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Chapter 738: The Donkey Conjecture
In the boundless super-prison, a grim-faced prisoner was flying rapidly, trying to find something to break free.
His clothes were slightly tattered, his messy white hair casually draped, and his aged face was incredibly grim. His eyes, which seemed to encompass countless dimensions, were staring intently ahead, trying to spy a loophole in this endless prison.
But alas, there was none.
At least for now, he had yet to find a way to escape.
Powerful as he was, one of the supreme beings, The Spectre, was trapped in the Speed Force Prison, and escaping would still require some time.
He only needed to lift his foot to instantly travel from one end of the Multiverse to the other. He only needed to raise his head slightly to see the joys and sorrows of countless life forms across innumerable dimensions.
Yet now he was trapped in the Speed Force Prison, with only the void for company—oh, and a guy even more wraithlike than The Spectre himself, who haunted him with a cold, mocking gaze.
"You've been flying for who knows how many tens of thousands of years. Why not stop and rest? Your eyes, blinded by sin, have no hope of finding the Speed Force Prison's weakness. This isn't the same as the Source Wall."
Tony struggled to keep up behind The Spectre. As a being with the incomplete godhead of a Singular God, it was incredibly strenuous for him to keep pace with The Spectre.
The two had been trapped here for far too long. In their perception, time had long since lost its meaning, leaving them with only a void where even time did not exist. How long had they wandered this damned place? Perhaps only a second, perhaps ten thousand years, or a hundred million. If someone told them now that the Multiverse had already been rebooted dozens of times, they would believe it.
Because in the Speed Force Prison, time was the cruelest and most luxurious thing. The fundamental metric for measuring the passage of events had been eliminated by the Speed Force Wall, leaving the two prisoners with far too much emptiness.
The Spectre glanced back at Tony coldly and said in a low voice, "Even the Speed Force Wall has weaknesses. It's just a super-program created by a multiversal native called The Flash, and there has never been a perfect program in this world... Find the flaw, attack the flaw, and we can leave this place."
"I won't let you out. On the contrary, I'll drag you right back in." Tony revealed a chilling smile.
Even though the two had traded barbs many times, whenever Tony looked at the Old Bartender's face, rage would still well up inside him.
Everyone has a bottom line. Sometimes it can sink to rock bottom, but other times it can be frighteningly sensitive. Right now, Tony's bottom line was on the verge of collapse. Every time he glanced at the damned Spectre, he longed to kill him but couldn't, an awful feeling he was experiencing for the very first time.
He couldn't win in a fight. Even if his main body arrived, along with the Mother Box and a host of other divine artifacts, he still couldn't hope to defeat The Spectre. And even if he could win, he would have to be extremely careful to protect the Old Bartender's remains, fearing that a single tiny energy particle could obliterate the Old Bartender's mortal body.
If he'd had a choice, Tony would never have simply locked The Spectre in the Speed Force Prison.
The Spectre gave Tony a cold look. "I really will kill you. If you die, your main body's godhead will be damaged, and it will take who knows how many tens of thousands of years to recover. You can't afford that loss."
Tony sneered, following closely behind The Spectre.
An unknown amount of time passed again. A journey long enough to drive anyone mad was just the norm in the Speed Force Prison.
The place was a blank slate, the environment harsh. There was no air, no food, no energy. Even a Singular God couldn't recklessly squander their divine power, or they would fall into the predicament of being unable to replenish it, growing weaker and weaker.
That's why no one wanted to be locked in the Speed Force Prison. This awful place was loathed and feared by too many deities.
Yet The Spectre remained confident he could find a way out. In the past, many formidable characters had been locked in this prison, but some had successfully escaped. The most recent one, Savitar, who called himself the "God of Speed," hadn't he successfully found a loophole and gotten out?
"There must be a loophole I haven't found," The Spectre muttered.
"Maybe there is, maybe there isn't. The Speed Force Wall isn't just a piece of programming; it's a programmer itself! No programmer would just watch their program repeatedly have issues. The moment a loophole is discovered, it gets patched. And prisoners like you are just the lab rats responsible for finding those loopholes!"
Tony raised his chin arrogantly, looking at The Spectre with contempt.
The Spectre's ghostly voice drifted over: "Have you forgotten that you're a prisoner too?"
"I don't care. As long as I can hold you back, it's fine. If it weren't for this corpse you're occupying, I would have killed myself the moment I was trapped here. You think I'd still be accompanying you? I can afford to lose a tenth of my godhead! As long as it makes you, you bastard, pay the price!" Tony bared his teeth, which glinted with a predatory, cold light.
