pappabearbooks #372 - Harvest Xithorn! Reverse the time of several universes!
#372 - Harvest Xithorn! Reverse the time of several universes!
It was merely seeing another version of himself, the look in his eyes after experiencing a despair akin to hell.
Captain America couldn't imagine what had happened in that other universe.
After a moment of stunned silence, Captain America said in a dry voice, "Why…"
"Why what? Do you want to ask why we're still alive? Or why everyone else died, and only Carter and I survived?" With a self-deprecating laugh, Steve Rogers said with a wry smile, "Carter and I only survived that crisis by chance, and besides us, the entire Earth, everyone, including the Earth itself, was destroyed in the battle between the Outer God and another being. I even… I didn't even see how the Earth was destroyed."
"Wait a minute."
Captain America clearly noticed that this dispirited Steve Rogers' experience didn't match his own.
"You want to ask why this Captain and Miss Carter's experiences are different from what you remember, right?" Doctor Strange seemed to have guessed Captain America's thoughts.
The dispirited Steve Rogers, as if guessing his thoughts, sneered, "You want to ask me why I don't avenge everyone?
Even if I did, would everyone come back?
What would Carter and I do then?
Should we stay in that world where everything is gone?
Do I need to remind you again that the entire Earth, including all humans and living beings on Earth, disappeared, except for Carter and me?
The meaning of life shouldn't be just hatred."
It must be admitted that, persuaded by the other version of himself and Carter, Captain America finally gave up the idea of going to find Laufey alone.
Just as the other version of himself said, the meaning of life shouldn't be just hatred.
And besides these few survivors, countless people died in the battle between Laufey and the Dark Phoenix.
Those vast numbers of dead were the focus of attention.
For example, another Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter, even if they had the ability to kill Laufey, so what?
What after killing Laufey?
They had already lost everything, even the Earth they depended on for survival was gone.
Everything about the human species had disappeared.
To some extent, the dispirited Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter had lost the meaning of their lives.
Whether it was the ongoing World War II or anything else, in the face of existence and disappearance, it had no meaning.
At this time, Captain America finally seemed to understand why the members of the True Avengers Alliance, knowing that the culprit was Laufey and another powerful being, chose such a cowardly approach that was almost disdainful.
Ultimately, they were human, and humans needed reality and society to exist.
Having understood this, Captain America became completely silent, and even followed the members of the True Avengers Alliance to move into the Avengers Alliance headquarters specially prepared by Tony Stark, Captain America also began to appear less often.
On the one hand, his ideals and the True Avengers Alliance's position of trying to beg for the Outer God's mercy were diametrically opposed; on the other hand, he couldn't bear to watch Peggy Carter and the other Steve Rogers being intimate.
Of course, the so-called intimacy was just Captain America's own thoughts.
In fact, in the eyes of others, especially the other members of the True Avengers Alliance, Peggy Carter and the other dispirited Steve Rogers were just huddling together for warmth.
When the world was destroyed, leaving only the two of them, even though there were other victims from other worlds, psychologically, they could only rely on each other.
In terms of misery, Peggy Carter and the dispirited Steve Rogers were obviously incomparable to the other Tony Stark.
Who asked the other Tony Stark to have nothing but his armor?
It could be said that the members of the True Avengers Alliance were all more miserable than the last.
They were so miserable that they didn't even have the heart for hatred, only the thought of saving their own world.
While the relationship between the Avengers Alliance and the members of the True Avengers Alliance gradually became harmonious.
Laufey had finally solved the problem of the Scarlet Witch's madness.
The solution was simple.
The reason why the Scarlet Witch's power was prone to going berserk and falling into madness was fundamentally because Chaos Magic did not truly belong to the Scarlet Witch.
You should know that, relative to the Scarlet Witch, her power was actually the same as the mages of Kamar-Taj.
They all borrowed power from the dimensional gods, but compared to the mages of Kamar-Taj actively borrowing energy from the dimensional gods.
The Scarlet Witch was passively being constantly infused with her abilities by that dimensional god, and this energy, far exceeding what she could master, ultimately led to the Scarlet Witch's mental state being vulnerable to madness once she was hit.
It could only be said that Laufey's sudden disappearance before, being captured by the Time Administration Bureau and exiled to the Void World, instead actively contributed to the Scarlet Witch's madness.
