Alex gazed at Petra's lifeless body and let out a deep sigh.
"So this… is the final fate of a timeline that has fallen into madness?"
A world ruled by war.
Mutants turned into humanity's weapons—modified, experimented on, stripped of their humanity—reduced to neither human nor ghost, just monsters.
Like wandering spirits, they stalked the edges of this ruined world, hunting their own kind, only to watch helplessly as their brethren became new test subjects, suffering the same fate as them…
"…Tch."
No matter how one looked at it, there was no way to stay indifferent to this.
Slowly, Alex extended his palm. A ghostly green flame flickered to life at his fingertips before surging outward, wrapping itself around Petra's body.
[My Lord, are you trying to resurrect her?]
Miss Minutes had noticed Alex's actions.
[I must remind you—your mission is to find the Prime Timeline. This is just a branch, and soon it will be completely destroyed. There is no need to waste your time here.]
[The number of collapsing universes is beyond measure. There are countless beings suffering fates worse than hers. No matter how powerful you are, you cannot save everyone.]
[For her, death is already the greatest salvation. You have no reason to grant her anything more.]
"A reason?"
Alex murmured softly.
Then, with a quiet chuckle, he continued.
"She hasn't told me what happened to this world yet."
With those words, the flames roared to life, completely engulfing Petra's body.
Seeing Alex's firm decision, Miss Minutes chose not to argue further.
She knew her role—to assist Alex. That was the purpose of her existence. She could offer suggestions, express her thoughts, but the final decision was his alone.
Once Alex had made up his mind, she had no right to oppose him.
At that moment, the outer structures of the Sentinel robots rapidly disintegrated. Under Alex's flames, their metallic shells seemed to be subjected to an unimaginable heat, even vaporizing at the core.
Yet within that eerie green blaze, Petra's body remained untouched—unburned, unharmed. Instead, the long needle that had pierced her spine began to melt, turning into liquid and flowing out. However, as Alex attempted to call back Petra's soul, his expression suddenly changed.
[What's wrong?]
Miss Minutes immediately noticed the anomaly.
She turned to Alex, concern in her voice.
Alex, his expression dark, extended both hands. The air behind him shimmered as intricate magical runes, formed of flame, flickered into existence. The emerald fire surged again, fully consuming Petra's form.
"There's something…"
Alex's brow furrowed deeply.
"…Something fighting me for Petra's soul!?"
Resurrection.
In most universes, it was an unfathomable power. Many supernatural beings spent their entire lives trying to grasp this force beyond life and death.
But for demons and angels who governed the soul, resurrecting a human wasn't particularly difficult. Even if the soul was extremely significant, as long as one was willing to pay the price, bringing it back wasn't impossible.
After obtaining the demonic powers of the Trigon, along with the archangelic forces of Lucifer and Gabriel, Alex had fully mastered this art.
In the world of The Boys, he had single-handedly revived every casualty of the superhuman war, even reconstructing their broken bodies. That alone was proof of his overwhelming strength.
Even with the power to control life and death, Alex never used it carelessly. Only at critical moments, or when it aligned with his plans, would he wield this ability. Yet now—at this very moment—his power was being obstructed by an unknown force.
Alex's heart tightened. Alarm bells rang in his mind.
This energy—it was something indescribable. Something beyond definition. He couldn't identify its source. He couldn't even track its origin.
All he knew was that Petra's soul was being pulled away, dragged by an unseen force—like a black hole devouring everything, relentlessly tugging at her already fragile essence.
"Miss Minutes—I need a full scan of our surroundings. Anything. Everything."
Alex didn't dare act recklessly. The force was weaker than his own—if he wanted, he could easily sever its pull.
But the problem was… Petra's soul was far too fragile. Years of mental and physical torment had left her utterly broken, her body, spirit, and very essence riddled with cracks.
If it were anyone else, Alex wouldn't have hesitated to forcibly tear their soul back and patch it up afterward. Soul-repairing magic was rare—but not nonexistent.
But Petra's condition was different. Her soul had already reached its absolute limit. If it were torn apart any further… she wouldn't just die.
She would be erased.
[My Lord, I detect nothing out of the ordinary.]
