Emperor Building, the deepest level.
White rays of light converged, wrapping Bardi like a soft, warm silkworm cocoon.
The light held no heat, yet it made Bardi feel an immense comfort, as if he were soaking in a hot spring in the middle of winter. The sensation seeped through his pores, warming him from his genes to his blood and bones.
"This is...!"
Bardi felt a warmth bloom in his heart. He opened his arms and looked on in astonishment as the dense, surging white light flowed into his body.
His entire being felt as comfortable as if bathed in spring sunlight, like a surge of hormones had washed over him.
And he had no control over it.
However, this influx of white light brought tremendous benefits to Bardi.
"Master, you didn't leave much information about this."
Hera stood tall, joy flashing in her eyes.
"But you once said this was Earth's act of self-preservation."
"In the twenty-one times The Flash appeared, Master, you also injected the Doomsday Serum to win Earth's favor."
"You said this was Earth saving itself. That once the integration is complete, everything would be clear."
Countless light particles surged like a desperate traveler in the desert who had suddenly discovered a clear spring. Hungry and thirsty, they rushed toward Bardi.
Like drowning men grabbing at a lifeline, they desperately clung to Bardi and merged with his body.
This was the will of the Earth.
This was... the Spirit of Being.
A vague and abstract will, the Spirit of Being is the destiny of the universe itself, and its will represents the fate of all living things. It holds immeasurable power, capable of controlling life and steering the universe along the path of fate.
In other words, the Spirit of Being recognized Bardi's existence as legitimate. It accepted him and merged with him, choosing to entrust the Earth's salvation to him, merging into Bardi's soul and spirit.
However, there was one problem—Bardi's soul was different. It was unique.
The Spirit of Being was only a conceptual embodiment of destiny, a guardian of the universe. Nearly every universe had its own version of this Spirit.
As a result, the Spirit of Being could not generate its own will or thoughts within Bardi. Instead, it completely fulfilled Bardi himself.
Half an hour later, once all the light had completely merged into Bardi's body—
In that instant, Bardi felt a deep, intimate connection. He felt as if he were the Earth itself. Every tree was a strand of his hair, the land was his skin, rivers and oceans were his blood, and the Earth's core was his heart.
This was far more intuitive than controlling the Earth's weather and magnetic fields through the seventeen Geocentric Bearing Columns.
Now, Bardi wasn't just controlling the Earth. The Earth was his body. This feeling existed within him, organically.
"I see!"
In that moment, Bardi understood the Spirit of Being's intention. All of this was for Earth's salvation. It had chosen Bardi's body as a vessel to initiate Earth's self-rescue.
In theory, the Spirit of Being was like the Entity of the White Lantern Ring, merging with Bardi's body to eventually condense the White Lantern and control him.
But because of Bardi's unique soul, it couldn't form the Entity. It couldn't control him and could only serve as his aid.
No wonder no information was left behind.
The corner of Bardi's mouth curled into a smile. If any information had been left about the Spirit of Being, it might have prevented the Spirit from selecting him to save the Earth.
Perhaps it was because he had always loved the Earth, had made it more beautiful, and because The Flash was targeting him, threatening infinite reincarnations that would destroy the Earth, that the Spirit of Being awakened and chose to act through him.
"Master, this was shorter than the previous twenty-one times. Each time has decreased by almost one minute and two seconds." Hera reminded him.
That meant the Spirit of Being was weakening with every cycle of The Flash's peak speed.
When even the Spirit of Being could no longer manifest, that would mark the moment when the Speed Force destroyed this universe.
"I know."
Bardi nodded. The Spirit of Being was indeed weakening.
Its integration into Bardi didn't directly increase his combat power. Rather, it brought a deeper connection to the Earth and enhanced his perception.
In the end, it all came back to using the Earth to find The Flash's point of arrival.
Now that the Earth was like his own body, skin and nerves, even the smallest disruption—like the prick of a needle—could be sensed immediately.
But reacting in time to that needle before it vanished—that was the real challenge.
This was what the Spirit of Being had granted Bardi: a more refined, detailed awareness of where The Flash would appear.
Naturally, Bardi had already calculated it using the Earth's magnetic field and data from the twenty-one times The Flash had passed.
Route 6.
Every time the Spirit of Being merged with Bardi, it happened near Route 6—where The Flash had appeared twenty-one times.
The only issue was that the exact location varied slightly each time. It was never accurate down to the millimeter, so The Flash had always slipped past Bardi.
Since The Flash first tore through space on August 31, the dimensional barrier here had grown so fragile that even someone with modest power could tear through it and cross into a parallel universe.
"Get ready, Hera. Combine data from the millions of cycles and set up a gravitational field, electrostatic explosive distortion field, pull-field, and a singularity vortex along Route 6."
Cold light flickered in Bardi's eyes. If possible, he wanted to obliterate that entire area.
He had tried.
The outskirts of Metropolis, the area around Route 6, had already been swallowed by a singularity vortex.
But it hadn't worked.
Though The Flash was mad, he still had an instinctive sense of danger. In that brief high-speed moment, it was enough for him to evade and escape.
The Flash hadn't charged straight into the singularity. He had only entered a few hundred meters before tearing through space again and vanishing, making him nearly impossible to trap.
August 31.
After testing the Earth's magnetic response and using all the Barmulodi Empire's resources, Bardi and Hera finally calculated an azimuth for the middle section of Route 6.
Sunlight shone on the asphalt of Route 6, giving off a faintly warped heat.
It was a desolate stretch of road, with dry blue wind blowing across the barren terrain like a small desert.
Bardi stood on the road, dressed in white. His eyes gleamed with cold light. The blazing sun was behind him, casting his tall, mountain-like figure in a majestic silhouette.
'Pong…'
Suddenly, like a demon entering the world, a brilliant rupture opened in front of Bardi. The Flash emerged, his eyes sparking with electric light, face twisted, expression crazed, his mouth stretched in a wild, manic grin.
Bathed in azure lightning, The Flash looked like a deranged demon born from electricity, foaming at the mouth, his body writhing with arcs like serpents. He bolted forward on the highway, charging straight at Bardi.
(To be continued.)