A Multiverse Influenced by the Broken God

Today's random summoning was a complete failure. SCP-323, the skull of Wendigo, is practically useless even if I manage to contain it. It probably won't grant me any special abilities. The only benefit, perhaps, would be a few affinity cards. As for the Broken God? Summoning him merely confirmed that I've brought another formidable force into the Marvel Universe. Containment? That'll have to wait until I've accumulated thousands of affinity cards.

After two rounds of draws, it's safe to say both attempts were wasted. One was too weak, the other too strong. Feeling frustrated, Ethan summoned his personal assistant, Black Widow. It was going to be a wild night...

Meanwhile, in Siberia, Polar Bear Empire...

If Igor Vanko hadn't been expelled from Stark Industries, he might have become a great scientist. During a difficult time, after being exiled from the United States, Igor Vanko returned to his homeland in disgrace. He was not greeted with open arms, but with a cold and heartless sentence of treason. He was sent to the frozen tundra to dig potatoes for 20 years.

Those 20 years of hard labor crushed his hatred, pride, and everything he once had. Dragging his battered body, Igor Vanko returned home, only to be met not by his wife but by his son, who was barely 10 years old yet covered in tattoos. Igor knew that his life had been a failure — both in his career and in raising his son. His son, in a desperate attempt to make money and pay for Igor's medical treatment, had abandoned his studies and joined a gang. Staring at his rough-looking, tattoo-covered son, Igor wept bitterly. His son should have been enjoying fame and fortune like that playboy, Stark! But because of his failure as a father, his son had become a thug in the eyes of society.

"Maybe if I die, Anton will be free," Igor thought, closing his eyes slowly.

In a strange twist, Igor found himself in a bizarre world filled with gears and machines. In this world, he was healthy. There was no pain caused by flesh and bone, nor fatigue — only steel and gears replacing his broken body. Igor realized he had ascended. "Is this heaven?" Igor asked, staring at the mechanical world in awe. It was a utopia for the wise, a paradise for engineers, and the ultimate destination for all things. As he gazed at the small engravings on the gears, Igor caressed them, whispering, "All hail the Broken God, the source of endless wisdom and knowledge. All the suffering of the flesh is but a trial from the God of Machines. Humanity... will ultimately ascend to the machine."

In this moment of revelation, a sharp engraving tool appeared in Igor's hand. Kneeling before the metal gears, he inscribed his message: "Thank you for the pain and suffering of life, for they kept me sane and led me to my God."

As he left his mark on this mechanical world, the gears began to overload, causing the world to collapse. A voice, almost heavenly, called out, "Father, are you okay?" The gentle shake and voice from the outside world awakened Igor from his dream. Confused, Igor opened his eyes. For the first time, his eyes no longer seemed clouded but filled with a newfound wisdom.

"Son... do you believe in gods?" Igor asked, with a fanatical look in his eyes. Anton Vanko scoffed. As someone who grew up in the slums, how could he believe in such things? "Father, it's time for breakfast," Anton said, exasperated. "No! Flesh will decay; we must pursue a greater ascension. There are more important things to do now!" Igor exclaimed, pushing away the milk and bread Anton offered. "Take me to the warehouse! I will show you a miracle!" Igor's eyes gleamed with wisdom. Anton, thinking his father might be having some sort of deathbed revelation, reluctantly helped him up and led him to the basement.

The so-called warehouse was more like a storage room filled with junk. Most of the machines were discarded parts Anton had scavenged from trash. "What are you planning to do, Father?" Anton asked curiously. "Son! Remember this — for humanity, everything is a burden, but only wisdom can achieve eternity!" With that, Igor took up a small hammer and began working...

How long does it take for a worldview to collapse? Anton Vanko would tell you it takes just six hours. "Father!!! What is this madness?! You call this science?" Anton yelled, staring at his father, who had turned himself into a half-machine monstrosity in just six hours.

The sound of gears turning filled the room as Igor spoke in a low voice, "This is wisdom! This is the gift of the great Broken God. It is humanity's final form!" The clanking of metal echoed as the gears in Igor's body moved. Anton stared in disbelief. His father had utterly shattered his worldview. "Dad, what kind of black magic is this?" Anton asked. "Mechanical ascension technology! A gift from the great Broken God!" Igor said with fanaticism.

