The prison's once perfectly flat ground suddenly began to bulge.
Unlike a typical elevation of the ground, this anomaly resembled a rock piercing through the mind's prison.
It felt as though something was about to emerge from within.
And this... was just the beginning.
Yet, no one paid attention to this change—not even Bruce, who had always been monitoring the condition of the prison inside his mind, had noticed it this time.
After all, what stood before them now could only be described as the ultimate mastermind behind the multiversal collision.
As Doctor Doom spoke, a voice emerged once more from within the fissure of white light.
"How about this title... Doom?" The voice paused briefly, then continued its monologue. "Insignificant mortals, deluded ants dreaming of shaking a mighty tree."
"Fool! I am Doom the Destroyer. I have annihilated countless worlds just to mock you. I have torn apart countless universes just to ridicule you!" Doctor Doom stared unflinchingly at the white rift before him and shouted, "Face me with your true form—if you dare!"
Clearly, Doctor Doom's audacity surpassed what anyone could have imagined.
Was it boldness, or madness? Even Bruce struggled to find the right word to describe him in this moment.
But Bruce understood one thing clearly: when facing an entity beyond even the gods, the only course of action available to him was the same as Doom's—fight.
A swarm of figures surged from the rift.
As they approached, everyone could now clearly see what they were—an army of mechanical soldiers.
They couldn't possibly be the transcendent gods themselves, nor the true culprits behind the multiversal collision, because they looked nothing like the figures Bruce had observed outside the multiverse.
"I said no one will ever speak the name of the Transcendent Gods again, because I will erase you from history!" Doom declared with conviction as he hurled the cube they had long prepared toward the mechanical invaders.
From the moment Molecule Man showed him that device, Doom had understood its purpose.
Using the bombs that once destroyed universes to destroy their creators—wasn't that poetic justice?
Bruce had originally intended to stop Doom. After all, no matter how many of these mechanical beings were destroyed, the Transcendent Gods wouldn't care. These were merely disposable tools.
But it was too late. The cube had already cracked open at its core, releasing a magnificent purple light that swept across the void, even overwhelming the white light emanating from the gods' side.
"You dare test us."
"You dare mock us."
"Then I shall repay you tenfold! Curse your actions! Curse the price you will pay!"
"This time, you shall perish without exception!"
The four people standing on the space-time transport device widened their eyes in shock, and Doom even shouted aloud.
In the next instant, a brilliant light surged before them, the purple aura completely outshining the white light pouring from the rift.
But the purple light only lingered for a moment. In the very next second, a chilling white radiance enveloped all four of them.
Many believe the white light seen before death is just a desperate signal from the brain—a final electric cry as the neurons shut down.
But that's not the truth.
That dazzling light... is divinity.
It has always been with us.
At that moment, on Earth-616, in the grand Wakandan cemetery, Mr. Fantastic—Reed Richards—and the Black Panther stood before an instrument, mouths agape.
"My God! Did you see that? Just now—"
Mr. Fantastic didn't finish his sentence, because the Black Panther had already cut in.
"There must be a mistake... That's impossible."
"The diagnostics show the Bridge is functioning normally. This isn't a false reading—the data is correct. What we saw is real." Reed looked at the device with despair in his eyes, hope completely drained. "Just like that, without any explanation, the number of universes dropped from hundreds—thousands—to fewer than twenty-four."
(The "Bridge" is the device used by the Illuminati to monitor the number of universes.)
"We're out of time. It's all over. Everything is gone," Black Panther said as the flame in his heart was fully extinguished.
They could no longer foresee their future, nor understand what fate awaited their universe.
No... that much, they did know.
They were about to face death.
Reed immediately relayed the message to all heroes. They now had to worry not just about how to avoid destroying other worlds—
But also about how to avoid being destroyed by others.
Because Reed didn't believe for a second that those from other universes would fail to realize that their own worlds were also on the brink of annihilation.
More importantly, there was one thing he didn't know: Was the Doomsday Ark completed yet? When would it be ready? Still, he had faith in his daughter, who would deliver a satisfactory answer when the time came.
