Crimson Embers Chapter 38 The End of the Star
"I emphasize again, I have no such intention!"
On the surface of the End Star, which was still spewing out stellar matter, Mason snorted, as if he was still angry and didn't intend to say more to the "meddling" Grayson.
But his stubbornness cannot change the reality.
No matter what he was thinking or planning to do, everything became empty talk now that the loop core was destroyed by the young master.
The first and last true cycle will never happen again. The decomposition and backtracking process of the End Star has also been completely stopped. This black planet composed of the remains of at least five hundred worlds has once again returned to its quiet state, like a stitched corpse in a cemetery. Its fate cannot be changed no matter what.
"Tell the truth!"
Harley put her hands on her hips and said to Mason fiercely:
"Were you just planning to go back in time and make amends? Are you tired of me and Quinn? You know that doing this means we won't see each other or even know each other again, right?
Are you going to elope with your little fox?"
Quinn also stared at Mason without saying a word. That look was definitely not friendly. The captain shrugged and held the two little cuties in his arms while they struggled.
He whispered in their ears:
"I really don't have that idea, but even if I did, I would appear by your side at the right time, just like when we met, and pursue you sincerely again.
To be honest, I even prepared several different plans.
We have already signed a marriage contract, can't you two little fools give me a little trust?"
"Tsk, don't think I'll be happy just because you're so moved!"
Harry tried hard not to smile.
She reached out and pinched Mason's waist hard, then let him go, but turned around and showed off to Ciri with a smug and victorious smile, but unfortunately the hunter didn't even look at her.
It was as if she had already secured victory in this war between women that had started at some point in time.
"Hey, Mason, what should we do with this world? It can't be easily integrated into our system. It is too symbolic in terms of death and rebirth.
This thing is like a stone and cannot be digested by normal people's stomach acid."
Zha Kang took out a cigarette and wanted to share it with Rorschach, but the latter refused.
Although he looked a dozen years older, Rorschach still had the same bad temper. He seemed to be able to smell the decadent scent of Zha Kang, so he moved away from this guy, then stood there with his hands in his pockets, looking at the rift in the distance.
No one knew what he was thinking, but it was certain that Rorschach's heart would not be calm at this moment. Like everyone else, he had paid too much for this moment, and at this moment his heart was filled with mixed feelings that were hard to describe.
Facing Zha Kang's question, Mason let out a long sigh and said:
“Destroy it! There are still the last group of Hope Council members here. They are hiding somewhere on this planet like mice, but I don’t intend to play this cat and mouse game with them anymore.
Doom is dead, Dr. Bluebird was exiled, Tony Zero is dead, the backbone of the Council has long since collapsed, and even this planet doesn’t need to keep these last embers of the old era. "
"You guys go."
Hei Qiyi accepted the task without hesitation.
He stood up and put on the arrogant demeanor of a lonely gourmet, waving his hand to let others go first. It was obvious that he had made up his mind to taste the delicacies of this strange planet alone.
This might be his last feast as the Devourer Evil God. Apparently, he still didn't intend to let others watch him eat.
Everyone knows about Lord Black Strange's quirks, and it is only right that this planet should have such an ending. After the flow of time returns to normal, this planet's connection with the outside world is no longer cut off, allowing all transmissions to take effect again.
Ciri opened the rift leading to Star Hope, and everyone entered, talking and laughing. Mason walked at the end, holding hands with his fiancées. He looked back at Rorschach, who was standing there gazing into the distance, and said:
"You're not leaving?"
"I… maybe I should stay here."
The hard-core detective from more than a decade ago said in a rare, slightly bewildered tone:
"I died a long time ago, Jonathan... Dr. Manhattan, as you call him, killed me. I can even clearly remember the pain when he broke me down into subatomic state.
That happened so long ago, so long ago that the impact was still brewing.
I am a person who should not exist in this era. I don't know why Jonathan resurrected me and others and brought us here, but I guess it was not out of malicious intent.
He wasn't always so cold and eccentric.
In my memory, when I first met him, he was just a big blue guy who was different from ordinary people. Under that strange body, there was a human heart.
I've always been sharp enough in this regard.
I don't know what changed him.
Perhaps it was what he said about being able to see a future that was too hopeless to change that affected him, gradually stripping away his humanity and eventually turning him into a lonely and cruel monster.
