Time Reversal

What did a planet shattering look like?

Aside from astronomers, ordinary people could probably only see it in movies.

But today, Zhan Liu and Captain Marvel witnessed it firsthand in space.

A crack first appeared across the planet. Then more and more cracks emerged, growing denser and denser, like a lampshade carved with hollow patterns, light leaking through the gaps.

Then some of the patterns merged into a huge fissure, and torrents of light poured from it until they finally engulfed the entire lampshade.

The two watched in silence as the planet slowly split apart. Massive amounts of magma erupted from its core like fountains, and also resembled fireworks.

Then the magma rapidly solidified, losing its beautiful golden-red glow and becoming gray, cold, and deathly still.

Captain Marvel was about to go mad. This was her home, the place she would have protected with her life, yet it had ultimately been destroyed because of her battle.

Her eyes turned bloodshot as she prepared to rush at him and fight to the death.

Both of them were now in terrible condition. Zhan Liu's right leg was gone, and Carol's right arm had vanished as well.

The instant their attacks touched that gem, their limbs had disappeared.

It had happened too quickly, and the sense of mortal danger had been too overwhelming. Driven by instinct, both had focused solely on escaping and had not noticed their injuries at all.

After reaching space, the shock of Earth's destruction had been so great that they had both overlooked their wounds.

Relatively speaking, Zhan Liu's injuries were far worse than Captain Marvel's, but likewise, his endurance for injury was greater.

If neither of them had been injured, Captain Marvel would certainly have won.

But in a true fight to the death, whether Captain Marvel would kill Zhan Liu before her injuries overcame her, or whether Zhan Liu would erupt once more and turn the tables, remained uncertain.

With Earth gone, neither had any more reservations. They were determined to settle this with life and death.

But at that moment, a ring of golden sparks suddenly appeared in the void, and a bald woman in yellow monk's robes stepped out of it.

"Stop fighting for now, you two. Let me save Earth first."

"You can bring Earth back?" Carol was greatly astonished.

"Sigh, it is difficult, but not impossible." The nun gave a bitter smile.

Captain Marvel could no longer spare any thought for Zhan Liu and urgently pressed her.

"Then hurry and save it! Even if you restore Earth later, everyone on it will be dead by then."

"Don't worry. I'll save Earth through Time Reversal, so everyone who died can be resurrected."

"But if I restore Earth and you two shatter it again right afterward, then there would be no point in saving it."

"It's all this damned bastard's fault. He's a lunatic. Not only did he slaughter people across Earth, he even shattered the planet."

"Heh, what a fine way to twist the truth!"

Zhan Liu considered himself a grandmaster of his generation. He disdained to curse like a shrew in the marketplace; naturally, he had to reason things out.

He sneered.

"You sent people into this sect to steal Martial Dao techniques, and they violated the sect rules by leaking our arts. What is wrong with me cleansing my own house?"

"You tried to shield this sect's expelled disciple and obstruct me from cleansing my house. Naturally, all those deaths and injuries should be counted against you. Do not try to throw the blame onto me."

"We agreed to fight to the death, yet you secretly set a trap. What is wrong with me breaking that trap and taking some spoils of war?"

"As for Earth's destruction, you were the one who stopped me from taking my spoils. In the midst of battle, I failed to pull back in time and accidentally destroyed it. We both bear responsibility. If we divide it carefully, you bear eighty percent, and I bear twenty."

Nick Fury had called Captain Marvel back, and she had hurried to the battlefield to save May. She knew absolutely nothing about how the fight had begun.

But according to a superhero's way of thinking, killing was wrong, and crime was unacceptable.

"You wanted to kill May. I saw it with my own eyes. What more is there to say?"

"Because of your reckless actions, New York was flooded. How many people lost their homes? What are you going to do about that?"

"You treat human lives like dirt. You flew at supersonic speed at low altitude over New York. How many people did that kill? How do you account for that crime?"

"The Tesseract belongs to S.H.I.E.L.D. You tried to seize it by force, and I stopped you. That was what caused everything that followed. You are the true culprit."

Zhan Liu carefully savored his rapidly rising Martial Dao realm while doing his utmost to suppress the injuries within his body. He was happy to trade words with her for a while.

Especially since Ancient One had appeared. He could not afford to offend her right now, so it was best to give her some face.

"Before she formally became my disciple, I made it very clear that she had to obey the sect rules. I did not beg May to become my disciple. Since she joined my sect, she had to follow its rules. She dared violate them, so it was only right that I kill her."

"Every result has a cause. You sent people to infiltrate my sect and steal its techniques—that was the cause. Everything afterward was the result."

"If we are discussing guilt, the original cause should bear the blame. All casualties should be the responsibility of your S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Nonsense! May is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Her life and safety are protected by Federation law. If you want to kill her, you are violating Federation law."

"What a joke! Could mere Federation law possibly stand above this sect's rules?"

Their values differed, and each clung to her own argument. They bickered fiercely, neither able to convince the other.

Ancient One, standing nearby, could not take it anymore and sighed.

"Although I can reverse time, if too much time passes, my body will not be able to bear it either. You had best reach an agreement quickly."

"Very well. I do not wish to see Earth vanish like this either, so I shall take one step back." Zhan Liu turned toward Ancient One. "Restore Earth. When the time comes, I will merely cripple May and take the Tesseract."

"What? Impossible!" Captain Marvel exploded. "I can choose not to kill you, but May cannot die. The Tesseract is of great importance. It is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s property and cannot be given to you!"

Unable to reach an agreement, the two immediately began arguing again. Their tempers rose higher and higher, and they showed signs of fighting once more.

Ancient One sighed. Countless flickering lights and shadows flashed rapidly through her eyes. After a moment, she stopped and interrupted them again.

"How about this? I have a suggestion. See whether you can accept it."

The two stopped arguing and turned to look at her.

"I will reverse time to before May became your disciple. That way, May will not be your disciple, and she will not know your sect's cultivation methods."

After saying that, the nun turned to Captain Marvel.

"Tell the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. everything that happened today. Warn him not to try stealing the Ultimate Limit Sect's Martial Dao techniques again."

"What do you think?"

The two considered it and found that both sides could accept this proposal, so they nodded in agreement.

"Next is the matter of who gets the Tesseract."

"I know you need the Tesseract to evolve your Sky Eye. I have a substitute here. What do you think?"

As she spoke, she somehow produced a necklace-like magical artifact. Hanging from it was a hollow pendant shaped like an empty sphere resembling an eye, with something seemingly contained inside.