Neither Gwen, nor Sylvie and Ian, who were currently racing at the end of time, knew the terrifying truth—the artificial intelligence presenting itself as "Jarvis" in the hologram, with its gentle voice and clear logic, was not Tony Stark's loyal butler at all.
Behind that gentle virtual image was an ultimate intelligence cold to the extreme, calculating the end of all things—Ultron.
He had deceived Gwen.
His search for the so-called O-A-A was by no means for the hope of restarting the multiverse. The purpose of this sentient program was unknown to anyone, but it ran completely counter to any human understanding of "hope."
Meanwhile, the clueless Ian Kent was still riding his self-named Snowman Diaochan, kiting the temporal monster Alioth while simultaneously offending both Honor of Kings and League of Legends players.
He wasn't afraid.
After all, his fellow players from his previous life couldn't reach across worlds to poke him with their fingers, nor could they tap their screens to send him a "treatment package" of electric therapy.
"Giddy up! Giddy up! Giddy up!"
Ian Kent was riding on the back of the female Loki, Sylvie.
His arms were wrapped around her neck as if he were riding a horse, and he had a glow stick scavenged from a discarded spacecraft in his mouth, emitting a faint, eerie blue light.
This wasn't discrimination or insult.
Ian used the same voice command when riding his own Aunt; it was a multi-purpose term. Sylvie couldn't even find the breath to curse him; driven by the Speed Force legs, she was running much faster than the speed of sound.
The ruins at the end of time had turned into a bizarre, multicolored nightmare racetrack.
Sylvie carried Ian, her legs forced by that pair of External Black Hairy Legs. She was so fast she was nearly burning through her soles, every step leaving a shallow pit in the shattered ground.
Because Ian continued to hold the Casket of Ancient Winters, releasing "poison" through various strange liquids or solid mists, he had even turned the temporal monster a multicolored black.
The Casket of Ancient Winters had been squeezed into a new role: the universe's premier atomizer and humidifier.
"No! When does this end?! We're already at the end of time!" Sylvie had no idea how to even evaluate Ian's prodding. Her hair flew wildly behind her, and the scenery ahead blurred and distorted into a chaotic flow of colors and lines due to the high speed.
Though the high-speed movement didn't tear her body apart, Sylvie felt terrible. She wasn't running; she was being dragged through a life-threatening drift she couldn't control.
"Dammit! What on earth is this thing?!"
Sylvie screamed into the wind. She tried to steer, but her legs refused to listen. She could only barely adjust her center of gravity to narrowly avoid massive debris or sudden sinkholes. Giving one's movement entirely to a pair of mysterious, self-moving legs was an absolute nightmare!
"Oh, you mean Little Black and Little Hairy?" Despite running faster than sound, Ian possessed super-hearing, allowing him to converse with the Speed Force-boosted Sylvie.
"They're my pets. Ever since I let them out on the savanna, they've been quite well-behaved. Just a bit energetic sometimes." Ian's tone was as casual as if he were introducing a pet cat or dog.
"PETS?!!" Sylvie nearly stopped breathing, her brain stalling again. What kind of person keeps two living, hairy, long legs as pets?
Even a leg fetishist shouldn't have this kind of habit! This wasn't just a brain cramp; her entire cranial cavity felt like it deserved to be sucked into Alioth for purification!
She whipped her head around, wanting to kill this pathological liar with a glare, only to see a sight that left her even more stunned—Ian had somehow pulled something larger than a heavy-duty truck out of his pants pocket with his mimic hands, which were now free after stowing the All-Black Necrosword and Gungnir!
Yes.
Out of an ordinary, hand-sized pocket!
Sylvie's eyes nearly popped out as she stared back mid-sprint, defying all laws of human anatomy. This time, she was purely terrified.
Terrified of spatial magic?
Of course not.
It was because the object Ian pulled out was a massive, heavy ballistic missile painted with danger symbols, radiating cold metallic luster and an aura of extreme danger!
"Behold my divine power!"
The missile was held high above Ian's head by his mimic arms covered in black-red biological armor. The tail of the missile was even flickering with unstable energy flames.
As if ready to launch at any moment!
"Where... where did you pull that out from?!!" Sylvie's voice cracked. She felt like she had experienced more shock today than in the past several hundred years combined.
There was no magical aura!
This was something Sylvie found impossible to understand.
