Chapter 227: How Can the Omega Effect of a Single Entity Shake the Multiversal Du Wa?
Thanoseid had established an unprecedented level of self-confidence; everyone could see it.
Even Black Hand had to admit that Thanoseid was a very difficult opponent. If not for Thanoseid's obstruction, He would have likely discovered Du Wa's whereabouts much faster.
Although, it wouldn't have been much use even if He had. His cross-universe movements were not as effortless as a normal god's; they were fraught with obstacles.
"Well done, Thanoseid. You've completed your mission of holding back Black Hand. It seems my decision to let you absorb New 52 Darkseid's godhood was the right one."
As Du Wa's figure solidified, he spoke.
"Be careful. Thanoseid is single-mindedly seeking revenge on you, and I can't see that you currently possess the strength to suppress him." Metron sized up Du Wa, a look of astonishment on his face. "You've changed. How long has it been? Where did you go? And how did you make the other universes..."
"I went to a very interesting place. Perhaps you'll have the opportunity to find out in the near future. What you should really be concerned about is yourself. I gave you a chance to run, but you didn't take it. It's too late to escape now."
This made Metron fall silent. He ran frantic computations but came up with nothing, which only deepened his confusion and indignation. However, a strong intuition told Him it was best to leave as soon as possible, or the consequences would be dire.
Divine power surged as Metron prepared to flee.
"Hmph, still thinking of running? I've been wanting to seize your Mobius Chair for a long time," Alexander Luthor roared "Zansha!" and lunged at Metron with a cruel expression.
Before the Flashpoint event, Alexander Luthor was considered a superhero, but after Flashpoint, not only could he no longer be called a superhero, but he was also an unscrupulous villain.
It wasn't just Lex Luthor; other intelligent individuals had been coveting the Mobius Chair for a long time. Sit on it, and you become the God of Knowledge. Who could resist that?
Instantly, as if by a silent agreement, a crowd of people swarmed him without any discussion.
Swoosh!
Wonder Woman flicked her Lasso of Truth, binding Metron.
Steel Lantern opened his hand, creating a giant green energy hand that gripped the Mobius Chair tightly, doing its best to interfere with its energy circuits.
Dark Claw, on the other hand, shook his hands, revealing his claws, and lunged violently at Metron.
The others, like Lex Luthor and Batman, also made their moves, completely surrounding Metron.
With Metron's strength, He was perfectly capable of breaking free from these methods, but there was a momentary hesitation. He hadn't devoted an excessive amount of his computing power to guarding against anyone other than powerful individuals like Du Wa, Dark Walker, the Mephisto Xenomorph, or Superman.
It was this momentary lapse that put Him on the defensive.
"You are being disrespectful to a god! Who gave you the courage?" Metron was utterly shocked.
These people, who weren't even gods, were attacking Him in unison?
And the Cosmic Gods who should have been attacking Him, why were none of them moving?
"Whoever snatches the Mobius Chair becomes the God of Knowledge. That's fair." Du Wa glanced over and lost interest.
Thanoseid was already charging over, looking incredibly impatient.
Within his blood-red eyes, unprecedentedly powerful Omega Beams were ready. Vast divine power surged around him, shaking countless dimensions.
Its destructive force directly exceeded the upper limit of a single universe, causing beings in other universes to faintly sense it.
"You're finally back. I knew you wouldn't run away. I've grown impatient waiting!" Thanoseid swung his fist, smashing it toward Du Wa.
This punch crushed a vast amount of cosmic fragments and blasted through countless streams of energy from The Bleed.
Under this punch, Du Wa's figure instantly disintegrated, as dead as could be.
Thanoseid was stunned, looking on with suspicion.
He had considered that Du Wa might pull out a stronger trump card, and he had even considered that Du Wa might use the concept of the Xenomorph to fight for control over his body. But he had never imagined that he would kill Du Wa's main body with a single punch.
What was going on?
"He's not dead..." Black Hand floated over, scythe in hand. Eager to make a move, He had already begun to realize what had happened.
He wasn't particularly strong in this universe because He hadn't absorbed enough energy, but the display of his strength in this universe didn't prevent Him from using the Emotional Spectrum to perceive the situation in other universes.
Sure enough, a brand new Du Wa appeared before everyone, no different from the previous one.
