tkworld Chapter 1047 Humanity's Most Dangerous Moment, and True Courage
Chapter 1047 Humanity's Most Dangerous Moment, and True Courage
Chapter 1047 Humanity's Most Dangerous Moment, and True Courage
The Pharaoh was a wise man.
After a long period of effort, he finally found himself in control of the situation.
Batman: The Dragon. This native of the DC multiverse has helped him find the key to defeating Doctor Manhattan.
Although the cat Boubastis was dead, his abilities remained within him. The situation hadn't worsened; in fact, it had improved. He could now freely utilize this connection with Dr. Manhattan to locate him more quickly. At the same time, he was also preparing, considering the possibility of Dr. Manhattan rejecting him, and carefully considering his options.
Restraining Dr. Manhattan is an extremely dangerous thing, but Ozymandias has done it before, and he has succeeded before. Since he has once driven Dr. Manhattan to act according to his will, he can succeed a second time. Ozymandias is confident that his plan will succeed.
As for Batman: Dragon —
To Pharaoh, the other party was a teammate who could help him in crucial moments, but in reality, Pharaoh knew nothing about the other party, nor was he interested in knowing. All his thoughts were now being used to predict Dr. Manhattan. He was using mortal thinking to predict God's actions, and he was succeeding time and time again.
To some extent, this was a confident arrogance, an arrogance that consumed the Pharaoh, preventing him from seeing the gloom in Batman Dragon's eyes, and his hesitation and resoluteness from understanding what Batman Dragon was planning to do.
And how did they carry out their plan?
Beyond the endless, chaotic timelines, the Bats of Laughter appeared before the Hand of the Void. Behind them, like a rainbow, various fragments of history stretched across the entire field of vision, shimmering in the sky.
That is the outward manifestation of the essence of the trans-time flow.
"so."
The Hand of the Void sat on his throne, with the controlled Triad goddess, Hecate, the goddess of magic, beside him.
I don't care what promises you make to me, Laughing Bat, your credibility is nonexistent with me, so I'm just asking you one last time—where is the Miracle Machine?
"Don't worry, my friend."
To defeat the Demon King, the warrior Void Hand formed a temporary team with the thief Batman Laughing, whom he met along the way. Then, Void Hand heard Batman Laughing say, "Perpetua's power prevents you from ever finding the Miracle Machine, but you're lucky enough to have my help—I said you would succeed, and you will."
He paused for a moment as he spoke.
"What we need most right now is not whether we can find the Miracle Machine, but whether Batman Dragon wants us to do the thing I'm doing by leading you to it—because in principle, Perpetua's shielding effect on the Miracle Machine applies to everyone except for Doctor Manhattan, who is stronger than her—and I'll assume Doctor Manhattan is stronger than Perpetua."
The Batman Who Laughs rambled on, saying, "This is indeed a common tactic of mine. Batman Dragon—many times his methods are derived from mine."
He pondered, "Batman Dragon absorbs traits from the opponents he defeats, and we happen to be Batmen, so I should be an important target for him to absorb traits from."
The Bat of Laughter grew increasingly gloomy as he spoke. Doubt and uncertainty overwhelmed him like a tidal wave, and then he felt the menacing gaze of the Void Hand.
Regardless of the Batman Who Laughs's doubts, the Void Hand will not let the Miracle Machine go. And now, the only one who can break through the Perpetual Barrier is the Batman Who Laughs, a Batman from the Dark Multiverse with a deeper connection to the Manhattan Batman. Even Batman Dragon cannot do it.
If the Laughing Batstring and the Void Hand reach an agreement, then he must give the Void Hand the bargaining chips it wants. This is something you know might have some hidden dangers, but you have no choice but to do, just like when Chen Tao knew that the Earth Fifteen Incident had endless harmful effects, but still took action without hesitation.
