Chapter 54

"Wow… I thought you guys were done improving the house." Ashborn stepped into Phoenix Manor, only to stop dead in his tracks.

He had expected luxury—after all, before he left, the place already made Wakanda look advanced.

But now? Now it made Wakanda look like a kid's sandbox project. Everything was sleeker, more efficient, more alive with power and design far beyond Earth's comprehension.

"Of course not. We have to keep improving," said one of the shadow scientists, adjusting his glasses with pride.

"Yes," another shadow scientist chimed in, pushing up his glasses with a smug grin. "We may not be as smart as the Doctor, but when we combine our minds, we create tech so advanced, people mistake it for magic."

He paused mid-boast, his eyes landing on the bag in Ashborn's hands. His expression shifted into disgust.

"…What?" Ashborn asked, glancing down at the shopping bags.

"My lord," the scientist said seriously, "you're a Monarch. You should only equip yourself with things worthy of a Monarch."

Ashborn shrugged. "It's just a phone and a laptop. Chill."

Clearly, Ashborn didn't care. He glanced toward Ember, who had already wandered inside, completely ignoring the exchange—arms full of bags, clearly ready to try on everything she bought.

Ashborn was pulled back to the present as his shadows nearly jumped him, snatching the bags from his hands and rushing inside to begin dissecting and upgrading the contents.

He let out a light sigh but didn't protest. He simply stepped into Phoenix Manor and waited.

Moments later, the shadows returned—scientists at the front, heads bowed, visibly frustrated.

"My lord," one of them said solemnly, "we dare say we are not yet worthy to craft devices that match your greatness."

Another stepped forward. "Please… fuse us. Let us evolve—to be more capable."

Ashborn stared at them, speechless. These were the same shadows who, individually, were smarter than Franklin Richards.

To put it in perspective: imagine Franklin Richards—but with an advanced superpower or device that amplifies his already godlike intelligence.

Now multiply that by thousands, all of them linked, working as one collective mind.

And they were claiming they weren't good enough. Ashborn honestly didn't know whether to be impressed… or terrified.

"I don't really need some kind of super phone or anything," Ashborn said with a casual wave of his hand.

But his shadows were determined to please him. So, with a sigh, he gave in and fused them—if only to make them happy.

Still, as he carried out the fusion, he couldn't help but feel the weight of his limitation: only five shadows could be fused at once.

If he could fuse more… if he could go beyond that cap—he could create the strongest lifeform his shadow army had ever seen.

The thought made him sigh again. With nothing left to do, he closed his eyes… and waited for midnight.

And when it came, it brought more than just silence. A familiar chime echoed in his mind

[Mission Complete: I'm Now Your Leader]

Objective: Convince the world's leaders—without using mind control—to make you the leader of the Justice League.

Reward: [Training Dimension], [Shadow Fusing v3]

Punishment: [None]

[Training Dimension] – A special shadow dimension where you control everything. You decide how fast or slow time moves. One second outside could feel like years inside. You can also create any item you imagine. In this space, you're like a god—your imagination is the only limit.

[Shadow Fusing v3] – You can now fuse as many shadows as you want with no limit. However, for the best results, it's important to fuse shadows that have similar or compatible skills. If you mix shadows with skills that don't work well together, it could lead to unstable or negative effects.

'Well, that's just what I needed,' Ashborn thought with a smile. Just a moment ago, he had wished for the limitation on shadow fusing to be removed—now, it was.

Ashborn stood up, and with a single thought, he entered the Shadow Dimension. He found himself in a world of complete darkness—endless, silent, and still.

And yet, he glowed faintly. Somehow, he could see himself perfectly, his presence the only light in the void.

Ashborn thought of weights, and in an instant, they formed from the surrounding darkness. Their color was different—distinct from the shadows—making them easy to see as if they were bathed in light.

He reached for one, picturing it to be as heavy as a star. The result was immediate.

His body was spaghettified, stretched, and pulled toward the weight by its overwhelming force.