At the same time, it also gave Laufey the opportunity to seize the dimensional god hiding behind the Scarlet Witch.
You should know that that dimensional god was the oldest being born from Earth, and even Mephisto, the Lord of Hell, and Dormammu, the Lord of the Dark Dimension, had borrowed energy from him.
This being, with the title of Underworld God, could be regarded as the most righteous god on Earth.
And when Laufey, following the Chaos Magic on the Scarlet Witch, finally found the dimension where the Underworld God was located.
The Underworld God, Chthon, was completely caught off guard.
In the end, everything about him was, under Laufey's manipulation, made into a wedding dress for the Scarlet Witch.
Although Chthon was one of the most powerful and ancient beings among the dimensional gods.
But in the hands of Laufey, the Outer God who had become parallel to the five creator gods, he was easily erased with just one encounter, and even the dimensional world that was completely inseparable from him was easily harvested by Laufey and bound to the Scarlet Witch.
When Laufey solved the biggest threat of the Underworld God Chthon for the Scarlet Witch.
The True Avengers Alliance finally made contact with Laufey through the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
As a crucial link in this, it was definitely Laufey's parents and sister Daisy.
In fact, after learning that Laufey was an Outer God equivalent to the five creator gods, no one would really regard Laufey's parents as his biological parents.
Just like in Western churches, no one would regard Mary and Joseph as the biological parents of Jesus.
In their view, Laufey was the same.
Jesus became flesh and was born into the world with the help of the Virgin Mary. Joseph was only Jesus' adoptive father, and Mary was the same.
In the eyes of everyone who knew Laufey's identity, Laufey's parents were only the conditions for him to become flesh, not true blood relatives.
But even so, through Laufey's parents, they were able to complete the important task of communicating with Laufey.
This was crucial to both the members of the True Avengers Alliance and the Avengers Alliance and S.H.I.E.L.D.
And the family of three who were approached, in the end, it was the sister Daisy who truly came to Laufey's presence.
Seeing Laufey again, the expression on Daisy's face was particularly complicated.
After hesitating for a long time, she said in a doubtful tone, "Are you still my brother now?"
As a transmigrator, to some extent, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents' definition of Laufey's parents as tools for him to become flesh was not wrong.
After all, Laufey's consciousness came from another world.
It was just that his current position and the power he possessed had truly reached the level of God.
After excluding the influence of power and current position, Laufey could truly be regarded as a typical example of becoming flesh.
Nodding slightly, Laufey said, "Of course, the fact that I appear in front of you in this image naturally means I am your brother."
Daisy instantly understood.
Unfortunately, knowing the essence of Laufey, even knowing that the Laufey in front of her was indeed her brother, after adding the fact that Laufey was an Outer God parallel to the five creator gods to her cognition, she could no longer treat the other party as the brother who only possessed extraordinary power.
Taking a deep breath, Daisy did not forget what her purpose was in coming to find Laufey.
After informing Laufey of the requests of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the True Avengers Alliance, Daisy followed up with, "So many worlds need to be repaired.
I don't know how much trouble it will be for you.
If… if the trouble is relatively big, then you can pretend I didn't say anything."
Laufey himself planned to take the True Avengers Alliance as his apostles and subordinates.
It could be said that he had been waiting for this moment to arrive.
Even Daisy's appearance was within Laufey's expectations.
Nodding slightly, Laufey said, "It's possible.
For me, it's just reversing the time of a few universes, returning everything to the time before the aftermath of the battle between me and the Phoenix Force affected them."
Nodding, Daisy seemed to not know how to communicate with this brother who had become an Outer God.
Even in her heart, the Laufey in front of her was just a god wearing the appearance of her brother.
Even though this god possessed unparalleled power and an extremely noble position, in Daisy's heart, the Laufey in front of her still could not give her the closeness she once felt.
You should know that Daisy actually had some different thoughts about Laufey.
After all, Laufey's parents had mentioned more than once in front of Daisy that they wanted Laufey and Daisy to become even closer.
When the former familiarity became unfamiliar, Daisy naturally no longer had the former feelings for Laufey.
In the end, Daisy looked at Luo Fu with a complicated expression and reminded him, "If... if you have time, you can go see Dad and Mom."
