"I can, but I do not know how," Johnson whispered. His voice was tight with strain as he looked up at Rio. Above them, the sky churned violently. The protective net of clouds woven from Rio's energy began to tear apart under the overwhelming pull of the black hole.
"You move faster than light," Rio said urgently. His body trembled as thin lines of blood slipped from the corners of his mouth. "You can go back in time. Change this. Save everyone. My family. Your family too."
Johnson blinked, stunned. "Go back in time?" he repeated softly. He turned his wrist and checked the glowing interface on his watch. "Jake, can I really do that?"
A smooth mechanical voice spoke in his earpiece. "Affirmative. Temporal traversal is possible. However, be advised: due to time dilation, memory retention is unlikely. Most recollections of the current timeline will be lost upon entry."
"I do not care," Johnson said. He clenched his fist as sparks of pure energy crackled across his suit. "I cannot sit by and let this happen. Not again."
Behind him, a weak voice rose. Rex in his original form slumped in the rubble. "Why?" he whispered. "Why did you not kill me? I caused your species pain. I destroyed them. I…"
Quicklightning turned and looked at him with no hatred. Instead, his eyes held warmth. He smiled with a bright genuine human smile and let out a soft laugh.
"Because I forgive you," he said quietly. "No one is perfect. Not even me. And no one is beyond hate either. I know the pain of losing someone you love. I know how grief twists the heart. But still, I forgive you."
Electron's eyes widened. For the first time, he seemed at peace.
"A human and a Dryaid," he murmured. "Working together. Maybe one day we will all be united."
The device embedded in his chest, Archex's final gift, began to pulse violently. It cracked. Light surged from within.
Then it exploded.
Electron's body shattered into glimmering particles. His essence faded into the wind.
"Rex…" Rio whispered, but it was already too late. The protective cloud net collapsed. Exhausted, Rio fell from the sky. The black hole, now unrestrained, began devouring everything in its path: light, matter, and reality itself.
Johnson stood still for a single heartbeat.
Then he pulled his mask down over his face. His eyes glowed like stars.
"It is time."
He took a deep breath and ran. First he became a flash of color. Then a streak of rainbow energy that outran the black hole behind him. His speed increased with every heartbeat. Faster. Faster. Faster. He ran across destroyed buildings, collapsing skies, and bending space.
He ran beyond light.
He ran through gravitational collapse.
He ran through time itself.
His skin began to burn. Friction peeled it away. But he did not stop. He could not stop.
"I am the lightning that never stops running," he roared. His voice echoed through the broken vacuum of time.
"I am Quicklightning."
With a final burst of blinding radiance he broke the boundary. The veil of the present shattered and rewound.
Nine hours back. Before everything. Before the end.
The scene opened again in Voyage City in Texas Nevada. It was six thirty in the morning. The skies were clear. Birds sang softly. For the first time in what felt like ages everything was calm.
Johnson woke slowly. Soft lips pressed gently against his own. His vision cleared and he saw Angela. Her green silky hair fell around her shoulders like warm sunlight. She kissed him again, slower, more deliberate.
"What is going on?" Johnson asked quietly. He was confused.
"You were sleeping so peacefully," Angela said with a small smile. She curled a strand of hair around her finger. "So I woke you gently. Did you not like it?"
"I was just running," Johnson murmured. He touched his temple. A sharp pain stabbed through his head as fragments of the destroyed world returned to him in sudden flashes. He groaned and accidentally fell forward into Angela's chest.
Angela laughed softly. "Feeling a little zesty are we this morning, Johnny?" she teased. "You look tense. Maybe I can help ease that pain."
She kissed him again as the room filled with the golden light of morning.
And so it began again.
Far away on the other side of the world and forward in time the echoes of the previous collapse still lingered in Smart City, a place once shielded by advanced technology and powerful spells. A distant cosmic rumble shook the air.
Jerry sat calmly at a polished marble table in his sky high apartment. Soft jazz played as he sipped hot coffee. His eyes glowed faintly with knowledge from the previous timeline. He stared at the enormous black hole frozen in the sky.
He took another sip and sighed.
"Your move, Johnny," Jerry said quietly. "This is your test. I cannot keep helping you forever."
Behind him a tall man with sharp red hair approached. He wore a pristine three piece suit. His movements were precise and quiet. With a silver decanter he poured red wine into Jerry's cup.
"Sir," Alastor asked calmly, "why did you not assist your friend during the battle? You could have prevented the destruction. You could have saved the people who were consumed."
Jerry chuckled and swirled his drink.
"Oh, but I did help," he said. "You think I would let billions vanish? Before that Djinn and Johnny threw the first punch I moved everyone."
Alastor blinked. "Moved everyone?"
"Yes. I expanded the underground shelters placed them in a pocket dimension within my shadow space. I relocated the entire population before anything went wrong. Even the slums," Jerry replied. He grinned smugly. "I knew Johnson would try to save them. That is who he is. He is too kind."
"And you think he will return?" Alastor asked.
Jerry stood and looked toward the horizon where time flickered.
"He will return. Maybe a few seconds earlier. But he will return. To finish what was started."
"And at what cost?" Alastor asked softly.
Jerry did not answer immediately. He raised his glass in a silent toast to the trembling sky.
"I cannot reveal all the details yet," he said with a playful smirk. "But one thing is certain."
He turned toward the readers.
"This chapter will take time to understand before the next one arrives."