同章对照

Len put her hand on the aquarium, and Bloodstream’s putrid eyes looked at her. The sight filled Ryan with scorn and disgust.

“How?” the courier asked, his own breath shortening, a sharp pain around his neck. Even after all these years… even after all these years, he still remembered his adoptive father’s hands tightening around his throat. It was true what they said. You never forgot your first. “How…”

“Uncontrolled Psycho mutations,” Dr. Tyrano answered with a shrug, misunderstanding the question. “The vice-president refused to feed him Genomes, so his genetic code kept degrading into something utterly alien. The human part simply couldn’t keep up with the powers after a while.”

A thought crossed Ryan’s mind: that this was the fate that awaited all Psychos, if they couldn’t stave off the decay. The Elixirs reshaped their bodies into something inhuman. Something better suited to contain the unlimited energies of the colored dimensions.

Was Bloodstream even sentient anymore? Did an ember of humanity remain, or were only the Elixirs left? Did he recognize his daughter, or the smell of her blood?

“Is he…” Shortie’s voice sounded so shaken, so weak, that Ryan could barely hear her words. “Is my father… is my father in there?”

“We chemically neutered the creature years ago, and he stopped all attempts at communication afterward,” Dr. Tyrano replied with no tact whatsoever. He might have been a Genius, but social relationships clearly weren’t his specialty.

“How could you… how could you do this?” Len hissed, looking at the mad scientist. “There… there was a man inside!”

“Not quite, management flagged him as a company asset,” Tyrano said, completely missing the point.

Ryan moved towards the computer panel hooked to the aquarium, his Saturn armor easily hacking into the closed system. Data showed up on his lenses, from biological analyses, to reports of Knockoff testing. The courier quickly confirmed that Dynamis had Bloodstream in custody since 2016; Tyrano cloned him from samples taken after the Psycho raided a company warehouse.

Ryan also noticed a folder called ‘Monster Girl Project’, which he refused to open. He had the feeling it would traumatize him for all loops to come.

Most importantly though, Ryan learned that Dr. Tyrano used an encrypted email system to discuss with others, mainly his lawyers. The courier memorized the access codes, so he could directly contact the deranged Genius in a future loop.

“Why… why did you want me?” Len asked, pointing her water rifle at Tyrano. The dino maniac raised his hands in surrender. “What was the point?”

“Because your father implanted a foreign agent inside your blood cells, and it causes the Knockoff to react violently on contact,” Tyrano confessed. “Since the old agent inside your blood precedes the chemical neutering, synthesis creates a new substance capable of resisting it. Our consumers inevitably… reverse.”

A polite way to say they transformed into Bloodstream clones.

“I petitioned management to study you in-depth and reduce risks of reversion, but Mr. Enrique kept vetoing my proposal,” the scientist complained. It made the courier respect Blackthorn a bit more than before.

“Here’s the million-dollar question then,” Ryan said, glancing at the bloody shoggoth floating in its aquarium. “How do we kill this thing?”

Len flinched. “Riri…”

“Len, your father is gone,” Ryan argued, waving a gloved hand at the Psycho-in-a-can. “He’s not even human anymore.”

“You said… you said you could find a cure for Psychos!” she protested.

“I think we can cure humans of their mutations, not turn tomato juice into a Homo Sapien.” Ryan watched, as Len’s weapon shook from her trembling hands. “I’m reading the analysis reports right now, and he shares less than fifty percent of his DNA with humans now. Bananas are closer to us than he is.”

Even with all the time in the world, which Ryan had, they would need a Genome with a miracle solution power. Besides, the courier had no intention of wasting so much time on helping that irredeemable monster. He had raided this lab to confirm Bloodstream’s survival, but the boogeyman that haunted his childhood appeared long gone.

Ryan would have given all his money to see Len’s reaction beneath her helmet. She stood still for a moment, before lowering her head and weapon both. She didn’t say a word, as she registered her friend’s words. Perhaps she always knew it would end like this, remaining in denial until she had the facts laid before her eyes.

The father she loved died years ago.

“I don’t suppose you have a cure for Knockoffs?” Ryan asked Tyrano.

“Of course we have a cure,“ the mad Genius protested, much to the courier’s surprise. “Do you think we’re criminally negligent?”

“You turned a monster into a drink!” Ryan replied bluntly. “You’re worse than Pepsi!”

“But the risks of reversion and health issues approach zero, as long as only one dose is used!”

“Which is exactly why I’m nationalizing this place and confiscating all its assets. Including you.”

“You can’t nationalize a perso—”

“I’m President of the United States of America, which is basically the world,” Ryan interrupted him. “We’re nationalizing you, and your cure. How does it work?”

The scientist opened his mouth to protest further, until Ryan pointed at his chest weapon. Ah, the perks of a monopoly on force...

“I developed an injection-based neutralizing agent, which attacks the Bloodstream cells and repairs the target’s genetic code back to its pre-consumption state,” Dr. Scalie admitted. “A stronger variant of the formula can be injected inside the aquarium in case of a containment breach. It destroys the Knockoffs entirely.”

“But not Alchemist-made Elixirs?” Ryan asked for confirmation, the Genius shaking his head. It made sense. Bloodstream-based Knockoffs remained mutated Psycho cells in the end, while true Elixirs were alien entities beyond conventional biology. “If your cure only works through injections, then what happens if multiple Knockoff-users revert at the same time? Even if you destroy the original source, it won’t erase the substance inside all your customers.”

“The risk of a mass-reversion is nonexistent,” Tyrano replied with a shrug, tempting fate.

These guys had no plan at all. Dynamis’ criminal negligence defied comprehension. “Alright, in that case, you’re surrendering that cure, and coming with us to Area 51.”

The dinosaur squinted. “Area 51?”

“A Mechron base, if you want to be technical.” Since Ryan knew the location of others, they could always retreat there to research a cure for the Psycho condition. He had made a promise to Sa—Bianca, and would keep it. “We can make safer Knockoffs than the bottled slimes you harvest here. Elixirs that follow health-safety protocols.”

“A Mechron base?” The Genius’ eyes lit up in interest. He couldn’t resist the lure of a Mechron-made lab. “You know what? I am under contract not to work for the competition, but if you abduct me I won’t resist too much. I think kidnapping counts as force majeure?"

“In my case? It’s an Act of God.” Ryan defended religious tolerance, but only for his own cult. “Now, where is your Bloodstream vaccine? We’re euthanizing him on our way out.”

