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Chapter 845: The Collector's Rage, Eternity Arrives
A full-scale conflict that was about to erupt came to an end just like that. Tony had won his bet, dragging back the Collector's head as a decoration for a period of one million years.
One million years really isn't long. To Tony, it was but the flick of a finger. To a Level Eight God, time was one of the most useless things.
"I was originally worried that the Grand Judge would punish me severely and cover for you." Tony looked at the head he was carrying, which was far larger than his entire body.
On this head, half-mechanical and half-resembling flesh and blood, streaks of light were flashing.
"So you went to test him? You should be thankful that the Grand Judge is a God who values justice above all else. Otherwise, with the offense you committed against him, no one could have saved you."
A consciousness filled with rage and sarcasm emanated from it—the Collector's spirit, which had not yet been completely annihilated. The agreement between Tony and the Grand Judge was that he could only use the Collector's head to display his power, but could not completely modify it. Therefore, the Collector's willpower was able to survive.
"I dared to do it because I was confident, because I know things that even you don't understand." Tony snorted coldly, a frigid glint in his eyes. "But you, on the other hand, have been a fool from start to finish, played for a sucker by the Destroyer Celestial, and you're the first one to fall into my hands."
"Didn't you say you wanted to collect my head as a specimen?"
"I beat you to that goal! You piece of trash, you waste, you toy! You're mine!"
The Collector was furious and was about to say something, but Tony cut him off with a shout, "Shut up, you useless toy."
The Collector wanted to curse him out, but the power of the Allspark surged forth, directly locking down his ability to project his consciousness, enraging him to the point of near collapse.
However, the Collector finally understood. Through personal experience, feeling his own vast body split in two, the mechanical parts perfectly controlled by a power that completely crushed and surpassed his own, he now fully comprehended how the Allspark—this suddenly appeared, mysteriously originated Singularity artifact—worked on mechs.
The God of Technology—truly worthy of the name.
The boost the Allspark gave its user in terms of power and authority was even more terrifying than the boost from the Mobius Chair. Just as the one who obtains the Mobius Chair becomes the God of Knowledge, the being who obtains the Allspark becomes the God of Technology. However, it is more domineering, more unreasonable than the God of Knowledge, with its rules, power, and degree of control being on a higher level.
"You'll get what's coming to you!" the Collector grumbled sullenly, his heart filled with endless resentment. He desperately wanted to resist, but the Allspark was like a noose tightening around his neck, strangling him.
Tony carried the Collector's head, expressionlessly using the Allspark to continuously plunder the profound mysteries of the Celestials' chassis. It was a form of plunder that was extremely domineering and unreasonable.
Most of the profound mysteries of the Celestials were now in Tony's grasp.
The reason he hadn't grasped all of them was that the Celestials were not entirely mechanical creations. Otherwise, these beings would be no different in essence from intelligent robots like Ultron or Brainiac.
Level Eight Celestials, including the One-Above-All Celestial that Tony had augmented, had energy readings that were already infinite. However, their physical structures still contained 'genes'—a complex logical sequence that transcended Earthlings' understanding of life and approached the level of fundamental rules.
Tony and the others at the Science Academy had also obtained the head of a Celestial before. It was a remnant recovered after destroying the Collector's Nowhere. At that time, for that low-end model of Celestial, the Science Academy had already grasped some of its rudimentary gene sequences.
They could only use it, not create it—they knew how it worked but not why. Even so, by adding the power of the Singularity, Tony had successfully augmented Thor, giving birth to Celestial Thor.
Unfortunately, Celestial Thor was still a defective variant. His appearance changed drastically: his two eyeballs became four lightbulbs, his body swelled to the hundred-meter class, and his overall characteristics became a hybrid of an Asgardian and a mass-produced model Celestial.
Although usable, he was uncontrollable. Therefore, the Cybertron Science Academy's research into mass-produced Celestials was halted for a time, until now.
"Previously, my research into mass-produced Celestials was done through crude gene copying, transplanting, and implantation. Whether it was that lump of Doomsday Celestial flesh I threw onto Apokolips, or the successfully augmented Celestial Thor, it was all about finding a powerful and durable host and injecting the Celestial sequence into them..."
Tony stood there, lost in thought.
