Deep beneath Site-19, reality screamed quietly.
Most people couldn't hear it.
Alex and I could.
The laboratory had changed over the last several weeks.
Originally, it had been a containment chamber.
Now it looked more like the fusion of an arcane cathedral and a particle physics facility.
Runes glowed across reinforced walls.
Gigantic energy stabilizers hummed softly.
Reality anchors pulsed in synchronized intervals.
And at the center of it all—
the Power Stone floated within a layered containment prism.
Silent.
Violent.
Beautiful.
Alex stood beside a holographic projection filled with equations moving faster than normal humans could even perceive.
They adjusted several calculations simultaneously.
Thousands of energy pathways unfolded across the screen.
"We were wrong," Alex said suddenly.
I glanced up from the rune matrix I was carving into a vibranium frame.
"About what?"
"The Infinity Stones."
A pause.
"They do not generate infinite energy."
That earned my full attention.
Because if Alex sounded excited, it usually meant one of two things:
A scientific breakthrough.
Or an incoming catastrophe.
Often both.
I set the tool down.
"Explain."
Alex expanded the projection.
Six symbols appeared.
Each representing one of the Infinity Stones.
Power.
Space.
Mind.
Reality.
Time.
Soul.
"They are conduits," Alex continued.
"Not batteries."
Their eyes gleamed slightly.
"The Stones are connected to external dimensional reservoirs."
I immediately understood.
Of course they were.
It explained everything.
The limitless output.
The impossible energy recovery.
The constant regeneration after use.
"The reason they appear infinite," I said slowly, "is because the source constantly replenishes itself."
Alex nodded immediately.
"Exactly."
The projection shifted again.
A vast dimensional structure unfolded across the display.
Six higher-dimensional planes interconnected through cosmic architecture beyond human understanding.
"The Power Stone," Alex continued, "is linked to a dimension composed entirely of raw destructive energy."
"The Power Dimension," I murmured.
Alex nodded.
"The Space Stone connects to a dimensional structure governing spatial manipulation."
Another shift.
"The Reality Stone connects to a dimensional substrate capable of rewriting local laws."
I stared at the model quietly.
It made horrifying amounts of sense.
Infinity Stones were not simply artifacts.
They were access keys.
Conduits into the underlying architecture of existence itself.
And somehow—
humanity had started experimenting on them.
I leaned back slightly.
"If our theory is correct…"
Alex finished the sentence immediately.
"…then the Stones are effectively inexhaustible."
Silence filled the laboratory.
That realization changed everything.
Because limitless energy did not just mean stronger weapons.
It meant civilization itself could evolve beyond scarcity.
No more fossil fuels.
No more reactor limitations.
No more planetary dependence.
True infinite infrastructure.
The Foundation had already surpassed modern Earth technologically.
But with the Power Stone—
we could leap centuries ahead.
Possibly millennia.
Of course—
there was one problem.
The Power Stone hated weakness.
Dozens of D-Class personnel had already died during testing.
Some exploded instantly.
Others disintegrated.
One unfortunate subject converted entirely into unstable plasma before collapsing into ash.
The Stone tolerated nothing less than overwhelming durability.
Alex tapped another screen.
"We confirmed the enhancement effects."
Several reports appeared.