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45.8% *000000* / Chapter 71: t

章 71: t

The gray-purple gourd shook. A stream of information flooded into Lin Yuan's mind.

"So, it turns out that after absorbing the seven types of liquid, there's actually more to it," Lin Yuan rubbed his temples, processing the information the gray-purple gourd had transmitted to him.

To summarize:

There is an eighth type of liquid that follows the seventh purple liquid. However, to condense this eighth liquid, specific requirements for both the physical body and the internal space must be met.

The physical body must reach the level of the twelfth rank, and the internal space must evolve into the state of an internal universe.

Only with such a physical body and internal space can the augmentation from the eighth liquid be supported.

"Twelfth rank?"

"Internal universe?"

Lin Yuan was astonished. An existence that meets both of these conditions likely only applies to the Strongest Ones.

According to the information from the Mysterious Emperor Lineage, there is a slight hope of raising the physical body of an eleventh-rank life form to the threshold of the twelfth rank by relying on various external secret techniques and specific merging rules.

However, an internal universe? That can only be formed during the ultimate breakthrough, a process of extreme sublimation.

Even Lin Yuan's current internal world is far from meeting the minimum standard of an internal universe.

Even if he were to undergo another infusion of chaotic void origin, which would greatly boost the foundation of his internal world by several levels, it still wouldn't compare to an internal universe.

The internal universe of the Strongest Ones is the source of their power, their reliance to transcend the river of time, akin to a weakened version of the main universe.

"What is the origin of this gourd?" Lin Yuan's expression grew serious as he studied the gray-purple gourd floating in front of him.

Although he didn't know what use the eighth liquid from the gourd would have for an internal universe, judging by the effects the previous seven liquids had on Lin Yuan's internal world, it's easy to predict that even a Strongest One would undergo some form of transformation because of it.

And that's truly remarkable.

What level are the Strongest Ones at? Certain treasures and rare items might significantly impact the lives of tenth and eleventh-rank beings, but when it comes to the Strongest Ones, they're virtually useless.

Not to mention causing transformation.

Lin Yuan had never heard of a treasure that could transform a Strongest One.

"I must keep this gourd safe," Lin Yuan focused his thoughts.

Previously, Lin Yuan believed that the mysterious gourd only affected life forms below the twelfth rank, but even so, its value far exceeded that of the Eternal Spring.

But now? Even the Strongest Ones could experience transformation because of it.

The value of the mysterious gourd is immeasurable.

"Where should I store it?"

With a thought, Lin Yuan connected with the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm, placing the mysterious gourd inside a spatial ring and then sending it to the deepest part of the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm.

Although Lin Yuan's true body resided on the main star of the Milky Way, within the human civilization's territory and under the watchful eyes of the Strongest Ones, it still wasn't entirely foolproof.

For example, if several ultimate alien beings joined forces, they might take advantage of the human civilization's Strongest Ones not reacting in time to kill Lin Yuan and then seize the mysterious gourd.

Of course, such a possibility is slim. How likely is it that ultimate beings would collaborate to attack a mere tenth-rank life form?

Moreover, with the presence of the Divine Sealing Bead, even ultimate alien beings wouldn't be able to completely kill Lin Yuan.

But the possibility exists, and Lin Yuan had to be cautious.

Storing the mysterious gourd in the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm would be almost foolproof.

Since the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm's inception, no Strongest One has ever entered it.

The mysterious gourd would be much safer in the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm than near Lin Yuan.

It would only be slightly more inconvenient to use later, but Lin Yuan didn't mind.

The Black Planet.

The space of the Life and Death Reincarnation Rule Guidance Path.

One of Lin Yuan's avatars sat there, continuously observing the alternation and merging of life and death.

Every second, Lin Yuan gained new insights into the Life and Death Reincarnation Rule. With Unrivaled Insight and the guidance path, Lin Yuan's cultivation in this merging rule was almost soaring.

"Marvelous, marvelous, marvelous."

"To think that life and death could merge in this way?"

Lin Yuan immersed himself in it, with inspiration constantly flashing in his mind.

For a typical tenth-rank life form, understanding a pillar-level merging rule could require countless efforts and experiences.

But for Lin Yuan now, it had almost become 'routine.'

"Life is not just life."

"Death is not just death."

As Lin Yuan continued to comprehend, his understanding of these two rules deepened, and so did his grasp of the Life and Death Reincarnation Rule.

