Marvel: Awakening the Universe.

Chapter 256 Human George, No, Vampire George (5K Chapter!)
Above the Pure Land of the Underworld.

Helen Stacy awoke from her daze, but still looked around with a somewhat bewildered expression.

The ground beneath my feet was no ordinary soil; it was a surface that shimmered with a soft, silvery glow, as if the moonlight had been condensed.

The green shade stretches as far as the eye can see.

There are countless exotic flowers and plants.

The sky wasn't the ordinary blue of the world, but an indescribable clarity, as if it had been polished from the purest crystal.

The dome changes color from light blue to crimson from bottom to top.

The underworld currently lacks the sun, moon, and stars, but it is filled with a soft and even light.

In the middle of this pure land, there exists a sacred temple.

The steps are made of pure white jade, with intricate patterns carved on each step. Tiny diamonds are embedded in the patterns, refracting a rainbow of colors under the light.

At the top of the steps, there is a huge and magnificent temple.

The palace was magnificent and solemn.

seem--

Every inch of this land, every ray of light, silently proclaims that this is the realm of God!

at this time.

Helen suddenly saw a girl walk up to her.

Anna looked at Helen, who had somehow arrived in the Pure Land, filled with curiosity.

"who are you?"

"Helen Stacy".

Helen spoke unconsciously, looking at the girl in front of her.

But for some reason, she seemed to see the image of her future son-in-law in the girl's features.

and many more.

son in law?

In an instant, the confusion in Helen's eyes vanished, and she remembered everything.

She remembered that she was in a hospital room, had just kissed George on the forehead, and then lay down on the bed next to him.

Just then, she heard the voices of Mahoney and Hale, who were waiting outside for her husband.

Immediately following, hurried footsteps sounded.

Just as she was about to go out to inquire about the situation, the sound of gunshots, muffled and sharp, rang out, and then the door was suddenly pushed open from the outside.

then……

There's no after that.

Helen recalled everything, the image of Mahoney and the other two night watchmen lying on the corridor floor at the very moment she was shot in the chest.

and so--

"Am I dead?"

"Uh……"

Anya thought for a moment, and just as she was about to nod, a phantom image of a fire phoenix appeared on Helen's body in front of her.

Helen looked at the phoenix that suddenly appeared, seemingly about to surround her with its wings. It looked illusory but felt very warm. Her expression was one of panic and astonishment.

"what is this?"

"My brother's power."

"Your brother..."

Having completely escaped the illusion of life and death, Helen looked at Anya, whose features bore a resemblance to her future son-in-law, and instinctively wanted to ask Anya what her brother's name was.

The phoenix's wings had completely enveloped it.

Like being reborn from the ashes.

Then--

Rebirth!

"what!"

At that moment, amidst the beeping of the alarm, Helen, lying on the hospital room floor, suddenly opened her eyes, then sat up, her pupils wide, gasping for breath.

next second.

Helen seemed to realize something, quickly got up, ran to the bedside, looked at the straight line on the electrocardiogram monitor, and pressed the emergency call button.

The piercing alarm instantly resounded throughout the entire floor.

Hale, who was with a night watchman, had just heard the commotion and came to check the escape stairwell. Hearing the piercing sound, he froze for a moment, then his eyes narrowed. After shouting "Shit!", he quickly turned around and went back to his room.

Then she saw Mahoney and two other officers lying in a pool of blood near the entrance to her sheriff's hospital room.

Upon seeing this, Hale couldn't help but shout and quickly ran towards the ward.

The elevator door opens.

When the police officers who were guarding downstairs came up and saw this scene, they couldn't help but gasp.

Hale rushed over to Detective Mahoney, checked his breathing, and then involuntarily let out a sigh of relief.

at this time.

Hawke and Gwen, still in their pajamas, followed the emergency room doctor who had received the news and quickly ran out of the open elevator.

Under the influence of the Reality Stone, these people were not surprised that Hawke and Gwen suddenly appeared on television, because Hawke and Gwen had always been in their sight.

The ward door was pushed open again, and Gwen, dressed only in her pajamas, rushed in anxiously. Upon seeing Helen, she ran over and hugged her, exclaiming, "Mommy!"

The next doctor rushed to the bedside, and after a brief examination and a glance at the data on the instruments, breathed a sigh of relief.

Helen stared blankly at her daughter who was embracing her.

"Gwen?"

"Thank God you're okay."

Gwen breathed a sigh of relief and then looked at the doctor who had removed the stethoscope.

The doctor nodded.

George is alright!

Gwen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The doctor then ran towards the door.

The people inside are fine, but there are three people lying outside.

Also wearing pajamas, Hawke helped the officers place the still-breathing Detective Mahoney and two other officers onto the emergency bed. Hawke then looked at Detective Hale standing to the side.

"what happened?"

"The surveillance footage that was just placed in the escape stairwell was taken offline for some reason. I took some people to check and found that the surveillance camera had been damaged. It was all over in less than three minutes, and then the alarm went off."

