Chapter 158: Multiverse Chaos! Wanda Seals the Gateway!
Under the blessings of the three great treasures, Wanda unleashed the full force of her Chaos Magic.
"Hum~~~!"
The entire sky above the Avengers base turned crimson. Scarlet energy drifted around everyone as if the air itself had been dyed red. It was like standing under a blood moon.
At that moment, even ordinary humans like Hawkeye and Natasha couldn’t move. Thor and Loki also stood frozen.
Was it that they didn’t want to move?
No—they didn’t dare to.
That scarlet energy field made everyone feel as though their very souls were about to be torn out, as if the next instant their existence itself would be rewritten. The sheer sense of dread gnawed at them without pause, leaving only unease.
But Wanda paid no mind. She stretched out her hands and began forcefully reshaping the space where the Quantum Realm’s entrance lay.
With the support of the three treasures, the Quantum Realm really did begin to shrink—slowly, but undeniably.
Banner leaned in to study it.
"It’s... really shrinking. This is unbelievable..."
Wanda’s Chaos Magic was capable of altering reality, though it wasn’t her strongest specialty. Her brows furrowed as she focused on reshaping the space.
Under her will, the crimson-shrouded area grew hazy, almost illusory. To the others, it looked like she was about to succeed.
But under Lorien’s watchful gaze, he could see the strain building. She was giving it everything she had, yet the effect was weakening with each passing moment.
Then Hank Pym suddenly snapped out of his daze, horror flashing across his face.
"Wait! My daughter, my wife, and Scott Lang are still inside! If the entrance closes, they’ll never be able to come back!"
His wife, Janet van Dyne—the original Wasp—had been trapped in the Quantum Realm for many years. Now both his apprentice and his daughter were lost there as well. If all of them were gone, he would truly be left alone.
Natasha frowned at his words.
This was another impossible choice.
Save them? How? Abandon this rare chance to seal the entrance? If it grew any larger, would it even be possible to close later?
But if they didn’t save them, it meant sacrificing three lives to protect the Earth.
Lorien smiled faintly as he listened.
Another of those classic "save the world or save your loved ones" dilemmas from the movies. In times of global crisis, do you choose love or salvation? Each film gave its own answer, usually with a perfect ending.
But here...
Wanda’s progress wasn’t going nearly as smoothly.
As the Quantum Realm devoured more energy, it resisted Wanda’s compression and alteration. She was trying to reshape the space that contained it, but the Quantum Realm itself spread its influence to the surrounding dimensions.
It was as though it had a will of its own, pushing back.
Wanda persisted for a while longer before finally stopping, turning toward Lorien.
"Lorien, modifying the surrounding space isn’t working. The entire area has already been affected by the Quantum Realm."
"The space I try to alter just gets swallowed by it too."
Put simply—before, there had been a progress bar. It had climbed to about twenty or thirty percent.
But then the Quantum Realm had consumed it completely.
Not even a chance to continue.
When Wanda stopped, the space around them snapped back to normal. The blood moon effect vanished as if it had never been.
But the result was clear—Method One had failed.
Lorien shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged.
"Then you still have a second option."
"This one will let your Chaos Magic enter the Quantum Realm."
"It’s like setting up a temporary beacon inside it."
"If his family can see it, they can use it to escape. If not... then he’ll have to figure something out himself."
When Hank Pym heard that a beacon could be planted in the Quantum Realm, giving his family even a slim chance to escape, hope flickered in his eyes.
But as soon as he heard the rest, he knew it all depended on luck.
If the three inside were together and saw the beacon, they could make it out.
If not, then it would be like a stone sinking into the ocean.
Hank clenched his fists nervously.
Wanda nodded, then turned back toward the Quantum Realm and began casting Chaos Magic again, this time activating the second method—directly pouring her energy into the Quantum Realm itself, reshaping the space of the entrance from within.
The cost would be huge. But it meant direct contact.
She traced her hands through the air.
In an instant, the sky was once again drowned in crimson.
Thor and Loki both looked up, scanning the surroundings.
