Chapter 216 Heroism

At dusk, heavy haze gently fell on the skyline, casting a mysterious hue on the originally gorgeous sunset. When the light shone into the ward through the mist, Stark was against the light, and a hazy halo spread behind him.

Schiller stood on the other side of the bed, and Connors came over with an injection. The two discussed the data in a low voice. Schiller turned his head to look at Obadiah lying on the bed, and then looked at Stark sitting opposite.

He lowered his head, and his brown eyes sank in the shadow of his eyelashes, like the sun trapped in a cage.

Stark propped his elbows on his knees and covered his mouth with his hands. His body movements indicated that he didn't want to talk now, but his voice still flowed out from between his fingers, with a hoarseness like a knife.

"...I saw a lot of things, the past, the future, I saw many of me, and different life trajectories from them."

The tone of his first few words slightly increased: "Maybe you won't believe it, I understand all these truths and all the secrets."

The breath he exhaled from his nose fell on the palm of his hand, and when Stark lowered his eyes, he could clearly see the change of this breath.

"Maybe it was only a short moment, but that moment was endless for me, and I saw everything I wanted to see."

He moved one hand, raised the first few fingers, and then put them back: "I met Howard."

The clouds passed over the skyline, making the light suddenly dim, and the trembling of Stark's voice carried a strange magic.

In the hazy fog of the sunset and haze, Stark walked into a lively exhibition site. He saw that the man whose image was a little blurred in his memory was standing next to a suspended car, introducing his great invention.

Stark followed the crowd and left from the back door of the Expo, then stepped into the dimly lit laboratory. The man was holding a shield and talking happily with Steve.

After the lights in the laboratory went out, there was a violent shake, a sharp brake sound, and a violent explosion...

The fragments stopped, the sparks condensed, and all time flowed back. In the laboratory, Stark picked up a photo frame with his hand. It was a photo of Howard and Obadiah. At that time, they were still very young.

When the lights in the laboratory came on, young Obadiah walked in, and Howard hugged him enthusiastically. The two of them talked about those great inventions all night.

The genius ideas in it reached Stark's ears, making him intoxicated. This was not because those ideas were so powerful, but because he had never had a friendship like these two people, and never had such a soul mate who could talk with him all night.

After the violent brake sounds and explosions, Obadiah's figure began to become thinner, and more and more white hair appeared on his head. Stark saw that after he hung up a phone call, he began to tremble all over, as if he was proud, guilty, or crazy.

Stark stood in this laboratory, Howard walked past him and waved to Obadiah, Steve was adjusting the handle of the shield, and after a while, Pepper walked in while talking on the phone, and Schiller sat in front of the laboratory table to screw the light bulb.

Peter walked in with a steaming breakfast in his hand, the floor of the laboratory trembled violently, and a huge lizard monster jumped in. In an instant, it turned into a gentle Dr. Connors. Connors stretched out his hand and handed a needle to Stark.

Stark looked up, Connors and Schiller were both looking at him, Connors' hand passed over Obadiah's bed and placed the needle in front of him.

"If nothing goes wrong, he will wake up after the last course of treatment." Schiller continued, "In addition, his life span may be extended, and his mind and body will become younger."

Schiller looked at Stark's expression and said, "You should have fallen into deep doubt now, because when you learned the news, you found that you were not happy."

"You are thinking about why this is happening. You suddenly found that you are not as generous as you appear. You may also be doubting whether there is really a family relationship between you and Obadiah, or whether all this is because of someone you don't want to mention..."

"Don't read my mind." Stark looked up at Schiller. For the first time, Schiller did not refute him again, because he understood that Stark was no longer just the Iron Man in this universe.

When he was promoted to the only one, many things were different.

Perhaps the energy consumption of the magic reactor did not make this moment last too long, but fundamentally, the Stark in front of him had understood all the truth.

Stark looked at Obadiah in silence, and Connors and Schiller did not speak.

