"Karl didn't fall unconscious because of the battle with the Celestials."
"He injected a special serum to increase his strength."
"So don't overthink it."
Black Phoenix gently explained this to Red Crystal after sitting beside her.
She didn't want the little girl to misunderstand the situation or blame herself.
Everyone aboard the warship had grown fond of the innocent crystal-born girl.
"Really…?"
Red Crystal looked up anxiously.
"I was worried Karl might have been hurt protecting me… and that he had to enter a deep sleep because of it…"
Her voice carried deep guilt.
Black Phoenix smiled softly.
She gently patted Red Crystal's head and nodded.
The two of them then sat quietly together, waiting for Karl to awaken.
Meanwhile, others gradually arrived.
May, Raven, Helen Cho, Natasha, Yelena, Pietro, and several others gathered outside the research laboratory.
Without realizing it, Karl had already captured the hearts of many people aboard the warship.
Everyone waited there.
Silently.
Several months passed.
During that time, Tony Stark attempted to contact them multiple times using the quantum communicator Karl had left behind.
However, the communication was initially blocked by the ship's AI.
Eventually, Black Phoenix intervened and allowed the connection.
Tony quickly learned that Karl had entered a temporary deep sleep.
At first he assumed something terrible had happened.
He had nearly prepared to leave Earth again.
But after hearing that Karl was merely undergoing a power upgrade, Tony finally relaxed.
Two months later—
Karl slowly opened his eyes inside the injection chamber.
At the same moment, the energy fluid inside the chamber drained away.
Karl immediately felt extreme weakness.
Every cell in his body was desperately craving energy.
He forced himself to stand and step out of the chamber.
Then he summoned his Golden Cloth embedded with the six Infinity Stones.
Using the stones' energy, Karl began rapidly replenishing his body's power.
At the same time, the Self Stone within his heart emitted a brilliant golden glow.
After a short period, Karl felt much better.
He activated the Dog Talisman and Horse Talisman, restoring his body completely to peak condition.
Then he stored the Golden Cloth back inside his system space.
Karl closed his eyes briefly and sensed the strength within his body.
A smile appeared on his face.
His physical strength had reached the mid-stage Celestial level.
And this was only the initial stage after injecting the Doomsday Gene Serum.
Once his body absorbed sufficient stellar radiation, his power could rise to:
Peak Celestial LevelOr even Single-Universe Level
If his physical body reached Single-Universe level, then when combined with his Golden Cloth, Karl would no longer fear ordinary members of the Celestial Host.
The only unknown threat remained the leader of the Celestials.
Karl suspected that entity might already possess Multiverse-level strength.
For now, reckless actions were unwise.
After stabilizing his condition, Karl left the chamber.
He glanced toward the upgrade pod nearby.
Yan was still undergoing her Divine Body upgrade.
The data indicators beside the pod showed that everything was functioning normally.
Satisfied, Karl walked out of the research laboratory.
Clatter—
The moment the door opened—
A red figure immediately rushed into his arms.
Karl looked down.
It was Red Crystal.
He gently lifted her up.
Soon afterward, Black Phoenix, May, Raven, Big Wanda, Little Wanda, Pietro, and others arrived as well.
Everyone rushed forward to hug him.
Even Samuel and Juggernaut joined the group.
After calming everyone down, Karl led them to a lounge inside the warship.
Then he asked calmly:
"Did anything happen while I was asleep?"
"Was the warship attacked?"
He paused briefly.
"Oh right…"
"What happened to that small white spaceship the warship detected earlier?"
Karl wanted to know whether Star-Lord had already confronted his father.
Before anyone else could answer—
The ship's AI spoke.
[Sir, during your slumber, the warship remained completely undetected.]
[Tony Stark from Earth attempted several communications.]
[The first was blocked, but later calls were answered by Black Phoenix and others.]
[Additionally, the small white spacecraft has landed on a planet covered with unusual plant life.]
[That planet appears extremely abnormal. It behaves like a massive energy source.]
[Because no further instructions were received, deep scanning was not performed.]
[Would you like further investigation?]
Karl nodded slightly.
"I understand."
"No need for deeper scanning."
Then he issued a new command.
"Create a dimensional containment space."
"Capture the nearest yellow star."
"And construct a device that allows me to absorb stellar energy at any time."
That star would be used to accelerate the evolution of the Doomsday Gene Serum within his body.
[Yes, sir.]
The AI immediately began executing the command.
[Constructing dimensional space…]
[Searching for suitable yellow star…]
[Target located.]
[Capturing star…]
[Capture complete.]
[Manufacturing stellar energy transmission device…]
[Using liquid nanotechnology.]
[Integrating vibranium and adamantium.]
[Manufacturing complete.]
Within minutes, everything was finished.
A silver bracelet appeared before Karl.
He placed it on his right wrist.
The bracelet automatically adjusted to fit perfectly.
Immediately afterward—
Karl felt an enormous stream of stellar energy entering his body.
That energy spread through every cell.
His body began evolving continuously.
Karl then issued another order.
"Vast Knowledge Treasury."
"Connect to the stars near all uninhabited planets in nearby star systems."
"Use them as additional energy sources."
"Also begin producing Kryptonian Warrior Gene Serums."
"Scan the physical data of everyone aboard the warship except for me, Black Phoenix, Yan, and Ganata."
"Prepare customized injections for them."
He intended to enhance the entire crew.
[Yes, sir.]
[Scanning nearby stars…]
[Energy connection established.]
[Beginning biological analysis.]
[Serum production initiated.]
May looked up at Karl curiously.
"Karl…"
"What kind of serum are we going to receive?"
Raven, Helen Cho, Natasha, Yelena, Wanda, and the others all looked toward him as well.
They were equally curious.
Karl smiled slightly.
"The serum you'll receive is based on the genetic structure of warriors from Krypton."
"Superman's home planet."
"After injection…"
"You'll become extremely powerful—"
"Especially when exposed to sunlight."
...
Visit patreon.com/ShiroTL for more chapters.