The Anomaly Protocol
The Architect's presence silenced the room. Its very existence warped the air, bending physics like a whisper in a hurricane. The Watchtower's systems flickered under its aura, failing to comprehend the logic-defying being now standing among them.
Batman narrowed his eyes. "You said he must be deleted. What gives you the right?"
The Architect's reply was instant, emotionless.
> "We built the first cosmos. The Sentry is a glitch—an unintended echo of the fail-safe meant only for universal resets. He has outlived his code. He destabilizes everything."
Superman stepped forward, calm but unyielding. "Then update your damn code. He saved lives. He's trying."
> "Intent does not negate entropy. His very existence corrupts continuity."
Before another word could be said, the walls of the Watchtower trembled.
A pulse of black light tore across the station. For a moment, it felt like reality skipped a beat. Everyone dropped to one knee—except for the Architect, and one other.
Robert Reynolds.
But it wasn't just him anymore.
The Void was awake.
---
Robert's body floated in the center of the Command Deck. Half his face glowed with radiant gold; the other was consumed by seething shadow. His eyes—one blazing like a star, the other a swirling spiral of emptiness—scanned the Architect.
"Delete me?" he said, his voice layered with two identities. "You're not my god."
The Architect's head tilted slightly.
> "You misunderstand. We are not here to judge. We are here to reset."
Suddenly, the Architect raised a hand made of shifting polygons and data fractals. The cosmos behind it cracked like glass.
> "Protocol Infinity: Initiated."
---
Reality trembled.
Earth's skies turned crimson.
The Moon split into halves.
People began to forget names, identities, the concept of time itself.
In every corner of existence, divine anomalies—beings of extreme power—started vanishing, erased from memory and matter.
Superman gritted his teeth as he tried to resist the wave. "What the hell are you doing?!"
> "Returning the universe to its intended state."
---
Then, a pulse.
A roar of resistance.
Void Sentry struck.
In less than a second, he launched himself at the Architect—fist colliding with incomprehensible form. The impact shattered the Watchtower's shields, forcing the rest of the League to flee as the station began collapsing.
The Void was no longer holding back.
This wasn't Robert.
This was a god who refused to be erased.
---
On Earth, heroes and cosmic entities alike watched as a black storm began to form in the sky—not of weather, but of rewritten fate. Lanterns lost contact with Oa. Speedsters felt time breaking. Magic users screamed as spells unraveled.
And in the heart of it all…
The final war had just begun.