"You didn't choose a specific Xenomorph to be your body...? Hmph, I don't know what you're thinking, but you can only be killed by my power again and again! Don't worry, I won't be so cruel. I will turn you into my servant, just like you once did to me!"
Thanoseid cruelly pointed at his own chest. "I deliberately didn't kill this little thing inside me, precisely to perceive your state at all times, to be forever in contact with your concept. That's how I know I'm still alive! Do you have any idea what I've been through after you parasitized me?!"
Pzzt!
The Omega Beams shot out, but Du Wa simply raised his hand casually and blocked them.
The moment the splattering red energy broke free, it brewed even greater destruction, carrying a natural corrosive property toward life forms.
Thanoseid knew it would be very difficult to kill Du Wa completely. Although he was unsure what had happened to Du Wa, if he had to kill them one by one, he'd die of exhaustion before he could finish, not to mention having to return to the Marvel Multiverse to continue the endless killing.
Originally, he had wanted to wait for Du Wa to send his consciousness directly into him, which would make it convenient to unleash the full Omega Effect, but now it seemed Du Wa had no such intention.
"It should be about time..."
Du Wa paid no attention to Thanoseid's powerful offensive. Instead, he looked thoughtful, and finally, he snatched the Power Ring that was flying around in the darkness.
"Wh-wh-what do you want? I don't have the ability to deal with that guy!" Volthoom wailed helplessly. In the span of a few dozen minutes, he had witnessed a battle the likes of which he hadn't seen in billions of years. It was terrifying.
"Don't panic. I told you, you have a great use and cannot die here. The others protected you well, but in my hands, you'll be even safer."
Du Wa stowed the Power Ring away safely and faced the Omega Beams with a calm expression.
The moment he came into contact with this power, the Omega Effect's erosion began.
"I am different from Darkseid. He is madly obsessed with the Anti-Life Equation, but I am not. Compared to that, I am more interested in absorbing your concept!"
Thanoseid was already eager to use the Omega Effect to erode Du Wa's concept.
Both the Omega Effect and the Anti-Life Equation possessed one ability: the modification of a life form's self-will.
Thanoseid naturally assumed that with his current scale, he was already sufficient to shake Du Wa's concept.
But soon, his savage sneer froze, replaced by a look of intense disbelief.
"How is this possible?! Why is your will..."
"Why did my will suddenly expand so much? Why did it appear in every universe in such a short time, and is still continuing to appear at this very moment? Why, within the Multiverse, have I, an outsider, suddenly become a naturally existing native life form in so many universes?"
Du Wa shattered the invading Omega Effect with a slap. "Thanoseid, in front of me, all your efforts are as exposed as a clown performing strenuously on stage. Everyone is cheering for you, but no one ever told you that your terrible performance isn't enough for you to successfully jump off the stage and become a... God like me."
"No! I am a God too, a true God! I have also become a God recognized by this multiverse!"
"That's right, but that's a divine position I bestowed upon you, one that I didn't want. What I give you is yours. What I don't give you will never be yours."
Du Wa shook his head. He was actually carefully assessing his own current state.
Every moment, a new version of himself would appear in some universe, existing as a part of that universe, allowing the concept of the Xenomorph to be implanted into the rules of the universe, bit by bit.
If nothing unexpected happened, it wouldn't be long before Du Wa and the Xenomorph would, in every universe, become "commonplace" beings, just like superheroes such as Batman. They would be beings that naturally ought to exist, and their non-existence would be more surprising.
In other words, Du Wa's originally spreading concept was now increasing at an even more astonishing rate.
Everyone knew what kind of scene it would be once Du Wa's Xenomorphs bloomed and bore fruit throughout the Omniverse.
"So he went to spread his concept, and even implanted his concept into the rules of the Multiverse... But how did he do it?"
Even an orthodox deity like Dark Walker was greatly perplexed by this change.
Metron should have noticed something, but He couldn't even fend for Himself right now. He was being ganged up on by a group of intelligent people who had been coordinating and preparing for a long time. He was trying to unleash a massive shockwave to break their coordination and create an opportunity to escape, but it seemed unlikely. These guys were severing His connection to the Mobius Chair.
Now, at least one thing could be confirmed: the seemingly unchanged Du Wa was only normal on the surface. In reality, he was madly improving himself, spreading his existence to every corner of the Multiverse.
Kill one Du Wa, and in an instant, a brand new Du Wa would pop out from any given parallel universe.
