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Chapter 748 Savitar, the Concept Entity
A wisp of will from the One-Above-All was traveling to the past, searching for a way to prevent Barry from dying.
Barry was courting death. He couldn't withstand the terrifying aftershocks from the timeline's backlash and would be blasted until not even dust remained.
Tony's main body lay on the chair, rocking back and forth intermittently. The recliner emitted a faint creaking sound.
His slightly narrowed eyes had long since pierced through countless barriers, seeing what lay behind innumerable dimensions.
"Since you're here, why not show yourself?"
Tony stopped rocking and gently flicked his teacup, producing a crisp clink.
Swoosh!
With a flash of white electrical arcs, a tall and burly figure appeared before Tony. A seamless one-piece battle armor enveloped the visitor, and Speed Force, as dense as a current of water, flowed wantonly around his entire body.
A strong gust of wind swept by, tearing up a layer of turf and exposing the soil beneath. The curtains were whipped high into the air, and the windows began to rattle.
Impassively, Tony released a stream of energy particles from his body, forcefully quelling the disturbance caused by the super speed.
"Tony, it's time we had a proper talk..."
Savitar's low, hoarse voice sounded like rubbing sandpaper. A strange luster flickered across his helmet, which resembled the skull of a Xenomorph.
"Perfect. I've been wanting to talk to you, too. Since I let you out, it seems we've cooperated more than once," Tony said, his tone deceptively casual.
In reality, Tony was already on high alert, prepared to strike a fatal blow at any moment.
Tony knew exactly what kind of person Savitar was: a ruthless madman who would turn on his own family, a lunatic who had fallen from a flash of justice into a deranged, hysterical, murderous maniac.
Tony had no doubt that if their talk broke down, Savitar would not hesitate to act, provided he had even the slightest confidence he could kill him.
To this insane Barry Allen, there was no one in the world who couldn't be killed. You can never have a calm negotiation with a monster who could slaughter his own beloved wife, adoptive father, brothers, and friends.
Savitar's grim voice rang out, "When you underwent your deification, I helped you block numerous powerful enemies from the Sphere of the Gods. Without me, not only would you have had to face enemies from across the Multiverse, but the Sphere of the Gods wouldn't have let you pass so easily..."
"Let's be clear. That was a riot at the Speed Force Wall, which made those people from the Sphere of the Gods hesitant to act. You were just attacking the Speed Force Wall at a high frequency during that time. You're not that great, otherwise you wouldn't be here trying to bargain with me."
Tony cut Savitar off. He stood up and, right in front of him, picked up the teapot. A slight acceleration of energy particles brought the water to a boil, and the fragrant aroma of tea wafted out, refreshing and invigorating.
Tony carefully held the teapot, filled two cups, and then picked one up and offered it to Savitar. "Have a cup? This is a special blend I brought from Earth and cultivated myself. You won't find anything this good on any other Earth in the entire Multiverse."
Savitar fell into a strange silence.
Tony's placid and calm demeanor made Savitar extremely uncomfortable.
After a moment of silence, Savitar slowly lowered himself, his fists touching the ground, assuming a half-kneeling posture.
The white Speed Force gradually receded, and the dazzling light on the highly futuristic armor faded back into darkness. A series of clicks sounded from the back of the super-armor as a seam split open.
Savitar's true self stood up from within the armor. He was dressed in a suit like any ordinary person, his leather shoes gleaming with a dark luster. His upright figure easily stepped out of the armor, making contact with the aura of the outside world.
This was a Barry Allen with half of his face burned away—sinister, lonely, deathly still, and cruel. He was the pitiful product of a time remnant and a time paradox.
He was also a wretch transforming from a physical entity into a concept entity.
In a certain universe, The Flash there created a time remnant to help him defeat a Speedster enemy called Zoom. He pulled himself from a few nanoseconds in the future into the present, and together they ganged up on Zoom.
Zoom was ultimately defeated, and the time remnant died in a pillar of flame. That Flash had once again saved the world, and everything seemed perfectly normal.
But not long after, he was attacked by a powerful enemy named Savitar. He pushed his speed to the absolute limit, but in front of Savitar, he was still as slow as a snail.
In the end, the mysterious Savitar killed his fiancée.
