Magnum Opus(chapter 134)
She tried to read his mind, which she does by making physical contact with her target as she phases through the target's body, but she couldn't do the same with Henry. Henry then placed his own hand on her face and said, "You can't read my mind, but let's see if it's the same with you." He tried to read her mind but couldn't, "looks like my psionic abilities needs evolving" he though to himself but that wasn't a problem for henry who could just create a tier 8 psionic potion for himself "Looks like we're both disappointed," she said with a smirk as one of her henchmen, now free from Henry's telekinetic hold—actually, all of them were since he had focused on getting into her mind—tried to attack. Despite being free, they didn't act because Cassandra was facing him. However, Lady Deathstrike, a mutant with abnormally large metal fingernails, tried attacking Henry from behind, only for a small ball of fire to suddenly appear and disintegrate her into ashes.
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Chapter 134
"Oh, you are full of surprises, aren't you?" Cassandra said, unbothered, while they were both locked in a mental battle, each trying to invade the other's mind. Neither succeeded, as none of Cassandra's powers worked on Henry due to his null physiology. Henry, realizing the futility of trying to best Cassandra in her own field, thought, "Looks like I need to increase my psionic ability." He sighed as he let go, and Cassandra did the same. "Honestly, you are the most powerful person I've met in the Void, aside from myself, of course," she chuckled arrogantly. In reality, she had realized that none of her powers worked on Henry, though she could feel his telepathic attempts trying to pry into her mind.
Henry then telekinetically summoned an object to him: a Sling Ring. Sling Rings are what Earth's sorcerers use to open portals, but this one was special. It had a Time Stone and a Reality Stone embedded in it, allowing the wielder to open portals through time and space—a quite useful tool. "Oh, you like that? I got it from a Strange who was pruned here," she said, starting to climb the stairs leading into the dead giant ant's mouth. "Come on, we have a lot to discuss," she added with an innocent smile, gesturing for her men to leave, which they gladly did. "What a monster," Pyro muttered under his breath as Cassandra and Henry entered her living quarters.
Henry was quite surprised as he looked around. "Quite the nice place, huh?" Cassandra said, also glancing around. "You know, it gets quite lonely in here, even with those brainless idiots outside. The only entertainment is when new people get pruned here," she said as she sat on her seat. "What do you say? With our powers and minds combined, we could rule the Void, maybe even destroy the TVA that pruned you here," she said, trying to appeal to what she thought was Henry's hatred for the TVA.
"Oh, I wasn't pruned by them," Henry replied, glancing down at the Sling Ring. Cassandra was taken aback. "Then how did you end up here? Don't tell me you willingly came here?" she asked jokingly. But as Henry turned around, his serious expression stunned her.
She then burst into laughter. "Gosh, I haven't laughed like that in years." Henry finally stopped fiddling with the Sling Ring and muttered under his breath, "I should review all the records I took from Kamar-Taj and their artifacts after this." That's right—while decimating Kamar-Taj and its reinforcements using the Reality Gem, Henry had also collected their entire library and artifacts. However, he hadn't had time to delve into that side of his warehouse, dubbed "the Mystic." "My attention is limited, but once I finish my Magnum Opus, I should focus on that problem," he thought as he walked up to Cassandra. "Don't worry, I'll return this to you when they're close, I like to see that unkillable joke," he said, confusing Cassandra. "Wait, who?" she asked, but Henry only smiled mysteriously. "Oh, where's the fun in that?" he replied as he floated out of there, entering his dimension cube.
"Alright, Magnum Opus, here I come," he said, changing into more comfortable clothes before starting to work on his greatest creation. Henry's Magnum Opus didn't need to be the strongest, but it needed to have the most potential, and it had to be related to alchemy. He already had a blueprint, a recipe, a method, and all the materials. Surprisingly, his inspiration for the project was the Philosopher's Stone—not for immortality or turning lead into gold, but because the Philosopher's Stone was supposed to represent the pinnacle of alchemy. He was going to make sure his Magnum Opus could reach the same pinnacle.
[Some Unknown Time Later]
As usual, Henry didn't keep track of how much time had passed since he started working on his Magnum Opus. It drained nearly all of his resources, especially the blood essence of super-powered beings, which he intended for both the Null Physiology potion and the Magnum Opus. He was out of it. If resources weren't enough, he had to endure the excruciating pain of cutting off 50% of his soul. That's right—50%. It was the most painful thing he had ever done, and he vowed never to do it again. He also had to use the Time Stone, draining an entire pool of its essence, the Reality Stone, all the Space Stone essence he extracted from the World War II weapons, and finally, the Mind Stone. Once all of this was prepared, he used the Alchemical Weapon Creation skill to create a stone. If the wide smile on his face was anything to go by, it meant he had succeeded, as Henry now held a green stone in his hand.
[Name: Alchemical Stone]
[Grade: Tier 1 (0%)]
[Description: The Alchemical Stone is an extraordinary artifact, a Magnum Opus, created from 50% of Henry's soul, the champion of Goldie and the host of the Alchemy System. This stone is the other half of Henry, residing within his soul where it perfectly fits. It also includes the purified essence of countless beings, the blood of thousands of super-powered individuals, essence extracted from Alioth, and the very essence of the Reality, Space, Time, and Mind Stones. This profound connection allows the stone to manifest a separate, undying entity known as the Alchemical Henry, who is essentially Henry in every way. Indestructible and capable of consuming any matter to generate alchemical energy, the stone can power devices or beings and enhance and amplify what is already present in any creature or device to an extreme level using the alchemy energy. It can accelerate the growth of living beings. It is a growth-type item with the potential to evolve its tier to the 9th level.]
[Effects: +10% alchemical energy generation, +10% energy storage capacity, +10% enhancement to organic beings, +10% technology enhancement, +10% matter consumption efficiency, +10% Alchemical Henry power, +10% tier growth potential, +10% bond with Henry]
[Deterioration Rate: 0%]
"Countless hours of blood, sweat, and tears, countless sleepless nights, and countless amounts of blood spilled—all leading to this one moment, my Magnum Opus," he said as he looked at the stone like it was his baby. Suddenly, the green Alchemical Stone manifested a small, green version of himself, which opened its eyes. "Whoa," Henry muttered, disoriented as he could now see from both his own perspective and the perspective of the small green version of himself. "This is unsettling," they both said at the same time.
Henry examined the green version of himself. "Interesting. I intended for this Magnum Opus to be a growth-type item, which it is. It needed to upgrade both living beings and machinery by generating a unique type of energy, which it does. But I never expected it to manifest a clone version of me. And the essence extracted from Alioth manifested as the ability to devour material to generate new energy," he pondered, as his attention was now split into two, like two players sharing one TV screen.
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A/N: That is Henry's Magnum Opus. Of course, it isn't the strongest (yet), but it's his masterpiece. I know most of you expected his Magnum Opus to be a weapon or armor, but I thought something like the Sorcerer's Stone—except this one generates alchemical energy, consumes matter, and upgrades beings—would suit him better. Plus, it has the potential to reach the 9th tier (which, in story terms, means it *will*, and when it does, oh, you're in for a treat). Anyway, this stone can consume matter, so you can guess what's about to happen.
P.S.: Tomorrow marks the start of the *What If...* TV show (seasons 1 and 2)—the exciting parts, I mean—like Hela, or Strange Supreme, and of course, your boy, the multiversal murde—hmph, peace-keeping robot, Ultron. So stay tuned because a lot of universes are about to be destroyed.
PS: should he fuck cassandra?