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[Superman] Chapter 214: Darkness That Time Cannot Erase
🕑 Added 2024-09-04 03:00:39 +0000 UTC“What?”
Initially, everyone expected to be met with a regrettable refusal.
Unexpectedly, it seemed that the outcome was about to take a turn at this moment.
“Your plan is too much of a gamble, and the consequences of failure are too severe.”
The Flash looked at the enormous Cosmic Treadmill before him, his expression serious.
The Cosmic Treadmill’s plan was essentially a gamble with the entire world at stake, betting on whether this all-or-nothing plan could succeed.
If it were truly the last moment before the universe’s destruction, the Flash might have chosen such a plan.
Clearly, he now had a better option.
“If time can be reversed, I believe we can rewrite everything!”
As a host of the Speed Force, Barry knew well the cost of reversing time with the Speed Force.
The world after being reversed would undergo unpredictable changes.
And on top of that world, only he would remember what happened along the original timeline.
The timeline is like a calm lake; if a ripple is created, it inevitably causes a series of effects.
In addition to rewriting certain events and causing unpredictable changes, you might even face new crises after resolving one.
However, even with so many uncertainties involved in modifying the timeline, it was still much better than their current all-or-nothing plan.
Moreover, the Flash had previously reversed time to save his own universe.
Overall, he had some experience.
Now, in the Flash's mind, there was a balance. He felt that the cost of reversing time might be far better than this desperate plan.
“Can time truly be reversed and repaired using the power of time?”
Hearing the Flash’s idea, everyone fell into deep thought.
They had never personally experienced the plan to reverse time and found it hard to grasp the difficulties involved.
Time is one of the fundamental dimensions of the universe’s rules, and it might not be so easily altered.
“Reversing time, using the Speed Force, and running at faster-than-light speeds to reshape the world?”
Cyborg slowly explained the theory of using the Speed Force to reverse time.
“That’s right. When I push the Speed Force to its limits, exceeding the speed of light, it will create a unique Speed Force energy field. This will allow me to travel freely through the past and future of the universe.”
The Flash looked at Cyborg with some surprise, wondering how he knew the theory of modifying time with the Speed Force.
“This is what Barry from our universe told me.”
“However, Barry also mentioned that the timeline is sacred and inviolable. If you play with time recklessly, time will eventually play tricks on you!”
It was clear that Cyborg was not entirely in favor of the Flash’s plan to modify time.
He might sense that modifying time would come with some special cost.
“That’s right. Reversing time will indeed cause some unpredictable changes in the universe. But at least we would have one more chance, one more option!”
“Even if the plan to reverse time fails, I can still return here to help you complete the plan involving the Cosmic Treadmill and the Speed Force Cannon!”
The Flash sensed the skeptical looks from the others but did not retreat. He continued to elaborate on his idea.
Indeed, to the Flash, reversing time was like dancing on a tightrope; one misstep could have unforeseen consequences.
But as long as he was cautious enough, even if reversing time didn’t fully resolve the crisis, he would still have the opportunity to return and try the desperate plan once more.
And they would have an additional option.
At this moment, the room fell into silence as everyone considered the pros and cons of reversing time.
“Barry, are you really confident?”
Finally, Superman’s magnetic voice broke the silence.
His demeanor suggested that he had considerable trust in the Flash, even though he had been forcibly brought from another universe.
“Honestly, I’m not very confident about success!”
Faced with the hopeful gazes of Superman and the others, the Flash did not offer them much hope.
His experience with successfully reversing time was limited to that one previous occasion.
And the time since then had been short; who could say if the previous time reversal, while temporarily saving his universe, had brought new crises to the universe?
“In that case, Barry… I believe in you!”
Superman’s serious expression gradually relaxed as he nodded firmly at the Flash.
“Clark…”
Cyborg beside him seemed to want to say something but was stopped by Superman’s gaze.
Ultimately, Cyborg did not speak.
Because Cyborg understood Superman’s gaze: in this matter, they had no choice.
The fact that the Flash was willing to stay and help them solve the crisis was already a significant blessing.
Why should they ask for more?
...
Soon after, a new treadmill was moved into the laboratory.
It was not as gigantic as the Cosmic Treadmill and lacked its special ability to harness Speed Force energy.
This new treadmill was merely capable of allowing the Flash to reach a sufficient speed.
Quickly, the Flash had prepared everything necessary for reversing time.
He ate a lot of high-calorie foods to meet the energy requirements for running at high speed.
He also checked his suit to ensure no unusual issues would arise during the process.
He even performed warm-up exercises to ensure he was in the best possible condition.
At the very start, he had meditated and communicated with the Speed Force to ensure it would not obstruct the time reversal.
When everything was ready, Barry donned his specially made Flash suit.
He walked slowly onto Cyborg’s custom treadmill, like a hero moving against the crowd.
“Barry, no matter what the outcome, protect yourself!”
Although Cyborg was unsure of the dangers involved in reversing time, he still cautioned Barry.
“That’s right, Barry. If you find things are not working, you can always leave our universe and return to your original universe!”
Before beginning, Superman also spoke to the Flash with a serious expression.
Cyborg had already given Barry the coordinates of his original universe, ensuring that he could open a portal to return to his safe universe at any time.
“Don’t worry. Although I can’t guarantee success, I will definitely do my best!”
At this moment, the Flash had clearly set aside the issue of being forcibly brought to this universe.
He chose to embody the bravery and fearlessness expected of a guardian of the universe.