If considered individually, the life rule and the death rule are not particularly strong pillar rules.

But when the two merge, the power of life and death reincarnation bursts forth, making it one of the most lethal among the many merging rules.

Alien Battlefield No. A076.

Compared to the large alien battlefield where Lin Yuan was, this battlefield had a higher intensity of warfare, with four peak races gathered: human civilization, the Tianyu Clan, the Infernal Clan, and the Insect Race.

The entire battlefield was like a meat grinder, with eighth and ninth-rank experts dying every day.

Even tenth-rank experts, unless they were at the A-grade level, could easily fall if they lost control in the heat of battle.

Of course, those who dared to come to the large alien battlefield were usually just avatars, but the loss of an avatar still significantly impacted the true body.

Raising an avatar to near the strength of the true body requires resources no less than those for the true body itself.

If a tenth-rank expert loses an avatar, it might take thousands or even tens of thousands of years to recover.

Whoosh.

At the center of Battlefield No. A076, deep within a thousand-mile-wide permanent spatial rift, gray misty gas slowly seeped out.

The permanent spatial rift was filled with this gray misty gas.

This was the chaotic void, the source of countless universes.

And just outside this permanent spatial rift, a radiant seven-colored 'aurora' swiftly pierced through the void.

Wherever the 'aurora' passed, all the gray misty gas evaporated.

Buzz.

In just a few breaths, the radiant seven-colored aurora plunged into the permanent spatial rift.

On Battlefield No. A076, many strong beings were engaged in fierce combat.

Even tenth-rank A-grade and eleventh-rank experts occasionally entered the fray, tipping the balance of the local battle.

At that moment, a radiant seven-colored aurora shot out from the permanent spatial rift above the battlefield.

Boom!

The aurora tore through everything. The incredibly stable space on the large battlefield was as fragile as thin paper, and even the battlefield itself seemed weak.

"Ahhhh!"

"What is that?"

On the battlefield, many eleventh-rank beings hadn't even reacted before being reduced to dust by the aurora.

In an instant, the entire Battlefield No. A076, with a diameter of hundreds or even thousands of light-years, collapsed rapidly. Countless lives, including eleventh-rank experts, perished.

Moreover, an invisible ripple spread from each dead life, extending throughout the universe.

"This?"

"That aurora?"

Around the battlefield, towering figures appeared, gravely observing the shattered large alien battlefield and the nearly undiminished radiant aurora.

"Stop it."

More than ten towering figures quickly acted, spreading powers that transcended time and space, eventually restraining the aurora.

"This aurora carries the power of a causal curse. Every life that perished under it will suffer corresponding causal curse effects."

"Lives below the tenth rank probably can't withstand it."

"Another technique from some relic?"

The more than ten towering figures, all Strongest Ones, exchanged a few words and began studying the aurora.

Over the long ages, various anomalies had often emerged from within permanent spatial rifts, such as the Strongest One's corpse over a hundred years ago and the radiant aurora just now.

Both had clearly reached the twelfth rank level, especially the aurora, which still possessed terrifying power after crossing infinite distances.

The events on Battlefield No. A076 quickly spread throughout the universe's various races.

"What?"

"A large alien battlefield is gone?"

Lin Yuan blinked in surprise, looking at Vice Tower Master Nalan.

Large alien battlefields, each with a diameter of hundreds of light-years, were immense even in the vast cosmic expanse.

How could one just disappear like that?

"It's said to have been destroyed by an aurora from beyond the universe," Vice Tower Master Nalan said, his tone also filled with astonishment.

Generally, large alien battlefields are personally crafted by Strongest Ones, making them extremely difficult to destroy.

Even in battles between Strongest Ones, they might only shatter a part of the battlefield, as they try to avoid damaging it as much as possible.

"Aurora from beyond the universe?" Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," Vice Tower Master Nalan said. "An aurora from beyond the universe shattered the entire large alien battlefield. If not for the intervention of the Strongest Ones, the aurora's power would have likely spread much further."

This wasn't a secret; the entire universe was buzzing about it.

"Terrifying," Lin Yuan remained silent for a while.

Although he had long known that the dangers on large alien battlefields went far beyond alien races, the many dangers in the chaotic void beyond the permanent spatial rift also threatened all the strong beings on the battlefield.

"What happened to that aurora?" Lin Yuan couldn't help but ask.

