Darkseid… was dead.
Reality itself began to violently tremble in that very instant.
Above Gotham, a mass of crimson, turbulent energy suddenly erupted. The destructive force of Omega energy radiated across the battlefield in a blink and rapidly expanded, sweeping through every living being in its path.
"No! This can't be happening!"
Desaad stared in horror at the scene before him. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. His great master, the leader of the New Gods, Darkseid, had actually fallen—slain by the very Black Racer he once controlled.
He wasn't alone. Nearly every Parademon on the battlefield went completely berserk. They broke free from Desaad's command and began launching suicidal attacks at both Death and the Anti-Monitor.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Kara, Black Adam, and Shazam pulled back from the heart of the battle. The storm of Omega energy was so intense it left them dizzy and disoriented. Staying any longer meant certain death.
Kara furrowed her brows, eyes locked grimly on the Anti-Monitor standing at the center of the storm.
After striking down Darkseid, something within the Anti-Monitor seemed to break free. Even greater anti-matter energy surged from him, clashing against the raging Omega storm in a cosmic standoff.
The pinkish-purple anti-matter began to dilute the Omega energy saturating the sky. The pure essence of a New God's legacy was becoming the perfect nourishment for the Anti-Monitor.
"This is bad! The Anti-Monitor is trying to absorb Darkseid's Omega energy!"
Black Adam realized the enemy's plan in a flash. Without hesitation, he clenched his fist and charged directly at the Anti-Monitor.
Before, even with Darkseid on their side, they couldn't suppress the Anti-Monitor. Now that Darkseid was gone, if the Anti-Monitor gained New God power… all hope would be lost.
Not just for them—but for countless parallel universes, all of which would be consumed by anti-matter waves and added to the Anti-Monitor's dominion.
"Black Adam, don't!" Kara called out in warning.
But she was too late. Black Adam's devastating punch landed squarely on the Anti-Monitor's face.
It barely made him flinch.
In the very next instant, a spectral force surged from nowhere. Before Black Adam could even react, he was sent flying backwards faster than he had charged in.
A black streak tore through the sky and smashed violently into the ground, carving a massive crater into the battlefield.
The violent energies continued to rampage. Waves of light and force spread like ghostly serpents, staining the ground in unnatural colors.
The Anti-Monitor's body rose once again—this time towering several hundred meters tall. Omega Effect flowed smoothly across his skin, as if it were now perfectly under his control.
"Go, my servant. Wipe out those who still stand."
He ignored the swarming Parademons entirely. His gaze remained fixed on Kara, Desaad, and the others—the only threats left in his eyes.
At his command, Death moved instantly. The Black Racer's eyes locked coldly on Desaad.
For a single instant, Desaad felt a presence beyond description fixate upon him. His body went cold, his limbs froze.
Before he could respond, the Black Racer was already in front of him. The scythe—raised high—came slashing for his throat.
Desaad fired a blast of corruption energy in panic, trying to drive Death back. But the blast passed through the scythe like it wasn't even real.
The scythe of Death needed no substance to function. Desaad's pupils shrank.
In the next breath, he felt it: life slipping away from his body.
The Black Racer's scythe had fulfilled its purpose. Another soul was ripped from the world—gone in an instant, leaving behind a pillar of bursting energy.
Without even glancing back, the Black Racer drifted off in search of the next soul. Slaying a New God meant nothing to it.
"Pietro! Wake up—it's me!"
Kara felt Death's gaze upon her, and she knew exactly how lethal this being had become.
But Pietro, now a complete thrall of the Anti-Life Equation, gave no sign of recognizing her voice. He raised the obsidian scythe high above his head and lunged straight at her.
Seeing this, Kara dared not show even the slightest hesitation. With Darkseid's body barely cold, the last thing she wanted was to become the next soul reaped beneath that scythe.
With a thunderous slash that tore the air itself, the scythe cut only through empty space. Kara had ascended in a flash, narrowly avoiding the lethal strike.
"Pietro! Snap out of it, Pietro!!"
Kara burst into action again, vanishing in the blink of an eye as she continued calling his name, desperate to pull Quicksilver from the Anti-Life's grip.
But her pleas had no effect.
Pietro, now more shadow than man, streaked through the air in relentless pursuit. The two began a fierce and dazzling aerial chase high above Gotham's ruins.
-----------------------------------
"I'm finally free!"