Luo Fu nodded noncommittally. After seeing Daisy off, he couldn't help but sigh softly in his heart.
At this moment, he seemed to understand why those mythological stories about those who transformed from humans to gods or immortals had a saying about severing ties with the mortal world and cutting off worldly connections.
The transformation from human to god or immortal is definitely not as simple as a change in the essence of life. In human society, this change is even more obvious.
It's like a human appearing in a school of fish.
The transformation from human to god is like a fish going ashore.
Changes in material factors such as body, bloodline, and power are secondary. Changes in the idealistic factors that constitute an individual, such as cognition and concepts, are what truly make people fearful and unacceptable.
Even though Daisy had already awakened the ability to manipulate shockwaves, her cognition was still at the level of a mortal.
As for Luo Fu, whether passively or actively, from the moment he became an Outer God, all his concepts, cognitions, and idealistic factors would no longer be accepted by humans.
Even his closest parents would be the same.
Human emotions can indeed transcend everything and are undeniably great, but at the same time, humans, as animals, even advanced animals, have their bestial nature running through them from beginning to end.
Look at ancient times, the custom of drowning infants, or even giving children born different from others the name of monsters. Even though Luo Fu has become an Outer God, he cannot change this nature.
One by one, read the error-free version!
Unless he, like the Scarlet Witch when she went crazy, used his ability to create a world.
But what's the difference between doing that and Obito in the Naruto world?
Except that the world created by Luo Fu is real, and Infinite Tsukuyomi is a huge illusion world, there is no difference in essence.
And Luo Fu will not choose to use his power to interfere with the free will of others.
Even for his former father and sister, Luo Fu would calmly accept their changes.
To be precise, the change is not in his parents and sister, but in Luo Fu himself. The pursuit of the transformation of the essence of life is the instinct of all life.
Luo Fu is naturally no exception. He is different from Eternity, Infinity, Death, and Oblivion among the five creation gods. These four are specific incarnations of the laws of the universe itself and cannot be regarded as sentient life in the conventional sense.
As for Galactus, another of the five creation gods, his existence as the bottom of the barrel is really a bit too disappointing. Moreover, the essence of Galactus and Luo Fu is vastly different.
Luo Fu is the only one who simultaneously possesses the sentient life of Galactus and the specific incarnation of the universe laws of the four creation gods: Eternity, Infinity, Death, and Oblivion.
He is the specific incarnation of the concept of "Outer" in the entire Marvel Multiverse, and he is also the human Luo Fu with Inhuman blood.
This particularity causes Luo Fu to only be able to climb step by step from lower to higher dimensions and levels of life.
Just like human growth, it is a process of self-renewal and iteration. This renewal and iteration is not just a simple replacement of body matter cells every seven years, but also a change in the levels of mind, self-awareness, and so on.
To put it bluntly, so-called growth is the constant killing of the past self.
In Luo Fu's case, this is especially obvious and cruel.
Luo Fu is a person who truly demonstrates the killing of the past self to the fullest extent.
From the moment he became an Outer God, the Luo Fu who was born and raised by Luo's father and Luo's mother no longer exists.
Whether from the timeline or other aspects, the former Luo Fu can only be regarded as a part of the Outer God Luo Fu. Behind or above the human individual named Luo Fu, there is a true main body.
Luo Fu's parents obviously cannot accept this.
Although in the eyes of Christians, Joseph and Mary were able to raise Jesus, which is simply supreme glory, but in Joseph's eyes?
You know, when Mary was pregnant, Joseph wanted to abandon Mary more than once. It was thanks to the appearance of an angel that Joseph accepted this child who had no blood relationship with him.
In that era of severe lack of productivity, raising a child was not a simple matter.
Luo's father and Luo's mother obviously cannot emotionally accept that their child is actually the incarnation of the Outer God, which is equivalent to the creation god.
At best, these parents are just a tool. The material investment is nothing, but the emotional resistance and inability to accept are the biggest reasons why Luo's father and Luo's mother did not come to see Luo Fu.
Luo Fu himself is obviously aware of this.
After seeing off his sister Daisy, it wasn't long before a space portal flashing with sparks appeared in front of Luo Fu.
At first, this dimensional portal was just a hollow ring of sparks the size of a fist. After a while, it gradually expanded into a portal large enough for people to pass through.
