Terra.
Midgard.
Planet C-53.
A certain Marvel Universe, identified by a string of nines, suddenly flashed into Lake's mind.
What's going on?
Did I get the coordinates wrong?
Lake furrowed his brows, recalling the turbulent storm he encountered while traversing the spacetime corridor.
And...
Lake looked up at Michaela, who still seemed utterly bewildered. This beauty should belong to the Transformers universe—so why was she here?
Seriously...
What kind of world is this, anyway?
Lake snapped back to focus and said in a deep voice, "Agatha, fully analyze this planet."
Agatha's form appeared, "Apologies, Heimerdinger..."
Lake then remembered that detail and turned directly to the dazed Michaela, "Hey, beautiful, is there a Stark Industries here?"
Michaela snapped out of it, nodding in confusion while staring at Agatha, hovering in midair—a figure whose appearance could outshine ninety-nine percent of Earth's women.
Lake closed his eyes involuntarily after getting Michaela's nod of confirmation.
Alright.
It was obvious his flight home had hit spacetime turbulence, forcing him to crash-land in this universe.
But...
If it's the Marvel Earth, so be it. It's still better than Valoran, where everyone's constantly out for blood.
Though...
Marvel and Transformers? Can those two even mix?
Whatever.
He'd rest here for a bit and find a chance to set off again later.
With that in mind, Lake flashed Michaela a bright smile, "Beautiful, could you help this wanderer get untied?"
Michaela looked at Lake warily, "Are you an alien?"
Lake shook his head, "No, I'm an Earthling. I just grew up off-planet due to an accident."
Michaela: "..."
No one could understand why Lake was so obsessed with finding his way home. It was a longing rooted deep in his blood. People from the Eastern Country, even when they wander, take the whole world with them—it's etched into their very essence.
So!
Lake was an Earthling. More precisely, a purebred Easterner. His family name alone proved it—a descendant of the Lai Marquis from the Shang Dynasty...
As for his current blond hair and blue eyes?
That's just a trick.
After all, surviving in Valoran for over ten thousand years without changing his appearance would've gotten him mobbed by the entire roster of furious Valoran heroes long ago.
Half an hour later.
Lake rubbed his slightly numb arms, freed from the ropes, and smiled at Michaela, who was still clutching her baseball bat, "Thanks."
Michaela remained on guard, "I've already called the police. You'd better leave quick."
"Of course!"
Lake nodded and slowly got off the bed. Stay here? Come on. First, Lake wasn't interested. Second, Lake wasn't interested. Third, Lake still wasn't interested.
To put it bluntly.
Even if this was the Marvel Universe, so what? Forget the Avengers—even if the head of the Family Planning Association showed up in person, Lake could knock them out with one punch.
So.
In a world where he could walk sideways, only an idiot would choose to play the weakling.
Lake stood up, looked at Michaela, and softly spoke in Valoran's common tongue, "Equip!"
Michaela blinked.
Lake looked down at his unchanged black suit and fell silent, "Agatha, equip the God-King armor."
"Apologies."
Agatha's virtual projection appeared again, "According to the scan, your divine power is currently at zero."
Lake: "..."
Divine power at zero?
What the heck?
Agatha pulled up an interface, clearly displaying Lake's current physical state, and said in an unwavering tone, "The collision between the great clock and the Void energy did tear open the spacetime corridor. When you traversed it, you entered a state of spacetime void..."
Lake looked up at the ceiling, "Keep it simple."
Agatha stopped the barrage of technical jargon, "You encountered a turbulent storm while crossing the spacetime corridor. Your divine power is still stuck there. Right now, you have the divine body but no divine power."
"Pfft!"
Lake snapped back and looked at Michaela, who had suddenly burst into laughter, "What's so funny?"
Michaela covered her mouth with one hand and waved apologetically with the other.
Lake smiled, "It's fine, you can say it."
Michaela dropped her hand, her lips curving uncontrollably upward, "You're saying you're a god?"
Lake shrugged, "In a way, yes, I am a god."
Over ten thousand years ago, Lake had abruptly crossed into the Valoran universe—literally into the cosmos itself. Back then, the Star Forger Dragon King was creating the stars, spreading his grand grace across the boundless, barren void. Just as Lake was about to suffocate and die, the Dragon King's tail swung into reach. Driven by an intense will to survive, Lake bit down on it.
The Dragon King, after Lake guzzled seven or eight mouthfuls of his dragon blood, swatted him away with a claw, sending him crashing onto a star later named Reese after him.
From then on...
Lake, under the name Lake Reese, began his legendary journey in Valoran.
Agatha chimed in with a hymn, "Lake Reese, the Miracle of Valoran, blessed by the stars of Valoran, walking alongside the Moon and the Sun..."
Lake snapped back, "Agatha."
Agatha: "...Apologies."
Michaela's eyes had narrowed into slits, "A god? You're pretty weak then, couldn't even block my baseball bat."
Hearing this, Lake recalled his less-than-stellar debut earlier. Facing Michaela's teasing, he forced a smile and turned to Agatha, "Agatha..."
Agatha explained, "Your divine body is blessed by the stars. However, due to the spacetime corridor, the stars, the Moon, and the Sun all think you're still in there. Right now, your divine body is a bit... unearned!"
"So..."
Lake rubbed his chin, "You're saying my body is spelled 'divine' but pronounced 'mortal,' right?"
Agatha shook her head, "No, your frame is blessed by the stars. A divine body is a divine body. Even if a star fell on you, it wouldn't harm you in the slightest."
Lake was puzzled, "Then what's going on here?"
Agatha continued calmly, "Based on current data, your divine body's state is the same as when you first entered the Void. Due to the stars' delay, while you're immune to all fatal damage, you can't avoid non-lethal harm—at least not until the stars' blessing catches up with you again."
Lake nodded thoughtfully.
That made sense.
Back when he chased after the Void Girl and entered the Void for the first time, the stars' blessing lagged because it was his first trip. He got caught by the Void Prophet, and if the blessing hadn't arrived just in time, he'd have nearly experienced being devoured by ten thousand bugs.
That explained it perfectly.
After all, the Valoran universe and the Marvel universe were separated by a couple of universes. He was blessed by Valoran's stars, not Marvel's.
"How long until my divine body and power catch up with me?"
"Based on existing data, when you entered the Void, the stars' blessing was delayed by half an hour. Please wait, calculating..."
"Calculation complete."
"Show the results."
"Ding!"