"This Marvel Universe is fake?"
At the moment Kyle saw the inscription, his mind was struck with shock. His usually calm golden eyes now betrayed an expression of disbelief.
In just an instant,
A thousand thoughts, like lightning, flashed through his mind.
If it were anyone else seeing this mural and inscription, they would likely think it was some kind of joke. But not him. He was from another world, and he knew full well that this world originally stemmed from a superhero movie universe.
That was why this sentence shocked him so profoundly.
Because this world... was indeed fake...
No, wait.
This world was absolutely real, more real than anything.
Even if he just thought back, Kyle still clearly remembered starting out as a new recruit in a World War II American military camp, fighting and killing from that very position, eventually rising to the rank of brigadier general, standing shoulder to shoulder with gods, and then surpassing divine beings as he moved toward becoming a higher cosmic lifeform.
Every battle for survival had been real.
And the people he knew— Lucy, Raina, Steve, Howard, Tony, and so many others— they were all real, with flesh and blood, and independent thoughts. None of them were fake.
If he accepted that this world was fake, then all the effort he had put in, all the emotions he had experienced, all the love, hate, and anger, would be rendered null and void.
As Kyle repeatedly pondered and questioned the meaning of those words, he thought of many other things.
Was the strange mural behind Odin's treasure vault wall truly part of Odin's vault, or was it a glitch in the code created by the God system while simulating this virtual space?
Furthermore, what about Vision? Was his leading Kyle to this virtual Odin's vault, crashing into this wall, and allowing him to see the hidden mural intentional or accidental?
But the most crucial and perplexing question was the name 'Marvel'— a secret known only to him.
Kyle, of course, knew this was the Marvel Universe, but the people here couldn't possibly understand what the word 'Marvel' meant. They would only understand the meaning of the word Marvel and would not connect that word to any world or universe.
He was certain that since he crossed over, he hadn't mentioned the word 'Marvel'... so who else could have left this hidden mural in the virtual space and led Vision to bring him here?
In the back of his mind, it felt as though an invisible hand was manipulating everything. The owner of this hand knew this was the Marvel Universe, knew he was a cross-over, and even knew about the Extracting Card System...
If such a person existed, the most likely candidates would be only himself and his Superman counterpart, Caesar.
...
All of these fleeting thoughts and ideas were only a small fraction of what Kyle's mind had conjured after seeing the mural. His brain had long surpassed that of any human, functioning like a supercomputer, instinctively calculating the implications of this mural that had deeply affected him.
"This can't be possible."
Finally, Kyle muttered to himself. His right hand instinctively clenched into a fist, and the dazzling double-star energy gathered in his hand. With one punch, he shattered the strange hidden mural in front of him.
A small piece of stone, bearing the word 'fake', rolled down to his feet.
Kyle didn't know why, but an involuntary fear crept into his heart. He didn't want the spectators outside to see the image and inscription on the hidden mural.
Even if this Marvel Universe were fake, and even someone of his level couldn't deduce the truth, for everyone else, this world would remain as perfect a reality.
Outside, the spectators did indeed not see the mural or the inscription. They only saw Kyle being hammered by Vision, crashing into the wall of the treasure vault. Then Kyle broke free, glanced at the inner wall, and then punched it again, shattering it.
Although no one understood why Kyle smashed the mural a second time, no one questioned it either. They were simply looking forward to a more thrilling battle.
Inside the virtual Odin's treasure vault.
"What exactly do you know?''
Kyle turned coldly, glaring at the Vision, who was getting back up from the ground. His eyes were covered by a fiery glow, making it impossible to discern his abnormal state. All that could be understood was that he was now furious beyond measure.
Kyle was indeed enraged. He didn't like the feeling of losing control, and he certainly didn't like the feeling of his fate being manipulated by someone else.
Since the Second World War, when he used the Extracting Card System to completely alter his destiny, Kyle had not felt this sense of distaste, of being controlled, for a long time.
Vision didn't respond. His eyes remained vacant as he swung the glowing Thor's hammer and launched himself toward Kyle, leaving the ground.
"Vision! Answer me!"
Kyle shouted in fury, his body radiating double-star energy, surging like lightning gathering in dark clouds, ready to burst.
Venom, coexisting with Kyle, suddenly realized that it had completely lost control over their shared body, and all of its strength had been transferred elsewhere.
It knew very well that Kyle was truly angry, the kind of anger that hadn't been felt in a long time.
'Boom—'
When the lightning-charged Thor's hammer collided with Kyle's energy-infused fist, the two powerful forces reacted like a chemical explosion. The sealed Odin's vault seemed to burst apart as if it were a huge balloon being ripped open by the internal explosion of energy.
The entire golden palace trembled violently, shaking on the verge of collapse.
The apex of the palace was forcibly ruptured, and a burning streak of light shot toward the outer space above the Asgardian Realm, carrying another figure along with it.
"Tell me."
Kyle grabbed Vision by the neck with one hand, lifting him into the sky. Vision's cape fluttered in the wind as he looked calmly at Kyle, slowly loosening his grip on Thor's hammer.
The hammer, now uncontrolled, fell towards the palace below, drawn by gravity.
Vision's throat was squeezed so tightly that he could barely breathe. He kept his gaze locked on Kyle, his eyelids slowly drooping. At the same time, the yellow gem on his forehead glowed with unprecedented brilliance.
"So it was you causing the trouble, the Mind Stone!"
Kyle suddenly stopped mid-air, holding onto Vision, his gaze fixed on the Mind Stone on Vision's forehead.
As if in response to his thoughts, the glow from the stone intensified, shining so brightly that it seemed to reflect directly into his soul.
Kyle froze.
His mind was opened to a vast, starry map— not just of the universe, but something far more expansive, complex, and strange, constantly shifting and changing.
Perhaps the Marvel Universe he was in was just a small corner of this map.
Suddenly, Kyle had an epiphany. He noticed two points in the immense star map, two glowing dots that seemed to pull at him.
Those were— two coordinates!
Someone had left two temporal coordinates within the Mind Stone.
Kyle was shaken. Though he didn't fully understand, he committed the coordinates to memory.
Then, a faint voice reached his ears from the outside world:
"Vision has been defeated. This round is won by Kyle!"
''(End of Chapter)''
I have finished translating this fanfic, IMUC (I Am In Marvel With Unlimited Cards) and have posted all the advanced chapters on Patreon (Last Chapter -- 706). (https://www.patreon.com/c/marvel6395). You can read all the advanced chapters there.