Marvel: Awakening the Universe.

Reed Stacy took in the expressions of the people in front of her and felt a chill run down her spine.

one more time.

He wouldn't have wanted to be president if he hadn't been forced into it.

This is the truth.

Although he doesn't consider himself a good person, that's normal; after all, he's a politician, and good people can't be politicians.

But Reed felt that he was at least a person with principles.

This can be seen from the level of support he receives from voters in his own constituency.

The voters trusted him.

He did not disappoint the trust of his voters.

Here's the deal.

Reed Stacy is very contract-abiding, just like this contract with Hawke. Although Hawke said it was an ultimatum, Reed Stacy saw it as a deal.

A deal that uses Stacy's surname as a bargaining chip.

After all, Hawke had said that he only gave him this option because his surname was Stacy.

and so--

If he fails to live up to this choice, then the Stacy name will die completely in Hawke's heart.

Although Reed didn't quite understand why he should care about this.

But he understands politicians.

Some things cannot be judged by appearances alone.

On the surface, everyone present seemed to be seeking his opinion and following his instructions, but in reality, they were just looking for a scapegoat.

If Hawke dies, everyone will be happy. Those who are hiding in their safe houses and participated in the plan to hunt down the Demon King, as well as their backers, will thank them.

But if Hawke hadn't died, then this decision would have been made by a president like him, and he would have been pushed forward without hesitation by the people in front of him.

So Reed didn't bother arguing with these people and made it clear that he opposed the decision, but if they were willing to gamble their lives and the lives of the Federation on whether Hawke was dead or not.

Do whatever you want, he's not going to follow along anyway.

He insisted on completing the deal with Hawke, so that if Hawke really died, he would at most be ousted from office.

Anyway, he was forced into this role, so he's not at a loss for being forced out.

But what if Hawke hadn't died?
Reed felt that the surname Stacy should also bring blessings to himself, his wife Helen, and their daughter Gwen, who had just turned ten.

Those present fell silent once again upon hearing Reed's words, exchanging bewildered glances.

Are we gambling with their lives?
Stop it.

They have the audacity, and the courage, to gamble with other people's lives, but would they be willing to gamble with their own?

Sorry.

Their lives are very precious.

But if you win the bet, the rewards are substantial.

Those present were caught in a dilemma.

They were caught in a dilemma about whether Hawke was dead or not.

While these people were speculating whether Hawke was dead or not, Hawke had already arrived at the tavern in Hell and was drinking with his long-lost old friend.

wrong.

To be precise, they are ambiguous old friends.

Mephisto, the ruler of hell in this universe, is not the ruler of hell in his own universe.

"You are exactly like the Mexican I know."

"There is still a difference."

Mephisto of this universe, holding a wine glass, smiled at Hawke and clinked glasses with him: "I should be more handsome than him."

Upon hearing this, Hawke looked at Mephisto in front of him with a serious expression: "Now I am very sure that you are exactly the same."

They all spoke the same truth.

Mephisto, of course, understood Hawke's expression. He laughed heartily, clinked glasses with Hawke again, and said cheerfully, "Welcome to my hell, Phoenix, are you ready for your death?"

Well known.

Every god has their own afterlife; even after death, they will still exist in their own universe.

Like Odin, he died on Earth, but he did not go to the hell dimension where Earth is located. Instead, he returned to Valhalla, where the World Tree is located.

Therefore, according to this theory, Hawke should return to his underworld after he dies.

But Hawke arrived in the Hell dimension where Mephisto resided.

This is because Hawke did not receive his Phoenix Cosmic Power, as I said before.

Live to death.

Only by having the will to die can one live in the face of death.

If he dies and returns to his underworld, that wouldn't mean he's determined to die.

and so!
Hawke's only option to survive is to journey through Mephisto's hellish dimension.

Hearing Mephisto's words, he downed his bourbon in one gulp, looked at Mephisto, and said with a smile, "The old Mephisto I know, his world of death is a cycle of the world before he dies. I'm curious, is yours the same?"

In Hawke's universe, every soul that goes to Mephisto's hell will be trapped in the world before its death and cycle through it repeatedly.

Death comes again and again, and in this way, the soul's power is extracted.

So Hawke was curious whether it was the same here.

Mephisto smiled broadly.