The two fell silent again. An unknown amount of time passed.
The Spectre suddenly stopped, thoughtfully surveying the unchanging scenery around him.
"Have you ever thought about the meaning behind the Speed Force Wall's existence?" The Spectre suddenly asked.
Tony paused. This time he didn't mock him, simply stating flatly, "Of course I have... The purpose of the Speed Force Wall isn't just to protect the Multiverse. Its process of constant evolution is a process of continually blocking the path to becoming a Singular God."
Tony had, of course, been paying attention to the wondrous thing that was the Speed Force Wall, silently pondering its value and meaning. He was surprised to discover that the Speed Force Wall's method of constantly perfecting itself was strikingly similar to a certain strange, unseen rule in this world.
This rule was: the number of Singular Gods being born would only ever decrease, never increase.
Because the birth of every Singular God simultaneously meant the disappearance of a path of ascension—the method of ascension to singularity was, in itself, the core mystery of a Singular God.
Singularity is unique. Only the corresponding Singular God can possess it. Even if that Singular God dies, this path to ascension to singularity will never open again, but will instead be forever buried in obscurity.
Every time a Singular God is born, another path of ascension in this world is forever sealed. No matter how crazed or talented the latecomers are, it is impossible for them to follow that path to achieve ascension to singularity.
It was the cruelest form of elimination—first come, first served. Latecomers wouldn't even get to the shit while it was still warm.
Each and every Singular God was like an inspector. The appearance of every Singular God represented the exposure of a certain loophole, which would then be forever sealed by the world itself.
The things the Speed Force Wall did were similar to this rule of the world. With every prisoner who escaped the prison, the Speed Force Prison would seal another flaw, becoming even more perfect.
Sometimes, Tony always had a strange illusion, a distinct feeling that countless life forms were just dumb donkeys, with a carrot labeled "Noble Singular God" forever dangling in front of them.
The owner of the carrot didn't bring it out for the donkeys to eat, but to make them work even harder.
This unseen owner of the carrot didn't care at all how many carrots they threw out, because what was priceless in the eyes of a donkey was truly just a small carrot in the eyes of the owner.
Something not even worth mentioning.
(end of chapter)
In the boundless super-prison, a grim-faced prisoner was flying rapidly, trying to find something to break free.
His clothes were slightly tattered, his messy white hair casually draped, and his aged face was incredibly grim. His eyes, which seemed to encompass countless dimensions, were staring intently ahead, trying to spy a loophole in this endless prison.
But alas, there was none.
At least for now, he had yet to find a way to escape.
Powerful as he was, one of the supreme beings, The Spectre, was trapped in the Speed Force Prison, and escaping would still require some time.
He only needed to lift his foot to instantly travel from one end of the Multiverse to the other. He only needed to raise his head slightly to see the joys and sorrows of countless life forms across innumerable dimensions.
Yet now he was trapped in the Speed Force Prison, with only the void for company—oh, and a guy even more wraithlike than The Spectre himself, who haunted him with a cold, mocking gaze.
"You've been flying for who knows how many tens of thousands of years. Why not stop and rest? Your eyes, blinded by sin, have no hope of finding the Speed Force Prison's weakness. This isn't the same as the Source Wall."
Tony struggled to keep up behind The Spectre. As a being with the incomplete godhead of a Singular God, it was incredibly strenuous for him to keep pace with The Spectre.
The two had been trapped here for far too long. In their perception, time had long since lost its meaning, leaving them with only a void where even time did not exist. How long had they wandered this damned place? Perhaps only a second, perhaps ten thousand years, or a hundred million. If someone told them now that the Multiverse had already been rebooted dozens of times, they would believe it.
Because in the Speed Force Prison, time was the cruelest and most luxurious thing. The fundamental metric for measuring the passage of events had been eliminated by the Speed Force Wall, leaving the two prisoners with far too much emptiness.
The Spectre glanced back at Tony coldly and said in a low voice, "Even the Speed Force Wall has weaknesses. It's just a super-program created by a multiversal native called The Flash, and there has never been a perfect program in this world... Find the flaw, attack the flaw, and we can leave this place."
"I won't let you out. On the contrary, I'll drag you right back in." Tony revealed a chilling smile.
Even though the two had traded barbs many times, whenever Tony looked at the Old Bartender's face, rage would still well up inside him.
