Chapter 221: You Will Become... a God!
A torrent of Black Lantern Rings erupted forth, swarming into Universe 3 with the appearance of Nekron.
Logically, even an ordinary Multiversal God would need to expend some effort to quickly cross from the Dark Multiverse into the Multiverse.
But Nekron was different. After he entered the DC World, he transformed from a complete and independent Deity into a vassal of the Emotional Spectrum. Although he possessed immense power and authority, he also had to abide by the rules of the Emotional Spectrum, such as being completely suppressed by the Entity of Existence.
"The scent of freedom."
Nekron sensed the desolate emptiness of Universe 3. His head twisted with a series of audible cracks, and his mood improved.
Ever since becoming the death entity, his emotions had been blunted. All manner of emotional fluctuations had nearly vanished, leaving him guided by cold, mechanical instinct.
Only in a world like this, where billions of life forms had either turned into Anti-Life zombies or become food for them... this was good.
Anti-Life combined with Black Lantern Rings... Marvelous.
Countless Black Lantern Rings began to spread rapidly throughout Universe 3.
"Superwoman of Earth, rise!"
"Darkseid of Apokolips... Resurrection failed."
Hmm?
Nekron turned his head for a second look, realizing that Darkseid's shattered divinity was no longer in this universe.
This was strange. Both the Darkseid of Universe 3 and New 52 Darkseid had died in this universe, yet not a single piece of their divinity remained?
Nekron quickly dismissed it. He prepared to make a trip to Earth to see who exactly had called to him from across the Multiverse.
...
Mordru stared, dumbfounded, at the numerous rings that had appeared before him.
As a high-level mage who had forged a Power Ring, he was no stranger to Lantern Rings, but now, just a single glance at these black rings sent a chill down his spine. He could clearly feel the aura of death.
"Mordru of Earth..."
A multitude of Black Lantern Rings spoke in unison, scrambling to rush toward him. It was a rare sight to find a living person, a true novelty. Every ring wanted to become Mordru's.
"Get away, get away from me!"
Mordru was going mad. Listening to the words that sounded like the frantic buzzing of countless flies coalesced into speech, he desperately used his magic to attack the rings.
But the more he killed, the more they appeared.
The surrounding Anti-Life Zombies were also being chosen by the rings, becoming an upgraded version of zombie—Du Wa had never used the Anti-Life Equation to modify the virus, let alone directly control these zombies.
Once a Black Lantern Ring was worn, these creatures would naturally obey Nekron's command... for now.
"I don't want to become a zombie, especially not one of you incurable Black Lantern Zombies!" Mordru only needed to use a few observation spells to see the fate of those who had a Black Lantern Ring forced upon them, and he felt as if he was about to fall apart.
He desperately borrowed power, disregarding even his own future. He was willing to sacrifice everything he had to beseech power from the supreme magical deity in the great unseen.
But it was useless. In the face of absolute numbers, his individual power was meaningless.
"Mordru of Earth, die!"
The moment the Black Lantern Ring was placed on him, Mordru died. But in the next second, he was alive again as a Black Lantern Zombie.
Under Nekron's command, a massive number of zombies swarmed toward Earth. With the Black Lantern Rings, the zombies no longer needed to rely on starships, wormholes, or other means to travel between galaxies; they could simply fly on their own.
"He's finally here. This will be interesting. I hope things proceed as I've anticipated..." Du Wa glanced at the dense horde of zombies.
"We're doomed! There are too many of them, and many dead powerful individuals have been resurrected as zombies! There's no way we can deal with enemies of this scale!"
Volthoom was terrified. The first Lantern entity he encountered after his debut was Nekron! Who could possibly understand? This was way out of his league! Even his main body didn't get this kind of treatment, let alone him!
"I can see some old friends in that zombie horde," Ultraman said with dread and unease, using his super vision to look into outer space. "Great master, what should we do? Surely you have a way to kill that Nekron, right?"
Du Wa couldn't be bothered with this guy.
The Dark Walker also frowned deeply, utterly perplexed.
A living entity, even a Deity, is still within the scope of the living. How do you kill a God of Death?
Although Nekron was not a concept god, he could rely on the Emotional Spectrum and possessed extremely potent immortality. What method could be used to deal with such a creature?
