The white light faded, leaving absolute silence.
Daniel opened one eye. He wasn't in Ivan's cluttered apartment anymore, and the Book of Destiny was gone. He stood in the middle of a vast starfield, deep space stretching out endlessly beneath his boots.
"What the heck is this now?"
"Nothing much. Just a chance to talk to my nephew."
Luke appeared out of thin air a few feet away, grinning.
Daniel didn't flinch. Just stared at him. The silence sat there, awkward.
Luke's grin faded. He crossed his arms. "What the hell is that reaction? You meet me after a long time and you can't even say hello? At least call me Uncle and give me a hug."
"You should know by now I'm completely numb to your antics," Daniel said, flat. "Don't blame me for not giving you the reunion you expected."
"Wow. Kids really do grow up fast." Luke uncrossed his arms. "Well, before we get to business, here's a gift."
He flicked his wrist, tossing a small square through the empty space. Daniel caught it.
A photograph. A wedding photo — Luke standing next to nine brides.
"I'm sad, Uncle. I didn't get an invite."
"That's exactly why the photo's there. The paper holds the actual event. Press it to your head and you can experience the whole ceremony yourself."
Daniel looked closer. Nine women in distinct wedding dresses, all clustered around Luke, all smiling.
"Okay. I see you're living your life well, Uncle. Nine brides, huh?"
Luke smirked, brushing cosmic dust off his shoulder. "What can I say? I'm charming."
"Or a scumbag," Daniel said, sliding the photo into his coat pocket. "Though I guess I have no right to call you that."
"Exactly." Luke pointed at him with a grin. "Because you're one too."
Daniel didn't argue. Thought of his own complicated household back on Earth and decided to just take the hit.
"Fair enough," he said, crossing his arms.
"So let's skip to the part where you explain why I'm standing in the middle of nowhere."
"You didn't pull me out of a reality-warping explosion to hand me your wedding album and call me a hypocrite. You could've dropped this off at the house."
"You're right, because there's something important."
Daniel's expression hardened, bracing for a cosmic threat, a multiverse collapse, an ancient god coming to kill him.
Pop.
Luke pulled the string on a party popper. Confetti exploded over Daniel's head.
"Congratulations!" Luke cheered, tossing the empty tube into the void. "You have officially become the focal point of the DC Multiverse."
Daniel picked a piece of pink confetti off his nose, staring at him. "The what now?"
"The focal point. You're the central pillar of this universe now. You know those protagonists with ridiculous plot armor? That's you. In the DC multiverse, you now have the potential to become a Supreme Being."
"A Supreme Being. What is this, a roleplaying game?"
"The peak of the multiverse," Luke said, leaning in. "If you reach that power level, you'd be considered almost on the same tier as me."
"Okay. Then can't you just make me that right now? I don't mind shortcuts."
Luke laughed, shaking his head. "The system is the shortcut, Daniel. I'm powerful across the multiverse, but I can't just forge a Supreme Being out of thin air."
"Doing that would make certain old things very angry with me. They can't touch me, but they'd make things complicated for both of us."
He stepped forward and patted Daniel on the shoulder, knocking off some confetti. "That's why there's a process. So brace yourself. I'm modifying your system."
Before Daniel could ask what that meant, a familiar blue screen materialized in front of him. The interface flickered, normal menus wiping away, settling on a single glowing line.
[System is getting updated...]
The screen flickered violently, text shifting from pale blue to burning gold.
A massive shift hit Daniel's chest. The icy weight of his necrotic magic flared into a blinding heat. He gritted his teeth, dropping to one knee as the dark mist that usually clung to his shadows burned away, replaced by crackling starlight.
"A little warning would've been nice!" he shouted over the rushing sound in his ears.
"You literally just asked for a shortcut," Luke said, watching from a few feet away. "Growing pains are part of the package."
The panel expanded with notifications.
[System Update: 14%... 45%... 100%]
[Host Race Updating: God of Death → Cosmic Avatar of Energy]
[Ability Modification: Anti-Dimension Equation → Dimension Control]
[Core Resource Conversion: Death Energy → Cosmic Energy]
The cold, heavy aura of death that had defined him for so long vanished. In its place, a vast reservoir of raw power rushed into his veins — like trying to swallow a dying star. Limitless, vibrant, unbothered by physics. His vision flashed white, then slowly refocused.
Daniel let out a shaky breath, staying on one knee, looking down at his hands. The glitching black blood and necrotic shadows were gone. His skin hummed faintly now, veins pulsing with violet and gold starlight.
"How do you feel?" Luke asked.
"Like somebody pulled out my car engine and dropped in a nuclear reactor while the car was still running." Daniel pushed himself up and flexed his fingers.
The new energy responded instantly, moving through the space around his hand without the heavy drag his death magic used to have.
"Perfect. That means it seated properly," Luke said, clapping once.
"Your old God of Death title was great for local pantheons and ghosts, but if you're stepping up to the Supreme tier, you need an engine that runs on the same fuel as the multiverse itself."
Daniel opened his interface, checking the updated skill list. "Dimension Control instead of the Anti-Dimension Equation. What'd you change?"
"The Equation was a weapon," Luke said, pointing at the screen. "It let you break dimensions, shatter reality, tear holes in things."
"Dimension Control lets you own the space. You don't just break the room anymore, Daniel. You are the room. Fold it, bend it, expand it, delete it."
Daniel closed his hand into a fist, feeling the cosmic power thrum under his command.
*****
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