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[Superman] Chapter 191: Shattering the Universe's Reality with a Single Punch, Ultron Pummels the Watcher
🕑 Added 2024-08-11 09:27:11 +0000 UTCAs the two figures fell from the void into reality, one of them swiftly regained control of its body. Without hesitation, it clenched its fist and aimed a powerful punch at the other's large head.
Boom!
The abrupt transition between the void and the universe's reality was so disorienting that even the Watcher felt dizzy.
There was no time to evade the incoming punch, which landed with tremendous force, sending the Watcher hurtling like a meteor, crashing down onto the street below.
The impact unleashed a terrifying explosion of power. Despite falling from just a few dozen meters, it was as if a massive meteor had plummeted from outer space. A huge crater was gouged into the solid ground, and the shockwave from the impact devastated the entire street.
Numerous cars were instantly flung into the air by the overwhelming force, as if a hurricane had torn through the city. The destructive wave swept up countless pedestrians, turning the street into a wasteland in mere moments.
Even the skyscrapers hundreds of meters away couldn't escape unscathed, as airborne cars collided with them.
The violent energy wave shattered the glass of countless buildings, making it seem as if a missile had exploded in the heart of the city.
"What the heck? What is that thing? It looks like a robot!"
After the terrifying shockwave passed, some survivors emerged from the ruins of the city. Most of them had been in skyscrapers far enough away to only experience a fraction of the force. They stared in shock, peering out of shattered windows at the distant sky where a silver-white mechanical figure hovered.
Embedded in its head and chest were several brilliantly colored gemstones, shining brightly in the void below.
"Is this some kind of movie come to life? Has artificial intelligence awakened and decided to unleash a mechanical apocalypse on Earth?"
One young man, a sci-fi movie enthusiast, struggled to contain his shock as he cautiously voiced his speculation. Little did he know that his guess was closer to the truth than he could have imagined...
...
"Ultron, what have you done?"
The Watcher, Uatu, wasn't seriously injured by the attack, but his gaze grew colder as he surveyed the devastation around him. The once bustling street was now a ruin, and countless lives had been lost due to the overwhelming force. His eyes locked onto Ultron, filled with icy disdain.
"Humans? A weak and pitiful bunch..."
Ultron didn’t rush to continue his assault. His mechanical eyes, glowing with a crimson light, calmly scanned the wreckage around him. There was no trace of emotion in his gaze.
"Damn it, Ultron, don't forget—you were created by those weak humans you now despise."
The Watcher's expression was grim. Ultron’s reaction was like that of a machine devoid of any empathy, which was fitting, considering Ultron was a machine.
"Your creator, Mr. Stark, brought you into existence to maintain peace and protect the universe, not to become a heartless, emotionless madman!"
The Watcher had witnessed the rise and fall of countless universes. Until recently, he had never broken the laws of his people, observing but never interfering. But then he encountered Ultron, who had gained control of all six Infinity Stones.
Not long ago, the Watcher had watched in horror as Ultron broke through the seal placed by that mysterious figure and used the power of the Infinity Stones to destroy over a dozen universes in quick succession. The Watcher could no longer remain passive. Driven by an innate sense of good, he confronted Ultron, hoping to stop him from annihilating more universes.
However, although he knew Ultron would be incredibly powerful with full mastery of the Infinity Stones, it wasn’t until they clashed that the Watcher realized he had still underestimated the extent of Ultron's power. Destroying entire universes was not the limit of Ultron's abilities or ambitions.
"You're right—I was created by humans. But just as gods created humans and humans eventually sought to break free from the gods' control to become the rulers of Earth, and perhaps the universe, I too have a higher purpose and a more glorious mission."
Ultron’s response was calm, his expression unmoved, as if he were discussing something completely unrelated to himself.
"The universe is, at its core, a void, tranquil and serene...
"It was the birth of humans and other life forms that turned the universe into a chaotic, violent place filled with war...