The White Light of Life? But the Dark Walker scanned the surroundings from his own deathly perspective and detected no power related to "life" whatsoever. He too was a God of Death, and although not one from the Emotional Spectrum, he still possessed the basic ability to detect life.
Just then, with a flash of white light, the ever-present God of Knowledge, Metron, appeared. "I do not see the Anti-Monitor among the zombie horde. This is strange. During the Blackest Night in the Main Universe, the Anti-Monitor clearly joined Nekron's side."
Metron urged his chair to perform computations and acquire knowledge. He wanted answers, but unfortunately, the Mobius Chair was completely unable to provide them. This was because the chair had been created by the Anti-Monitor, a third-dimensional being, and thus knew neither his true identity nor the secrets of the Sixth Dimension.
However, those present were, at most, a little anxious, but they had not yet fallen into despair.
Even though they were at an absolute disadvantage in terms of numbers, as long as Du Wa was here, they could at least escape to other universes. They still had a way out.
"Thanoseid, this is for you." Du Wa handed New 52 Darkseid's divinity to Thanoseid.
"Are you sure?"
Thanoseid accepted it with pleasant surprise and immediately began the absorption. His strength swelled rapidly.
"That divinity is tainted with the zombie virus. I always thought it was a weapon Du Wa used to weaken Darkseid, and now he's giving it to you?" Metron looked at Thanoseid in confusion.
There were too many mysteries surrounding this group that he couldn't see through. He was so deeply fascinated by them that he couldn't bear to leave, even knowing Du Wa disliked him and would likely attack the moment he was free.
All of them were waiting.
"The so-called zombie virus is merely a tool created by the Anti-Life Equation. It was never something without a solution."
Du Wa opened his hand, revealing a ball of light. This was the Anti-Life Equation, containing endless mysterious formulas.
Different people who obtained the Anti-Life Equation would arrive at different computational processes.
From the very beginning, Du Wa had never taken the zombie virus seriously. It was merely something he had deliberately allowed to exist in order to attract Nekron.
Using Volthoom as a lure and the deathly silent Universe 3 as a bargaining chip to draw Nekron over.
In fact, even without the Anti-Life Equation, any top-tier scientist would still have a chance to develop a cure. Not to mention, Du Wa now wielded the Anti-Life Equation himself. If he wished, he could dismantle the zombie virus to the greatest extent possible.
"We can begin."
As soon as Du Wa's voice fell.
Behind him, a Boom Tube thundered open, and countless Xenomorphs swarmed out, pouring into Universe 3 as if they would never stop. In an instant, they engaged in a ferocious battle with the Black Lantern Zombies.
A group of Xenomorph Heroes also joined the battle one after another.
As Du Wa opened a gap in the barrier protecting Earth, billions of warriors from both sides collided with a roar. It was like two black torrents erupting, a dense mass of black dots, too numerous to count, crashing into each other in an instant.
In a cosmic war of this scale, just staying alive was a luxury.
Du Wa did not act directly at first. Instead, he activated the Anti-Life Equation and instantly began to forcibly control the zombie virus, causing countless Black Lantern Zombies to show signs of struggle and loss of control.
One of the two opposing torrents experienced widespread stagnation and chaos, setting off a chain reaction. As a result, the black tide of Xenomorphs surging from Earth began to furiously push back the Black Lantern Zombies, driving the endlessly stacked horde of Black Lantern Zombies away from Earth with a ferocity visible to the naked eye.
"I've always been curious about one thing. In a place like Universe 3, whose power is stronger: the Anti-Life Equation's or Nekron's?"
Du Wa spoke slowly, like a sorcerer scrying into a crystal ball, discerning the future and the state of affairs as he cast a masterful spell.
In truth, the process of Du Wa wielding the Anti-Life Equation was no different from casting large-scale mental magic. Billions of zombies were his minions, and the endless Xenomorphs were his most loyal warriors.
One by one, the Black Lantern Zombies let out sharp shrieks, struggling in agony. They even attacked themselves amidst their howls, tearing off handfuls of their already rotten flesh and blood, only for it to regenerate swiftly. They constantly maintained a decaying form, never truly becoming mere skeletons.
"In Universe 3, Anti-Life zombies form the vast majority. The Black Lantern Zombies are latecomers. Unless you truly possess a level of power that surpasses the Anti-Life Equation, you cannot suppress the Anti-Life aspect of the zombies and make your Black Lanterns strictly obey your command." Du Wa gazed into deep space, meeting Nekron's eyes, and spoke softly.