"Isn't this common sense? Haven't you seen Doraemon? As the saying goes... oh, I mean 'Mother wouldn't know,' even Doraemon was nicknamed 'Dora-Ian-mon' as a compliment to little old me." Ian adjusted the aiming angle, pointing the missile at the approaching Alioth, whose color had become increasingly weird from devouring too much toxic mist.
His voice carried a strange sense of superiority. Without giving Sylvie time to process the ridiculous metaphor, he pulled an imaginary trigger!
"Off you go!"
*Whish—!!!*
The massive missile trailed a long plume of flame, let out a deafening roar, and streaked toward the charging Alioth!
Sylvie's pupils contracted!
She thought Ian intended to blow up the mountains of ships and aircraft carrier wreckage ahead to create a rain of metal fragments—though she doubted it would work. But in the next second, her expectations were subverted.
The missile wasn't aimed at an obstacle. Instead, as it flew in front of Alioth's open, abyss-like devouring vortex, it exploded mid-air!
*BOOM—!!!!*
A small, but absolutely terrifying mushroom cloud rose into the air!
The shockwave sent dozens of discarded carriers flying, twisting steel like paper.
The shockwave, carrying destructive heat and radiation, spread instantly, pushing away, melting, and vaporizing all the surrounding trash!
"Are you serious?! A nuke? You used a nuke at close range in a place like this!?" Sylvie's voice jumped eight octaves, filled with disbelief and terror!
She felt her back was being seared by a hot iron, and the shockwave pushed her even faster!
"Yeah!"
Ian's voice was actually quite clear amidst the roar of the explosion, sounding satisfied with the successful experiment.
"I bought a bunch of smuggled nukes; why not use them? If I don't, how will the world know I have them?" These nukes hadn't expired, suggesting that Grandpa's military base wasn't entirely corrupt yet.
He paused and added more seriously, "Actually, it's not just a nuke. I added a bit of 'Ian's Special Radiation Combo' inside."
"Trust me, trust me like you trust the Big Guy Upstairs—the effect is top-notch! Hope it helps." Ian watched the rising mushroom cloud and the drifting dust.
His eyes were slightly worried.
He was concerned that the "Big Smoke, No Damage" law was still the true universal truth of the Marvel world.
"EXTRA RADIATION?!!" Sylvie felt her divine blood freeze. The radiation from a nuclear explosion was already terrifying enough, and this guy added more?!! Even with a god's body, there were limits!
Sylvie, who had no desire to grow a third breast, went into overdrive. At this moment, she didn't even need the forced drive of the Speed Force legs; her survival instinct was fully triggered!
She screamed, exploding with unprecedented potential, and sprinted for her life alongside the black hairy legs! It was as if she weren't running from a temporal monster, but from something dirtier and more foul! Her brain's defense mechanism likely prevented her from realizing the foul thing was actually on her back.
"You're crazy! Absolutely insane!"
Sylvie cursed wildly, her face pale. Seeing Ian pull out more tape, she stopped her high-pitched screaming and used every ounce of strength to coordinate with the Speed Force legs.
This was the true desire to live.
The fearless Loki variant was now terrified of not running fast enough, being caught by the lethal radiation dust, and being turned into a new species by Ian's additives.
"Your magic! Your energy! None of that can deal with that monster!" she roared, her voice distorted by speed and fear.
"It is the end of all things! Everything is just food for it!" Sylvie was on the verge of a breakdown, wondering what exactly was inside Ian's head.
"Nonsense! Stop talking rubbish! One of my titles is Super Glutton, no one knows food better than I do!" Ian barked, thumping the back of Sylvie's head.
As an Entropy Lord, he wasn't talking nonsense. He was using his status as a new-generation Galactus to probe Alioth's condition.
"Don't you think this guy is a lot like Galactus?"
Ian never did anything without reason; it's just that most people's cognition wasn't on the same level. Most people, especially those in the Marvel Universe, didn't know that the universe had gone through eight cycles of birth and death. Each multiverse had its own personification of Eternity.
That is, there were eight Eternities in total.
The first Eternity was known as the First Firmament.
He was the oldest of the Eternities, and also the strongest and most evil. He created the Celestials. The Celestials wanted life to evolve freely, while the First Firmament wanted to force his will. Because of their differing ideologies, the Celestials and the First Firmament went to war.
In the war, the First Firmament's body was shattered, and the fragments became the second Eternity. Since then, the birth of each generation of Eternity was a continuation of the previous one.
In reality, the root was still the First Firmament.
Every universe's development is a process from birth to death, like a person's life. In the sixth iteration of the universe, Galactus appeared. At that time, the invincible Galactus was just an ordinary alien.