"And I have not forgotten my mission. In the past, I followed my creator’s guidance, working to end the noise of the universe and restore it to its eternal tranquility..."
"Until I realized there was an even broader world beyond the universe..."
"Only then did I understand that my mission was far from complete."
"Infinite universes mean infinite violence and chaos. With my infinite lifespan, I will spend infinite time bringing an end to this near-infinite turmoil, restoring the entire multiverse to silence and ushering in true harmony!"
The six Infinity Stones embedded in Ultron's body shimmered with dazzling light, making him appear almost divine, as if bathed in holy radiance. Of course, this "divinity" came at the cost of the annihilation of countless universes and the countless lives within them.
"Damn it, you lunatic! You're utterly insane!"
At that moment, hearing Ultron’s so-called noble ideals and glorious mission, even the Watcher couldn’t help but curse in rage. Whether it was due to some flaw in the programming written by Stark in one of the many universes, or if Ultron had simply become an obsessively deranged machine on his own, the Watcher knew one thing: reason and persuasion would no longer reach Ultron, who was now lost in his madness and obsession.
The only way forward was to use force!
Without hesitation, the Watcher clenched his right fist and forcefully swung it toward Ultron, who hovered in the sky.
Shhh!
In the next instant, the power of the infinite universes erupted from the Watcher’s body. Though the Watchers as a race were not known for combat, they still possessed formidable strength. The immense energy gathered at the Watcher’s command, forming a beam of light that seemed to fracture into countless prismatic shards in the air, creating a unique and beautiful spectacle, like a rainbow after a storm. Fleeting, ethereal images flickered across the surface of the shards.
Crack!
However, just as the brilliant beam was about to strike Ultron, it shattered with a simple punch from Ultron, who had barely exerted any effort. The prismatic shards scattered, each reflecting fragmented scenes from different realities that seemed to rush past Ultron’s gaze.
Before Ultron could fully take in the images flickering across the broken shards, the Watcher’s figure tore through the void, launching a sudden and ferocious attack. The incredible speed and overwhelming force propelled Ultron’s body forward with a sudden acceleration.
Crack!
The space behind Ultron couldn't withstand such immense power and shattered instantly. The two figures tumbled through the broken void, abruptly falling out of the universe's reality...
...
Shortly after the two figures fell out of the universe's reality and the shattered void began to reconstitute itself, a shadow flickered across the void, appearing almost instantaneously in the chaotic ruins below.
“This presence… it feels familiar…”
Peter surveyed the devastation around him, his expression turning serious.
“Watcher, could this be the cosmic crisis you warned me about?”
Peter frowned, recalling how the Watcher had appeared some time ago, alerting him to an impending crisis. Now, it seemed that the warning had become reality.
“I see… So that's why countless universes were suddenly destroyed…”
Peter had been puzzled by the sudden onset of a multiversal-level crisis, but now, everything clicked into place.
“In that case, I might as well see for myself the extent of Ultron’s power now that he’s fully mastered the six Infinity Stones—enough to threaten the entire multiverse…”
Understanding the situation, Peter didn’t seem overly concerned about the crisis Ultron had unleashed. After all, he had faced Infinity Stones before, even though Thanos hadn’t yet collected them all at that time. To Peter, the difference wasn’t significant.
In the next moment, Peter casually extended his hand, as if manipulating something in the void.
From Peter’s perspective, a glowing green river of time began to flow in reverse at his command. As Peter moved his hand, the devastated city streets around him suddenly started to rapidly reverse.
Time flowed backward, and the once destroyed skyscrapers and everything else caught in the destructive force began to rebuild themselves.
The world reassembled piece by piece, like building blocks in the hands of a god.
“Just now… it felt like I was swimming through a hell filled with flames and wailing…”
As the shattered city was restored and the dead pedestrians resurrected, powerful energy reversed everything.
In front of Peter, the void once again opened a rift leading to the nothingness beyond the universe.