But with a single thought, the weight returned to normal. Using [Shadow Monarch Force], Ashborn calmly reformed his body as if nothing had happened.

"So… there's no real limit to what I can do here. Even if I can't do it with my current strength," Ashborn said lightly, glancing toward the outside world.

He nodded to himself, satisfied.

He had already adjusted the time ratio—one trillion years inside the dimension now equaled just one second outside. In other words, no time had passed in the real world.

"System," Ashborn said calmly, "can you unlock all of my shadows from Marvel? Just with their strength limited for now?"

Those shadows had died before he acquired [Undying Shadow], but he was still able to keep them in a sealed state thanks to the skill's reach across time… well, they were not really sealed, more like they were recovering.

Still… he missed having his strongest shadows by his side.

{Host shouldn't be too greedy. The shadow temporarily buffed [Undying Shadow] so it could affect your past shadows. The host only needs to wait 5 days for the shadows to revive in a weakened state. From there, you can either give them your MP to speed up recovery or let them recover on their own.} The system's voice echoed calmly.

Ashborn sighed, then nodded. "I didn't mean to come off as greedy… thanks," he said softly.

He rarely asked the system for anything. In truth, he hardly ever complained. He was grateful.

"By the way… I never really asked you this," Ashborn said, pulling out his Food Generation Bag. As he spoke, he created food most people could only dream of tasting and casually began to eat.

"But… are you alive or something?"

{Yes. The system does have consciousness.} Ashborn paused mid-bite, stunned.

"…Now I feel bad," he muttered. "I mean, I'm late, but—do you want a name?" He leaned back, already thinking.

{N-No, the system is okay with just being called 'System'.}

Ashborn frowned. "Really? Are you sure? No one wants to be called a System. How about… Voice?"

He smiled, clearly impressed with himself. "You're the voice in my head… it fits. It's subtle hinting at your origin, it's cool, mysterious… it's perfect perfect."

{The system is extremely happy with the name 'System'. Please don't.} Ashborn sighed. How could it pass up such a good name?

"What are you eating?" Ember suddenly appeared beside Ashborn, causing him to nearly jump out of his skin. Instinctively, his hand twitched—almost striking out before he caught himself.

He had been too caught up talking to the system to sense her approach. After all, creating such a perfect name wasn't easy.

"…" Ember gave him a disdainful look, unimpressed by how easily he had flinched. She didn't say anything—but she definitely made a mental note of it.

Ashborn narrowed his eyes at her, already sensing her judgment.

"It's not chocolate," Ashborn said dryly. "Also, you're a normal human now… when was the last time you ate?"

Ember snorted lightly, looking away. She hadn't eaten in a while—not since the chocolate incident, anyway. After that, it was hard to even think about food.

Still… she had been hungry all day. But her pride wouldn't let her ask for anything.

She wasn't here to ask for food, of course. She just happened to be passing by… and asked what he was eating out of boredom. That was all.

"Well, I'm eating nothing," Ashborn said calmly, completely ignoring her.

Ember frowned, her eyes drifting to the bag. She opened and closed her hands, fighting the urge… but was losing.

Just as she was about to reach for it, Ashborn picked up the bag, pulled out a pizza box, and handed it to her without a word.

She stared at it.

"…Is it chocolate pizza?" she asked softly. Ashborn blinked—then looked at her like she'd just committed a war crime.

"…What?" Ember asked, genuinely confused by his reaction.

"You don't put chocolate on pizza," Ashborn said with a frown. "That's worse than putting pineapple on it."

Ember frowned right back.

"Have you ever eaten chocolate pizza?" she asked.

Ashborn didn't even hesitate. "No. Because it shouldn't exist… which it doesn't"

Which, now that he thought about it… was strange. He was in the United States. How had no one turned that into a thing yet?

"Then why are you judging something you've never tried?" Ember asked flatly.

Ashborn opened his mouth… Then closed it. He had no comeback.