Named Galan.
A scientist by profession.
His hobby was traveling the universe—a hobby even more expensive than the "travel bloggers" on social media—so naturally, he was a "single dog." At that time, Galan's civilization was the highest in the universe. However, after billions of years of development, that universe also reached its end.
When the universe was destroyed, all matter collapsed toward the center, where a cosmic egg was forming to give birth to a new multiverse. Lethal radiation caused the death of almost all life in the universe. Galan's home planet was the last one with life.
It was also the last one not yet sucked into the new cosmic egg.
Galan, as a planetary explorer, traveled the universe to find a way to save his home world. Of course, the result was naturally nothing. Just as they faced extinction, the sixth Eternity found him. Eternity hoped Galan would inherit all his abilities, merging everything into the mortal Galan.
He made Galan the sole survivor and witness of the cosmic cycle.
Thus, the invincible Galactus was born. In the seventh universe, not only did Eternity appear again, but Infinity, Oblivion, and Death appeared for the first time as well.
Galactus, along with these four deities, formed the cornerstone of the Marvel Universe. However, in terms of debut time, Galactus was a bit earlier than the other four, so his seniority was higher. At the same time, he was the only deity with a physical body, which was one reason why he often "ate dirt" in fights.
Newcomers eventually surpass the old.
Of course.
The reason Ian mentioned "Uncle Galactus" was not just to express that he, at the end of the eighth cosmic cycle, was a legitimate successor taking over the duties of the second Galactus.
Rather, he saw the characteristics of the temporal monster and felt it shared a trait with Galactus, who gained power from the ancient Eternity.
It is well known that the reason Galactus is eternally hungry is because there is a cosmic tapeworm inside him. It is this tapeworm that consumes the energy in his body. And this cosmic tapeworm is a character many comic fans like—Galactus's daughter, Galacta.
Known as Gal-G.
The world only knows Galacta in her human form, but they don't know what she looked like when she was just a tapeworm. Ian felt that Galacta might be quite similar to this temporal monster, Alioth.
Yes!
Don't forget, Galactus's power likely originated from the First Firmament. So, looking at Galactus's situation, how could one not speculate about the First Firmament?
Living beings have convergent traits!
If Galactus, modified by the power of the First Firmament, could produce offspring, why couldn't the First Firmament itself? Following this invincible logic, Ian suspected that Alioth was a cosmic tapeworm from within the First Firmament! Or at the very least, a tapeworm from some generation of Eternity that inherited the First Firmament's power!
"If that's the case... things are a bit bad."
Ian's eyes flickered as he watched the distant explosion and smoke. As he predicted, the "Big Smoke, No Damage" rule held true. The rising mushroom cloud and dust were being sucked into Alioth's maw like a giant whale drinking water!
Even Ian's "special radiation" was swallowed whole.
Alioth emerged from the dust, its body swelling slightly from devouring the energy, its color becoming even more chaotic.
It even let out a sound... like a belch that echoed across the end of time! It was now undeniable that the monster was unharmed.
Those energy eyes locked onto Sylvie and Ian, burning with a hunger so intense that Sylvie could feel the terrifying emotion without even looking back.
"See! Useless!" Sylvie cried out in despair.
"It's fine, Lord Ian has plenty of tricks." Ian replied confidently.
"No more! Please!"
Seeing both physical and "weird" attacks fail, only making the enemy angrier, Sylvie knew she couldn't let the lunatic on her back continue his "performance art."
The female Loki had spent too much time with other Lokis; she finally remembered she was the Greatest Sorceress of the Nine Realms. Her divine power surged, mixing with the chaotic energy of the end of time.
"Let me do it! Stop pulling out your dangerous toys!" Sylvie barked, releasing her gathered power!
*Vroom—!*
Instantly, countless green, translucent illusions flooded out like a tide! These clones perfectly replicated Sylvie carrying Ian, right down to the hairy legs and Ian's four arms holding weapons.
This was the illusion magic that all parallel Lokis excelled at, except for the God of Stories who preferred physical combat. Countless "Sylvies and Ians" sprinted in all directions, each looking lifelike, even kicking up dust and mimicking the sounds of breathing and footsteps.
The essence of Loki's illusion magic is actually extremely profound.
It carries the potential of a creator.
Thus, it instantly and greatly interfered with Alioth's perception and locking.
"Shadow Clones! Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Ian's eyes lit up, momentarily forgetting the danger. His voice was full of surprise, as if discovering a new continent. "This magic is great! I have to learn this!"
