Walking through the sliding hatch, Tony found himself stepping into a wide, bright, and futuristic corridor. The walls on both sides were as smooth as mirrors, embedded with light strips emitting a soft white glow. Occasionally, one could see interfaces or indicator signs whose functions he couldn't immediately identify. At the end of the corridor was a thicker, simpler silver alloy door.
"Welcome to the core area of the Hyperion." Artoria, walking in front, didn't look back. Her voice rang out clearly in the spacious corridor, "This warship is 212 meters long, 48 meters at its widest point, with a standard crew configuration of 5 people, but it supports fully automated unmanned operation. Currently, the crew is just me and Minerva."
212 meters? Tony clicked his tongue inwardly. This size already exceeded S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarrier, not to mention the internal space utilization efficiency which looked terrifyingly high. He couldn't help but reach out to touch the cold metal wall. The texture was smooth and delicate, yet it possessed a strange resilience. "What material is this? Vibranium? Adamantium? Doesn't really feel like it..."
"A special alloy based on psionic-metal composite material; I call it'Stardust Steel'." Artoria explained, her tone as calm as if she were introducing a common building material. "The strength is over fifteen times that of the strongest known alloy on Earth, with excellent energy conductivity, and it has a natural affinity and amplification effect on psionic energy. Of course, it also incorporates a bit of special material brought back from 'over there'."
"'Over there'?" Tony keenly caught the keyword.
"Hmm, another Universe. A place where the technology tree, power system, and even the form of civilization are very different from here." Artoria stopped in front of the silver door at the end of the corridor and pressed her palm against an inconspicuous sensor area on the side of the door. The door slid open silently to both sides, revealing a more vast space behind it.
The real bridge.
This was a huge space with a semi-circular layout and an extremely wide field of view. In front was a massive main observation window made of some crystal material. Outside the window was the dazzling night view of New York harbor and the deep starry sky further away, but at this moment, the transparency of the observation window was adjusted to a comfortable level. In front of the main observation window were several ergonomic floating command chairs, the two in the center clearly being the Captain's and Adjutant's seats. Surrounded by multiple huge curved tactical screens, they displayed real-time parameters of the warship, external environment scans, star maps, and some complex energy readings and data streams that Tony didn't quite understand. The design style of the entire bridge remained simple, efficient, and full of mechanical aesthetics, but the technological content revealed in the details made Tony, a genius who considered himself well-informed, feel a wave of scalp-tingling astonishment.
"Sit." Artoria walked to the central Captain's seat and sat down casually, while Minerva sat quietly in the Adjutant's seat next to her. Tony didn't stand on ceremony; he walked to an empty floating chair nearby and sat down. His Mark 50 armor automatically disengaged, and the nano-particles retracted like a receding tide into the reactor on his chest and his bracelets, revealing him in his casual clothes. He needed to feel everything here more directly.
"Another Universe..." Tony repeated the term, staring intently at Artoria. "Tell me in detail. How did you go there? What is it like there? Your skills, and this... monster of a ship, were they all obtained there?"
Artoria didn't answer immediately. Instead, she poured two glasses of water for herself and Minerva, and handed one to Tony. Then, she leaned back in her chair, her gaze distant, and began to recount her experience of the past few months of "disappearance" in a calm and clear tone.
She didn't reveal too many details about the "system" or specific coordinates, but she roughly described the composition of the Super God Universe—a World where gods and interstellar civilizations coexist, and wars, conspiracies, and ideological conflicts run through everything. She mentioned the Angel Civilization, their "order of justice," their powerful god-body technology and space technology; she mentioned the chaos and corruption of demons, the brutal invasion of the Taotie, and the God of Death Karl's dangerous exploration of the void; she also mentioned the Power of the Galaxy, the Nuo Xing God of War, and other "manufactured" Super Soldiers, as well as Earth's struggle to survive in the cracks between gods.
