Might of will

Om stood up in his Genesis Labs office, his heart racing from a vivid nightmare that felt more real than any dream. The visions haunted him: a strange man in a flowing red cape, another with a gleaming shield, and a massive figure wielding unimaginable power who gripped his neck. These shadowy figures lingered in his mind, as though calling to him, connected somehow to the devastation he had just endured. He couldn't shake the feeling that these images weren't mere fantasies; they felt like warnings, or fragments of a world just beyond his reach.

As Om steadied himself, he noticed his father struggling with his own injuries but bearing a solemn expression. Olek placed a hand on Om's shoulder, his voice rough with sorrow. "It's time… to bury her." The gravity in his father's voice nearly crushed him, and though he didn't want to let her go, Om knew he had to do it.

They gathered in silence, dusty, injured, and drained, their only witnesses being the crumbling remnants of the lab around them. Om carefully helped his father as they laid Iryna's body beneath an ancient oak tree near the building. Om's fingers trembled as he placed a small token from her belongings beside her, trying to anchor some part of her spirit in this final resting place. The silence deepened, the weight of grief settling over them. As the dirt filled in around her, Om couldn't stop the silent tears that streamed down his face. The loss of his mother left a hollowness within him, a gaping wound that no amount of resolve could mask. They each lingered there for a moment, saying their goodbyes in their own way, but Om remained longest, a part of him unwilling to leave.

Back in the office, Om noticed Wanda curled up, her face buried against her knees, while Pietro tried to console her. But even his comforting words couldn't contain Wanda's grief. Her emotions surged uncontrollably, and suddenly, her fingertips began to glow faintly with a reddish energy, flickering like embers before vanishing. This strange power left her and her siblings stunned, and Pietro's worried eyes turned to Om, searching for guidance. Wanda's grief had clearly triggered something within her—a force neither Om nor Pietro could explain.

Troubled by what he had just witnessed, Om resolved to keep the family united, hoping to find answers in due time. However, before long, he knew it was time to confront his father. Sensing his son's internal struggle, Olek finally opened up, revealing secrets long kept in the dark. Sitting down with Om, Wanda, and Pietro, Olek recounted how Om had entered their lives—an adopted son with a mysterious past and an unmatched resilience. Om's selflessness had once saved Pietro's life, a memory buried deep within them all. But now, these revelations stirred something profound in Om. For Wanda and Pietro, the bond they shared with Om remained unchanged, but for Om, this newfound knowledge hinted that his visions and dreams held more meaning than he had realized.

The revelation drove Om to revisit the visions with a renewed urgency. The dreams he'd dismissed now demanded his full concentration. His heart weighed heavily with a sense of regret, as if he'd failed to prevent the events that had unfolded.

In the interim, Om took charge of his siblings' wellbeing. He managed to make a makeshift bed from the office couches, creating a space for Pietro and Wanda to rest. Genesis Labs had remained closed since the surrounding area was largely destroyed, but the office's layout still offered them some sanctuary. The outer chambers, meant for guests, offered basic comforts. Meanwhile, Om's personal office, located in the deepest part of the building, held his lab and all the equipment he needed to analyze recent events. As the company's manager arrived to offer help, he ensured the family had access to necessary supplies, helping them stabilize in the immediate aftermath.

Once Om handled these urgent needs, he finally returned to his lab, intent on understanding the connection between his visions and reality. He called on Aether, his AI, to retrieve any relevant data fragments from the attack, hoping to piece together the mystery. The information Aether uncovered left him deeply troubled: the remnants of the explosive devices were linked to Stark Industries technology, but modified beyond military grade with intricate enhancements. Symbols etched on the devices suggested an organization even more dangerous than the Ten Rings—one that operated covertly, hidden behind layers of secrecy.

As Aether processed encrypted networks, Om made a disturbing connection. The same day as his family's tragedy, Tony Stark himself had been ambushed and kidnapped. The two events had happened at the same time so, TS's situation might not be mere coincidence. A suspicion crept over Om; the weapons that had torn his family apart had been crafted by Stark Industries. Did Stark, knowingly or unknowingly, play a role in the devastation? He'd never met Stark, but the man's reputation didn't align with the actions of someone who would bring such harm to families. And yet, the evidence gnawed at him, the visions merging with reality to form a bitter doubt.

He closed his eyes, breathing slowly, letting his mind drift. Strange, fragmented memories came to him in flickers, images of a world vastly different from anything he'd known firsthand. He glimpsed towering cities, technological marvels mixed with shadows of something… modern. Magic, perhaps. He could almost feel the pulse of energies he hadn't yet understood—forces that shaped the world itself. Among them, flashes of complex machines, lights and arcs of energy, and a feeling of incredible, almost tangible power left impressions upon his mind.