"Surprise, Phoenix God, save the surprise for later."

"also."

Upon hearing this, Hawke placed his wine glass on the table. The next second...

Just as he was about to say he was ready, suddenly, the scene reversed, and in the blink of an eye, it was as if the world had changed.

bustling street.

A noisy crowd.

as well as……

Two monsters are fighting each other in the street.

The Hulk and Abomination.

"here it is--"

"The death I'm referring to isn't the world every soul experiences before it dies."

Mephisto's voice appeared in Hawke's ears. When Hawke's gaze fell on his sister Anya, who was buried in the ruins after the smoke cleared, his voice was low and eerie: "The souls that come to me will be trapped in the cycle of the greatest regrets."

Hawke's gaze was fixed on his sister Anya, who was trapped in the rubble. Even though he had resurrected his sister, he still felt a pang of pain in his heart when he saw this scene.

He listened to Mephisto's explanation without refuting it.

His greatest regret was indeed the death of his younger sister Anya.

"Then how do I get out?"

"hehe."

"No one can escape regret. I know that with your power, you should have already resurrected the woman who died before you, yet this scene still occurred. Clearly, this remains your greatest regret. Even if you resurrected her, it will still be a regret, so..."

Mephisto chuckled lightly, paused for a moment, and then said in a cheerful tone, "Your soul, I gladly accept. Let it languish here, let it get lost here."

The moment he finished speaking, the previously still world suddenly began to move.

The sounds of the Hulk and Abomination fighting and roaring.

The sound of a building collapsing.

And the screams of the running crowd.

and also……

"Anya!"

Hawke looked at his sister Anya, who was trapped in the rubble, and felt a pang of pain in his heart. Almost instinctively, he ran against the flow of people to his sister Anya and tried to rescue her from the rubble.

And just then.

The Hulk roared as he grabbed a car, preparing to smash it at the Abomination, but the Abomination dodged it and smashed it onto the building, causing the building's exterior wall to collapse.

Hawke looked up at the cascading floorboards, then at his sister beneath the rubble, who had been knocked unconscious but was not actually dead. His eyes flickered.

This is the root cause of his regret over his sister's death.

Because at the beginning, his younger sister did not die on the spot, but only fainted. His younger sister Anya died when she fell from the building for the second time.

Hawke's first choice was to give up the chance to save his sister Anya and choose to retreat.

It was that retreat that led to the loss of his younger sister.

Although it was his instinctive action, after all, he was just an ordinary person at that time, with no ability or time to save his sister before the floor collapsed.

But that's the regret.

Hawke kept it hidden in his heart, even though he had resurrected his sister, it was still the reason for his regret.

Because a question kept echoing in Hawke's mind.

What if?
What if he had the ability and opportunity to save his sister just as the building collapsed? Wouldn't the story be completely different then?

And now the opportunity has come.

Although this is just a surreal illusion of hell, Hawke still wants to give it a try.

Just like he said back then.

Envious of his immense strength?
No need.

He traded his own sister for it, but if he had a choice, he would have preferred his own sister.

therefore!

In a flash, Hawke looked away from the falling floorboards and at his sister, whose body was mostly exposed in the rubble. He took a deep breath and chose another course of action.

He stopped backing down and tried to save his sister on his own.

The result can be imagined.

The falling floorboards, like cannonballs, slammed into the area where Hawke and his sister were. The massive impact caused Hawke to turn pale and cough up blood before collapsing onto the ruins, where he was then buried by the rumbling falling floorboards.

Hawke died again.

But in the blink of an eye, everything returned to the scene Hawke had initially seen.

Monsters are fighting each other, buildings are collapsing, people are fleeing, and there's also the moment when the younger sister, in her unconscious state, calls out "brother."

After realizing what was happening, Hawke immediately chose to rush against the flow of people towards his sister as fast as he could.

Then he was killed again by the falling floorboards.

Hawke tried to rewrite the outcome time and time again, only to be killed by falling floorboards each time.

But what's the cost?

At home at 521A Palm Street.

After Wanda brought Hawk home, Jean looked at her father Hawk, whom Wanda had placed under the sycamore tree in the backyard, with a worried expression.

I don’t know if it’s an illusion.

Qin suddenly had a feeling.

Her father.

Hawke is disappearing at lightning speed!

...(End of chapter)