This Flash descended into madness and embarked on a path of revenge. Many years later, he finally found a way to fight Savitar. He created countless time remnants to besiege the unbelievably fast Savitar. These innumerable time remnants fearlessly attacked Savitar until only one was left, finally helping The Flash defeat him.
For some unknown reason, Savitar did not kill this last surviving time remnant.
At the same time, in the final moments, The Flash discovered Savitar's true identity: the time remnant who was supposed to have "died" in the battle with Zoom, an abandoned wretch. The burn on half his face was a scar from when he had tried to take Zoom down with him.
The great enemy was defeated. The Flash had succeeded once again. Just like in countless major events of the past, justice had triumphed over evil.
But for the surviving time remnant, intentionally spared by Savitar, it was a nightmare.
He was a genuine Barry Allen, yet all his friends and family avoided him, unsure how to face this second Barry—including the original Barry who created him, who was also at a loss, wary and guarded against him, consciously or unconsciously monitoring him.
Long-term isolation and rejection plunged this time remnant into immense confusion. He couldn't understand the value or meaning of his existence, nor did he know why his original self had created him. Even more, he didn't know why Savitar had deliberately let him live.
Then came the frantic running. This time remnant traveled through multiple points in human history, searching for the meaning of his existence.
Finally, one day, he awakened. He suddenly understood.
He understood the purpose of his existence and truly grasped its meaning—right and wrong were irrelevant. For him, whatever he acknowledged was the truest reality, and therefore the most meaningful.
He gathered countless rare materials and forged a suit of super-armor to break with the past and welcome a new life.
This time remnant began to call himself—Savitar!
Savitar began to enact his insane revenge on The Flash who had created him. He brutally murdered The Flash's fiancée, waiting for The Flash to create countless time remnants to seek revenge against him. Then, raising his slaughtering blade, he would kill these pathetic time remnants until only one remained...
It was an unsolvable time paradox. Savitar became a conceptual product that spanned the Multiverse. He was omnipresent.
This concept entity had overcome death and could not be killed. If one Savitar died, billions of Barry Allens were waiting to take his place, eager to inherit the name.
And now, Savitar had finally come to him, to have a face-to-face conversation with Tony, even going so far as to remove his armor to face him in person.
The teacup was still steaming, its fragrance drifting in the air.
(end of chapter)
A wisp of will from the One-Above-All was traveling to the past, searching for a way to prevent Barry from dying.
Barry was courting death. He couldn't withstand the terrifying aftershocks from the timeline's backlash and would be blasted until not even dust remained.
Tony's main body lay on the chair, rocking back and forth intermittently. The recliner emitted a faint creaking sound.
His slightly narrowed eyes had long since pierced through countless barriers, seeing what lay behind innumerable dimensions.
"Since you're here, why not show yourself?"
Tony stopped rocking and gently flicked his teacup, producing a crisp clink.
Swoosh!
With a flash of white electrical arcs, a tall and burly figure appeared before Tony. A seamless one-piece battle armor enveloped the visitor, and Speed Force, as dense as a current of water, flowed wantonly around his entire body.
A strong gust of wind swept by, tearing up a layer of turf and exposing the soil beneath. The curtains were whipped high into the air, and the windows began to rattle.
Impassively, Tony released a stream of energy particles from his body, forcefully quelling the disturbance caused by the super speed.
"Tony, it's time we had a proper talk..."
Savitar's low, hoarse voice sounded like rubbing sandpaper. A strange luster flickered across his helmet, which resembled the skull of a Xenomorph.
"Perfect. I've been wanting to talk to you, too. Since I let you out, it seems we've cooperated more than once," Tony said, his tone deceptively casual.
In reality, Tony was already on high alert, prepared to strike a fatal blow at any moment.
Tony knew exactly what kind of person Savitar was: a ruthless madman who would turn on his own family, a lunatic who had fallen from a flash of justice into a deranged, hysterical, murderous maniac.
Tony had no doubt that if their talk broke down, Savitar would not hesitate to act, provided he had even the slightest confidence he could kill him.
To this insane Barry Allen, there was no one in the world who couldn't be killed. You can never have a calm negotiation with a monster who could slaughter his own beloved wife, adoptive father, brothers, and friends.
Savitar's grim voice rang out, "When you underwent your deification, I helped you block numerous powerful enemies from the Sphere of the Gods. Without me, not only would you have had to face enemies from across the Multiverse, but the Sphere of the Gods wouldn't have let you pass so easily..."