Len didn’t even respond, much to Ryan’s surprise. He had expected her to fight back his decision, but finding the truth had shaken her to the core.

Ryan downloaded the Bloodstream vaccine’s data, to use in a future loop. Now, they had to figure out a way to leave the building with Tyrano, if possible. Since Ryan knew about the encrypted emails and confirmed Bloodstream’s survival, he could always contact the scientist in the future and optimize the Lab Sixty-Six raid.

His armor’s sensors suddenly noticed a sharp increase in temperature.

No… “Shortie, get down!” Ryan shouted, but his friend didn’t listen. She gazed at the aquarium without a word, lost in her thoughts. “Shortie!”

One of the room’s walls melted in a crimson flash.

The blast came from the previous room, clearing off the debris blocking the path outside. Ryan covered his helmet with his hand, as a cloud of dust filled the laboratory.

Alphonse Manada had returned, a living incarnation of nuclear flames. But he wasn’t alone. A small troop of men in power armor followed him, led by none other than his brother Blackthorn. Vines and moss covered the Il Migliore manager’s armor like a second protective layer, and he alone carried no firearm. Still, he didn’t look happy to be there, glancing at the aquarium with disgust.

“None of this would have happened, if you and father didn’t lie to me back then,” Enrique said, as his men raised their weapons at Len and Ryan. The courier prepared to fight his way out. “Wyvern was right. This can’t go on anymore.”

“It will all work out in the end, you’ll see,” his brother replied, lying to himself. “As for father… he will be out of the picture after this, one way or another.”

Fallout raised his hand at Ryan and Len, but didn’t open fire. The risk of breaching the aquarium was too great. “All your men are dead, and you are surrounded,” he threatened. “Give up.”

“I don’t think so,” Ryan said, moving closer to Len while Tyrano hid behind his computer. “I’ve still got the A-bomb in my backpack. If you want a big ol’ mushroom salad, you’ll get it.”

“I don’t believe you,” Alphonse replied, calling the bluff. “I don’t understand what you intended to do here, mutie, but you failed.”

“Shortie, cover me,” Ryan said. He couldn’t take Fallout head-on, but they could bypass him if they played their cards right.

But his friend didn’t answer.

“Shortie?”

Len raised her water rifle at the aquarium, and opened fire.

A pressurized liquid stream hit the glass before Ryan could stop time. The Private Security had opened fire at Len while Enrique vainly raised a hand to tell them to stop; their lasers were frozen in midair, so the courier tackled Len to the ground out of their reach.

“Shortie, what the—” Ryan couldn’t finish his sentence, as he took a good look at her helmet.

He could only see thick black blood wriggling behind the visor.

Ryan glanced at the captive Bloodstream in horror, the monster’s putrid eyes staring at his daughter with sinister intensity. While the creature was no longer sentient, his proximity triggered the infection inside Shortie and allowed it to take her over.

Some of the lasers hit the Aquarium’s protective barrier as time resumed, and Alphonse charged forward with an angry roar. Len’s visor exploded, blood tendrils coming out of it and forcing Ryan to leap back. The courier could only watch as blood leaked from his friend’s scaphandre armor, the substance having consumed her from within. As for the aquarium…

The glass had cracked, and shed tears of blood.

Ryan barely had the time to take a few steps as Len’s tendrils joined with the slime trapped inside the aquarium. And Bloodstream screamed.

The aquarium violently detonated, as the imprisoned monster grew in size and strength. The monstrous ooze grew fanged maws hissing in a maddening cacophony, glistening blue eyes as wide as TV screens, and porous holes unleashing geysers of Green Flux particles. A strange, alien moss formed on anything these particles touched, like an infection from another reality.

Ryan wished he could erase his memory at will, as he watched Len’s armor absorbed into the ooze she once called a father. The ogre devoured his daughter.

Blackthorn extended his vines to bring Tyrano to safety, but too late. Red slime drowned the scientist, and Alphonse had to use an atomic blast to keep the monster at bay. The ooze took a stream of nuclear fire to the face, but instantly regenerated. Bloodstream’s monstrous form kept expanding, filling the room with its vile flesh.

Now that it had consumed Len, the monster turned its attention to Ryan. Those glistening alien eyes showed neither intelligence nor a sign of recognition; only hunger. The mind had deteriorated beyond saving, and only the instinct to spread remained.

Bloodstream had become a virus.

Worse, some of the Private Security members started screaming, blood flowing out of their armor and shattering their visors. The Knockoffs in their circulatory system had started reverting, though Ryan didn’t know how far the effect extended.

“What’s his range?” Ryan muttered to himself, a disturbing thought crossing his mind.

Sprinklers rained a white substance in the room, probably Tyrano’s vaccine. But the liquid failed to affect the empowered Bloodstream, the mutated horror turning into a bloody tidal wave.

Ryan froze time the second his cooldown period ended, and fled as fast as he could.

Alphonse Manada had formed an energy shield around his brother and himself, repelling both the tidal wave of blood and his own men. Ryan glanced at Tyrano, but the man had already drowned inside the eldritch red sea.

The courier fled through the hole in the wall, leaving the Manadas to fend off for themselves. Ryan couldn’t take the risk of Bloodstream getting past his armor. If the monster somehow managed to take him over and corrupt his save point...

Ryan had to return to Livia to finish the memory transfer. “I gotta get back,” he whispered to himself, as he reached what remained of the cloning factory. “Back to the past.”

The roof had collapsed on the cloning factory, burying the room and Ryan’s dead allies beneath tons of rubble: though Alphonse Manada had successfully melted a path. With the ceiling gone, acid raindrops were falling on the ground from a hole above. Ryan activated his jetpack, just as time resumed.

A flood of blood overflowed into the factory an instant later, spreading through the building. Ryan managed to escape the flood, flying in the skies above the Dynamis HQ. If Bloodstream could generate mass from nowhere, then it meant his mutations had empowered him beyond his original powers.

But Ryan didn’t understand how much, until he took a good look at New Rome.

The city had turned red.

People mutated everywhere Ryan looked, blood bursting from their skin to transform them into Bloodstream clones. Every Knockoff Elixir across New Rome had reverted to its original nature. Genomes turned into monsters, attacking the uninfected like rabid dogs. On the ground, Ryan watched a single Bloodstream clone fire crystallized spikes at Private Security personnel. Everyone scratched by the projectiles joined the zombie horde.

