"Owlman has passed the message to the Anti-Monitor, Master. The Anti-Monitor doesn't seem to trust you and hasn't fully agreed," Hera responded.
"It doesn't matter. How's his great quest to destroy the universe going? How many universes has he destroyed?"
"According to vibration frequency detection, over 752 positive and negative universes have been destroyed. The Anti-Life Equation in his possession has caused his power to grow without limit. He now possesses roughly one-thousandth the power of a quasi-unique god."
"Based on Owlman's observations, the Anti-Monitor seems to hold strong hostility toward Darkseid. It appears they've agreed to war."
Bardi sipped his black tea, eyebrows raising slightly. A grudge against Darkseid?
What kind of fight would that even be?
This wasn't a comic book. You couldn't just throw punches and call it a day.
Darkseid was the only being who existed in the Realm of the Gods. All the versions of Darkseid in the multiverse were merely his avatars.
In other words, the Anti-Monitor was fighting a clone?
Truthfully, if the Anti-Monitor destroys enough life across the universe, the Anti-Life Equation would become so powerful that he could attain the level of a quasi-unique god.
At that stage, just like in the comics, if all the universes were destroyed—especially the five most fundamental ones—he could gain power rivaling that of a quasi-unique god.
Such power would be the culmination of all energy gathered from across the multiverse. Even the One God would be overwhelmed by that force. Even the One God could be defeated by it.
A quasi-unique god, under such conditions, could surpass the One God's power and even defeat him.
However, the One God is an eternal, unique being. He can be defeated but never destroyed.
A quasi-unique god, by contrast, can still be killed when his power runs out.
So ultimately, Darkseid is invincible.
Bardi didn't understand. What was the Anti-Monitor even thinking challenging Darkseid?
Then Bardi asked curiously, "Where is the Darkseid of our universe?"
"Our universe does possess a Darkseid avatar. At the beginning of the universe's birth, Darkseid clashed with Highfather and defeated him, absorbing most of the divine will in this universe. However... the damage he sustained was so severe that he went into deep sleep, hiding somewhere to recover while projecting Apokolips remotely."
"Find him. I want to eat—see him."
Bardi put down his black tea, visibly intrigued.
Darkseid, after all, was the most famous tyrant in the cosmos.
Domineering and unmatched, even in the Realm of the Gods, he occupied the highest seat on Apokolips. He was the most tyrannical of all the One Gods.
The Realm of the Gods consisted of nine supreme domains, each grander than a universe:
Dream, Nightmare, Heaven, Hell, New Genesis, Apokolips, Celestial City, Underworld, and Limbo Hell.
Each of these realms was larger than any single universe in the multiverse. The life forms born within them were countless, impossible to quantify.
Among them, the only realm truly unified under one ruler was Apokolips, governed by the tyrant Darkseid.
Even his inherited incarnation of Apokolips was awe-inspiring.
Other domains, like the Celestial City, Hell, and the Underworld, lacked a singular supreme ruler. Power constantly changed hands through battles, chaos, and resurrection. Even the One Gods within them slept for eons, only to awaken and stir up new wars.
Even New Genesis wasn't unified under one person like Apokolips was.
In the Realm of the Gods, Darkseid was a force that could not be ignored.
This was one of the reasons Bardi had not yet entered the Realm of the Gods.
He needed to gain absolute control over his own universe, build tremendous power, and bring his universe—Barmulodi—into the divine realm to secure its place.
He couldn't go in alone like a fool and expect to survive as a lone warrior.
Because the moment he entered, all the One Gods in the divine realm would view him as a threat. Bardi would likely have to face all of them in battle.
So now, hearing Darkseid's name stirred something in Bardi. He wanted to see this clone for himself. Sooner or later, their paths would cross.
There was no need for a reason.
I simply don't like Darkseid. I want to kill him. That's all.
"No. It's likely the Anti-Monitor will only appear once he gains power on that level," Hera projected calmly.
Bardi flashed a hint of disappointment but let it go.
"Then let me know when the decisive battle begins. I'll watch."
After receiving Hera's response, Bardi waved her off.
Imagining the day he could turn Darkseid into chocolate, he lay back on his floating quilt, and began once again focusing on strengthening his own power.
My father's a drunk who beats me, my mom, and my sister.
My mom left and never came back after one of those beatings. I don't blame her. If I could've run, I wouldn't have come back either.
My grandfather was a good man. He worked deliveries for an ice cream shop. He used to take my sister and me to the park and buy us ice cream. That's probably the only happy memory I have of my childhood. He died when I was twelve.
That might've been the last time either of us cried. After that, no matter how hard our alcoholic dad beat us, we didn't shed a tear.
I decided to leave home and explore the outside world. My sister wanted to come with me, but I said no. Because what I really meant by "explore" was becoming a gangster. I planned to steal money to support her studies.
My sister was nothing like me. She was smart, beautiful, and had the potential to be a professional skater. She deserved a real future.
Because of my "skills," I was soon spotted by a rising criminal group. They even gave me a gun and a pair of goggles. Tsk. I liked that uniform. Looked professional.
Just when I thought I was on the right track, The Flash punched me in the face.
Here's the deal: our group was robbing a bank, and I got sent straight to prison by The Flash.
I swore revenge. Every day in prison, I studied how to take that guy down.
Then I found a report. It said cyclotron radiation could affect The Flash's speed.
"Affect the Flash's speed?" That was exactly what I needed. If he lost his speed, I could take him down easy. I just had to hook that thing up to my gun. Flash would be finished.
So I broke out of prison, successfully snuck into a lab, and found the cyclotron. M's the word. Every time things go smoothly, someone has to screw it up. I was modifying my gun when a security guard burst in. Bro, could you wait five minutes? I wasn't even done yet. I didn't want to kill the guy, but I had no choice. I shot him with the unmodified gun.
Turned out the thing could fire at absolute zero. Way better than just slowing people down. This... this was divine intervention.
I fled the lab, grabbed my old goggles and coat, and gave myself a name:
Because I'm the man who can freeze the past to absolute zero.
Then I challenged The Flash. Lost. Went to prison. Escaped. Challenged him again. Lost. Back to prison.
After a few cycles, I got depressed. I was too good to keep losing. Looking around at the other inmates—also Flash victims—I realized something:
This couldn't be done alone.
It had to be organized.