Of course, even if the Batman Who Laughs gave the Miracle Machine to the Void Hand, he wouldn't be without ways to counter it, but that's another matter entirely. At least the Miracle Machine has gone from a legendary artifact that no one could find to a card appearing on the board. Therefore, any card or piece could potentially be affected.
The Bat Who Laughs finally sighed. Never mind.
Regardless of Batman Dragon's plans, he still believed his own plan could eliminate Batman Dragon's suppression of him. Some plans can't be abandoned just because you feel something is wrong; he had been planning for the Void Hand for a long time, and there was no way he would give up because of this. Moreover, he was confident in his plan, just as Batman Dragon was confident in it.
Through the Miracle Machine, it can manipulate the Void Hand's actions step by step. The Batman Who Laughs is confident that, through the Void Hand, he can orchestrate a massive siege against Dr. Manhattan. He is more ambitious than anyone else; he is the Batman Who Laughs, he is planning a grand war, and he is the one holding the switch.
Perpetua, the Void Hand, and even Batman's Dragon. All three have been influenced by the Blessing of the Laughing. Although he cannot control everyone's actions, everything is driven by the Blessing of the Laughing's thoughts.
"I've found the Miracle Machine's location." The Batman Who Laughs closed his eyes, then opened them again, telling the Void Hand the exact location: "At the end of the Final Crisis, Superman used the Miracle Machine to restore the entire DC multiverse. At that point in time, the Miracle Machine manifested in the DC multiverse and demonstrated its power. I'll take you there. But you'd better not try to shake me off—"
The Void Hand had exactly that in mind. Once he obtained the Miracle Machine, what was the Bat Who Laughs worth? Shouldn't he kick it aside immediately?
But at that moment, with the warning of maniacal laughter, he suddenly had an epiphany from the trans-time flow and then opened his eyes with a look of utter dismay.
"Because you are not only a native being of the DC multiverse, but you have also been trying to make contact with the Miracle Machine for many years—whatever method you used, you were able to make the Miracle Machine reject all other beings except you. This is a spacetime loop, and you also took advantage of Perpetua—"
The Void Hand felt disgusted, as if he'd swallowed a fly. The Batman Who Laughs' previous alliance with Perpetua was clearly ill-intentioned; he used Perpetua to exploit the possibility of the Miracle Machine being discovered by others through the temporal loop, thus completing a previously hidden historical loop. Perpetua's power became part of his efforts to achieve his goals, ultimately causing the Miracle Machine—this infinite wish-granting machine—to be activated by the DC multiverse's immune system. This system not only rejected the use of it by Outer Gods like the Void Hand but also viewed the Batman Who Laughs as its protector. He was manipulating and exploiting the DC multiverse's destiny, naturally preventing others from approaching the Miracle Machine.
"And if I want to destroy the Miracle Machine and transform it into a Destruction Machine, I will definitely need your help," the Void Hand said.
"Yes, my dear friend," the Bat of Laughter chuckled. "I knew you would never abandon your friend."
Everything was under his control. This familiar feeling made the maniacal laugh feel at ease.
Although he himself wouldn't think so.
"The escape of the puppets and the mime is nothing," Chen Tao told the Pharaoh. "Perhaps finding them is like searching for a needle in a haystack for you, but for me—"
He looked down at the two figures—a pantomime and a marionette—on the street edge of the building below, where Joker worshippers from the main universe of Gotham City were locked in a fierce battle.
The Pharaoh stood beside him, instinctively wanting to adopt a cat-like crouching posture, but was forcefully stopped by his willpower.
"So when do you plan to stop those two from continuing to beat up those gang members?" the second-generation Rorschach asked from the side.
-
"soon."
Chen Tao glanced at him, and in an instant he saw through the black face beneath the black and white mask, and the sorrow of his parents' death.
For the sake of the Watchers universe, he was deceived by the Ozymandias's lie, "I have a tumor, but I still want to save the world," abandoned his hatred for his parents who were killed by the Ozymandias as millions of victims, helped the Ozymandias come to the main universe, and even guarded the two supervillains, Mime and Marionette.
