Chapter 86: Black Myth, The Trinity
Late at night, inside the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, top floor office.
The cold and alluring Black Widow stood straight in front of the desk. Across from her, Director Nick Fury sat in his chair, his deep single eye resting on a report placed on the table.
"This is the result of your investigation?" Fury asked in a low, steady tone.
Black Widow gave a crisp nod. "Yes. At the school, although many unexpected things happened midway, this is the conclusion I reached after analyzing all the intelligence."
"You've worked hard. Go get some rest." Fury's gaze lingered briefly on her bandaged arm before he waved her off.
Black Widow nodded, turned, and left the office.
Now alone, Fury tore open the file she had delivered. Inside was the personal dossier of Xi Nian—complete with photos and background information.
He flipped through quickly until he reached the final page.
The last line of the report read:
After five days of in-depth investigation and analysis, the target Xi Nian is judged to be—
An ordinary human, without any extraordinary abilities.
Fury was silent for a long moment. Finally, he let out a quiet sigh, stacked the file neatly, and placed it into a drawer of his desk.
He didn't notice that buried among the photos of Xi Nian's daily life was one picture where a small orange kitten appeared in the frame.
…
Stepping out of the office, Black Widow exhaled softly, as if a weight had left her chest.
Even she wasn't sure why she had chosen to conceal Xi Nian's strange gift—that natural ability to make strangers feel goodwill toward him.
Or maybe it was her own feelings interfering, leading her to write a report favorable to him.
After all, increasing affection wasn't really a superpower, was it? At least, it had no use in real combat.
She tried to convince herself.
What, was Xi Nian supposed to flirt enemies into surrender when facing overwhelming opponents?
A dating battle strategy?
Black Widow shook her head quickly, pushing aside such absurd thoughts.
…
The next morning, Sunday.
Xi Nian awoke to Wanda's gentle wake-up call. He stretched, yawned, and rubbed his hair, watching it shift from silver back to its natural black.
The time for his half-god mode had ended.
He hadn't slept much the previous night, his mind turning over ways to deal with the Apokoliptian forces that had already infiltrated Earth.
If the sky was falling, yes, taller giants would stand to hold it up. But if among those giants was his aunt, Diana, how could he just sit back and do nothing?
"In the absence of Lorna… right now, the strongest abilities I can reliably access are: Aunt Diana's half-god body, the Trinity form, and Gwen's spider mutation…" Xi Nian muttered to himself.
Of those, the most powerful in battle was undoubtedly the Trinity. The sheer physical might was godlike.
But the Trinity came with a fatal flaw: the darkness of the symbiote combined with the primal ferocity of the Flerken twisted his humanity, driving him toward corruption and evil.
"Wait." A spark lit in his mind.
What if he changed one piece of the Trinity?
What if, after gaining Venom and the Flerken's powers, he used the symbiote ability to bond onto his aunt instead?
Her divine nature could suppress the symbiote's darkness.
It was a bold idea. But would combining two opposing powers—godhood and corruption—cancel each other out, or amplify into something even greater?
A Black Myth mode?
Xi Nian's eyes grew firm.
No matter what, when the Apokoliptian invasion came, even if his aunt forbade him from joining the battle, he would make sure Xiao Huang bit him first—activating the Trinity—then bond onto Diana to protect her.
As he was about to rise from bed, a blur of orange darted through his bedroom door.
"Xiao Huang? What's wrong?" Xi Nian looked down at the little orange cat that leapt onto his blanket.
The cat hesitated only for a second. Then, baring its tiny teeth, it suddenly bit down on his hand.
"???"
Xi Nian's face froze in shock.
He had thought about this strategy only as a last resort—something to use when war was at their doorstep. Not now. And certainly not when Diana wasn't even home!
Before he could react, the condition was met. The Master of Affection's bond triggered.
Venom's symbiote power and the Flerken's alien strength surged into him. Xi Nian's body stiffened, then melted into a pool of black liquid that spread across his bed.
The unplanned path had begun, everything happening so suddenly.
Xiao Huang stared at the writhing black mass, then without hesitation dove straight in.
Rippling sounds filled the air.
Xi Nian instinctively bonded with her. The orange fur darkened instantly, muscles reinforced many times over by dual symbiote powers. Her form warped, growing, shrinking, then stabilizing—until what remained was a small, jet-black feline in its ultimate form.
Its eyes snapped open—fierce, blazing teal flames dancing within them.
The Trinity Xi Nian, awakened by accident, had arrived!
…
"Master… hm?" Wanda entered the room after noticing Xi Nian hadn't come out. The bed was empty.
And the window—closed just moments ago—was now cracked open slightly, cold wind whistling into the room.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop above…
A black cat crouched atop the water tower. Its features twisted and strained before finally regaining a glimmer of reason in its burning beast-like eyes.
Fortunately, Venom was still dormant, and the Flerken showed no intent to seize control. Xi Nian still held dominance over the body.
But his humanity was trembling on the edge, dangerously close to collapse.
In a hoarse voice, he muttered, "Xiao Huang, I need an explanation. Why did you do this?"
"Meow meow (Save… Starro…)"
Her urgent thoughts flowed into Xi Nian's mind. With the Trinity link, he instantly understood.
Xiao Huang, a Flerken cub.
She couldn't even remember her parents' faces. But she remembered always searching for one being—an alien called Starro.
It was her only life mission. She had forgotten many things, but never this.
On Earth she had wandered endlessly. Even after moving into Xi Nian's home, she never gave up the search.
Until today. At last, she had faintly sensed Starro's presence in this world.
"You want me to help you find it?" Xi Nian said, understanding everything.
Xiao Huang knew she couldn't succeed alone. So she had forced the Trinity to awaken, binding with him to borrow his strength.
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