Fires had spread everywhere, with even the acid downpour unable to drench them. Mount Augustus had turned into a fiery candle, the smoke coming from it obscuring the skies for miles, and Rust Town didn’t look any better.

“His power has no range anymore,” Ryan realized, his throat sore from the phantom pain of his first loop. “The whole world. He will spread to the whole world. He will become the world.”

This…

This was a nightmare.

“Helen?” Ryan shouted. The acid downpour continued to fall somehow. “Helen, where are you?”

He caught sight of her on the ground. A bloody monster, switching places with raindrops as it fell down on the uninfected like a hawk on mice. Bloodstream could not only infect Genomes, but keep using their powers.

If he infected Ryan…

If he infected Ryan, Bloodstream would gain access to time travel.

“Tea? Alchemo? Braindead, are you there?” Ryan called the rest of his team in frantic panic, only to be met with radio silence. “Anyone?”

But nobody answered.

Ryan thought he would only care for Tea, but her father’s silence… it made his heart ache for a moment.

Damn it, this was the third apocalypse taking place in New Rome since he started, and the worst by far!

“Livia?” Ryan called while changing the frequency. The building below him turned red, as the ever-growing Bloodstream shattered the window and flowed down the steel walls like a waterfall. A long tendril thirty meters in size attempted to capture the courier, who dodged and flew away south of the city. “Livia? Livia!”

If Bloodstream got to her before he did...

A soft, reassuring voice answered his plea, “Ryan.”

Ryan let out a breath of relief. “Livia, are you well?”

“Yes, I’m… I’m in a safe house in Sorrento.” She marked a short pause, her breath hastening in panic. “Ryan, what’s going on? My visions… I can’t believe what I’m seeing. It’s raining blood outside.”

Thank God, his first lady had made it to the Cheyenne Mountains. “Barricade yourself and prepare for the memory transfer. I’m sending you the data I gathered. Record it and don’t touch anyone but me. Not a drop of blood.”

“It’s Dynamis, isn’t it?” she guessed, coughing. “Is it… is it too late to do anything?”

“It’s too late this time,” Ryan replied bluntly, his fists clenching in rage. “But not for the next.”

He could have sworn she had nodded on the other end of the line. “Don’t die on the way,” Livia pleaded. “I will be waiting for you.”

Ryan cut communications, as he crossed paths with other flyers in the skies. Leo the Living Sun and Shroud oversaw the devastation in shaken silence; though the latter created a cloud of flying glass shards upon seeing the president approach.

“Truce!” Ryan shouted, crossing his arms. “Truce!”

“You caused this!” Shroud snarled. “This is all your fau—”

Leo Hargraves broke out of his trance and raised a hand to stop his comrade. He understood that at this point, they couldn’t afford to fight. Not even a dashing supervillain. “Is your sister…” Sunshine asked Ryan, acidic rain turning to colored steam on contact. “Is she dead?”

Ryan looked away, his silence a confirmation in itself. “I’m…” Leo the Living Sun looked down in complete defeat. “I’m sorry, for her. And for you, Mathias. We failed your mother’s last request.”

“We couldn’t stop it,” Shroud muttered to himself, his voice breaking in sadness and despair.

“You knew this would happen?” Ryan asked, more disappointed with himself than anything

“It was foretold, so we… we tried to destroy Bloodstream, but...” Leonard struggled to find his words. “We failed.”

“We only delayed the disaster,” Mr. See-Through said, before glancing at his teammate. “Leo, you have to do it.”

“If I unleash my full power, everyone in the city will burn,” Leo warned. Ryan had never heard him sound so… so defeated. “Millions will perish.”

“And if a single bird gets away, the whole world will follow.” Shroud let out a sigh of resignation. “There is no other way.”

“The whole world is affected,” Ryan said. Even though he would reload soon, he didn’t think Leonard deserved to have these deaths on his conscience in any timeline. “Dynamis has Genomes outside New Rome, and they probably turned. It’s useless.”

“But it will delay the virus’ spread,” Shroud insisted. “We can gain enough time to protect other comm—”

Thunder echoed above their heads.

Crimson lightning struck Shroud, cooking his flesh within his own glass armor. The bolt formed a hole in his chest, vaporizing organs and sending the vigilante falling down to a burning street below. Leo let out a shout of horror and surprise, while Ryan looked up at the bolt’s source.

“Hargraves.” Augustus descended from the clouds above, clad in crimson lightning like a shining angel cast down to earth. “I should have known you were involved.”

Lightning Butt’s clothes had been torn to shreds, but the man himself was unharmed. His right hand carried the upper half of a destroyed rabbit plushie, its white fur blackened by ashes.

The gods had won the Lepiromachia.

“You fool!” Leo snarled at his archenemy, his flames now blindingly bright. “The world is at stake here!”

“The only world I want to live in,” Mob Zeus replied with his fist raised, “is one where your sun has set.”

Moving as fast as Ryan on a good day, the warlord punched Leo in the chest, his fingers tearing through the flames to hit a burning core underneath. The blow sent the Living Sun crashing onto the ground, the impact vaporizing Bloodstream clones into ashes.

“You!” Ryan snarled in true fury, as Lightning Zeus charged lightning to smite his fallen foe. This maniacal man would put his personal vendetta above anything else! “You selfish discount ivory statue, I’ve had enough! You’re going down somehow!”

Mob Zeus looked at him with murder on his mind, and Ryan cursed his tongue.

The courier reflexively stopped time just as the discount Greek god unleashed an electrical storm in his direction. Though the Purple World overshadowed New Rome and trapped it between two seconds, neither Augustus nor his lightning slowed down. The invulnerable man completely shrugged the time-stop off.

But Vulcan made the best armor, and Ryan expected the unexpected.

Mob Zeus blinked as the courier’s chest weapon absorbed the crimson bolt. The mechanism didn’t have a limitless energy storage capacity, but it gave the time traveler enough time to strike back.

Though he knew it was useless, Ryan punched Augustus in the face with all his might.

And it felt good.

His armored fist hit the man’s ivory cheek, violet and black particles swirling around his fingers. Ryan expected to hurt himself more than Discount Zeus, especially since it felt like hitting a wall of diamond; but to his surprise, the blow startled the tyrant. The punch didn’t inflict any damage, and seemed no more effective than a light slap, but it shorted out the lightning halo for an instant.

For a brief moment, Ryan could see the old man beneath the godly facade, his eyes widening in shock while the courier’s fist still touched his cheek. Lightning Butt’s gaze turned from surprise to fury, and if the courier wasn’t mistaken… a hint of fear.