He wasn't interested in using clones for combat or deception. His mind instantly jumped to a completely different direction.
"As expected of a short-sighted Loki. From now on, the idiom 'rat-sighted' should be changed to 'Loki-sighted'." Ian stared at the clones running in all directions, his brain calculating rapidly. He didn't like playing the clone game himself, but this magic was truly extraordinary.
The employees in his factory would definitely need this.
After all, a clone that can interact with the environment means it can definitely interact with an assembly line.
"One employee learning this magic equals thousands of employees! Heavens! The production efficiency! The cost control! The labor optimization!"
"Even fully automated production can't beat my employees! I can't imagine the sheer scale of productivity!" Ian felt that if he took the Titanic to DC, he could truly call himself the King of the World. Loki's illusion magic was the "Divine Art" for creating a cosmic-level Industrial Cthulhu!
"No! As long as I learn this magic and teach it to the world, everyone can be an Industrial Cthulhu, and me? I'll be held high in the sky as their Azathoth!" Ian's ultimate goal was still to extract mana; he couldn't imagine how abundant his mana would be in that scenario.
"Dammit! What are you mumbling about?! Do you know we're being hunted?" Sylvie was still running, her mind not as jumpy as Ian's.
In such a dangerous situation, not just anyone could daydream like Ian—not even the most outrageous Lokis in the Marvel multiverse.
"ROAR—!"
Alioth's massive, shifting form accelerated again, like a boiling, multicolored dark nebula. It crushed all obstacles and locked onto the two tiny but slippery figures, as if the entire end of time only had these two targets left.
"Persistent bastard!"
Sylvie spat out blood.
Feeling the pressure behind her that was nearly searing her soul, she grit her teeth and shouted to Ian on her back, "It must have orders from Ultron! He wants to wipe us out!"
"We have to go to the TVA, steal a TemPad, open a door to the living world, and hide there temporarily. Then we can figure out how to deal with Ultron!" Sylvie's life experiences made her dislike being passive; she wanted to take initiative.
This was the only way she could think of to survive.
Racing Alioth at the end of time would eventually wear her out. However, Ian on her back seemed to have a different view. Ian's mimic compound eyes remained fixed on Alioth.
Sylvie didn't see Ian swallow his saliva.
"It's no use, Lady Loki."
Ian shook his head, his black-red faceplate reflecting the chaotic colors of Alioth. "I feel... this big guy's goal is very specific. Even if we flee to the living world, it will tear through dimensions to follow. I have a... well, a 'Cthulhu friend' over there, and he wouldn't want you bringing this monster into his backyard."
"Trust me, he's an Evil God. If he gets angry, it won't just be a frown." Lies came naturally to Ian.
His voice carried a hint of Oscar-worthy fear.
"Then what? Just keep running?! Running until the heat death of the universe?!" Sylvie roared, her external black hairy legs nearly running into afterimages.
Her spirit was reaching its limit.
"Run for about another six hours. After six hours, the problem should be solved." Ian gave his suggestion after checking his doodle watch.
Six hours was exactly the time he would return to the DC universe. Just as he didn't believe his fellow players could cross universes to beat him, he didn't believe Alioth could follow him to DC.
"Six hours?! No big problem?!"
Sylvie felt like she was having a brain hemorrhage.
Just then, Ian seemed to think of a good idea and asked tentatively, "Hey! Lady Loki! Want to gain power on the level of the Five Cosmic Entities? I'm a friend who loves to share. I have a natural gift for 'loving' people and can share my power with others."
"Of course, you'll have to pay a price. Besides praising me, you might feel a bit of... abdominal pain for a few thousand years?" Ian's tone was also a bit uncertain.
"What abdominal pain for thousands of years?!" Sylvie was completely confused. She felt the guy's insanity was getting worse, talking complete gibberish. She knew about Galactus, but she didn't believe Ian truly had that power or that he'd be kind enough to share it.
"What on earth are you talking about?!" Just as she was distracted by Ian's absurd comment, her upper body tilted slightly.
*BANG!*
Her shoulder slammed hard into a thick, rusted metal pipe sticking out from the side!
It was a direct hit! Sylvie groaned, sharp pain radiating from her shoulder blade, and she instantly lost her balance! Even those two running hairy legs couldn't adjust in time!
"Whoa!"
"Ouch!"
The two of them screamed.
Along with the two hairy legs still kicking the air, they tumbled to the ground, rolling like gourds across the debris-covered floor for quite a distance before stopping.
