395. Tearing the Timeline!

Amid the noisy surroundings, no one noticed the sound of a snap.

Between the crashing instruments and the scattered pieces of Tony Stark's Iron Man suit hitting the ground, the snap was instantly drowned out.

But in the next moment, the entire world seemed to fall silent.

It was as if everything had been paused—every sound abruptly ceased, leaving only an eerie stillness in its wake.

Tony Stark, eyes tightly shut, could hear only his heavy breathing and the thundering beat of his heart. He knew he was done for.

Without his Iron Man suit, he had no combat ability. At this moment, he was just an ordinary man, one about to be consumed by Reed Richards and the others, turning into one of those monstrous creatures. However, the pain he had anticipated did not come.

After four or five seconds, for reasons unknown, Stark suddenly realized the surroundings had quieted down. Apart from his own breathing, he couldn't hear anything else.

Frowning in confusion, his eyelids twitched slightly before he cautiously opened his eyes.

"Holy crap!"

The sight of two bloodthirsty, gaping maws inches away from his face made Tony Stark jump in fright.

The grotesque, skinless forms of the Thing and the Human Torch looked like vengeful spirits, causing Stark to stumble backward into a table behind him.

"Careful, Mr. Stark. That's good liquor—don't waste it."

A deep, magnetic male voice came from behind him. Startled, Stark turned to see a man in a black trench coat standing there, an East Asian man who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

In Stark's panicked gaze, Alex raised his hand with a casual motion. The whiskey bottle that was about to shatter froze in mid-air and, as if guided by an unseen force, floated back to the table without spilling a single drop.

"Nice trick, Gandalf. Do I know you?"

Stark's mind raced as he glanced at the frozen forms of the Fantastic Four and Nick Fury. He cautiously took a step back and asked.

Alex noticed Stark subtly inching toward the scattered pieces of his armor and chuckled softly.

"This is our first meeting, I suppose. Relax, Mr. Stark. I'm not your enemy, so there's no need to be so wary. Of course, if being closer to your Iron Man suit gives you some comfort, I don't mind."

"Sorry, but given that I almost became dinner for four zombies, I think a little caution is perfectly justified, even if you did save me."

Realizing his intentions had been discovered, Stark adopted a more straightforward approach. He didn't bother to immediately suit up, thinking it might antagonize the man in black.

Though he had no idea who this man was, the ability to pause time clearly wasn't something just anyone could pull off. In such a scenario, Stark understood he had no chance of resisting if the stranger intended him harm.

Casting another glance at the immobile zombies, Stark turned, grabbed two glasses, and poured the whiskey.

"So, you know me."

Taking the glasses, Stark handed one to the man in black.

"Mm-hmm, you could say that."

Without hesitation, Alex accepted the glass and took a small sip, signaling goodwill to the still-nervous Stark.

"From your tone, I gather you don't just 'know me' like those fans reading newspapers or browsing the internet. You've genuinely interacted with me. But I can't seem to recall you at all."

Noticing Alex had taken a sip, Stark visibly relaxed. Since the man reciprocated his goodwill, Stark concluded he was at least open to dialogue.

"Believe me, I rarely forget anyone of significance. If I'd met you before, I wouldn't have forgotten. So, you're not from this world, are you?"

"An excellent deduction." Alex nodded calmly. "You're right. My name is Alex, and I come from another universe in the multiverse."

Though only a theory, Alex's confirmation validated Stark's guess. Stark scrutinized the man before him briefly, then gave a small nod.

"Interesting. I haven't even activated my multiverse traversal device, and yet here I am face-to-face with an interdimensional visitor. So, what am I like in your universe?"

"Ah, the other versions of you..." Alex paused, reminiscing about the various Tony Starks he had encountered across different universes. With a polite smile, he replied, "Let's just say, you're someone who always makes the right call when it matters most."

"Well, that sounds decent."

Stark ran a hand over his goatee before turning his attention to the frozen Fantastic Four. It was his first time witnessing such a bizarre power.

The expressions of the Fantastic Four were frozen in their most ferocious states. Initially, the sight was horrifying, but after realizing they couldn't harm him, Stark started to view them as objects of curiosity.

Even the flames on the Human Torch's body had been suspended mid-burn, with the distorted heatwaves around him preserved in place. It was the first time Stark had observed such phenomena up close.

