When dusk came, the heavy haze fell softly on the skyline, casting a mysterious color over the originally brilliant sunset, and when the light shone through the mist into the ward, Stark turned against the light, and a hazy aura blurred behind him.

Schiller stood on the other side of the bed, Connors came over with a needle, the two discussed the data in a low voice, Schiller turned to look at Obadiah lying on the hospital bed, and then at Stark, who was sitting opposite.

He kept his head down, his brown eyes sunk into the shadow of his eyelashes, like the sun trapped in a cage.

Stark propped his elbows on his knees, then covered his mouth with his hands, his body movements indicating that he didn't want to talk now, but his voice still flowed from between his fingers, with a razor-sharp hoarseness.

“…… I have seen a lot of things, the past, the future, I have seen a lot of me, and I have seen a lot of life trajectories that are different from theirs. ”

The tone of his first few words raised slightly: "Maybe you won't believe it, I understand all these truths, understand all the secrets." ”

The breath he exhaled through his nose landed on his hand, and Stark could clearly see the change when he lowered his eyes.

"Maybe it was only for a short moment, but that moment of time was endless for me, and I saw everything I wanted to see."

He moved one hand, raised the first few fingers, and put them back: "I saw Howard." ”

The clouds swept across the skyline, darkening the light, and the trembling at the edge of Stark's voice had a strange magic.

In the hazy fog of sunset and smog, Stark walked into a bustling fair, and he saw that the man who had been a little bit of a lake in his memory was standing next to a hovercar, introducing his great invention.

Stark followed the crowd away, exited the back door of the fair, and stepped into the dimly lit laboratory, where the man was holding a shield and was having a good time with Steve.

After the lights in the laboratory went out, there was a violent shaking, a sharp sound of brakes, and a violent explosion......

The debris stalled, the sparks condensed, and time turned backwards, and in the lab, Stark picked up a picture frame with his hand of a picture of Howard and Obadiah, who were still young at the time.

When the lights in the lab came on, young Obadiah walked in, Howard hugged him warmly, and the two of them spent the night talking about the great inventions.

The genius ideas that came to Stark's ears fascinated him, not because of how powerful they were, but because he had never had the friendship of the two of them, and had never had a soul mate with whom he could talk all night.

After the loud braking and explosions, Obadiah's figure began to grow thin, and more and more gray hairs appeared on his head, and Stark saw that after he hung up the phone, he began to tremble, as if he was proud, as if guilty, as if crazy.

Stark was standing in the lab, Howard walked in front of him and beckoned to Obadiah, Steve was adjusting the handle of the shield, and after a while, Pepper walked in while talking on the phone, and Schiller sat in front of the lab table and turned on the light bulb.

Peter walked in with a steaming breakfast in his hand, the floor of the laboratory trembled violently, and the huge lizard monster jumped in, and in an instant, Dr. Connors turned into Sven, Connors reached out, and a needle was handed to Stark.

Stark looked up, and both Connors and Schiller looked at him, and Connors' hand crossed Obadiah's hospital bed and placed the needle in front of him.

"If nothing else, he'll wake up after the last course of treatment." Schiller continued: "In addition to this, he may live longer, and his mind and body will become younger. ”

Schiller looked at Stark's expression, and he said, "You should have fallen into deep suspicion by now, because when you learned the news, you found that you were not happy. ”

"You're wondering why, and you suddenly find yourself not as generous as you appear, and you may wonder if there's really a bond between you and Obadiah, or if it's all because of someone you don't want to talk about......"

"Don't use mind-reading on me." Stark raised his eyes to look at Schiller, unprecedentedly, Schiller did not refute him anymore, because he understood that the current Stark was no longer simply the Iron Man in this universe.

When he ascended to the one and only moment, many things were different.

Perhaps the energy consumption of the magic reactor did not last too long for this moment, but fundamentally, this Stark in front of him had already understood all the truth.

Stark looked at Obadiah in silence, and neither Connors nor Schiller spoke.

