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[Superman] Chapter 249: The Flash's Ultimate Sacrifice
🕑 Added 2024-10-05 07:04:01 +0000 UTCJust as the Monitor had said, the responsibility to save all the universes now rested entirely on the shoulders of the Flash, who was sprinting at full speed.
Though Barry was already giving everything he had, the sudden acceleration of the antimatter energy wave made it seem impossible for him to complete his task before the wave arrived.
And he was well aware of this.
“No, I can’t allow any regrets in our plan…”
According to the original plan, he could still save some of the universes that hadn’t yet been overtaken by the antimatter wave. But Barry couldn’t accept the idea of leaving any regret behind, not because of a mere lack of speed.
Moreover, this wasn’t just a simple regret.
For Barry and countless innocent lives across the other universes, this minor flaw could lead to catastrophic consequences. What might seem like a small regret to him would be a world-ending disaster for those people.
At that moment, Barry fully realized the severity of the situation. Even though he was already running at his limit, he made a shocking decision: to push beyond his limits, ignoring any harm it might cause to his body, and run even faster.
He had reached beyond his limits before. Every time he did, he would break through the barriers of time and space, allowing him to travel into the past and future.
But now, he was at the origin of time itself—the birthplace of the universe and all realities.
Here, time and space were almost entirely fixed. Even though he was running beyond his limits, it had no effect on the integrity of time and space.
However, this extreme running took a toll on his body, subjecting him to immense, unbearable pressure with every stride.
“Barry, so you've made that choice in the end!”
The Monitor observed Barry, whose speed was now reaching an unimaginable level, as if he were running parallel to time and space itself. The dimensional forces of time and space had formed a vast barrier around the cosmic treadmill, as if separating them from Barry in another dimensional reality.
Watching this, the Monitor sighed inwardly, having foreseen this outcome long ago. His eyes followed Barry's increasingly blurred figure with a heavy heart.
“Damn it! What’s going on? What is Barry doing? If he keeps running like this, his body won’t be able to withstand it…”
Although the others couldn’t see what the Monitor could, they noticed the changes. As Barry’s figure began to blur and the Speed Force he emitted multiplied several times over, the Justice League members, already concerned for Barry, started realizing something was wrong.
Cyborg, after a quick calculation, came to the conclusion that if Barry continued running like this, his body would eventually be destroyed by the immense forces acting upon him.
“Monitor, what’s happening to Barry?!”
After hearing Cyborg’s analysis, everyone’s expressions darkened. Superman couldn’t hold back anymore and turned to the Monitor for an explanation.
“This is his choice. He’s prepared to sacrifice himself to save all the universes.”
The Monitor finally revealed Barry’s decision.
“What? Sacrifice himself?”
The revelation shocked everyone. Their eyes were filled with disbelief as they looked at Barry’s relentlessly sprinting figure.
Most of them had already prepared themselves for the possibility of sacrificing their lives to save the universe. Many of them, if placed in Barry’s situation, would likely make the same choice—to unhesitatingly sacrifice themselves for the greater good.
But that didn’t make the decision any easier to accept.
In this moment, they were filled with awe and admiration.
“Barry, is what you’re doing really worth it?”
Batman whispered, as if asking Barry, or perhaps questioning his own heart. Was everything they had done to fight this crisis truly worth it?
If Barry could hear him, he would undoubtedly respond without hesitation:
“It’s worth it!”
...
Soon, everyone understood that Barry had made the irreversible decision to sacrifice his life in order to save all the universes.
Moved by this realization, they all watched Barry as he ran with all his might, and silence fell over the scene.
At that moment, no one spoke. It was as if they were all praying in their hearts for Barry, bidding him farewell with their sincere gazes.
Buzz!
Barry's furious sprint continued.
Running in a state beyond his limits unleashed an enormous amount of the Speed Force, but it also brought unbearable pressure to his body.
And yet, in this terrifying state, he had been running for several minutes.
The overwhelming force was close to tearing his body apart completely.
Every second, Barry was enduring unimaginable pain, as if his body would be ripped to shreds by this immense power at any moment.
Yet despite the excruciating agony, it didn’t make him give up. Not even his speed faltered in the slightest.
It was a testament to the sheer strength and resilience of Barry's will.
To save all the universes, he was willing to endure this constant torment and even give up his life.
Finally, after running at superluminal speed for several minutes, the massive Speed Force energy completely filled the Cosmic Treadmill.
A brilliant, dazzling golden light burst forth from it.
Golden lightning crackled around Barry, both beautiful and tragic.
At this moment, the vast Speed Force energy had fully matured.
"I’ve finally done it!"
At this point, Barry, who had held on until the end, finally felt a wave of relief as he saw that everything was accomplished.
Slowly, he closed his eyes.
Suddenly, radiant bolts of electricity covered his entire body, lighting him up from head to toe.
Cracks began to form on the surface of his body as the lightning coursed through him.
"Barry, you did it. None of us, nor any universe, will ever forget your sacrifice and contribution."
