrated with existing energy projection!]
[Reality Warping capabilities absorbed...!]
[New Mental Power: 190.3]
Lin Chen transformed back to his normal human form, standing alone in the now-peaceful Dark Dimension.
One challenge down, he thought. But there will be more. Every dimensional lord in the multiverse now knows that the Dark Dimension has a new master. Some will test me. Others will try to forge alliances. A few might even attempt what Umar just failed to do.
He opened a space portal back to Earth, back to his warehouse where Daisy was still sleeping peacefully.
But for now, I've established my authority. The Dark Dimension is mine, and I have the power to keep it.
---
[TO BE CONTINUED...]