Valeria Richards, daughter of Mr. Fantastic, in the Baxter Building.
At that moment, she was organizing her friends and siblings to continue construction.
Behind her, a countdown timer hovered in the air—calculated by Mr. Fantastic and the others—showing the projected date of the collision. Once time ran out, what awaited them would be nothing short of the end of the world.
After speaking with her group and addressing their growing despair, Valeria shouted:
"We don't have a winning chance—so there's only one option left: don't give up! That's what the Doomsday Ark is for! So get back to work!"
Hearing her, the others turned around and resumed building the Ark. Valeria stood in place, muttering to herself:
"Otherwise, we—this elite team of scientists, engineers, architects, meant to reboot human civilization—won't even have a way to escape. This is our last hope."
Just like Earth-616, Earth-1610 was also making preparations.
During Bruce's absence, Reed and Nick Fury—those who advocated for destroying the other Earth—had fully taken control.
They had completely imprisoned Jessica and her team in the Batcave, forbidding them from leaving.
They had launched a full-scale military preparation, ready to respond to any scenario of collision.
Countless warships and sky-carriers had been built. The entire world was operating at maximum capacity to produce combat aircraft and equipment.
Everything they did was to protect their own Earth.
The originally unequal flow of time between the two Earths was now beginning to sync.
Four days passed in silence—offering hardly any time to prepare.
"Richards, how much time do we have left?" Nick Fury asked from inside the Helicarrier, turning to Reed.
"All things must end. Most lifeforms across the multiverse are already gone. Now..." Reed pulled up a simulation map of the multiverse. "Only our universe and theirs remain. The two Earths will soon begin their collision. Other than fighting, what choice do we have?"
"I need to go check on the cities' status. I'm leaving now."
The Creator didn't wait for Fury's response and left immediately.
But he believed Nick Fury would make the right choice.
More importantly, he had recently encountered a group claiming to come from another universe.
He hadn't told Fury or S.H.I.E.L.D. about this.
He needed to work with those people—to preserve the last spark of this universe.
"Are we really going to trust him?" Monica asked skeptically. After all, the Creator had once nearly succeeded in ruling the entire world.
"Reed Richards is a genius madman with the mental age of a thousand years. He once flattened half of Europe with a snap of his fingers. Of course we can't trust him," Nick Fury replied. He knew full well that if he trusted the Creator, he might as well kick his own head like a football.
But what else could he do now?
"Those on the other side..." Monica still wasn't entirely sure, because they already knew that on the other end of the collision was a civilization on Earth highly similar to their own.
In other words, countless lives could be lost in this invasion.
"Monica, our job is to protect Earth. So if it's either you or me who dies, then there's no need to hesitate."
Nick Fury gritted his teeth and finally stood up from his seat.
"All units prepare! Full-scale assault!"
With Nick Fury's command, S.H.I.E.L.D. launched all of their ships and remaining combat forces.
Meanwhile, the Creator had already returned to the city—now relocated from Europe to Manhattan, where it occupied a large area.
"I really don't understand why lie?" a deep voice sounded from behind the Creator.
"Hmm?" The Creator didn't quite understand what he meant.
"We completed every simulation and walked to the end of extinction. Nothing can be saved, there's no chance of victory. Nothing will be taken with us—so why lie?" the voice continued, and the Creator simply turned calmly to face the figure.
"This is called a diversion. I lied to buy more time. I gave them hope—because with hope, they'll believe they still have a chance. They'll fight harder. Isn't that exactly the kind of thing your Black Order would be happy to see?" The Creator didn't feel at all guilty for sending S.H.I.E.L.D. and the others to their deaths.
Those people would strike first, and the other Earth would react. While they clashed in chaos, the Creator would at least have a chance to do something truly meaningful.
Even if it was just for one hour.
"You humans are always scheming. There's no honor in fleeing Earth. People have the right to know that their end is near." At this moment, the figure stepped fully out of the shadows. He wore a suit of armor, and beneath the helmet was a purple face, with deep grooves etched across his chin.
