Up until today, Doctor Destiny had always been a failure.
He was nothing more than a tiny piece of trash in Gotham City, an ant that anyone could step on. He grew up amidst the contempt of others and was eventually locked away in Arkham Asylum, a place even in a city like Gotham referred to as the "cursed land," the abyss of society's rejects.
But now, he had returned from the abyss.
He possessed unmatched power, capable of freely controlling the world of dreams. Anyone facing him had to fear him and submit to him.
Yes, this was his home ground.
He could be as strong as he wanted, as fast as he wanted. The only limit was his imagination.
Here, he was the only god!
As these thoughts crossed his mind, the dangerous red glow flickered in his skeletal eyes again. A powerful aura erupted from him, and his purple-black cloak fluttered wildly in the wind. The field of fear radiated from his body.
Bang.
Ultraman punched him in the face again.
Doctor Destiny's skeletal face was almost shattered, and the emotions he was building up suddenly became disjointed.
It was as if the giant silently commanded him to "sit down," and he obediently sat down.
So fast!
Doctor Destiny's skeletal eyes seemed to widen.
How could he be this fast?
Shen You continued to press forward relentlessly. He feinted with his left hand, tricking Doctor Destiny into raising a hand to block, but it was a fake move. Shen You then grabbed him with his right hand, lifted him, and kneed him hard in the abdomen.
Doctor Destiny stumbled back, but the barrage of punches followed closely. The massive impact penetrated his skeletal head, continuously striking his face and body. The burning pain spread throughout his entire body, stimulating his nerves.
Unable to keep up with Shen You's speed, his strength was also completely overwhelmed. Doctor Destiny was going numb.
Damn it, this is my dream!
More and more citizens began to look up.
The cloud of fear was gradually dissipating, with each punch from Ultraman, the pressure on their hearts seemed to lighten.
The nightmare that had once dominated the entire city had somehow begun to fade, and the red-and-silver giant was like a ray of dawn, breaking the silence of the night, gradually awakening the entire slumbering city.
At this moment, everyone lifted their heads, countless gazes from all corners of the city converged on the giant.
The nightmare was retreating; there was nothing left to fear.
Because he was here.
"Go, Ultraman!"
From some corner, a child started to shout.
"Shut up!"
Doctor Destiny gritted his teeth and roared. His body, already a hundred meters tall, suddenly grew even taller with the burst of energy.
He grew to over three hundred meters tall in one go!
However, the silver fist fell once again, causing his skeletal face to crack.
To his horror, he saw that the giant had grown to the same height as himself!
"Aaargh!"
Doctor Destiny roared, and his enormous body began to split rapidly!
As Ultraman's punch came, Doctor Destiny's body split in two, one dodging to the left and the other to the right. Then, from two to four, from four to six...
Until the sky was filled with more than three hundred meters tall Doctor Destinys, standing amidst the Gothic buildings, surrounding Shen You.
"I said this is my domain. Here, I am invincible!" Doctor Destiny roared, "No matter who you are, you can't..."
Um?!?
Before he could finish, he saw Ultraman stomp his foot...
And countless clones appeared in the sky!
Each one was three hundred meters tall, filling the sky and seeming even more numerous than Doctor Destiny's clones!
"Uh..."
Doctor Destiny was dumbfounded.
This isn't right.
I'm the dream administrator, so I can change skills and stats as I please, but how come you can do that too?
Are you hacking?
And so, the one-sided beatdown of Doctor Destiny by Ultraman turned into... a one-sided group beatdown of Doctor Destiny by Ultramen.
The citizens' feelings as they witnessed this scene went beyond mere shock.
Some people even began to think of some more unscientific words in their minds.
Gods fighting.
No, "fighting" might not be the right word. Because throughout the process, it was basically a series of relentless punches and kicks from the countless Ultramen, occasionally throwing some skills with effects so dazzling it seemed like they were free, making the sky full of gorgeous effects, and the countless Doctor Destinys exploding like fireworks one after another.
Even if it was a dream, it was probably the most spectacular and grandiose dream they had ever had.
Until the countless clones were nearly wiped out. The last Doctor Destiny fell from the sky, collapsing another block of dream buildings, and landed heavily on the street.
Shen You's countless clones merged back into his original body, landing lightly in front of Doctor Destiny.
By this time, Doctor Destiny's skeletal face had been shattered into pieces. He felt his body collapsing and even sensed that the power he had accumulated for so long was continuously draining from his body.
He quickly realized it was because he was losing fear.
The appearance of this red-and-silver giant had dispelled fear. The citizens were no longer afraid, so he lost his source of power.
That's how nightmares work.
You face them, and they become weaker.
"No!"
Doctor Destiny's fragmented skeletal face let out an unwilling roar.
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
Here, he was supposed to be the master.
This should have been his story.
It should have been a story about fear, about despair.
It should have been...
Bang.
In his hysteria, Doctor Destiny gathered the last bit of his remaining energy into one final punch, only to be easily caught by the other party's hand, firmly and steadily.
As he caught that punch, Ultraman's arm didn't even budge, as if the punch had hit an endless ocean.
Then Shen You raised his right fist.
At the moment when the silver fist shot forward with a trailing afterimage, a flash of light appeared in Doctor Destiny's empty, dark eye sockets.
A dull thud, a fully-powered uppercut. The terrifying divine power sent Doctor Destiny's body flying, rocketing out of the city and into the sky.
Then he understood.
This was a story about light, about hope.
Shen You stood in the city, his gaze locking onto the enormous figure he had punched into the sky.
He positioned his arms at his sides, briefly gathering energy. The vast energy flowed into his arms, blue lightning radiating out, the surging power simmering within.
Aiming at the giant shadow in the sky, he crossed his arms into a cross shape.
A roaring blue cross storm shot out, like a blue blade cutting through the sky, straight into the clouds!
Spacium Beam!
At the moment when he was filled with light, a look of confusion flashed in Doctor Destiny's eyes.
So strong, so dazzling...
I must be dreaming, right?
Boom!
Doctor Destiny exploded into pieces, and a blue shockwave burst in the sky above the dream city, like a blue sun, illuminating the entire dark city.
As Doctor Destiny shattered, the dream realm also began to collapse.
Buildings crumbled, streets fractured. The sky fell, and everything became hazy, countless golden bubbles floating up as if carrying the entire space to the surface of reality.
The world crumbled, and everything in the dream began to blur. At the last moment before waking, the final image seen by every resident of the city was the red-and-silver giant standing between heaven and earth, slowly turning back to look at them, outlined in a divine glow, with golden eyes shining faintly.
This scene was destined to be imprinted in the deepest part of every Gotham resident's heart, never to be forgotten.
The dream ended.
Shen You opened his eyes and saw the old wizard staring at him with a complicated expression.
"What?" Shen You looked at him curiously.
"Nothing... Just realizing you're more complicated than I thought."
The old wizard hesitated.
He had seen gods and aliens before, but this was truly a first.
This wasn't just about simple strength; it was about something more fundamental, related to the form of existence itself.
Even though Shen You's displayed strength wasn't the strongest he had seen, his development potential was immeasurable.
"But it's not over yet," the old wizard reminded.
"The method you just used to break the nightmare realm with force should have caused some mental trauma to that lunatic who calls himself Destiny, but mostly on a spiritual level. His physical body in reality is still intact and can recover after some rest..."
"No worries, I know where his body is," Shen You said.
The old wizard continued, "Don't worry. I can cast a simple spell to track him... huh?"
He stopped mid-sentence, raising an eyebrow.
"You already know?"
So, am I unnecessary?