When this genius cursed by knowledge sees through all the truths of the universe, he will no longer be trapped by those trivial emotions, and he will no longer be struck down by the surging tide of sensuality.

As a result, he will be able to make every judgment that affects his life clearly and be prepared to take responsibility for it without anyone reminding him.

After the clouds on the horizon drifted away, the light came in again, Stark stood up, he leaned over and pulled the quilt on Obadiah's body, and then said to Connors, "Let's do the last stage of healing." ”

Schiller didn't have anything, he pressed the button, the doctor and nurse walked in, Stark left the room against the crowd, Schiller also walked out, and the two stood by the door.

Stark asked him, "You're also the 'one', right?" You already know all this, you know how it happens, how it will develop in the future, that's the only thing that can be done by everyone......"

Schiller glanced at Stark, "At that moment, you should have the option to become the only one, so that the energy of the magic reactor will no longer have any shackles on you." ”

"The only is the only one, they will no longer rely on any energy to keep their person, but why haven't you done that?"

Stark suddenly laughed and said to Schiller: "You want me to do that, right?" You gave me a battery ...... that allowed me to break through these barriers and stand on a higher level."

"Maybe you think that no one can resist this temptation, and in an instant they can rise to the top, see through all the truth, feel that everything is under control, and just give an affirmative answer, you can become an eternal god."

"You have influenced Strange, the Supreme Mage, Asgard and Odin, and the Demon God of the Universe, so that I can make the right choice at that moment and become the only one in the universe."

"So you should be disappointed now, I wasted this opportunity and turned back into a mortal ......"

"I'm not bad psychologically, am I?"

Stark turned his head to look at Schiller, and behind them was the door filled with sunset lines, which looked like a picture frame, turning their figures into silhouettes, the orange-red of the background more vivid than any painter had dialed out of the palette, almost spilling out of the canvas and spreading to the walls and floor.

"You did surprise me." Schiller lowered his head, but his tone was calm, and he said, "But long before you, someone taught me a truth. ”

"Arrogance is deadly poison, whether it is a god or a man, when he thinks he has the ability to change all situations, to influence the fate of everyone, to fiddle with everyone like a pawn, he is not far from death."

"This arrogance will devour all human nature, depriving people of their most precious wisdom and emotion, and becoming the externalization of rules and order, whether you believe it or not, I never thought of doing it."

"I'm an ordinary person, and always have been."

"Actually, I don't know what I think." Stark looked up, some light shining through his hair, his eyes sparkling, and the chains-like shadows seemed to be completely away from him.

"Maybe you won't believe it either, but when I learned that I could be the only one in countless universes, one with all the others, and all Starks as my incarnations and projections, I knew all of this......"

Stark looked down. It was as if he was still standing on the top of a towering mountain, surrounded by cold winds and stars in the sky, an indescribable and indescribable space, and he saw that all the universe was trampled under his feet.

Several shadows rushed towards him, and they were about to become one, becoming unique beings in the universe, no longer having so many fates, memories, and histories.

But in the next second, Stark opened his arms, and then jumped down without hesitation, those shadows chased after him, but they were blocked out by the barriers of the monolithic universe.

“…… I rejected this upgrade. ”

"Is it hard?" Stark asked himself, "No, it's not difficult at all, there's nothing to hesitate about. ”

"No matter how many difficulties those feelings and wisdom bring me, it is not a reason for me to abandon them, no matter how ugly human nature is, it is still a part of me, not a dregs that needs to be eliminated."

"A perfect and lonely god will never be nobler than a vulgar and boisterous man."

"You are indeed a hero." Schiller's voice rang out: "Because there is only one kind of heroism in this world, and that is to love life after recognizing the truth of life." ”

As his last note fell, the clouds dissipated, and the brilliant orange-red background in the frame darkened, like cooled steel, and the figures of the two slowly sank into the darkness.

"Didi"

A shrill machine chirp rang out from the room, and after a shout, someone shouted, "He's awake!" He's awake! ”

------Off topic------

Interlude 2260-005, card.

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