Even though the universe he was saving was not his own.
For a hero, who they are saving is not important; what matters is how they choose to act and what they do.
The Flash’s eyes were filled with determination as he slowly nodded at the expectant faces of those around him.
He then put on his suit’s hood, with brilliant golden lightning flowing across his entire body.
Zzzzz!
As the lightning crackled, the flow of time in the entire universe seemed to slow down in an instant.
“Barry, I hope you succeed!”
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the Flash began to move his feet rapidly, his legs becoming elusive afterimages.
The treadmill beneath him also started operating at high speed.
The dazzling Speed Force energy gathered around the Flash, forming a radiant light and shadow, like a shining star traversing through the cosmos.
“His speed has reached the limit…”
In just a few seconds, Cyborg, monitoring everything, noted that Barry’s speed was nearing the speed of light.
Then, suddenly, the entire world fell silent.
The figure on the treadmill vanished from everyone’s view.
“Time will be reshaped, the future will be rewritten…”
...
Once again, the Flash moved through the timeline at speeds exceeding that of light.
For the Flash, this journey through the timeline was much smoother than his previous attempt.
After all, his last attempt had involved an almost unimaginable strain on the Speed Force energy, forcing him into the timeline under extreme conditions.
This time, he was fully prepared and in optimal condition.
He quickly gathered enough Speed Force energy and broke through the speed of light.
As his speed surpassed the speed of light, everything around him transformed into controllable light and shadow.
With each step he took backward, time around him began to flow in reverse.
At that moment, the Flash seemed to begin a rapid review of the universe's history.
He saw the plans formulated by Superman and the others for the Cosmic Treadmill and Speed Force cannon.
He saw their decision to go to another universe and kidnap him.
He also saw the recent moment when Superman, helpless against the strange dark eyes, had recklessly charged into them and nearly succumbed to their control, battling the entire Justice League.
He even witnessed the endless pain and regret Superman experienced after his former ally, Batman, was killed by a lost Superman, which led Superman to lose control.
“No, I must rewrite all of this and make up for these regrets!”
Even a brief review of the universe’s past caused the Flash heart-wrenching pain.
At that moment, the Flash’s resolve to save this world was even stronger.
His steps quickened, and the universe’s progress accelerated in reverse.
Until that dark eye, watching the entire Earth, began to shrink as time flowed backward.
At one point, it suddenly disappeared from Earth.
“No, this strange dark energy didn’t vanish at this point; it wasn’t dense enough back then to manifest in reality!”
Though the dark energy’s eye vanished from the reality’s light and shadow as time reversed, the Flash, within the Speed Force, could still clearly perceive everything.
The dark power had actually existed for a long time, but it wasn’t dense enough before to appear in the real world.
Something was nourishing the rapid growth of this dark energy, causing it to fully manifest in the real world at some point and make a huge impact on Earth.
“It seems I need to find the exact time node of the dark energy’s invasion of this universe and prevent it from happening!”
The Flash realized he would need to continuously advance through the timeline until he found the initial moment of the dark energy’s arrival.
With that in mind, he kept an eye on the dark energy fading into the void while continuously moving the timeline backward.
He aimed to find the moment when the dark energy first invaded.
As the concentration of dark energy grew thinner, time continued to move backward beneath the Flash’s feet.
Suddenly, the time-space projection around him underwent a dramatic change.
The surrounding time-space light and shadow began to flicker, as if everything had become somewhat intermittent.
“What… is going on?”
The Flash was puzzled and confused by the changes in the timeline around him.
This was the first time he had encountered such a situation while traversing the timeline.
“Could it be… that the timeline here is unstable?”
Barry was shocked by the possibility that an unstable timeline might lead to the current situation.
“But how is that possible! No one has rewritten the past timeline; the timeline should not become unstable…”
In Barry’s understanding, conditions that could cause timeline instability involved some kind of alteration in the past timeline, leading to unpredictable fluctuations in the future trajectory.
This would affect the stability of the timeline.
However, the current situation clearly differed from what Barry knew.
Aside from the instability in the current timeline, the future timeline had not changed; it remained a set trajectory.
Suddenly, the time-space light and shadow around him continued to flicker, and the scene began to undergo significant changes.
Barry now seemed to have detached from the entire universe and entered a state beyond cosmic reality.
In front of him was a cosmic sphere, constantly flickering as if uncertain of its existence.
“This… the universe is in a state of existence and non-existence?”
At this moment, Barry couldn’t help but think of a famous quantum mechanics experiment, Schrödinger's cat.
The universe before him was in a superposition of existing and not existing.
It seemed as if it could disappear at any moment or appear at any moment.
Suddenly, the entire cosmic sphere disappeared from Barry’s view.
Barry seemed to have suddenly stepped into an abyss of endless void.
As if everything had abruptly vanished, the entire universe appeared as a blank space, and even the universe’s timeline came to a sudden halt.
“No, how can this be? Why would the universe’s timeline have a discontinuity?”
It was as if a car was speeding down a straight highway, only to find the road ahead abruptly ending in a bottomless cliff.
At this moment, as the Flash continued to fall, his heart was filled with despair.
It wasn’t just because of the sudden discovery of the timeline discontinuity and his falling body.
It was because, even as he reached the timeline’s discontinuity, he hadn’t found the initial node of the dark energy’s invasion.
And this meant…
“This dark energy cannot be erased from the timeline!”
“How… is this possible!”
The Flash was filled with shock and disbelief, as well as intense frustration!
...
(End of Chapter)
