The Gem’s Influence

If the hands of time were turned back, Sean’s doubts would be answered. Ten minutes earlier, the Sentry had stormed Hydra’s underground base with unstoppable force. Those Hydra agents who had undergone rigorous training were utterly incapable of resisting the golden figure’s lightning-fast assault, as helpless as lambs awaiting slaughter.

His thoughts spread out like threads, sensing the Tesseract through the thick walls—a glowing cube, brilliant halos rippling around it in soft, radiant waves.

A faint longing rose within him, and the golden torrent inside his body surged forth. Like a humanoid tank, the Sentry smashed through the reinforced concrete and easily broke into the workshop where Dr. Selvig was building the reactor.

Even through the sealed case, the crystalline, dazzling cube still reflected itself into Sean’s inner world in some peculiar way. Its obscure fluctuations became clearer, and his breathing stopped for a second until gunfire erupted outside.

"You can’t take the Tesseract! It will show us an entirely new universe…"

Dr. Selvig stood in front of the Sentry. His mind was filled with the knowledge and mysteries hidden within the Tesseract. This tiny cube was like a boundless sea of stars—the more he learned, the more deeply he became immersed in it.

"That’s exactly what I want to see."

Sean casually knocked Dr. Selvig unconscious. He looked toward the case on the workbench, where dazzling blue light blossomed from within. Strands of subtle energy fluctuations spread outward like a spiderweb.

The pale blue glow resonated with the golden torrent within him, instantly drawing all of Sean’s focus. It felt as though his consciousness had been stripped from his shell, pulled out of the real world and into a realm of the mind.

Gentle power flowed through his body. For the first time, he could so clearly touch that nonexistent dimensional gate, which connected to another unknown world—the source of the Sentinel Force, and the destination he had been pursuing.

As his consciousness sank into the blue light, Sean failed to notice the wondrous changes gradually taking place around him. Ripples stirred in the void, and strands of light intertwined to form a beautiful starry sky.

Like a boundless, magnificent galaxy, clusters of brilliantly colored nebulae slowly revolved. Pale blue light washed over the Sentry’s body like flowing water, while golden streams flickered again and again. Layers of fine ripples surfaced like mercury, and a faint prickling sensation swept through him, accompanied by an extraordinarily fulfilling joy.

Hydra’s Red Skull had once used the Tesseract to develop limitless energy, and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Nick Fury had harbored the same plan. This Space Stone that had fallen to Earth possessed the remarkable ability to draw in energy.

And now, it seemed to have been attracted. Even locked inside a sealed case, it could not conceal its obscure energy fluctuations. Streams of pale blue light seeped into Sean’s body like water, merging with the vast golden torrent.

As energy poured in, the half-open dimensional gate expanded. Though the process was extremely slow, the Sentinel Armor absorbed the energy, its golden glow becoming ever more dazzling. Violent currents of air spilled out, and crackling arcs of electricity burst through the workshop filled with instruments and equipment as the glaring white lights dimmed.

Only the motionless golden figure remained, radiating brilliance like a blazing sun!

"Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?"

Three ancient philosophical questions surfaced in his hazy consciousness. Sean lingered before that gate. Though he desperately wanted to enter that unknown world, the last trace of clarity in his mind told him that it was not yet time.

In the darkness, a line of figures quietly approached. When they saw the sight before them, astonishment filled their eyes.

The translucent cube stored within the case emitted pale blue light. The energy continuously spilling from it gradually expanded into a complete vortex of stars, dotted with sparkling starlight as though it contained a vast galaxy.

The vortex overhead grew larger and larger, quickly nearing a critical point. Its obscure fluctuations resonated with Sean’s breathing, as though they had become a harmonious rhythm. After the span of two breaths, an invisible passage slowly opened, like a gate leading into an unknown domain.

Sean knew nothing of this. The dim blue light washed over his body, seeping bit by bit into his cells while pushing open that heavy dimensional gate. He only needed to wait patiently for the progress bar in his mind to break through its restraints.

His consciousness separated from his body. The former was immersed in the mental realm, while the latter was about to be drawn into the unfamiliar starry sky above, just like the fate that had befallen Hydra’s leader, Red Skull.

Boom!

In the cramped space, the blast from a grenade launcher exploded in an instant. The tremendous force drove the Sentry stumbling backward, and the case in his hand flew away. Severed from contact, the Tesseract was like a device whose power had been cut off. Its pale blue glow gradually faded, the magnificent galaxy shrank back to its point of origin, and the starry sky overhead vanished without a trace.

His separated consciousness returned to his body, and a heavy grogginess filled his mind. Sean seemed to wake from a dream as he opened his eyes and surveyed the unfamiliar surroundings.

He instinctively swept out a hand. Surging wind pressure wrapped around energy and blasted forth like a compressed shell, blowing the line of quietly approaching Hydra agents into ashes.

"So that was it."

Time returned to the present. Realization appeared in Sean’s eyes as he tore open the sturdy metal case with his bare hands and took out the translucent cube.

The Tesseract and the Sentinel Force seemed to have undergone some wondrous chemical reaction. It had nearly pushed the system’s progress bar to fifty percent, and he had nearly repeated Red Skull’s fate, exiled into an unknown starry expanse.

"It’s truly beautiful."

Sean raised the cube before his eyes. The surging energy faintly resonated with the galactic vortex contained within the Tesseract, weaving together into strands of dazzling halos.

Suddenly, thunderous explosions echoed through the underground base. Thick smoke and dust surged forward like a raging dragon, like ten thousand wild horses galloping without end. The ground shook like a blanket, enormous cracks burst across the sturdy walls, and debris flew everywhere.

The base’s internal structure collapsed and shattered. Continuous explosions rang out like a roaring thunderstorm, wave after wave. Hydra had clearly activated the self-destruct system, intending to bury the Sentry completely within this nuclear-defense fortress.

The massive structure lay forty meters underground. Once it exploded and collapsed, even disregarding the terrifying shockwaves, the millions of tons of reinforced concrete and heavy earth would be enough to bury anyone deep beneath the ground. Even Hulk would find it nearly impossible to escape.

Sean’s expression remained calm. He stared at the cube lying quietly in his hand, while golden radiance gradually flashed in his eyes. The dormant Tesseract began spinning again, bursting with a brilliant blue light as cloudlike, misty halos merged and intertwined.

His brief contact with it had not been without gains. At the very least, he had gained some preliminary understanding of how to use the Tesseract’s extraordinary abilities.

An azure force field slowly emerged from the void. Driven by the golden torrent, the invisible passage expanded, and ripples spread through space like water. A magnificent starry sky flickered indistinctly within it.

Amid the obscure fluctuations, the deep blue energy gradually stabilized. Sean smiled faintly, swept up the unconscious Dr. Selvig, and leisurely stepped into the teleportation passage.

Behind him came a devastating shockwave, like an apocalyptic tide formed by the collapse of heaven and earth. The roaring hurricane destroyed everything, sweeping past like rumbling thunder.

Blue light flashed, and the Sentry vanished without suffering the slightest impact.

P.S.: Ahem, although I’m usually too embarrassed to ask for votes because my updates are so weak, as esteemed readers, you can be a little more proactive, can’t you? ヾ(ω`.)