Detective Hale looked on blankly as Detective Mahone was wheeled into the operating room for emergency treatment.

Everything happened so suddenly, her mind is in complete disarray.

Seeing this, Hawke glanced at Detective Hale, turned around, pushed open the door, and entered the ward.

Helen sat on a chair to the side, looking down at a bullet in her palm.

She found this inside her clothes right after Gwen arrived and sat down; at the same time, she also found a bullet hole in her own clothes.

Helen's mind is a bit muddled right now.

However, Gwen comforted her from the side.

As for George...

George is doing well too.
After discovering Helen's rebirth, Hawke immediately changed into his underwear and pajamas, then took Gwen, who had also hurriedly put on her underwear and pajamas, to the hospital.

He originally thought that after Helen's rebirth, George would follow suit.

But George did not rise from the ashes. It seems that the killer fled after killing Helen, without having a chance to harm George.

But is this possible?
The killer clearly intended to silence the witnesses, but ended up killing the others without killing the target. Does that sound reasonable?

unless……

The assassin has already killed them, but George is still alive.

But is this possible?

Have!
When Hawke entered the ward again, his gaze fell on George, who was lying on the hospital bed and whose eyelashes were beginning to flutter slightly. Hawke raised an eyebrow involuntarily.

next second.

A low groan was heard.

Gwen, who was comforting her mother while quickly thinking about how to explain if her mother asked, also heard the familiar voice. Her eyes lit up, and she looked at George, who was slowly opening his eyes on the hospital bed. She was stunned for a moment, and then spoke with surprise.

"father!"

“...George?”

Helen, who was wondering whether what she had just experienced was real or an illusion, heard Gwen's surprised voice and realized what was happening. She got up and looked at George, who was slowly opening his eyes on the hospital bed.

Lying in his hospital bed, George saw his wife Helen for the first time.

Eyes facing each other.

Helen instinctively dropped the bullet she was holding, stepped forward, and grasped George's hand.

“George.”

"dad."

Gwen looked at her father George, who opened his eyes, met her mother's gaze, and grinned. She couldn't help but burst into laughter through her tears.

Hawke, standing at the stern, looked at George who had woken up, but did not laugh along with Gwen and Helen.

He turned and walked towards the bathroom in the room. When he reappeared, he had already gone back to the apartment and retrieved Gwen's phone.

Then he called Catherine.

Katherine Pierce.

The Vampire Queen.

Before he and Gwen returned from Falls, Catherine had already arrived in New York City.

After Hawke returned, he learned from him that the progenitor vampire Klaus had given up on hunting him. After Katherine breathed a sigh of relief, she did not choose to leave New York City, but continued to stay in New York City.

Without him.

Catherine was worried that Klaus might change his mind, and most importantly, New York City was close to Hawke. Hawke didn't seem to care.

After all, New York City isn't just his own. If Catherine wants to stay in New York City, then let her stay.

Later, Gwen and Sharon bumped into Catherine, who was also shopping at the mall, and the three women even had afternoon tea together.

After a few more shopping trips, Catherine had become Gwen's friend.

and so……

Gwen has Catherine's phone number, but Hawke doesn't.

The call was answered quickly.

"Catherine..."

“Catherine, it’s me.”

"Oh!"

Upon hearing Hawke's voice on the other end of the phone, Catherine gasped in surprise, then her languid voice vanished almost instantly, replaced by a tense demeanor.

Hawke didn't mind and directly stated his purpose.

"Find me a sunburst ring. I'm at New Amsterdam Hospital, as soon as possible."

"...No problem, right away."

"Thank you."

Hawke then hung up the phone, walked out of the bathroom, and looked again at George, who was lying on the hospital bed with his eyes open and even able to speak, looking quite healthy.

The doctor, who had just come to the ward again because George had woken up, looked at George, who was even trying to get out of bed, with a somewhat incredulous expression.

Gwen is equally unbelievable.

Gwen had already cooled down from the surprise of George waking up. She frowned slightly as she watched George's complexion recover at a visible speed. Then, seeing Hawke walking out of the bathroom with a serious expression, she quickly went over to him.

“Hawk, Dad…”

"Transition period".

"..."

Gwen, who was just about to ask George if there was something wrong, was startled by Hawke's sudden mention of "conversion period." Then, as if she had realized something, her pupils contracted, and she looked incredulously at George, who was ignoring the doctor and struggling to sit up on the hospital bed. Then, she lowered her voice and said, "Vampire conversion period?"

Hawke nodded.

"Correct."

"How can it be!"

"Don't vampires have to drink vampire blood first and then die once before they can be transformed?"

"And then there is Nirvana."

Gwen's pupils dilated in shock: "Dad died, shouldn't he be reborn? Mom was reborn, why wasn't Dad?"

Hawke looked down at Gwen, who was holding him and biting her lip, and said in a low voice, "If he dies again, he can trigger Nirvana."

Upon hearing this, Gwen stared wide-eyed at Hawke.

"what?"

"Nirvana can only be triggered after death, just like Helen, who first went to the underworld and then triggered Nirvana."

