DC: Rise of the Kryptonian Tyrant

Bardi opened his eyes and came back to his senses again.

After several arrivals, he found it increasingly interesting, observing the differences between various versions of himself across the multiverse.

The Anti-Monitor's destruction of the universe was still in progress and would take a long time. There was still a significant period before the decisive battle between her and Darkseid.

Just as well, Bardi was thoroughly enjoying these arrivals. After giving the Hera Terminal a few instructions, he didn't waste any more time. With a slight smile, he closed his eyes and chose to descend again.

Next, Bardi descended nearly dozens of times.

Each host he descended into had a variety of strange last wishes.

At one point, Bardi arrived in the body of Mogo, the Green Lantern of Sector 2261—a living planet, a sentient world, and a glorious Green Lantern. Due to his unique form and immense size, Mogo possessed incredible power and was the largest Green Lantern in existence.

His wish was to protect the universe. How naïve.

How do you protect the universe?

It was a boundless and timeless wish.

Eventually, during an attack on Earth by the Street Lamp Corps, Bardi witnessed Superman unifying the Earth. Unfortunately, this was within the Injustice timeline.

The Guardians of the Universe and the Green Lantern Corps had already prepared to wage war against Superman.

Bardi was thrilled. He took the lead, and with Mogo's planetary body, no one could stop him. He shouted, "For the peace of the universe! For the Green Lantern Corps!"

Then he smashed into Earth with his planetary mass. Earth, the center of the universe, exploded on the spot.

Bardi completed the mission instantly!

Because in the aftermath of Earth's explosion, no one was left to rule it. Everyone began focusing on rebuilding, contributing to the co-creation of a new Earth.

Superman's Injustice version became part of this newly formed Earth and began cooperating with the Olympian gods and the Legion of Light.

With this result, Mogo's wish was fulfilled in satisfaction. Bardi completed another arrival.

That one was particularly memorable.

Bardi also descended into characters from TV series, which was a novel experience.

Once, he arrived in the Supergirl TV series as Winn Schott, a tech nerd with a crush on Supergirl. His final wish was for Supergirl to fall in love with him.

At the time, Bardi transformed into a mysterious superhero, assisted Supergirl, and gradually revealed his true identity. Together, they became guardians of the city.

However, even Bardi was surprised by what happened next. Supergirl didn't fall for Winn, nor did she follow the romantic arcs from the TV series. Instead, she fell in love with the Flash from the TV Universe, who had crossed into her world.

As a result, Bardi's rare mission failed.

Through dozens of arrivals, Bardi had more or less mapped out the multiverse.

It was essentially the DC Multiverse.

Or rather, the multiverse created by God mirrored the comics, TV shows, and animated series he had once seen.

Once, Bardi descended into Superman's body during the Doomsday invasion of Earth. He immediately recognized the scene.

It was the 70th-anniversary animated episode in which Superman died at Doomsday's hands. Understanding the context, Bardi willingly embraced death to fulfill the final wish.

By now, it was clear—these descents were novel and endlessly entertaining.

Of course, not all arrivals were comfortable within the DC Universe, but those were rare. Bardi hadn't descended often enough yet to see them all.

The funniest one, though, had to be that time.

He arrived as Iron Man.

That's right. Marvel's Iron Man.

DC had once published a Justice League vs Avengers crossover comic, and Bardi had landed directly in that universe. He became Iron Man and battled every member of the Justice League, shaking the entire multiverse.

During that chaotic time, Bardi even witnessed a clone of Darkseid clashing with Thanos. He snatched the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos, played around with it, and eventually developed it into an Infinite Universe Devouring Tech System.

In the end, he became too powerful to complete the mission. Bardi became the final boss, the ultimate enemy that both the Justice League and Avengers teamed up to defeat. He failed the mission several times—he had just gone too far.

At one point, he even felt like a more shameless version of Constantine—despicable, deceitful, and utterly unscrupulous.

He had also arrived as a woman, becoming an Amazon on Themyscira and fighting Diana.

He once became Hal Jordan and personally designed the Justice League Watchtower.

He became a father figure to Cyborg.

He even taught Green Arrow archery.

He had done it all. Over time, Bardi had descended into hundreds of alternate universes, gathered immense amounts of information, and strengthened himself with unique insights about his identity.

It's worth noting that, even after all these descents, Bardi had still not realized that the Phantom Stranger was watching him from the shadows, quietly recruiting Justice League members across the multiverse in preparation for a coming plan.

The universe was too vast. A hundred arrivals were not enough to encounter everything.

In the blink of an eye, years had passed. Even now, Bardi had no idea that a weak, insignificant figure was rallying the multiversal Justice League and other powerful beings in a growing effort to oppose him.

"Sigh…"

Bardi stretched out on a soft white floating cloud mattress, yawned, and twisted his neck, which had grown stiff.

"It's getting easier and harder!"

He sighed. Among all who had descended into the multiverse, he was the most frequent traveler. Always seeking to protect Earth and humanity. After his fourth time unifying the planet, he had implemented sweeping reforms and essentially become the Superman of the Injustice League. Once the Earth was completely pacified, the mission would be fulfilled.

Still, he had grown tired of ruling the Earth. He'd done it five times already, and each time he'd done a fine job.

But the thrill of ruling was long gone.

This kind of final wish? Bardi was done with it.

"I hope next time, something fresh happens."

With a helpless expression, Bardi chatted with a few of his wives, checked the progress of the temple construction on his planet, then laid back down and fell asleep.

...

"You're not Barry!"

"You're not The Flash!"

"I don't accept that you're Barry!"

"You… you're just a time remnant!"

"You're a remnant of time! You're not Barry!"

In his mind, the voices of all his loved ones echoed, rejecting him, denying him. His vision filled with terror.

He was submerged in the Speed Force, abandoned by friends and family through infinite cycles of reincarnation, sinking into an abyss of despair.

"I am Savitar!"

(To be continued.)