He might now know how the Top Ten Celestials mass-produced their cannon fodder Celestials. It was through an extremely complex and lengthy "Celestial sequence"—like a specific product code—used to artificially regulate the production direction of unformed products.
In other words, if they could crack the Celestial sequence, the mass-produced model Celestials would have no secrets left. Cybertron could completely develop a sequence virus, or perhaps a terrifying parasite like a cosmic locust, to destroy the mass-produced Celestials on a massive scale.
The sequence... that was the core secret of the Celestials.
"Tell me where the Celestials' main base in the Multiverse is!" Tony turned to the resentful head and said in a low voice.
The shackles of the Allspark were released.
The Collector sneered, "Don't even think about it. This secret is stored in the deepest part of my spirit. If you have the guts, then erase my willpower and take everything from me."
Tony frowned deeply.
That was, of course, impossible. The Grand Judge was all about rules and fairness. Forcing the Grand Judge to back down with "reason" before was already a risk. If Tony were the first to break their agreement, it would be pure suicide.
"You and I have a million years to get to know each other. I'm sure you'll tell me eventually." Tony snorted. In his mind, he was already pondering throwing this head to the madmen at the Science Academy to study for three to five hundred thousand years.
What if the Collector couldn't hold out and went insane first?
One must always have greed and hope.
After a moment of thought, Tony suddenly raised his head, turned to one side, and asked, "Do you know where the Celestials' main base is?"
A figure shrouded in a black robe, its body like a vast shadow, had silently appeared not far from Tony, watching him quietly.
"Eter—!" The Collector's mouth was promptly gagged again, his resentment soaring to the heavens.
After a long moment, Eternity slowly said, "The Celestials escaped my control long ago. Ever since they successfully killed the First Firmament and the Dark Celestials were destroyed, the Colored Celestials have been beyond my grasp."
Tony said flatly, "If it's a matter of independence, that's normal. But if they don't even listen to their Creator, then I have to wonder if this Creator did something unpopular to end up in this situation."
"Because the Colored Celestials were in a cooperative relationship with me from the very beginning, not a subordinate one," Eternity said after a moment of silence.
(end of chapter)
A full-scale conflict that was about to erupt came to an end just like that. Tony had won his bet, dragging back the Collector's head as a decoration for a period of one million years.
One million years really isn't long. To Tony, it was but the flick of a finger. To a Level Eight God, time was one of the most useless things.
"I was originally worried that the Grand Judge would punish me severely and cover for you." Tony looked at the head he was carrying, which was far larger than his entire body.
On this head, half-mechanical and half-resembling flesh and blood, streaks of light were flashing.
"So you went to test him? You should be thankful that the Grand Judge is a God who values justice above all else. Otherwise, with the offense you committed against him, no one could have saved you."
A consciousness filled with rage and sarcasm emanated from it—the Collector's spirit, which had not yet been completely annihilated. The agreement between Tony and the Grand Judge was that he could only use the Collector's head to display his power, but could not completely modify it. Therefore, the Collector's willpower was able to survive.
"I dared to do it because I was confident, because I know things that even you don't understand." Tony snorted coldly, a frigid glint in his eyes. "But you, on the other hand, have been a fool from start to finish, played for a sucker by the Destroyer Celestial, and you're the first one to fall into my hands."
"Didn't you say you wanted to collect my head as a specimen?"
"I beat you to that goal! You piece of trash, you waste, you toy! You're mine!"
The Collector was furious and was about to say something, but Tony cut him off with a shout, "Shut up, you useless toy."
The Collector wanted to curse him out, but the power of the Allspark surged forth, directly locking down his ability to project his consciousness, enraging him to the point of near collapse.
However, the Collector finally understood. Through personal experience, feeling his own vast body split in two, the mechanical parts perfectly controlled by a power that completely crushed and surpassed his own, he now fully comprehended how the Allspark—this suddenly appeared, mysteriously originated Singularity artifact—worked on mechs.
The God of Technology—truly worthy of the name.
The boost the Allspark gave its user in terms of power and authority was even more terrifying than the boost from the Mobius Chair. Just as the one who obtains the Mobius Chair becomes the God of Knowledge, the being who obtains the Allspark becomes the God of Technology. However, it is more domineering, more unreasonable than the God of Knowledge, with its rules, power, and degree of control being on a higher level.
