Marvel: I Awake the Little Cosmos-Chapter 602 - 570: Entering the End of the Main Space-Time
The sky was a grayish-yellow.
Much like a piece of worn-out linen that had been repeatedly washed and rubbed before being discarded, the light struggled to penetrate this grayish-yellow shroud, rendering the entire sky in this hue.
The earth groaned underfoot.
Having successfully and silently smuggled himself into the 616 main timeline through the gateway of the Hell Dimension, Hawk looked at the ground before him.
The surface was covered with deep, wide cracks, resembling a riverbed that had been dry for billions of years or a giant mouth with invisible hands that had been violently torn open, filled with black wrinkles.
And in the distance, the city had vanished from sight, no longer even qualifying as buildings or structures.
Now, they were nothing but twisted black skeletons growing from the earth.
The concrete and steel beams thrust into the filthy sky at bizarre angles, much like arms stretched out in a final desperate struggle.
The half-collapsed walls still had charred window frames.
The air was filled with a complex aroma.
The heavy scent of earthy soil.
The lingering smell of burning.
But most importantly, it was another smell.
Death!
Gaining his senses, Hawk walked among the remnants of the city that had now become a ruin, feeling death’s indelible presence almost seeping into the bricks and stones around.
The entire city was empty, and as Hawk walked through it, not even the sound of crows could be heard, only the clarity of his footsteps amidst the deserted metropolis.
What happened here?
Did the Cosmos itself think it had damaged its timeline so irreparably that it was too lazy to create a new one and thus let this space-time walk to its end?
Hawk pondered, tempted for a moment to use the Infinity Gemstones to explore what had occurred in this space-time after his departure.
But he couldn’t!
In the alternative space-time, he could still use a portion of the Infinity Gemstones’ power without being detected by the 616 Cosmos.
But in the main space-time, even the slightest use of the Infinity Gemstones, which no longer existed in this time-space, would be instantly detected by the 616 Cosmos.
Hawk didn’t mind this, but only after figuring out what exactly had happened here.
So—
As Hawk contemplated his next move, even without relying on the Infinity Gemstones, his inherently keen hearing picked up faint footsteps coming from three blocks away.
Similar to the sound of stealthily moving in a delta.
Hawk raised an eyebrow.
The next second.
He vanished from the spot.
Meanwhile, in a ruin three blocks away from Hawk, a woman dressed in a plain linen attire that wrapped her tightly was cautiously moving amidst the rubble with a large backpack and occasionally stopping to peer through the cover at the grayish-yellow sky.
It seemed like something enormous and dangerous was lurking in the sky above.
Hawk followed the woman’s gaze towards the grayish-yellow sky, then back to the woman in front of him, who seemed to exhale in relief after turning her gaze away.
"What are you looking at?"
"..."
The woman stiffened upon hearing the voice behind her. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦
The next second.
Swish!
An old-looking axe appeared in the woman’s hand, and she swiftly turned, swinging it at Hawk, who appeared behind her without her noticing.
With a quirk of his eyebrows, Hawk extended his right hand.
Duang!
When his right hand caught the axe, a metallic clang reverberated, not loud but akin to a temple bell ringing amidst the silent city.
Hawk clearly saw the change in the eyes of the woman completely covered except for her eyes.
After witnessing him catch the axe barehanded, her eyes were filled with awe, but then shock swiftly shifted to terror, a terror that seemed to fill her very marrow as the sound rang out.
The next second.
Before Hawk could think, the woman released the axe and turned, fleeing in a panic yet swift manner toward the depths of the rubble.
Hawk frowned slightly at her strange behavior but did not follow. Instead, he lifted his eyes to the grayish-yellow sky where the woman had been watching.
Presumably, the thing that frightened her so must come from that sky, something that seemed to be drawn to sound.
Hawk was curious about what it might be.
But as he prepared to wait for this entity’s arrival, the woman who had initially fled into the rubble unexpectedly halted, looked back at Hawk, who remained gazing clearly at the sky, her mind racing before she bit her lip and quickly returned, grabbing Hawk’s arm urgently.
