"He's dead?" Hal looked at the place where Thanos disappeared. He couldn't accept this scene now.
"According to the White Ring's perception of life, he is indeed dead, but his soul is not within the control of the Spirit of Existence." Wayne's eyes were also somewhat complicated. They couldn't make a single judgment about Thanos. Aside from their opposition, there was nothing about Thanos that they found unforgivable and unacceptable.
As for the fact that a snap of the fingers destroyed half of all life in the universe.
That's not what happened in their universe, right?
Moreover, according to Steve, this Thanos did not achieve his obsession. It was his other universe self who achieved his obsession.
"Did we win just like that?" Carol couldn't believe it. The enemy, so powerful and godlike as to be a demon, had met his end in such a dramatic fashion. She was even a little unsure if Thanos was truly dead. But the perception given to her by the White Ring definitely confirmed Thanos's passing.
"How can we say we won? To be more precise, we were completely defeated!" Wayne closed his eyes. He would rather fight Thanos until the end of the universe than face this unknown situation where he had completely lost control.
Without Thanos as an obstacle, they would probably have to face Luke head-on.
"Can't we reverse time again? Thanos is dead, and there is no one to stop Barry." Hal swallowed, looked at Barry Allen and asked.
"It's useless. Thanos locked the timeline, and his death was not a simple death, but an integration into our universe. In other words, he used his own death to forever tamper with part of the rules and parameters of our universe. I don't think he could have failed to imagine that after his death, we would use the power of time again. I feel very bad. When I came up with the idea of using the Speed Force to reverse time, I had a strong premonition." Barry also looked a little bad.
"What premonition?" Everyone looked at Barry, who had a grim expression.
"I'm speeding, fuck!" Barry spread his hands and couldn't help cursing out loud.
Everyone's expressions suddenly froze.
"Reversing time can only happen when my speed exceeds a certain limit, but I can't run at that speed now. There's a force that constrains me, like the universe has gained a few more rules, a layer of shackles. The Speed Force still exists, it's still one of the powerful forces of this universe, but in this universe, it and its users are restricted," Barry grumbled. While he might not be able to run at that speed for a long time without this restriction, there's still a difference between having and not having it.
"Let's go back first, we still have a lot of troubles to deal with. Besides, the captain may know something." Wayne took a last look at the empty throne floating in the void and turned around.
Several white lights converged together to form a huge white comet-like light, which swept towards the blue planet that was much lonelier in the planetary system.
This battle was destined to have far-reaching consequences. They also needed to consider the subsequent troubles before finishing it.
When the Spirit of Existence leaves, it will resurrect all those who died in this battle, but it is powerless to do anything about other losses, or it has no time to take care of them.
After returning to the base, Wayne and the others looked at the captain sitting in his seat with complicated eyes. Although he did not participate in the confrontation with Thanos, he did his best to protect the planet and life, and no one could blame him.
Soon, Wayne suppressed the complicated emotions in his heart. They now needed to race against time, so he told Captain America everything that had happened, Thanos' death, and how Barry and others felt, and asked Captain America if he knew what this situation meant.
"What else? Is there any more detailed or other perception information?" The captain did not evade the questions from Wayne and others. Instead, he thought about it seriously and asked questions to everyone.
"It seems like there's something extra in the universe. It's hard for me to describe the feeling in words. But if you're willing, you can let me connect to your consciousness and experience it." John was a little embarrassed.
"Come on then." The captain did not refuse John's request. If nothing unexpected happened, he would leave here soon. Before leaving, he would just do them a last favor.
John's spirit entwined with the Captain's, and when the Captain didn't resist, he took the initiative to share his feelings. Of course, this sharing was still different from what he felt at the time, but this was the best way he could restore it.
"It's the data dimension." The captain, who had broken away from John's mental connection, shook his head, carefully experienced the familiar feeling, and answered softly under the eager gaze of Clark and the others.
"Data dimension?" After Wayne and others repeated the captain's answer in their minds, they did not ask any further questions. Instead, they looked at the captain, waiting for his next words.
