đ Chapter 40: The Heart of the Battle
Space above Earth no longer looked the same. Massive spectral crystals orbited the planet like moons, sending flashes of blue and black energy that tore through the atmosphere. The storm had begun⊠but it wasn't a weather stormâit was cosmic.
Inside the Watchtower, Batman stood at the center of the control room, eyes locked on the screens, flashing endless red alerts.
"Everything's moving at onceâŠ" he muttered.
"Kairos isn't thinking like a person⊠he thinks like a breathing universe."
**
Beneath the tower, Ben stood in a lower lab, preparing himself. The new watch pulsed on his wristânot with the beat of a weapon, but of a living will.
Supergirl stepped closer, wearing an upgraded suit infused with Kryptonian shielding.
"Ready?" she asked.
He didn't turn.
"Doesn't matter if I'm ready⊠what matters is I'm not running."
Green Lantern entered the room carrying a battle helmet and a holographic map of the space around Earth.
"The primary rift is at the core of the main crystal," he explained. "But we're detecting secondary gates forming across the planet. He's attacking from every angle."
**
Then, the skies tore open.
From the rift, a massive crystal hand of Kairos emerged, stretching across space like a continent. It began building a bridge of energy linking his dimension to Earth.
From deep within the crystals, swarms of creaturesâborn of shadow and lightâdescended. They didn't belong to any known world.
Suddenly, a massive portal opened above the Atlantic Ocean. Emerging from it was the Quinj-Jet, piloted by Hawkman, followed by fleets from alternate realitiesâworlds that had responded to the call of the Multiversal Alliance.
At the front stood Kevinâon a hovercraftâbeside Gwen, holding a glowing black book etched with Galvanic markings.
"Didn't think we'd reach you this fast," Kevin said with a smirk.
"But looks like you really did need us."
Ben laughed quietly, locking eyes with his old friends.
"I've been waiting for you⊠since the day I got here."
**
Inside the command center, Wonder Woman and Superman assembled the heroes in a defensive formation.
Superman spoke firmly:
"Kairos doesn't fight to win. He fights to reshape everything. We stop him before he reaches the core."
Ben added with calm certainty:
"The core isn't a place⊠the core is inside me."
A heavy silence fell. All eyes turned to Ben.
He was no longer just a boy with a watchâhe was the center of the storm.
**
Then, at a moment of perfect cosmic synchronization⊠the battle erupted.
The sky fractured into glowing shards.
The crystals unleashed seismic waves of energy.
The creatures charged, and Ben's watch flared like never before.
But the true surprise wasn't the attackâit was who joined the fight.
Heroes from parallel Earths emerged through smaller portals. Some were from future timelines, others from barely surviving realities that had escaped Kairos's infection.
They all came⊠because this was the final war.
**
In the sky, Ben flew beside Supergirl, with Kevin in metallic form behind them, and Gwen casting protective spells from her book of energy.
Then, Kairos fully manifestedâhis form crystalline and shadowed, half resembling Ben, half pulsing with collapsed starlight.
He opened his eyes and spoke, voice echoing from no clear direction:
> "I will not fight you.
You are fighting yourselves."
**
Ben replied, his watch glowing brighter than ever:
> "We're not your reflectionâŠ
We're our own choice."
**
And then came the first cryâ
A roar of light and fire,
The explosion of frequencies,
And the collision of entire realities.
This was⊠the heart of the battle.
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