“I felt that,” Augustus said.

Time unfroze as Ryan registered these words, and Mob Zeus punched back.

He hit harder than Wyvern, Adam the Ogre, and anyone else Ryan ever fought before. His fist cracked the armor’s chest protection, shattering the weapon beneath into scraps, and sent the courier flying backward. The time traveler hit a building, came out on the other side, and barely managed to regain control of his flight before he crashed on the ground.

The jetpack had survived the blow, but the armor had been breached. A single drop of blood could slip through. Even now he sensed an acid raindrop burn his skin below the steel.

So Ryan immediately focused on regaining altitude, and looked behind him.

Thankfully for the courier, Hargraves had engaged Augustus in melee, delaying him for now. Sunshine had become a blinding star blazing across the skies, his heat causing the atmosphere to simmer around him. However, Ryan could see the shadow of his invulnerable enemy trying to grab the living sun’s core; perhaps that was Hargraves’ sole weakness.

The living sun’s fires burnt Augustus’ clothes, but they couldn’t melt his ivory body. Leo could delay his foe, but not defeat him. Eventually, the superhero would either retreat, or perish.

And then Augustus would go after Ryan.

The president redirected all remaining power to his jetpack, and left New Rome in the dust.

---

It took Ryan one hour to reach Livia’s hideout.

New Rome had long vanished in a flash of crimson light by then, its buildings, its land, its people incinerated. Whether Alphonse Manada went nuclear or Sunshine turned into a supernova, Ryan would never know. Though he was miles away by then, the courier still felt the blast’s shockwave.

It changed nothing.

As the courier flew over a forest, he watched the trees turning red, their leaves transforming into organs, their bark into crystallized blood. Even some birds had turned into abominations, pursuing Ryan to infect him; though they were too slow to catch up, the sight filled the time traveler with horror.

This blue planet would soon turn red.

He found Livia waiting for him in Sorrento, south of New Rome. She stood on the roof of the same building where Ryan had been evacuated, back when the Meta blew up the city. The courier thought the Augusti princess was foolish to expose herself, before noticing the ring of ash surrounding the building. Dozens, if not hundreds of turrets formed an impregnable perimeter around the safehouse, vaporizing any Bloodstream clone approaching.

Thankfully, the security system recognized his armor and let him pass.

“Remind me to send chocolates to Vulcan after the reset,” Ryan said as he landed on the roof, covering his chest with one hand. Acid Rain’s raindrops had eaten at his chest, blood dripping from the cracks left by Augustus.

“Though not perfect, no one can deny her security systems are effective.” Livia’s eyes wandered to his wound with concern, and though he warned her not to touch blood of any kind… her fingers trailed against his chest of steel. “Who did this to you?”

“Your dad,” Ryan replied, causing Livia to bite her lower lips. “Even with the world going down in flames, he still wanted revenge above all else.”

“I see,” she said, her eyebrows furrowing. “And Len? The others?”

“Just me.” Ryan let out a tired sigh. “Again.”

And over again.

“Just us.” Livia looked at him with pity and compassion. “This is what you were trying to stop? Or something else? I can’t imagine the burden on your shoulders. It must have been agonizing.”

“There is still time to change this terrible ending.”

Ryan had the data he needed for his perfect run now. All pieces of the New Rome puzzle.

He only needed to assemble them in the correct sequence.

“Yes. But next time…” Livia looked up at him with determination. “Next time, you won’t carry this cross alone, Ryan. I swear to you.”

No. Ryan would have other people to help carry his load. Livia, Len, Alchemo, and others. Their memories would endure this reset, and he would ferry their minds across space and time.

The time-traveler opened the Saturn armor’s backpack, bringing out a metal helmet. He carefully put it on Livia’s head, and hooked the device to his suit’s Chronoradio. “Will it hurt?” she asked.

“Only for me, but don’t worry. I’m immortal.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” she replied with a smile. “We’ll find a painless way next time. I won’t have you die for our mistakes.”

Ryan almost told her not to make promises she couldn’t keep, but though this loop ended bleakly, it also filled his heart with hope.

Next loop would be different than anything that came before. The courier had no idea if his power would even stay the same, now that the Black World’s power coursed through his veins. This reset was a dive into the unknown.

But someone would wait for him on the other side.

“We’ll see,” Ryan said as he activated his power. He halted the march of time, his armor turning dark purple. A torrent of violet particles surrounded him and Livia like a flood, with the occasional black spot floating among them like oil in the water.

The courier noticed an ivory man flying in their direction, far too late to change anything.

As the transfer finished and this loop collapsed in an ocean of violet particles, Ryan thought back to his brief fight with Augustus. He had wondered what wish the Black Ultimate One granted him, but now he had his answer.

What did you call a power that could kill immortals?

A paradox.

蕾恩把手贴在水箱上，血流那双腐烂的眼睛望着她。这一幕让瑞恩心中满是鄙夷与恶心。

“怎么会？”快递员问道，呼吸渐渐急促，脖颈周围泛起一阵刺痛。过了这么多年……过了这么多年，他依然记得养父的双手扼紧自己喉咙的感觉。人们说得没错。你永远忘不了自己的第一次。“怎么……”

“疯魔突变失控了。”提拉诺博士耸耸肩，误解了他的问题，“副总裁不肯拿基因者喂他，所以他的遗传密码不断退化，最终变成了某种彻头彻尾的异类。到了一定地步，人类的那部分就再也跟不上异能了。”

瑞恩脑中掠过一个念头：如果无法遏制这种退化，这就是所有疯魔的下场。灵药把他们的肉体重塑成了非人的东西，变成更适合容纳各色维度中无穷能量的形态。

血流还保有意识吗？他体内是否还剩一星半点人性的余烬，还是只剩下灵药？他认出的是自己的女儿，还是她血液的气味？

“他是不是……”小矮个的声音抖得厉害，虚弱得让瑞恩几乎听不清。“我爸爸……我爸爸还在里面吗？”

“我们几年前就对这生物做了化学去势处理，此后他就不再尝试与人交流了。”提拉诺博士的回答毫无体贴可言。他或许是个天才，但人际交往显然不是他的专长。

“你们怎么能……你们怎么能这么做？”蕾恩望向疯狂科学家，从牙缝中挤出声音，“里面……里面原本还有个人！”

