What bad thoughts can Batman have?

Chapter 1004 The First Lantern Knight: The Mission of the Nameless Old Dragon

History is rapidly regressing.

The history that was not yet solidified, or rather, that had already partially solidified, crumbled like the tide crashing on the shore under the destruction of Dr. Manhattan.

Everything was changed again, like a shuffle.

When the Lantern Man awoke from his dream, he saw countless fragments leaping and surging back to life on the distant horizon, as if flowing backward. Those who had just been killed by the giants Prometheus, creations of Perpetua, were resurrected in an instant. They looked around blankly and then whispered among themselves.

For the DC multiverse, this is merely a piece of history erased. But for the people living among these fragments, it may be an entire life story.

The Hypertime Flow causes a complete alteration of the timeline; that is, once the Hypertime Flow changes, it will generate countless new timelines.

Although these timelines have now been erased again, the beings who once lived on these timelines successfully experienced the complete history from the Big Bang to the natural destruction of the universe.

In particular, the temporary collapse of the super-time flow due to the punch caused countless timelines to intersect, with people from different eras colliding with each other. Within these fragmented timelines, countless heart-wrenching tales of joy and sorrow, love and hate unfolded. But now, all of this…

It's all invalid now.

The first Lantern looked on sadly at all this. Of course, for those who had already died, this restart of the timeline might be a good thing.

Death in the DC multiverse is not an absolute concept like in the Watchers universe; it is simply preserved within the divine realms of the Black Death Emperor or other lesser death pantheons, such as the Land of the Dead, the Garden of Bones, or other similar places.

They will be resurrected, but a small portion of them will be taken to death, completely carried away by death, and will have no trace of them in the resurrected multiverse.

Generally speaking, those who are taken away are beings that no one remembers anymore, such as an ordinary person who lived in the Golden Age. He was too far away from Superman, the center of the universe, and had never participated in any important events—he would be taken away.

Or perhaps it was Earth-15, where they became a significant event and an immutable point in the DC multiverse, so their death will be forever irreversible.

They will also be taken away.

The first Lantern Knight seemed a little distracted.

He stared blankly at the horizon.

If everything is meaningless, then what should he do now?

He tried to return to the time fragment he had once saved.

He had nowhere else to go.

But during the chaos of the time flow, he casually saved a few passersby and then used his emotional spectrum to control a dinosaur. Before being summoned by Batman Dragon to gather together to fight against Papetua, he gave control of the dinosaur to the ordinary people who were attached to him.

Oh, those ordinary people were so grateful to the first Lantern Man that they even established a post-apocalyptic justice organization, which began to take the form of a government.

Should he go back to the point in time when he left and try...?

Oh.

The time-lapse issue has been fixed.

Therefore, the apocalyptic events involving various timelines crossing each other were also erased, and his history of helping ordinary people and establishing a small government was completely wiped out.

He glanced once more at the ordinary passerby he had once saved. According to the brief history he had experienced, the man was a leader who guided everyone to build hope in the apocalypse. But now, with the alteration of history, he was still that unremarkable passerby. His heroic epic had been completely erased and disappeared.

When you wake up tomorrow morning, all the hardest choices you've ever made, the greatest achievements you've ever accomplished, the people you've let down the most, the people you've hated the most, and the people you've loved the most—all of it will be gone. You never knew them. The dead will be resurrected, sacrifices will be meaningless, and those days of struggling to survive will never return…

Huh?
The first Lantern Man discovered something different.

He gazed at the edge of the world and clearly saw the solidified super-time flow, and the super-time flow that was not solidified... This was something he could not perceive so easily before.

The first Lantern had to admit that participating in the fight against Perpetua had benefited him greatly, giving him a deeper understanding of the DC multiverse's hypertime flow.

The power of the sixth-dimensional gods, the various things Batman Dragon borrowed, the power of the Void Hand's story, the quantum link power from Doctor Manhattan, and the ultimate amalgamation monster assembled by Batman Dragon are all a hodgepodge, containing all sorts of powers.

The emotional spectrum of the first Lantern also played a role; it was only through the combined efforts of so many forces that Perpetua was defeated, not simply by one of them.

Now, Huo Rong can clearly perceive the current state of the DC multiverse and its flaws in the trans-timeline. This perspective is far clearer than anything he has seen in the past. It's no longer something a single-universe being can only perceive after traversing different timelines. Instead, it's a higher level of perception, like a god transcending timelines, looking down from above at every direction of the river and every branch that changes course.

Then Huo Rong quickly realized that this perspective was not only the result of his own enlightenment, but also with the help of the Dream God, the Sleep Demon, from the Endless Family.

But he still couldn't understand why the Sandman was doing all this. He summoned him into the dream world for no reason, then released him, and then showed him the current state of the trans-time flow. What was he trying to do?
Then the first Lantern Man discovered something.

The history they live in now is actually incomplete; there is a gap that has not been filled.

If he hadn't filled this void, or if Batman: Dragon hadn't filled this void, then the entire multiverse, which currently appears to be thriving...

It will turn into a deathly silence.

The first Lantern Knight quickly searched, wanting to know why the current history of the DC multiverse could not take shape.

Only by knowing the reason can he ensure the continuation of the DC multiverse.

But what's the point of continuing to exist?

Does it exist for the sake of existing?

The first Lantern was bewildered again, instinctively resisting the mission he had given himself.

Whether he lives or dies, it might be a relief for him, the first Genie.

