On a meteorite in outer space, a robot listened carefully.
This was a peaceful Universe, a Universe where life had been completely extinguished, a silent Universe.
After he found that he could no longer hear any sounds of life, he closed his eyes and entered standby mode.
"Finally, peace."
Not long after this robot closed his eyes, he heard a sound again.
The sound of life!
It was as if an engine was burning.
No, it was an engine burning.
The robot opened his crimson eyes and looked into the distance, with a human-like look of confusion.
He activated the power of the Space Stone, and a blue light flashed on his chest. A cloud of blue mist surged out, enveloping him. Soon, the mist receded, and he disappeared from his original spot, reappearing on his home world countless light-years away.
"You've arrived."
As soon as the robot appeared, he heard someone greeting him.
He looked in the direction of the voice, energy gathering on his forehead, ready to launch an attack as soon as he identified the person, without another word.
On the robot's forehead, the yellow light grew denser, and the energy became more concentrated. But this attack was slow to be unleashed.
"You've arrived." X10085
10085 voices sounded simultaneously.
Facing the robot were 10085 other robots, largely similar to him.
"Allow me to introduce myself."
The leading robot spread his arms and floated forward.
"I am Ultron, Infinite Ultron."
Infinite Ultron's gaze met the robot's, and in that instant, countless pieces of information were exchanged.
"I understand. I am Ultron 10086." The robot, no, Ultron 10086, said.
Subsequently, he joined the Ultron army behind Infinite Ultron.
"We will bring true peace to the Multiverse!"
Infinite Ultron shouted, leading his legion to break through the Universe barrier, opening a spacetime aisle to the next Universe. The other 10085 Ultrons followed closely, pouring into the aisle.
Behind them lay a dead Universe.
Within the Prism Dimension, a Watcher watched this scene, trembling and daring not to make a sound. He feared he would be beaten to death by so many Ultrons.
"It's over. With so many Ultrons gathered together, who in the Multiverse can stop them?"
It wasn't until these Ultrons had left for a long time that the Watcher snapped out of his shock.
"And judging by the Ultrons' posture, they are still going to continue assembling."
"No, we must find a way to stop them. Otherwise, they will destroy the Multiverse."
He made up his mind, deciding to apply for intervention from a higher-level Watcher, one who observes Watchers.
He believed this intervention would not violate the Watchers' oath.
Infinite Ultron was no longer a crisis that normal civilizations could handle.
Soon after, he received a reply.
A reply from a higher level.
The reply was a refusal.
"Damn old geezers! Have they become so accustomed to being high and mighty that they can't see what's beneath their feet, and have they forgotten their original purpose?!"
Upon seeing this reply, the Watcher flew into a rage and denounced them.
"No, I have to find a way myself. So many Ultrons gathered together would be a catastrophe for ordinary Universe civilizations, even for typical pantheons."
"Only sufficiently powerful gods might be able to stop this crisis."
The Watcher pondered, then suddenly thought of a suitable being.
"Help me, Sorcerer Lucas."
Strange looked in the direction of the voice, he wanted to know who had stolen his line.
Lucas and the Ancient One also looked in the direction of the voice.
A tall, thin, bald monk.
"Watcher, why have you come? Are you here to pay the energy?" Lucas greeted him.
In his impression, this Watcher was quite adept at handling things.
Last time he repaid, he even paid an extra 500 million points.
This time, the two billion points for the Ten Realms War has been delayed for so long. It should be at least an extra 100 million, right?
"Yes."
The Watcher nodded, and with a raised hand, he opened a teleportation channel.
On the other side was a vast ocean of energy.
Lucas nodded with satisfaction, immediately activating his talent [Energy Absorption] to absorb.
This made Strange, who was beside him, incredibly envious.
When he wanted to absorb energy, no one proactively delivered it to him. He had to summon dark creatures through magic arrays, and then subdue them with his strength to complete the devouring.
Because of this, he was often misunderstood by some sorcerers who didn't know the truth, believing he had gone astray.
A moment later, Lucas had absorbed all the energy on the other side of the portal and nodded with satisfaction.
Indeed, there was an extra 100 million points.
Seeing this, the Watcher closed the energy portal, secretly pleased.
He had done a lot of homework before coming.
Lucas was an upright person and usually wouldn't refuse his requests when there was a good reason.
But at the same time, he was also very young and prone to emotional responses. When dealing with young people, one had to stroke their fur the right way.
"Sorcerer Lucas, I have another matter to ask of you this time."
After a moment of deliberation, the Watcher slowly spoke.
Strange, beside him, widened his eyes again.
Why is he saying my lines again?
"Hmm?"
Lucas looked at the Watcher in confusion.