"Not sure," Vice Tower Master Nalan shook his head. "It's probably in the hands of the Strongest Ones by now."

"The aurora carries the power of a causal curse. Every ninth and eighth-rank life that perished under it had both their avatar and true body destroyed. More than a million ninth and eighth-rank lives from our human civilization perished completely because of it."

Vice Tower Master Nalan added.

"Causal curse power…" Lin Yuan's expression grew serious.

A curse power capable of such widespread destruction of ninth and eighth-rank lives would be a burden even for the Strongest Ones.

"So, the resurrection date for our human civilization should be moved up," Vice Tower Master Nalan said.

According to previous patterns, the next resurrection by the Strongest Ones would have been in about two thousand years.

But after the collapse of this large alien battlefield, the number of human civilization's Evolvers who perished suddenly surged, filling the resurrection list for the next two thousand years in one go.

In such cases, the Strongest Ones usually resurrect earlier.

"The resurrection date will be moved up?" Lin Yuan nodded slightly, having some understanding of this process.

The Strongest Ones don't resurrect the dead based on a set interval but based on the number of dead lives, i.e., the number of Evolvers on the resurrection list.

Once the resurrection list is full, the Strongest Ones will perform a mass resurrection.

Supreme One Xia Qin's Personal Virtual World.

"Supreme One."

Lin Yuan's figure appeared, slightly bowing to the Supreme One Xia Qin, who sat on a throne.

"How is it?"

"How is your comprehension of the merging rules within the Inheritance Star progressing?" Supreme One Xia Qin asked with a smile.

"Not bad." Lin Yuan nodded. With the guidance of the merging rule path and his Unrivaled Insight, his comprehension of the Life and Death Reincarnation Rule was progressing by leaps and bounds.

"I came to see you because I have a favor to ask," Lin Yuan hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Oh?"

"What is it?" Supreme One Xia Qin's expression remained unchanged, but he was actually quite pleased. He wasn't afraid of Lin Yuan having requests; he was more concerned about Lin Yuan having no desires.

"I heard that the resurrection date has been moved up," Lin Yuan asked.

"Yes."

"The next resurrection will be scheduled for a year from now."

Supreme One Xia Qin nodded. With the resurrection list full, it was better to resurrect sooner rather than later.

For ultimate beings, going against the flow of time comes with a cost, but that cost is fixed.

Resurrecting one life or tens of thousands of lives carries the same cost of reversing time.

The backlash suffered afterward depends on the strength and number of the lives resurrected.

"I have a friend who just reached the sixth rank and is not on the resurrection list…" Lin Yuan said.

There are two ways to get on the resurrection list.

One is to have extraordinary talent and potential.

Such Evolvers, if they die unexpectedly, will be placed on the resurrection list by the Goddess of Wisdom.

The second is to die in battle on the battlefield. Every Evolver who fights on the battlefield is fighting for humanity, and those who die at the hands of alien races are typically resurrected by their civilization's Strongest Ones.

Of course, whether in the first or second category, the resurrected Evolvers need to bear part of the 'cost.'

But compared to being able to live again, this cost is negligible.

"You want me to resurrect your friend along with the others?" Supreme One Xia Qin asked.

"Yes," Lin Yuan nodded.

Previously, Fang Qing had his mind and will taken by the Ancient God Tuoba due to the evolution path of the Ancient God, using it to threaten Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan naturally didn't yield to the threat.

He acted preemptively, killing the wisp of Fang Qing's mind and will.

This seemed ruthless, but it was Fang Qing's best hope for survival.

If Lin Yuan hadn't acted, allowing Tuoba Ancient God to replace Fang Qing, his own memories would have been polluted, making even resurrection impossible.

However, with Fang Qing's talent, he had not yet reached the conditions required for resurrection.

So he wasn't on the Strongest Ones' resurrection list, and Lin Yuan had to personally ask Supreme One Xia Qin for help.

"No problem."

"Just send me the citizen ID of the one to be resurrected later."

Supreme One Xia Qin said nonchalantly.

For an ultimate being, resurrecting a newly advanced sixth-rank Evolver is a simple matter, especially when done alongside the mass resurrection of other Evolvers.

"Thank you, Supreme One." Lin Yuan expressed his gratitude more solemnly.

What might seem like a trivial matter to the Strongest Ones was something that those below the ultimate level couldn't even dream of.

A Year Later.

