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In a hall, an old man sat alone on a chair. He seemed to have been sitting there for a long time, and seemed to be waiting for someone.
"This is Clark?" Bruce narrowed his eyes as he looked at the old man's familiar face. He stepped into the portal and walked down the hall, somewhat unsure. He glanced at Bruce, who was wearing a hospital gown beside him, hoping to get a more accurate response from him.
Bruce in the hospital gown shook his head, indicating that he had no relevant memories.
"You're here." A hoarse male voice sounded from the front, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time. His voice sounded dry and dull.
"Clark? Is that you?" Bruce saw that Luke was just looking around with great interest and had no intention of responding or answering. After thinking about it, he took the initiative to stand up and talk to the old man.
"Of course. I am the Superman of this universe, but not the Clark you know." The old Superman admitted his identity.
"This is the core of the World Crucible. It is the origin of all multiverses." The old Superman stood up from his chair and introduced this mysterious place to everyone.
"All the universes you know were created here. The master of this place is the World Forger. His responsibility since his birth has been to create one multiverse after another.
But for some reason, the universes he created were not necessarily perfect and stable. So he would prune off those unstable universes like a gardener pruning branches."
"And that pair of scissors belongs to the Barbatos you are all familiar with, the God of the Dark Universe."
"I think something unexpected must have happened, right?" Bruce noticed that Luke did not stop him from communicating with the old Superman. As if he didn't hear what they said, he just looked around, as if something here was attracting him.
"That's how it was. One day, Barbatos grew tired of this duty, and he began secretly leaving behind some universes that needed to be destroyed. These universes became the dark universe that the Laughing Bat and his companions experienced.
But without destroying those unstable Dark Universes, there would be no return flow of energy back to the World Forge, which could eventually be exposed. So Barbatos killed his master, Alpheus the World Forger.
"What about you?" Bruce looked at the old Superman.
"The Justice League in my universe had a conflict with Barbatos. We couldn't kill it, but Diana used a power to suppress it under the World Crucible. The Justice League also suffered heavy casualties because of this war. In the end, it was decided that I would be the guardian of Barbatos and guard here." The old Superman answered Bruce's questions without hesitation.
"But Barbatos was able to reach an agreement with the Laughing Bat." Bruce pointed to the man in the hospital gown beside him. "It seems your guards are not playing their due role."
"You can't comprehend the immense power of Barbatos! He possesses limitless energy. We can only restrain his body, but we can't guarantee his spirit will find a loophole in the seal. But under the suppression of the World Crucible, even if there is a loophole, his spirit can't extend outward indefinitely for a long time.
It's not like there aren't others besides you who have found their way here. But the war is over."
"So, you want us to leave?" Luke suddenly asked.
"Of course, this is not the place you should come to!" said the old Superman.
"But what you are doing doesn't seem like you want us to leave. The space is being replaced, and that door is not where we came from after we pass through it." Luke pointed to the space door behind him that he had stepped through and had not yet closed.
Stephen and Bruce immediately grew cautious. A green light formed a batsuit on Bruce's body. This was his Lantern Ring suit. It could harness psychic energy to simulate the power of the emotional spectrum.
"Besides, the dark energy in your soul is even more intense than that of Dormammu. Disguise on the outside is meaningless, Barbatos."
Luke's words silenced the old Superman and Bruce.
Thick darkness began to emanate from the old Superman, like mercury pouring out of the ground, rapidly swallowing up the light in the surrounding space.
The land of light is shrinking, and darkness is covering the surroundings.
A massive black shadow obscured the sky like night, blotting out the sun and blocking out the light. Its broad, bat-like wings stretched out to either side, its body shrouded in a gray cloak. Its features were invisible, save for a pair of narrow eyes that gleamed brightly in the darkness. Its figure resembled a human, but the arms exposed outside the cloak were skin and bones, a skeleton covered in skin, resembling chicken claws.
"How strange! I haven't discovered your destiny in the multiverse I've seen. Are you an outsider?" A rumbling voice echoed in the darkness. Barbatos, revealing his true form, looked down at Luke and the others, who were like ants.
"Can you take me to the World Crucible?" Facing the malicious Barbatos, Luke's voice was clear and distinctly captured by it.
"Of course not!" Barbatos, his body wrapped in purple-black thunder, with powerful force gathering in his palms, refused.
"I think it's okay to let him take a look." Suddenly, amidst the astonishment of Barbatos and Bruce, another voice seamlessly rang out. The source was none other than Barbatos, who had just rejected the offer.
Bruce and the other two watched the giant creature rapidly questioning and answering itself, engaging in a self-debate, their eyes darting back and forth between it and Luke. They were certain that Luke was inextricably linked to Barbatos's current state, but they were unsure how Luke had achieved this.
"The force of opposition. It can also be understood as positive and negative forces. Whether it's matter, spirit, or energy, Luke can control and master all the interactions between them. The strong replication and transformation of psychic energy provides Luke with the most solid foundation of power. As long as he wants, he can make you argue with yourself for a lifetime. Whether you are a god or a human." Seeing the gazes of Bruce and the others, Stephen took a deep breath and explained briefly.
"It's you, you despicable mortal! What have you done! I will destroy you!" Barbatos broke away from the quarrel with his other consciousness and wanted to release the power accumulated in his hand to destroy Luke below.