She recounted how she intervened as a "visitor" and "student," how she learned the technology of the Angels, how she participated in battles, how she faced powerful enemies, and how she finally, with the full support of the Angels, cleaned up the house, participated in the war of gods, and finally embarked on the journey home with all she had learned and this behemoth.
Her narrative was calm, even somewhat understated, but the amount of information revealed was like a tsunami, impacting Tony's cognition. Interstellar war? God-level civilization? Power sufficient to destroy a Planet? Space movement? Logic-defining weapons? And those unheard-of technology trees and power systems... Every single item was far beyond everything he had experienced in the past, including the Chitauri invasion, the Ultron crisis, and even Thanos's snap.
"...So, simply put," Artoria concluded, picking up her glass and taking a sip, her eyes fixed on Tony. "I went there for a'study abroad' trip and incidentally participated in a few 'extracurricular activities.' As for the gains, they are what you see now—a warship that combines the technological essence of two Universes, some pretty decent new skills, and a deeper... understanding of 'power' and the 'Universe'."
"'Pretty decent new skills'?" Tony's voice was a bit dry. He pointed to his surroundings. "Kid, you call this 'pretty decent'? Do you know that just based on what you just said—that god-body technology, space manipulation, logic weapons... taking any one of them out would be enough to trigger a technological revolution on Earth, no, a technological tsunami! And this ship! Its power system, defense system, weapon system... I can feel the terrifying energy contained within it just by sitting here! You said you could take on the Earth by yourself? I believe you now!"
He paused, staring into Artoria's eyes, his tone becoming more serious: "And, you said 'conservative.' That is to say, your actual ability might be even more... exaggerated than this?"
Artoria smiled, neither denying nor specifying, just nodding lightly: "Over there, I faced some rather troublesome opponents. In order to protect myself, and to protect the people I wanted to protect, I had to become stronger. As for Earth... well, as long as the Sorcerer Ancient One doesn't interfere, it should be fine."
Tony gasped. The Sorcerer Ancient One! That Sorcerer Supreme who guarded the mystical side of Earth and whom even he felt was unfathomable! Artoria actually mentioned her in such a tone, and seemed to have considerable confidence? This kid, just how far has she grown over there?
After the shock came immense curiosity, and a trace of... unspeakable heaviness. What Artoria brought back was not just technology and power, but a whole new system of cognition and potential threats that could completely subvert the existing pattern of Earth. The existence of those "god-level civilizations," those concepts like "void" and "ultimate fear," made him, a genius who had always led the human future with technology, feel unprecedented pressure and... a sense of mission.
"You're telling me all this..." Tony spoke slowly, his fingers unconsciously tapping the armrest of the floating chair. "It's not just to reminisce, or to show off your 'new toy,' right?"
Artoria restrained her smile, and her expression became serious. She sat up straight, her clear eyes looking directly at Tony.
"Tony, I trust you." She said word for word. "Not just because you are my friend, because you are Tony Stark, but also because you are one of the few people on this Earth with enough wisdom, breadth of mind, and... sense of responsibility to understand, to harness, and even to guide the changes that these 'new things' might bring."
"I need your help. Not now, maybe not immediately. But the knowledge, technology, and even some... potential risks I've brought back need a reliable rear, an understanding ally, another line of defense that can protect our common home when I have no time to attend to it."
"So, before I start dealing with some things that I must do," Artoria's voice was very soft, but with unquestionable seriousness. "I want to ask you: Tony Stark, do you trust me?"
The bridge fell into a brief silence. There was only the faint sound of data streams silently sliding across the tactical screens, and the faint noise of the city coming from the New York harbor outside, muffled to near silence by the warship's soundproofing system.
Tony looked at Artoria. He looked at those eyes that had experienced the storms of another Universe, had seen gods and demons, yet remained clear and firm, and were open to him. He remembered her innocence and curiosity when she first came to this World, her decisiveness and reliability when she fought side by side with him, his own anxiety and worry after she disappeared, and the excessively sweet coffee from just now, and the mechanical arm making the "OK" sign.
Trust? This word, for Tony Stark, was once a luxury, then a heavy responsibility, and now...
