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Chapter 384: I Am the Real Tony
A body as vast as the universe walked towards its death, like a colossal tree withering and decaying.
Trigon, being destroyed bit by bit by the Infinity Stones, was observed by all the top factions across the universe. Countless cheers erupted as innumerable people celebrated with one another.
Although they didn't understand what had happened, it seemed that the fearsome enemy, Trigon, had been defeated.
With the exception of a rare few like Watcher Wa Tu, the vast majority were unable to clearly observe the battle's progress. They didn't even know who had accomplished the monumental feat of taking down Trigon.
But that wasn't important. News of this event would spread throughout the entire universe sooner or later.
At the edge of the universe, all matter had been completely annihilated, leaving only a vast emptiness. The universe's own healing capabilities were still at work, repairing the damaged space and fundamental laws.
The massive influx of Blood Realm energy pouring through the breach was particularly dangerous, acting just like a virus with extreme lethality towards the lifeforms within the universe.
Even interstellar warships capable of traversing the cosmos had to treat this stuff with extreme caution, lest a single misstep lead to their demise.
Blocking the Blood Realm's energy and healing the universe's wounds should have been the duty of the Monitor Race, but for some unknown reason, the Monitors had all vanished, presumably recalled by the Prime Monitor.
Two figures faced each other across the void, their gazes cold, their undisguised frigidity filled with mutual vigilance.
To be precise, it was Tony who was wary of Slim, while Slim couldn't care less about Tony's minor posturing.
He gazed obsessively at the Plot Gem in his hand. With this thing, even if the One-Above-All himself appeared, he could comfortably escape even if he couldn't win.
Even Trigon had died at his hands—a truly terrifying achievement that fully demonstrated the bizarre and mysterious nature of the Plot Gem.
Tony frowned and asked coolly, "Why did you kill the Ancient One?"
"I just did it on a whim. Who told her to come here and court death? Besides, if it weren't for her, I wouldn't have been exposed so early," Slim said, looking up with a sneer.
Tony fell silent.
"What, are you angry?" Slim laughed coldly, sending Tony flying with a blast of black light. "I created you. I can see right through your pathetic thoughts."
"You're actually angry over a mere Ancient One? Such a narrow worldview. There are countless Ancient Ones in the Multiverse. If this one dies, I can just go to another universe and grab another one."
Slim straightened his gaunt frame, an eyebrow raised slightly. "You truly are... terrifyingly naive. I'm genuinely worried you'll get yourself killed one of these days, causing me to return empty-handed."
Tony's flying figure gradually came to a halt. He stood silently in the vacuum. The five Infinity Stones were scarred and battered, and the once-golden Infinity Gauntlet had lost its luster, looking no different from an ordinary glove.
Only the Allspark in his mind remained active, its constant flickering light terrifyingly bright.
He hadn't used the Allspark's power at all against Trigon, relying entirely on the Infinity Stones to face the enemy.
Another blast of black light pressed down on him. The Plot Correction Force twisted his movements, expressions, and thoughts. It was as if some magical power was compelling his entire being to act according to the other's will.
The Allspark trembled, helping Tony break free from the Plot Gem's alterations and return to normal.
"You shouldn't have killed her... You could have beaten her half to death and thrown her away, or just waved your hand and banished her. There was no need to kill her..."
Tony murmured under his breath, "You already have the Plot Gem. As a multiversal being, the Ancient One had no way of fighting you. You could have driven her away with just a lift of your finger..."
To resist the Plot Gem, one had to be at least a Singularity being.
Or be like the current Tony, who had a Singularity item holding him in place, pinning him down like a nail.
The Ancient One had no chance of winning against this opponent.
The Sorcerer Supreme who had protected Earth for so many years, the true Sorcerer Supreme... was dead, just like that. He had considered many possibilities, but he never imagined it would be a matter of "on a whim"...
Back then, it was the Ancient One who had guided Tony, helping him cross the threshold to Level Four. It was the Ancient One who had helped him besiege Dormammu, helping him execute his plan and ascend to become a Demigod, a one-in-a-billion existence.
And that was just what was on the surface. In reality, many of the things Tony did, like his risky venture to slay the Hulk, were only possible because the Ancient One was there to back him up. No matter how bad things got, such as the Hulk suddenly undergoing infinite evolution into a four-armed Hulk, the Ancient One would have been there to clean up the mess.
