Marvel: Awakening the Universe.

What is regret?
It is something you once possessed, but which suddenly disappeared from your world.

but--

Regret is definitely not about wanting something you can't have!

After endless cycles of regret, Hawke tried countless methods and made countless efforts, but the final result remained unchanged.

There was absolutely no way he, as an ordinary person, could have saved his sister from the rubble before the floor collapsed.

What does this mean!
Hawke's choice at the time was wise.

Again.

To knowingly do something impossible is never the act of a hero, but rather the act of a reckless fool.

and so--

After Hawke tried everything possible and found it all to be useless, he was completely at peace.

With no regrets in his heart, naturally, this world of regrets could no longer confine him. The moment his thoughts were clear, this world of regrets also collapsed completely.

The building is turning to dust.

The running crowd also turned to ashes.

Even Anya, buried in the ruins of the world of regret, turned to ashes along with the buildings that were reduced to dust under Hawke's gaze.

At this moment, Hawke felt no regret in his heart, nor in his eyes.

Although her eyes were tired, her gaze was calm.

As if the heart is as still as water.

The sky collapsed at that moment, revealing the eternally unchanging sky of the Hell dimension, where endless ashes fall.

Even the air began to fill with the unique sulfurous smell of endless hell.

obviously.

This time, Hawke escaped from the prison of regret in the Hell dimension through his own strength.

Mephisto watched this scene with a hint of surprise in his eyes, but not much panic at Hawke's escape from his prison of regret.

after all--

Hawke lost.

He won.

Having burned away his soul's power to find peace with his regrets, Hawke no longer had any strength left to resist his hellish onslaught.

In a word.

He was determined to have Hawke's soul.

only--

Just as Mephisto was thinking this, Hawk, who was sitting on the ground in the land of hellish sulfur, suddenly looked up at Mephisto.

Do you know why I've come to hell?

"This is not your universe; your underworld cannot be reflected here."

"Ah."

Hawke smiled broadly and looked at Mephisto: "My power has long been reflected in this universe. If you don't believe me, look up."

Upon hearing this, Mephisto instinctively looked up.

Eye-catching!

Clang!
The phoenix cries out in the sky, its song resounding!
A phantom of a fire phoenix, bathed in golden-red flames, was projected into the sky of the hell dimension, spreading its wings that burned with phoenix fire and letting out a loud cry.

Upon seeing this, Mephisto's expression changed immediately, and he looked at Hawke.

"Your power was already there, but you didn't use it?"

"Yes."

So you're an ordinary person now?

"My body is still that of a god, but indeed, I have come here as an ordinary person."

"why?"

Mephisto spoke up instinctively.

Hawke grinned: "To pay for the shortcuts of the past."

Therefore, cheating is unacceptable.

What you earn through your own ability is truly yours; what you gain through cheating will eventually have to be repaid.

Hawke now has a deep understanding of this statement.

But Mephisto was completely panicked.

He stared intently at Hawke: "This is impossible. If you came here as an ordinary person, how could your soul have burned so many times?"

Hawk tilted his head and looked at Mephisto.

Did I say that it was my own soul that was burning?

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Mephisto seemed to realize something and subconsciously looked towards the depths of the soul power he had just absorbed during Hawke's infinite burning soul cycle.

It doesn't matter if you look at it.

one look!
Mephisto's expression changed drastically.

Hawke looked at this scene and spoke with a bright smile.

"Old Mo, it's time to revive him."

"boom!"

The moment Hawke finished speaking, Mephisto, who was standing in front of him, began to convulse like a robot that had gone out of control.

Endless black energy emanated from Mephisto's body before them.

It was accompanied by a strange, clattering sound.

But as Hawke heard that familiar, long-lost cry, a smile of reminiscence and nostalgia appeared on his face.

Mephisto writhed and screamed.

"No!"

"This is my hell, not yours."

"roll!"

"Get out of my body..."

"what!"

Mephisto screamed and roared, but suddenly, his body seemed to freeze, and he froze on the spot. Immediately afterward, an anomaly occurred in this hellish dimension.

Hawke looked in the direction of the unusual movement.

into the eye.

The palace that Mephisto had built for himself was collapsing, but in the blink of an eye, a brand new palace, which was even more familiar to Hawk, emerged from the ruins.

