Chapter 368: [472] - The Death Behind Apocalypse

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Apocalypse had lived for thousands of years.

During all those years, he used his main mutant power—Transference—to take over many bodies and absorb the abilities of their previous owners.

The powers he collected were unusual and diverse, spanning almost every kind of mutation.

Not one of them was weak!!

Apocalypse ignored Epsilon- and Delta-level mutants. Even Gamma- and Beta-level powers rarely caught his eye. He only considered taking mutations that were at least Alpha level, and he always looked for Omega-level abilities when he could.

In some ways, Apocalypse was a big reason why Alpha- and Omega-level mutants were so rare now. Back when he ruled ancient Egypt, he hunted powerful mutants freely, taking their bodies and almost wiping out the strongest mutant bloodlines.

This history was important because he had gained an Omega-level time power called Temporal Assassination.

This power lets its user enter an enemy's timeline, kill them earlier in their life, and erase them from the present.

Normally, that power would not work on Hawk. All his possible histories had already merged into one timeline. No one should have been able to enter his past or change it without him noticing right away.

But Hawk was now trapped directly in front of Apocalypse.

More importantly, his timeline was far from stable.

"Your timeline is a complete mess..." Apocalypse said.

He used his time power to pull Hawk's River of Time into the real world. Glowing streams appeared above the altar, lighting up the inside of the pyramid as Apocalypse closed his eyes to study them.

"I can sense countless vulnerabilities."

Bound from the neck down by Adamantium alloy, Hawk remained silent.

Apocalypse was right.

Hawk's timeline had become a single stream, but it was full of cracks. Most enemies would never see them. But to someone who could sense and control time, Hawk's history looked like a fortress with hundreds of small holes in its walls.

The reason was obvious:

Hawk had cheated.

He used the Time Stone to merge every version of his life into a single timeline.

For a Saint who had just awakened his Cosmo, becoming a Gold Saint should have taken a very long time. Even a rare genius might need several lifetimes to get there.

Hawk had awakened his Cosmo in 2012.

In just five or six years, he passed a milestone that took other Saints ages to reach, and he was still moving forward.

He knew exactly how he did it. First, he used the Mind Stone to push his mind far past its normal limits. Then he used the Time Stone to bring all his scattered possibilities together, making his River of Time into a single stream.

That was also why the Prime Multiverse regarded him with such hostility.

From the multiverse's perspective, Hawk had used its cosmic artifacts to gain godlike power. Instead of staying within its rules and serving the system that had given him strength, he tried to go beyond it and become fully independent.

A traitor...

A parasite...

Either description fits from the multiverse's perspective.

Hawk did not merge his timeline by strength alone. He rushed the process before he was ready, and even though he spent almost all his time fixing the damage, there were still too many flaws to hide.

The River of Time above the altar clearly showed these weaknesses. It was one stream, but many frayed strands stuck out from it, twisting in the air like exposed nerves.

Every strand represented a temporal wound.

Even so, one fact remained unchanged.

His timeline had already collapsed.

Even a damaged fortress is still a fortress as long as it stands.

"The loose strands extending from my River of Time are temporal wounds," Hawk said, lifting his gaze toward Apocalypse. A faint smile touched his face. "You can use them to enter my past. I'll give you that."

His eyes sharpened.

"But the number of cracks doesn't matter. My timeline has already collapsed into one. You might get inside, but the pressure will crush you."

Apocalypse could slip through those gaps and alter Hawk's past. But getting in wasn't the same as surviving.

"The moment you set foot inside, the current will tear you apart," Hawk continued. "You'll burn to ash before you get anywhere."

"The currents of your time will kill me," Apocalypse agreed. "But I will destroy you with me."

That was the part Hawk couldn't understand.

Apocalypse built the pyramid, captured Professor X, lured Hawk inside, and trapped him with Adamantium alloy. Every part of the plan seemed meant to help Apocalypse take Hawk's indestructible body.

Yet the final step required him to sacrifice himself.

As soon as Apocalypse entered Hawk's timeline, he would be ripped apart. Even if Temporal Assassination worked, there would be nothing left of him to take the prize.

"So what's the point?" Hawk asked.

"To destroy you!!"

Apocalypse threw his head back and looked at the glowing River of Time. His voice resounded through the pyramid like a chant, making the metal walls shake around them.

He spread his arms and stared at Hawk with frenzied eyes.

"I will plant myself in every moment in which your life and soul exist. I will rewrite your past and turn every victory into defeat. I will poison every friendship you have ever formed, and I will transform every breath you have taken into torment."

Hawk listened in silence.

For once, he really couldn't think of an immediate response.

They looked at each other across the altar. After a few seconds, Hawk shook his head and laughed.

"I have to ask. What did the person controlling you promise you?" He watched Apocalypse's face. "The reward must be amazing if you're ready to die just to kill me."

"You are mistaken," Apocalypse said.

"About what?"

"If I enter your timeline, my body will die." Apocalypse lowered his voice. Then it exploded into a roar. "But my soul will achieve true immortality!"

Apocalypse spread his arms and lifted his head, his declaration shaking the pyramid.

The answer struck Hawk all at once.

Before Hawk could answer, Apocalypse took a deep breath. His body grew, passing five meters and then rising until he was as tall as the River of Time above the altar.

He stared into the glowing current and reached toward it.

The instant his fingertip touched the temporal stream, another Apocalypse appeared beside him.

Then a third.

A fourth.

A fifth.

In moments, countless versions of Apocalypse filled the pyramid. They stood in different places and poses, temporal echoes set free as Hawk's timeline reacted to the attack.

The noises vanished almost as quickly as they had formed.

The real Apocalypse pushed his hand into the River of Time, and his huge body vanished into the current. One by one, the temporal copies reached out, touched the glowing stream, and followed him into the void.

Clang!

As soon as Apocalypse disappeared, the Adamantium alloy arms holding Hawk went limp. They let go of him and fell to the floor.

Like a thunderous drumbeat, Hawk crashed to the ground beside them.

Charles Xavier fell nearby, his body slumping against the cold metal.

Compared to Hawk, the Professor was doing surprisingly well.

As soon as Apocalypse gave up his body and entered the timeline, a wave of pain ripped through Hawk. His history was under attack from the inside, being torn apart moment by moment.

Minute by minute.

Second by second.

The pain brought a strange, bitter sense of nostalgia.

Hawk had not felt pain like this in a long time. Since awakening his Cosmo, nothing had reminded him so strongly that, no matter what he became, part of him was still mortal.

He lay still on the cold floor, staring at the dark top of the pyramid. His vision blurred, and none of his muscles would move.

A face slowly entered his field of view.

Charles Xavier.

Now that Apocalypse was gone, the young telepath could control his mind again. Charles couldn't use his legs, so he dragged himself across the metal floor to reach Hawk.

He hesitated, then extended a trembling finger beneath Hawk's nose to check whether he was still breathing.

"What the hell are you doing?" Hawk asked.

Charles jerked back in surprise.

Just a moment before, Hawk's eyes were dull and unfocused. Now they stared at him so intensely that the Professor froze. "You're not dead?"

"..." Hawk gasped. Pushing through the pain, he lifted his upper body off the floor and leaned hard against the metal wall.

"Not yet." Another wave of agony tore through his timeline.

"But I'm getting there."

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