Mason, maybe I shouldn't say this, but when I faced Manhattan with you, I wasn't as angry as I thought I would be.
Although he did a lot of bad things, it's hard for me to judge him.
My guess is…
He brought us here and allowed me to leave those diaries, perhaps subconsciously hoping that someone could stop him from going further down this path.
He is capable of everything, but he is just as vulnerable and lost as anyone else.
In his words, we are all puppets, and being able to see the transparent string is not something to be proud of, because we cannot change the shackles brought by fate.
In the final moments he seemed to regain his humanity, and after being cut off from the influence of the future, he thought about returning to the past to truly help the universe instead of letting it collapse.
In my opinion, you saved him.
Although the method is a bit strange. "
"But this is no reason for you to stay here and die."
Mason whispered:
"Your battle is over. You can say goodbye to Rorschach, or maybe reconcile with him and become a writer in the future. Although your writing is very depressing to read, I have to admit that you do have very good literary qualities."
"That's not my time or the world I know, Mason. It daunts me."
Rorschach shook his head and said stubbornly:
"I was already dead the moment I entered the fighting world. I belong here. I have become a parasite on the monster forged from the corpse of this planet.
If I were to perish together with him, that would be my fate. Rorschach would not belong to me either..."
"Hey! You're the only one who talks too much!"
The engineer, who had put on an invisibility cloak and crept up to Rorschach, swung a large wrench and hit Rorschach on the back of the head with a bang, knocking the tough detective unconscious and then carrying him on his shoulder.
The engineer, who had delivered a perfect stun, made an OK gesture to Mason, and then swaggered into the space-time rift opened by Ciri.
This scene made the captain burst out laughing, but he had to admit that the engineer's handling of the matter was a stroke of genius. As for Rorschach's rage after waking up, hey, what does that have to do with Mason?
Let him take .
"Come on, let's go too."
Mason took one last look at the Doomsday Star, then turned to the three girls beside him and said:
"I no longer have any pressure, and the last embers have been scattered, allowing me to finally focus all my energy on you and the future. Perhaps we should seize the last bit of time to travel around this universe that is about to be reshaped.
I mean, take a honeymoon or something."
"Okay, I can be your tour guide. I know a certain marginal world with a unique sunset view. Before I met you, that was my favorite place to spend time.
This was told to me by the first generation, Old K, and he also liked it there.”
Ciri brushed her waist-length silver hair, crossed her arms and said:
"I don't think there's any need to go back. Shall we leave now?"
"agree!"
Harley cheered and waved her hands. The two dogs beside her also barked and enjoyed the happiness. However, Quinn was a little annoyed. She glanced at Ciri and whispered:
"The schedule has to be rearranged again. Damn it, tonight might belong to her..."
"Tsk, just give it to her."
Harley was extremely generous at this moment. She held the dog leash and said in a very casual and teasing tone:
"We two have had enough meat, but some poor fellows haven't even licked the bones."
"You two are really vicious!"
Ciri clenched her fists and said in a bad tone:
"Needs to be taught a lesson."
"Come on, come on."
Harley grabbed her baseball bat and waved it in the air provocatively:
"Let's see who's afraid of whom!"
"Stop arguing, let's go, we can deal with those troublesome things at night."
Mason stopped his girlfriends from arguing with each other.
He pushed the old hat that was making a whirring sound and was about to leave with them, but just as he was about to take a step, Hei Qiyi, who was preparing a snack, suddenly made a strange nasal sound.
"Wait, Mason."
"Um?"
The captain looked back in surprise and saw that Hei Qiyi had stopped the magic in his hand that was used to squeeze the world. He frowned as if he had discovered something strange.
“Follow me!”
Blackie whispered something, and Mason winked at the three little cuties behind him, signaling them to leave first and wait for him to come back and meet up and go back to Hope Star to pack up their things.
For example, the golden retriever that John Wick entrusted to himself is still in the care of old Luther.
After the little cuties left, Mason walked to Black Qiyi and let the latter roll up the teleportation magic to wrap himself up. In the next moment, he was teleported from his landing point to another part of the End Star and quietly appeared in a primeval rain forest near the equator of the planet.
Mason looked up and saw a starship hidden in the dense forest was igniting. It was obviously the vehicle of a Director of Hope who was hiding there and preparing to "set sail".
