The Hall of Justice was quiet, the usual hum of technology replaced with a tense stillness. On a massive holographic display, seismic readings, swirling energy spikes, and topographical maps highlighted a mountainous, forested region several hundred kilometers from the nearest populated areas, near the sprawling deserts of southwestern America.

Wonder Woman and Superman walked in quietly, their boots clicking against the polished floor. Before them, Batman and Cyborg stood over the glowing holographic interface, deep in discussion.

"What's going on?" Superman asked.

"Look at this," Cyborg replied, fingers flying across the interface. "We're seeing multiple high-energy spikes radiating from this area. Seismic activity is off the charts.it's equivalent to multiple simultaneous earthquakes."

"What did the satellite feed show?" Wonder Woman asked, stepping closer.

Cyborg swiped across the hologram. The screen shifted from abstract sensory data to real-time satellite imagery. Two glowing dots appeared in the darkness,one white, the other blue. The view zoomed in repeatedly, revealing two ethereal warriors clashing violently in the night.

"It's Max," Batman concluded, his tone grim.

"You're sure it's him? It looks… different. And who's piloting the white one?" Superman asked, squinting at the magnified image.

Cyborg shook his head. "It's definitely him. Energy signature matches perfectly. The white one? Unknown. Whoever it is, they seem to have the same abilities as Max."

"Where are the others?" Wonder Woman asked, concern etching her face.

"Barry's busy at the moment," Cyborg said. "He said Thawne might be back after his disappearance. Green Lantern left Earth as soon as he was healed—attending a Green Lantern Corps meeting. And Billy… well, he's… busy." Cyborg trailed off, glancing at the clock. "Middle of the night. He's probably asleep."

Superman folded his arms. "So, what's the plan?"

Batman's eyes narrowed. "We're already short on members. A direct confrontation isn't an option. We must observe and only intervene only if their fight starts to spiral toward populated areas."

The others nodded, their pride silently wounded. They knew the truth: they couldn't beat Max alone even with key members available and they stood less of a chance without them, even intervention could end disastrously. If they act prematurely, Max and this unknown opponent might simply eliminate them and continue their battle unchecked, leaving civilians completely unprotected.

Cyborg adjusted a few controls, the map updating in real time. The battle's epicenter was shifting farther from its origin, climbing higher into the mountains, carving a path throught the forest .

------------++++++

The ground trembled as Max's majestic Gedo Statue and Thena's wooden Golem Susanoo clashed in a brutal test of strength. The air rippled from their power. The earth split open beneath them, colossal trenches forming where their avatars dug their feet into the ground.

They broke apart, their titanic forms towering across the battlefield — silent, waiting for the next move.

"Even if I gave you my eyes," Max shouted, his voice echoing through the dust and smoke, "I doubt they could bring back someone who was erased along with an entire universe!"

Thena's glare burned through the visor of her Susanoo. "We won't know until I try… right?"

"Are you even aware of the price of bringing someone back with the Rinnegan?" he demanded. "Are you truly willing to pay it?"

"Yes," Thena growled. "I know the price,and I'll pay it, no matter how steep. Even if it means burning this world to bring mine back!"

Thena's tone hardened. "If you loved the people you lost that much, then imagine how it would hurt them to know you sacrificed yourself to bring them back. Wouldn't that be selfish—acting only on your pain while ignoring theirs?"

"That's rich coming from you," Max snapped. "Hypocrisy at its finest—especially after all the things you've done!"

"And you," Thena shouted, pointing at him, "did you ever once consider how we felt when you vanished without a word? You were so obsessed with power that you doomed us all!"

She lifted her hand, revealing the Time Ring, its surface shimmering faintly.

"I know how this works now," she said coldly. "I've used it. I've traveled through countless timelines looking for you, but you were never there. Then I realized why—you only exist in one timeline at a time. You told me that once, back when you entrusted the ring to me… after you bit off more than you could chew."

Her eyes darkened. "You faced someone you couldn't defeat. And before you vanished, you gave me this—"

Thena threw a folded piece of paper toward him.

"Universal Pull," Max muttered. The letter passed through his Susanoo's chest and landed softly in his palm as he then opened it and skimmed it over.

Thena's voice trembled with pain. "After that, you disappeared for six years. I had to watch my mother and sister break apart from your absence. They still believed you'd come back… and for a time, so did I."

Her hand shook. "Until one day, a wall of light began to consume the planet. We gave it everything we had, but nothing worked. I watched them fade away while this cursed ring saved me."

Her voice broke as she continued.