“But George’s soul didn’t go to the underworld. He came back to life because of vampire blood. How could that trigger Nirvana?”

Hawke leaned down and whispered to Gwen, explaining the mechanism of Nirvana.

Vampire transformation occurs before the soul goes to hell.

After all, if a soul goes to hell and can come back as a vampire, it would definitely be stealing food from Mephisto.

Hawke struggled so much to snatch it, let alone the so-called vampires.

His Nirvana was triggered after his death.

Even Hawk, during his first rebirth, had his soul first visit Mephisto's tavern.

and so--

George was actually dead, but before his soul went to the underworld, he was resurrected and entered the vampire transformation period after being killed because he had drunk vampire blood in the past 24 hours.

"There's only one problem now."

"what?"

"When did George drink vampire blood?"

"besides……"

Hawke paused, looked at Gwen in his arms, and lowered his voice: "How are you going to convince George to drink human blood for the next twenty-four hours?"

Gwen's pupils widened once again.

Yes.

The vampire transformation period only lasts for twenty-four hours. If George doesn't drink blood during this time, he will still die.

wrong.

Gwen shook her head.

"Isn't there Nirvana?"

Yes, but are you willing to bet?

Hawke looked at the doctor examining George with a strange expression and said in a low voice, "George is currently in a superposition of human and vampire. What if he is still in this state after his rebirth?"

After all, he only has two Phoenix Feathers of Nirvana so far.

They were all given to George and Helen as Christmas gifts after we returned from Fallstown last year.

Moreover, the Nirvana Phoenix Feather he sent out was different from the Nirvana he himself possessed.

He first possessed "immortality" and then "rebirth".

This is why he is always fully resurrected and stronger every time he undergoes a rebirth.

Immortality is the core of his Phoenix Divine Authority.

But because he is "immortal," he cannot bless others.

Nirvana is acceptable.

However, it lacks the "Nirvana" effect centered on "immortality," just like Helen.

It's just a resurrection, without even any special effects.

Therefore, his Nirvana Phoenix Feather can only guarantee that a person will still be a person after death and rebirth, and a vampire will still be a vampire after death and rebirth.

But George is currently in a quantum superposition state between human and vampire, and in this state, Hawke cannot guarantee what state George will be in after Nirvana.

one more time.

He only has two Phoenix Feathers in total. He might be able to find one in a superimposed experimental subject, but he's reluctant to part with them.

Gwen frowned as she listened to Hawke's explanation.

"Now what?"

"do not know."

Hawke spoke frankly to Gwen, saying, "But I just called Catherine and asked her to send over a Sun Ring. Take it, just in case. Now let's figure out where George got his vampire blood."

Upon hearing this, Gwen steadied herself.

soon.

The doctor, who had returned after examining George, looked at George on the hospital bed with some disbelief after removing his stethoscope.

Helen looked at the doctor with a nervous expression.

"Doctor, George..."

"Sheriff Stacy is recovering very well, better than ever before. Don't worry, we'll arrange a thorough check-up tomorrow when she comes to work."

Upon hearing this, the doctor snapped out of his reverie and smiled at Helen.

Hearing the doctor's confirmation, Helen's worry completely disappeared, and she saw the doctor off as they prepared to leave.

George, sitting on the bed, was preparing to remove the medical equipment from his body.

Seeing this, Gwen exclaimed in surprise and quickly ran over to hold George down: "Dad, what are you doing? You just woke up."

George tried to get out of bed.

“Mahoni is still in the operating room, I’m going to see him. I’m okay, I feel better than ever before.”

"No, you're not better yet."

Entering the vampire transformation period marks the beginning of the decline from peak health to old age. In the following 24 hours, if one does not drink human blood, their organs will gradually deteriorate until death.

It can be understood as a 24-hour adrenaline rush.

You've been poisoned, but your adrenaline is stimulating you to have 24 hours to find an antidote.

The antidote is fresh blood. Drinking fresh blood will make you completely fine. But if you can't find the antidote, after 24 hours, when the adrenaline disappears, you will die.

George has just been resurrected and is currently in peak condition.

Hawke, somewhat curious about George who had just been in a hybrid state between humans and vampires but now seemed to be moving closer to being a vampire, asked, "George, are you investigating a case related to vampires?"

George, who was trying to persuade his daughter to get out of bed, glanced at Hawke instinctively upon hearing this, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Eyes facing each other.

Hawke's expression was calm.

Gwen glanced at her mother Helen, who was still at the door, and lowered her voice, "Dad, would you like something to drink now?"

George heard the voice and looked at his daughter, whose voice sounded somewhat mysterious.

"any drinks?"

"Ah."

"Gwen."

Hawke, who was standing nearby, looked up at the blood bag hanging by the bed, which was steadily and slowly transfusing blood into George's body: "He's already started drinking it."

Hawke's lips twitched.

He just said it.

George didn't drink any blood, so why does he seem to be turning into a vampire?

It seems they've already started drinking.

……

(End of this chapter)