The Multiverse crisis, like an unquenchable forest fire, rapidly spread throughout the known universes.
The bizarre and thorny nature of its threat even surpassed the all-encompassing frontal invasion of the Great Old Ones that came before.
These Marks from other universes might vary in individual strength, but they all possessed the most troublesome ability: inter-dimensional travel.
They could appear suddenly like ghosts above any planet, carrying out cruel destruction and slaughter, then vanish quietly like a drop of water into the ocean before Mark or the Alliance's main forces arrived, leaving no trace.
Mark and the Alliance were almost helpless against this unpreventable guerrilla tactic.
Aside from inefficient, costly, and clumsy methods like passively increasing patrol density and stationing heavy troops at important nodes, they had no effective counter-strategies.
The expanse of the universe was too vast to achieve comprehensive defense.
And the more fatal blow came from the collapse of internal confidence.
Planet after planet, civilization after civilization, fell victim to the Multiverse Marks.
Although the true Mark always obliterated or repelled the invaders with thunderous force, the seeds of panic had already been sown.
Rumors began to spread like a plague.
"They're all here for revenge on Mark Grayson!"
"It was our following him that brought these disasters!"
"Perhaps we'll be safe if we leave the Alliance!"
At first, only some of the most peripheral and weakest civilizations, in extreme fear, timidly announced their withdrawal from the Alliance and cut off all ties.
What was unsettling was that after they withdrew, the attacks against them indeed stopped.
This was like the first domino falling.
The instinct for self-preservation overcame the greater good of unity.
More and more grassroots planets and civilizations, under the threat of death, chose to withdraw. The Alliance's scale rapidly shrank at a visible rate, and its influence plummeted.
Mark and the Alliance's reputation hit an all-time low since its inception.
Mark watched the increasingly fragmented Alliance, filled with powerlessness and anger.
He could only, together with Ruijia, constantly rush between the member planets that had not yet withdrawn, trying his best to appease, demonstrate strength, and make promises.
But the doubt and fear, like a haze, hung over everyone's hearts, difficult to dispel.
The research on the wreckage by the scientific team also hit a bottleneck.
The physical structure of those Multiverse Marks was largely similar to Mark's, and their ability to cross dimensions seemed to stem from the assistance of some external device.
However, the core technology of the device and the coordinate positioning system behind it contained spatiotemporal laws far beyond current understanding, making it impossible to decipher in a short time.
Just as Mark felt at a loss, almost suffocated by this endless passive defense and internal disintegration.
A turning point appeared in an unexpected way.
In the outer space of Lishi Star, a highly complex and precise geometric light pattern rippled without warning.
A shuttle-shaped spaceship, extremely simple and sleek in design, seemingly crafted from pure silver-gray metal, without any visible propulsion devices, silently glided out of hyperspace. Its technological sense was completely different from that of the Alliance or any known civilization.
Almost simultaneously, Mark and Ruijia both felt that familiar yet alarming, cold and vast will.
"Titan?"
Mark frowned. How could they appear here?
Weren't they barely surviving in another universe?
The spaceship did not stop and was directly cleared to enter the Lishi Star spaceport.
The hatch opened, and indeed, two Titan Clan members emerged. Their avatars were still enveloped in a soft glow, making their specific forms hard to discern, but that unique, cold aura, as if capable of perceiving all data, was unmistakable.
What surprised Mark even more was the person who followed them out.
That person wore well-tailored dark gold attire, and his face was almost identical to Mark's own, only with a few more traces of a ruler's composure and majesty in his brows, and a hint of imperceptible fatigue.
It was the Mark from the Main Universe!
"It's you?!" Mark exclaimed in surprise.
The Main Universe Mark nodded, a complex bitter smile on his face.
"It seems the trouble isn't just in your universe."
The two Mark Graysons, having weathered storms in different universes, stood face-to-face once again.
The atmosphere was subtly delicate and stagnant for a moment.
The leading Titan Clan avatar emitted its characteristic, emotionless voice, cutting straight to the point.
"Mark, we have detected that the stability of the Multiverse is undergoing large-scale, organized destructive interference, and the source of the interference points to a large number of abnormally active Mark Grayson variables."
"Their activity is accompanied by faint, but undeniable, characteristic decaying fluctuations of the Great Old Ones."
The other Titan interjected.
"We have numbered and modeled all known universes. Universe 1, the universe where the Main Universe Mark resides, is the baseline prime plane in the current model and can be considered the origin and main branch of all Mark Grayson existences."
"And Universe 9 is the branch of existence where you are."
The Titan Clan's gaze swept over Mark, its tone seemingly carrying a hint of… helplessness.
"Your existence, Individual 9, is an extremely powerful anomalous variable."
"Your activity is like throwing a giant stone into a calm lake; the ripples it generates are violently disturbing all planes related to you, and even… attracting the attention of Great Old Ones who should be unrelated to this."
"In your organic terms, you are, to some extent, a jinx."