The latter was planning to escape, but Mason didn't need to take any action. Black Qiyi just threw a magic spell and teleported the small starship into the nearest star.
These guys deserve to die!
However, this was obviously not what Hei Qiyi wanted to bring Mason to see. The captain soon found something that surprised Hei Qiyi in the dense forest.
A few primitive people...
They hid in the caves in the dense forest in fear, looking at Black Strange and Mason who suddenly appeared in the light as if they were gods. When they realized that the two "gods" were looking at them, these primitive people who were still wrapped in leaf and grass skirts crawled out of the caves in fear.
They prostrated themselves on the ground, their bodies trembling and they dared not even look up.
"this……"
Mason narrowed his eyes as well.
He observed these primitive people carefully, and maximized his Isu senses, covering the entire primeval forest and scanning it like a radar.
There are many primitive lives like this one in the dense forest, not only humanoid creatures but also various strange beasts.
"They were not transported from another world, Mason."
Hei Qiyi said softly:
“They are the natives here. Perhaps it is because this place has been in a constant out-of-control time disorder, which has caused serious problems in the timeline of this planet.
But it is undeniable that this is indeed the home of these lives.
It seems that our understanding of the Doomsday Planet is still somewhat insufficient. Life can still be born on the corpse made of the wreckage of this planet, even though the natural ecology of this planet is different from that of ordinary planets.
They are still far from being civilized, and perhaps they will never have that chance again.
I don’t mind eating these lives, I’ve done this many times before, but what about you?
Are you still determined to destroy this place?"
The captain did not answer. He quietly descended from a great height by transforming into water.
This scene was seen by a little primitive girl lying on the ground. Her eyes were full of surprise. After realizing that Mason had also seen her peeping behavior, the little girl lowered her head and trembled in fear.
Mason squatted down, took out a piece of candy from his bag and handed it to the little girl, smiling and telling her not to be afraid.
But how can I not be afraid?
After all, for primitive settlements where civilization has not yet formed, guys like Mason are completely different lives from them... Well, really not.
After observing these primitive people closely, Mason was able to confirm that they only looked like humans, and although their DNA structures were similar, there were still some differences.
This is another humanoid life form, somewhat similar to the legendary Avatar.
The little primitive girl seemed to feel Mason's kindness. She took the candy handed to her by Mason tremblingly, and at the latter's signal, she carefully put it to her mouth.
The sweet taste made her eyes widen, and then she smiled with enjoyment.
This smile made Mason smile too.
He stood up, turned around and said to Hei Qiyi who was looking at him:
“This planet has already given birth to its own life.
It is no longer a corpse representing destruction and sin. Even though it was born with the purpose of evil and darkness, perhaps from this moment on, it can also assume its responsibilities.
We shouldn't destroy it.
We are not the civilized subject here, so we do not have this power."
“But it also doesn’t fit into your new utopian system.”
Black Qiyi warned:
“What Zha Kang said before is correct!
The symbolism of this planet is too strong. It represents the malice of the old era and cannot even be integrated into the next era that you are planning and promoting. Forcing it to integrate will result in disaster. "
"Then take it out."
Mason stroked his chin and said:
"I have seen a miniature galaxy set up by that guy in Brainiac's spaceship. It was a preparation for his own transcendence and his ascension to become a cosmic god by imitating Galactus in the next era.
That is a star system that is completely isolated from existing systems. Maybe I can imitate that system and make a 'stellar isolation chamber', but that's my job, Stephen.
Feel sorry.
I can’t let you taste the delicious food of this planet anymore.”
"It doesn't matter. I don't need this one anyway."
Hei Qiyi snorted, waved his hand, and said:
"Will you stay here and continue observing these primitive lives? Or will you come with me?"
"They don't need my involvement."
Mason turned around and waved goodbye to the little girl who was peeking at him.
“Life has its own way.
Not disturbing them is the greatest respect for them, but since we have decided not to destroy this place, we should deal with those Hope Directors who are hiding.
I can't really treat you to a big meal, but maybe I can give you some snacks."
The captain waved his hand, and the long and strange Black Death Sword quietly came out of his hand. He also drew the Destiny Pistol from his waist and said to Hei Qiyi:
"Come on, Stephen, let's clean up this planet. Let me finish this last thing, and then I can take a long vacation with peace of mind."
