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[Superman] Chapter 118: One Arrow to Open the Sky, Shattering the Mind Stone
🕑 Added 2024-03-24 03:54:57 +0000 UTCSponsored by Neil De Paul
"Destiny? In my eyes, you're just a pitiful soul who can't break free from your fate."
Thanos, this man, is the most controversial villain in the Marvel Universe.
Some support his decision to snap his fingers and wipe out half of life in the universe.
Others detest his tyrannical behavior that shows no respect for life.
Regardless, in film and television, Thanos as a villain is portrayed with depth and complexity.
However, if a villain like Thanos were to truly appear in your reality,
Countless people might find it unacceptable for him to make the decision to wipe out half of the universe with a snap of his fingers.
And on this path, facing countless resistances and attempts to stop him would be inevitable.
"You seem to know my story and my great plan?"
Thanos noticed Peter's gaze on him, devoid of the anger that others had shown before.
"Paving the way for peace in the entire universe at the cost of destroying lives, your so-called grand plan will become the doomsday for countless beings."
Peter didn't rush into battle with Thanos but conversed with him as if they were two old friends meeting after many years.
"Doomsday? Perhaps, but only by doing so can we prevent the destruction of the universe. Even if I bear the eternal infamy for it, I have no regrets."
Thanos's face was resolute, even though his plan would earn him the condemnation of all surviving beings in the universe.
"Hehe, if I were you, I wouldn't use this method to prevent the universe's destruction..."
Peter descended from the void before Thanos, speaking calmly.
"Oh? What's your insight?"
Thanos looked at Peter curiously, seemingly intrigued.
"If I were you, I would use the power of the Infinity Stones to completely destroy the entire universe, then reshape a brand new, vibrant one."
Peter spoke with a calm tone, uttering words that sent shivers down one's spine.
"Hmm? I didn't expect you to have the same idea as me!"
Hearing Peter's words, Thanos showed a surprised expression, seemingly not expecting Peter to say this.
"Once, I indeed had the idea of reshaping the entire universe like you."
"However, I have changed my mind now."
"Even if I use my immense power to reshape a new universe, after billions of years of development, how would the situation of that new universe differ from the present one?"
"All life will still reproduce and develop without restraint, and eventually, the universe will still be overwhelmed, leading to its destruction."
"Nothing will change."
At this moment, Thanos seemed like a sage, slowly narrating his grand vision.
"But if I only destroy half of the universe's life, then even though the remaining half may resent me for the rest of their lives, they will witness the changes in the universe and the beauty of its harmonious development."
"My actions will serve as a warning to them, keeping them vigilant at all times. Unrestrained development will only bring destruction in the end."
As Thanos spoke passionately, a hint of longing appeared in his eyes.
"But what if they don't heed your warning and continue to develop recklessly?"
Although Thanos's vision was beautiful, Peter knew better that the only lesson life learns from history is that it never learns from history.
"I simply did what I had to do. If they ignore the warning and welcome destruction, what does it have to do with me?"
...
"Too bad. If we weren't enemies, you might have been my only true friend."
After a moment of silence, Thanos looked at Peter, his gaze gradually becoming serious.
Immediately, the atmosphere between the two of them began to grow heavy.
The collision of their auras caused the crimson clouds covering the sky to violently churn.
The gloomy sky and the flowing red lava on the ground made the entire planet feel even more apocalyptic.
In this extremely tense atmosphere, Thanos raised his left hand first.
The four Infinity Stones embedded in his gauntlet shimmered with dazzling light together.
In an instant, the energies of four different colors gradually converged into a dazzling beam of light resembling a rainbow.
Filled with a sense of destruction, it roared towards Peter.
The fact that Thanos gathered the power of the four stones at once showed his recognition and respect for Peter as an opponent.
However, Peter at this moment was not an opponent that Thanos could easily defeat.
Also raising his hand, in an instant, a crimson-golden energy, like a condensed pillar of flame, rushed towards the infinite energy released by Thanos.