Someone who could shift heaven and earth with a single gesture... they had hardly ever seen such a thing.
If they had to compare it to anything, it would be the Ancient One.
But back then, the Ancient One was far weaker than Wanda was now.
Did anyone really think Wanda just stayed home idle?
Even if she woke up late, she still cooked for Lorien, then tended the garden in the Little Universe. The rest of her time, she spent immersed in training.
Her main path was the Book of the Vishanti, with the Darkhold as her secondary study—both serving to hone her Chaos Magic.
Because Lorien had told her, her Chaos Magic was her strongest weapon. The foundation of every spell was how powerful her Chaos Magic could become.
And now, after years of training with multiple divine books, plus the empowerment of the Mind Stone, Wanda’s strength had already surpassed the Ancient One of old—sitting between Sky Father–level and Universal-level.
Comparable to Gwen’s power, though one was a sorcerer and the other a warrior.
...
Under Lorien’s watchful gaze, Wanda began slowly channeling Chaos Magic into the entrance of the Quantum Realm.
The spectacle wasn’t as loud as before, but her focus was even sharper.
From her hands unfurled a ribbon of crimson silk, threading its way into the portal.
Once inside, it created a temporary coordinate within the Quantum Realm, constantly shifting.
But the moment Wanda stopped casting, the coordinate would vanish.
All eyes were fixed on her. And this time, the effect was clear.
The Quantum Realm entrance—once the size of a 27-inch screen—was shrinking, slowly but visibly.
The speed was like downloading a multi-gigabyte video on a sluggish 5–10 MB connection. Understandable enough.
Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Hank Pym’s gaze locked on the portal, desperate for his family to appear.
But Wanda’s expression darkened.
Her energy drain was enormous.
The rate of depletion was faster than when Lorien teased her just to "restore stamina."
In other words—though the portal was shrinking before their eyes, her reserves were burning out even faster.
Moments later, Wanda was already struggling.
And the portal was only half-sealed.
Anxiety crept in—what if she suddenly ran dry and the entrance exploded instead?
Lorien, sensing her thoughts, kept his hands in his pockets and said calmly,
"Don’t worry. If your energy runs out, I’ll step in."
The instant she heard that, Wanda felt completely reassured.
Without hesitation, she poured herself fully into her spell.
...
As her power waned, the Quantum Realm entrance shrank further and further.
The crimson ribbon in her hands grew faint, and so did the portal. The onlookers grew nervous.
It was obvious—Wanda might not have enough magic left.
But then—
Lorien lifted a finger, and a fiery red orb of energy appeared at his fingertip, rolling like a glass marble between his fingers.
When it reached his middle finger, he gave it a light flick.
The orb shot into Wanda’s body.
"Whooom~~~!"
In that instant, Wanda erupted in flames!
It was as if she’d transformed into a Super Saiyan.
The crimson ribbon at the portal surged and expanded violently.
Everyone jumped at first.
But when Wanda remained steady, they relaxed.
The fire wrapped around her harmlessly, fueling her instead.
Her power soared, stronger than before.
Now her Chaos Magic glowed with streaks of fiery red, and whenever that energy touched the Quantum Realm’s entrance, the portal contracted sharply.
Hank’s heart was in his throat.
24 inches... 20 inches... 16 inches... 12 inches...
His pulse quickened with every shrink.
If his family didn’t make it out now... what then?
All he could do was go back and try to build another controller.
But would his family even have the time left to wait for that?
"Buzz~~~!"
Suddenly, as Hank Pym was imagining the worst, a ripple burst from the entrance of the Quantum Realm. The entire realm began to tremble.
Wanda frowned. She turned to Lorien.
"This isn’t me."
"I know." Lorien nodded, eyes fixed on the entrance. "It’s someone inside."
Someone inside?
Everyone was stunned.
The next moment, as Wanda continued to force the portal shut, the Quantum Realm’s entrance suddenly flared with light. A flash followed—
With a heavy thud, three figures tumbled out onto the ground.
"Janet! Hope! Scott!"
Hank Pym’s face lit up with joy. He rushed forward and pulled them into his arms.
