Inside the villa, Harvey gazed at the Void energy he possessed. With Reno and Kael joining, each had contributed 10,000 units of Void energy. Although it was nowhere near what Tony had offered, they still ranked second among those Harvey had introduced to the Void.
"Sonia, I'm planning to leave for a while," Harvey said, stepping outside the villa. "I'm not sure how long I'll be gone."
Sonia, in the middle of training, momentarily froze when she heard that the timeline was uncertain, but quickly masked her reaction. "Understood, Mr. Kassadin. If any new visitors arrive, I'll keep you informed."
Though Harvey had given her some form of communication, Sonia had already anticipated his departure. She concealed any emotions about it, knowing her place was not to ask too many questions.
"I won't be gone too long, so there's no need to worry," Harvey assured her, sensing her initial hesitation.
"Of course, Mr. Kassadin. Safe travels," Sonia responded with a warm smile, though a slight tension still lingered in her stance. As much as she wanted to ask more, she knew that it was not her place to question Kassadin's decisions.
"One more thing," Harvey added. "If any new visitors remain here for four days without showing signs of impatience or frustration, notify me."
After a pause, he continued, "And feel free to finish the food the chefs prepared for me. Your strength is still far too weak, and while visitors may hesitate to act against you, I want you to become self-reliant."
"Yes, understood," Sonia nodded, mentally preparing herself for the days ahead. Once again, the reminder of her weakness stung slightly, but it only fueled her determination.
Harvey then moved quickly, disappearing from her sight, leaving Sonia with a new resolve. She knew she had much to improve if she ever hoped to shed the label of being "too weak."
With a single step, Harvey left Xandar and appeared on the moon. Another step, and he returned to Earth.
Though it had been a few months since he'd last been home, Earth still felt familiar. After turning on his phone, he noticed several messages from Tony Stark, as well as a notification of $800 million being deposited into his account—a portion of the profit from Tony's ventures.
But it wasn't the money that intrigued Harvey. What caught his attention were the messages detailing Tony's progress in developing the intergalactic communicator and the universal translator.
Tony had successfully cracked both technologies over a month ago, something that had taken alien civilizations far longer to develop.
The sheer brilliance of Tony's mind amazed Harvey. After reading through the messages, he decided to give Tony a call.
The phone rang for less than five seconds before Tony answered—not via a regular call, but through a holographic projection that appeared right in front of Harvey. It was clear Tony had made modifications to his phone while he was away.
"Harvey! Back from your cosmic adventure?" Tony's hologram grinned with his usual cocky charm. "Did you see my messages?"
"Of course I did," Harvey replied, smiling. "I'm amazed you managed to crack those technologies so quickly. Your mind is truly something else."
Tony beamed at the compliment. "Well, I've always known I was a genius, but Jarvis deserves some credit too. It wasn't all me."
"I'm sure he helped," Harvey chuckled. "But seriously, you've outdone yourself. Are you planning to roll this out globally?"
"That's what I wanted to discuss. I've only implemented it for personal use so far. I was waiting for you to get back before deciding whether to go global with it," Tony explained.
"Sounds good. Let's talk in person."
Within moments, Harvey teleported to Tony's mansion, arriving at his estate overlooking New York.
"Mr. Harvey, welcome back. You're looking as sharp as ever," Jarvis greeted with a touch of humor, his voice more human-like than Harvey remembered.
"It seems you've improved as well," Harvey noted, surprised by the AI's evolving personality.
"That would be thanks to the alien materials you brought back. Mr. Stark used them to upgrade both his suit and me," Jarvis explained, a hint of pride in his tone.
Harvey couldn't help but feel a twinge of concern. While Jarvis's upgrades were impressive, too much intelligence in an AI could lead to complications. He made a mental note to discuss this with Tony.
As Harvey entered the mansion, Tony appeared from his lab in a flash, his movements faster and more controlled than ever before.
"So, what do you think of my latest work?" Tony asked with a broad smile, clearly eager to show off his progress.
"I'm impressed," Harvey replied, intrigued by the precision Tony now wielded over his abilities. "Lead the way."
Note: If you are interested you can read up to chapter 140 at patreon.com/MythicForge11.