582. The Guiding Light of the Wasteland.

Without any resistance, the tiny flame entered the Peregrine Child's stomach.

In the boundless darkness, the eerie green flame flickered, as if it could be extinguished at any moment by the surrounding chaotic energy currents.

Gradually, within the flame, a nascent soul began to form—one that did not belong in this world, unique and irreplaceable.

Pure elemental energy stretched outward, and the outline of a human figure slowly emerged. Like a clone, it was a newborn existence, just coming into being.

A pair of confused eyes trembled slightly, remnants of consciousness stirring. Memories, long buried in the depths of the mind, surfaced like a flashing reel of images.

The man lay silently in the void, floating in a daze without any sensation.

"Lamplighter."

Suddenly, a voice echoed beside him.

Who?

The man furrowed his brow, trapped in what felt like an eternal nightmare.

"Lamplighter, open your eyes."

The voice grew louder, clearer—each word striking his mind like a hammer, shaking his already fragile consciousness.

"I'm Alex. You should at least remember me, right?"

Alex?

Lamplighter?

A sharp, stabbing pain shot through his skull. It was unbearable, forcing his body to curl up in agony.

"You have no idea how difficult it was to pull you out of that place. For so long, I've been carefully maintaining your life, piecing together your shattered mind."

The voice continued. The man clutched his head tightly, groaning and screaming incoherently in pain.

"Alright, I know this isn't the best time, but you have to wake up."

"Shut up."

Gritting his teeth, the man fought through the overwhelming pain. His entire body trembled violently.

"I know it hurts. That's your lost memories crashing into your mind all at once. Accept them—because they are you."

"No, stop talking!"

He shouted, and suddenly, fragmented visions flashed before his eyes—

A blond man wrapped in the Stars and Stripes, two children consumed by fire, a prison built to torture superpowered beings, a helicopter crashing in a fiery explosion...

The images felt so familiar, yet so distant. That eerie sense of disconnection made his very soul tremble.

The searing pain gradually subsided. His hands fell limply to his sides, and in that moment, his consciousness faded entirely.

"Don't sleep. You still have a dream to fulfill. Remember? I promised you—and I've kept my word. You can't fail now, not when it matters most."

The voice lingered, but the man could no longer hear it. He drifted in the darkness, an extinguishing candle, slowly being dissolved by an unknown force.

"Tch, I knew it wouldn't be this easy. Time to bring out the big guns."

The voice muttered, almost to itself.

The next instant—

A wave of excruciating pain tore through the man's body, jolting him awake. It felt as if every muscle in his body was cramping, every bone shattering at once.

"AAAAAGGHHH—!!!"

It was as if someone was performing open-brain surgery on him without anesthesia. The sheer agony forced his eyes open.

"I need your power, Lamplighter."

His eyes widened, his screams turning hoarse. He gasped desperately for air, like a fish stranded on land.

It took a long moment before he could even process what was happening.

"Alex?"

"Is that you?"

"You're finally awake. Not bad—looks like it worked."

Alex's voice rang in his ears again, clearer than ever, as if he were speaking directly beside him.

At the same time, Lamplighter's form solidified. He was still wearing his heat-resistant metal suit, his scruffy beard and hair unchanged.

Taking deep breaths, he tried to calm himself. His eyes darted around, but all he saw was endless darkness.

"Alex, what the hell is going on? Where am I? Where are you?"

"Well... Ahem. That's a bit hard to explain."

"Where. Am. I!?" He clenched his fists, his voice urgent.

A chilling sense of dread filled him—this place defied all logic, a void beyond comprehension.

"Right now, you're inside the stomach of a monster powerful enough to threaten the multiverse. And trust me—now that it's full, it definitely has the ability."

"…What?"

Lamplighter's expression twisted into something indescribable.

"Relax, buddy, this was definitely not part of my plan."

"Alex! We agreed—you were supposed to bring me to a peaceful, safe world! A world where I could use my powers to help people! And now you've dumped me inside some monster's stomach?!"

