American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

"Interesting..."

In the tavern, Alex gazed down at the man lying unconscious at his feet, murmuring to himself with intrigue.

[Did you discover something valuable?]

Miss Minutes joined Alex in the act of drinking, though she held only a projection of a glass, making her gesture purely symbolic.

Alex paid no attention to her actions; his gaze remained fixed on the man's body. Through his Watcher's Eye, Alex could clearly observe the signs of decay in the man's soul and body.

Since his magical energy had burned through the man like fire, the contamination seemed to melt away, as if it were ice exposed to heat.

However, as Alex had not initially aimed to completely purge the contamination, his method had been rather rough. This had caused the hidden contamination to resist fiercely.

The clash of the two energies within the man's body resulted in an eventual purge of the contamination, but the man's body was irreparably damaged.

At a glance, it appeared as though he was merely asleep. However, in reality, his brain and internal organs had liquefied into blood, and even his spine had been scorched to charcoal.

The eerie part? He wasn't dead—at least, not entirely.

"If my guess is correct, everyone in this world has already been contaminated. Those who've turned into zombies are simply further along the process, having reached full-blown infection. Meanwhile, those who remain human..."

Alex shook his head and sighed.

"Though they're still latent carriers for now, the virus and contamination are already within them. Sooner or later, it will erupt."

[Not surprising, really. This world exists within a cycle. The Watcher has marked everything here with the seal of 'nonexistence.' Before we arrived, who knows how many times they've looped through this same cycle?]

Miss Minutes hopped onto a chair to bring herself to eye level with Alex and continued speaking.

[This man may have been infected and killed countless times across the loops, but we have no way of knowing.]

"Fair point, but it raises a new question," Alex remarked, looking at his own hand.

"Why is it that my magical energy can purify this 'contamination'? These are forces even the Watcher can't counter directly. I shouldn't be anywhere near capable of standing against a true Observer, let alone purging their influence."

Hearing Alex's perplexed musings, Miss Minutes showed no such confusion. She raised her cup with a smile and replied cheerfully.

[You are the supreme being, the great Lord of Time, the master of the multiverse itself. Your power is naturally unmatched. There's no need to overthink this.]

"..."

Alex's lips twitched at her words.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Seeing Miss Minutes's serious expression, Alex shook his head with a bitter smile.

Supreme being? Great Lord of Time? Compared to the truly multiversal entities, he was nothing more than a caveman wielding a wooden club.

Even defeating a mere fragment of Darkseid had been a grueling effort, to say nothing of beings that operated on a scale far beyond his comprehension.

Of course, Alex understood the context. Since he was currently the master of the Timepad and the head of the Regulators, Miss Minutes had every reason to flatter him without hesitation. In truth, though, he was far from being as powerful as she claimed.

[Hmm... perhaps this has to do with the energy framework of this universe?]

Miss Minutes placed a finger to her lips, deep in thought.

Hearing this, Alex curiously raised his head and asked, "What do you mean?"

[It's simple. Different universes have different energy structures, and the strength of their reality barriers varies. This also leads to significant differences in the strength of individuals within those universes.] Miss Minutes explained as she sat on a chair.

[Even counterparts from different universes have varying power levels. Take Spider-Man as an example. If the Spider-Man from the Wasteland Universe met the Spider-Man from this world, although both are Peter Parker, their power levels would be vastly different.]

This sparked a realization in Alex's mind as if he had grasped something important.

"So, you're saying that the heroes of different universes have completely different power levels? But wouldn't that be tied to the unique experiences they've had?"

[That's true. Spider-Men from different universes might face different enemies—some might battle the Sinister Six, while others might not even encounter a fully formed group of those villains. However, this doesn't significantly impact their power levels.]

[The energy structure within each universe determines the strength of its individuals. Some beings who are terrifying enough to destroy worlds in their own universe might be no match for even secondary heroes in a higher-tier universe.]

[This is because of the inherent differences between universes. Higher-tier universes possess more intricate energy systems, making their levels far superior to many other multiverses.]

"I think I'm starting to understand..."

Alex nodded thoughtfully.

No wonder the protagonist of Evil Dead met his demise after coming here. No wonder the Fantastic Four from the Ultimate Universe were so overwhelmingly powerful when they arrived in this universe. This explains everything.

This universe had already been contaminated. In their state, the Fantastic Four from the Ultimate Universe should have also been affected when they came here, yet they weren't—they came, played around, and left unharmed.

Even Doctor Doom from that universe nearly became the protagonist here, wreaking havoc.

The root cause is here. These contaminations aren't as absolute as they initially seemed.

Or, to put it another way, the cognitive contaminations capable of plunging this universe into darkness are limited to this universe's reality.

When people from lower-tier parallel universes arrive here, they might also fall victim to contamination to some extent. However, when encountering beings from a higher-tier universe, the contamination cannot penetrate their mental defenses in a short amount of time.

"No wonder..."

Alex stroked his chin, realizing that this also explained why he himself hadn't been contaminated. It seemed his original world was from a much higher tier, making him immune to these contaminations.

As for why he could completely expel the contamination from the man earlier, Alex speculated that it might have to do with the magic he practiced.

The energies he cultivated or absorbed likely carried high-dimensional attributes from his original realm, and using high-level energy to counter lower-level contamination naturally had a suppressive effect.

This might explain the difference between contamination and counter-contamination.

If one acted before the opposing negative contamination fully erupted, using their own energy to "contaminate" the target first, the contamination sources—being lower-tier—would lose the ability to further infect the individual.

For those already contaminated, attempting to contaminate them further would certainly provoke intense resistance. To those lives, Alex's influence might appear as no more than a worm's intrusion.

The end result would be what happened to the zombified woman earlier—complete eradication.

.....

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392. The Grave Situation.

393. Infiltration.

394. The Fantastic Four Corpses!!

395. Tearing the Timeline!

396. Limited Echo Tony Stark!