He has now confirmed that he cannot resurrect Earth-15, nor can he save his mother. Therefore, the goal he has been striving for all this time no longer exists—the replica universe that Batman Dragon once promised him…

What about that replica universe?

The first Lantern found this replica universe in the DC multiverse.

Batman: Dragon truly kept his word.

In this new DC multiverse era that he created after defeating Papetua, a replica of Earth 15, created by the World Forger, shines brightly.

but……

There is no place for him on that Earth.

The first Lantern appeared on that planet, where he watched his mother still tirelessly studying the emotional spectrum in the laboratory.

The universe has restarted. The arrival of the 5G era has brought about subtle changes in many things, which is almost a standard feature of every cosmic restart.

Some events will occur, and some events will disappear. For example, before the universe rebooted, Superman might have worn red underwear, but after the reboot, he no longer wears red underwear... Or, before the reboot, an ordinary person liked to wear blue shoes, but after the reboot, he likes to wear red shoes.

But the main events will remain unchanged.

It's no big deal.

However, in the replica Earth-15 created by the World Founders, there was never a place for the first Lantern.

To put it simply, when the world's foundry was making this replica, it did not simultaneously create a replica of the Calamity.

He merely gave those replicas in this world memories of the Calamity; essentially, it was a live NPC stage play targeting the Calamity.

This essence allowed the universe to evolve into a logical state after the universe rebooted. Since the Calamity does not exist, it means that the Calamity's mother was childless. This is the whole history.

Huo Rong appeared in that replica universe. He looked at his mother, at every colleague he knew, and at the projects that were progressing slower because of his absence.

He looked at all of this, at all of this, and realized that this was not his hometown.

He shouldn't have come back here.

But where else could he find his home besides here?

The first Lantern didn't care about Batman: Dragon or anything else; all he wanted was to find a place where he could continue living, even if it wasn't like his hometown. He was already resigned to that.

He will never see his mother again in his life, his real mother. It's all over.

He thought so.

Perhaps he needs to return to a normal life. What is a normal life? It's the life he lived while imprisoned by the guardians of the universe, a dark and sunless cage, a shadowy corner.

In this state, the first Lantern Man would be unconscious; he would have a long dream and then sleep for trillions of years.

When will he wake up next? Will he ever really wake up? Nobody knows.

But the first Lantern prefers to call it a substitute for death, specifically for those who are unsure how they should die and don't really want to live.

This is a form of procrastination; once you lose consciousness, you won't face the question of whether you should live or die.

So the first Genie made his plans.

He flew away from his homeland, a place where his replica no longer had a place, and away from those people he had once helped, but whose history of help had now completely vanished. Our friend, Genie Number One, had decided to escape, to escape from a life that had long since lost its meaning for him and only added to his torment.

But just as he was about to create a vessel that was both functional and capable of making him lose consciousness, he saw two people appear in front of him.

They were panting heavily, covered in sweat, piloting a spaceship...

Wait, isn't this spaceship designed like the Foolish Owl?

The first Genie passed directly through the spaceship's armor and appeared in front of the Golden Vanguard and the Time Master. When the Time Master saw the first Genie, who was radiating seven-colored light, he let out a surprised cry.

"The first Genie? I've finally found you! The history of Papetua's defeat is not completely frozen; there's a gap—believe me, the Hypertime Stream needs your help."

The first Lantern Knight glanced at him.

From just that one sentence from the Time Master, he immediately deduced that the other party had not been affected by Batman: Dragon's reboot of the entire DC multiverse at all; he still possessed all the memories from the Perpetual era, only their behavior had changed...

No, this spaceship is from the Perpetua era. Did they jump directly from the Perpetua era to the present? They even took away the Foolish Owl's spaceship?

The first Genie briefly felt a surge of curiosity, but he quickly dismissed it. What difference would it make if he knew? It had nothing to do with him anyway.

"Listen to me, listen to me, First Lantern. Our history has taken a wrong turn. Never mind, that's not important. What's important is that there's a huge loophole in the DC multiverse right now, causing everyone to be dragged in..."

"Dragdling into death is fine, Batman Dragon or someone else will handle it. I have no interest," said Genie I. "I'm leaving now."

He had initially wanted to pry into the Time Master's memories to see what the other had experienced, but he quickly lost interest. He had no goals in life, feeling listless and indifferent. He decided to leave the spaceship and continue with his plan to curl up in seclusion and lose consciousness.

First, he needs to find a way to completely stop his thinking, and then create a solid shell... Oh, and he needs to choose an auspicious place to bury himself...

Then he heard the Time Master say:
"This is a task assigned to us by the nameless old dragon."

?

A question mark appeared on the forehead of the first Lantern.

"Ha, where did you meet that nameless old dragon... Oh well, whatever. So what?"

The first Lantern turned and flew directly towards the wall of the spaceship, then his head passed right through it.

Then he heard the second half of the Master of Time's sentence.

"The nameless old dragon said that this mission will allow you to see your mother, the real one, not a copy."

The first Lantern Knight didn't stop for a moment and passed straight through the wall.

The spaceship was deathly silent.

Golden Vanguard and Time Master looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Didn't you say he would definitely listen? He didn't listen to us, what do we do next?" Golden Vanguard asked.

The Time Master paused.

He seemed a little confused as well.

"I don't know, we..."

But the next second, the first Genie appeared in front of him as if flashing, nose to nose, face to face.

"What...did you just say???"

(End of this chapter)