同章对照

A part of Ryan always knew it would end this way, ever since he first set foot in New Rome.

He had tried to get away from this battle, to run circles around it, to delay it, to out-think it, but he couldn't run away from it. In the end, all he could do was stand his ground and fight.

And that he did.

A mighty crimson bolt struck him in the chest, the electricity redirected by his armor's circuitry. Though the lightning would have fried a man alive, it dispersed harmlessly to the false god's dismay. Ryan immediately activated the Gravity Gun in his chest while Augustus was briefly startled, firing a black sphere straight at his foe's stomach.

Augustus quickly caught the projectile with his left hand as if it were a tennis ball, and found himself trapped. The black sphere pushed him backward and above, higher towards the skies. Ryan gave pursuit, both foes flying above the clouds in a perilous ascent.

"Dynamis." Augustus clenched his jaws, his eyes ablaze with rage as he recognized the technology. "I knew it."

He attempted to crush the black sphere with both hands, but though its surface bent and cracked before the iron grip of his fingers, it resisted. Ryan calculated the angle as they ascended, the blue in the skies giving way to darkness. The stars became visible beyond the ozone layer, while New Rome's gulf looked no larger than a pond beneath them. The courier wondered if he would be able to see Ghoul's rocket from this altitude.

His hopes of watching Augustus follow the undead and Alphonse Manada into interstellar exile were quickly dashed.

"There it is!" Mob Zeus shouted, the electrical halo around him becoming so bright, so illuminating, that it would have burnt Ryan's eyes were it not for his helmet’s lenses. "The supreme lightning of victory! The absolute power, that sunk islands, turned castles to dust, and split the atom!"

Ryan's armor sent alarms about abnormal electromagnetic activity, so the courier immediately backed away and fled west. Augustus became a burning star above his head, and then exploded in a cataclysmic light show.

A burning supernova of crimson plasma set the atmosphere ablaze, unleashing a blast that rivaled Ryan's own A-bomb. A wall of fire erupted in the skies, expanding in a spherical wave of energy annihilating all in its path. Crimson thunderbolts coursed in all directions, tainting the black void of space red. The sheer thermal wave heated up the air, starting a blast of burning air stronger than a hurricane and faster than sound.

Ryan froze time, and though Augustus' crimson lightning kept working in the frozen time, it did halt the enormous blast of displaced, super-heated air. Putting all power in his jetpack, the courier broke the sound barrier and outpaced the fireball. Even though he managed to avoid the worst of the blast, the cashmere poncho over his armor went down in flames, and the heat made his armor's paint peel away.

Even though the fireball now spanned kilometers, the shockwave eventually weakened and died. Ryan glanced over his shoulder, to see a dying crimson sun fill up the heavens above him.

Was that why Augustus' Red Elixir had given him lightning manipulation? Because he associated it with godhood and power? Ryan supposed that the Orange one had made Mob Zeus' feeling of being untouchable uncomfortably real. Worse, the catastrophic detonation confirmed what the courier had long suspected.

Augustus' lightning generation had no upper limit.

Yes, Lightning Butt needed a little time to generate anything stronger than a thunderbolt, but he could produce enough power and heat to create nuclear explosions. Maybe he could even manipulate electrons to somehow break atoms.

No wonder Mob Zeus had managed to sink Malta. If given free reign, he could probably destroy human civilization on his own.

Ryan couldn't allow him to do so.

A shadow emerged from the blinding light, chasing after the courier and quickly gained ground on him. The sheer power and speed of Augustus' flight caused a small tornado to form beneath his feet, and no black sphere impeded the living statue anymore.

Ryan hastily turned around to face his nemesis, flying with both fists raised before him. Augustus answered the challenge by smiting the courier with a torrent of bloody lightning.

Instead of dodging, Ryan flew straight through the thunderstorm, pushing his power armor's resistance to the limit. The Saturn Armor stockpiled the lightning in an internal battery, but the sheer voltage strained it. Still, it allowed the courier to emerge from the lightning right in front of a surprised Augustus.

Ryan froze time, and punched Lightning Butt in the left cheek.

Black particles surged around the courier's fingers, swallowing his hand in darkness. In this punch, Ryan poured all his memories of watching Bliss victims wasting away, of finding Narcinia in a cage, of Augustus striking Hargraves while the world came to an end, of Mars trying to murder his own son, of Pluto successfully killing Fortuna, of all the hideous crimes he had seen take place under Mob Zeus's orders across his adventures in New Rome.

Ryan’s hand hit Lightning Butt with so much strength, so much weight behind it, that the blow reverberated across the Saturn Armor. For a brief moment, the time-traveler worried that his power hadn't grown strong enough to inflict substantial damage, that all his efforts had been for naught in the end.

And then the split appeared.

The left side of Augustus' face cracked around the impact, a red light glowing from inside the tiny rifts spreading across his cheek, his lips, and his forehead. The blow sent the god wannabe falling down, but he quickly regained control of his flight.

Yet instead of engaging Ryan again in melee, Augustus hovered in place as time resumed, looking up at the armored time-traveler flying above his head with surprise… and a hint of fear.

Their positions from the battle's start had reversed.

"You wounded me," Augustus said, half shocked, half angry.

"Really?" the courier replied, freezing time again and closing the gap between them. "Let's check!"

And Ryan punched Augustus again!

Lightning Butt tried to dodge, but his own reflexes worked against him. For years he had felt secure in his invulnerability, letting his foes break their hands against his metal skin as a show of strength. His survival instinct was fighting his arrogance, and Ryan’s hand struck before this internal battle could resolve.

This time, the courier aimed for the right side of the head, and witnessed more cracks appear. The electrical halo around Augustus briefly shorted out, revealing the old man underneath the luster of power. Red lines spread across his ivory visage, like a damaged statue. His haughty, arrogant expression had turned into a wince of pain. Ryan couldn't help but feel a deep sense of satisfaction at the sight.

“Remember,” the courier said, “you are mortal.”

Time resumed, and Augustus struck back with a bestial snarl.

