Chapter 121: The Dimension of Water

"How long will you be gone?" Stephen Strange asked, aware that Arthur was heading into the multiverse to cultivate his powers.

"I’m not sure, probably about ten days or so. I’ve found a great place to enhance my strength," Arthur replied.

Stephen nodded and bid Arthur farewell. Arthur instructed Mordo to inform Wanda, should she emerge, that he had traveled to another universe. Mordo, standing beside Stephen, nodded in acknowledgment. Arthur brought out his Sling Ring and swept his right hand through the air, manifesting a blue portal. Inside, one could see the surface of an ocean.

"Did you find the wrong place? It’s nothing but seawater in there," Stephen Strange asked, peering into the portal.

"No, this is exactly where I intended to go. Goodbye, then," Arthur said. With that, he leaped into the portal, vanishing into the sea, and the portal closed behind him.

"Why is his portal a different color than ours?" Stephen Strange asked, clearly puzzled by the blue hue of Arthur's gateway.

"The Ancient One once said that Arthur utilizes his own internal energy, which differs from the multiversal energy we draw upon," Mordo explained from the side.

"I see. I’m going back to my studies," Stephen Strange said, heading toward the library. Ever since he had mastered the basics of magic, he had stopped attending formal classes, preferring to seclude himself in his room for self-study.

Mordo glanced at Stephen Strange. The man had always been headstrong, and realizing there was little to be said, Mordo turned and walked away.

After diving into the ocean, Arthur shot upward, soaring higher and higher until he breached the planet's atmosphere and left the blue world behind. Once in space, Arthur saw countless blue planets. He was enveloped in the red energy of the Reality Stone, which altered the environment around him, allowing him to breathe freely even in the vacuum of space.

In truth, this universe was so saturated with water elemental energy that he could have survived by absorbing it, but he remained accustomed to breathing air.

Though he had been to space before, Arthur was struck once again by the sight of this universe. Every celestial body was blue, with many encased in thick layers of ice. The entire cosmos radiated a blue glow; he had yet to see a single star that burned like a sun, resulting in an incredibly low temperature throughout the universe.

Arthur felt the vast presence of water elements in this domain. He sought its core, sensing a direction where the water essence grew increasingly dense. With a flash of red light, he surged forward at tremendous speed.

In the weightless expanse of space, Arthur moved at near-light speed. Protected by the power of the Reality Stone, he suffered no injury from colliding with passing meteorites. He moved as if intangible, his body appearing translucent under the shroud of red energy, passing straight through the floating rocks. From a distance, he looked like a glowing comet streaking through the void.

Arthur lost track of time, but after what felt like many days, he finally reached the edge of the universe's core region. Here, the water elemental energy was even more potent. The planets were all shades of blue, covered in water and glaciers. Even the meteorites drifting through space were encased in ice, a testament to the overwhelming abundance of water elements.

Never had Arthur felt so comfortable. He chose a massive, ice-covered white planet and descended to its surface. The world was perpetually gripped by blizzards. He landed on a colossal mountain of ice and touched its surface, causing the mountain to open and reveal a cavity large enough for him to enter.

As he moved deeper, he channeled his water-manipulation abilities, bolstered by the Reality Stone, to carve out a cavern the size of a football field. "Perfect," he thought. This would be his secret base. Using his powers, he fashioned a throne from the ice—the Frozen Throne.

Arthur recalled the methods for communicating with the multiverse found in the Book of Cagliostro. Although the page detailing the ritual had been torn out and taken by Kaecilius, Arthur had consulted the Ancient One. Initially, she had been reluctant to teach him, fearing that, like Kaecilius, Arthur might succumb to corruption in his pursuit of infinite power by tapping into the Dark Dimension.

Though the Ancient One herself drew upon the Dark Dimension—using its energy to sustain her own immortality—she knew it was among the most potent of all multiversal forces. Arthur, however, had no need for the Dark Dimension; once he discovered the existence of this Water Universe, he had specifically sought the ritual for energy communion.

After Arthur’s repeated assurances, the Ancient One finally relented. Standing in the center of the ice cavern, Arthur began to chant a complex incantation, his hands tracing a strange sigil in the air. A blue symbol manifested before him, and a mysterious, circular magic circle formed around him.

Suddenly, Arthur felt an influx of boundless energy flooding his body. A miniature projection of the entire Water Universe appeared in his mind. Had anyone been standing nearby, they would have seen thin, glowing blue lines of energy coursing through his veins beneath his skin.

Arthur opened his eyes; they had turned a piercing, ethereal blue, glowing with a faint, uncanny light. He felt more powerful than ever before, as if his internal reserves were truly infinite.

He stepped out of the cavern and raised his hands. The ice mountain beneath him began to tremble violently, rising higher as the ice beneath it shattered. Great pillars of water erupted through the frozen surface, surging toward the sky. Arthur leaped onto one of the columns.

Countless other streams of water converged toward him, merging and thickening until, under his control, they formed a massive, translucent serpent. Standing atop the serpent’s head, Arthur stomped his foot, and in an instant, the creature froze solid, becoming a colossal ice sculpture.

Arthur looked upon his handiwork with satisfaction. This was the result of using only a fraction of his water-magic energy. He realized that if he exerted his full power, he could likely freeze an entire water-covered planet in a single stroke.

He floated into the air, his trident appearing in his hand. He pointed it at the ice serpent, and a massive surge of blue energy erupted from the weapon, shattering the sculpture instantly and obliterating the entire mountain. Countless massive chunks of ice fell, crashing through the frozen surface into the sea below.

Arthur was deeply satisfied with the display. This power far exceeded what he could achieve with the Reality Stone alone. Even Ultron’s vibranium body, he mused, would likely not survive such a blow.

Of course, the environmental factor played a role; once he left this universe, his power would wane. But as long as he could employ the ritual magic circle, he could draw upon this infinite reservoir of energy whenever he chose.