Temple of Barmulodi.

A majestic sea of clouds floated and sank around the grand temple structure. Sunlight refracted through the mist, casting a hazy, picturesque brilliance over the magnificent scene.

After tens of thousands of years, the Temple of Barmulodi had long lost any resemblance to the Earth of old. It now stood as a supreme and resplendent place, the center of the universe, revered and worshiped by all beings across creation.

Inside the vast hall, as boundless as an ocean, the sky-piercing pillars were engraved with depictions of myriad lifeforms, diverse cosmic landscapes, countless cultures, and civilizations. All of it belonged to the God-King Barmulodi.

Bardi's figure was upright and powerful. His dark-golden emperor's armor resembled a vast and cold universe, wrapping around his sturdy form. His mighty presence shook the universe itself.

The throne beneath him, originally carved from unyielding obsidian, had been reforged with the Mobius Chair, redesigned and engineered by Terminal Hera. Clad in his dark-golden armor, Bardi sat upon it, gazing down at the multiverse, manipulating it like a toy in his hands.

Pong...

Bardi sat on the throne of the God-King, and in his palm, a gray sphere of light appeared. The air rippled and vibrated around it, as if it possessed the essence of life itself.

This was the Anti-Life Equation. It could become anything—chairs, tables, televisions, glasses, firearms, missiles, spacecraft, weapons, lifeforms, planets, galaxies, black holes, even the universe itself.

It could be everything.

Bardi had killed the Anti-Monitor, extracted it from his body, and claimed it. Along with it, the entire Antimatter Universe was also taken into his possession.

Ding... ding...

Bardi, seated on the throne, lightly tapped the armrest with his dark-golden armored fingertips. He remained silent, his indifferent tapping echoing clearly throughout the divine hall.

His throne, fused with the Mobius Chair and enhanced with will-based technology and Monitor tech crafted by Terminal Hera, possessed artifact-level computing power. It could absorb all the knowledge in the universe and calculate the most optimal path of destruction for Bardi.

However, to Bardi, this was merely a convenience.

His mind, as the One and Only God, far surpassed the throne's computational capacity.

Suddenly, the sounds in the hall ceased. In the quiet, vast chamber, only Bardi sat alone upon the throne.

The hall itself was grand and awe-inspiring. The ground and walls gleamed white, clouds swirled like air currents beneath the floor, covered in a hazy mist. The towering pillars were coiled with golden scales and red-bearded dragons.

Majestic. Silent. Solemn.

Bardi's expression remained indifferent. His eyes were cold and ruthless. With a wave of his hand, the bluish-white mist under the floor swept away.

In an instant, countless particles gathered before Bardi.

The particles condensed, forming a nude quantum body.

Dr. Manhattan.

Dr. Manhattan's blue pupils carried a compassion for all living beings, but he silently met the gaze of Bardi seated on the throne.

He was silent. He raised his head and looked up at Bardi.

When Bardi went to kill the Anti-Monitor, he accelerated the timeline of the Barmulodi Universe by 10,000 years, instructing each legion to train their armies and mark the strongholds left by Monitor Mandrakk. Across the universe, 7,321 such strongholds existed.

In one of the bloodfield strongholds near the universe's edge, Terminal Hera and other legions destroyed the facility and, while harvesting Monitor technology, released Dr. Manhattan, who had been imprisoned by Mandrakk using Monitor technology.

When Bardi returned to his universe, he noticed a drop in his control. It was then he discovered Dr. Manhattan's trace.

Of course, this loss of control was negligible—like the sudden cramp of a small toe, momentarily unresponsive. Roughly 30,000 galaxies the size of the Milky Way were out of alignment. To Bardi, that was trivial.

Dr. Manhattan was the agent of this universe, essentially an invincible figure. Even quasi-unique gods struggled to deal with him. Mandrakk had to use advanced Monitor technology to set a trap, only managing to imprison the agent at a critical moment.

Almost as soon as Dr. Manhattan was born, when Earth was in chaos and his own emotional ties were weak, Mandrakk had exploited that moment. Before Manhattan fully realized his identity as the universe's agent, he was ensnared.

Of course, this imprisonment was unstable. Hence, the incident where Dr. Manhattan stole ten years, leading to the Flashpoint, with The Flash mistakenly believing it was his doing.

"Dr. Manhattan!"

Bardi's voice boomed like thunder, his icy eyes fixed on Manhattan from his divine throne high above.

Dr. Manhattan's eyes were filled with gentle compassion for all life. Yet his face was calm, detached. His expression showed no emotion, only an infinite, distant love.

"I won't help you."

Dr. Manhattan turned his gaze to the Anti-Life Equation and spoke.

From the moment he appeared, from the instant he saw Bardi and the Anti-Life Equation in his hand, he knew the consequences of his presence.

As the universe's agent, paired with the informational power Bardi himself released, the two could destroy the multiverse in a flash. They could trace the origin of the multiverse in a single thought.

That is, one becomes two, two becomes four, four becomes eight…

In an instant, the origin could be found. The original universe could be found. The source of the multiverse would be revealed.

"You should know I can erase your identity as the universe's agent."

Bardi glanced coldly at Dr. Manhattan. The will of a powerful being was extremely difficult to change, especially for a cosmic agent. At the moment of their awakening, they became godlike, their will becoming synonymous with the universe.

If not for the Monitor technology used to trap Manhattan, and if not for those ten stolen years centered around Earth, Bardi's control over this universe would have been far more difficult—though still not impossible.

Even now, Bardi's will was not the universe itself, but he could manipulate and control it. With the Speed Force's effects on matter, and his unique information-based power, he could dominate space, energy, and matter.

Now, his power could erase the will of the universe's agent.

Because he had used his abilities to draw out the agent's essence, he had seen the threads of Manhattan's being. They could be erased, repurposed, turned into the will of anything.

"I shouldn't have stolen those ten years."

Dr. Manhattan shook his head bitterly. He had believed it was to protect Earth. But it resulted in the birth of a terrifying One and Only God, a being whose influence had already begun to spread through other universes.

The multiverse now stood on the brink.

Even with his faint emotions, regret surfaced.

"If that's the case, then leave."

Bardi's voice was cold and indifferent as he waved his hand. He had already seen the threads of the universe's will. If Dr. Manhattan submitted, he would be useful. If not, it would merely delay things by a day or two. Once Bardi found a replacement, the destruction of the multiverse would proceed unhindered.

Dr. Manhattan's blue body began to dissipate like windblown sand.

His expression remained bitter. Even on his face filled with boundless love, there was no emotion, only stillness. As his body dissolved, he finally left behind a few words.

"It was Mandrakk. The Watcher who plots against the multiverse."

"He's been using the highest technology of the Monitors."

"You, Golden Superman, the Phantom Stranger, the Spectre... you've all been used by him..."

(To be continued.)