His first blow hit Ryan's chest with enough strength to bend the reinforced metal, and the second sent the courier falling down to Earth at the speed of a cannonball. Ryan regained control of his flight after crashing through a cumulonimbus, floating above the vast blue expanse of the Mediterranean Sea. Instead of engaging his foe again, he fled west as fast as he could.

Augustus immediately pursued the time-traveler with feverish zeal, his fear replaced with murderous desperation. He couldn't let anyone capable of harming him live to fight another day.

Ryan checked his location, and opened a long-distance channel. Both he and Augustus flew so close to the water, and so swiftly, that the sea seemed to split in half below them. "Simon, where are you?"

"We evacuated as you asked, p'tit rital," his friend's voice answered while the courier dived to the left to dodge a crimson thunderbolt. Unfortunately, the lightning changed course and homed on to the time-traveler, though the armor absorbed it all the same.

"How far?" Ryan asked, as the Monegasque coast came within view.

"Really far. Why?"

"Because you might need to redraw the maps—"

Ryan choked as Augustus caught up with him with a roar. Both Genomes soon started manhandling each other above the empty but illuminated streets of Monaco, the sun was all but gone from the sky. A golden glow surrounded the courier, as the Saturn Armor's Yellow defenses struggled against the cursed city's insidious grasp.

"So you were the source of these anomalies," Augustus said, before closing his hands around Ryan's armored neck and squeezing. The mob boss' eyes burnt with savage hatred, the glowing red splits across his face making him look like a demon from Hell. The outside finally matched the inside. "Good. I had hoped to kill you for a very, very long time."

"Sorry, I'm not into that sort of foreplay." Ryan activated his power and struck Augustus at his arms' joints by surprise, making the electric maniac release his hold on him. Mob Zeus attempted to punch him in the time anomaly, but the courier swiftly drew upon decades of judo practice, grabbed his foe’s arm, and tossed the ivory man towards the city.

Augustus crashed into the ruins of the Monte-Carlo casino with a devastating crash, collapsing its roof as time resumed.

Ryan immediately retreated outside of Monaco's airspace, and delighted upon seeing Augustus disappear in a bright flash of violet light. The golden glow around the Saturn Armor vanished as soon as he crossed the Monegasque border and the fortifications Simon had set around the city.

The courier considered delaying his save until after he slept and confirmed he wouldn't wake up in Monaco, before remembering he couldn't.

Still, Ryan let out a sigh and took a moment to observe Monaco as he gathered his breath. He had worried that Augustus would prove immune to that too, but thankfully, even an invulnerable man couldn't escape this cursed city's grasp. The time-traveler didn't wish an eternity fighting clowns on anyone, but Lightning Butt had more than earned it.

Ryan prepared to call Livia to announce the news, when his armor's sensors noticed an anomaly.

An electromagnetic spike?

A flash of violet light erupted at Monaco's border, and a furious Augustus materialized barely ten meters away from Ryan.

The startled courier froze in place for a split second and instinctively halted the march of time. But Lightning Butt didn't slow down and tackled his foe, both of them flying towards the hills overlooking Monaco.

What? How? Did Augustus' invulnerability grant him immunity to Monaco's grasp?

No, something far simpler had happened.

Monaco had let Augustus go, either out of terror... or most probably, out of sheer spite.

The evil pocket dimension would rather screw Ryan over one last time than have a new prisoner!

The two enemies’ flight ended at the Tête-de-chien promontory where the courier's adventure in Monaco first began. Augustus smashed Ryan's head against the pavement with enough strength to crack the helmet's lenses, and the courier’s vision briefly blurred. A drop of blood fell down his forehead, while his last reserves of Green Flux coursed through his veins and restored his vision.

Augustus' shadow towered over Ryan as he struggled to stand back on his feet. "Here is where you belong," Mob Zeus said while lifting his right foot like an executioner’s axe. "Under my heel!"

Ryan hastily rolled aside before Lightning Butt could stomp his head like a watermelon, and jumped back on his feet. Augustus’ heel shattered the pavement in a devastating strike, digging a small crater.

"And here's the hand you deserve!" Ryan replied before freezing time. He swiftly backhanded the mob boss before he could adjust his position, his Black Flux-infused fist hitting the Genome supremacist in the face.

The blow sent a tooth flying and the mob boss stumbling. Lightning Butt quickly regained his footing, and touched his chin as if expecting to bleed. When time resumed, neither enemy took flight.

Instead, they faced each other on the promontory, their feet firmly anchored to the ground. Augustus didn't attempt to zap Ryan again, perhaps expecting the courier's armor to absorb his lightning.

Or perhaps the lightning lord would rather beat the time-traveler within an inch of his life with his bare hands, to better feel his bones breaking beneath his fingers.

"You fight better than most, but your efforts are for naught," Augustus said before taking a step forward. From the height of his two meters, the ivory man towered above his rival like Mount Everest above all other mountains. "There can only be one master of the world."

"You think that's what I'm fighting you for?" Ryan sneered, before doing some boxing footwork. "The world?"

"What else?"

"Because I want to be happy." Ryan froze time, right as Augustus raised his right fist. "Because I want to make a great many people happy, and you're a threat to their well-being."

Lightning Butt lunged at him with a jaguar’s speed, but Ryan lowered his head to dodge his deadly punch and retaliated with an uppercut. The blow, shrouded in Black Flux, would have shattered a normal human's head. It only caused more cracks to appear on Lightning Butt's chin, and the shadows around the courier's hands dispelled when time resumed.

"Make people happy?" Augustus didn't even appear capable of fathoming the notion. "The likes of us stand above lesser men. They exist to serve us; we don't exist to serve them. It is our will that decides what is right from wrong. It is our destiny, our divine right, to remake the world as we wish."

The ivory man tried to strike Ryan while he waited for his countdown to end with a haymaker, but the courier swiftly dodged this blow too.

"Make people happy? You sound like Hargraves." Augustus sneered in disgust. "Such weaklings are not meant to live."

