The Shadow Monarch In The Marvel World

"In a way," Ember mused, glancing around, "this world is more peaceful than the Earth we left behind."

"Yeah, our world has all the action-packed into New York. It's like every villain there only has eyes for that city… which is pretty stupid if you ask me," Ashborn said casually.

"Let's make a plan for what we're doing here. The first thing is—" Ember suddenly stumbled, her stomach letting out a loud growl. A wave of weakness washed over her, and she nearly lost her balance.

Ashborn raised an eyebrow. "You're hungry." Without hesitation, he held out his palm, and after a second, a bag emerged from his shadow.

"What do you want to eat?" Ashborn asked, watching as Ember eyed the bag with curiosity.

She paused for a moment before answering, "I always wanted to try those burgers."

Ashborn nodded, pouring his energy into the bag before pulling out a freshly made burger, still warm as if it had just been cooked.

Ember took it, inspecting it for a second before taking a bite. She had seen Ashborn eat these before, and now that she had the chance, she couldn't help but wonder—what was so special about them?

Ember closed her eyes, letting her newly acquired sense of taste fully process the flavors. Her taste buds broke down each ingredient, analyzing the textures and combinations that made up the burger. But the moment she understood what she was eating, she spat it out, her expression twisting in pure disgust and outrage.

"You dare feed me bugs?" she snapped, her fiery eyes burning with indignation.

Ashborn blinked, momentarily confused, before realizing what she meant.

"Pretty much every food humans eat has some form of bugs in them," he said with a casual shrug. "It's best not to think about it."

Ember's face darkened in horror as she immediately used her comic awareness to fact-check his claim. The more she saw, the more appalled she became.

"Plus, you're like part chicken, right? Don't you eat worms or something?" Ashborn teased, a smirk playing on his lips.

The remains of the burger in Ember's hands instantly crumbled to dust. Flames erupted around her body, her golden eyes blazing with fury as she glared at him.

"Call me a chicken one more time! I am the Phoenix Force!" she snapped, her voice filled with righteous indignation.

"Oh? Is this the Dark Phoenix I'm facing?" Ashborn mused, tilting his head mockingly. "How did you get corrupted by a few insects?"

With that, Ember's flames surged violently, the air around them warping from the heat.

"I knew it," Ashborn said, completely unfazed by her rage. Instead of being concerned, he observed her closely, noting the subtle shifts in her energy. As he suspected, she had grown stronger. She had tapped into the forces of this new omniverse, using them to enhance her power.

The realization only fueled Ember's fury. It wasn't just that Ashborn had provoked her—it was why. He had deliberately enraged her just to test her strength, treating her like an experiment rather than an equal. And on top of that, she was still starving.

Her patience snapped. Without hesitation, she lunged forward, determined to put Ashborn in his place.

"Here."

Just as Ember moved to strike, she hesitated, her eyes narrowing as Ashborn casually pulled a golden-red apple from his bag and held it out to her. She paused, eyeing him suspiciously before snatching it from his hand. Taking a cautious bite, her rage evaporated instantly, replaced by wide-eyed amazement. The apple's flavor was unlike anything she had ever tasted—a perfect fusion of sweetness and spice that sent a pleasant shiver down her spine.

"Wait… you can create entirely new kinds of food?" she asked, staring at the bag in disbelief. A moment ago, she had been ready to burn Ashborn to ash, but now, her curiosity had completely overtaken her anger.

"I guess so… Makes me wonder what I could create if I put in enough energy to rival a city," Ashborn mused. Testing the thought, he poured an immense amount of power into the bag, the equivalent of a city's energy, while picturing chocolate. A moment later, he reached in and pulled out a chocolate bar. Snapping it in half, he handed a piece to Ember, who took it with hesitant intrigue.

Ember took a bite of the chocolate, and the moment it touched her tongue, she froze. Her pupils shrank, and in an instant, her entire life flashed before her eyes. She stood motionless for so long that Ashborn, mid-motion about to take his own bite, lowered the chocolate and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you… alright?" he asked, watching her carefully.

Her eyes flickered slightly as she returned to reality, locking onto Ashborn. For a brief moment, she just stared at him in silence, processing what had just happened. Then, with sudden and terrifying intensity, she whispered a single word.

"Chocolate…"

Before Ashborn could react, she roared, "CHOCOLATE!" and with a single punch, sent him rocketing across the city. Without hesitation, she snatched the untouched piece from his hands and devoured it like a starving nomad discovering an oasis. Each bite was consumed with reckless abandon, her previous composure completely shattered.

"MORE! CHOCOLATE! CHOCOLATE! CHOCOLATE! CHOCOLATE!" Ember's voice boomed as flames erupted from her body, shaking the entire multiverse. Her once fiery red hair darkened, her aura twisting and warping under the sheer force of her hunger. This was no longer just the Phoenix Force—this was the Dark Phoenix unleashed.

"All this… over stupid chocolate?" Ashborn muttered weakly, coughing up a mouthful of blood. His vision blurred as he slowly glanced down at the gaping hole in his stomach. Shadows slithered around him, instinctively moving to repair the damage, but even they seemed sluggish under the oppressive energy Ember was releasing.

"No… this cursed city had something to do with it," he muttered, his mind racing as he tried to make sense of the madness unfolding before him.

"That one attack would've one-shotted me if I wasn't immortal… Warper? All-Sight? Why are you guys just standing around?" Ashborn called out, his gaze darting to his shadows. By now, they shouldn't have needed his command to act—so why weren't they moving?

[All shadow soldiers were erased during the battle with the storm. Due to the host acquiring the skill [Undying Shadows], and the host's current injuries, all shadow soldiers are locked away until the host fully recovers,] the system informed him.

Ashborn clicked his tongue in frustration, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. In the blink of an eye, he leaped back—just in time to dodge Ember's grasping hand as it closed around empty air where his neck had been a heartbeat ago.

'No gear, I'm in a weakened state, and I have no shadow soldiers…' His lips curled into a smirk. 'Well, let's dance.'

Without hesitation, he shot into the sky, moving at a speed that tore through the air like a sonic boom. As he ascended, he tightened his grip on the bag in his hand—his last bargaining chip.

Ember's burning gaze followed the bag, her obsession overriding all reason. With a furious roar, she rocketed after him, flames exploding from her body as she tore through the atmosphere in pursuit.

"Arise." Ashborn's voice echoed through the entire city, resonating with a power that shook the very foundation of Gotham. In that instant, his mortal guise vanished, replaced by a divine form so overwhelming that it could charm even the coldest of hearts.

Across every graveyard, from the bodies of humans to the smallest insects, even the creatures lurking beneath the waters—they all stirred, rising from death itself. The entire city was now under his shadow.

Just as Ember's outstretched hand nearly reached him, Ashborn switched places with one of his newly summoned shadows. Ember's fiery fist crashed into something—but it wasn't Ashborn.

A shadow… More specifically, the shadow of an ant.

Ember's eyes widened in disbelief as the tiny creature—an insignificant insect in life—effortlessly caught her punch. The force of her attack should have shattered mountains, yet the ant remained unmoving, gripping her hand with absolute authority.

"Just because I might be weak right now," Ashborn's voice drifted through the air, soft and composed, yet carrying an undeniable weight.

Ember turned her gaze to a nearby rooftop. There he stood, hands casually tucked into his pockets, his expression unreadable.

"Doesn't mean my shadows are."