HCB Chapter 465 Time Reset, The Gradually Complete Puzzle Piece
Chapter 465 Time Reset, The Gradually Complete Puzzle Piece
Chapter 465 Time Reset, The Gradually Complete Puzzle Piece
Owl sat quietly alone in the chair of the owl spaceship, indifferently watching Batman's dying struggle on the screen in front of him.
Those things... those desperate struggles and cries, were all things he had experienced.
He had also rebelled against anti-surveillance in the same way...
But those things are gone, never to return.
Night Owl thought.
He knew that Batman still had a chance to reverse time, and he knew that restarting the timeline would be Batman's last trump card, but soon he would feel that it was just the final despair, the deepest despair.
Restarting the timeline will only delay things; it won't change anything.
The Anti-Monitor is not an enemy that a single universe can face.
He is like a bottomless pool of water; what he reveals is far less than what he hides.
Watching Batman struggle desperately now, Owl feels like he's looking at his past self.
Really...
It makes people feel unhappy.
……
……
……
"Laughter wildly."
The Bat Who Laughs turned around impatiently and saw the Killing Machine appear for the second time in the cave where he was temporarily staying, responsible for relaying orders to him.
"Barbatos demands that we quickly construct a 'Dark Spire' using the materials currently available in this universe to act as a conductor of dark energy."
(Note: The Dark Spire is actually used to capture all living beings and make them suffer nightmares, serving as a living battery for Barbatos, the dragon of the Dark Multiverse. During Dark Nights: Metal, Barbatos built such structures in several locations in the main universe and even hung the three giants on the towers at one point.)
The Bat Who Laughs didn't speak, then he tapped the table with his finger: "Have you finished building it?"
"Yes, maniacal laughter. We need to use the dark power within us to connect with Lord Barbatos and help him destroy this dark multiverse we are in now, so that he can accomplish what he wants to do."
The killing machine said, "Everyone is waiting for you."
"Then what are we waiting for?" said the Bat of Laughter. "Let's go!"
His tone was somewhat light, and he seemed to be fine, which relieved the killing machine.
The Laughing Bat followed him away from the only remaining building. There were no ruins left around. Several Dark Knights worked together, and with the help of the Red Death Demon's speed and the endless army of dead water summoned by the drowned vengeful spirits, they built a tall spire in a short time.
Countless living and half-dead people throughout the Dark Multiverse are hung on the Dark Spire. This is the Dark Multiverse, where even the flow of time is controlled by Barbatos. As long as he helps his chosen people of the Dark Knights, no matter how terrifying the architectural wonders are, they are nothing more than things he can do with a flick of his finger.
Barbatos set up this formation, and every member of the Dark Knights knew what he was up to.
They appeared at the top of the Dark Spire, then obediently placed their hands in the spots reserved for them at the top, using their bodies as lightning rods to guide Barbatos' power.
Buzzing...
With the humming of the dark spire, purplish-black dark energy condensed into lightning, and a large amount of black mist condensed into clouds, with thunder and lightning flashing around the dark spire.
The world... the world is collapsing.
The city is now in ruins, the seabed is littered with the corpses of Atlanteans, the sky is dark, and an alien planet in the universe, unaffected by Earth's destruction and still thriving, is heading towards Earth, ready to wipe out the rioters who destroyed the planet. This universe's Green Lantern Corps from the planet Oa...
In an instant, they were completely annihilated at a speed that they could not react to. The universe collapsed and was destroyed in a way that no living being could imagine.
There was no time, no space, no mass, no matter, no antimatter—nothing at all. The dark multiverse dragon named Barbatos devoured the entire universe in an instant, leaving only an empty shell. It didn't even spare the Dark Spire.
The Dark Knights looked down into the empty shell of the universe, where countless creatures stained with black energy wailed. They were the remnants of this dark multiverse, some undead—
No, calling them undead might be a bit of an exaggeration, but they are not living beings either. They are merely creatures that continue to exist by relying on Barbatos' dark energy. They are Barbatos' slaves, and they can only wail in this empty shell world forever, surviving in the cracks of the dark multiverse.
This is the fate that all beings in the Dark Multiverse will eventually experience, and Barbatos has simply brought it forward, just to extract enough dark power... so that while he is devouring the corpses of the Worldmaker, he will also have the spare power to interfere with the birth of the Anti-Monitor Batman.
"Lord Barbatos even ate the television set we just finished building."
The Red Death Demon said.
His voice was hoarse, deep, with a standard blues-style phlegm-filled tone, but the words he spoke were very Barry Allen:
"So where will we watch our TV again?"
"Let's go straight to the next Dark Multiverse," the Bat Who Laughs shrugged and said.
"But Barbatos made us wait in this dark multiverse, and once the Anti-Monitor Batman is really born, we'll..."
"That was before he even set out to do this," said the Batman Who Laughs. "The Batman of that universe will soon have to accept Barbatos's gift. Hmm, I can almost guess what he'll do."
"Show your power, then let Batman struggle until he has no other choice. And then obediently accept his power, right?"
The Batman Who Laughs tugged at his somewhat bewildered Robin Hound and said, "He was doing that all along before he found me, but as I said, artificially cultivated weapons are still no match for naturally grown Dark Flowers—right, everyone?"
The Batman Who Laughs pointed somewhat erratically at the other members of the Dark Knights. Despite his madness, the Knights generally agreed with what he said.