Meanwhile, Wanda pressed on with her Chaos Magic. Finally, with Lorien’s energy bolstering her, the last burst of light faded away, and the entrance to the Quantum Realm snapped shut.
But before it closed, Lorien caught sight of countless bubbles within.
"Phew~~~"
Wanda let out a long breath. As her magic subsided, the surrounding space returned to normal, the flames around her body dissipating. She stepped back to Lorien’s side and clung to his arm once more.
On the other side, the Ant-Man family clung together, overwhelmed by the miracle of survival. The second-generation Wasp wept as Hank embraced his wife and daughter tightly.
After a long while, they finally pulled apart.
The silver-haired first-generation Wasp, Janet van Dyne, scanned the area before locking her gaze on Lorien.
"In the Quantum Realm, the strongest presence I felt was yours. Were you the one guiding us?"
Lorien shook his head, then answered,
"Sort of."
Natasha, standing nearby, spoke up.
"What exactly is the Quantum Realm? What happened in there?"
It was a difficult question.
Scott and Hope couldn’t really put it into words—throughout their time inside, Janet had been leading them through the realm. So Janet spoke instead.
"When I first entered, the Quantum Realm was stable. I could survive."
"But after Scott came in, it began to shake and turn unstable."
"Then Hope entered as well."
"I know it wasn’t because of them."
"But it meant that what was once a stable Quantum Realm had become chaotic. Toward the end, it even started quaking."
"This shows the Quantum Realm is no longer normal. But what effect that has... we don’t know."
The Quantum Realm was said to be tied to reality, the universe, and the Multiverse. Yet not exactly. It was all about probability—like a battlefield where bullets fired from both sides might collide midair.
Scott added,
"If not for a force guiding us, we’d have been crushed to death by the bubbles inside."
"Wait."
Banner interjected.
"What bubbles? What did they look like?"
Scott gestured with his hands, then explained,
"They were multicolored bubbles, layered upon each other, larger than worlds themselves—constantly merging, overlapping, colliding."
Banner nodded thoughtfully, jotting it down in his notebook. Any detail about the Quantum Realm was valuable.
But only Lorien truly understood what Scott was describing.
After glancing around and seeing no danger, he turned to Natasha.
"We’ve got things to do this afternoon. We’ll head back."
"Huh? Already?" Natasha blinked. "So urgent? No, wait—"
Lorien waved dismissively, cutting her off. Wanda swept her hand, conjuring a crimson portal. The three of them stepped through, the gate closing behind them.
The Ant-Man family was left staring.
Saved their lives—and didn’t even want thanks?
But truly, Lorien hadn’t needed it. He had only wanted Wanda and Gwen to see for themselves—and for Wanda to get some early practice.
...
Back at home, Wanda clung to Lorien’s arm as the three of them settled into the Little Universe. Finally, she asked,
"Lorien, did you discover something?"
Gwen, sitting beside her, nodded firmly. She too was sure Lorien had learned something. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have left without staying to hear more.
Lorien raised his hand, and the words Scott had spoken earlier took form before them.
"Remember when I told you there are universes beyond this one?"
Wanda and Gwen nodded.
"That’s the Multiverse."
As he spoke, Lorien shaped the image of bubbles before them.
"The Multiverse is an infinite expansion of universes, each with the same general framework."
"The Natasha you know exists in every universe. The same goes for Hawkeye, Stephen, Banner, and the rest."
"Some remain the same, but others turn into enemies. Some even change species—humans becoming animals, or even changing genders."
"But now... something seems wrong."
Wanda and Gwen froze.
They exchanged glances, then voiced the same worry.
"What about us, with you?"
"In other universes, are we still together?"
The thought unsettled them. What if, in another universe, they were enemies? What if they weren’t lovers?
Lorien smiled and shook his head.
"That depends on the rules of parallel universes within the Multiverse—things like numbering and major events."
"If you want the details, kiss me. The more kisses, the more I’ll tell you..."
Mwah mwah mwah mwah
Before he could finish, his face was already covered in lip prints.