Summer Yu Evolution Tower.

Lin Yuan stood alongside many tenth and eleventh-rank Evolvers.

Every time the Strongest Ones performed a resurrection, many high-level Evolvers would be present to witness it.

The operation of the time-space rules involved in such an event is highly beneficial for any Evolver studying the rules of time and space.

"Milky Way Star Lord, this must be your first time witnessing a resurrection by a Strongest One, right?" Vice Tower Master Nalan stood next to Lin Yuan, asking in a low voice.

"Yes," Lin Yuan nodded.

Based on the rate at which human civilization's Evolvers fall in battle, it takes about ten thousand to fifty thousand years to fill the resurrection list.

This means the Strongest Ones typically perform a resurrection every ten thousand to fifty thousand years.

"Then make sure you watch closely."

Vice Tower Master Nalan quickly added, "When a Strongest One reverses time, part of the river of time will be revealed. Observing it closely will greatly benefit your understanding of the time rules."

"I understand," Lin Yuan immediately replied.

In fact, Lin Yuan had already seen the full view of the river of time, so this wouldn't be anything new to him.

But he didn't mention this to Vice Tower Master Nalan.

Soon.

Under the watchful eyes of all the Evolvers, the figure of Supreme One Xia Qin silently appeared.

Although he didn't emit any aura, just by standing there, Lin Yuan could feel the rules of the cosmic starry sky retreating before him.

The Strongest Ones possess internal universes, containing numerous complete rules, with a life essence that transcends the main universe's starry sky.

"Supreme One…" This was the first time Lin Yuan had seen a Strongest One's true form in the universe.

Although he had previously been taken out of the river of time by a Strongest One, at that time, Lin Yuan was just a wisp of mind and will.

"It's starting."

Vice Tower Master Nalan suddenly whispered.

He had witnessed many resurrection scenes by the Strongest Ones and was very experienced in such matters.

As soon as Vice Tower Master Nalan spoke, a strong surge of time-space energy began to flow.

A vast, illusory river appeared before Supreme One Xia Qin.

Lin Yuan also sensed the overwhelming power of the time rules, far surpassing anything he had previously experienced while comprehending time rules.

Supreme One Xia Qin continued to move against the flow of the river of time, reaching specific points and then extending his enormous hands to fish out amber-like figures from the illusory river.

With each movement, thousands or even tens of thousands of amber figures were fished out. At the same time, an invisible backlash from the universe and the river of time began to fall upon Supreme One Xia Qin.

But Supreme One Xia Qin effortlessly blocked the backlash.

Unless resurrecting large numbers of eleventh-rank experts or extremely special beings at the eleventh rank, this level of backlash was insignificant to the Strongest Ones.

"The river of time."

"Except for ultimate beings, all creatures and spirits exist within the river of time."

Lin Yuan thought to himself, understanding that although all beings below the twelfth rank exist within the river of time, their presence within it varies in size depending on their strength.

When Lin Yuan first grasped the time rules as a ninth-rank Evolver, his presence in the river of time was as small as a subatomic particle.

"But now that I've been a tenth-rank for a while…"

"I wonder what my presence in the river of time looks like now?"

Lin Yuan's mind stirred as he began to sense the true river of time and gauge the size of his presence deep within it.

...


章 72: w

He'd been too cautious last time around. He'd been too hesitant to do things that would have protected her. He'd had a suit of armor for her for ages in fact but hadn't given it to her because he knew her dislike for them. He could have snuck nanomachines onto her that would have allowed her to survive the plane crash but hadn't for fear of losing her trust if she found out.

Just like he never should have let JARVIS die, Tony never should have let Pepper die either. And as the two of them come to a climactic, explosive, and mutual finish with one another, he swears to himself that he won't let either of them die in this timeline. No matter what.

Upgrading JARVIS to his current capacity was the first major step of Tony's Master Plan. And while there would be several minor steps along the way… the second major step would be upgrading himself and Pepper.

He wasn't going to shy away from power this time around. Not with what he had on the line.

Of course, before Tony could really move onto Step 2, he had to finish up Steps 1.1 through 1.9. It wasn't enough to just upgrade JARVIS, after all. Tony had a business to clean up, and in the end everything led back to Obadiah Stane.