"Yet I made Livia happy," Ryan replied, as he counted from nine to ten. "While you only ever brought her pain and sorrow!"

The mention of his daughter hurt Augustus more than the punches ever did. "You dare mention her name?!"

"She didn't warn you about me because she knows it too!" Ryan froze time, Black Flux swirling around his fingers. "That you're an irredeemable piece of shit! Even if she still loves you, she understands that you've got to go!"

"It doesn't matter," Augustus replied, lying to himself. "Once you're out of the picture, I will make everything right."

Ryan punched Lightning Butt in the chest, making him snarl as a new crack spread over his torso.

The vicious brawl continued for minutes, perhaps hours; the universe turned violet, then returned to normal, then switched back to violet again in an endless cycle. The two duelists stepped down the hill's steep slope, one punch at a time, with only the stars for witnesses.

Augustus was faster than Adam, and stronger than Wyvern. Though he was no martial art expert, he had far more experience with hand-to-hand fighting than Fallout. Lightning Butt’s style was rough and direct, almost robotic, but nonetheless effective. His body didn't feel fatigue, and each of his blows carried as much strength as the first.

But he lacked something priceless, an edge that allowed Ryan to dominate him.

Experience.

When Augustus raised his fist, Ryan didn't see the Genome suprematist he had grown to despise. He saw the boxers, judo masters, Psychos, ninjas, clowns, ninja clowns, gangsters, petty tyrants, and heroes that he had bested across the years. He saw all the people he had fought in close combat over more than eight centuries of main quests, side-quests, random encounters, optional boss battles, and adventures across Europe. Ryan’s body reacted on its own, drawing upon decades spent perfecting boxing, Krav Maga, Judo, Jiu-Jitsu, street fighting, and all martial arts known to man.

Augustus might have been over seventy, but he was the child among the two fighters.

By now, the mob boss' entire body had begun to resemble the moon's landscape, craters and rifts spread over a white wasteland. He tried to dodge and to parry Ryan’s blows sometimes, but his own reflexes worked against him. Having never needed to dodge an attack or protect himself in over twenty years, Augustus had developed an overaggressive fighting style, all relentless attacks with little focus on defense.

It would have been enough to overwhelm almost anyone, but Ryan’s reflexes had been honed to perfection over centuries. The courier focused on dodging the enemy strikes, and counterattacking whenever an opening presented itself.

The damage he inflicted wasn't only cosmetic. Augustus' expression had long twisted into one of permanent pain, though rage was one hell of an anesthetic.

"Now you look like a real statue," Ryan taunted him, even as his armor sent alarms. The Black Flux was damaging the gauntlets as much as the repeated strikes against Augustus’ indestructible body, slowly consuming the steel.

He had to bring an end to the battle quickly.

Augustus seethed with pain and rage, his movements growing wilder, unfocused, desperate. When his punches missed Ryan and hit Monaco’s hills, the very ground trembled before his might. His lips uttered a single word. "Why?"

"Why are you losing?" Ryan froze time and punched Lightning Butt in the face again. This time a bit of his stone lips flew alongside a tooth. "Because for all your might, your fists only carry the strength of your arrogance behind them. While mine carry the weight of centuries, and the hopes of thousands."

Even this armor was the work of dozens of people, who each gave their knowledge, their work, their very lifeforce to make this wonder possible. From Len to Jasmine, from Felix to Livia, all of them contributed. Their strength coursed through these circuits.

And now, Ryan raised his hand to deliver the coup-de-grâce.

Instead of taking it, Augustus blasted the ground with lightning, blowing dust in all directions. Ryan's fists hit only smoke as time resumed.

When the cloud dissipated, Lightning Butt had taken flight and loomed over the courier.

"Your power works through your hands, and only within that temporal anomaly of yours," Augustus said, a crimson electrical current coursing through his cracked skin. "Your other weapons are useless against me."

He zapped Ryan with a torrent of crimson lightning. The Saturn Armor absorbed it, but when Ryan activated his jetpack to catch Augustus, the warlord denied him the privilege of another brawl. Lightning Butt bravely ran circles around his foe, bombarding him with shock and thunder.

"Running away, are we now?" Ryan taunted the mob boss as he chased after him. "Puny god."

Augustus answered with another lightning bolt. Unwilling to overcharge the armor's limited stockpile capacity, the courier dodged to the side, but like before the thunderbolt acted like a homing missile and hit him at lightspeed. 'Warning, remaining capacity at half-percent!' the armor warned after absorbing the electricity into itself.

Ryan realized dodging had been a mistake, as a twisted smile flashed across Augustus' cracked face.

Now he knew the Saturn Armor’s endurance wasn’t limitless.

The two engaged in a deadly course and pursuit over the French Côte d'Azur. Once a coastal and sunny paradise, the Genome Wars had left only ruins, muddy sand, and wild forests growing over both. They danced and waltzed, but only ever exchanged thunderbolts.

If it had been a hand-to-hand fight, Ryan might have prevailed, but Mob Zeus refused to let the courier get any closer than ten meters. Since he flew even faster than the time-traveler and resisted his Violet power, there was little Ryan could do to close the gap. He attempted his usual tricks, blowing up dust from the ground or trying to make Augustus lose sight of him to spring an ambush.

It was all for naught. When Ryan feigned retreat, Augustus gave pursuit only to back down whenever the courier turned around. When Ryan tried to hide behind a hill or a tree, the lightning always struck him from an unexpected direction. Mob Zeus could detect electrons, so he didn't need to see Ryan to hit him.

The mob boss harassed Ryan with a loan shark’s relentlessness, never giving him any moment to breathe.

"I BLEEPED your daughter!" Ryan shouted, trying to infuriate the madman and make him drop his guard. "And your sister too! Look, a wild Hargraves!"

But neither truth nor lie disturbed Augustus' focus. Unlike Bacchus, he didn't let emotions interfere with his goal. Lightning Butt was brutal, but not stupid.

The only thing on his mind was his foe’s death, and nothing else mattered.