The Anti-Monitor stood at the epicenter of devastation, feeling the divine power rising within him. He now understood—the one who called himself the Watcher had not lied.
With Darkseid's fall, a void had opened among the cosmic pantheon. In this world, that meant godhood was up for grabs.
Any being that wielded transcendent energy could ascend through divine resonance, and now, the Anti-Monitor was free from the constraints of the antimatter universe—ready to become the one true ruler.
Yet as he absorbed the unleashed Omega Effect from Darkseid's corpse, the swarming, rabid Parademons made him frown slightly.
"Go, my shadows. Erase these soulless beasts and bring extinction to this dying world!"
Countless Shadow Demons filled the skies. They scattered, unleashing skyrocketing power that tore through the crazed Parademons like paper.
Empowered by the Anti-Monitor, the Shadow Demons grew exponentially stronger, to the point where even the weapons of the Parademons could no longer harm them.
-----------------------------------
Shazam stood frozen.
He looked from Black Adam, struggling to rise in the crater, to the vanished Kara and Pietro—now transformed into the Black Racer. He was paralyzed by indecision.
Heaven help him, this world's Billy Batson may have been trained well by Batman and Hourman, his strength levels vastly increased—but he was still just a child.
Faced with such overwhelming war, even the wisdom of Solomon could not offer a path to victory.
Black Adam, who was once thought indomitable, couldn't even wound the Anti-Monitor. One casual attack had nearly killed him.
Now, with both Kara and Darkseid gone, Shazam had completely lost the will to fight.
He looked around at what was left of Gotham—it had become scorched earth. No one would believe this wasteland was once a city.
The port of Gotham had dried up. The land was cracked and blackened, flowing with rivers of blood and molten lava.
-----------------------------------
The Anti-Monitor smiled faintly. With a simple wave of his finger, Black Adam's eyes went dull and lifeless. In an instant, it was as if his soul had been ripped clean from his body.
Shazam staggered backward, every nerve in his body screaming danger.
The man who had once stood as his fellow champion… now felt like a complete stranger.
"Black Adam, you—" Shazam stammered.
"I joined the Justice Society to protect my homeland, my people. But now, the entire world is drowning in despair."
Black Adam's voice had turned cold, his expression filled with menace. His mind was no longer his own—he had been completely corrupted by the Anti-Monitor.
Looking at the retreating Shazam, Black Adam's killing intent surged.
"You failed my country, Billy!"
Before the words had even fully left his mouth, Black Adam exploded into motion, vanishing in a flash and appearing directly in front of Shazam. Without a single word more, he smashed a brutal punch into Billy's face.
Already drained of any will to fight, Shazam had no time to react. Pain exploded across his face, and a crushing sense of weightlessness overtook him as he was launched backward like a cannonball.
The world around him blurred as he flew across the battlefield. He didn't even have time to cry out before he was slammed violently into the ruins a kilometer away.
One hit. That was all it took.
Black Adam surged forward again. This time, his intent was clear—he meant to kill Billy Batson.
A streak of black lightning marked his path as he soared toward his target, fists crackling with deadly force.
But at the last possible moment—just before the fatal blow could land—a ghostly blue bullet smashed into Black Adam's body, interrupting his strike and sending him crashing hard into the ground.
Shazam lay stunned, barely conscious, staring in disbelief. Then he turned his head toward the direction the bullet had come from.
And there they were.
Charging through the wreckage was a familiar figure wielding a shield—and behind him, perched with deadly precision, a silhouette manned a sniper rifle.
"Red Hood! Nightwing!"
Billy cried out in disbelief. Of all people, he never imagined it would be members of another universe's Bat-Family who would come to his rescue at the brink of death.
"Leave this one to me," Red Hood said calmly, drawing a blade forged from Eternium, the metal of gods, and racing toward the downed Black Adam.
Nightwing stood still for a moment, taking in the overwhelming carnage of the battlefield. His hands trembled slightly as he gripped the sniper rifle—but only for a moment. He forced himself to breathe.
He remembered the question they had once asked Batman, back before the War on Apokolips had begun. They asked what people like them—just humans—could do in the face of threats that endangered the entire multiverse.
Batman's answer had stayed with him ever since: "We can share our courage. That's the one thing we can always give this world."
And now, that voice—his voice—reached Billy through the smoke and chaos.
"The other heroes are on their way. Never give up hope, Billy!"
...
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