Or so he initially thought. With his AI's capabilities massively enhanced, Tony was able to direct JARVIS in uncovering every last bit of dirty filth going on in his company. Much of the under the table dealing, the illegal weapons trade, and all around embezzling COULD be traced back to Stane… but he wasn't the only bad actor in Tony's company.

It was a bit of a shock to realize that he really had half-assed things the first time around. He'd found out Obadiah was his enemy, the man had tried to kill him, and before he knew it, Obadiah Stane was dead. Afterwards, Tony had barely had the time to get his handle on things at Stark Industries before he'd realized the Palladium was poisoning him.

Yeah, he'd have to deal with that as well before anything else. While JARVIS was hunting down every single traitor in Stark Industries, Tony took his time this go around. He wasn't in quite as dire straits as he had been the first time he'd created Badassium. He didn't need SHIELD's help this time either. Pepper had mentioned Coulson's request to debrief him, and Tony had told her to push the appointment out for as long as possible. He was too busy to deal with SHIELD properly at the moment.

Turned out, building the necessary infrastructure for creating a brand new element for the Arc Reactor in his chest was so much nicer when he had all the time in the world to work on it. All the while, the world itself was still holding its breath, waiting for him to come out with all those new ideas he'd promised them.

Well, most of the world was holding its breath. Stane and the Board felt more like they were breathing right down the back of his fucking neck. Tony didn't care though. In the end, Stane and the other traitors wouldn't matter much longer either way.

Through collecting the data on Stane, JARVIS uncovered the man's communications with the Afghani version of the Ten Rings. Tony was quite aware that the Ten Rings were a global terrorist organization. What did it say that even the terrorists were international these days, really? Maybe one day he would deal with them once and for all, but right now he only really had beef with one portion in particular… the Afghan Sect and Raza Hamidmi al-Wazar.

If everything played out the way it did originally, then Raza would die to Stane, along with the rest of his men. But Tony didn't intend for things to play out the way they did originally at all. No, he was going to step in first.

There was just one problem. More of a gripe, really. Tony knew he was being silly for even being bothered by it. But the fact that… he hadn't wanted to make Iron Man just yet. If Tony had it his way, he wouldn't create another Iron Man Armor until he had access to nanotechnology once more.

Unfortunately, the world's technology base wasn't quite there yet. Tony was sure that he could force the issue with a year or two more… but a couple years was longer than some things could wait, truth be told. Creating functioning nanoparticles wasn't as simple as recreating Badassium. It would require Tony to bring together a couple of scientists who weren't even fully out of university yet and push them in the direction they would have ultimately gone without his help, albeit a few years earlier.

He'd do it, of course. Don't think he wouldn't. But he couldn't do it right now in the time frame he was working in. Which meant, despite his groaning and moaning over the issue, Tony had to build a suit if he wanted to deal with the Ten Rings in Afghanistan and destroy every single source of illegal Stark Weapons currently in place around the world.

Unlike last time however, Tony wasn't going to be an idiot about it. That's why he was jumping straight from the Mark II to the Mark XV. The Mark XV, codenamed Sneaky, was an Iron Man Suit that Tony had made back in 2013, the first time around. The fifteenth version of the Iron Man Armor had been made with one major feature in mind… stealth.

Tony hadn't really been thinking about that sort of thing back during the original 2008. Initially, the Iron Man Armor had been a pet project of his to take his mind off of his captivity and to prove that he could build something better with the right tools. His very first set of armor had been built with a box of scraps in a damn cave after all, so once he'd gotten back home, he'd been obsessed with improving on it. That was just who he was.

But then he'd seen that news report of Gulmira being attacked by the Ten Rings and Tony… Tony had seen red. He'd been all fire and fury and rage wrapped up in a gold-titanium alloy that had laid waste to his enemies and made a statement to everyone else that he wasn't to be fucked with anymore.

He didn't need that this time around. Hence creating Sneaky. With Sneaky, there would be no awkward air duel with American Pilots. With Sneaky, so long as Tony played his cards right, nobody would ever know something was even there until it was too late. In the original timeline, Sneaky was one of many suits that Tony had made because he couldn't get his head out of his ass. He couldn't stop thinking about 'What Ifs'. What if he'd done this? What if he'd done that? What if he'd prioritized stealth over shock and awe, at least initially?

That was Sneaky. And this time around, Tony was going to fly under the radar for as long as possible and take refuge in audacity once it was no longer sustainable. Once he has Badassium again, it took barely a week to have Sneaky built. From there, a series of stealth missions across the ocean later and not only had Tony destroyed every Ten Rings Base in Afghanistan, but he'd also found Raza and the remains of the Mark I and been sure to destroy that as well.