In desperation, Ryan froze time, and attempted to unleash a shockwave while his gauntlets were wreathed in Black Flux. He hoped, prayed, that some of the dark particles would travel with the blast and damage his foe.

Instead, his gauntlets shorted out, Black Flux seeping out of the damaged circuitry instead of a shockwave. Worse, Ryan's fingers hurt beneath the steel, the darkness threatening to consume them too.

'Warning: system overload!' The Saturn Armor alarmed Ryan, before the latest thunderbolt caused the sensors to short out.

With little alternative, Ryan tried to activate his intercom and call for help. "Leo? Sunshine?"

But only thunder and static answered.

The sheer electromagnetic activity screwed with his communicators!

And what was bound to happen, happened.

Augustus zapped Ryan again, and this time, the armor failed to absorb the lightning. The Flux batteries melted inside the steel armor, and the jetpack exploded in Ryan's back. The whole armor failed, and the courier crash landed on some forgotten French beach.

His battered, crippled armor hit a hard bed of sand, dust creeping inside the servos. The helmet's lenses shattered, some shards making their way into Ryan's left eye. The courier had to bite his own tongue to swallow a scream, as half his vision turned red.

Get up, he thought furiously, I have to get up.

But the strike had damaged the armor's servos, and while it had been as light as a feather, the Saturn suit now seemed to weigh tons. Ryan could barely roll to his left side, blood dripping from his broken helmet, his right eye glancing up at his own death.

"This ends here," Augustus said, flying above his foe with the arrogant fury of a wounded god. "The lightning does not care for kings or commoners, for good and evil. When lightning falls, it strikes indiscriminately... and all mortals bow to it."

"Don't you know?" Ryan replied spitefully, his fists clenching. "I'm immortal."

"Nothing lives forever. You least of all."

Augustus' shroud of lightning grew more intense, as he gathered more power into himself. Scraps of his skin peeled off and fell into the sea, revealing the adamantine flesh and pulsating lightning veins underneath. He would gather enough energy to power all of New Rome for a year, and vaporize Ryan with it.

Centuries of training, two dozen runs spent preparing, billions of euros worth of resources gathered...

And it still wasn't enough!

It can't end like this, Ryan thought, his hopes faltering. If he couldn't go back in time again, he wouldn't have a do-over. Augustus would kill him, and then follow through with everyone in New Rome. This is... this isn't a happy ending.

"I am a god," Augustus said, his light as blinding as the sun. "You are just a human being."

Ryan's guardian angel woke up.

Its white, furred form crawled out of the broken backpack and the damaged armor. It hopped on the sand in front of Ryan's face, and looked at the courier with big, sad blue eyes.

The same sorrowful look it had while in the bunker.

"No," Ryan pleaded.

"I will always be your friend," the Plushie replied, its pre-recorded voice morphing into another, alien one.

Then it bravely jumped at Augustus, claws out and firing lasers from its eyes.

Even the Plushie's weaponry paled before Augustus' light, as the false god struck down the beach with his thunderbolt. The crimson lightning fell down with enough power to vaporize a city block, turning the night sky red.

It never reached Ryan.

Instead, the Plushie took the hit, its mechanical body disintegrating from the sheer heat and voltage. The toy had barely leapt off a meter above the courier, but the lightning focused into a single point, a violet tear in the very fabric of space and time. A thumb-sized looking glass peering through other realities.

A portal.

Much like Ryan's time anomaly, Plushie had always existed between two universes. It was a gate.

And Ryan was the key.

Suddenly, all fell into place. Loops of subtle nudging, of not-so-random coincidences and careful preparations, forming a chain of cause and effects.

All to leave that door open at the right time.

Using the last of his strength, the courier forced himself to his knees, froze time, and grabbed the portal with his bare hands. Violet and black particles swirled around his fingers in a deadly dance of light and darkness, consuming Augustus' divine lightning. Space itself bent and broke, as the time-traveler forced the gate open. Otherworldly, alien energies seeped into Earth's reality like blood pouring out of a wound.

From the size of a thumb, the portal's size increased to two meters in diameter... and so did its appetite. Sand, seawater, and air all floated into the rift, unable to resist its pull.

Augustus' eyes widened in surprise, and he attempted to fly away. But the rift consumed the air beneath his feet and made the living statue fall down into this violet hole. As Mob Zeus entered his reach Ryan grabbed him by the ankle, the adamantine flesh feeling as soft as butter between his blackened fingers.

The time-traveler dragged his nemesis into the otherworldly abyss as the gate closed behind them. The stream of Violet Flux intensified and swallowed them whole.

The two Genomes had entered the Purple World.

自从第一次踏入新罗马的那一刻起，瑞恩内心深处就一直明白，事情终究会走到这一步。

他试过避开这一战，绕着它打转，将它拖延，用计谋化解，可他始终逃不过。到头来，他能做的只有站稳脚跟，迎战。

他也正是这么做的。

一道威力惊人的猩红闪电击中他的胸膛，电流随即被装甲内部的电路导走。这一击本足以把人活活电焦，却就这样无害地消散，令那位伪神大失所望。趁奥古斯都短暂愣神，瑞恩立刻启动胸口的重力枪，将一颗黑色球体径直射向敌人的腹部。

奥古斯都迅速抬起左手，像接网球一样接住炮弹，随即便发现自己着了道。黑球推着他向后、向上，一路冲向更高的天空。瑞恩紧追不舍，两名死敌一同越过云层，开始了凶险的攀升。

“迪纳米斯。”奥古斯都认出了这项技术，咬紧牙关，眼中怒火熊熊。“我就知道。”

他试图用双手捏碎黑球。球体表面在铁钳般的指掌间变形、开裂，却依然撑着。两人不断攀升，瑞恩则计算着角度。天空的蔚蓝渐渐被黑暗取代，臭氧层外的群星显露出来，脚下新罗马的海湾看上去已经不比池塘大多少。信使不禁琢磨，从这个高度能不能看见食尸鬼的火箭。

