American comics: Starting with Luke the Maker

“Is this our future?”

Wayne, having broken free from the mental illusion, looked at the composed, middle-aged Luke's projection waiting for them.

“That depends on you,” middle-aged Luke said softly.

“In other words, if we choose to continue resisting, this scene will happen in our universe?” Wayne asked again.

“I don’t think you realize the seriousness of the problem, do you?” Although Wayne's tone was calm and even, Luke still discerned the will hidden beneath his composure. Grasping the emotional fluctuations of living beings was his forte.

“You’re threatening us!” Hal said angrily, having regained his senses.

“No, we are saving you,” middle-aged Luke retorted.

“We don’t need your salvation. We’d be grateful if you just didn’t cause us any trouble,” Aquaman Arthur said.

“Are you sure you won’t regret this? Even if it means your universe is plunged into eternal abyss?” A peculiar look appeared on middle-aged Luke's face.

“Alarmist,” Hal frowned.

“Is that so? Have any of you studied Luke's energy?” middle-aged Luke asked.

Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor both raised their hands.

“Then I presume you have recognized the power and complexity of this energy. But I must remind you, even if you are the geniuses of your universe cursed by knowledge, there are still gaps in your understanding of this energy.

I don’t know if the Captain has told you, but this energy is a double-edged sword, just like people have good and bad sides, and emotions have positive and negative aspects. Its negative side is the Abyss,” middle-aged Luke said eloquently.

“What is the Abyss?” Even the least sensitive person would vaguely sense something unusual after hearing the word 'Abyss' twice in a row from middle-aged Luke.

“That’s a good question. What is the Abyss? It is the most vile and infectious negative energy. It possesses unparalleled devouring, assimilation, activation, and contamination abilities.

Those Zerg in the mental illusions were terrifying, weren’t they?

But no matter how many there are, they are just food for the Abyss. With just a little bit of Abyss power, their entire race can be quickly contaminated and completely assimilated into Abyss species.

No self, no freedom, only endless pain with no release. There is currently no way to completely eradicate them.

The energy has already taken root and is multiplying in your universe. Without our help, you will inevitably face the Abyss. Look at those mental illusions. A single Brood can leave you helpless, relying only on Luke's energy to achieve a limited degree of victory. So, how will you deal with the Abyss, which is far more dangerous than the Brood?

Eventually, even your universe will become your enemy,” middle-aged Luke said the most dangerous things in a flat, straightforward tone.

“How do we know you’re not lying to us?”

Hal and the others exchanged glances, unsure whether this was a psychological tactic or something that could actually happen.

“You will naturally verify the truth, won’t you? Of course, if any of you are willing to sacrifice yourselves to touch the power of the Abyss and verify it, I might be able to arrange it. Is anyone willing to step forward and sacrifice themselves? You won’t necessarily die, but you will definitely become a crazed source of infection,” middle-aged Luke said with a smile, glancing over Hal's faces one by one, replying casually.

“Then why create this energy in the first place? I mean, if it’s so dangerous,” Hal asked, puzzled.

“The road ahead is always dangerous, but we can’t stop moving forward,” middle-aged Luke rolled his eyes at him. “Just like human technology, it can be used to reap lives, but it can also serve humanity. You can’t accept its good without accepting its bad. Moreover, good and bad are transitional states for us. Throwing out the baby with the bathwater is not advisable.”

“What do you want to do?” Diana stepped forward.

“Join us,” Luke said without hesitation.

“It seems we have no choice, do we?” Wayne also shook his head slightly. He could naturally see that everything that happened in the previous illusion was an undisguised warning. The other side didn’t care if they knew more; in fact, the more they knew, the more powerless they would feel.

A conspiracy is when everything is clearly told to you, telling you what I’m going to do next, and you can only watch it happen, powerless to stop it.

They cannot represent the living beings of their universe, and the civilization on their planet cannot represent all the civilizations in all universes.

If they don’t join, others will naturally join.

With time locked and abilities suppressed, even their last known means of turning the tables have been sealed. Time is not on their side. They cannot unite the front, nor can they make choices for others.

If they can’t overturn the chessboard, they can only follow the other side’s instructions step by step, like chess pieces.

“No one wants this to happen, do they? Who knew the Captain would end up in your universe due to an accident. Since it has already happened, what we can do is not resist, but cooperate,” middle-aged Luke reached out his hand.

“We need time to consider,” Wayne glanced at his partners and, in the collective silence, stepped forward and grasped Luke's outstretched hand.

It was an empty, intangible, vacant feeling. After all, what Luke left here was just a virtual projection.

“Of course,” middle-aged Luke nodded noncommittally. Anyway, it wouldn’t delay the advancement of the plan and the extraction of energy, would it?

Time, this time, is on their side!

“This is a connection device that links you to that data dimension. Take them, and you can contact us through it.

If you want to go home, I can send you back now. Of course, you can also stay and visit our world, maybe you can find inspiration to break the situation through familiarity and understanding?” middle-aged Luke joked, suspending a series of silver bracelets assembled from the air in front of Wayne and the others.

……

“Ah!”

Thor's face turned red, and the veins under his skin bulged like earthworms. He had used almost all of his strength, but he still couldn't lift the gorgeous heavy hammer at hand.

This was a heavy hammer he had asked for from Luke's collection room after seeing it and developing a fondness for it. He liked it at first sight, and he strongly felt that he and it would become good partners, just like his Mjolnir that was shattered in the battle with Hela.

But he now has a problem, which is that he can't lift this hammer.

He knew that artifacts have their own spirituality and temper, so he had taken out everything he had used to treat Mjolnir in the past, wanting to gain the artifact's approval, but the other party was impervious to any approach!

Of course, when necessary, it can still self-seal a part of its power for him to use. But in non-intense battles and fatal dangers, this hammer is aloof to the point that it gives him a headache.

PS: Thank you to classmate 寂静得峰 for the reward.

PS: Azeroth is not impossible, but I am not familiar with it. My understanding of it is just from reading some Azeroth web novels. It's an alternative. The next volume is unlikely to be selected. Are there any others?