“不太准确，管理层把他归类为公司资产。”提拉诺说道，完全没抓住重点。

瑞恩走向连接着水箱的电脑控制台，萨图恩装甲轻而易举地侵入了这个封闭系统。从生物分析到山寨灵药的测试报告，种种数据一一显示在他的目镜上。快递员很快确认，迪纳米斯从2016年起就一直关押着血流；疯魔袭击过公司的一座仓库，提拉诺用事后采集的样本克隆出了他。

瑞恩还发现了一个名叫“魔物娘计划”的文件夹，但他拒绝打开。他有种预感，那东西会给自己今后的每一轮循环都留下心理阴影。

不过，更重要的是，瑞恩发现提拉诺博士一直通过加密邮件系统与外界通信，收件人大多是他的律师。快递员记下了访问密码，这样就能在以后的循环里直接联系这个疯天才。

“为什么……为什么要找我？”蕾恩用水枪指着提拉诺，恐龙疯子举起双手投降。“你们到底想干什么？”

“因为你父亲在你的血细胞里植入了一种外来因子，山寨灵药一接触它，就会产生剧烈反应。”提拉诺坦白道，“你血液里的旧型因子是在化学去势之前留下的，两者结合后会生成一种新物质，能够抵抗去势处理。我们的消费者就不可避免地……回变了。”

这不过是客气的说法，意思是他们会变成血流的克隆体。

“我曾向管理层申请对你进行深入研究，降低回变风险，可恩里克先生一直否决我的提案。”科学家抱怨道。这倒让快递员对黑棘又多了几分敬意。

“那就来问个价值百万的问题吧。”瑞恩瞥了一眼浮在水箱里的血色修格斯，“这东西该怎么杀？”

蕾恩瑟缩了一下。“瑞瑞……”

“蕾恩，你父亲已经不在了。”瑞恩反驳道，戴着手套的手朝那罐装疯魔一挥，“他甚至都不是人了。”

“你说过……你说过能找到治愈疯魔的办法！”她抗议道。

“我觉得我们能治好人类身上的突变，不代表能把番茄汁变回智人。”瑞恩看着蕾恩手里的武器随着她颤抖的双手晃动。“我正在读分析报告。他现在跟人类相同的DNA还不到百分之五十。连香蕉都比他更接近我们。”

就算时间无限——而瑞恩恰好就有无限的时间——他们也得找到一个能靠异能创造奇迹、解决问题的基因者。况且，快递员也无意浪费那么多时间去帮助这个无可救药的怪物。他突袭这座实验室，是为了确认血流是否还活着，但看来那个萦绕他童年的恶鬼早已不复存在。

只要能看见蕾恩藏在头盔下的反应，瑞恩愿意付出自己所有的钱。她一动不动地站了片刻，随后垂下了头，也放下了武器。她消化着朋友的话，始终一言不发。也许她早就知道会是这种结局，却一直不肯承认，直到事实摆在眼前。

她深爱的那个父亲，几年前就已经死了。

“我猜你们没有针对山寨灵药的解药吧？”瑞恩问提拉诺。

“我们当然有解药。”疯狂天才抗议道，大大出乎快递员的意料。“你以为我们会渎职到能定罪的地步吗？”

“你们把怪物做成了饮料！”瑞恩毫不客气地回道，“比百事还坏！”

“可只要仅服用一剂，回变和健康问题的风险就近乎为零！”

“所以我才要把这里收归国有，没收全部资产。包括你。”

“你不能把一个人收归国——”

“我是美利坚合众国总统，而美利坚合众国基本上就等于全世界。”瑞恩打断他，“你，还有你的解药，我们都要收归国有。它怎么起效？”

科学家张嘴还想抗议，直到瑞恩指了指自己胸口的武器。啊，垄断暴力就是有这等好处……

“我研制了一种注射用中和剂，可以攻击血流细胞，并将目标的遗传密码修复到服药前的状态。”鳞片控博士承认道，“万一发生收容失效，还有一个加强版配方可以注入水箱。它能彻底摧毁山寨灵药。”

“炼金术师造的灵药就不行了？”瑞恩确认道，天才摇了摇头。这很合理。用血流制成的山寨灵药，归根结底还是突变的疯魔细胞，而真正的灵药是超越常规生物学的异类实体。“既然你这解药只能靠注射起效，那要是多个山寨灵药使用者同时回变呢？就算摧毁了最初的源头，也没法清除所有顾客体内的物质。”

“不存在大规模回变的风险。”提拉诺耸肩答道，纯属给自己招灾。

这帮家伙根本没做任何打算。迪纳米斯这等该判刑的渎职行为，简直匪夷所思。“好吧，既然这样，你交出解药，跟我们去51区。”

恐龙眯起眼睛。“51区？”

“严格来说，是一座梅克隆基地。”瑞恩知道其他基地的位置，他们随时可以退到那里，研究治愈疯魔的办法。他答应过沙——比安卡，就一定会信守承诺。“我们能造出更安全的山寨灵药，而不是你们在这里采集的罐装黏液怪。符合卫生安全规范的灵药。”

“梅克隆基地？”天才的眼睛兴奋地亮了起来。他抵挡不住梅克隆所建实验室的诱惑。“不如这样？合同规定，我不能给竞争对手工作，可要是你们绑架我，我不会太过反抗。我想绑架应该算不可抗力吧？”

“换成我？那叫天意。”瑞恩拥护宗教宽容，但仅限于他自己的教派。“现在，你的血流疫苗在哪里？我们走的时候，顺道给他安乐死。”

令瑞恩惊讶的是，蕾恩甚至没有回应。他原以为她会反对自己的决定，可真相已经彻底动摇了她。

瑞恩下载了血流疫苗的资料，留待以后的循环使用。现在，如果可以的话，他们得想办法带着提拉诺离开这栋楼。既然瑞恩已经知道了加密邮件的事，也确认了血流还活着，他以后总能联系上这位科学家，优化对六十六号实验室的突袭方案。

装甲的传感器突然检测到温度急剧攀升。

不……“小矮个，趴下！”瑞恩大喊，可他的朋友没有听。她一言不发地注视着水箱，沉浸在自己的思绪中。“小矮个！”

房间的一面墙壁在血红的闪光中熔化了。

冲击来自先前那个房间，清空了堵住出口的残骸。尘云灌满实验室，瑞恩抬手挡住头盔。

阿尔方斯·马纳达回来了，如同核火焰的活体化身。但他不是一个人。一小队身穿动力装甲的士兵跟在他身后，带队的不是别人，正是他的兄弟黑棘。藤蔓与苔藓覆盖着这位至优者经理的装甲，像是第二层防护，唯独他没有携带枪械。不过，他显然并不乐意来这里，望向水箱的目光满是厌恶。

