The continuous overload of energy output had already put the Prism Accelerator in an extremely unstable state, but Howard still didn't stop.
This was the key he personally opened to the future, and with success seemingly within reach, the scientist's obsession began to affect his judgment.
Finally, when the energy output load exceeded its limit, the reactor core finally lit up, but then a destructive event occurred!
A blinding light erupted, and then a massive energy explosion began to consume everything around it, spreading outwards.
Instantly, Howard's mind cleared, but it was already too late; he could only watch helplessly as the dazzling light consumed him.
However, at that very moment, a hand gently pulled back at the void, and time immediately began to reverse, all the released energy retracting back.
"Hmm!"
After waiting for a while, Howard realized that he didn't seem to have died; his brain was still conscious, and he slowly moved his arm away from his eyes.
A strange figure appeared before him, and in his hand, he was toying with the fully lit core.
"I succeeded! Humanity's door to the future has been opened!"
At this moment, Howard had no other thoughts; he completely forgot how Kytheron appeared or who he was, his only thought being his successful synthesis of the new element.
"No, to be precise, you didn't succeed. If I hadn't saved you at the last moment, you, this little toy, and this entire Stark Tower would have been destroyed."
Kytheron's single sentence pulled Howard directly from his joy back to reality.
At this point, Howard's excellent brain once again took the high ground of intelligence.
"Sir, are you a Mutant?"
Looking at Kytheron's appearance and recalling what had just happened, Howard immediately suspected him of being a Mutant.
Howard had, of course, met Kytheron before, but after the Ancient One used a forgetting spell to erase parts of the memories of ordinary people worldwide, he lost all recollection of Kytheron.
"Mutant, no, not really. However, their ancestors now revere me as a God. I come from Apokolips!"
Hearing this, Howard's heart tensed.
As one of the founders of the Homeland Defense Bureau, he naturally understood many secret messages in this World, and alien intelligent life was naturally a part of it.
He didn't pay attention to the 'God' Kytheron mentioned, as many individuals with power referred to themselves as gods.
"Then, may I ask what you intend to do on Earth, sir?"
Unsure of Kytheron's background, Howard could only cautiously probe Kytheron's intentions.
"There's a fellow on Earth I'm quite interested in, so I just came to take a look!"
"However, as for you, more than twenty years have passed since I last saw you. Your body has aged like this; the life of an ordinary person is truly fragile!"
Kytheron directly stated his purpose, and incidentally revealed that he had met Howard long ago.
"Uh!"
"Sir has been to Earth before, but I don't seem to remember meeting you."
Howard carefully looked at Kytheron's appearance, frantically searching his mind for anything related to Kytheron, but it was a blank slate.
Kytheron's features were too distinctive; the pair of black horns on his head was the most obvious sign. If he had met Kytheron, he would definitely not have no memory of it.
"Of course we met, but all of your memories were partially erased by a certain bald sorcerer."
Kytheron casually revealed some truths that were beyond their reach.
"A sorcerer erased all of our memories, and a bald one at that?"
Howard didn't think Kytheron was lying to him, because he could indeed feel that his memories were somewhat incomplete.
Now, after Kytheron's words, Kytheron's appearance seemed like a key, unlocking the treasure chest of memory deep within his mind. Suddenly, all those forgotten memories surged forth.
"Hoo!"
After receiving those shocking memories, Howard finally knew what kind of existence Kytheron was!
"Thank you for protecting Earth!"
From his memories, Howard knew that if it weren't for Kytheron, Earth would have been destroyed several times over!
Regardless of his reasoning, Howard felt that he should perhaps represent the ordinary people of Earth and express his gratitude to Kytheron.
However, what he didn't know was that the biggest crisis that appeared on Earth was precisely directed at Kytheron.
"Protection, not really. I just wanted to take down my opponent; as for Earth, I just happened to save it along the way."
Kytheron truthfully stated his initial purpose for saving Earth.
"Is there anything I can help you with during your visit to Earth?"
Although he didn't know who the person that could attract Kytheron's attention was, Howard still expressed his sincerity to Kytheron.
"I've been to Earth several times, always mingling with the reclusive sorcerers like the Ancient One. This time, I'd like to stay with you for a few days."
"And incidentally, I also want to see what Tony Stark, the future Superhero, is like now."
Howard wasn't too surprised by the first sentence, but Kytheron's mention of Tony becoming a Superhero in the latter part did somewhat surprise him.
He knew his son better than anyone; he would undoubtedly become the greatest scientist, but a Superhero? He truly couldn't see it.
"Tony will become a Superhero in the future?"
"Of course. Didn't you meet his future self twenty years ago? What he was doing then was a matter concerning half the life in the entire Universe!"
One sentence again caused Howard's brain to somewhat crash.
He had met his son from the future?
Time travel—had technology developed to that extent in ten years? That was Howard's first thought.
Suddenly, the name Howard Potts flashed in his mind.
"It seems you've remembered!"
"However, the future they were in might have already been destroyed!"
Kytheron didn't actually know when he said this that the future in another timeline had not been destroyed.
Moreover, the Avengers, who hadn't gathered all the Infinity Stones to bring everyone back, had been trying to find him through time travel and still hadn't given up.
"What exactly happened to Tony and their future?"
Hearing Kytheron say that the future Tony was in had been destroyed, Howard felt a sense of heaviness.
"Hmm, that's a rather tragic story."
Kytheron then told Howard everything that happened in the other timeline, including the subsequent events of his assassination by HYDRA.
He didn't care at all about his own fate, but upon hearing everything his son had experienced, Howard was both proud of him and incredibly heartbroken.
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