This palace was built by Mephisto for himself in the hellish dimension of Hawke's universe.

Just as Hawke was gazing at that familiar hellish palace, a crisp groan suddenly rang out from in front of him.

Hawke snapped out of his daze and looked at Mephisto, who had been standing in front of him as if his computer had crashed.

Mephisto, with his neck held high, exaggeratedly mimed breathing in the air, his face utterly arrogant: "Your body—no, it's mine now."

Hawke couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing that familiar tone of voice.

"Congratulations, old Mexican."

"Hawk!"

Mephisto snapped out of his daze, looked at Hawke, his arrogant expression vanishing, and then his expression turned somewhat puzzled: "Why?"

Hawke raised his eyebrows.

"what why?"

"I have betrayed you many times, why didn't you kill me completely when we were in the World Tree universe?"

"I have indeed completely annihilated you."

Hawke said calmly.

Mephisto's memory is stuck at the moment when the World Tree betrayed Hawk, and he only has the memory of being defeated by Hawk and having his soul taken away.

There is no memory of Hawke completely annihilating his soul.

The reason for this is quite simple.

Wanda!

Yes.

Don't forget, Wanda exists at every point in Hawk's timeline, and she will always be there whenever Hawk is in danger.

Although the time Mephisto betrayed him was actually staged by him.

But it cannot be denied that it was indeed a dangerous timeline.

What if Hawke messes up his performance?

So when Hawke was about to kill Mephisto, Wanda appeared, just as he was about to completely crush Mephisto's soul into dust.

Wanda told him that he admired Mephisto, and that keeping Mephisto's soul and carrying it with him might bring unexpected benefits.

Hawke had no idea how Wanda had gotten to him.

But he chose to believe Wanda.

It wasn't because Wanda said those words, but because the mother of his child said them.

Of course.

This new memory suddenly appeared in Hawke's mind when he arrived in this hellish dimension.

Meanwhile, Mephisto's soul, which he had clearly annihilated back then, remained perfectly intact in his consciousness space.

Hawke immediately understood.

If Mephisto in this hellish dimension wants soul power, then so be it.

He can't give him his soul, but he can give him Mephisto's soul. However, he can't guarantee that the Mephisto of this universe after absorbing the soul of his universe's Mephisto will still be himself.

In this universe, Mephisto wasn't actually lying.

He is indeed different from Mephisto in his own universe.

He lacks the wit of Mephisto from the Hawkburn universe.

This is not!

Mephisto, who came from the Hawkburn universe and was killed by Hawk, took over this cosmic alternate dimension and was reborn without disrupting Hawk's sacred timeline.

Mephisto paused slightly upon hearing Hawke's words, as if he understood something.

"So I can't go back to that universe?"

"Yes."

Hawke smiled and nodded: "That's why I like you, old Mo. You're fickle and shameless, but you're really smart."

Mephisto chuckled. "I'll take that as a compliment. It's better if you don't go. I still prefer this place to that universe."

Hawke was somewhat curious.

"Really?"

"Of course!"

Having completely absorbed this cosmic anomaly, Mephisto beamed with delight: "What a joke! A low-end universe may be low-end to you, but to me, this is heaven. There is no supreme god here, no Odin, and no annoying Kamar-Taj on Earth. If it weren't for the difference in our identities, I would have wanted to sing 'God' to him."

Mephisto suddenly seemed to remember something, his expression paused, and he subconsciously looked at Hawke: "By the way, you'll be leaving here, right?"

Hawke couldn't help but chuckle as he looked at the tense and expectant expression on Mephisto's face, and then nodded under Mephisto's gaze.

"Yes, I'm leaving."

"That's good."

Mephisto received Hawke's confirmation and visibly relaxed.

Again.

For Hawke, this might be a low-end universe.

But for Mephisto, this place was simply paradise.

In a word.

When there is no tiger in the mountain, the monkey will become king.

In this universe, there is neither a creator god nor a supreme god. There is not even a force or a woman with superb magic on Earth that can suppress him.

and so--

How could he not be delighted by such a universe?

Hawke looked at Mephisto, whose expression couldn't hide his joy, with some curiosity.

"Don't you want to become a true god? You can't become a god by staying in this universe."

"Are you kidding me? In this universe, why would I want to become a god? That's too tiring."

"..." (End of this chapter)