Thanos clearly looked down on the Creator's methods.
Yet he couldn't actually say there was anything wrong with the Creator's logic.
Just as the Creator was about to respond, alarms blared from the city behind him—the two worlds had already begun to collide and invade one another.
Earth-1610's Iron Man led S.H.I.E.L.D.'s army directly into the other universe.
And Earth-616's superheroes didn't sit idly by.
They collided—Earth-616's heroes crashing into the iron tide of Earth-1610.
Explosions lit up the sky as 1610's iron forces were shattered by the superheroes, though they also dealt considerable damage to Earth-616.
The shockwaves of battle devastated many buildings.
Yet one building remained largely untouched—the Baxter Building, protected by an energy shield.
They were moving supplies to the Doomsday Ark, loading the necessary provisions.
Mister Fantastic had not misjudged—his daughter had completed preparations for the Doomsday Ark at the very moment the invasion began.
They were now waiting for the final cargo to arrive—the seed of humanity's rebirth.
And Earth-1610 wasn't the only one invading Earth-616; the heroes of 616 had also stormed into the 1610 world.
Both Earths were now simultaneously engulfed in war.
But it was clear to all—
Earth-1610 had little resistance left.
The superheroes had even toppled 1610's S.H.I.E.L.D.
In the final second before 1610's S.H.I.E.L.D. exploded, Nick Fury sent a final message to the Creator.
"This is the darkest hour of my dark life. I never imagined it would end like this. Fulfill your mission, Creator!" Before the Creator could reply, Nick Fury was gone.
The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. perished in flames, ending his long, dark journey.
But the Creator did not remain idle. At the very least, he heard Nick Fury's words—
And perhaps, that was his final farewell gift to an old comrade.
As the city's shield slowly lifted, everyone watched in horror as a world of technology far beyond humanity's comprehension released its weapons.
A vast fleet of ships surged toward Earth-616.
"Show these primitives what the future looks like!" the Creator's voice echoed.
At that moment, Miles, having just escaped, arrived above the city. He looked down, astonished by what he saw.
Meanwhile, Captain America and the others, still trapped in the Batcave, sensed that something was wrong.
The guards who had once watched them were gone—but the Creator's protective barrier outside still held firm.
There was no way out.
Then suddenly, Jessica noticed something strange happening with her symbiotic metal suit.
"Jessica, activate the Cosmic Treadmill." A small cluster of nanometal gathered in Jessica's palm and projected an image of Bruce.
Jessica stared at the nanomachine in her hand, realizing when Bruce had planted it on her.
That moment when he gently touched her face—wasn't for comfort, but to attach this device to her suit.
She quickly recovered from the shock and ran to the Cosmic Treadmill.
Looking at the machine, she grew frantic—it was too complex for her to understand.
But thankfully, Bruce had accounted for that. As she approached the Treadmill, the nanomachine jumped from her hand and integrated with it.
The others around her looked on in confusion.
Everything had happened too fast—they had been focused on the chaos outside and hadn't caught up to what was happening here.
As the Treadmill powered up, they instinctively thought Batman was returning—but no one appeared on it.
"Jessica, is it—" Captain America started to ask, but then the Treadmill erupted in a burst of golden Speed Force lightning.
In an instant, the entire Batcave was engulfed in the light.
Outside, the two Earths had already begun to collide.
Earth-616's Doomsday Ark launched immediately.
The two planets drew closer and closer, and the immense energy turned everything around them into pure white.
The Doomsday Ark traveled through the void, but no one noticed a small region on the other Earth wrapped in lightning, violently shaking.
In the next second, the two Earths collided completely—just like the white light Bruce and the others had seen before.
Only this time, that white light wasn't a symbol of hope—
It was the embodiment of destruction.
Everything turned to ash.
Whether Earth-1610 or Earth-616, all became dust in the white light—completely erased from history.
After the blinding light, all that remained was endless darkness.
And in that darkness, two eyes opened.
Two eyes hidden beneath a mask.
(End of Chapter)
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