“如果你和父亲当初没有骗我，这一切都不会发生。”恩里克说道，他手下的人纷纷举起武器，瞄准蕾恩和瑞恩。快递员做好了杀出重围的准备。“双足飞龙说得对。不能再这样下去了。”

“最后一切都会解决的，你会看到。”他的兄弟自欺欺人地答道，“至于父亲……这件事过后，无论用什么办法，他都会出局。”

辐尘朝瑞恩和蕾恩抬起手，却没有开火。打破水箱的风险太大。“你的人全死了，你们已经被包围了。”他威胁道，“投降吧。”

“我看未必。”瑞恩边说边向蕾恩靠近，提拉诺则躲到了电脑后面。“我背包里还装着原子弹呢。想来份超大蘑菇沙拉，我就满足你。”

“我不信。”阿尔方斯识破了他的虚张声势。“我不明白你来这里想干什么，变种佬，但你失败了。”

“小矮个，掩护我。”瑞恩说道。他没法和辐尘正面硬拼，但只要应对得当，他们就能绕过他。

可他的朋友没有回答。

“小矮个？”

蕾恩举起水枪，对准水箱，扣下了扳机。

瑞恩还没来得及暂停时间，高压水流就击中了玻璃。私人安保队已经向蕾恩开火，恩里克抬手制止，却没能拦住；他们射出的激光凝固在半空中，快递员便将蕾恩扑倒在地，带她避开射线的路径。

“小矮个，你他——”瑞恩看清了她的头盔，话说到一半就停住了。

透过面罩，他只能看见浓稠的黑血在蠕动。

瑞恩惊恐地望向囚禁中的血流。怪物那双腐烂的眼睛正死死盯着女儿，目光凶险。尽管这生物已经没有意识，但近距离接触仍然触发了小矮个体内的感染，让感染物夺取了她的身体。

时间恢复流动，一部分激光击中了水箱的防护壁，阿尔方斯怒吼着冲了上来。蕾恩的面罩炸裂，鲜血触须从里面钻出，逼得瑞恩向后跃开。快递员只能眼睁睁看着鲜血从朋友的潜水装甲里涌出——那物质已从内部吞噬了她。至于水箱……

玻璃已经开裂，淌下了血泪。

瑞恩才来得及后退几步，蕾恩身上的触须便与困在水箱里的黏液连在了一起。血流发出了尖叫。

被囚禁的怪物体型暴涨，力量剧增，水箱随之猛烈炸开。怪异的黏液长出了獠牙密布的巨口，嘶吼交织成令人发狂的杂音；它生出了电视屏幕般大小、闪闪发亮的蓝眼睛，还有一个个孔洞，间歇泉般喷射着绿色通量粒子。粒子所触及的东西上都长出了陌生诡异的苔藓，仿佛是来自另一个现实的感染。

看着蕾恩的装甲被吸进那团她曾称作父亲的黏液，瑞恩真希望自己能随心所欲地抹去记忆。食人魔吞掉了自己的女儿。

黑棘伸出藤蔓，想把提拉诺拉到安全地带，可已经太迟。红色黏液淹没了科学家，阿尔方斯不得不发射原子冲击，阻挡怪物。黏液正面挨了一道核火焰，却转瞬间再生如初。血流那骇人的躯体不断膨胀，用污秽的血肉填满了整个房间。

吞噬了蕾恩之后，怪物把注意力转向瑞恩。那些闪亮的异类眼睛里既没有智慧，也没有认出他的迹象；只有饥饿。它的心智已经退化到了无可挽救的地步，只剩下扩散的本能。

血流已经成了病毒。

更糟的是，一些私人安保队成员开始惨叫，鲜血从装甲中涌出，撑碎了他们的面罩。他们血液循环系统里的山寨灵药已经开始回变，只是瑞恩还不知道影响范围究竟有多远。

“他的能力范围有多大？”瑞恩喃喃自问，一个令人不安的念头掠过脑海。

喷淋头向房间里洒下白色物质，大概是提拉诺的疫苗。但液体对强化后的血流毫无效果，这头突变的恐怖怪物化作了一道血色巨浪。

冷却时间一结束，瑞恩立刻暂停时间，拼尽全力逃跑。

阿尔方斯·马纳达已经在自己与兄弟周围撑起一道能量护盾，既挡住了血浪，也将自己的部下拒之盾外。瑞恩看了一眼提拉诺，但那人已经淹没在了诡异的红海之中。

快递员从墙上的破洞逃了出去，留下马纳达兄弟自求多福。瑞恩不能冒险让血流突破自己的装甲。如果怪物真有办法控制他，污染他的存档点……

瑞恩必须回到莉维娅身边，完成记忆传输。“我得回去。”抵达克隆工厂的残骸时，他低声对自己说道，“回到过去。”

克隆工厂的屋顶已经坍塌，将整个房间和瑞恩死去的盟友埋在了成吨的瓦砾之下，不过阿尔方斯·马纳达已经成功熔出了一条路。天花板塌了，上方的洞口有酸雨滴落到地上。瑞恩启动喷气背包，时间也在此刻恢复流动。

下一瞬，鲜血洪流涌入工厂，在大楼内蔓延。瑞恩成功逃出了洪流，飞到迪纳米斯总部上空。如果血流可以凭空制造物质，那就说明突变让他变得更强，超越了原本的能力。

可直到看清新罗马的景象，瑞恩才意识到这种强化究竟到了什么程度。

整座城市都变红了。

瑞恩目光所及之处，到处都有人发生突变。鲜血破皮而出，将他们变成血流的克隆体。新罗马城内的每一份山寨灵药都恢复了原本的性质。基因者化作怪物，疯狗般扑向未受感染的人。瑞恩看见地面上一个血流克隆体朝私人安保队员射出结晶尖刺。每个被弹体擦伤的人，都加入了活尸的大军。

火势四处蔓延，就连倾盆酸雨也浇不灭。奥古斯都山成了一支熊熊燃烧的蜡烛，升起的浓烟遮住了方圆数英里的天空，锈镇的情况也好不到哪里去。

“他的能力已经不受距离限制了。”瑞恩意识到了这一点，第一次循环留下的幻痛让他喉咙发紧。“全世界。他会蔓延到全世界。他会成为整个世界。”