Though it seemed like mere words coming from the Monitor, what else could be said in a moment like this?
After all, Barry had sacrificed himself and saved all the universes. Being remembered forever was natural. But before Barry's impending death, words were all the Monitor could offer to express his gratitude.
Buzz!
Clearly, Barry had reached the very limit of what his body could handle.
In that brief moment when he relaxed, his body was entirely torn apart by the tremendous power.
Not even a trace of him remained. He was utterly obliterated, vanishing from everyone’s sight.
"Barry..."
The grief-stricken group couldn’t express their respect or admiration for Barry with words.
They could only stand silently, mourning his heroic sacrifice to save the universe.
And while everyone was mourning for Barry...
A terrifying wave of Speed Force energy, empowered by the Cosmic Treadmill, rapidly surged throughout the infinite realities of the multiverse.
It moved at a speed so fast that it seemed to transcend time and space.
It surpassed all dimensions.
Just as the massive anti-matter wave was about to engulf a new universe, the Speed Force swept ahead of it, rushing toward that universe's reality.
Buzz!
As the immense power swept through the reality of this universe...
The resonance device, built by the united heroes in this surviving universe, was instantly activated.
Not only was the resonance device in this universe triggered...
In every surviving universe, within a mere moment, all the resonance devices were sequentially activated.
Tall metal towers, standing tens of meters high, gleamed like beacons in the endless void, guiding everyone forward.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes...
Suddenly, across the infinite universes, shadows of energy surged through like illusions.
It was as if countless universes had been linked together by this colossal power, forming a dazzling cosmic star map, shining brightly in the boundless void.
As the power spread, returning to the beginning of existence—back to the origin of everything...
It seemed as though all the universes were enveloped by a mysterious force, undergoing some kind of miraculous transformation.
The beings inside the universes couldn’t perceive the change clearly.
They only felt their consciousness pause briefly.
It was as if the entire world, and the operation of the cosmos, had halted for just a moment.
But when they came back to their senses, they found that their world seemed unchanged.
Yet, in that fleeting instant, the frequency of their universe had shifted.
All the surviving universes were now resonating together in perfect harmony.
The first to notice this change was none other than the Anti-Monitor, who had been manipulating the anti-matter wave in an attempt to consume all universal realities.
...
“Hahaha! Endless universes will become the source of my power to rule the cosmos... Wait, what’s going on?”
As the Anti-Monitor exerted all his strength to speed up the engulfing of universal realities by the anti-matter wave, he was eagerly awaiting the moment his power would surge when these realities were swallowed.
However, as the wave swept over a new universe and moved through it quickly...
He was stunned and found it hard to believe that his power hadn’t increased at all.
“No, what’s going on with this universe? It hasn’t been completely devoured by my unstoppable anti-matter energy?”
Shocked, the Anti-Monitor hurried to investigate the true cause of this anomaly.
He quickly realized that the new universe his anti-matter wave had passed through seemed completely unaffected.
Everything inside the universe remained intact.
Not only were its inhabitants untouched, but even the civilizations and their structures were unharmed.
“This can’t be! Nothing should be able to resist my anti-matter energy!”
The anti-matter energy was a devastating force created to destroy all matter and reality.
But now, for the first time, it had failed.
The Anti-Monitor was left in utter disbelief.
“Has something unexpected happened?”
The Anti-Monitor’s shock didn’t escape Zombie Superman’s notice.
Yet, rather than surprise or confusion, Zombie Superman seemed almost unsurprised.
As if everything was going according to plan.
“Have you located him yet?”
Zombie Superman wasn’t preoccupied with this unforeseen event. Instead, he turned and asked Batman, who was seated nearby.
“We’re closing in on him. He won’t be able to hide from my omniscient eyes for much longer…”
Batman replied calmly, as if they had already prepared for this moment.
“Excellent. Once we find them, the remaining universes will be powerless to escape their fate of complete annihilation.”
“The Great Darkness will ultimately rule this world!”
Zombie Superman grinned eagerly, and at the mention of the Great Darkness, his face lit up with an intense fervor.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Monitor finally confirmed that the remaining universes now seemed to be under some kind of special protection.
No matter how his anti-matter wave swept over the surviving realities...
It could not cause any harm.
The universes remained unchanged beneath the spread of anti-matter energy, as though nothing had happened at all.
“What is going on? Who dares to interfere with my grand plan to devour all universes?”
“Could it be... that he has finally intervened?”
Furious, the Anti-Monitor instantly thought of the one entity who had always stood in opposition to him: the Monitor.
At that moment, he suspected that this unexpected turn of events must be the Monitor’s doing.
“Mr. Mobius, it seems you’ve run into some trouble?”
Just as the Anti-Monitor seethed with rage, Zombie Superman approached with a smile and asked him calmly.
“Hmph, are you here to mock me?”
Still fuming, the Anti-Monitor didn’t take kindly to Zombie Superman’s approach.
“Of course not. After all, we’re on the same side with a shared goal!”
“And right now, I’m here to help you!”
...
(End of Chapter)