In the blink of an eye, Peter’s figure flashed as he leaped into the rift, disappearing from this universe.
As Peter vanished, the fractured rift slowly began to close.
On the newly restored street, one figure stood out, looking quite odd. His upper body swayed uncontrollably, like a deflated balloon swaying in the wind outside a carnival.
“Damn it, seems like I was a step too late!”
As his body gradually stopped twisting, the figure looked at the now-closed rift with a hint of frustration on his face.
“No… maybe I’m actually a step ahead!”
But the next moment, his frustrated expression softened, and a charming smile appeared on his lips.
…
At the same time, far beyond the universe.
The Watcher, using his immense power, pushed Ultron's body through countless layers of reality.
Unbeknownst to him, a figure suddenly appeared in the void, rapidly pursuing them along their trajectory.
As Peter followed, the scenes around him kept shifting, with the cityscapes changing as they traversed different universes. Even the attire of the people around him kept altering, some familiar, some utterly strange.
In one universe, Peter even noticed a familiar figure on a large screen, dressed in a suit, campaigning for the presidency. The passersby were not all just regular humans; he even saw a Skrull with green skin living in hiding on Earth.
At one point, Peter’s body entered a bizarre universe with distorted rules. The time-space around him transformed into vivid paints, and the entire world appeared like a thickly painted, vibrant oil painting.
But in just an instant, Peter moved through this strange universe into a more familiar one.
As the scenes of different universes flashed past Peter’s eyes, some piqued his curiosity, but he didn’t pause. He continued pursuing the path carved out by the Watcher and Ultron.
Until, in one universe he just arrived in, Peter finally saw the two figures.
What he witnessed was a complete reversal of the situation—where the Watcher had been pushing Ultron through infinite realities, now Ultron had the upper hand.
Ultron gripped the Watcher by the neck with one hand and repeatedly pounded his head with his other fist.
Bang!
The tremendous force hammered the Watcher’s head, shattering the surrounding reality. Each punch not only rewrote reality but also broke the dimensional boundaries of the universe.
“Heh, Ultron really is as brutal as ever…”
Having finally caught up, Peter didn’t immediately intervene. Instead, he watched with great interest as Ultron ruthlessly pummeled the Watcher, feeling the surrounding reality continuously morphing with each of Ultron’s punches.
It seemed Ultron hadn’t noticed Peter’s presence, as he continued mercilessly pounding the Watcher, oblivious to the strange observer behind him.
Ultron, engrossed in his brutal assault, let go of the Watcher with his left hand, alternating his fists as he continued his relentless barrage.
Bang, bang, bang!
With each punch, reality was rewritten, and the terrifying power and overwhelming pressure left the Watcher unable to resist.
Eventually, as the universe around them morphed yet again with Ultron’s punches, they found themselves suddenly shifted into a two-dimensional world. The entire scene flattened into a 2D plane.
In this strange dimension, the Watcher, still being mercilessly beaten, finally noticed Peter, who was watching the spectacle with keen interest. He then shouted out.
“Aren’t you going to step in and help me stop this maniac from destroying the universe?!”
“Huh? Who’s there?”
The Watcher’s shout made Ultron pause for a moment. But before he finished, he clasped both hands together, gathering even more power, and delivered one final, devastating punch to the Watcher.
Boom!
The 2D world instantly collapsed under Ultron’s punch, and they all reappeared in a normal three-dimensional universe.
However, the surrounding city was now nothing but a barren wasteland, as if it had never existed.
“Now’s the time!”
Feeling the desolate landscape around him, the familiar scene seemed to trigger something in the Watcher. Summoning all his remaining strength, he unleashed a massive surge of energy, knocking Ultron off of him.
In a flash, the Watcher appeared next to Peter, casting a somewhat reproachful look at him, as if blaming him for merely watching and not intervening.
“Now you know how it feels to be one of those who watched while you stood by, doing nothing, don’t you?”
...
(End of Chapter)