But now, the Ancient One was dead.
She was never coming back.
As for the Ancient One from another universe? Heh, would that even be the same Ancient One he knew?
Slim seemed extremely interested in Tony's current state. He stroked his chin theatrically, looking at him with an expression of utter amazement.
"What the hell was that fat bastard Number Ninety-Nine thinking, choosing a character like this. Sentimental? Are you sure this type can live long? If I hadn't come out ahead of time, this guy would have probably been killed by someone else. It's really worrying..."
Slim thought for a moment. Although the timing wasn't perfect, it was barely usable. He felt it was best to act sooner rather than later. Otherwise, if Tony got killed by someone else, he would suffer a great loss.
This Tony could only be killed by him.
Only then would the immense risk he had taken not be in vain. Everything was for the sake of... Ascension to Singularity!
"You did all this just to let me grow? So it would be convenient for you to harvest me?" Tony suddenly said, raising his arm. He suppressed his grief, leaving only a towering rage.
"That's right. It's the only way, a method born of desperation."
Slim "Tony" took a step forward and said with a sneer, "Your memories were given to you by me. Your experiences and habits were added by me."
"Your emotions, your thoughts, your everything—it was all born because of me."
"You—Tony, were never a Transmigrator."
"I am the Transmigrator... What you know is only what I wanted you to know, which is also everything I am capable of knowing."
"You, from beginning to end, were never one of 'us,' but a minor character modified by 'us'!"
"I am the real Tony! The true Tony!"
Slim's speech grew faster and faster, his face more and more savage.
He recalled how he had nearly lost his life just to survive in a certain universe, the strange events he encountered when he first arrived, and the countless painstaking efforts he had expended just to get his hands on the Plot Continuity Gem that was rightfully his...
The more he thought, the more his malice surged, and his expression grew more sinister, like that of a malevolent spirit!
He had paid such a price. Everything was for the sake of this guy before him!
Slim slowly extended his hand, black light suffusing the air. His entire face twisted into a mask of greed and desire, of hatred and animosity.
(end of chapter)
A body as vast as the universe walked towards its death, like a colossal tree withering and decaying.
Trigon, being destroyed bit by bit by the Infinity Stones, was observed by all the top factions across the universe. Countless cheers erupted as innumerable people celebrated with one another.
Although they didn't understand what had happened, it seemed that the fearsome enemy, Trigon, had been defeated.
With the exception of a rare few like Watcher Wa Tu, the vast majority were unable to clearly observe the battle's progress. They didn't even know who had accomplished the monumental feat of taking down Trigon.
But that wasn't important. News of this event would spread throughout the entire universe sooner or later.
At the edge of the universe, all matter had been completely annihilated, leaving only a vast emptiness. The universe's own healing capabilities were still at work, repairing the damaged space and fundamental laws.
The massive influx of Blood Realm energy pouring through the breach was particularly dangerous, acting just like a virus with extreme lethality towards the lifeforms within the universe.
Even interstellar warships capable of traversing the cosmos had to treat this stuff with extreme caution, lest a single misstep lead to their demise.
Blocking the Blood Realm's energy and healing the universe's wounds should have been the duty of the Monitor Race, but for some unknown reason, the Monitors had all vanished, presumably recalled by the Prime Monitor.
Two figures faced each other across the void, their gazes cold, their undisguised frigidity filled with mutual vigilance.
To be precise, it was Tony who was wary of Slim, while Slim couldn't care less about Tony's minor posturing.
He gazed obsessively at the Plot Gem in his hand. With this thing, even if the One-Above-All himself appeared, he could comfortably escape even if he couldn't win.
Even Trigon had died at his hands—a truly terrifying achievement that fully demonstrated the bizarre and mysterious nature of the Plot Gem.
Tony frowned and asked coolly, "Why did you kill the Ancient One?"
"I just did it on a whim. Who told her to come here and court death? Besides, if it weren't for her, I wouldn't have been exposed so early," Slim said, looking up with a sneer.
Tony fell silent.
"What, are you angry?" Slim laughed coldly, sending Tony flying with a blast of black light. "I created you. I can see right through your pathetic thoughts."