The moment the two energies collided, time in the entire universe seemed to suddenly freeze.
The whole universe fell into silence in that instant.
Until a brilliant, mirror-like shockwave stood erect at the center of the collision of the two energies and exploded violently.
In an instant, the terrifying shockwave, like a blade capable of cutting through space, swept across.
It instantly cut visible huge cracks in the crimson clouds covering the sky and the surface of the planet.
On the ground, a huge chasm traversing the entire surface of the planet, like an abyss, stretched out endlessly.
And the entire sky seemed to be pierced and split open by an arrow from the center, completely dividing it into two.
"Good, good, good!"
Feeling Peter's strength, besides the incredibly solemn expression on his face, Thanos was more excited to meet an evenly matched opponent.
Immediately, he extended his left hand forward and turned it over, palm facing upward.
The Space Stone on the gauntlet shimmered with dazzling light, as if grabbing hold of an invisible space, directly pulling it backward.
With Thanos's movement, the entire earth began to rapidly roll towards his direction.
Even space itself began to fold and shift continuously.
The distance between the two of them was suddenly shortened in this instant, as if the space between them had suddenly disappeared.
And as Peter's body approached Thanos, Thanos suddenly clenched his left hand, and the Power Stone on the gauntlet also emitted a strange purple light.
Under the convergence of purple power and spatial energy, a rapidly rotating mini black hole formed in front of his fist in an instant.
With a destructive aura, it fiercely slammed towards Peter in front of him.
However, even though the distance between the two was suddenly shortened, Peter's expression remained calm.
Seeing the mini black hole filled with destruction forming in front of Thanos's fist in an instant,
Peter still calmly raised his right fist to meet it.
Boom!
Before the fists of the two powerful individuals could even touch,
The newly formed mini black hole made contact with Peter's fist first.
However, the black hole, which had grown rapidly and could easily devour even a planet, was directly shattered by Peter's fist.
With a terrifying burst of energy sweeping down, it was as if a giant nuclear bomb had been detonated on this planet.
The entire surface of the planet was lifted and shattered by the terrifying power, and then extinguished under the terrifying energy shockwave.
The crimson smoke and dust that had gathered in the sky were suddenly cleared at this moment, revealing the stars shining brilliantly in the sky.
Yet amidst the atmosphere of desolation, the two continued their battle without stopping each other.
...
"Is it possible for a human to be this powerful?"
Even Thanos couldn't believe Peter's strength at this moment.
He had pushed the power of the stones to its utmost limit, surpassing even his previous battle with Thor.
Yet, it seemed utterly incapable of posing any threat to the figure before him.
Thanos could sense that this opponent's physique was far stronger than his own, as a Titan.
"Since raw power can't harm your body, then let's try this!"
The moment Peter was sent flying by Peter's immense strength, the Mind Stone on Thanos's glove instantly emitted a yellow energy barrier.
At lightning speed, it spread outwards, seemingly enveloping the entire universe in an instant.
"Hmm?"
As he was enveloped, Peter felt the world around him suddenly shift, as if day turned to night and night to day.
Countless stars in the sky disappeared instantly, as if he had been transported to another universe in the blink of an eye.
Apart from the vast expanse of land, the entire horizon was shrouded in yellow sand, with only a dim, gigantic wheel of light hanging in the sky.
But even that was obscured by the yellow mist, with only a faint glimmer of light shining through, unable to illuminate this world shrouded in yellow haze.
And in this incredibly vast world, where there seemed to be no end in sight,
It felt like there was only him, an extreme sense of loneliness, desolation, and solitude constantly assaulting his mind and soul.
There was even an urge to give up life and choose to end it all.
"If it were an ordinary superhero, they might have already been completely immersed in such immense psychic power and unable to break free."
"Unfortunately, I am not a normal superhero, nor do I have extremely low magic resistance."
"Merely psychic power dares to try and reverse my world."
Looking up at the dark sky, at the wheel of light hanging in the sky.