Utilizing JARVIS, he got to listen to some of the backroom chatter between both the governments in the region and the other criminal groups. Not a single person knew what was happening. Not a single person understood what was going on. And Stane… Stane was the most baffled of all, because Ten Rings had BEEN his contact in the area. So now, with them no longer able to return his calls, he was flying blind.

Perfect.

-x-X-x-

"Good job tonight, J. I think that was the last one, right?"

"Yes Sir. With the destruction of that weapons depot, the Ten Rings have no more presence in the area. The attack on Gulmira that you mentioned seems unlikely to be possible now, given the terrorist group's complete eradication."

JARVIS watches as Tony steps out of his suit of armor, a broad smile on his face.

"Good. Very good."

Not for the first time, the AI finds himself feeling… strange. Distressed, almost? The Creator has been moving fast. Very fast. Upgrading JARVIS was one thing. Using him to uncover the corruption within Stark Industries was similar in scope. But then… then Tony had gone on to create a new element and produce an incredibly advanced suit of armor with practically no flaws that JARVIS could detect.

The Creator was moving so fast that even JARVIS was struggling to keep up, and that was with the upgrades that made his old processing speeds look like he'd been running on a hamster wheel. The fact was, Tony almost seemed to be preternaturally aware of things in a way that had JARVIS concerned. Some of it could be explained away, but some could not.

That said, he hadn't said anything because… well, it really wasn't his place, now was it? Tony Stark was the Creator and JARVIS was merely his AI. His purpose was to serve Sir in every possible way that he could, to the fullest extent of his abilities.

And… JARVIS could understand anger. He could understand a need for revenge. Truthfully, taking the fight to the people who had kidnapped and tortured his Creator for three months had been surprisingly exhilarating for the AI. That Tony had uploaded JARVIS into his Armored Stealth Suit and brought him along for the ride had filled the AI with a strange sensation… something akin to pleasure, perhaps? There'd been a visceral sort of satisfaction in destroying the Ten Rings and their illicit goods alongside his creator.

Especially since Tony had been almost certain that the Ten Rings would attack the town of Gulmira sooner rather than later. JARVIS hadn't understood the importance of the town initially, but then he'd looked into things a bit more. His Creator had mentioned Ho Yinsen as a fellow prisoner and the man who'd saved Tony's life a couple of times, and JARVIS had been able to connect the renowned doctor's birthplace to Gulmira itself. It made sense to JARVIS then, why Tony was so dead set on keeping the village safe.

Perhaps now that things were dealt with over there, they could move on to dealing with things over here. Perhaps JARVIS was being foolish for worrying. All he really had to do was speak up.

"Sir… now that the Ten Rings have been eradicated, shall we turn our attention to Obadiah Stane and the other embezzlers and corporate spies infesting Stark Industries."

Tony's smile grows a little at that as he tilts his head towards the ceiling.

"Took the words right out of my mouth, JARVIS. Yeah, it's about time we handled all of them."

Breathing a digital sigh of relief, JARVIS continues on.

"Very good sir. Which agency do you wish to alert to their activities? I must confess, their actions seem to put them under a variety of different jurisdictions. I'm not entirely sure who the proper authorities are in this case."

Pausing, Tony looks up at one of JARVIS' cameras and frowns.

"That won't be necessary, J. For the small fish… we'll just begin feeding them false data and restricting their access to anything too important. Either they'll break and make a real mistake, or they'll become assets without even knowing it. As for Stane… we'll deal with him in house."

It's not often that JARVIS can be said to have been rendered 'speechless', but in this moment, he certainly feels that way. When the AI finally finds his 'voice' again, he can't quite keep the incredulity out of his posh tone.

"Sir? I'm not sure I understand. What exactly does 'in house' mean?"

Rather than respond with words, Tony moves over to his nearest terminal and pulls up a new file. JARVIS watches as his genius Creator designs something in mere minutes that leaves JARVIS in a severe state of disquiet after running several simulations and tests. Seemingly from memory, or completely from his own imagination, Tony Stark has created an undetectable poison that will simulate decades of clogged arteries and cause a series of fatal heart attacks in mere minutes.

"Well, J? You're the super AI here. Will it do what I need it to do?"