Everyone has a bottom line. Sometimes it can sink to rock bottom, but other times it can be frighteningly sensitive. Right now, Tony's bottom line was on the verge of collapse. Every time he glanced at the damned Spectre, he longed to kill him but couldn't, an awful feeling he was experiencing for the very first time.
He couldn't win in a fight. Even if his main body arrived, along with the Mother Box and a host of other divine artifacts, he still couldn't hope to defeat The Spectre. And even if he could win, he would have to be extremely careful to protect the Old Bartender's remains, fearing that a single tiny energy particle could obliterate the Old Bartender's mortal body.
If he'd had a choice, Tony would never have simply locked The Spectre in the Speed Force Prison.
The Spectre gave Tony a cold look. "I really will kill you. If you die, your main body's godhead will be damaged, and it will take who knows how many tens of thousands of years to recover. You can't afford that loss."
Tony sneered, following closely behind The Spectre.
An unknown amount of time passed again. A journey long enough to drive anyone mad was just the norm in the Speed Force Prison.
The place was a blank slate, the environment harsh. There was no air, no food, no energy. Even a Singular God couldn't recklessly squander their divine power, or they would fall into the predicament of being unable to replenish it, growing weaker and weaker.
That's why no one wanted to be locked in the Speed Force Prison. This awful place was loathed and feared by too many deities.
Yet The Spectre remained confident he could find a way out. In the past, many formidable characters had been locked in this prison, but some had successfully escaped. The most recent one, Savitar, who called himself the "God of Speed," hadn't he successfully found a loophole and gotten out?
"There must be a loophole I haven't found," The Spectre muttered.
"Maybe there is, maybe there isn't. The Speed Force Wall isn't just a piece of programming; it's a programmer itself! No programmer would just watch their program repeatedly have issues. The moment a loophole is discovered, it gets patched. And prisoners like you are just the lab rats responsible for finding those loopholes!"
Tony raised his chin arrogantly, looking at The Spectre with contempt.
The Spectre's ghostly voice drifted over: "Have you forgotten that you're a prisoner too?"
"I don't care. As long as I can hold you back, it's fine. If it weren't for this corpse you're occupying, I would have killed myself the moment I was trapped here. You think I'd still be accompanying you? I can afford to lose a tenth of my godhead! As long as it makes you, you bastard, pay the price!" Tony bared his teeth, which glinted with a predatory, cold light.
The two fell silent again. An unknown amount of time passed.
The Spectre suddenly stopped, thoughtfully surveying the unchanging scenery around him.
"Have you ever thought about the meaning behind the Speed Force Wall's existence?" The Spectre suddenly asked.
Tony paused. This time he didn't mock him, simply stating flatly, "Of course I have... The purpose of the Speed Force Wall isn't just to protect the Multiverse. Its process of constant evolution is a process of continually blocking the path to becoming a Singular God."
Tony had, of course, been paying attention to the wondrous thing that was the Speed Force Wall, silently pondering its value and meaning. He was surprised to discover that the Speed Force Wall's method of constantly perfecting itself was strikingly similar to a certain strange, unseen rule in this world.
This rule was: the number of Singular Gods being born would only ever decrease, never increase.
Because the birth of every Singular God simultaneously meant the disappearance of a path of ascension—the method of ascension to singularity was, in itself, the core mystery of a Singular God.
Singularity is unique. Only the corresponding Singular God can possess it. Even if that Singular God dies, this path to ascension to singularity will never open again, but will instead be forever buried in obscurity.
Every time a Singular God is born, another path of ascension in this world is forever sealed. No matter how crazed or talented the latecomers are, it is impossible for them to follow that path to achieve ascension to singularity.
It was the cruelest form of elimination—first come, first served. Latecomers wouldn't even get to the shit while it was still warm.
Each and every Singular God was like an inspector. The appearance of every Singular God represented the exposure of a certain loophole, which would then be forever sealed by the world itself.
The things the Speed Force Wall did were similar to this rule of the world. With every prisoner who escaped the prison, the Speed Force Prison would seal another flaw, becoming even more perfect.
Sometimes, Tony always had a strange illusion, a distinct feeling that countless life forms were just dumb donkeys, with a carrot labeled "Noble Singular God" forever dangling in front of them.
The owner of the carrot didn't bring it out for the donkeys to eat, but to make them work even harder.
This unseen owner of the carrot didn't care at all how many carrots they threw out, because what was priceless in the eyes of a donkey was truly just a small carrot in the eyes of the owner.
Something not even worth mentioning.
(end of chapter)