Mark: "…"
The Universe 1 Main Universe Mark said in a deep voice.
"Traces of other me have also begun to appear in my universe recently. Although they are currently only appearing sporadically and causing limited damage, they do exist, and… I can feel a nauseating stench on them."
"The Titan Clan found me and explained the situation. I believe this is no longer a crisis of a single universe; we must unite to deal with it."
He looked at the Universe 9 Mark, his eyes sharp.
"After all, you seem to be… the strongest among all of us."
Alliance.
This indeed seemed to be the only way out at the moment.
"So, what's your plan?"
Mark asked the Titan Clan directly, knowing these living computers must have been prepared.
"For now, the situation has not completely spiraled out of control."
The Titan Clan avatar replied calmly.
"As long as the interference is limited to spatial plane traversal and does not involve more complex and dangerous timeline tampering, our Titan Clan's technology is sufficient to handle it."
"We can provide you with blueprints for regional spatial stability anchors and plane fluctuation detectors. Stability anchors can greatly increase the difficulty of spatial traversal within a specific area, even locking down low-level spatial jumps."
"Detectors, on the other hand, can provide early warning of abnormal plane fluctuations, giving you a chance to intercept in advance."
This was undoubtedly a godsend!
If such equipment could be deployed on a large scale, at least important areas could be protected, breaking the enemy's ability to come and go as they pleased.
However, just as the Titan Clan finished speaking, and Universe 1 Mark was about to say something else.
A sudden change occurred!
Universe 1 Mark's figure suddenly began to flicker and distort violently, like a holographic projection with a bad signal, becoming extremely unstable.
His face also showed shock and pain, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't make a sound!
"What's going on?!"
Mark was startled and instinctively tried to step forward but was separated by an invisible force.
The next second, to Mark's shock, Universe 1 Mark's figure completely vanished as if erased by an eraser.
Leaving no trace, as if he had never appeared!
The scene was dead silent.
The halos on the two Titan Clan avatars also fluctuated violently, clearly beyond their expectations.
They were silent for a moment, seemingly analyzing and calculating something rapidly.
After a long while, the leading Titan Clan spoke again, its voice, for the first time, carrying a tone almost of gravity.
"The worst-case scenario… has been confirmed."
"The interference source… is no longer content with spatial-level traversal."
"The timeline… is being affected and tampered with by an unknown force."
"The disappearance of Universe 1 Mark Grayson means that the main timeline he was on has undergone a massive, unknown shift."
"He might have been thrown to a certain point in time, might be trapped in a time rift, or even… his very existence might have been temporarily or permanently overwritten."
Time tampering!
This word made Mark's heart sink.
This was far more terrifying and complex than spatial traversal; it meant that the enemy could not only move freely in space but also potentially attack simultaneously in the past, present, and future.
Impossible to guard against!
"Even you cannot cope with changes in the timeline?"
Mark asked in a deep voice.
"Time is one of the most fundamental constants of the universe, and also the most difficult force to master."
The Titan Clan replied.
"Even we find it difficult to track and intervene in all time branches. The energy and cost required to tamper with time are astronomical, theoretically making it difficult to launch frequently."
"But clearly, our opponents, with the support of the Great Old Ones, have mastered some level of technology, or… utilized some unknown cosmic legacy."
It looked at Mark.
"Currently, the chaos in Universe 1's main timeline has temporarily attracted the vast majority of interference and hostility. This is a brief respite for Universe 9, but also a precursor to a huge crisis."
"Our suggestion is: Universe 9 Mark Grayson, you, temporarily leave this universe and go to Universe 1."
"Firstly, your existence itself is the biggest variable and attraction source. After you leave, the direct pressure on Universe 9 will sharply decrease, allowing it to recuperate and deploy spatial stabilization equipment."
"Secondly, you need to personally go to Universe 1 to ascertain the truth of the timeline tampering, find the whereabouts of Universe 1 Mark, and stabilize that main timeline as much as possible."
"If the main branch collapses, all branch universes could be affected in unpredictable ways."
This proposal carried immense risk.
Going to an unfamiliar universe with a chaotic timeline and powerful enemies all around was tantamount to entering a dragon's den.
But Mark only pondered for a moment before nodding heavily.
"I agree."
He had no choice.
This was not only for other universes but also to protect his own home and loved ones. Only by facing the source of the crisis could a complete solution be found.
He didn't hesitate for long, immediately finding Ruijia, Cecil, Allen, and others, explaining the situation and his decision.
Although everyone was worried, they also knew this was the only viable plan at the moment.
Under Ruijia's complex gaze, the male protagonist Mark followed the two Titan Clan avatars and boarded the silver-gray shuttle-shaped spaceship.
The spaceship silently activated, and ripples spread in the space ahead, forming a stable and profound spatial aisle leading to the unknown Universe 1, where time was already in disarray.
Mark turned back, took one last look at Lishi Star in Universe 9, then resolutely stepped into the passage.
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