They had seen many worlds that had been forcibly matured by Barbatos's power, but things like the War Bat and the Bat Leniak were inferior...
How could we possibly compare to them?
"However...hmm...this Anti-Monitor Batman might be a bit special." The Batman Who Laughs stroked his chin.
"His intentions are too obvious. He wouldn't be so concerned if it were just a Batman from the Dark Multiverse. Unless..."
The Bat Who Laughs paused, seemingly waiting for the other members of the Dark Knights to give the answer he already guessed, but the remaining four members looked at each other blankly.
"Well, well, this is boring," he said. "I think... he'd want his own dark dragon."
"A Barbatos of his own."
(Note: Here, the Bat of Laughter refers to Barbatos, the dragon of the Dark Multiverse. Although he turned against his master, the World Maker, and usurped his authority to become the World Maker himself, the result was that Barbatos's own duty, namely "guarding the World Forge and destroying the world," was no longer fulfilled.)
In the original comic book storyline, Barbatos used his dark powers to corrupt Hawkman of the main world, turning him into his "Dark Dragon." However, with Chen Tao's appearance, he seems to have a better option now.
The members of the Dark Knights remained silent.
"So we have plenty of time to go to another nearby Dark Multiverse to rest and recuperate. We'll see if the Batman of that world is qualified to join. We'll test him. It won't take much time. Then we'll build the TV you want, Red Death."
The Batman Who Laughs said, "Once that Batman has struggled to the point of exhaustion and fully accepted Barbatos's power, we will set off to guide him and bring him back to the bottom of the Forge of the World, just as Lord Barbatos wishes us to do."
He asked, "Does anyone else have any objections?"
Red Death Knight raised his hands like Barry Allen.
"Once we get to that new world, I'll build the TV first, and then I'll go and investigate the Batman of that world."
"Absolutely," said the Laughing Bat.
"That's all," said the Crimson Death Demon.
"Let's go."
……
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"I'm sorry, Barry."
Barry Allen had just woken up when he saw Batman's face appear in front of him.
The young soldier recalled the scene before he lost consciousness.
Then, the next moment, Chen Tao told him everything that had happened during his coma, and immediately the Flash understood what he should do next.
"I assure you, I have the last piece of the puzzle."
Chen Tao said, "But before that... I need time."
"And what I'm best at is playing with time."
Barry said.
"What do you want me to do?"
"There have always been three speedsters in our current universe. You, me, and Johnny Speeder."
"The three of us shared too much of the Speed Force, which meant that none of us were fast enough to reverse time."
"I tampered with Johnny Quick's body, causing him to die at the hands of Thunder Zamza, and I stole his Speed Force."
Before Chen Tao could finish speaking, Barry resolutely stood up.
Not far away, the revolver that William Hand had just used to shoot himself was still lying quietly on the ground. Barry Allen picked up the revolver and then held it up to his head.
"I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush," Chen Tao said. "You know I can synchronize with Batmen in other parallel universes, but Red Death..."
"Essentially, it's a combination of Barry Allen and Bruce Wayne."
"I want to try to replicate his birth process, but that would mean you might be taking a risk..."
"So when do we make our move?"
"What?"
"When do I make my move?"
Barry Allen said, "If this is the only way to fix our world and save everyone, I'm willing to do what I have to do."
Barry finally adjusted the revolver to a suitable angle and then pressed it against his head.
He slightly raised his head, his face showing the same fearless expression as William Hand:
He said slowly and deliberately, "You know, many years ago... I... I've been waiting for this moment, this great moment."
"What?"
"When I gained my power, I had already anticipated that I might die because of it."
When fighting the Rogues, when Darkseid invaded, when confronting Gerudo…
He said, "I had this realization many, many years ago."
He said, "I'm sorry."
"It's hard to say this decision, isn't it?"
Which is harder: the determination to save the world at all costs, or the courage to sacrifice oneself?
"Should I be brave like Alberdeswan, or just survive?"
Barry said, "I don't know."
"No one will die," he heard Batman say. "If my plan succeeds, I can restore the entire universe... I... I will never abandon anyone. I'm sorry."
"I'm so sorry," Barry said. "I'm really sorry to have put you through all this; it's been so cruel."
However, the next moment, Batman transmitted to him through his memories the correct way to provide power to Batman, so Barry awkwardly put down his revolver.
"Oh, what? So he didn't destroy himself after all. In the memories you sent me, William Hand destroyed himself, and I thought..."
However, even if that weren't the case, for Barry, it was still no different from that.
He pulled out the octopus-like generator that Batman had once given him, knowing that Batman had prepared what he wanted to do on it.
Barry started running, and he sped across the earth.
He ran very fast, incredibly fast, even faster than he had ever run on the cosmic treadmill. Meanwhile, Chen Tao outside had already synchronized with Red Death Demon and made the necessary preparations.
The next moment... time began to reverse, and the heart of the anti-surveillance agent trembled in sync.
The influence of Barbatos, the psychic power of Starro the conqueror of the universe guided by Gretel, and the boost from Barry Allen, the Flash.
All the pieces of the puzzle... are now complete.
Deep within the universe, the night owl coldly observes all of this...
"Struggle, Batman, keep struggling, just like I have."
"Those who entrusted everything to you, those who entrusted the hopes of the whole world to you, they believed in you, they were willing to die for you, they were brave, they were loyal, and you will ultimately betray them, betray everyone."
"That's why I gave up."
"This is too heavy... far too heavy."
(End of this chapter)