“Reboot:The Unexpected Hero”

[SYSTEM STATUS: PHANTOM PROTOCOL – CRITICAL]

Host: Ethan Grey (formerly Peter Parker)

Status: Echo of the Paradox – Reality anchor unstable

Current Quest: "The Constant" (Final Decision)

Objective: Make the ultimate choice: Stabilize or Embrace the Paradox

Threat Level: TERMINAL

The Ruins of the Nexus

The shattered remnants of the Echo Nexus drifted in the void, swirling like cosmic debris caught in a slow-motion storm. Time had no meaning here—past, present, and future overlapped in broken fragments of what had once been.

Ethan stood in the center, the fading glow of his final attack still flickering across the shattered landscape. His breath was ragged, his body flickering between versions of himself.

The Architect was gone.

But so was the balance that had kept reality intact.

Behind him, Nova struggled to stay on her feet, her form still unstable, ghosting between timelines. The battle had drained her, just as it had drained him.

The system pulsed in his mind, one last time.

[SYSTEM ALERT: FINAL DECISION REQUIRED]

Option 1: Stabilize Yourself – Anchor permanently to one reality, losing all Phantom Protocol powers.

Option 2: Embrace the Paradox – Become a living multiversal constant, but lose all connection to humanity.

Warning: This choice is irreversible.

Ethan exhaled slowly, staring at the choice in front of him. Either way, this was the end of the journey.

If he stabilized, he could finally live a normal life. No more battles, no more cosmic threats—just Ethan Grey, a man who once fought gods and broke time itself.

If he embraced the Paradox, he would become something more—a being no longer bound by time or space, existing across every reality but never truly belonging to any of them.

He turned to Nova, searching for an answer in her eyes.

"I don't know what to do," he admitted.

Nova, still battered and bruised, gave him a weak smirk. "That's a first."

She stepped closer, her expression softening. "You've spent so long fighting for control over your own life. Maybe it's time to finally choose who you want to be—not what the system, Kang, or The Architect wanted."

Ethan clenched his fists. "But if I stabilize, I lose everything."

Nova shrugged. "Maybe. But maybe… you gain something real."

His heart pounded.

Then, he made his choice.

Ethan Grey: The Constant

Ethan lifted his hand, fingers trembling, and selected:

[CHOICE MADE: EMBRACE THE PARADOX]

A pulse of energy erupted from his core.

Nova gasped as Ethan's form shifted—not flickering uncontrollably anymore, but stabilizing into something new.

His body glowed faintly, like a living silhouette of shifting timelines. He was still Ethan Grey. But he was also something… more.

No longer a glitch. No longer a mistake.

A constant.

A guardian of the multiverse itself.

[SYSTEM OVERRIDE: FINAL UPGRADE ACTIVATED]

Title Unlocked: The Constant – A being that exists across all realities, immune to temporal and spatial collapse.

Ability Unlocked: Paradox Shift – Travel between realities at will, maintaining absolute stability.

Penalty: No fixed place in time. No true home.

Ethan turned to Nova, who stared at him in awe.

"This is who I am now," he said, his voice steady but laced with something… unearthly.

Nova's smirk returned, though her eyes held sadness. "Figures you'd choose the crazy option."

Ethan chuckled softly. "Did you really expect anything else?"

Epilogue – The First Shift

Nova watched as Ethan took a step forward—and vanished.

Not in a teleportation burst, not in a glitch—but like reality itself adjusted to accommodate his existence.

She exhaled, shaking her head. "Damn show-off."

Then she turned toward the fading Echo Nexus.

There was still work to do. New threats would come. The Architect was only the beginning.

But for the first time in her existence, Nova didn't feel alone.

Somewhere, across infinite realities… Ethan Grey was watching.

And if the multiverse ever needed him again—

He would be there.

The End… or The Beginning?