Then, a clearer image struck him—a man dressed in sleek metal, flying through the air with blinding speed, his presence overwhelming, like a god. Yet it wasn't the figure itself that commanded Om's attention—it was the small, gleaming device at the figure's chest. The blue glow, the intense hum of energy, resonated with a clarity that left Om breathless. He remembered it—the Arc Reactor. It was a marvel of technology, seemingly compact, yet housing an energy source unlike anything in existence. It was as though it combined the magic he felt and the scientific advances he understood, bridged through will and engineering brilliance.

The memories were partial, but their implications lingered: this world he remembered was alive with both wonder and danger. Unseen forces, too powerful for most to comprehend, wove their way through its core. And Tony Stark—the man he'd just learned of through Aether's discovery on him being discovered—was somehow at the center of it all. In the visions, Stark was more than a man of flawed fame; he was a creator, a force. A beacon, perhaps, of hope and unimaginable power.

Om's mind turned over the significance of these memories, drawing connections between the fantastical and the real. This was a world of magic and science, of threats and guardians. It was a place where people wielded powers beyond imagination, where technology pushed the very boundaries of reality itself. He remembered brief flashes of these beings—some noble, others dangerous. Protectors and destroyers, bound by a force that made them neither wholly human nor entirely otherworldly.

But as these fragments drifted through his consciousness, something darker crept in—a chilling understanding of the dangers that awaited. The vision of Stark with the Arc Reactor wasn't merely a memory; it was a warning. There were powers, and people, willing to manipulate this energy for control, for domination, and for violence. 

Om opened his eyes, his heart pounding. He realized that this other world—the one in his memories—wasn't just a backdrop. It was intertwined with his reality. The vision of Tony Stark, the knowledge of forces that moved unseen, the memory of ancient magic mingling with advanced tech… It all fit together. He understood now that this place was his world too. And that world demanded both answers and action. The scars from his family's recent tragedy were stark reminders that compelled to forget of the situation and work for the execution of the plan made by Om and so he had to accomplish that.

Taking a deep breath, he resolved to capture these memories, to find every piece he could. This was no ordinary life; it was a battlefield of brilliance and strength, and he needed to be ready. He'd continue seeking clues about Stark, about the group responsible for his mother's death, and about any other glimpses his memories could provide. For the dangers surrounding him, he now saw, were part of a much larger conflict—a war in which he and his family had been thrust into unknowingly.

Om turned to Aether, setting in motion algorithms to analyze Stark's technology, the Arc Reactor, anything that could bring him closer to the truth. For now, he had only fragments, but he knew it was enough to begin. This world of magic, tech, and powers beyond imagination was as real as anything he'd ever known. And it would be his task to uncover its secrets, one memory at a time.

Trying to clear his mind, Om reflected on the Tony Stark of his dreams. In those visions, Stark was a man of principles, someone with a sense of responsibility. Yet the Tony of this world seemed reckless, a playboy known for his dangerous inventions. Om struggled to reconcile these two versions of Stark, wondering if the vision he saw represented a different man—a Stark from another reality. Confusion lingered, but Om's doubts hardened into a simmering resentment, his mind tying Stark to the loss of his mother.

Driven to unravel the truth of this world, Om began analyzing the scattered details from his dreams and memories, piecing together the fragmented images. The dreams hinted at two distinct worlds—one marked by ordinary struggles, the other by supernatural forces. And as Om reviewed the patterns of events, he realized that his memories contained regrets from a past life, a place where he felt he'd left something vital unfinished. The pieces finally fell into place, each memory, each vision, whispering that he'd once lived in a different world—a world layered in purpose, one where he held a duty he'd somehow forgotten.

Resolved to understand his place in this new reality, Om upgraded Aether, embedding more advanced algorithms to break encrypted files and dive into classified data. The journey before him was becoming clear: he would use his dreams, his past memories, and whatever traces he could gather to navigate this world. He would search for the truth, not just to honor his mother's memory, but to find the purpose that had once guided him. And deep inside, he sensed a force greater than himself stirring, ready to guide him and his family through the shadows in pursuit of answers.

The chapter closes with Om alone in his lab, his eyes fixed on a holographic display filled with encrypted files, coordinates, and fragmented data. As Aether pulls up a image of Tony Stark, which was now held captive somewhere in a desert cave, Om's gaze sharpens with purpose. He will find Stark. He will uncover the truth. And, if Stark had any role in the destruction of his family, he would make him pay.

For now, Om's journey has only just begun. But he is no longer alone, and a power beyond comprehension has begun to awaken within him, waiting to lead him and his family forward into the unknown.