他本指望奥古斯都也追随那名亡灵与阿尔方斯·马纳达，踏上星际流放之路，可这个希望很快便破灭了。

“看吧！”黑帮宙斯高喊着，周身的电光变得无比明亮，无比耀眼。若不是有头盔镜片保护，瑞恩的双眼早已被灼伤。“至高无上的胜利之雷！让岛屿沉没、城堡化为尘埃、原子分崩离析的绝对力量！”

装甲发出电磁活动异常的警报，瑞恩立刻后撤，向西飞逃。奥古斯都在他头顶化作一颗燃烧的星辰，随后轰然爆发，迸出灾难般的光芒。

猩红等离子体仿佛一颗燃烧的超新星，点燃了大气，爆炸的威力足以媲美瑞恩自己的原子弹。火墙在天空中炸开，化作不断扩张的球形能量波，湮灭沿途的一切。猩红雷电向四面八方奔涌，把漆黑的太空染成血红。狂暴的热浪将空气烤得滚烫，激起一股炽烈气流，比飓风更强，比声音更快。

瑞恩暂停了时间。奥古斯都的猩红闪电在凝固的时间中依然有效，但那股被推开的、过热的巨大气浪停了下来。信使将全部动力注入喷气背包，突破音障，抢在火球前方逃离。尽管他避过了爆炸最猛烈的部分，装甲外的羊绒斗篷还是付之一炬，高温也令装甲表面的漆层剥落。

火球如今已绵延数公里，冲击波却终于减弱、消散。瑞恩回头望去，一轮濒死的猩红太阳占满了头顶的天空。

这就是奥古斯都的红色灵药赋予他操纵闪电之力的原因吗？因为他将闪电与神性、权力联系在了一起？至于那支橙色灵药，瑞恩猜，它把黑帮宙斯那种无人能伤的自我感觉变成了令人不安的现实。更糟的是，这次灾难性的爆发证实了信使长久以来的一个猜测。

奥古斯都制造闪电的能力，没有上限。

没错，闪电屁股要制造比一道雷电更强的攻击，需要一点时间，可他能释放出足以引发核爆炸的能量与热量。说不定，他甚至能够操纵电子，以某种方式裂解原子。

难怪黑帮宙斯能让马耳他沉没。若是任由他放手施为，他大概真能凭一己之力摧毁人类文明。

瑞恩不能容许这种事发生。

一道黑影从刺眼的光芒中冲出，追向信使，迅速拉近了距离。奥古斯都飞行的力量与速度如此惊人，脚下甚至形成了一股小型龙卷风。而那颗黑球已不再束缚这尊活雕像。

瑞恩匆忙转身，面朝宿敌，双拳举在身前继续飞行。奥古斯都以一道血色雷电洪流回应挑战，劈向信使。

瑞恩没有躲闪，而是一头冲进雷暴，将动力装甲的承受力逼到极限。萨图恩装甲把雷电储进内部电池，可惊人的电压依然令系统不堪重负。尽管如此，它终究还是让信使穿过了雷霆，出现在满脸惊愕的奥古斯都面前。

瑞恩暂停时间，一拳砸中闪电屁股的左脸。

黑色粒子在信使指间涌起，将他的手吞没在黑暗中。瑞恩把所有记忆都灌进了这一拳：那些被极乐折磨得日渐衰败的人，笼子里的纳尔西妮娅，世界末日之际奥古斯都向哈格雷夫斯挥下的攻击，企图杀死亲生儿子的玛尔斯，真的杀死了福尔图娜的普鲁托，以及他在新罗马历次冒险中亲眼见过的、奉黑帮宙斯之命犯下的种种骇人罪行。

瑞恩这一拳打在闪电屁股身上，力量如此之大，分量如此之重，震动传遍了整套萨图恩装甲。有那么短短一瞬，时间旅行者不禁担心，自己的力量还不够强，无法造成实质性的伤害，到头来所有努力依旧付诸东流。

接着，裂痕出现了。

奥古斯都的左脸以拳头落点为中心裂开，细小的裂缝向脸颊、嘴唇和额头蔓延，缝隙深处透出红光。这一拳将这个妄图成神的家伙打落下去，但他很快便重新稳住了飞行。

可时间恢复流动后，奥古斯都没有再冲上来与瑞恩近身搏斗，而是悬停原地，仰望着飞在头顶、身披装甲的时间旅行者，神情惊愕……还有一丝恐惧。

两人在开战时的位置，颠倒了过来。

“你伤了我。”奥古斯都说道，既震惊，又愤怒。

“是吗？”信使再次暂停时间，逼近对方。“那就确认一下！”

瑞恩又给了奥古斯都一拳！

闪电屁股试着躲闪，可他自己的本能反应却成了阻碍。多年来，他笃信自己刀枪不入，任由敌人在他的金属皮肤上砸断双手，以此彰显力量。他的求生本能与傲慢相互厮杀，而在这场内战分出胜负之前，瑞恩的拳头就到了。

这一次，信使瞄准的是头部右侧，更多裂痕随之出现。环绕奥古斯都的电光短暂熄灭，露出了力量光辉之下的那个老人。他象牙色的脸上爬满红线，宛如一尊受损的雕像，原本高高在上、不可一世的神情已变成痛苦的抽搐。看到这一幕，瑞恩不禁感到一种深深的快意。

“记住，”信使说道，“你也是凡人。”

时间恢复流动，奥古斯都发出野兽般的咆哮，展开反击。

他的第一拳击中瑞恩胸口，力量之大，连强化金属都被打弯；第二拳则将信使如炮弹般轰向地面。瑞恩撞穿一团积雨云后才重新控制住飞行，悬在地中海浩瀚的蓝色海面上。他没有再次迎敌，而是以最快的速度向西逃去。

奥古斯都立刻狂热地追了上来，恐惧已被不顾一切的杀意取代。任何能伤到他的人，他都不能放任对方活过今天，来日再战。

瑞恩确认了自己的位置，接通远程频道。他与奥古斯都几乎贴着水面疾飞，速度快得像是把下方的大海劈成了两半。“西蒙，你在哪儿？”