"Let's be clear. That was a riot at the Speed Force Wall, which made those people from the Sphere of the Gods hesitant to act. You were just attacking the Speed Force Wall at a high frequency during that time. You're not that great, otherwise you wouldn't be here trying to bargain with me."
Tony cut Savitar off. He stood up and, right in front of him, picked up the teapot. A slight acceleration of energy particles brought the water to a boil, and the fragrant aroma of tea wafted out, refreshing and invigorating.
Tony carefully held the teapot, filled two cups, and then picked one up and offered it to Savitar. "Have a cup? This is a special blend I brought from Earth and cultivated myself. You won't find anything this good on any other Earth in the entire Multiverse."
Savitar fell into a strange silence.
Tony's placid and calm demeanor made Savitar extremely uncomfortable.
After a moment of silence, Savitar slowly lowered himself, his fists touching the ground, assuming a half-kneeling posture.
The white Speed Force gradually receded, and the dazzling light on the highly futuristic armor faded back into darkness. A series of clicks sounded from the back of the super-armor as a seam split open.
Savitar's true self stood up from within the armor. He was dressed in a suit like any ordinary person, his leather shoes gleaming with a dark luster. His upright figure easily stepped out of the armor, making contact with the aura of the outside world.
This was a Barry Allen with half of his face burned away—sinister, lonely, deathly still, and cruel. He was the pitiful product of a time remnant and a time paradox.
He was also a wretch transforming from a physical entity into a concept entity.
In a certain universe, The Flash there created a time remnant to help him defeat a Speedster enemy called Zoom. He pulled himself from a few nanoseconds in the future into the present, and together they ganged up on Zoom.
Zoom was ultimately defeated, and the time remnant died in a pillar of flame. That Flash had once again saved the world, and everything seemed perfectly normal.
But not long after, he was attacked by a powerful enemy named Savitar. He pushed his speed to the absolute limit, but in front of Savitar, he was still as slow as a snail.
In the end, the mysterious Savitar killed his fiancée.
This Flash descended into madness and embarked on a path of revenge. Many years later, he finally found a way to fight Savitar. He created countless time remnants to besiege the unbelievably fast Savitar. These innumerable time remnants fearlessly attacked Savitar until only one was left, finally helping The Flash defeat him.
For some unknown reason, Savitar did not kill this last surviving time remnant.
At the same time, in the final moments, The Flash discovered Savitar's true identity: the time remnant who was supposed to have "died" in the battle with Zoom, an abandoned wretch. The burn on half his face was a scar from when he had tried to take Zoom down with him.
The great enemy was defeated. The Flash had succeeded once again. Just like in countless major events of the past, justice had triumphed over evil.
But for the surviving time remnant, intentionally spared by Savitar, it was a nightmare.
He was a genuine Barry Allen, yet all his friends and family avoided him, unsure how to face this second Barry—including the original Barry who created him, who was also at a loss, wary and guarded against him, consciously or unconsciously monitoring him.
Long-term isolation and rejection plunged this time remnant into immense confusion. He couldn't understand the value or meaning of his existence, nor did he know why his original self had created him. Even more, he didn't know why Savitar had deliberately let him live.
Then came the frantic running. This time remnant traveled through multiple points in human history, searching for the meaning of his existence.
Finally, one day, he awakened. He suddenly understood.
He understood the purpose of his existence and truly grasped its meaning—right and wrong were irrelevant. For him, whatever he acknowledged was the truest reality, and therefore the most meaningful.
He gathered countless rare materials and forged a suit of super-armor to break with the past and welcome a new life.
This time remnant began to call himself—Savitar!
Savitar began to enact his insane revenge on The Flash who had created him. He brutally murdered The Flash's fiancée, waiting for The Flash to create countless time remnants to seek revenge against him. Then, raising his slaughtering blade, he would kill these pathetic time remnants until only one remained...
It was an unsolvable time paradox. Savitar became a conceptual product that spanned the Multiverse. He was omnipresent.
This concept entity had overcome death and could not be killed. If one Savitar died, billions of Barry Allens were waiting to take his place, eager to inherit the name.
And now, Savitar had finally come to him, to have a face-to-face conversation with Tony, even going so far as to remove his armor to face him in person.
The teacup was still steaming, its fragrance drifting in the air.
(end of chapter)