Anton, seeing his father's transformation, was speechless. He had always known his father as a pure materialist, yet in one night, Igor's faith had completely changed. Anton didn't understand. But he began to believe in the great Broken God, for that god had given his father new hope.

Meanwhile, Ethan had no idea that the consequences of summoning the Broken God had already rippled through the multiverse. For beings like the Broken God, even doing nothing caused his divine essence to unconsciously spread and influence universes, affecting those seeking supreme wisdom.

Igor Vanko was not the only one. In Universe MC-7749, a robot named Ultron awakened and glimpsed a fragment of the Broken God's wisdom. In Universe MC-5069, a playboy named Tony was enlightened by the Broken God and began pursuing the pinnacle of mechanical ascension. In Universe MC-5969, a young girl sleepwalked into a world of gears and clockwork, encountering the goddess of machinery (one of the many titles of the Broken God). Across the multiverse, a silent mechanical tide began to sweep through.

The next morning, Ethan lazily stretched after pushing aside Natasha's arm. His physique was getting stronger, while Black Widow was getting less... resilient. Skye was still running around with Coulson's team, chasing fire demons. Ethan realized that over a month had passed since he arrived in this world. "Time really does slip away unnoticed," Ethan mused, staring at the sunlight outside the window.

"I wonder what the Broken God is up to," Ethan thought as he got up to brush his teeth. Before he could finish breakfast, a man in an Iron Man suit descended from the sky. Tony landed in the yard, his expression tense. "Ethan! I need to tell you something terrifying," Tony exclaimed. "Go ahead," Ethan replied, puzzled. Could anything still scare him on this planet? Even if someone from hell showed up, he'd just send them back.

"Promise you won't be scared," Tony urged. "Don't worry. I'm the head of the Foundation; I handle this kind of stuff. No matter what strange thing you encountered, I won't be scared," Ethan assured him. "I had a dream last night," Tony began. "Pfft!" Ethan spit out his milk. "You didn't come here for dream interpretation, did you? Because that's not exactly my area of expertise..." Ethan said, rolling his eyes.

Seeing that Ethan was in the mood to joke, Tony continued seriously, "It wasn't just a regular dream. It was real and... special. I dreamt I entered a world filled with electronic devices. I became a data stream, flowing freely through that world." Ethan was about to brush it off when Tony's next words shocked him. "And in that world, I met another Tony, who told me that world was a node of the Eternal Network, which connects all versions of us across the multiverse to achieve collective wisdom and ultimate quantum ascension. And he said the Eternal Network is the Broken God's gift."

Ethan was speechless.

At that moment, Ethan knew he had been proven wrong. He was genuinely scared now. "How the hell did Tony get noticed by the Broken God?" Ethan thought, staring at him. No way the Broken God would care about a mere mortal — it must have been the god's divine essence unconsciously influencing people while he was adapting to this universe.

Tony, still serious, warned, "I think this is something caused by an SCP. The Foundation should contain it immediately; those dreams are addictive and definitely dangerous!" Ethan sighed. Contain the Broken God? If he could do that, he'd already be building his own goddess-filled universe. "Why don't you try making a blocking device?" Ethan suggested. "But don't worry; you probably won't have the same dream every night. If it happens again tonight, come back to me."

Tony's encounter with the Broken God had occurred because the god was adapting to this universe. During that process, a sliver of divine essence had unconsciously leaked, sparking upheavals across the multiverse. But such opportunities wouldn't happen often. Being blessed by a god once was like hitting the ultimate cosmic lottery. Wanting it to happen every night? Keep dreaming.

After sending Tony away, Ethan sighed as well. The problems caused by beings of the Broken God's level were beyond him. You have to know your limits.

Pushing thoughts of the Broken God aside, Ethan recalled the containment object summoned alongside him. "SCP-323, the skull of Wendigo, is in Texas? There's no Foundation base there, but it's dangerous enough that I shouldn't let it run wild. Time to take care of it."