“按你说的，我们已经撤了，小意大利佬。”朋友的声音传来，信使同时向左侧俯冲，躲避一道猩红雷电。不幸的是，闪电转了个弯，追踪着时间旅行者而来，不过最终还是被装甲吸收了。

“撤出多远了？”瑞恩问道，摩纳哥的海岸已进入视野。

“很远。怎么了？”

“因为你们可能得重画地图——”

奥古斯都怒吼着追上来，瑞恩顿时气息一窒。两名基因者很快就在摩纳哥空无一人、却灯火通明的街道上空扭打起来，太阳几乎已经彻底消失在天际。金色光芒笼罩住信使，萨图恩装甲的黄色防御系统艰难地抵抗着这座诅咒之城悄然探来的魔爪。

“原来那些异常都是你造成的。”奥古斯都说着，双手合拢，死死掐住瑞恩裹在装甲里的脖子。黑帮头目的眼中燃烧着凶残的仇恨，面部裂痕透出的红光令他看上去宛如地狱恶魔。如今他的外表终于配得上他的内心了。“很好。我想杀你，已经想了很久、很久。”

“抱歉，我不喜欢这种前戏。”瑞恩发动能力，出其不意地击打奥古斯都的臂部关节，迫使这个电光疯子松手。黑帮宙斯试图在时间异常中挥拳还击，信使却迅速使出苦练数十年的柔道功夫，抓住敌人的手臂，将这具象牙色的身躯甩向城市。

奥古斯都轰然砸进蒙特卡洛赌场的废墟，时间恢复流动的同时，屋顶也随之坍塌。

瑞恩立即退出摩纳哥领空，欣喜地看着奥古斯都消失在一道明亮的紫光中。他刚越过摩纳哥边境与西蒙在城外修筑的防御工事，环绕萨图恩装甲的金光就消失了。

信使盘算着，还是等睡一觉，确认自己不会在摩纳哥醒来，再存档为好，随后才想起自己根本没法存档。

不过，瑞恩还是长舒了一口气，一边平复呼吸，一边观察了片刻摩纳哥。他原本担心奥古斯都连这一招也能免疫，所幸，即便刀枪不入，也逃不出这座诅咒之城的掌心。时间旅行者不希望任何人永世与小丑搏斗，但闪电屁股落到这个下场，绝对是罪有应得。

瑞恩正准备呼叫莉维娅，告诉她这个消息，装甲的传感器却捕捉到了异常。

电磁活动骤增？

摩纳哥边境上迸出一道紫光，暴怒的奥古斯都凭空出现，距离瑞恩不过十米。

信使惊得僵住了一瞬，本能地暂停了时间。可闪电屁股丝毫没有减速，猛地撞上敌人，两人一同飞向俯瞰摩纳哥的山丘。

什么？怎么回事？奥古斯都那刀枪不入的能力，难道让他连摩纳哥的束缚也能免疫？

不，事情其实简单得多。

摩纳哥放走了奥古斯都，或许是出于恐惧……但更有可能，纯粹是恶意使然。

那个邪恶的口袋维度宁可不要新囚徒，也非要再坑瑞恩最后一把！

两名死敌最终落在狗头岬——信使的摩纳哥冒险最初开始的地方。奥古斯都将瑞恩的头狠狠砸向路面，力道大得连头盔镜片都裂了，信使眼前短暂地一片模糊。一滴血从额头滑落，最后一点绿色通量储备在他血管中流过，恢复了他的视力。

瑞恩挣扎着想站起来，奥古斯都的阴影高高压在他身上。“这才是你该待的地方。”黑帮宙斯抬起右脚，宛如扬起刽子手的巨斧。“我的脚下！”

瑞恩赶在闪电屁股把自己的脑袋像西瓜一样踩碎之前，匆忙翻滚到一旁，一跃而起。奥古斯都的脚跟以摧枯拉朽之势踏碎路面，踩出一个小坑。

“而这才是你该挨的拳头！”瑞恩说完便暂停了时间。趁黑帮头目还没来得及调整姿势，他迅速反手一击，灌注着黑色通量的拳头砸中了这个基因者至上主义者的脸。

一颗牙被打飞，黑帮头目踉跄后退。闪电屁股很快站稳，摸了摸下巴，仿佛以为自己会流血。时间恢复流动时，两名敌人谁也没有飞起来。

他们脚踏实地，站在岬角上彼此对峙。奥古斯都没有再试着电击瑞恩，或许是料定信使的装甲会吸收他的雷电。

也或许，这位雷电之主更愿意徒手将时间旅行者打到奄奄一息，好仔细体会他的骨头在自己指间碎裂的感觉。

“你比大多数人都能打，但你的努力毫无意义。”奥古斯都说着，上前一步。象牙色的男人身高两米，在对手面前巍然耸立，宛如珠穆朗玛峰俯瞰群山。“世界只能有一个主人。”

“你以为我跟你打，是为了这个？”瑞恩冷笑着，脚下踩起拳击步伐。“为了世界？”

“不然呢？”

“因为我想过得幸福。”就在奥古斯都举起右拳的瞬间，瑞恩暂停了时间。“因为我想让许许多多人都过得幸福，而你威胁着他们的安宁。”

闪电屁股以美洲豹般的速度扑向他，瑞恩却低头躲过致命一拳，随即还以一记上勾拳。这一击笼罩着黑色通量，足以打碎普通人的脑袋，却只在闪电屁股的下巴上添了更多裂痕。时间恢复流动时，信使双手周围的阴影也消散了。

“让人幸福？”奥古斯都似乎根本无法理解这个念头。“你我这样的人，凌驾于那些低等人之上。他们活着是为我们效劳，而不是我们为他们效劳。是非对错，由我们的意志决定。按照自己的心意重塑世界，是我们的命运，是我们与生俱来的神权。”

趁瑞恩等待倒计时结束，象牙色的男人猛地挥出一记大摆拳，试图击中他，可信使又敏捷地躲过了这一击。

“让人幸福？你这话听着和哈格雷夫斯一个样。”奥古斯都厌恶地冷笑。“那种弱者不配活着。”