"So, let's talk about you. I'm guessing you didn't come here just to save my life. What's your real purpose?"

Hearing this, Alex didn't beat around the bush.

"I've encountered similar universes that suffered this kind of disaster before. To prevent other worlds from being threatened by this contamination, I want to trace the source here and find a way to resolve it."

"Is that so..."

Tony Stark furrowed his brow.

"What do you need me to do?"

"You need to help me locate the origin of all this—the first infected individual who arrived with the purple lightning. The one who brought this contamination into your universe."

Alex set down his cup and raised his hand, conjuring a projection. It was of a man dressed in golden battle armor, with a sunny smile on his face.

"This is the Sentry. In another universe, he was a very powerful hero. Unfortunately, after being infected with the zombie virus, his power posed a massive threat to most of the multiverse."

"The Sentry?" Tony Stark frowned. It was the first time he had heard of this name, as the Sentry didn't exist in his universe. "Can I know what infected him?"

"Actually, that's exactly what I wanted to tell you. The Sentry was infected by the zombie virus from your universe, so..."

"Wait, hold on. Let me get this straight. You're saying my parallel universe travel device succeeded, and these zombies used it to infect other parallel worlds?!"

At first, Tony struggled to understand, but he quickly noticed something was wrong.

"No, no... If the Sentry was contaminated by a virus from our world, how could he turn around and contaminate our world? This... this—"

"—doesn't follow 'logic,' right?"

"Exactly," Alex nodded. "And that's why I'm here. My goal is to find the Sentry. He holds the secrets to all of this."

As Alex finished speaking, he stepped closer to Tony Stark.

Seeing Alex's movements, Tony warily tilted his head and curiously asked, "What are you trying to do?"

"I can't disrupt the flow of this world. Any drastic actions could destabilize the cycle of this universe and potentially cause it to collapse. Until we find a solution, I can't take aggressive measures. But I can try something else."

Alex raised his hand, golden light rippling at his fingertips. Energy harnessed from the natural explosions of a wasteland universe's stars converged in his palm, transformed by his temporal control device.

"But didn't you save me just now?" Tony asked.

"Not yet, Tony. Saving you is extremely complicated. In the timelines of these two universes, your infection by the Fantastic Four as a zombie is an 'absolute point in time.'"

"An absolute point in time?" Tony echoed, confused.

"It's unchangeable, immovable. If you weren't infected, your escape plan wouldn't have failed, Mister Fantastic wouldn't have sought out other multiverses, and the subsequent events wouldn't have unfolded. If I were to erase this point, everything would spiral out of control."

Tony looked skeptical. "So you're saying you want me to help you locate the source of all this while you pause time, and then you're going to toss me back to this damned absolute point in time?"

"Tony, this is about the cyclical balance of two universes. It's incredibly dangerous. I know what you're worried about, and I assure you, I will save you. The process, however, may defy your understanding."

Alex formed a series of hand seals, and a terrifying burst of energy exploded outward, filling the entire lab with radiant golden light.

Tony Stark's eyes widened as the beam of energy surged toward him. He didn't even have time to react before it struck him directly.

"I know creating a paradox is dangerous for this universe, but fortunately, I've seen similar scenarios before. Don't worry, Tony. You'll be fine."

Golden light engulfed Tony Stark's vision entirely. He felt his body being torn apart, and through the haze, he heard Alex's voice. Unable to contain his confusion, he weakly asked, "What are you doing to me?"

"I'm attempting to split this timeline—or more precisely, split your timeline."

Alex's hands came together as he unleashed terrifying magical energy.

"There was once a sorcerer who went astray trying to alter an absolute point in time. His teacher, one of the most powerful sorcerers in history, used this method to tear the timeline, allowing two timelines to coexist in the same universe."

Pausing, Alex continued, "But I don't need to go that far. I only need to split you. Your timeline will diverge here. So, in a way... yes, I've saved you."

Tony Stark couldn't hear the rest.

Under the immense energy, his body began to tear apart, gradually splitting into two.

When he opened his eyes again, he was stunned to see another version of himself being devoured by the zombified Fantastic Four.

Tony Stark was utterly shaken.

.....

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396. Limited Echo Tony Stark!

397. The Time Bard!!

398. Zombie Sentry!

399. A Killing Spree!!

400. Touching the Corruption!!