这……

这是一场噩梦。

“海伦？”瑞恩大喊。不知为何，倾盆酸雨仍在下。“海伦，你在哪里？”

他在地面上看到了她。一个血色怪物，不断与雨滴交换位置，像鹰扑向老鼠一样从天而降，袭击未感染的人。血流不仅能感染基因者，还能继续使用他们的异能。

如果他感染了瑞恩……

如果他感染了瑞恩，血流就能得到时间旅行的能力。

“蒂娅？阿尔凯莫？脑残，你在吗？”瑞恩惊慌失措地呼叫队伍里的其他人，无线电里却毫无动静。“有人在吗？”

没有人回答。

瑞恩本以为自己只会在乎蒂娅，可她父亲的沉默……也让他的心一阵刺痛。

该死，从他开始在这里循环起，新罗马已经第三次迎来末日了，而这一次远比之前的都糟！

“莉维娅？”瑞恩切换频率，继续呼叫。他下方的大楼已变得血红，不断膨胀的血流撞碎窗户，瀑布般沿钢铁外墙倾泻而下。一条三十米长的触须试图抓住快递员，瑞恩闪身躲过，往城南飞去。“莉维娅？莉维娅！”

要是血流抢在他前面找到了她……

一个温柔、令人安心的声音回应了他的呼唤：“瑞恩。”

瑞恩松了一口气。“莉维娅，你还好吗？”

“嗯，我……我在索伦托的一间安全屋里。”她顿了顿，呼吸因恐慌而急促起来。“瑞恩，出什么事了？我的预见……我简直不敢相信自己看到的东西。外面在下血雨。”

谢天谢地，他的第一夫人已经抵达夏延山。“封死出入口，准备好进行记忆传输。我正在把收集到的数据发给你。记下来，绝对不要碰我以外的任何人。一滴血都别碰。”

“是迪纳米斯，对不对？”她猜道，咳嗽了几声。“是不是……是不是已经来不及了，什么都做不了了？”

“这一轮来不及了。”瑞恩直截了当地回答，怒火让他攥紧了双拳。“但下一轮还来得及。”

他几乎敢肯定，线路另一端的她点了点头。“别死在路上。”莉维娅恳求道，“我会等你。”

瑞恩切断了通信，在空中遇上了另外两名飞行者。活体太阳利奥和裹尸布俯瞰着满目疮痍的城市，震惊得说不出话；不过，后者一看见总统靠近，便制造出一大片漂浮的玻璃碎片。

“停战！”瑞恩交叉双臂，大声喊道，“停战！”

“这是你造成的！”裹尸布怒吼，“全都是你的错——”

利奥·哈格雷夫斯从恍惚中惊醒，抬手制止了同伴。他明白，到了这一步，他们已经不能再与人交战了。哪怕对方是个风度翩翩的超级反派。“你妹妹是不是……”阳光向瑞恩问道，酸雨一碰到他，就化作彩色蒸汽。“她死了吗？”

瑞恩移开目光，沉默本身就已确认了答案。“我……”活体太阳利奥垂下头，彻底被挫败感压垮。“她的事……我很抱歉。还有你，马蒂亚斯，我也很抱歉。我们没能完成你母亲最后的请求。”

“我们没能阻止这一切。”裹尸布喃喃自语，声音在悲伤与绝望中破碎。

“你们早知道会发生这种事？”瑞恩问道，心中更多的是对自己的失望。

“预言里提到过，所以我们……我们试着消灭血流，可是……”伦纳德艰难地组织着语言，“我们失败了。”

“我们只是把灾难推迟了。”透明先生说着，望向队友，“利奥，你必须动手了。”

“如果我释放全部力量，城里所有人都会被烧死。”利奥提醒道。瑞恩从未听过他用这样的语气说话，如此……如此颓丧。“会死几百万人。”

“只要有一只鸟逃出去，全世界就都得陪葬。”裹尸布认命地叹了一口气。“没有别的办法了。”

“全世界都已经受到影响了。”瑞恩说道。尽管很快就要读档，他也不愿让伦纳德在任何一条时间线上背负这些死者的重担。“迪纳米斯在新罗马以外也有基因者，他们大概都变了。没用的。”

“但至少能拖慢病毒的扩散。”裹尸布坚持道，“我们可以争取到足够的时间，保护其他聚居——”

雷声在他们头顶炸响。

一道血红闪电击中裹尸布，将他的血肉烤熟在了玻璃装甲内。雷电在他胸口轰出一个洞，蒸发了内脏，把这位义警打落到下方燃烧的街道上。利奥惊恐地大叫，瑞恩则抬头望向闪电的源头。

“哈格雷夫斯。”奥古斯都从上方的云层中降下，周身披着血红雷电，宛如被逐下凡间的光辉天使。“我早该知道有你掺和。”

闪电屁股的衣服已被撕得粉碎，人却毫发无损。他的右手提着一个被毁坏的兔子玩偶的上半身，白毛被灰烬染得漆黑。

诸神赢得了这场神兔大战。

“你这个蠢货！”利奥朝宿敌怒吼，身上的火焰变得耀眼夺目。“整个世界都危在旦夕！”

“我唯一愿意活下去的世界，”黑帮宙斯举起拳头回答，“就是你这轮太阳已经落下的世界。”

军阀以瑞恩状态最好时才有的速度行动，一拳轰在利奥胸口，手指穿透火焰，击中了深处燃烧的核心。这一击把活体太阳打落地面，撞击将血流的克隆体焚成飞灰。

“你！”眼看闪电宙斯蓄起雷电，要劈死倒下的对手，瑞恩真的怒了，厉声吼道。这个疯子会把自己的私仇放在一切之上！“你这个自私自利的廉价象牙雕像，我受够了！我总有办法把你弄死！”

黑帮宙斯杀气腾腾地看向他，瑞恩暗骂自己这张嘴。

这尊廉价希腊神明向他释放雷暴的那一刻，快递员本能地暂停了时间。紫色世界笼罩新罗马，将它困在两秒之间，但奥古斯都和他的雷电都没有慢下来。这个刀枪不入的男人完全无视了时间暂停。