“可我让莉维娅幸福了。”瑞恩答道，心中从九数到十。“而你带给她的，永远只有痛苦和悲伤！”

女儿的名字给奥古斯都带来的伤害，比任何拳头都深。“你也敢提她的名字？！”

“她没有提醒你提防我，因为她也明白！”瑞恩暂停了时间，黑色通量在他指间盘旋。“你就是个无可救药的人渣！就算她还爱着你，她也明白，你非倒台不可！”

“那不重要。”奥古斯都自欺欺人地回答。“等除掉你，一切都会被我纠正过来。”

瑞恩一拳砸中闪电屁股的胸膛，新的裂痕在躯干上蔓延，打得他发出怒吼。

这场凶狠的厮打持续了几分钟，也可能是几小时；宇宙变成紫色，恢复正常，再次变成紫色，无休无止地交替。两名决斗者一拳接着一拳，沿着陡峭的山坡一路打了下去，唯有星辰见证着这一切。

奥古斯都比亚当更快，比双足飞龙更强。他虽算不上武术高手，近身搏斗的经验却远比辐尘丰富。闪电屁股的打法粗暴直接，近乎机械，却仍然有效。他的身体不会疲惫，每一拳的力量都与第一拳同样凶猛。

可他缺少一样无价之宝，一样让瑞恩足以压制他的优势。

经验。

当奥古斯都举起拳头，瑞恩眼前的并不是那个令他日益鄙夷的基因者至上主义者。他看到的是自己多年来击败过的拳击手、柔道大师、疯魔、忍者、小丑、忍者小丑、黑帮分子、小暴君和英雄。八个多世纪以来，他走遍欧洲，在主线任务、支线任务、随机遭遇、可选头目战与种种冒险中近身交手的所有人，都在这一刻浮现。他的身体自行作出反应，调动着数十年苦练的成果：拳击、马伽术、柔道、柔术、街头格斗，以及人类已知的一切武术。

奥古斯都或许已经年过七十，但两名战士之中，他才是那个孩子。

此时，黑帮头目的全身已经开始像月球表面，白色荒原上遍布坑洞与裂谷。他偶尔也会试着躲避、格挡瑞恩的拳头，可自己的本能反应仍在与他作对。二十多年来，他从未需要躲闪攻击或保护自己，因此养成了过分激进的战斗风格，只顾一味猛攻，极少考虑防守。

这足以压倒几乎任何人，可瑞恩的反应能力经过数百年锤炼，已臻完美。信使专心躲避敌人的攻击，每逢破绽出现，便立即反击。

他造成的伤害绝不只是难看而已。奥古斯都的表情早已扭曲，凝成一副永不消退的痛苦面容——尽管怒火这东西，确实是他妈的一剂强效麻药。

“现在你倒真像尊雕像了。”瑞恩出言嘲弄，装甲却在此刻发出警报。黑色通量正缓缓吞噬钢铁，对手甲的损伤丝毫不亚于反复重击奥古斯都那坚不可摧的身体。

他必须尽快结束战斗。

奥古斯都被痛苦与怒火煎熬着，动作越发狂乱、失了准头，也越发不顾一切。他的拳头落空，砸在摩纳哥的山坡上，连大地都在那股巨力下颤抖。他嘴里只吐出一句话。“为什么？”

“为什么你会输？”瑞恩暂停时间，又一拳砸在闪电屁股脸上。这一次，一小块石质嘴唇和一颗牙齿一同飞了出去。“因为不管你有多大力量，支撑你拳头的都只有你的傲慢。而我的拳头里，是数百年的分量，是成千上万人的希望。”

就连这套装甲，也是数十人的心血结晶。每个人都献出了自己的知识、劳动，乃至生命力，才让这个奇迹得以成真。从蕾恩到贾丝敏，从菲利克斯到莉维娅，所有人都贡献了力量。他们的力量，正沿着这些电路奔流。

此刻，瑞恩举起手，准备打出终结的一击。

奥古斯都却没有硬接，而是用闪电轰击地面，激起漫天尘土。时间恢复流动，瑞恩的拳头只打中了烟尘。

等尘云散去，闪电屁股已经腾空而起，高踞信使上方。

“你的力量通过双手起作用，而且只在你的时间异常里有效。”奥古斯都说道，猩红电流沿着开裂的皮肤流动。“你的其他武器，对我毫无用处。”

他放出一道猩红雷电洪流，劈向瑞恩。萨图恩装甲吸收了电流，可当瑞恩启动喷气背包、试图追上奥古斯都时，这名军阀却拒绝再赏他一次近身搏斗的机会。闪电屁股勇敢地绕着敌人兜圈，以电光雷霆不断轰击。

“怎么，现在开始逃了？”瑞恩边追边嘲讽黑帮头目。“好弱的神。”

奥古斯都又劈下一道闪电作为回答。装甲的储能容量有限，信使不愿让它过载，便向一侧闪避，可那道雷电像之前一样，宛如追踪导弹，以光速击中了他。装甲吸收电流后，发出警告：“警告，剩余容量百分之零点五！”

奥古斯都开裂的脸上掠过一抹扭曲的笑容，瑞恩意识到，刚才躲那一下是个错误。

现在，奥古斯都知道萨图恩装甲的承受力并非没有极限了。

两人在法国蔚蓝海岸上空展开了致命的追逐。这里曾是阳光明媚的滨海天堂，基因者战争过后，却只剩废墟、泥泞的沙地，以及将二者一并淹没的荒林。他们翻飞盘旋，如同共舞，彼此交换的却只有雷电。

若是近身搏斗，瑞恩也许能赢，可黑帮宙斯绝不让信使靠近自己十米之内。他飞得比时间旅行者还快，又能抵抗紫色能力，瑞恩几乎没有办法缩短距离。他尝试了惯用的招数，轰起地面的尘土，或设法脱离奥古斯都的视线，好伺机偷袭。

