The End of “Reality”

The entire dimension was shaking violently, but that was not the most fatal problem. For everyone present, the things being sent here from reality one after another were the most dangerous.

This had originally been the gap between reality and the Mirror Dimension, but now, with reality being split apart, this gap had become a "buffer zone," as well as the place where the collision between dimensions was most severe.

The new reality would separate from the original reality and operate on its own as a new parallel universe. But the original reality would collide with its Mirror Dimension and become a speck of dust in the infinite Multiverse.

Everything in reality was being copied, and tragically, those "originals" who retained their memories were ruthlessly thrown into the fire like kindling. Meanwhile, the copies lived in a new reality with no memories at all.

They did not even know they had been copied!

The rift in reality had now become a massive dumping ground. It accepted every existence copied from reality, whether living people or corpses, buildings or natural landscapes, all of them continually "crashing" into this dimension in an extremely violent manner.

And when the countdown to the collision with the Mirror Dimension ended, they would ultimately vanish into nothingness.

"Zhang Ye deceived us!" Carolina’s eyes widened as she stared at the scene before her in disbelief. She saw Avengers Tower, saw the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier falling from the sky, saw ordinary people abandoned by reality one after another.

"He’s destroying our reality. He never intended to save us—his goal is to destroy this place! He’s working with that guy. They slaughtered superheroes, then slaughtered supervillains, and now there’s no one left who can stop him."

"Bullshit!" Pietro stepped forward, glaring furiously at Carolina. "Does your world still have any hope of being saved? Your reality was already corrupted. Rather than letting you become lunatics, it would be better to destroy it completely!"

If there was any reality that did not deserve to be saved, Pietro absolutely had the right to speak on it. After all, he himself came from a despairing universe that had sunk into ruins, and now this place was about to become part of the distortion as well.

Pietro did not want to watch this universe gradually sink, nor would he allow anyone to smear Zhang Ye.

"So you admit it, then. You really are destroying us." Carolina showed no fear in the face of Pietro, and an immense rainbow-colored radiance erupted from her body.

"Don’t move around, little girl," John said coldly. "Don’t forget who treated your injuries. Without you even noticing, I can easily leave anything I want inside your body."

"You!" Carolina instinctively felt it becoming difficult to breathe.

"I don’t know much Black Magic, but there’s one spell I’m especially good at. It’s called Winds of Calamity. As it happens, it can destroy a person’s regenerative cells—even aliens like you are no exception." John stood firmly beside Pietro.

"You think you can survive?" Carolina’s eyes had somehow filled with madness. "You were corrupted too, when you saved me. And it was one of the deepest forms of corruption. Do you think they’ll take you with them?"

"What?" Pietro turned to John in shock.

Yet John merely pulled his lips into a savage grin. He laughed with immense delight, as if he had not been this happy in centuries.

"You think my goal is to survive? You’re right. I was corrupted. Even Zhang Ye never noticed that—he even thought I was still under his protection. But do you know why I’ve remained sane? You can alter my perception, but you can’t change who I am!"

"You!" Carolina’s mouth fell open as she suddenly realized something.

"You’re Dracula!"

"Haha. Hahahahaha!"

John—no, Dracula—laughed wildly. He floated in midair, staring directly at the crack in the sky that had torn reality apart. Behind him, the ruins of countless buildings fell from the rift. Ordinary people were crying and screaming everywhere, and the entire scene resembled the end of the world.

High above, on a level beyond the dimensions, an unprecedented radiance arrived. The light shone straight down, piercing through the barrier between an entire reality and the Mirror Dimension, drawing everyone’s gaze.

Countless hideous, terrifying cracks crisscrossed the clouds above, woven together like a spiderweb to form a rift network of indescribable form.

It was becoming clear. Everything was gradually becoming clear.

A new world hidden within the dimension of reality was gradually "rising" under the influence of three supreme powers. It was visibly breaking away from the original reality and rapidly distancing itself from this corrupted world.

In Punisher’s eyes, he could clearly see the world reflected beyond the horizon.

There, everything was peaceful. Spider-Man swung through the streets and alleys of New York. Captain America Sam was delivering an important speech at the United Nations. The X-Men students had finished class, and mutant children played and chased each other across the schoolyard. Everything was so orderly.

They had no memory at all of the other side of reality. No one knew that opposite them, the "originals" of that world were collapsing and moving steadily toward destruction.

The pupa’s antennae stretched out from the rift. It seemed to want to follow the sunlight upward. It did not want to be buried alongside this abandoned world. It struggled desperately, trying to shift its "gaze" toward that newborn, flourishing world.

But!

At that moment, ink-black clouds covered everyone’s heads. No, they were not clouds at all, but something even darker and more unfathomable. They blocked all light from beyond the dimensions and severed the final connection between the new world and this place.

It seemed to come from a world beyond the dimensions, using an unmatched and terrifying power to forcibly cut off every gaze and line of sight attempting to observe that new world. Vast darkness enveloped the rift in reality, blotting out the sky and sun.

Or rather, it was like a city wall standing between two realities. No existence could cross it!

Below, on the streets of New York.

Dracula was still laughing and mocking the existence hidden behind Carolina’s spiritual world, while Punisher had long since lost any desire to fight. He narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the source of that darkness.

At last, amid the intertwining light and shadow of the dazzling, multicolored sky, he saw one mechanical skeleton after another hidden behind the curtain of darkness. They looked strangely familiar, like—like the ribs of an opened umbrella!

"It’s you!" Moon Knight shouted.

He noticed the playing card he had personally torn apart earlier. Its fragments were now burning with ghostly green flames, echoing the surrounding light and shadows.

"You did it on purpose!

"You personally placed the key to tearing reality apart in my hands!

"You already ‘knew’ I would be corrupted!

"You already ‘knew’ I would tear up the playing card!

"You… ‘saw’ the future!?"

At that moment, everything came to a standstill.

Falling buildings, crying crowds, natural disasters across the world—all of them seemed to have had the pause button pressed.

Then, above the clouds, an enormous Bird-Beak Mask shimmering with metallic light slowly appeared before everyone. Like a god descending upon this world, it watched the hellish space without a trace of emotion. A terrifying pressure descended, leaving everyone struggling to breathe.

"Now, this timeline…"

A voice that seemed to resound from the depths of their souls rang out.

"…is under my control."

(Preview: The next world is about to begin.)