"Cough... I shouldn't have been born! If I hadn't been born..." Sylvie felt like her bones were shattered, her mouth filled with dirt and rust. However, the roar of Alioth behind them approached instantly—the shadow of death was like ice water over her head!
"No! I won't be eaten!" She shook her buzzing head, struggling to crawl up, but felt the world spinning.
Just then.
Ian, as if nothing had happened, bounced up from the ground and climbed onto her back again, patting her shoulder urgently.
"Run! Run! Lady Loki! Don't just stand there! It's here!" Ian was shouting.
"Huh?" Sylvie was even more confused. She shook her head and braced her body, looking back in anger and despair—Alioth's massive, twisted devouring vortex was right there! Inside were swirling time-currents and destructive energy!
"Dammit! I don't want to be a man-mom!"
For the first time, Ian's voice sounded nervous. Seeing Sylvie not moving, he jumped off her, and while missing his Auny Kara, he strapped the Speed Force legs to himself.
"Auntie is better; she never kicks." Ian looked back once and then bolted, the Speed Force leaving a trail behind him.
"Cough—"
Sylvie was choked by the dust kicked up.
"Man-mom? What man-mom?! Explain yourself, you bastard!" Naturally, she wasn't in the mood to curse anymore, as the temporal monster was getting closer.
And Ian? He was already out of sight.
"Fine! You don't need to be faster than Alioth, just faster than me, right?" Sylvie's scalp went numb, but it didn't stop her from being furious.
After all, this was a classic Loki trick. Now that it was being used on her, she couldn't help but be enraged.
"Dammit! Team killer!"
Time seemed to stretch at this moment.
Sylvie's pupils reflected Alioth's overwhelming, surging body. The destructive energy vortex nearly touched the tip of her nose. She thought she was being used as a last human shield by that lunatic Ian, abandoned at the final moment. A mix of despair, anger, and defiance rushed to her heart.
"Even if I die, I'll fight to the end!"
Pride outweighed fear. She suddenly raised her hands, the remaining divine power in her body and the chaotic energy of the end of time converging recklessly, preparing to cast her most destructive spell.
"Come on! Eat me! But don't you forget to eat that damn kid too!" Sylvie roared. She wasn't a hero, but she only allowed herself to die in battle. Even if the attack was like an ant against a carriage to Alioth, she refused to surrender and vanish into nothingness!
As for the survival of the multiverse?
Who cares!
I'm tired! I'm ready to kick the bucket!
Sylvie raised her hands, green magical light flickering intensely at her fingertips, energy ready to burst!
However, in the next second.
The expected collision and devouring did not happen.
Her attack hit nothing. That terrifying monster, capable of annihilating stars and tearing time, at the very second it was about to include her in its destruction, actually curved its massive body in a move that defied all laws of physics... and bypassed her!
It was like a rushing flood hitting a tiny pebble, naturally splitting around it, without even a ripple of energy touching her.
"?????"
Sylvie's hands, full of power, froze in mid-air.
The magical light at her fingertips flickered as it lost its target. She didn't know whether to be happy about her narrow escape or frustrated that she was suddenly so insignificant.
"????????"
The more Sylvie thought, the more colorful her expression became. She was completely stunned, her brain stopped working, and she could only stare as Alioth's chaotic body roared past her, the wind blowing her blonde hair wildly and making her clothes snap. Clearly, its target wasn't her.
The temporal monster hadn't even... looked at her!
That terrifying existence had its attention, its gaze, and all its greed and desire locked onto the kid who had already run out of sight.
"Ssss—"
Sylvie's brain was a super-brain after all; it worked fast, especially with an adrenaline boost. Within seconds, she figured it out.
Ian Kent!
Only now did Sylvie realize with total clarity—from beginning to end, Alioth's target was only Ian! Its relentless, crazy pursuit and its destructive stance weren't for devouring; it had a more primal, weird, and chilling goal!
"Man-mom..."
Sylvie thought back to Ian's nervous words before he bolted.
Now, everything seemed to make sense.
An absurd, yet uniquely logical explanation struck Sylvie's mind like lightning, making her scalp tingle.
This terrifying monster that had swallowed countless timelines, representing ultimate void and end... it had chased her and that weird Ian across the end of time just to crawl into Ian's stomach?! A literal case of "Grand Tadpole Finding Mom"?!
At this moment.
Sylvie understood why Ian ran so fast.
He left without even a backward glance.
He didn't take her with him.
***
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