Frustration bled into his voice. With nothing to see, he could only float in the void, helplessly stewing in disbelief.

"We can talk about that later. Right now, I'll explain everything when there's time. But at this moment, we don't have time to chat. The fate of the entire universe depends on you, Lamplighter."

Alex's tone was deadly serious. It was clear—this situation had already reached the point of no return.

Hearing Alex's words, Lamplighter slowly calmed down.

He knew Alex's capabilities well—that godlike power that could reshape reality with a mere gesture. Someone like that treating the situation with such gravity could only mean one thing:

The crisis Alex was facing was far worse than he had imagined.

With that realization, Lamplighter's expression darkened. "Tell me. What do you need me to do?"

"You are currently inside the body of the Peregrine Child. It's a high-level being that feeds on energy—its entire existence revolves around consuming magical power from different dimensions."

Listening closely to Alex's explanation, Lamplighter frowned. His knowledge was limited, but just hearing that name was enough for him to tell—this was no ordinary creature.

"If you approach the Peregrine Child with a physical body, almost any being would be destroyed instantly. And even as an energy form, without a strong soul, you would simply dissolve within its stomach."

"But you are different."

Alex's tone shifted, becoming more serious.

"To bring you out of your previous universe, I transformed you into pure elemental energy."

"And not only that—so long as I exist, so long as my flame remains unextinguished, you will always be able to reform your soul from a spirit state. Even the Peregrine Child cannot erase you."

Lamplighter was beginning to understand Alex's intention. He narrowed his eyes, staring into the void. "What do I need to do?"

"You are inside the stomach of the Peregrine Child. Within it lies the limitless energy and magic it has devoured over countless years."

"And all of that energy, all of that magic—right now, it is like gasoline. All it needs is a single spark to ignite."

"And you, my friend..."

In Odin's Realm, Alex floated in the air, gazing down at the monstrous, roaring Peregrine Child. A dangerous smirk curled on his lips.

"—It's time to light the beacon of the wasteland!"

As his words echoed, the endless darkness around Lamplighter suddenly made sense.

His eyes snapped open, and eerie green flames erupted from them. At the same time, fire began to spread across his entire body.

A brilliant green radiance burst forth, ripping through the void and banishing the surrounding darkness.

It was only then that Lamplighter realized the world around him was not empty blackness. Instead, countless streams of energy, each glowing with a different hue, flowed gently around him.

He could not tell where these energies came from, but their vastness was overwhelming. Before this boundless power, he was but a single raindrop in an ocean.

The dense fire enveloped his body, swallowing him whole. In the center of that energy storm, he slowly crossed his arms in front of him, forming an "X."

And then—

With all the energy within him surging, he abruptly flung his arms downward.

In an instant—

It was as if someone had thrown a lit match into a warehouse full of fireworks.

The once-still energy exploded into chaos, rising into a furious inferno.

""WAAHHHH—!!"

The Peregrine Child let out a piercing wail, its massive form convulsing. Thick black smoke poured from its body, accompanied by crackling arcs of energy.

A ghastly light gleamed from the creature's eyes as it stumbled backward.

All of Asgard trembled.

"He did it."

Watching the spectacle, Alex smiled faintly before turning to withdraw.

""No—no! You cannot harm my child!"

From the shadows, black smoke seeped from the Crown's form. Despite its agonizing pain, it gritted its teeth, raised its heavy sword, and charged straight at Alex, screaming.

Without the energy supplied by their child, the Mothers would be completely powerless.

Perhaps before, they possessed strength comparable to the lords of various dimensions, but now, there was no need to worry about them anymore.

Shazam suddenly broke free from the grip of the Wryd. Without waiting for the Crown to advance even a few steps, he caught up in an instant and delivered a full-powered punch, sending it crashing into the glacier.

Still unsatisfied, Shazam followed up with a brutal kick before lifting his head to look up at Alex in the sky.

"Did it work?"

But instead of a confident smile, what greeted Shazam was Alex hurtling toward him at full speed—along with a shouted warning.

"Stay where you are! That thing is about to explode!!"

.....

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