"You'll get what's coming to you!" the Collector grumbled sullenly, his heart filled with endless resentment. He desperately wanted to resist, but the Allspark was like a noose tightening around his neck, strangling him.
Tony carried the Collector's head, expressionlessly using the Allspark to continuously plunder the profound mysteries of the Celestials' chassis. It was a form of plunder that was extremely domineering and unreasonable.
Most of the profound mysteries of the Celestials were now in Tony's grasp.
The reason he hadn't grasped all of them was that the Celestials were not entirely mechanical creations. Otherwise, these beings would be no different in essence from intelligent robots like Ultron or Brainiac.
Level Eight Celestials, including the One-Above-All Celestial that Tony had augmented, had energy readings that were already infinite. However, their physical structures still contained 'genes'—a complex logical sequence that transcended Earthlings' understanding of life and approached the level of fundamental rules.
Tony and the others at the Science Academy had also obtained the head of a Celestial before. It was a remnant recovered after destroying the Collector's Nowhere. At that time, for that low-end model of Celestial, the Science Academy had already grasped some of its rudimentary gene sequences.
They could only use it, not create it—they knew how it worked but not why. Even so, by adding the power of the Singularity, Tony had successfully augmented Thor, giving birth to Celestial Thor.
Unfortunately, Celestial Thor was still a defective variant. His appearance changed drastically: his two eyeballs became four lightbulbs, his body swelled to the hundred-meter class, and his overall characteristics became a hybrid of an Asgardian and a mass-produced model Celestial.
Although usable, he was uncontrollable. Therefore, the Cybertron Science Academy's research into mass-produced Celestials was halted for a time, until now.
"Previously, my research into mass-produced Celestials was done through crude gene copying, transplanting, and implantation. Whether it was that lump of Doomsday Celestial flesh I threw onto Apokolips, or the successfully augmented Celestial Thor, it was all about finding a powerful and durable host and injecting the Celestial sequence into them..."
Tony stood there, lost in thought.
He might now know how the Top Ten Celestials mass-produced their cannon fodder Celestials. It was through an extremely complex and lengthy "Celestial sequence"—like a specific product code—used to artificially regulate the production direction of unformed products.
In other words, if they could crack the Celestial sequence, the mass-produced model Celestials would have no secrets left. Cybertron could completely develop a sequence virus, or perhaps a terrifying parasite like a cosmic locust, to destroy the mass-produced Celestials on a massive scale.
The sequence... that was the core secret of the Celestials.
"Tell me where the Celestials' main base in the Multiverse is!" Tony turned to the resentful head and said in a low voice.
The shackles of the Allspark were released.
The Collector sneered, "Don't even think about it. This secret is stored in the deepest part of my spirit. If you have the guts, then erase my willpower and take everything from me."
Tony frowned deeply.
That was, of course, impossible. The Grand Judge was all about rules and fairness. Forcing the Grand Judge to back down with "reason" before was already a risk. If Tony were the first to break their agreement, it would be pure suicide.
"You and I have a million years to get to know each other. I'm sure you'll tell me eventually." Tony snorted. In his mind, he was already pondering throwing this head to the madmen at the Science Academy to study for three to five hundred thousand years.
What if the Collector couldn't hold out and went insane first?
One must always have greed and hope.
After a moment of thought, Tony suddenly raised his head, turned to one side, and asked, "Do you know where the Celestials' main base is?"
A figure shrouded in a black robe, its body like a vast shadow, had silently appeared not far from Tony, watching him quietly.
"Eter—!" The Collector's mouth was promptly gagged again, his resentment soaring to the heavens.
After a long moment, Eternity slowly said, "The Celestials escaped my control long ago. Ever since they successfully killed the First Firmament and the Dark Celestials were destroyed, the Colored Celestials have been beyond my grasp."
Tony said flatly, "If it's a matter of independence, that's normal. But if they don't even listen to their Creator, then I have to wonder if this Creator did something unpopular to end up in this situation."
"Because the Colored Celestials were in a cooperative relationship with me from the very beginning, not a subordinate one," Eternity said after a moment of silence.
(end of chapter)