"Let’s go!"
"..."
Before Hawk could react, the woman had already dragged him toward the depths of the ruins.
With only a slight hesitation, Hawk didn’t refuse her invitation and followed her, quickly navigating through the city’s ruins.
The woman seemed to be exceedingly familiar with the ruin’s layout, for in just a blink, she had led Hawk into the city’s original sewer system.
As Hawk followed her into the now-dry and dust-filled sewer, he felt the cold touch of two weapons pressed to his body while two voices deliberately hushed called out.
"Don’t move!"
"Don’t talk, stay quiet, shut up!"
Hawk remained silent, watching the woman, with the help of another person, close up the exit they had just entered. Then the other person took out a device and quickly filled the gaps with something resembling foam.
But after completing this task, the woman and her companions did not relax. Instead, they pressed their ears against the entrance, seemingly listening for movement outside.
Even the men holding Hawk at bay with weapons looked up seriously and tensely at the sewer’s ceiling, likewise listening intently.
At this moment, Hawk naturally didn’t speak up to ask what they were doing. He followed their example and listened to the sounds from outside.
Sure enough.
He did hear something.
There seemed to be someone in the sky, hovering right over the spot where he and the woman had just stood, as if observing something.
The woman and her companions heard it too, their faces visibly tensing up.
Hawk seriously suspected that their hearts were now in their throats.
However, the person outside didn’t stay long. After observing that nothing seemed unusual, they flew away.
Yes.
Flew away.
But just as Hawk was about to speak, he noticed the woman’s expression hadn’t relaxed, so he quickly clammed up.
Sure enough.
After flying away, the person outside flew back again, hovering in the air, and then remained motionless once more.
Well, well.
Are they playing strategy now?
Hawk thought to himself.
The next second.
The sound of departure was heard once more, and after three minutes passed with no further noise from outside, the expression on the woman’s face finally eased a bit.
Seeing this, the woman’s companion also breathed a sigh of relief involuntarily.
The next second.
The woman turned her gaze to Hawk.
Just as Hawk was about to speak, the woman gestured for him to be quiet, then nodded toward her nearby companion.
The companion understood, took out an earpiece and a bone conduction device from a pocket, and then put the earpiece in Hawk’s ear and pressed the bone conduction device against his Adam’s apple.
Immediately, a voice sounded in Hawk’s ear.
"Who are you?"
"Hawk!"
Listening to the cool voice, Hawk looked at its owner, who was obviously the leader here, the woman who had just brought him in: "Who are you..."
"Andy!"
The woman...
No, that’s not right.
Although she wore a wraparound garment of burlap, Andy, with her well-defined physique just visible, watched Hawk warily.
"Where did you come from?"
"I came from Hell."
"..."
Hawk stated candidly.
But it was obvious that the woman named Andy didn’t believe him.
Hawk was straightforward.
"Who are you hiding from? What’s happening in this space-time?"
"..."
Upon hearing this, Andy’s gaze toward Hawk shifted: "You don’t even know the Cleaners?"
"Cleaners?"
Hawk frowned at this name, which had a Celestial God Team flair, then looked at Andy: "What about the Avengers?"
Upon hearing this, Andy looked at Hawk oddly: "You don’t know the Cleaners, but you know the Avengers?"
Hawk smiled slightly: "I’m curious too, you know the Avengers but don’t know me."
After all, from a certain point of view, he was also part of the Avengers.
Although in this space-time, he was a Hydra agent, after Sokovia, he was recruited by Captain America along with Wanda.
So...
He, Hawk, was indeed an Avenger.
Andy was slightly taken aback by Hawk’s words: "You’re an Avenger?"
Her companion, who also heard the conversation through the earpiece, turned their gaze to Hawk in unison.
Hawk smiled slightly: "Phoenix, Hawk Phoenix, or you can call me Vision!"
Andy and her companion exchanged looks upon hearing this.
At this moment, Hawk also sensed something was off.
He guessed a certain possibility.
"Do you know Iron Man?"
"We know."
"But you don’t know Vision?"
"Uh..."
"Who is Vision?"
"..."