He raised an eyebrow, his face revealing that iconic expression, a mixture of cynicism and sharp insight.
"If I didn't trust you," Tony's voice carried a hint of annoyance, yet it also revealed undeniable sincerity, "when you hacked my coffee machine in that terrifying way and created this'surprise party,' I should have called all the Avengers, plus S.H.I.E.L.D. and Kamar-Taj, to surround this place completely, instead of running over here alone in my pajamas."
He stood up, walked over to Artoria, hands in his pockets, looking down at her, his eyes incredibly serious.
"Tell me, what do you need me, your 'reliable rear guard,' 'understanding ally,' or 'another line of defense,' to do? Disclaimer: I might not agree to anything that's too troublesome, too expensive, or requires me to hold meetings and argue with that old popsicle, Captain, every day."
Artoria smiled, a heartfelt, relaxed, and warm smile.
She knew that Tony's promises were never given lightly, but once given, they were more unbreakable than any contract.
"Now, I just need you to... close your eyes, relax, and don't resist." Artoria also stood up and said softly.
Tony frowned in confusion, but still closed his eyes as instructed.
His trust in Artoria made him willing to place himself in a defenseless state in such an unfamiliar and powerful environment.
Artoria raised her right hand, index and middle fingers together, and a pure, gentle silver point of light, as if gathering starlight, lit up at her fingertips.
She did not touch Tony's body, but gently pointed her fingertips at the void about an inch in front of Tony's brow.
At the very moment her fingertips touched the void—hum!
A gentle, vast, yet indescribable force with the texture of "order" and "information," like the softest tide, instantly wrapped around and permeated Tony's consciousness.
He "felt" as if he had been dragged into an endless ocean composed of flowing light and information!
Countless tiny, silver-shimmering "threads" extended from the point of light at Artoria's fingertips, gently and precisely connecting to certain special "nodes" deep within his consciousness that he had never noticed or even understood.
"The Dark Plane," Artoria's voice sounded directly in his "consciousness," calm and clear, as if she were explaining a basic physics lesson, "is the basic 'underlying space' that carries individual information, memories, soul imprints, and drives Super Genes or special energy systems."
"In the Super God Universe, it is the cornerstone of divine body technology, Dark Energy propulsion, and even the operation of many advanced technologies. It exists in the deepest part of every intelligent life form's consciousness, complementing the material Universe while remaining relatively independent."
As she explained, Tony "saw" a hazy and vast "space" that was difficult to describe in words unfold within his consciousness.
It was not a physical location, but more like a background of existence in an "information state."
He "saw" some of his memory fragments, sparks of thought, and even certain deeply hidden subconscious elements floating like faint fireflies in this "Dark Plane."
And at this moment, this originally chaotic, "undeveloped" Dark Plane was being gently combed, expanded, and established with a preliminary, stable structure by those silver "threads."
"I am helping you open and initially stabilize your Dark Plane interface," Artoria continued.
"This won't give you superpowers, but it will greatly enhance your mental strength, thinking speed, memory capacity, and... perception of your own state of existence."
"More importantly, it provides you with the most basic 'compatibility' and 'foundation for understanding' for when you might encounter technologies based on the Dark Plane or high-dimensional information in the future."
Tony could clearly "feel" the changes within himself.
His thinking was clearer and faster than ever; many calculations that previously required repeated deduction now almost instinctively yielded the optimal solution.
Some blurry memories became vivid, and he could even trace back to certain fragments from his infancy.
His perception of his own body also changed from simple neural signal feedback to something more "thorough," as if he could "see" the activity of cells and the flow of energy.
This was a wondrous experience, as if his own "dimension" had been slightly elevated.
This process lasted about a minute.
When Artoria withdrew her fingers and the silver points of light dissipated, Tony slowly opened his eyes.
His eyes were sharper and deeper than before, as if they contained stars.
He immediately looked at his hands, then looked around, feeling that clearer, more "essential" connection with the World.
"This... is the Dark Plane?" Tony's voice trembled slightly, not out of fear, but out of excitement.