Peter slowly raised his hands, assuming a posture as if pulling a bowstring.
In the next moment, a brilliant golden energy gradually converged between his hands, swiftly transforming into a bow and arrow.
On the golden bow, golden light flickered like two wings trembling continuously.
The golden arrow aimed at the distant tomorrow hanging in the sky, suddenly shot out!
"Whoosh!"
The golden arrow pierced through the void in an instant, transforming into a golden phoenix shadow as it traversed the sky.
Clang!
With a resounding phoenix cry that echoed through heaven and earth,
The entire sky, under the arrow's passage across the sky, suddenly split in half.
The golden phoenix shadow traversed heaven and earth, its flaming wings seeming to ignite the entire sky in an instant.
The burning sky's edge gradually spread outwards.
Gradually, a complete transformation of day and night occurred, and the brilliant stars reappeared in the sky.
...
"Even if your physique is mighty, it cannot change the weakness of the spirit and the finite nature of life!"
In the outside world, watching Peter trapped within the mental illusion created by the Mind Stone, even Thanos found it hard to believe in Peter's strength.
Without hesitation, Thanos raised his left hand, and the verdant Time Stone embedded in his glove emitted a rich light, enveloping Peter's body.
Moments before Peter arrived, the reason Thanos could effortlessly defeat the other heroes and even the Supreme Sorcerer, Doctor Strange, relied on the incredibly powerful force of the Mind Stone.
He drew the consciousness of all individuals into the mental illusion constructed by the Mind Stone.
Then, as their consciousness was trapped and unable to escape the mental illusion, he accelerated their lives with the Time Stone.
Countless individuals couldn't withstand it, transforming into nothing but skeletons scattered on the ground.
Only a few persisted for a moment, but after hundreds of years accelerated by time, they too couldn't endure it. Their bodies rapidly aged, their lives swiftly slipping away until they turned to dust.
Finally, after accelerating time for hundreds of thousands of years, only Thor endured the passing of time.
And he broke free from the mental illusion, waking up.
And relying on the unique physique of the Asgardian gods, the more aged his body became, the more powerful his divine power, allowing him to engage Thanos in a back-and-forth battle.
He could even injure Thanos.
Unfortunately, he still couldn't truly defeat Thanos, who possessed the Time Stone capable of resetting himself indefinitely.
He fell into Thanos's hands.
Until Peter descended, his formidable power making even Thanos wary, forcing Thanos to resort to such means in an attempt to eliminate this powerful adversary.
"Human, no matter how powerful, will eventually turn into a pile of bones after thousands of years."
"This is fate, this is the law of the universe!"
"Nobody can escape it."
Although he deeply admired Peter, at this moment, Thanos showed no hesitation.
Under the dense time force, he began to prepare to accelerate Peter's body.
"Are you truly certain that no one can defy the laws of the universe?"
However, suddenly, Peter's voice rang out.
"You actually... managed to break free from the mental prison so quickly!"
As Peter broke through the mental power ordeal, Thanos, who was trying to destroy Peter's body with the power of the Infinity Stones, was filled with disbelief and reluctance.
Crack!
What was even more terrifying for Thanos was that, with Peter breaking free from the illusion he created, a huge irreparable crack directly split open within the Mind Stone embedded in his glove.
It seemed like continuing to use the Mind Stone would shatter it completely.
"How is this possible? Could your power be even stronger than the Infinity Stones?"
As the Mind Stone shattered, Thanos's face was filled with horror.
As the supreme artifact born during the universe's explosion, how could the Infinity Stones be defeated so easily?
"No, this is absolutely impossible. Even if you can escape the mental prison, you can't defy the law of time!"
Amidst his shock, Thanos remembered the time force currently shrouding Peter's body.
In an instant, he rapidly rotated his left hand, manipulating the force of time.
However, in that moment, for Peter, thousands upon thousands of years passed.
Yet, to Thanos's disbelief, Peter's body did not age with the rapid flow of time.
...
(End of Chapter)
Word Count: 2.2K