And this was just the main entity of "Du Wa." Those Xenomorphs, each one was also his clone, and they were also rapidly expanding throughout the Omniverse.
With Thanoseid's current abilities, there was no way to shake such a Du Wa. The Omega Effect he possessed was powerless to erode Du Wa's current will.
Thanoseid was dumbfounded.
He had worked so hard for so long, finally finding a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He believed he was standing at a periodic peak, and under the limited objective conditions, it was already difficult to improve further. He was ready to turn back and reclaim what he had lost, only to find that Du Wa had long since snatched away everything he had newly acquired.
Du Wa said faintly, "When you prepare to do something, it's best to make this assumption beforehand: whatever you can think of, I can certainly think of too. The only difference is whether I care about it, and if I do, whether I will act on it... Thanoseid, as my loyal dog, you are unqualified. As a weapon I approve of, you are very suitable."
"No! Damn it, don't even think about trying to enslave me again! I am Thanoseid, and in the future, I will replace Darkseid and become the complete Dark Monarch! How can you extinguish my hope forever?"
Thanoseid roared in disbelief. At this moment, he had lost his composure even more than the broken Superboy-Prime. He charged forward fiercely, using all the power he currently possessed in a final struggle.
Although, even he himself knew it was useless. Was he going to kill Du Wa again? But what good would killing him countless times do? By the time he killed all the Du Was and Xenomorphs in one universe, countless more Du Was and Xenomorphs would be undergoing rebirth in other universes.
He couldn't kill them all. There was simply no way to kill them all!
At this moment, Thanoseid's mentality was shattered. With the failure of his mind invasion confirmed, how could he instantly kill every Du Wa in the entire Multiverse?
And this was just the conventional Multiverse. Don't forget, the DC Universe also has a Dark Multiverse and an Anti-Matter Universe. Before long, Xenomorphs would start appearing there bit by bit.
"Think about it carefully. I already told you the answer at the very beginning... Something like a zombie virus only exists in a few individual universes. It will be contained before it can spread to a few more. But I am different. My concept is more terrifying than any virus, possessing a more perfect infectivity," Du Wa said faintly.
Logically, the other versions of him in other universes should exist as variants, as independent individuals. But Du Wa was a Concept God. The moment another version of himself appeared, it was equivalent to an extension of his concept.
Therefore, this trick of parallel universe variants became a high-level tactic in Du Wa's hands, creating many clones out of thin air—just like the numerous clones deployed by multiversal gods.
This was how Concept Gods played. Beings like The Endless, who madly expanded their concepts, had a lot to say on this matter.
"I will never submit to you again!"
Thanoseid had gone mad. His pride would only allow him to bow his head once, but it was impossible for him to continue bowing his head after a failed counterattack!
"That's not up to you. I won't kill you. A special guy like you, I've searched through two worlds and only found one of you. Many of Darkseid's clones are dogs for others. You are no more noble than Darkseid. The vast majority of your composition is Him, so why can't you do it? Don't be too influenced by the Thanos part," Du Wa said.
Darkseid was a very interesting fellow. To some extent, his continuous actions in various major events, despite being defeated time and time again, were essentially to achieve one seemingly sacred purpose—to stop The Great Darkness from destroying DC Comics.
Of course, just as Du Wa used the special nature of Prime Earth to modify his own origin, this long-standing confrontation between The Great Darkness and The Presence in the DC Universe had secretly modified the origin how many times, no one knew except the two of them.
If Du Wa hadn't intervened, Darkseid, after collecting all the godhoods, would have valiantly challenged one of The Great Darkness's hands—The Empty Hand.
Yes, the other hand of The Great Darkness was The Great Evil Beast.
"The struggle between The Presence and The Great Darkness is DC Comics's only hidden main storyline. My series of actions since arriving in the DC Universe have, in essence, become part of the content of this great battle. Since it's destined to be unavoidable, rather than letting the perfect form of Darkseid go and throw his life away, it's better to turn everything He has into mine."
Just as in the Marvel Universe, one couldn't get around the Celestials and the Beyonders, who were the avatars of the Marvel Editorial Department, and certainly couldn't evade the Original Beyonder, in the DC Universe, all changes occurred within the battle of those two.
So...
"Thanoseid, you are a weapon I am very fond of. I will not allow you to lose your fighting spirit to improve yourself. You must desperately become stronger, and do everything in your power to serve me. This is your greatest mission."
(end of chapter)