As a top-tier scientist and explorer, encountering a completely new theoretical framework regarding the very nature of "existence" was no less shocking than the first time he discovered the feasibility of the arc reactor.
"This is just the most basic guidance and stabilization." Artoria nodded, her face slightly pale, clearly the operation had consumed a lot of her energy.
"Deep-level development and application of the Dark Plane involve multiple complex fields such as the soul, information, and energy, which you will need to explore and understand slowly yourself. However..."
With a flick of her wrist, a silver data crystal, only the size of a thumb, completely crystal clear, with what looked like a galaxy rotating inside, appeared in her palm.
There were no interfaces on the surface of the crystal, yet it emitted a strange fluctuation that attracted mental energy.
"This is for you." Artoria handed the crystal to Tony.
"It contains a highly encrypted, extremely massive information package."
"The content... covers everything from the basic science of pre-nuclear civilizations to key technological nodes of the interstellar era, and even... some theoretical foundations and conjectures of the God-making era."
"Among them, preliminary explorations of the Dark Plane, simplified introductions to divine body technology, deeper theories on the conversion of energy and matter, and some cutting-edge technological ideas integrated based on the Super God Universe and my own knowledge system... are all inside."
She paused, her tone becoming extremely solemn, even carrying a hint of apology:
"Tony, I'm sorry. These things are very, very, very... valuable, and also very... dangerous."
"If any piece of this information were to leak out without control and be obtained by certain ambitious people or madmen, it could bring immeasurable disaster to Earth, and even the entire Solar System."
"These are not technologies that can be easily popularized; many of them even require specific genetic foundations, energy environments, or special materials to be realized."
"I'm giving you these not because I want you to immediately replicate them and create another 'Angel army' or 'Demon fleet'."
"What I hope," Artoria looked into Tony's eyes, saying word by word, "is that when the future comes and Earth inevitably has to face challenges from the wider Universe—whether it's potential threats from the Super God Universe or unknown crises that our own Universe might give birth to—you will have enough knowledge reserves and a high enough perspective to understand, to analyze, and to find the right path for us Earthlings to take."
"Instead of being like Earth in that other Universe, being used as pawns by gods in ignorance and passivity, struggling to survive amidst blood and fire."
Tony's hand trembled slightly the moment it touched the cold data crystal.
It wasn't fear, but the feeling of that heavy, weighty trust and entrustment that transcended friendship and even personal feelings.
The value of this "gift" was immeasurable.
It was not just a piece of knowledge, but a key—a key that could open the door to a new era, or release endless calamity.
Artoria had just handed it to him, without reservation.
He didn't immediately try to read the information in the crystal.
He just gripped it tightly, as if he were holding the weight of the entire World.
He looked up at Artoria, looking at this partner who once needed a little of his care, but had now grown into someone capable of shaking the stars, his throat tightening slightly.
In the end, Tony didn't say any grand words, nor did he make any Earth-shattering vows.
He just took a deep, deep breath, as if he wanted to inhale the air in the bridge mixed with the scent of ozone and metal, along with this incredibly heavy trust, into his lungs and carve it into his very bones.
Then, he looked at Artoria and, in his unique, slightly awkward, yet incredibly sincere tone, clearly spat out two words:
"Thanks."
No extra explanations, no flowery language.
Only these two words, simple to the extreme.
But Artoria understood.
Minerva understood.
Tony himself understood too.
This "Thanks" was not just gratitude for this priceless knowledge, but a response to this unreserved trust, a silent acceptance of that heavy responsibility for the future, and a silent vow of two genius yet lonely souls, crossing the barriers of the Universe, to stand firmly side by side once again.
Artoria smiled, a clean and warm smile, as if a great weight had been lifted from her heart.
She nodded.
"You're welcome, Tony."
Inside the bridge, starlight and data streams flowed silently.
Outside the window, the lights of New York were still brilliant, and inside the window, a new bond, carrying the knowledge and hope of two Universes, had already been forged.
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