When this genius cursed by knowledge sees through all the truths of the universe, he will no longer be trapped by those trivial emotions, nor will he be knocked down by the surging waves of emotions.

Therefore, he will be able to make clear every judgment that affects his life and be ready to take responsibility for it without anyone reminding him.

When the clouds on the horizon passed, the light came in again. Stark stood up, leaned over and pulled the blanket on Obadiah, and then said to Connors: "Let's carry out the last stage of treatment."

Schiller said nothing, he pressed a button, the doctor and the nurse came in, Stark left the ward against the crowd, Schiller also walked out, and the two stood by the door.

Stark asked him: "You are also the 'only one', right? You have known all this for a long time, you know how it happened and how it will develop in the future. This is what every only one can do..."

Schiller tilted his head to look at Stark and said: "At that moment, you should be able to choose to become the only one, so that the energy of the magic reactor will no longer have any shackles on you."

"The only one is the only one, they will no longer rely on any energy to maintain their status, but why didn't you do that?"

Stark suddenly smiled and said to Schiller: "You want me to do that, right? You gave me a battery that allows me to break through these barriers and stand at a higher level..."

"Maybe you think that no one can withstand this temptation, and instantly rise to the highest level and see through everything. With the truth and feeling that everything is under control, as long as you give a positive answer, you can become an eternal god. "

"You influenced Strange, the Supreme Sorcerer, Asgard and Odin, and the Cosmic Demon, so that I could make the right choice at that moment and become the only one in the universe."

"So you should be very disappointed now. I wasted this opportunity and became a mortal again..."

"I'm not bad at psychology, right?"

Stark turned his head to look at Schiller. Behind them was a door filled with sunset light. It was like a picture frame, turning the figures of the two into silhouettes. The orange-red background was brighter than any color a painter could mix on the palette, almost overflowing from the canvas and spreading to the walls and floor.

"You did surprise me a little." Schiller lowered his head, but his tone was calm. He said, "But long before you, someone taught me a lesson."

"Arrogance is a deadly poison. Whether it is God or man, when he thinks he has the ability to change all situations, influence everyone's fate, and manipulate everyone like a chess piece, he is not far from death."

"This kind of arrogance will devour all human nature, make people lose their most precious wisdom and emotions, and become the externalization of rules and order. Whether you believe it or not, I have never thought of doing this."

"I am an ordinary person, always have been."

"In fact, I don't know what I think." Stark raised his head, some light passed through his hair, making his eyes sparkle, and those shadows like chains seemed to be completely away from him.

"Maybe you won't believe it, but when I learned that I could be the only one in countless universes, and become one with all the other me, making all Starks my incarnation and projection, when I knew all this..."

Stark looked down. It was as if he was still standing on the top of a towering mountain, with a cold wind blowing all around him and a sky full of stars behind him. This was an indescribable and unspeakable space. He saw that all the universes were under his feet.

Several shadows ran towards him. They were about to merge into one and become a unique existence in the universe, without so many destinies, memories and histories.

But the next second, Stark opened his arms and jumped down without hesitation. Those shadows chased after him, but were blocked outside by the barrier of the single universe.

"...I refused this promotion."

"Is it difficult?" Stark asked himself and answered: "No, not at all, there is nothing to hesitate about."

"No matter how many difficulties those feelings and wisdom bring me, it is not a reason for me to abandon them. No matter how ugly human nature is, it is still a part of me, not a scum that needs to be eliminated."

"A perfect and lonely God will never be nobler than a vulgar and lively person."

"You are indeed a hero." Schiller's voice sounded: "Because there is only one kind of heroism in this world, that is, after recognizing the truth of life, you still love it."

When his tail tone fell, the clouds suddenly dissipated. At this time, the brilliant orange-red background in the picture frame darkened, like cooling steel, and the figures of the two slowly sank into the darkness.

"Ding-Ding-"

The harsh sound of the machine sounded from the ward. After a clamor, someone shouted: "He woke up! He woke up!"

Interlude 2260-005, card.