Chen Tao was now thinking, what if he found out that all of this was fake—
Forget it.
He simply waved his hand, and the energy, like a living entity, enveloped some nanobots, corroding the weapons in the hands of the two sides engaged in the fight below until they were as brittle as tofu.
Two thugs were about to say something when suddenly all his clothes disappeared as if bitten by insects, leaving him completely naked.
"Oh dear," said the female marionette.
"You'd better bring them up quickly," said the Pharaoh.
Chen Tao paused, then asked, "Are you sure you can use the two of them to restrain Dr. Manhattan?"
"Sure."
"All right."
The Pharaoh's eyes glowed blue. After merging with the cat Boubastis, he not only gained more power, but also deepened his connection with Dr. Manhattan.
In the past, he relied entirely on speculation and conjecture to understand the state of Dr. Manhattan, but now he does not.
When Chen Tao dragged the two men to him like chicks, the Pharaoh almost couldn't wait to grab the lamp in his hand.
"Are you planning to summon him right here on the rooftop of some random building in Gotham City in the main universe?" Chen Tao asked from the side. "Shouldn't we go to some lab and find a bunch of specialized equipment, like a space lab or something?"
"No need. It's all meaningless to Dr. Manhattan, no matter where he is."
As the Pharaoh spoke, some feline features began to appear on his face: strands of pink hair-like worms sprouted from his face, while more red hairs mingled with his golden hair, creating a striking contrast of gold and red, like splashed ink, which complemented his blue-glowing eyes, exuding an indescribable majesty and unrestrained power.
"Ah, I feel a little scared—" said the little sprite.
"It's alright, darling, it's alright, Johnny, you'll find your Thunderfair again, it's the will of history—don't be afraid. Your lantern is helping me make history—I see Joan's time fingerprints, on this lantern, and on you too," he said to the Thunderfair.
He grinned smugly.
"And as long as I absorb enough energy, Dr. Manhattan will be able to feel a powerful pull, like a magnet, and those who resist will feel extreme pain, even if it is for them."
The Pharaoh said, "Everything is going according to my plan!"
His smile grew increasingly satisfied, and his voice grew louder and louder. Blue light shot from his eyes, and the lamp and he himself were engulfed in blue lightning.
The lightning gathered more and more, growing brighter and brighter, causing half of the Pharaoh's body to levitate. His body leaned backward, but he still held the lamp furnace high, corresponding to his thunderous and lightning-filled body. Half of his face had completely turned into a cat, with the blue Manhattan energy and the green light from the lantern merging together, becoming increasingly profound, and the colors becoming more and more terrifying.
Where are you, Dr. Manhattan?
"Everything is going according to plan! I can keep amplifying this pain!"
He shouted, urging Dr. Manhattan to appear.
With his shout, the connection between it and the furnace caused a large amount of quantum power to condense into a blue sphere, like a lightning bolt.
Show yourself!
Chen Tao watched coldly from the sidelines. Inflicting excruciating pain on Dr. Manhattan was indeed a brilliant plan.
The Pharaoh claimed to have the situation under control, and it seemed that he did.
But what you see is the fact, not the truth.
The truth is, when you think you have the situation under control, you are actually not seeing the cost.
The most dangerous moment for a person is not when they become cruel, but when they become more confident.
Stop dreaming! Do you think this is a traditional sitcom? No matter how terrible the problem at the beginning of the story, it will all be perfectly resolved in just 20 minutes. And then everyone will live happily ever after?
In the perilous DC multiverse, there is no lasting happiness, nor a definite ending. Crisis follows crisis, the battle never ends. Darkseid, the Anti-Monitor, Barbatos, Perpetua, one after another—happiness and joy are fleeting, eternal terror and chaos are the norm, and the only certainty is that nothing is ever certain. You must accept this uncertainty.
True courage is not believing that the future will always be better, but recognizing that the future is never predictable.
They continued on, steadfast and ruthless.
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