American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

105. It.

Suddenly opening her eyes wide!

Karolina took deep breaths, her eyes flickering as she stared at the unfamiliar ceiling. Her gaze shifted around continuously until she saw Alex standing by the bed, and only then did she feel a bit at ease.

"Crow... I'm back? We're back!?" Karolina asked with a trembling voice.

"Yes, that thing let you go," Alex calmly replied. At the same time, Moon Knight and John behind him also approached, surprised that Karolina regained her consciousness so quickly despite their expectations.

"Mr. Moon Knight!" Noticing the two behind Alex, Karolina was taken aback. It was her first time meeting the legendary Moon Knight. For small, lesser-known hero groups like hers, there was usually no chance to befriend the powerful heroes. Seeing that Karolina recognized him, Moon Knight smiled behind his mask, nodded, and said, "It's me, child. You are safe now. What you need most is rest to heal your injuries."

"Injuries... ah!" Only then did Karolina feel the burning pain all over her body, causing her to gasp.

"Don't move. Deadpool's blade can hinder the healing of wounds. It took me a lot of effort to alleviate that. But don't worry; as long as you keep changing the dressings, you'll recover over time," John said, folding his arms.

"Thank you... and you are?" Karolina had never seen John before, so she didn't recognize him.

"Blood Sorcerer, you can call me John," he replied.

He didn't mention his title of Blood Baron, considering his past actions weren't exactly heroic. He was keen to leave his villainous reputation behind. However, Alex didn't miss the chance to add, "You could also call him Blood Baron. This guy once took down Steve Rogers head-on."

"Not my proudest moment..." John sighed, giving Alex a resentful glance.

From Alex's words, Karolina quickly realized that the seemingly kind man before her had a villainous past. Nonetheless, she didn't think too much about it, as many villains do reform.

"Thank you, Mr. John. Will my wounds leave scars?" Karolina asked stiffly, enduring the pain on her back. As someone aspiring to be a star, she cared a lot about her skin.

"Don't worry. I have special medicine here that will ensure you heal without any marks," John reassured with a smile.

Meanwhile, Moon Knight pulled Alex out of the bedroom and into the living room.

"How's the situation?" Moon Knight asked curiously.

Alex's smile faded, and he looked serious. "Terrible. I just had an encounter with that thing."

"You saw it!?" Moon Knight was utterly surprised.

"Yeah." Alex didn't deny it. He continued, "That thing hides within the barriers between the multiverse and reality. We can't directly observe it, but I inadvertently 'saw' it within Karolina's mental world."

"What is it?" Moon Knight asked, hoping to identify their foe to devise a plan.

"I don't know," Alex shook his head. "But I've seen it before. It emerged from an unknown abyssal rift, resembling a cocoon made of shadows, with unknown abilities. All I know is it invades and devours the multiverse."

Alex recalled what he had seen through Lady Time and pondered how to deal with this crisis.

"If you've seen it before, do you have a way to deal with it?" Moon Knight pressed.

"No. It's not so much that I saw it, but rather I saw a universe devoured by those things. Those worlds were shattered and engulfed by an eternal night."

Alex sighed deeply, doubting his ability to confront such an entity alone.

"You said you saw it in the mental world. If we could trace a lead, maybe we could find its hiding place and rally the remaining heroes for a final stand," Moon Knight suggested.

"It's not that simple," Alex shook his head. "That place is the boundary between reality and the multiverse. In other words, it parasitizes the timeline. We can't..."

Suddenly, Alex paused, struck by a thought.

"What's wrong? What did you think of?" Moon Knight asked, stepping closer.

Alex recounted his experience in Karolina's mental world. "I haven't told you how I brought Karolina back, right?"

Without waiting for a response, Alex continued, "I 'saw' that thing, but it didn't react to my gaze. It didn't stop me from awakening Karolina's consciousness, almost like it set a trap for her mental world. After ensuring she couldn't escape, it just ignored her."

"When I entered Karolina's mental world, I didn't alert that entity. Even when I took Karolina out, there was no force stopping me. Initially, I thought I got lucky, or maybe it didn't care about Karolina, considering her a dying person, so my action was smooth."

"But now... I suspect what I saw wasn't its 'true form' but maybe an illusion or its reflection in the mental world."

"So?" Moon Knight frowned.

"Its goal is singular: to devour the multiverse. Whether it's Red Skull or Doom, no matter who attracted it, its target won't change," Alex took a deep breath and continued.

"So here's the question: since it parasitizes the timeline and can subtly corrupt cognition, why hasn't it directly created human extinction events in history? Compared to manipulating Deadpool to slaughter heroes, wouldn't that be easier?"

Hearing this, Moon Knight felt a belated realization.

"You mean!"

"Its goal isn't just this universe. It likely has other plans!" Alex concluded.

...…

20 advanced chapters on p@treaon
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107. Caught Again.
108. Bottomless Universe.
109. The Remaining Avengers.
110. The Rules Have Changed.