Kama Taj's current Supreme Mage, Doctor Strange Stephen Strange, took the lead and crossed the portal. Behind him were several representatives from various parallel universes.
Of course, saying they are representatives is just a euphemism. In fact, every one of these people is a victim of Luo Fu's battle with the Phoenix Force.
Like that sloppy Tony Stark, in that universe, even the entire Earth was completely wiped out.
During the time they were looking for and waiting for Luo Fu to meet them, these people had obviously completely unified their positions.
The moment they came to Luo Fu, led by Stephen Strange, everyone knelt down towards Luo Fu in unison.
Don't look at these people, who shout freedom and respect at every turn, but in front of Luo Fu, a terrifying existence who can destroy a universe at every turn.
The so-called freedom and respect seem to have been completely forgotten.
After respectfully offering a great gift to Luo Fu, Doctor Strange then opened his mouth and said, "We have seen Your Majesty the Outer God. May Your Majesty be well! May your glory be spread throughout the multiverse and last forever."
"It's hard for you to come up with such a congratulatory speech." Luo Fu smiled indifferently, not taking Doctor Strange's flattery to heart at all.
Just kidding, if they didn't know that their strength was not something they could contend with at all.
These people in front of him would definitely not kneel at his feet as respectfully as they are now.
Instead, they would shout righteous slogans, such as freedom, dignity, and democracy, and attack Luo Fu.
You know, Luo Fu is different from Thanos, who would be defeated by the Avengers.
The ultimate achievement of Thanos, the cosmic overlord, is to collect all the Infinity Stones, embed them on the Infinity Gauntlet, and make that snap after completing the energy cycle.
And Luo Fu? His own power has surpassed the sum of the six Infinity Stones.
You know, not long ago, when the Time Variance Authority regarded Luo Fu as a time criminal, just to imprison Luo Fu, they spent I don't know how many Infinity Stones to create a multi-universe system that claims to be cyclical.
Yes.
The inside of the Infinity Stone cage is actually a multi-universe system that claims to be cyclical.
Such a strong person has almost surpassed the limit that the Avengers can imagine. Even if they exhaust everything, they cannot see any hope of defeating Luo Fu.
For the sake of their world, they can only bow their heads to Luo Fu and choose to obtain Luo Fu's forgiveness and understanding in a pleading way.
Whether it is Doctor Strange or other victims from various parallel worlds, they all have a humble and obedient look at this moment.
Waiting for Luo Fu's next words.
After a slight pause, Luo Fu said, "I already know your intentions, but if you want to pull the timeline of so many universes back to the past, with just a few of you, I'm afraid you can't pay the conditions that I can accept."
At the moment when the words fell, Luo Fu seemed to know what these people were thinking, and said in advance: "In your hearts, the reason why your world has ended up like this is because I and the Phoenix Force are the culprits, but you can only find me now! This is enough to prove that you are weak and powerless!"
Doctor Strange and others were immediately silent.
Although Doctor Strange is a native of Luo Fu's world, as the Supreme Mage of Kama Taj, it is precisely because he understands Luo Fu's horror that he is more clear that Luo Fu, who can be on par with the five creation gods, must not be offended by them.
After all, even the Ancient One Mage, who single-handedly established the system of the three major temples on Earth to block the invasion of all dimensional demon gods, the final result was just to follow Eternity, the great god among the five creation gods.
And Luo Fu? His Outer God status is enough to contend with Eternity himself.
Seeing the members of the Real Avengers Alliance silent, Luo Fu looked at Doctor Strange and said, "The Ancient One Mage has already pursued Eternity, and now you are the Supreme Mage of Kama Taj, then, as a mage of the Kama Taj lineage, I think you should be clearer than everyone else that if the mage system wants to gain power, it must pay a price."
Doctor Strange's eyes suddenly lit up.
Price?
That's good!!
Although at first glance, it seems like this is a very deceiving condition, Kama Taj itself is a group of cows and horses.
At any rate, the former Doctor Strange was considered to have mixed into the upper class in human society.
In his opinion, the mages of Kama Taj are actually a group of cows and horses who live on loans.
It is precisely because of this understanding, coupled with the fact that the Ancient One Mage left a solid family fortune, Doctor Strange is a rather alternative existence even among mages.
This alternative specifically refers to those dimensional demon gods.