Chapter 148

On the surface of Mars, there should have been a lifeless, desolate planet.

But now, Doctor Manhattan had built a complex. Was it meant to be a building, or some sort of special facility?

Kara wasn't sure—not because she couldn't understand it, but because she simply didn't care enough to try.

In the grand scheme of things, he seemed to be preparing for Earth's destruction. Perhaps this was meant to be humanity's second home on Mars.

Or maybe... the cradle for a new creation?

"You don't really think you're God, do you? Do you truly see yourself as a divine being?" Kara asked, her voice tinged with mild amusement. Standing on the surface of Mars, staring at the construction, she finally grasped the meaning behind Doctor Manhattan's earlier questions.

He wasn't pretending. He was genuinely conflicted, gradually abandoning his humanity and everything that made him human. He was deifying himself.

Kara resisted the urge to roll her eyes. If it had been anyone else, she would've thought they were insane.

But Doctor Manhattan wasn't just anyone. Even if he was a madman, he was a god-level madman.

A madman who could shift the balance of an entire universe with the flick of his wrist. A god who could view time and space as mere constructs to be toyed with.

"You've got it bad," Kara muttered under her breath, shaking her head.

Doctor Manhattan, as always, didn't seem surprised by her words. He already knew what she was going to say before she even said it. "Now you understand my dilemma," he replied in his usual, detached tone.

Kara nodded. "Yeah, I get it now. You see everything as a game, don't you? You treat time as a book you've read a thousand times and even rewritten with your own twists."

Her lips curled into a sly smile. "Even the best movie gets dull if you watch it dozens of times in one sitting, doesn't it? Or take a perfectly grilled steak—chew on it for a year, and it won't taste good anymore."

Her metaphors were blunt but apt.

For the first time, Kara truly understood his predicament.

It wasn't philosophy, theology, or even psychology.

It was simpler than that. Doctor Manhattan was trapped in an existence where the future was always visible, every possible choice laid bare before him.

He had seen everything. He knew every outcome, every word spoken, every action taken.

And life without surprises? Without change? It was unbearably dull.

"I get it now," Kara continued. "Even I could dip into the time stream and see the past or the future if I really wanted to. With my abilities, it wouldn't be that hard. But if I lived like that—if I saw everything, all the time—it'd kill the thrill of living."

She jabbed a finger at him. "Life's most precious moments are the surprises. The unexpected twists. And you've stripped all of that away."

Kara's tone turned sharp. "You know what the most boring game in the world is?"

Doctor Manhattan tilted his head slightly and replied in sync with her, "Playing chess with yourself."

"Stop doing that!" Kara groaned. "You always know what I'm going to say. Can't you let me have a little anticipation?"

Her outburst earned her nothing more than his unflappable calm.

Kara folded her arms. "Honestly, knowing everything in advance—even when someone cheats on you—that's too much, even for you."

At that, Doctor Manhattan looked away.

Kara frowned. Did she hit a nerve? "Wait. No way. Don't tell me..."

Doctor Manhattan gestured toward Earth without a word. Kara's eyes followed, and with her enhanced vision, she saw them: Laurie Jupiter and Dan Dreiberg. Together.

"I'll kill them for you," Kara offered immediately, her heat vision already flickering to life in her eyes.

Doctor Manhattan raised a hand to stop her. "In a few hours, Laurie will come here to tell me about her choice."

"You're seriously going to let that happen?" Kara's expression was incredulous.

When Kara and Doctor Manhattan first arrived in this universe, Laurie had still been his partner. Yet within days, she had turned to someone else.

"What the hell happened in that time?" Kara asked, her curiosity piqued. "Come on, show me."

Doctor Manhattan placed a hand lightly on her forehead.

"Don't leave any weird marks on me," Kara muttered, half-joking.

For a brief moment, Doctor Manhattan's serene expression faltered.

Before Kara could notice, he began to share what he had seen.

Kara's mind flooded with images. Though her own powers allowed her some ability to navigate the time stream, Doctor Manhattan's abilities made hers seem like child's play.

To her, time was a river she could peer into cautiously. To him, it was an open book, effortlessly flipped through at will.

The experience reinforced the stark difference between them.

Kara was powerful—on the verge of touching the fifth dimension with enough effort. Yet Doctor Manhattan already existed beyond it.

For him, time was malleable, and reality was fluid. He could fast-forward millions of years or rewind millions of years without consequence.

Kara, despite her immense strength, still had limits. But even so, she couldn't help but pity him.

For all his power, Doctor Manhattan had lost the one thing that made existence worth enduring: the joy of the unknown.

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