"I drifted through the void for what felt like eternity, asking why this happened… where you were. And then it clicked. You once said that only one Max can exist at a time—you were the anchor of our universe. When you died, everything unraveled. I searched through countless timelines, but none had you or me. That's when I realized—our universe existed because of you."

She took a shaking breath.

"You knew that somehow, someday, you'd come back. You made sure I'd find you again, letter in hand, so you wouldn't repeat your mistake. And after everything you did, you think I'm the selfish one?"

Max's fingers trembled as he closed the letter. His expression twisted into something unreadable. "...I'm sorry, Thena."

"I don't want to hear it."

Her Susanoo's wooden armor shimmered as it drew a massive blade. Her left eye bled, and the sword ignited with black flames.

Max stood in stunned silence. The letter had confirmed everything.

He'd used the Time Ring to travel through time—jumping between the distant past and far future, fighting powerful beings to grow stronger and advance his template. Since he could only exist in one point in time, both the past and future remained untouched; he was rewriting nothing, merely experiencing everything. The ultimate loophole.

He could revisit the past without altering it. Witness futures that might never happen. Each fight was another step toward perfection—another boost to his Goku Black Template.

But somewhere along that path, he must have faced something beyond comprehension… something that existed beyond timelines themselves. And knowing he couldn't win, he entrusted Thena with the ring and a letter to explain everything to the next him,the reincarnated Max who would eventually stand here today.

He'd turned his daughter into a backup plan.

And as the weight of it all crashed down on him, one thought seared through his mind like fire:

How low had he fallen to do something like this?

Why had he been so desperate to grow stronger?

Why was he so obsessed...to complete the Goku Black Template.

These were questions Max couldn't answer—but he knew that, as cruel as it might have been, there had to be a valid reason for everything that had happened. He now understood why Thena was so angry, but he still needed to calm her down. After all, he knew nothing about what had happened in the future—and by all accounts, he was innocent.

Max's thoughts were shattered by Thena's voice.

"Not even those with the strongest of wills can escape the corruption of power. And betrayal…" she said coldly, her gaze piercing through the rain. "Betrayal comes from the one you trust the most. You once told me that. I didn't understand it back then, but now ,no one understands it better than I do."

Thena's Susanoo-clad Wood Golem lunged forward, the ground splitting under its weight.

Max tucked away the letter just as his own Susanoo-clad Gedo Statue conjured a glowing blue katana. The two colossal beings clashed, the impact shaking the earth. Black flames erupted where Thena's blade struck, devouring the katana in an instant. The Gedo Statue dropped the burning weapon as the flames began to spread.

Max raised his hand and roared, "Almighty Push!"

A burst of repulsive force blasted outward, sending Thena's Golem stumbling back. Its massive wings flared as it took to the sky, narrowly avoiding a Tailed Beast Bomb that whistled past and vanished over the horizon.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Song!" Max shouted, unleashing a volley of fiery dragons that spiraled toward Thena.

Thena countered her Golem dissolved its weapon and reformed it into a colossal bow, firing a storm of arrows that intercepted the flaming dragons midair. Explosions rippled through the dark clouds as both attacks met, lighting up the sky.

Max's Susanoo-clad Gedo Statue ascended, rising to meet Thena at eye level. The air grew heavy as thunder rolled above, and a light rain began to fall.

"I learned many things in your absence," Thena said, closing her eyes. The remaining three clones she had left on the ground dispersed into smoke. Her skin shifted to a deep, earthen green. When she opened her eyes, her Mangekyō Sharingan glowed a vibrant emerald. "Let me show you one of them."

"Thena," Max pleaded, voice steady but pained, "I'm sorry for what happened in the future. But this—this isn't the way. Please, stop this madness."

"This can only end with one of us dying," Thena replied, her tone calm but final. "And it won't be me."

She raised her hand. "This is my own version of Sage Mode—power drawn from all the plants and life of the world itself. And with it, I will end this."

The Wood Golem extended its palm to the heavens as a massive green sphere began to form—spinning faster and faster until four sharp blades of energy extended from it, the air whistling under the strain of its power.

Max let out a resigned sigh. "Thena… I'm not giving up on you. Since you've decided to go all out, then I must respond in kind."

The sky erupted in flashes of lightning, every bolt converging into the Gedo Statue's hands. The storm obeyed Max's will as he shaped the condensed energy into a glowing arrow—an arrow reminiscent of Sukuna's Divine Arrow, pulsing with divine intensity.

The Gedo Statue drew back, its form outlined in blinding blue light. Thena's Golem steadied its aim.

And in that frozen instant, heaven and earth held their breath—waiting for the storm to break.

—End of Chapter—