"Don't be so irritable! Our nature is to destroy, but that doesn't mean we have to destroy everything we see! I don't think that's right! After all, he let me out for some fresh air. For that reason alone, I think he's absolutely worthy of seeing the World Crucible." However, the terrifying energy that was about to be unleashed was abruptly halted, and another voice rang out again. It was now gradually beginning to compete with Barbatos' main consciousness for control of his body and energy, and it seemed to be quite effective.
Dark lightning continued to pound down in the direction of Luke and the others. The lingering power of the lightning made both Bruce and the others pale in fear. Whether it was Bruce who had experienced the battle with Thanos or Bruce in the hospital gown who had experienced the destruction of the universe, the moment the lightning struck, their minds went blank for a moment.
Hide?
Not to mention that they had no such idea in their minds, even if they could still maintain their own will, facing the dark power that turned into dark thunder and enveloped the surroundings like a spider web, they would have nowhere to escape.
The only thing they could sense was the sheer power and terrifying intensity of this force. Even the tip of any lightning bolt contained enough energy to easily destroy the entire solar system.
At the speed of lightning, they would be vaporized almost instantly and completely disappear from this universe. Even Bruce, who was completely wrapped in the Lantern Ring Battle Suit and protected by the battle suit, was not sure if he could survive.
But Bruce soon realized something was wrong. His blank consciousness instantly regained its ability to think, and his body senses were all normal. He opened his eyes and looked at the apocalyptic scene in front of him with some shock.
A torrent of dark energy filled his vision. The black thunder, like a resounding, inaudible sound, exploded within his spiritual world, shattering his resilient spirit. As the winding black lightning approached them, it was blocked by a honeycomb-like shield.
Every time a black thunder strikes, a glittering hexagonal crystal shield will be shaken out in the air. Then, after appearing, it will disappear again and reappear in the next strike.
So in the eyes of Bruce and the others, the crystal shields that appeared one after another were like shimmering scales exposed in the darkness as the light moved, accompanied by the rumbling of dark thunder, like a magnificent piece of music. The scene was magnificent and shocking.
The magnificent hall, constructed from an unknown metal, withstood the ravages of this wave of dark energy. The apocalyptic thunderbolt bombardment lasted for an unknown amount of time before finally fading.
Barbatos took a breath. That outburst had given him a sense of complete satisfaction. He felt as though he had killed those intruders, for the disturbing consciousness in his mind had been silenced.
But soon, Barbatos realized that something was wrong. He saw a dazzling energy that filled all his senses and made him extremely disgusted and frightened. It erupted from below in an instant and hit him with a slam that was impossible to avoid and had nowhere to hide.
He couldn't even take the necessary precautions, because when he had this thought, a "hehe" sound that made his scalp tingle suddenly rang out from the depths of his mind, and then his energy and spirit were instantly out of control, and he lost the possible opportunity to prepare for the response.
He could hardly feel the pain of flesh and blood, but at this moment, under the influence of some unknown force, he truly experienced boundless agony like never before. An unknown energy had endowed him with this sense, and he felt the burning heat of the entire body, the agony of the massive body hunched over on the ground, and the agonizing cries of pain that accompanied it.
The howling continued for several minutes before Barbatos stumbled back to his feet. His body still bore visible scars, and above these scars, a dark power lingered, clashing with the energy within.
It was a force diametrically opposed to his own, its restraint palpable. In that instant, Barbatos even contemplated his own death. He couldn't imagine it, for the concept of death had never even entered his mind. He might have considered tumbling to destruction along with the entire universe, but that was definitely not the kind of death defined by life.
But just now, he had felt the concept of death, the fear and dread of those with limited lifespans. After his first experience of this concept, it inevitably became deeply ingrained in his soul, mind, and body. He couldn't forget it, couldn't shake it off. He was even acutely aware that in that short period of time, his mental consciousness seemed to have undergone numerous changes he couldn't understand. He was more sensitive to emotions, and certain terrifying concepts were more clearly understood.
He was even now experiencing random thoughts and emotions, such as worry, hesitation, and fear, thoughts and emotions he shouldn't have. These seemed to stem from his extraneous personality. It was deeply binding and corroding him, and he had no way to resist this invasion, which he didn't know how to resist. At least for now, he was powerless to deal with this change.
But the only thing Barbatos knew clearly was that the origin of all this was inseparable from the intruders below! Especially the man in strange white clothes, whose fate was unknown and who seemed like he could blow him away with a breath.
So when Barbatos stood up, he immediately locked onto Luke in his real form.
"What did you do?" Barbatos' voice turned into a torrent and resounded in this space. The voice sounded chaotic and vague, but the meaning was clearly understood by people.
"I just gave you more ideas and options." Luke's voice also rang out. He stood below Barbatos, looking up at the mountain-like Barbatos entity, and asked again: "Take me to the World Forge."
Barbatos faced Luke's request again, but this time he did not show any malice or attack again. He even began to really think about whether he should listen to Luke.
For the first time, he felt a sense of uncertainty that caught him off guard. He didn't know whether he should take Luke with him. In his mind, the World Forge belonged to his master, but after his master's death, it became his property. It was his most precious treasure! It was the source of his power! He shouldn't let anyone touch the World Forge, especially these intruders who he felt were dangerous.
But refusing didn't seem like a good idea either. A nagging sense of crisis lingered within him. It seemed as if refusing would lead to a worse fate. This feeling, inexplicable yet real, surfaced in his mind. It compelled him to treat Luke's words with the same care he'd taken his former master's orders.
This unprecedented conflict of ideas left him at a loss as to what to do.