Once unfamiliar, twice acquainted.
After experiencing the first traversal through the Quantum Realm, Hawk was much calmer this time than he was the first time.
To put it in simpler words.
Close your eyes, and open them again, to
find himself once again in the bizarre and colorful quantum world.
Hawk had become immune to the colorful Quantum Realm.
But Wanda, beside him, was here for the first time.
So...
Standing beside Hawk while holding his arm, Wanda closed her eyes, calming the surging inside after the traversal, it took her a while to suppress that discomfort.
Then, she was attracted by the view she saw.
The sky was colorful.
The plants were even brighter in color, making one feel like they had fallen into a painted world.
"Is this the Quantum Realm?"
"Yes."
Hawk withdrew his gaze: "This coordinate is a bit far from us, let's go."
Wanda nodded and then looked again at the coordinates showing quite a distance on the bracelet screen, suddenly realizing, she raised her eyes while nestled in Hawk's arms: "Wait a minute, can't you teleport?"
Hawk lowered his gaze, glanced at Wanda, nodded, then shook his head.
"It's best not to."
"Uh..."
"If you're not careful, you might fall into some unknown parallel cosmos."
Holding Wanda, flying towards the coordinate location, Hawk explained.
This was also the reason why, during his first time here, he chose to fly rather than teleport.
The Quantum Realm is not only the intersection of endless multiverses, it is also the intersection of countless parallel universes.
While the entrance to the multiverse is like a bank vault, the entrance to countless parallel universes is like being covered by a plastic film, which breaks at a touch.
Regardless of whether it's instant movement or teleportation, there is a probability of accidentally falling into a parallel cosmos.
Although the probability is small.
But...
"Better safe than sorry."
"I see."
Listening to Hawk's explanation, Wanda nodded: "No wonder the laws here feel strange, my magic power feels somewhat ambiguous here."
How to put it.
The magic power was still her magic power, but it felt like it had an inexplicable layer compared to when she was in the main cosmos.
Hawk laughed: "This is the junction of the multiverse, feeling some contradictions is normal."
Wanda, holding Hawk's waist, looked down at the flying situation, the rapidly passing scenery, a bit curious.
"Are there any creatures here?"
"Yes."
"I haven't seen any."
"The Quantum Realm is vast, from a certain angle, close to infinitely vast."
After all, this is the center where the multiverse and parallel universes intersect, which predicates that the area of the Quantum Realm is close to infinity.
However, this isn't the reason Wanda can't see quantum creatures.
"You don't see them because they don't want us to see them."
"...afraid we will kill them?"
Wanda was first taken aback, then realized: "Your fierce reputation even spreads in the Quantum Realm?"
Hawk chuckled: "This has nothing to do with my reputation, but with my Life Level."
It's well-known.
Little Cosmos is the source of his power.
But comprehending the Sixth Sense, Seventh Sense, and even the Eighth Sense at a mere ten-step distance would fundamentally raise his Life Level.
Creatures living in the Quantum Realm can say they live in a realm of constant war and unrest, so they've long honed the instinct of danger perception.
Even if Hawk has no intentions towards them, upon sensing him, they'd choose to hide rather than gamble their lives on Hawk's mercy.
Survival is the first element of existence for all life.
Soon.
As they spoke, Hawk holding Wanda, dipped down from the clouds, and landed firmly on a meadow blooming with countless fiery red flowers amongst endless horizons.
Hawk summoned with his right hand, a fiery red flower dropped into his open palm.
Wanda looked at the fiery red flowers surrounding them, then at Hawk.
"This is the aura of your power."
"Yes."
Hawk nodded, and with a thought, the fiery red flower in his hand instantly turned into a wisp of flame, from which a small, exquisite Fire Phoenix emerged and vanished afterwards.
Wanda looked at the coordinate information displayed on the Quantum Bracelet, then glanced around again: "I don't see any multiverse gateway."
Hawk chuckled.
"It's right here."
"Where?"
Upon hearing, Wanda looked at Hawk, only to see him raise his hand to touch the air in front, where a ripple like a stone dropped into water appeared.
The entrances to the multiverse and parallel universes exist in every corner of the Quantum Realm.
The former is invisible.
The latter is a trap.
This is also why, while the Quantum Realm is infinitely large, lives residing in it prefer to gather together.
After all, they wouldn't want to venture into an unknown area and step forward or step into emptiness, directly crossing or falling into some parallel cosmos.
Hawk understands it is because his Life Level has reached this point.
Wanda knows it is because Hawk just explained it, hence even after landing, Wanda stood where she had landed without moving around casually.