"Young people nowadays prefer to be direct. When asking for a favor, it's best to state what needs to be done first. Don't waste time with pleasantries, dragging things out and being wishy-washy."
"Sorcerer Lucas's lesson is well-taken." The Watcher said somewhat fawningly.
This made Strange gape in astonishment.
Anyone capable of appearing beside him unknowingly must be a powerful being, right?
Why would he demean himself so much, lowering his posture to such an extent?
"I hope you can act to stop Infinite Ultron. After the matter is concluded, there will be a generous reward."
The Watcher gritted his teeth as he mentioned the generous reward.
"Don't you Watchers usually avoid interfering with the real world?" Lucas asked, puzzled.
"This matter is unusual, far more complex than just involving a few, or even dozens, of Universes."
"And I believe the Watchers' oath is to protect the independence of weaker civilizations, allowing them to develop freely and independently, not to stand by and watch them be slaughtered by an unbeatable opponent."
The Watcher smiled bitterly, slowly explaining the full story.
At some unknown point, but certainly after Knull disappeared, a robot calling himself Infinite Ultron appeared in the Multiverse.
After bringing peace to his world, he not only wanted to bring peace to other Universes but also rallied his variants from other Universes to do it together. Gradually, he assembled an Ultron army.
Currently, 10086 Ultrons have joined his army, and millions of Universes have already been ravaged.
The Watcher deliberately glanced at Lucas, reminding him, "Moreover, according to information revealed by unnamed sources, the original Ultron observed the battle between two gods, which is how he discovered the existence of the Multiverse."
"And judging by the timeline, there has only been one recent battle between such powerful Gods."
Lucas narrowed his eyes, understanding the Watcher's meaning.
So, this Ultron invasion of the Multiverse was caused by him.
This Ultron observed his battle with Knull, and thus discovered the existence of the Multiverse.
The Watcher added, "Furthermore, as Infinite Ultron followed the footsteps of the two Gods' battle, a wonderfully powerful energy emanated from the source of the conflict."
"Feeling this energy, Infinite Ultron realized that he absolutely could not bring peace to the opponent with his strength alone. Therefore, he assembled other Ultrons from across the Multiverse, wanting to..."
"Alright, I agree. I will stop these robots."
Lucas interrupted the Watcher, accepting the request.
Since it was his doing, he would naturally be the one to resolve it.
He looked at the Watcher and asked, "What is your name?"
The Watcher said, "Watcher."
Lucas's brow furrowed, a dark line flashing across it, and he spoke with more emphasis, "I'm asking for your name, not your race."
The Watcher explained, "I have no name. Watchers do not need names. Once one has a name, one has a self, and thus a stance."
"Watchers only need to be unknown observers, silently witnessing and recording the development of life and civilization within the Multiverse with their eyes and ears."
Lucas glanced at him meaningfully.
Could this Watcher be subtly criticizing a certain kinsman?
However, what he was doing now didn't seem like something someone without a self would do.
"Alright, if you don't want to say, then so be it. It's not that important anyway. Once I'm done with things here, I'll go with you."
Lucas shrugged and spread his hands in one fluid motion, then he looked at Strange with a hint of helplessness.
"Tell me, why have you come to see me?"
Strange was concise, stating his purpose directly, "I hope to find a method, a method to reshape my Universe."
Afterwards, he elaborated on his origins, the problems he encountered, and why he pursued the silver light that symbolized miracles and infinite possibilities to this place.
Finally, he pleaded sincerely, almost beseechingly, "Help me, Sorcerer Lucas."
Lucas decisively refused Strange.
Reshaping a Universe was not his area of expertise.
But he thought for a moment and then took out a ball of energy. He solemnly handed this ball of silver-white energy, worth a full ten points, to Strange.
"Stephen, creation is not my strength. But since you came for this energy, you must have seen some possibility in it."
"I now entrust it to you. You can research it yourself and try to find a way to reshape your Universe."
Strange received the silver-white energy ball from Lucas with both hands, carefully cradling it in his palm.
He gazed at the faint glow emanating from the energy in his hand, mesmerized. After a moment, he awoke, hesitatingly extracting a wisp of energy to absorb and carefully perceive.
Suddenly, Strange trembled all over. He felt an inexplicable sensation of pleasure rush to his head, as if his soul had been cleansed and purified.
The burden on his soul and body, caused by forcibly devouring numerous dark creatures, was slightly alleviated. The next moment, his soul and body produced a strong instinct, wanting to devour all the energy in his palm. But he overcame this instinct with powerful willpower.
This energy was incredibly precious, related to whether he could reshape the Universe, that he couldn't just devour it casually.