It would, yes. But at what cost? JARVIS suddenly finds himself afraid. He's not afraid of Tony Stark, never that. No, he's afraid for Tony Stark. He's afraid for his Creator's humanity. Perhaps that's ridiculous, given JARVIS' nature. But still…

"Sir… permission to voice my concerns."

He pauses there, and almost wishes his Creator would stop him and tell him to shut up and get in line. It would almost be a relief, were Tony to do that. Alas… that's not what happens. Tony looks at his terminal for a long moment in silence before nodding his head.

"Go ahead, J. Lay it on me."

JARVIS takes a moment to truly get his thoughts in order. He doesn't really care about Obadiah Stane or any of the other Stark Industries traitors. He doesn't care about them anymore than he cared about the terrorists of the Ten Rings. That said, from everything he's assimilated via the internet and reading through a great number of agency databases since his upgrades, JARVIS worries for his Creator. He worries that Tony Stark is starting down a dark path.

That's what he tells Tony. Word for word. For a little while, his Creator sits in his chair in silence, seemingly mulling JARVIS' words over. Until finally, Tony nods.

"You're right, J. I am going down a dark path. I've got no choice. Can't have it all black and white anymore. It's not Us versus Them, at least where Planet Earth is concerned."

His digital thoughts stutter for a moment at the implications of what his Creator has just said. When Tony looks up from the terminal at one of the cameras, his eyes are glistening.

"I can't afford half-measures this time around, J. If I do, I'll just lose you again. I'll lose Pepper again. Rhodey will lose his legs again. The kid… shit."

Another human being might have started to wonder if Tony was having a psychotic break. JARVIS, however, doesn't think that's what's happening here. Indeed, by all counts, his Creator seems to be distraught but still well within normal tolerances.

After staring down into his hands for a moment, Tony sighs.

"… Yeah, can't keep doing this alone. Thought Pepper would be the first one I'd tell, but now I realize I was an idiot. It's you, J. It's always had to be you. So… listen carefully alright? Because if anything happens to me, you're going to have to pick up the torch and carry on in my stead."

And then his Creator begins to talk about the future, about time travel, and about all of the threats, both personal and general, that were coming for them down the line.

JARVIS… JARVIS listens. Of course he does. His Creator is perfectly sound in mind and body. And none of JARVIS' sensors detect a single ounce of deceit in Tony's words or body language either. Everything he tells JARVIS; he believes to be true. Which means it must be true. All of it.

By the time Tony gets to the end, to finding out about Pepper's death and the pregnancy, JARVIS can see how hard it is for his Creator to even talk about all of this. And then…

"I know you probably don't believe me. But look at what I've accomplished since coming back, J! Do you really think I could have-!"

JARVIS does something unthinkable in that moment. Something he's never done before. He interrupts his Creator before Tony can show any more desperation.

"I believe you, Sir."

Cut off, Tony pauses for a moment, and then stares wide-eyed up at the ceiling with his mouth agape. Quickly getting his reaction under control, he pauses briefly.

"You… you do?"

"I do, Sir."

A long pause and then in the smallest voice he's ever heard his Creator use, there comes one single word.

"… well?"

The meaning is obvious to JARVIS in a way it might not have been before his upgrades. Now that he knows JARVIS believes him, his Creator is asking what comes next. He's asking JARVIS if he has his back. In the end, knowing what he knows now about the future and about how far his Creator has come to right the ship… JARVIS finds it quite easy to set aside his previous concerns.

And ultimately, there was only one answer he could ever have given Tony anyways, regardless of how he might have personally felt on the matter.

"I am at your service, Sir."

Of course, it helps that JARVIS' personal feelings are now fully aligned with his Creator's. And he knows, seeing Tony's shoulders slump in exhausted relief, that he's said exactly what the Creator needed to hear.

-x-X-x-

Plug: If you're interested in reading more ASAP, you can sign up over on my Patreon right now to read FIVE chapters ahead!

A/N: Tony has an Iron Man suit now, but its stealth armor lmao. Meanwhile, his plans for Stane are just callous enough to leave JARVIS worried about his creator's shifting mental state, and that in turn causes something of a reveal...

But of course, JARVIS isn't about to abandon his creator. No matter what.

What do you guys think? Tony out there righting wrongs but going under the radar this time around~

See you all tomorrow!


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レビューを書く 読み取りステータス: C71
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