chapter 303 part 1
Chapter 300: Preliminary Steps, Main Universe Convergence
Krona roughly figured out the situation of the Marvel Multiverse, realizing it was an exceptionally vast super-world.
"In your world, there are innumerable universes? Truly infinite? Do the universe designations go up to the 'hundreds of millions' as a unit of measurement?"
"What, is your world not like this?"
"No, where I'm from, the conventional multiverse is split into three. In the main multiverse, there are only 52 worlds with designations..."
Loki sneered, "Ha, how pathetic. That's worthy of being called a multiverse? Perhaps you're talking about a universe cluster—a bunch of universes grouped together, where some native with limited knowledge travels through the tiny area a few times and assumes it's the entirety of the multiverse, when in reality, it's just an insignificant corner."
"No, I know what you mean. In my world, there are many similar universe clusters, with varying levels of overall strength. Most of them don't have their own designations and aren't listed among the numbered universes. The powerful beings don't pay them any mind," Krona said, shaking his head.
Ever since being resurrected by Du Wa using the Emotional Spectrum, Krona had been ravenously absorbing all the changes that occurred after his death. He focused his research on Du Wa, the one who controlled him, and discovered this God of Xenomorphs was a veritable treasure trove, constantly producing vast amounts of new knowledge that brought him closer to the truth of the world.
Krona was no saint; for the most part, he was an unpardonable villain. But at least his pursuit of the unknown and his quest for knowledge were beyond reproach—even if it manifested as crazily stirring up trouble, constantly conducting dangerous experiments, or running off to some universe to commit a massacre.
Naturally, Krona learned what Du Wa had done after entering the DC World. It wasn't much of a secret. He easily found out the whole story from the other Xenomorphs and the un-parasitized natives on Main Universe Earth.
After entering the DC World, Du Wa first rose to prominence in a universe cluster within the DCEU system, from which he entered the 52 designated, orthodox universes.
Loki's eyes flickered as he tried to construct a worldview of the DC World. After a series of questions, he managed a rough deduction in his mind. He extended a finger and casually sketched in the air, causing an image to appear out of thin air:
"Is this the entirety of your world? According to you, it was segmented into three main parts during a series of major events: the multiverse, the Dark Multiverse, and the Anti-Matter Universe. Then, these three parts are enveloped by a high-level dimension called the Sphere of Gods, which is in turn sealed off by an insurmountable wall? What kind of abyss prison is this?"
To this day, Loki still thought the DC Multiverse was just another multiverse existing in the Endless Void outside the Seventh Multiverse, with everyone situated within a single Omniverse.
Of course, Krona thought the same. He believed this multiverse was a world outside the Source Wall, or at least one of them.
"Ha, it seems I've successfully figured out some of the truth. Du Wa's sudden promotion from a Cosmic Celestial to a Multiversal God must have happened in your multiverse. I really don't know how Du Wa found and entered your strange world... He was still a Cosmic Celestial back then. How did he not get attacked by The Warden?" Loki sneered.
Krona wasn't angry at all, because the DC Multiverse truly was a super-cage, cut off from the Endless Void outside. Those on the outside couldn't get in—though he now knew that the Endless Family, Du Wa, and some new phenomena actually had ways to bypass the Source Wall to enter. However, this method seemed particularly special, achieved from an incomprehensibly higher dimension, which he couldn't yet understand. And those on the inside couldn't break through the Source Wall to reach the outside world either.
Krona's face twisted with a madness born from extreme excitement. "The Warden... Heh, what an interesting title. I come from an incredibly ancient race, certainly far more noble than a mass-produced Loki like you. Therefore, I've had the fortune of learning a bit about the myths of creation. If all goes as expected, it won't be long before I can glimpse the full picture of The Warden."
The extremely ancient truth about the creator goddess Perpetua, who came from the depths of the void bearing a mission of creation, and the three Monitor Brothers she birthed, had been passed down in fragments. The Maltusians, at least, had researched it, reverse-engineering bits and pieces of information using the Emotional Spectrum and the Book of Darkness.
As a Maltusian, Krona naturally knew parts of the creation myths as well.
But none of that mattered anymore. Krona no longer needed to waste precious energy and time on guesswork; he believed he would soon obtain truly complete intelligence.
Perhaps the unknown being that drove Perpetua to frantically build a biological legion and desperately try to resist was right here in this multiverse.
"Mass-produced... Hehehe." Loki's expression turned incredibly dangerous, but he couldn't refute it. He already knew that in Krona's world, beings like Thor and Loki belonged to the Old Gods, and all the Old Gods resided in a high-dimensional world called the Sphere of Gods.
The gods of the Sphere of Gods, regardless of their strength, were not replicated across the multiverse. From beginning to end, only a single individual of each existed, at most creating some clones to be deployed into the various universes.
Loki and Krona continued their communication. The more they talked, the more curious and amazed they became about each other's worlds.
The difference was that Krona was actually here, in tangible contact with Loki's world, while Loki's understanding of Krona's world was still purely conceptual.
"I'll make you a body first. You can't keep existing in a soul form. By the way, why did you lose your body? Can you only cross multiverses in soul form?"
As Loki spoke, he created a body based on Krona's soul form and gestured for him to enter it. "I will use my power of stories to make it as compatible and complete for you as possible."
"No need. I will take my body back with my own hands." Krona stared at Loki vigilantly. No matter which world it was, he believed Loki was definitely up to no good, full of cunning and insidious plots.
"Take it back from Du Wa? Even I, the God of Stories, can't fight Du Wa. You think you can?" Loki showed a contemptuous expression.
"Not that one. When Du Wa resurrected me, he essentially replicated my body. But my original body still exists. As far as I know, it's in the hands of Atrocitus," Krona said with a strange smile.
Atrocitus, the leader of the Red Lantern Corps, was the person in the entire DC World with the most reason to kill Krona. His homeworld, his family—all of them had been massacred by the rampaging First Legion because Krona had altered its core program.
But after Krona, while commanding seven Lantern Entities to wreak havoc across the universe, was killed by Hal and others, Atrocitus, who obtained Krona's corpse, didn't tear it to shreds. Instead, he carefully preserved it.
Krona felt it was meaningless to ask Du Wa for a body. He might as well go directly to Atrocitus and demand it.
The great Krona should rise again from the very place he fell. That was only fitting.
"What an interesting story," Loki commented.
These two, each with their own ulterior motives, officially began to take concrete action.
"The one in charge is Du Wa. You and I are just the public faces pushing this forward, representing and locking onto our respective worlds to allow the two universes to achieve a partial overlap in a higher domain."