Now Wanda, looking at the ripple forming gateway to the multiverse, felt excited, subconsciously looking at Hawk.
Hawk then closed his eyes.
After a moment.
Hawk opened his eyes.
"Inside there, there are none of the thoughts I had thrown when I passed through the Kamar-Taj Multiverse Teleportation Gate before."
"So, in this multiverse, there is no Kamar-Taj?"
"Yes."
Hawk nodded and looked at Wanda: "Moreover, this multiverse doesn't contain a 'me'."
Wanda was puzzled and looked at Hawk.
"So?"
"Do you know how long it took for my power projection to reach the 828 Cosmos where Gwen is?"
"How long?"
"Eight months. And you know how long it took to project to the 616 Cosmos where we went earlier?"
"One month."
Wanda shrugged. Hawk had mentioned this to her before, then she realized: "That's because the 616 Cosmos already has a 'you,' right?"
Hawk nodded.
Wanda understood, pondered, and looked at the entrance to the multiverse before her: "So, after we go over, it will take about eight months for your power to recover?"
Hawk nodded.
"Pretty much."
"And what about my power?"
"You..."
Hawk came back to his senses and looked at Wanda: "Your power is fine."
Wanda's power stems from the impossible flame ignited by the most improbable life in the main multiverse.
The Crimson Chaos Power.
As long as the foundation of the universe hasn't changed, Wanda's power won't change either.
Wanda heard this and glanced sideways at Hawk: "Then there's no problem. Don't worry, I'll protect you."
Facing Wanda's eyes, Hawk was momentarily taken aback, then laughed.
"Alright."
"Let's go, Jean has been waiting for us for a long time."
"Okay."
Hawk nodded, then together with Wanda, activated the icon of the theoretically feasible Quantum Key on the bracelet as mentioned by Peter. Then, hand in hand, the two stepped toward the multiverse before them.
And then...
There was no 'and then.'
Hawk and Wanda turned and looked at the multiverse barrier behind them, exchanged a glance, turned back, and stepped forward again.
The next second.
"Hiss!"
"It's not working."
Wanda's hand activated her Crimson Chaos Power, sensing the multiverse barrier just in front of her, and she couldn't help but look at Hawk: "Not working?"
Hawk's mouth twitched.
"Peter said it was theoretically feasible."
"But it's not working now."
Wanda frowned: "What should we do now, go back?"
Hawk took a deep breath.
Forcibly breaking the door was indeed possible.
But after breaking through by force, with the targeting from the opposite multiverse, he feared he wouldn't be able to fully project his power over there.
So...
There was no other way at this point, they had to return first.
Hawk thought to himself, then nodded to Wanda, just as he was about to speak.
Buzz!
The barrier leading to the multiverse in front seemed to vibrate and then began to disappear. Suddenly, at the moment when the multiverse disappeared, a stream of light shot out and flew into the distance.
Wanda was stunned in place.
"What was that?"
"Multiverse resetting."
Hawk didn't freeze, and the moment he saw the light fly into the distance, he immediately hugged Wanda, soaring into the sky and transforming into a stream of light to quickly pursue it.
At the same time, he also realized why the Quantum Key concocted by Peter and Dr. Pym failed.
"That multiverse is undergoing reset, which is why the Quantum Key failed."
"It's like updating and upgrading a bank vault."
"How could the secret key made by Peter based on old vault features help us open the new vault door?"
While holding Wanda and quickly pursuing, Hawk explained to her.
"Universe reset?"
"You can understand it as someone traveling to the past and completely rewriting the future."
"Rewriting the past, wait, shouldn't that create a parallel cosmos?"
"Creating a parallel cosmos also requires consuming the essence."
"Uh..."
"That cosmos is broke, without the resources to create parallel cosmos, so each rewrite of the past is equivalent to rewriting itself."
Indeed.
This is also why Peter and Hank Pym could fiddle with creating the Quantum Key.
As everyone knows.
There are levels between cosmoses.
The cosmos Hawk is in, is certified by Death as a low-level cosmos.
So right now, this multiverse that rewrites the past without generating parallel cosmoses, fundamentally rewriting everything, is a cosmos that can't even be considered low-level.
Very quickly.
Hawk caught up with the light beam, and as the light beam stopped in a canyon depth within the Quantum Realm, it began to reopen the entrance to the multiverse.
The next second!
The light beam dashed into the opened multiverse entrance.
Seizing the moment before the portal closed, Hawk and Wanda dove in right behind it.
And then...
He saw the figure running ahead in the light beam.
It seemed.
Very much like—
A wolf?
...