但伏尔甘造的装甲是最好的，而瑞恩也早对意外做好了准备。

快递员胸前的武器吸收了血红雷电，黑帮宙斯愣了一下。这套装置的储能容量并非无穷无尽，但已足以为时间旅行者争取到反击的时间。

尽管知道毫无用处，瑞恩还是使尽全力，一拳砸向奥古斯都的脸。

那感觉真爽。

包裹在装甲中的拳头击中了那人象牙般的脸颊，紫色与黑色粒子在瑞恩指间盘旋。瑞恩本以为这一拳伤自己会比伤廉价宙斯更重，尤其那手感简直像砸在钻石墙上；可出乎意料的是，暴君被这一击惊到了。拳头没能造成任何伤害，效果似乎不比轻轻一巴掌更强，却让他周身的雷电光环短暂熄灭了一瞬。

有那么一瞬间，瑞恩看见了神明外表下的那个老人。快递员的拳头还贴着他的脸颊，他的双眼已经惊愕地睁大。闪电屁股的目光从惊讶转为暴怒，而如果快递员没有看错……里面还有一丝恐惧。

“我感觉到了。”奥古斯都说。

瑞恩刚听明白这句话，时间便解冻了，黑帮宙斯挥拳还击。

他这一拳比双足飞龙、食人魔亚当，以及瑞恩交手过的任何人都重。拳头击裂了装甲的胸部防护，把下面的武器砸成碎片，也将快递员打得倒飞出去。时间旅行者撞进一栋楼，从另一侧穿了出来，在坠地之前勉强稳住了飞行姿态。

喷气背包撑过了这一击，装甲却已经破了。只要一滴血，就能渗进去。此刻，他甚至能感觉到一滴酸雨正在灼烧钢铁之下的皮肤。

于是瑞恩立刻集中精力重新爬升，同时回头看去。

对快递员来说，幸运的是，哈格雷夫斯已经与奥古斯都展开近身搏斗，暂时拖住了他。阳光化作一颗耀眼的恒星，在天空中熊熊燃烧，周围的大气都被高温烤得翻腾起来。然而，瑞恩仍能看见那无敌对手的身影，正试图抓住活体太阳的核心；那或许就是哈格雷夫斯唯一的弱点。

活体太阳的火焰烧毁了奥古斯都的衣服，却熔不化他象牙般的身躯。利奥能拖住敌人，却打不赢。到最后，这位超级英雄要么撤退，要么战死。

然后，奥古斯都就会来追杀瑞恩。

总统把所有剩余能源转输给喷气背包，将新罗马远远甩在身后。

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瑞恩花了一个小时才抵达莉维娅的藏身处。

那时，新罗马早已在一道血红闪光中消失，建筑、土地、居民，全都付之一炬。究竟是阿尔方斯·马纳达发生了核爆，还是阳光化作了超新星，瑞恩永远也不会知道。尽管当时已远在数英里外，快递员仍然感受到了爆炸的冲击波。

这一切毫无用处。

飞越一片森林时，快递员看见树木正渐渐变红，叶片化作器官，树皮化作结晶的血液。甚至有些鸟也变成了怪物，追着瑞恩试图感染他。它们太慢，追不上他，但这景象依然让时间旅行者不寒而栗。

这颗蓝色星球很快就会变成红色。

他在新罗马以南的索伦托找到了等候他的莉维娅。她站在一栋楼的屋顶上，当初超能帮炸毁城市时，瑞恩也曾被疏散到这里。快递员原本觉得奥古斯蒂公主就这么暴露在外，实在愚蠢，随后却注意到了环绕大楼的一圈灰烬。数十座、甚至数百座炮塔在安全屋周围构筑了一道坚不可摧的防线，将任何靠近的血流克隆体都蒸发殆尽。

幸好，安保系统识别出了他的装甲，放他通过。

“重置后提醒我，给伏尔甘送些巧克力。”瑞恩降落在屋顶上，一手捂着胸口说道。酸雨的雨滴已经腐蚀了他的胸膛，鲜血正从奥古斯都打出的裂缝里滴落。

“虽然并不完美，但没人能否认她的安保系统确实有效。”莉维娅担忧地望向他的伤口，尽管他警告过她不要碰任何血液……她的手指还是轻轻抚过了他的钢铁胸甲。“谁把你伤成这样的？”

“你爸。”瑞恩答道，莉维娅咬住了下唇。“哪怕全世界都在火里毁灭，他也还是把复仇放在一切之上。”

“我明白了。”她眉头紧锁。“蕾恩呢？其他人呢？”

“只剩我了。”瑞恩疲惫地叹了口气。“又是这样。”

一遍又一遍。

“只剩我们了。”莉维娅望着他，眼里满是心疼与怜惜。“你一直想阻止的就是这个？还是别的什么？我无法想象你肩上的重担有多沉。一定很痛苦吧。”

“我们还有时间改变这个糟糕的结局。”

现在，瑞恩已经掌握了完美通关所需的资料。新罗马这幅拼图的每一块都已到手。

他只需要按正确的顺序把它们拼起来。

“是的。但下一次……”莉维娅抬眼看着他，目光坚定。“下一次，你不会再独自背负这个十字架了，瑞恩。我向你保证。”

不会了。瑞恩会有其他人帮忙分担重担。莉维娅、蕾恩、阿尔凯莫，还有其他人。他们的记忆将挺过这次重置，而他会摆渡他们的心智，跨越时空。

时间旅行者打开萨图恩装甲的背包，取出一顶金属头盔。他小心地把头盔戴在莉维娅头上，将装置接入装甲的时空收音机。“会疼吗？”她问。

“只有我会疼，不过别担心。我是不死之身。”

“我不会告诉别人的。”她微笑着回答，“下次我们会找到不疼的办法。我不会让你为我们的错误送命。”

瑞恩差点就叫她别许下无法兑现的诺言，可尽管这一轮结局惨淡，也同样让他的心里充满了希望。

下一轮将与以往任何一轮都不同。如今黑色世界的力量在血管中奔流，快递员甚至不知道自己的异能是否还会保持原样。这次重置，是一头扎进未知。

但会有人在彼岸等他。

“到时候就知道了。”瑞恩说着，发动了异能。他让时间的脚步停住，装甲变成深紫色。紫色粒子如洪流般环绕着他与莉维娅，偶尔有黑色斑点浮动其间，仿佛水中的油。

快递员注意到，一个象牙般的男人正朝他们飞来，可已经远远来不及改变什么了。

传输完成，这一轮循环在紫色粒子的海洋中崩塌。瑞恩想起了自己与奥古斯都那场短暂的交锋。他一直在想，黑色终极者究竟实现了自己的什么愿望，如今终于有了答案。

能够杀死不死者的力量，该叫什么？

悖论。