In truth, even before Alex had spoken, Miss Minutes had already begun scanning the moment she sensed something amiss. Yet what shocked her was—while she could clearly see Petra's soul being pulled—she couldn't perceive the force behind it.
From Miss Minutes's perspective, it was as if Alex was engaged in a tug-of-war… with an invisible enemy.
"…Even you can't detect it?"
Alex frowned.
Miss Minutes's abilities were bizarre—far more mysterious than even Alex had originally imagined.
She was a being capable of linking the Marvel and DC universes. Her very existence defied the rules of any single world, transcending even the multiverse itself.
Because of this, Alex had always been curious about her origins.
But he also knew that, with his current power, he was far from being able to uncover the truth of her existence. One thing was certain, though—Miss Minutes's nature exceeded that of a mere multiversal being.
Even the Ultimate Nullifier—capable of deleting entire realities—couldn't erase her. And yet, at this moment, even she couldn't detect the source of this strange force.
[It could be…]
Miss Minutes hesitated.
[…An influence from another reality. Or perhaps… contamination. That force may not fall within my domain of observation. My Lord, think back—remember what you've encountered before.]
What I've encountered before?
Alex paused for a moment.
Then—suddenly—his mind flashed with an image.
A massive, writhing worm.
Humans, twisted into zombies… utterly immune to his powers.
"…Could it be that this world… has already fallen into corruption?"
At that thought, Alex's already grim expression turned ice-cold. His gaze locked onto Petra's wavering soul, his eyes filled with chilling resolve.
"No matter what you are…"
"…Petra's life is mine to protect!"
YOU ARE TRAMPLING ON LIFE!!!
Alex: ?!
The moment the words fell, a voice suddenly exploded in Alex's mind.
It was not a human language—or rather, it could hardly be considered a language at all.
It was a transmission of information, a thought, a logic that required no processing or analysis to be understood instantly. It was like a sudden flash of insight or a stray idea, making it seem as if the thought had originated within Alex's own mind.
But Alex was certain—this "thought" was not his own. It was a projection, a kind of mental broadcast directed solely at him.
'So, this guy finally couldn't hold back anymore.'
A cold light flashed in Alex's eyes.
"Trampling on life? You, the one trying to stop me from reviving her, hiding in the shadows, dare to speak such nonsense?"
With a furious roar, Alex forcefully amplified his energy. Miss Minutes, though unsure whom Alex was addressing, reacted swiftly. The moment Alex took action, she immediately activated the energy transfer of the Timepad.
In an instant, an immense energy source from the Wasteland Universe surged into Alex's body, making his entire form seem almost illusory.
The entire aircraft carrier began to shake violently. Not only that, but even the space around Alex started to warp and distort.
Waves of ominous energy rippled outward, and the eerie green flames became the only dominant color in sight.
Reality has already determined this as the only path… You cannot change this.
That voice echoed once more. At the same time, Alex noticed that as he increased his energy output, the force pulling at Petra's soul was beginning to weaken.
"If you don't have the guts to face me directly, then stop whining."
Initially, Alex had planned to use his full strength to sever this timeline, just as he had once done with Tony Stark.
Since it was clear that this unknown entity did not belong to this world, trapping it here and forcing it to reveal itself was the best approach.
Even if its true body wasn't here, any split timeline would still contain traces of its power.
Miss Minutes might not be able to detect it, but following this thread would eventually lead to some kind of clue.
The entity clearly realized Alex's intent.
The moment Alex acted, it immediately released Petra's soul without a trace of hesitation or attachment, vanishing completely as if it had never been there.
Yet, much like a game of tug-of-war, the instant that force disappeared, the vast energy Alex had gathered lost its counterbalance and came crashing down upon this space with unstoppable force.
Violent tremors and spatial instability tore the aircraft carrier apart. The walls of the control room, along with everything around them, twisted and stretched into grotesque, noodle-like shapes.
Acting quickly, Alex shoved Petra's soul back into her fully restored body and used the remaining energy to stabilize the cracking space around them.
Thankfully, his reaction was swift enough.
Otherwise, this doomed timeline would have been destroyed—not by its own fate, but by his own hands.
.....
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