Three Days Later!
Maxim's breath was slow and controlled as he stood alone in a forest, a blanket of darkness covering the sky signifying what time of day it was. Over the past three days, Maxim had continued his journey towards Sokovia, while continuing to train every night.
His mind raced as new sensations surged through his body, his eyes closed shut, but with his extrasensory perception, Maxim could "see" everything around him. The world came to him through a different, more profound spectrum of senses as he grew stronger.
He was currently at 99% integration with the Omen template, and as he went down the final stretch, he awakened multiple new abilities.
First, he awakened some form of telepathy. Now, not only could he sense the fear and emotions of people, but he could also manipulate them to his whim, alongside being able to manipulate memories.
"Focus," he muttered, taking a step forward. His body felt weightless as he allowed his incorporeal form to take shape. The solid ground beneath his feet softened into nothingness, and the walls seemed to bend as he passed through them.
This was a second ability he had awakened, an Inorganic, Incorporeal physiology that he could toggle whenever he want. As time passed, his manipulation of this physiology become more smooth, being able to phase in and out of reality with just a thought.
The first few attempts had been disorienting, almost feeling like all of his cells were being pulled in every direction simultaneously, but Maxim trained hard and long, and now, the sensation of being ethereal felt like second nature.
His Darkness Manipulation had grown stronger as well. He extended his hand and thickened the darkness around him, concentrating on his sense manipulation. The shadows grew deeper, more ominous as he willed the forest to become a sensory void.
For a brief moment in time, all the light, sound, and even the sense of space was swallowed by a creeping darkness, a manifestation of the dark itself which pulsed from Maxim's very being.
"Just a little more," Maxim whispered, feeling the last pieces of Omen's powers solidify within him. The ability to manipulate minds, to alter memories and impose thoughts on his enemies.
This was the most abstract of Omen's abilities, and Maxim needed to rely very much on his past life's knowledge of various telepaths in order to train this ability. He created a Mind-Scape to protect his mind and store knowledge and was still slowly improving his ability.
However, he could easily sense the surface emotions of people by just being nearby them. Still, there was a massive way to go to match the truly powerful telepaths in Marvel.
"Time to finish this," Maxim muttered. He took one last deep breath, feeling the final pieces of Omen's template falling into place. The shadows around him surged, wrapping around his form as if welcoming him into their embrace.
Maxim felt weightless, powerful, his consciousness expanding far beyond the confines of his physical body. Suddenly, everything clicked. Maxim's mind and body surged with power, a flood of energy rushing through him as he reached 100% integration.
His senses sharpened to an almost painful degree as he truly became ONE with the darkness, his telepathic abilities unfurling like wings, allowing him to not only perceive the minds around him but to manipulate them with ease.
Time itself seemed to slow as he stepped out from the darkness, his form a blend of human and shadow, shifting between corporeal and incorporeal states at will.
All of these abilities had become an extension of him, natural as breathing. Maxim had become a living weapon, a master of shadows and fear, his every movement now a calculated step, even more than before.
[ Congratulations to host for reaching 100% Integration with Omen Template.]
[ As a reward for the 1st Fully Integrated Template, host will get an extra template draw. Once host fully integrates 3 Characters, the next game will be available. ]
[ Select your Agents: ]
[ Killjoy ]
[ Fade ]
[ Sage ]
[ Skye ]
[ Astra ]
Maxim read the system notification and noticed the various choices. He was surprised that he got an extra pull, but he already had the agents who he wanted to choose in his mind.
"Select Killjoy and Astra." Maxim muttered.
For Killjoy, it was his main choice going into the decision, due to her intelligence. With such a massive amount of Vibranium, Maxim needed a high level of technological understanding to harness it to the extreme, and Killjoy was just that.
Killjoy had an extremely deep understanding of robotics, engineering and artificial intelligence, with her intelligence level being often compared to the likes of Tony Stark and Reed Richards back in Alex's world, due to her extraordinary mechanical prowess and understanding.
In fact, in the degree of mastery over AI and micro-robotics ( NanoTech ), Killjoy was definitely better than Tony Stark, or at least had more potential, as she reached this level of intelligence at less than 25 years old, compared to Tony he built his first suit at 42.
As for Astra, she was simply the most powerful agent in Valorant lore wise, with near God-like abilities of Cosmic Manipulation and more.
Just the Astral Form would give Maxim a massive power boost, allowing him to connect to Cosmic Forces that govern the universe, transcend his physical body and perceive the environment from a higher plane of existence, granting him an omniscient view of the environment.
This power could essentially allow Maxim to treat the battlefield like a Cosmic Chessboard, moving pieces around how he saw fit using his manipulation of Astral and Cosmic Energy.
Some of the other abilities Astra would give Maxim would include things like Spatial Manipulation, Gravity Manipulation, Creation Feats (can create stars), possible Higher-Dimensional Existence, Cosmic Awareness, Astral Projection.
These abilities can be manipulated to do things like influence space, create stars, black holes, and control gravity and the flow of combat.
As Maxim selected the two agents, he felt a burst of energy entering his body and mind. First of all, his mind felt more clear, his thoughts smoother and more organized as a barrage of information about engineering, robotics, nanotechnology and more entered his mind.
Simultaneously, he felt a wave of Cosmic Energy entering his body, fixing any flaws he had and "perfecting" himself. Brand new thoughts and ideas entered his mind with this new level of comprehension.
He could see patterns in technology, ways to manipulate energy and ideas for his SuperSuit that he never thought before. With this understanding, Black Panther's own suit would be like a toy compared to his if he managed to built is successfully.
Combining Vibranium with Cosmic Energy. It would create total perfection! A suit made of Vibranium would be nearly indestructible, absorbing kinetic energy and releasing it at his command.
But als infused cosmic power? It would give him control over dimensions, gravity, and perception itself. He could manipulate his surroundings, shield himself with stars, and vanish into the folds of space itself, not just relying on shadows, but on the very fabric of the cosmos.
Maxim smiled as he envisioned the creation, "A perfect balance between technology and cosmic energy," he thought. He could design it to suit him in every way, adapting to his powers, enhancing his strength, speed, and durability.
His integration of Killjoy's template was already rapidly increasing as all these ideas flashed through mis mind. For now, he needed books, lots and lots of books to improve the integration process by learning.
Once he was fully integrated, he'd build the suit, using Killjoy's intelligence to guide the design process, until every inch of the combat outfit was optimized for peak performance and efficiency, maximizing his combat abilities.
"One step at a time," Maxim thought to himself. "First, the Twins, then the Suit and finally, the Stars!"