"You're actually angry over a mere Ancient One? Such a narrow worldview. There are countless Ancient Ones in the Multiverse. If this one dies, I can just go to another universe and grab another one."
Slim straightened his gaunt frame, an eyebrow raised slightly. "You truly are... terrifyingly naive. I'm genuinely worried you'll get yourself killed one of these days, causing me to return empty-handed."
Tony's flying figure gradually came to a halt. He stood silently in the vacuum. The five Infinity Stones were scarred and battered, and the once-golden Infinity Gauntlet had lost its luster, looking no different from an ordinary glove.
Only the Allspark in his mind remained active, its constant flickering light terrifyingly bright.
He hadn't used the Allspark's power at all against Trigon, relying entirely on the Infinity Stones to face the enemy.
Another blast of black light pressed down on him. The Plot Correction Force twisted his movements, expressions, and thoughts. It was as if some magical power was compelling his entire being to act according to the other's will.
The Allspark trembled, helping Tony break free from the Plot Gem's alterations and return to normal.
"You shouldn't have killed her... You could have beaten her half to death and thrown her away, or just waved your hand and banished her. There was no need to kill her..."
Tony murmured under his breath, "You already have the Plot Gem. As a multiversal being, the Ancient One had no way of fighting you. You could have driven her away with just a lift of your finger..."
To resist the Plot Gem, one had to be at least a Singularity being.
Or be like the current Tony, who had a Singularity item holding him in place, pinning him down like a nail.
The Ancient One had no chance of winning against this opponent.
The Sorcerer Supreme who had protected Earth for so many years, the true Sorcerer Supreme... was dead, just like that. He had considered many possibilities, but he never imagined it would be a matter of "on a whim"...
Back then, it was the Ancient One who had guided Tony, helping him cross the threshold to Level Four. It was the Ancient One who had helped him besiege Dormammu, helping him execute his plan and ascend to become a Demigod, a one-in-a-billion existence.
And that was just what was on the surface. In reality, many of the things Tony did, like his risky venture to slay the Hulk, were only possible because the Ancient One was there to back him up. No matter how bad things got, such as the Hulk suddenly undergoing infinite evolution into a four-armed Hulk, the Ancient One would have been there to clean up the mess.
But now, the Ancient One was dead.
She was never coming back.
As for the Ancient One from another universe? Heh, would that even be the same Ancient One he knew?
Slim seemed extremely interested in Tony's current state. He stroked his chin theatrically, looking at him with an expression of utter amazement.
"What the hell was that fat bastard Number Ninety-Nine thinking, choosing a character like this. Sentimental? Are you sure this type can live long? If I hadn't come out ahead of time, this guy would have probably been killed by someone else. It's really worrying..."
Slim thought for a moment. Although the timing wasn't perfect, it was barely usable. He felt it was best to act sooner rather than later. Otherwise, if Tony got killed by someone else, he would suffer a great loss.
This Tony could only be killed by him.
Only then would the immense risk he had taken not be in vain. Everything was for the sake of... Ascension to Singularity!
"You did all this just to let me grow? So it would be convenient for you to harvest me?" Tony suddenly said, raising his arm. He suppressed his grief, leaving only a towering rage.
"That's right. It's the only way, a method born of desperation."
Slim "Tony" took a step forward and said with a sneer, "Your memories were given to you by me. Your experiences and habits were added by me."
"Your emotions, your thoughts, your everything—it was all born because of me."
"You—Tony, were never a Transmigrator."
"I am the Transmigrator... What you know is only what I wanted you to know, which is also everything I am capable of knowing."
"You, from beginning to end, were never one of 'us,' but a minor character modified by 'us'!"
"I am the real Tony! The true Tony!"
Slim's speech grew faster and faster, his face more and more savage.
He recalled how he had nearly lost his life just to survive in a certain universe, the strange events he encountered when he first arrived, and the countless painstaking efforts he had expended just to get his hands on the Plot Continuity Gem that was rightfully his...
The more he thought, the more his malice surged, and his expression grew more sinister, like that of a malevolent spirit!
He had paid such a price. Everything was for the sake of this guy before him!
Slim slowly extended his hand, black light suffusing the air. His entire face twisted into a mask of greed and desire, of hatred and animosity.
(end of chapter)