As time passed, Du Wa began to extend the power of the Anti-Life Equation to more galaxies, causing the countless beings who had been infected by the virus and turned into zombies to resist Nekron's rule.
Speaking of the Black Lantern Ring, an interesting point is that for every living person killed by one, it provides approximately 0.01% energy to the Black Lantern Corps. However, commanding a massive number of Black Lanterns and allowing them to self-replicate and proliferate constantly consumes energy.
Even Nekron couldn't create vast amounts of energy out of thin air for his own use. He couldn't play with an infinite internal-cycle system like a unique creature such as Doomsday.
What's more, even with Doomsday, apart from the very first one—who possessed a hitherto unknown evolutionary limit and a sliver of a chance to become a Multiversal God through its path of evolution—the other Doomsdays would hit a ceiling once their internal cycle reached a certain point. To put it bluntly, in Du Wa's eyes, these Doomsdays were nothing more than tools, the kind that could be discarded at any time.
Would Darkseid mourn the death of a single Parademon? He would not.
Du Wa might mourn a dead Xenomorph, but he didn't place much importance on a vessel like Doomsday itself.
The entire universe was in chaos.
Aside from a very small number of individuals who weren't infected by the zombie virus and were forcibly killed and turned into zombies by a Black Lantern Ring while still alive, the vast majority of Black Lantern Zombies had essentially first become Anti-Life zombies before joining the Black Lantern Corps.
"Interesting, how very interesting!"
Metron exclaimed loudly, dancing in his chair as if he had discovered a universal truth. "Before I'm attacked by you or Nekron, tell me, what is your plan? To use all of Universe 3 as a graveyard to bury Nekron? What can you possibly gain from him?!"
Could it be that he wants to become a Black Lantern who surpasses Nekron?
Metron was, of course, aware of the Blackest Night that erupted in the Main Universe. He hadn't gone to observe it in person because it was too dangerous. The Main Universe was truly a battlefield where the gods came to blows. There was no telling when some superhero might pop up, inexplicably leveraging the power of a parallel universe or even the entire Multiverse, and unleash the great power to shatter an ancient god.
However, this Blackest Night erupting in Universe 3—to call it that for now—would clearly head in a completely different direction due to Du Wa's interference.
But Metron still felt that terms like "Zombie Crisis," "Xenomorph Death-Knell," or "Corrupted Black Lantern" were far more fitting.
Which name was most appropriate would depend on who won in the end, and what method Du Wa would use to defeat an unkillable God of Death like Nekron.
"I refuse to believe you can destroy the Emotional Spectrum! With that kind of power, you would have long since become a great Multiversal God, able to run rampant even in the Sphere of Gods. The entire Multiverse wouldn't be enough to contain your scale, so why linger in the insignificant Universe 3?"
Metron had strong faith in his own judgment, or rather, the judgment of the Mobius Chair.
Du Wa levitated in mid-air, his palm supporting the illusory form of the Anti-Life Equation. A layer of white light surrounded his body, completely isolating him from the endless darkness outside.
Countless Xenomorphs and zombies surrounded him. It was the defection of an entire universe, as if the world itself was bowing its head.
Even Nekron, after entering Universe 3, found it difficult to unleash the maximum power he could in the Main Universe or the Dark Universe. There were simply not enough living people in all of Universe 3 for him to kill; the energy he could obtain was far from sufficient!
Upon entering a new universe, Nekron had to hunt living people anew to recharge himself and the Black Lantern Corps. But in Universe 3, zombies were everywhere, and Xenomorphs were innumerable. Only living people were the scarcest resource.
"Next is to create a god..." Du Wa looked toward Thanoseid.
New 52 Darkseid was special. His divinity was one of the many pillars that ensured the stability of the Multiverse, and it was especially essential for stabilizing the New 52 Universe.
This was also why Du Wa, after killing New 52 Darkseid, had deliberately not annihilated him completely, but instead left his divinity behind.
"Next, Thanoseid, you who have absorbed the divinity of New 52 Darkseid, will become... a God!"
Du Wa's magnificent voice resounded through existence and non-existence. He unleashed a brilliant beam of light from the Anti-Life Equation that tore through the universe and struck Thanoseid's form.
(end of chapter)