Virus Evolution: Pokémon, Marvel & Beyond

[System takeover: 44%.]

[System takeover: 45%.]

The zone of annihilation expanded rapidly, like a colossal black beast devouring everything in its path. Wherever it passed, all matter was reduced to its most primal form of energy.

With the ever-increasing scope of annihilation, the space where Lucius could safely exist was quickly dwindling. Fortunately, the Old One Virus wasn't bound by distance; with a single thought, he teleported to the far side of the planet.

But that didn't hinder his infection of parallel Lucius variants, his viral echoes already covered every corner of the world. Each one of them was him. No matter which host he used as the access point, breaching the system was equally viable.

[System takeover: 89%.]

[System takeover: 90%.]

It was evident, the Dark Trinity of Time and Space had unleashed their ultimate power, and with Arceus' prior approval no less.

The inky mass was no longer just an amorphous blot, it now resembled a titanic octopus, its tendrils slamming down and spreading across the planet's surface, intent on swallowing the entire world whole.

Over 700 million square kilometers of planetary surface had already been consumed, including the Oblivia region, home to the Resistance Headquarters.

But before that happened, Lucius had ordered Mewtwo to teleport all Resistance members and Pokémon to the original world.

Wherever the black mass passed, ethereal motes of light floated in the void, traces of all lifeforms broken down into their most basic energy.

However, this energy was now saturated with Arceus' divine laws, making it impossible for Lucius to absorb it, at least for now.

[System takeover: 99%.]

[System takeover: 100%.]

As the last sliver of the planet was engulfed in darkness, the system issued its final message:

[Congratulations. 'Virus Evolution System' takeover complete. Higher permissions unlocked.]

[Congratulations. Host has been upgraded from 'Virus Evolution System Bound User' to 'Virus Evolution System Executor.']

In the wake of this announcement, the black mass had completely enveloped the planet, reducing all life to raw energy. Even the colossal space-time rift above Oblivia was dissolved by the encroaching void.

At that moment, every last virus was broken down into purified energy.

With the system gone, the parallel version of Lucius no longer had the benefit of system support. When the final viral microorganism was obliterated by the power of world's end, so too did Lucius perish, utterly and irreversibly.

The world-conquering traveler who had risen to dominance in just a few years was utterly erased from existence.

But was the Old One Virus truly destroyed?

Of course not.

Even the power of world's end cannot obliterate a concept. And Lucius still had infected strains residing in the Distortion World.

Inside that distorted realm, the Mythical Pokémon had already sensed the destruction of the real world.

They were ancient beings who had existed for eons, each immediately understood the Dark Trinity's intentions, and they retaliated with unrestrained force.

Sacred Fire, Fusion Bolt, Aeroblast, Draco Meteor, an onslaught of devastating techniques lit up the eternal twilight of the Reverse World.

The chaos only intensified as opposing elemental forces clashed, causing the dimension to crack and fragment.

Then, without warning, a cross-shaped halo appeared in the sky. Golden divine light flooded the Distortion World.

This light was pure and boundless, like the dawn of creation itself. Under its radiance, the shattered realm began to dissolve like melting ice.

The Distortion World was merely a shadow of reality. And when light consumes the source, shadows cease to exist.

As the Distortion World collapsed into nothingness, the Mythical Pokémon returned to reality.

But what awaited them was not the world they once knew.

Silence.

Across the barren planet, the only sign of lingering life was the countless flickering lights drifting above the surface like fireflies.

Now, only Arceus and the Mythical Pokémon remained. But the End was not yet finished.

Palkia's pearl-like aura pulsed violently, and in a flash of spatial energy, the Mythical Pokémon were frozen mid-motion the instant they reappeared.

Dialga followed suit. The diamond embedded in its chest glowed with a mysterious brilliance, and the river of time twisted.

The frozen Mythical Pokémon flickered between solid and ethereal forms, unable to respond.

This, was the dominion of time and space.

Palkia locked the space surrounding them, while Dialga trapped the precise moment of their reentry into a temporal loop.

The Mythical Pokémon were now endlessly repeating the instant they emerged from the Distortion World—stunned, unprepared, and completely vulnerable.

It wasn't just their movements that were trapped, it was the moment of maximum vulnerability, locked and recycled by the peak of Palkia's power.

With the Distortion World gone, Arceus' divine radiance emerged once more in reality.

And now, the glimmering energy motes, residues of all life, responded like iron drawn to a magnet, drifting toward the Alpha Pokémon.

There were so many. As they converged from all directions, they painted the sky into a sea of light.

If Arceus absorbed them all, its power would surge exponentially. With such overwhelming strength and home-field advantage, it could instantly shatter every infected Mythical and purge the OId One Virus from their forms.

Lucius wouldn't allow that to happen.

Because if anyone wasn't bound by time and space, it was him.

Watching Arceus draw in the energy, Lucius knew the moment had come.

A colossal, invisible key materialized in the air.

It floated forward, and slipped effortlessly into a keyhole that didn't seem to exist.

The key turned.

Ripples spread through space like waves across water.

Then, the ripples were dyed crimson, twisting and collapsing inward to form a red wormhole.

The Spacetime Key.

A reward Lucius had earned during the mission to repel an interdimensional system invader.

Its power: the ability to open a gate to any world he had previously visited, and lock onto a specific point in time.

Naturally, this required a sacrifice: the life force of beings from both the current world and the target world.

But that had already been arranged, he had ordered Mewtwo to evacuate many Resistance fighters. Their life force was more than enough to power the gate's activation.

Palkia glared at the sudden wormhole, lashing out with spatial energy.

But to its shock, its authority over space couldn't seal or collapse it.

Why?

Because the wormhole had been opened by the system.

And the system's authority far exceeded Palkia's.

The blood-red portal widened rapidly, soon reaching several hundred meters in diameter.

From within it, powerful presences began to leak out.

And then—

One by one, familiar yet otherworldly figures stepped forth from the wormhole, facing the stunned Dark Trinity.

-----

TN: This chapter is a total maze, honestly, I had a hard time figuring out whether the author was referring to the parallel Lucius or the original one. To make things even more confusing, the virus mentioned here as the "Old One Virus" was actually called the "Doomsday Virus" in the raws. Like… what? Where did that even come from? For a moment, I thought it might be tied to the parallel Lucius, but its abilities seem to match the "Old One Virus" associated with the real Lucius. So yeah, if you're confused after reading this chapter, same here, lol.

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