全都徒劳无功。瑞恩佯装撤退，奥古斯都便追击，可每当信使转身，他就立刻后撤。瑞恩试图躲到山丘或树木后面，闪电总会从意想不到的方向击中他。黑帮宙斯能感知电子，所以即使看不见瑞恩，也照样打得中。

黑帮头目像高利贷债主一样穷追猛打，不给瑞恩片刻喘息之机。

“我哔——了你女儿！”瑞恩高喊着，想激怒这疯子，让他放松警惕。“还有你妹妹！看，一只野生的哈格雷夫斯！”

但无论真话还是谎话，都没有扰乱奥古斯都的专注。他和巴克斯不同，不会让情绪妨碍自己的目标。闪电屁股残暴，却不蠢。

他心中只剩一个念头：让敌人死。除此之外，什么都不重要。

走投无路之下，瑞恩暂停了时间，试着在手甲缠绕黑色通量时释放冲击波。他盼望着，祈祷着，能有一部分黑色粒子随冲击波飞出去，伤到敌人。

可手甲却短路了，受损的电路中没有放出冲击波，只有黑色通量向外渗出。更糟的是，钢铁下的手指也疼了起来，黑暗眼看就要把它们一并吞噬。

“警告：系统过载！”萨图恩装甲刚向瑞恩发出警报，最新的一道雷电便击中了他，令传感器短路失灵。

几乎已无计可施的瑞恩试着启动通讯器求援。“利奥？阳光？”

回答他的却只有雷鸣与杂音。

过于强烈的电磁活动干扰了通讯器！

于是，注定要发生的事，终究发生了。

奥古斯都再次电击瑞恩，这一次，装甲没能吸收闪电。通量电池在钢铁外壳中熔毁，喷气背包在瑞恩背后炸开。整套装甲彻底瘫痪，信使一头栽向法国某片被遗忘的海滩。

伤痕累累、动弹不得的装甲撞上坚硬的沙地，沙尘钻进伺服机构。头盔镜片碎裂，几块碎片扎进了瑞恩的左眼。信使不得不咬住自己的舌头，把惨叫咽回去，眼前半边世界化作一片血红。

起来。他在心中怒吼，我得站起来。

可刚才那一击损坏了装甲的伺服机构，先前轻若羽毛的萨图恩装甲如今仿佛重达数吨。瑞恩勉强向左翻了个身，血从破裂的头盔里滴落，右眼仰望着即将到来的死亡。

“到此为止了。”奥古斯都飞在敌人上方，带着一尊受伤神祇的傲慢与暴怒。“雷电不问王侯平民，不分善恶。雷霆降临，一视同仁……所有凡人，都要向它俯首。”

“你不知道吗？”瑞恩满怀怨恨地回敬，双拳攥紧。“我是不死的。”

“没有什么能永生。尤其是你。”

奥古斯都将更多力量聚集到体内，周身的雷电愈发炽烈。片片皮肤剥落，坠入海中，露出下方坚不可摧的血肉与闪电搏动的脉络。他要聚集足以供整个新罗马使用一年的能量，把瑞恩彻底汽化。

数百年的训练，整整二十四轮循环的准备，价值数十亿欧元的资源……

竟然还是不够！

不能就这样结束。瑞恩想着，希望开始动摇。如果他再也无法回到过去，就不会有重来的机会。奥古斯都会杀了他，再回去杀光新罗马的所有人。这……这不是一个幸福的结局。

“我是神。”奥古斯都说道，光芒如太阳般刺眼。“而你，不过是个人。”

瑞恩的守护天使醒了。

它那白色的毛茸茸身影，从破裂的背包和受损的装甲中爬了出来。它跳到瑞恩面前的沙地上，用那双又大又忧伤的蓝眼睛望着信使。

那眼神，和在地堡里时一样悲伤。

“不要。”瑞恩哀求道。

“我永远是你的朋友。”毛绒玩偶回答，预先录好的声音变成了另一种异样的、非人的声音。

随后，它勇敢地跃向奥古斯都，利爪伸出，眼中射出激光。

伪神向海滩降下雷霆，就连毛绒玩偶的武器也在奥古斯都的光芒前黯然失色。猩红闪电从天而降，威力足以将一个街区汽化，把夜空染成了血红。

它没能落到瑞恩身上。

毛绒玩偶替他承受了这一击，机械身体在惊人的高温与电压中灰飞烟灭。玩偶才刚跃到信使上方一米处，雷电便聚向一点——时空结构上，一道紫色的裂口。一面拇指大小、可以窥见其他现实的镜子。

一扇传送门。

就像瑞恩的时间异常一样，毛绒玩偶始终存在于两个宇宙之间。它是一道门。

而瑞恩，就是钥匙。

突然间，一切都串联起来。一次次循环中微妙的引导，不那么随机的巧合，以及精心的准备，环环相扣，组成了一条因果之链。

这一切，只为在恰当的时刻，让那扇门敞开。

信使用尽最后的力气，强迫自己撑起身，跪在地上，暂停时间，徒手抓住了传送门。紫色与黑色粒子在他指间旋转，光与暗共舞，凶险致命，吞噬着奥古斯都的神圣雷电。时间旅行者强行扯开大门，连空间本身也随之弯曲、破裂。异界的陌生能量渗入地球的现实，宛如鲜血从伤口中涌出。

传送门从拇指大小扩张到直径两米……胃口也随之增长。沙子、海水、空气，全都无法抵抗它的吸力，飘进裂隙。

奥古斯都惊得瞪大双眼，试图飞走。可裂隙吞掉了他脚下的空气，让这尊活雕像向紫色的空洞坠落。黑帮宙斯刚落到伸手可及之处，瑞恩便一把抓住他的脚踝。那坚不可摧的血肉，在他漆黑的指间柔软得如同黄油。

时间旅行者拖着宿敌坠入异界深渊，大门在他们身后闭合。紫色通量的洪流愈发汹涌，将两人彻底吞没。

两名基因者进入了紫色世界。