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An Odd Paradox I
🕑 Added 2022-07-13 14:44:04 +0000 UTC.................
Chapter 142: An Odd Paradox I
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It looked like a fissure in the very time and space, threatening to unleash something from its ominous gap, "Too calm for too long. This is the universe's calling, not mine. It's the universe's fault, not mine... So be it."
"..."
"..."
"?" The man stroked his chin in wonder, seeming a bit confused, "Is it?"
"Huh?" Ian turned around, eyeing the blonde man that has just appeared next to him with a bit of surprise, "Is it not?"
"What if it isn't?" The blonde man further wondered.
"Then it'd have to be." Ian shrugged, not too surprised at the man's appearance, Lucifer Morningstar.
"Ah, of course." Lucifer nodded with an amused smile before eyeing the dark blue fissure, forming cracks in space, "This is odd, very odd. Time is my friend, so I know a lot about it. However..."
"However?" Curiosity sparkled in Ian's eyes, knowing Lucifer is definitely more knowledgeable than him in this regard.
"However, I was never able to create something like this, nor did I ever come across such a thing despite walking along the river of time many times before..."
"And?" Ian swallowed in anticipation, curiosity killing him.
"The universe is breaking, slowly but surely, and I think the process will only accelerate from now on. Perhaps a few hundred years max before its end?"
Lucifer couldn't help but stare at Ian with an odd glint, "All because of you..."
"Hm? What's with that look? You're planning something, aren't you? Honestly, you don't have to plot behind my back, you can just use me however you like as long as a bit of charity is given."
Ian smiled, trying to remember things about this world. What could Lucifer possibly give him that's useful? Well, a lot of things. Lucifer however took things the wrong way.
"Use you?" Lucifer sized Ian up with an odd look, "I don't mind. That could be fun."
"Huh?"
"Hm?"
Ian's eyes sparkled with an orange flash for a second before it dawned on him, "Oh, I see... Bye."
"Hey! Wait..." Despite saying that, Lucifer didn't do much to stop Ian from teleporting away, he just let out a sigh, "Why so shy?"
His attention returned to the crack in space and time, "But this... What if?"
Today was certainly an ominous day for the world, and it's only getting worse by the day because Ian's first step after vanishing was to check up on Iris to make sure she's okay before amplifying the power of the curse.
Things outside of his expectations were happening, so he had to adapt. He could certainly tell the Flash how to fix the problem, but won't get all of the benefits that way.
Ian was in a hurry, so he acted fast. He was pretty sure he caused a paradox somehow, and despite Lucifer saying it would take hundreds of years for something to happen, Ian thinks otherwise.
What if another paradox came to be? This one happened due to two of the same person existing in close proximity to each other in the same space-time.
So who's to say that won't happen again? In fact, it was already happening, and Ian wasn't willing to stop it because it might just accelerate things to exactly where he wanted.
'It appears that Lucifer also wants the paradox to spread... But other beings shouldn't want that, right? Perhaps he is the one stopping anyone from interfering.'
Ian observed as Iris, Barry's girlfriend in his dream; started getting older and younger at the same time. Parts of her body were getting older at quite a fast rate while other parts, it was the opposite.
Amplifying the curse naturally made her aware of her change very fast, and she naturally went ahead and asked the Flash.
Her state by this point wasn't that bad. She just had an arm of wrinkles and another arm becoming like that of a baby.
It was a truly emotional moment for the duo as the Flash especially freaked out, knowing this might be his fault. He had talked with both Batmans, so he knows he was responsible for this.
Now he just needs to find the solution, and if the paradox spreading wasn't enough to push him to his full potential, then Iris's current state will certainly do.
Batman warned him that Ian might be planning something, but did he have any choice in this situation?
He caused this by going back in time to save his mother, so he had to solve it somehow.
"Hello, darling! You wouldn't believe what's happening! There are siuuuuuu blue things going crackkkk! It looks so cool but I can't break it... Do you happen to know how?"
Ian couldn't help but let out a small laugh, listening to Harley's coy voice, trying to seduce him into her usual schemes.
This one happened to include breaking a paradox, something Ian has absolutely no idea how to do.
"Well, how about we go to the beach and have some fun?"
"To the beach? No no, I must've misheard, you mean to the house pool right right?"
Ian could hear Harley rubbing her ears in befuddlement, bringing a strange look out of him, "Well... I kinda misspoke, I meant the ocean, and is it so rare for me to go out?"
"No no, it's not rare at all, you only leave the house about one time every three months!!! So boriiiiiing!!"
Ian hung up instantly in fear of an ear-splitting paradox getting born due to her voice, "Aghh, why so rude? But well..."
While he was here, he thought he might as well see if this timeline's people are more charitable than those of the previous, for research purposes only.
So he teleported directly to Harley, and she seemed to be waiting for him as she was in his arms in an instant, yelling, "Let's go!! We gonna hunt a Kraken right?"
"Huh? A Kraken?"
"I mean, we aren't actually not breaking anything on a vacation? That's not normal?"
Ian smile, holding her in his arms while eyeing her closely, "Perhaps we will... You stopped putting on your makeup?"
"No, I'm just changing it. I will make it better. The best makeup there ever was!" Harley giggled, getting lost in her imagination until she found the scenery has changed.
They were now hovering above the ocean, not far from them was an Island. Harley could see dozens of women walking around in ancient looking armors, quite the odd thing.
Most importantly, she could see someone familiar, and that someone also noticed them, "Wait, isn't that..."
"Yeah, it is, just not the same person." Ian's words came true almost instantly as he narrowly avoided a spear making its way to his head.
The one to attack was none other than Wonder Woman herself, Diana. She attacked with the intent to kill, assuming them to be enemies.
"Oh, so are we here to crush her? I'm down! God Bat is down too!" The God killer formed from a bracelet to a bat in Harley's hand, obediently showing itself as they landed before Diana.
"You're no Atlantean... Who are you?" Diana questioned, already approaching the due with a sword in her hand, a sword rivaling the God killer, Ian noted.
"So I'm basically from another timeline and someone there wanted me to retrieve a certain item either by peace or force... I think his name was Arthur or something? And he wants the Trident of Neptune.
He also wanted me to stop the current Atlantians from losing themselves too much for a certain price, so here I am, asking for a guide to their land..."
Ian eloquently introduced bits and pieces of his past and spoke the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth...