"The Data Dimension was first discovered by Luke. Stark and Dr. Banner speculate that its emergence and even its birth are closely related to Luke. Luke is one of the controllers of the Data Dimension. You can think of it as a unique universe, or a higher dimensional world."
"What's its purpose?" Luther asked. He didn't have much ill will towards Luke, especially after learning about his deeds. But Luther was no stranger to the confrontations and clashes between clever people.
He really wanted to collide with Luke.
With sufficient knowledge and preparation.
"Is it a weapon created by Luke?" Thinking of the restrictions and weakenings they faced, Wayne had already regarded it as some kind of rule-based weapon.
"Weapons? No, why would you think so?" The captain glanced at them in surprise. "Data Dimension, as Luke put it, is a platform for rapidly advancing scientific research. Although he later added a lot of functions to it. In our area, almost all of our researchers are users of Data Dimension. It can be used to replace all scientific research instruments, simulate various experimental environments as needed, and store and keep all scientific research data confidential.
It frees up scientists from resource and funding issues. In our area, all researchers are devoted fans of the data dimension; they utilize it, study it, and refine it. It's an open dimension. It brings not destruction, but convenience and transformation!
"But if that's the case, why are we restricted and affected?" Barry asked.
"I'm sorry, I don't know any more. All my knowledge of data dimensions comes from the explanations given by Luke, Stark, and other corporate and laboratory scientists.
In fact, research data on data dimensions is the most precious secret of every giant enterprise and laboratory. For the sake of confidentiality, except for some well-known popular science information, other information is mostly strictly guarded. Only by signing a confidentiality agreement provided by the bank can you know the secret research information on data dimensions.
Of course, there are some people who are willing to share their research results publicly, but they are a very small minority, and only connectors with access to data dimensions are qualified and have channels to view and purchase them.
"Overall, the existence of the data dimension is positive and of immense significance to humanity and civilization. What happened to you may have been caused by Thanos's constraints." The captain shook his head and detailed everything he knew about the data dimension.
Captain's words left everyone momentarily unsure whether the limitations they faced stemmed from the effects of Thanos's death or from the Data Dimension itself. Wayne and Luther instinctively questioned the Data Dimension, even though Captain praised it with such fervor. Luther, too, yearned for the Data Dimension Captain described; after all, it was a place every researcher longed for. But that didn't stop him from suspecting the Data Dimension had some special uses.
"Did Luke ever tell us where the data dimension originated from? If it's another universe or world, shouldn't the two worlds experience various disasters similar to those caused by a [collision]?" Luther asked.
"I'm not sure where the data dimension originated. It was created after an invasion caused by the Space Stone. Luke defined it as a world that coexists with the universe. I don't think the description of it as entities and shadows is accurate, but it can be explained. You can think of it as the virtual dark side of the universe. Perhaps it can be considered an operating platform for the rules of the universe? Just like your operating system. The entity of the universe is hardware, and it is software. Of course, this is just my personal understanding, and in fact, this understanding may have many errors and omissions." The captain scratched his head. "After all, you asked me, a combatant, to force myself to understand a lot of incomprehensible professional terms used by researchers. It's really too difficult for me. If it were Stark or Dr. Banner, they might be able to give you more accurate and detailed answers."
"One last question. Does the emergence of the data dimension mean that Luke has come to our universe?" Seeing that the captain didn't know more information, Wayne asked the last question.
This question also made the surroundings quiet again, and everyone's attention was focused on the captain.
"If I said I didn't know, would you believe me?" The captain said uncertainly, spreading his hands with a wry smile. "Even though I've fought alongside Luke, he prefers to stay in his labs. I don't know if he'll come and take me home himself, or if he'll arrange for someone else to come."
Just when everyone was about to say something, the perceptive person on the scene seemed to have sensed something and looked up at the ceiling of the cave base. A dazzling beam of light pierced through the rocks above the base and accurately covered the area where the captain was.