Max strolled deeper into the sanctum, hands in his pockets, the platform carrying them across a vast chasm where more sectors branched off in every direction—living corridors of black alloy and crystal veins glowing like stars frozen in motion.
They passed the war machine halls and entered a different section. The air shifted. No longer heavy with the scent of metal and ozone—it smelled of fresh rain, wild blossoms, and something impossibly pure.
The chamber opened into what looked like a valley under an eternal twilight sky—except they were still inside the planet. Soft silver light poured from an artificial moon suspended above, rivers of liquid starlight winding through rolling fields. Bioluminescent flowers stretched across endless gardens, and distant mountains shimmered with crystal waterfalls.
The girls froze at the sight, breath catching.
"Wait… this is inside the Hollow Mausoleum?" Gwen whispered.
Max smirked. "What, you thought I'd only build weapons and dead things?" He spread his arms lazily. "Please. I have taste."
He stepped off the platform, boots sinking slightly into soft grass that glowed faintly with runic light. The others followed, still staring as the sound of distant birdsong drifted through the valley. Some of the birds weren't even birds—they were ethereal constructs, graceful things with wings of light that left trails like comets as they soared.
"This," Max said, motioning to the horizon where towering spires of obsidian glass rose like black diamonds against the silver sky, "is your home zone."
"Home zone?" Malia blinked.
"Yeah," Max said, glancing back at them. "I told you this place isn't just a fortress. It's a world. So…" He snapped his fingers, and the air shimmered as paths of glowing runes appeared, leading toward five distant sanctuaries—each unique, each radiating a different aura.
Lan Xue's eyes widened as she saw hers—a tranquil palace floating over a frozen lake, with glass bridges connecting to forests of frost-crystal trees. Mu Qing's domain was a crimson grove of eternal autumn, where scarlet leaves danced in slow motion, surrounding a towering pagoda laced with molten gold.
Gwen grinned when she saw her own—a sprawling cyberpunk metropolis beneath a night sky streaked with neon dragons, skyscrapers laced with holo-runes and black steel balconies. Rize and Malia's sanctuaries shimmered too—one a lush jungle threaded with glowing vines and ancient ruins, the other a sleek obsidian citadel perched over a roaring abyss with fire cascading like waterfalls.
"Each one," Max said, strolling forward as if he were giving a tour of a garden instead of god-tier realms, "is linked directly to Gaia. You can modify them however you like. Want a thousand moonlit lakes? Done. Want a city that rains blood? Sure. Knock yourself out."
The girls exchanged stunned glances, still trying to process the scale of what they were seeing.
Finally, Gwen crossed her arms. "You really have made a dream home here."
Max smirked. "Thought we finally need an proper home, not just an underground hidden city."
He stopped in the center of a glowing dais that pulsed softly with crimson and gold sigils. Extending his hand, dark light coiled around his fingers as he traced a mark in the air. The sigils ignited, burning into the ground like molten script.
A rune. Elegant. Ancient. Pulsing with infinite depth.
"This," Max said, stepping aside so they could see, "is a tether rune. Think of it as… an anchor."
Lan Xue tilted her head. "Anchor?"
"Yeah," Max said casually. "Bind your energy signature to it once, and you can teleport here from anywhere. Even across universes. Instant recall. And…" He smirked, pointing at the glowing rune, "if you press your hand on it, you'll return to the exact spot where you activated it last. No delay."
The girls stared at him for a moment, then at the rune.
"You're serious," Malia said slowly.
"Completely."
Mu Qing knelt first, brushing her fingers against the rune. It flared briefly, her aura intertwining with its glow before fading. The others followed, one by one, their energy signatures sinking into the glyph until the rune hummed softly with a layered resonance.
When they finished, Max folded his arms and smiled.
"There," he said. "Now this place isn't just mine—it's yours too. Live here. Use it. Do whatever you want."
Lan Xue's voice was almost a whisper. "This is… paradise."
Max shrugged lightly. "It's just home."
He turned toward the distant spires and grinned lazily over his shoulder.
"Go explore. Pick your sanctuaries. Customize them. I've got some things to handle on Earth."
Without waiting for a reply, he traced another glyph in the air. A black portal bloomed open, its edges wreathed in violet flame.
"Oh, and one more thing," he added, glancing back at them with a wicked grin. "Don't break anything important."
Then he stepped into the portal and vanished.
Returning back to Earth, Max pulled out his phone—it had been buzzing nonstop. He sighed and answered.
"Max Ryder," came Fury's voice immediately, sharp and frustrated. "What the hell did you do this time?"
Max blinked. "Uh… what did I do?" he asked innocently.
Fury's voice rose. "Don't play dumb with me! You think I don't know it was you who added a ninth planet to our solar system?!"
Max smirked. "Why do you think it's my doing?"
There was a pause, then Fury's voice turned dry and cold. "Do you know anyone else who can do that?"
"…Fair," Max said after a beat. "Yeah, it's mine. I just… killed an entire pirate world, so I figured I'd bring it over. Didn't want to travel millions of light-years every time I wanted to visit my place."
Silence. Then Fury spoke again, slower this time:
"You moved an entire planet… like it was furniture."
"Pretty much," Max said casually. "I mean, why not?"
On the other end, Fury stared at the wall in disbelief, rubbing his forehead. For the first time, he genuinely wondered if Max was even human anymore. Or something far beyond that.
Max chuckled softly. "Relax, Fury. The planet's safe. No threats. No pirates. Just… a new neighbor in the solar system."
"Yeah…" Fury muttered, still stunned. "A neighbor that wasn't there yesterday."
Max grinned. "You're welcome."
Before Fury could say another word, Max ended the call.
***
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