Lord of Cinder in American Comics

Here, I want to express my deepest gratitude to him. I don't know how he chose me, this grain of sand, from the vast beach, but he gave me a chance.

Furthermore, I want to thank my readers even more; it is you who have given me the motivation to continue. In particular, my first reader, Rising Sun in Winter, was someone who supported me by giving me a reward as soon as I uploaded the book in January.

As of now, a total of fourteen readers have donated a total of 10363 points. Thank you all.

Here's something funny: I only found out today that you can attract more readers by updating more chapters after being featured! I'm absolutely stunned. I used to update 4,000 words a day—how much did I miss out on?

So there will definitely be an extra update tomorrow.

As for how much more, that depends on how many subscriptions I get tomorrow.

Here's my idea: since most newcomers don't know the approximate percentage, I'll just calculate the bonus chapters based on the initial subscription amount. One bonus chapter for every 100 initial subscriptions.

There are also rewards for donations; for every 1 coins donated, an extra chapter will be added, and these can be accumulated. If a donation has exceeded 1 coins, an extra chapter will also be added.

I'm adding another chapter for my first reader who supported me.

Therefore, the number of chapters to be updated tomorrow is X = (first subscription number / 100) + (donations / 10000) + 1 + 1

It will be available for purchase tomorrow at noon. I hope you will all support me. Thank you all.

## Chapter 95: Stark's Change (Two chapters for now, I'm going to grab some food, I'll come back and continue writing)

The lone wolf, the scent emanating from him at that moment, filled those who saw him with a sense of pity and sorrow.

Stark stepped forward; he was the first to understand what Ash meant.

Seeing the man's imposing presence, he was no longer as frivolous as before, but instead said rather solemnly, "Don't worry, I can provide you with a job, and you can live here."

Stark's writing was not without purpose; in just over ten hours, he experienced monster invasions, demon invasions, and witnessed all sorts of fantastical events.

Stark had already adjusted his tolerance to the maximum, so offering some help to an otherworldly visitor at this moment wasn't out of the question.

Furthermore, based on Stark's observations, only a handful of people were able to enter the sacrificial site at this moment; even his bodyguard Happy was kept outside.

Meeting Logan here indicates that he is someone accepted by Ash and the Fire Keeper, and it is necessary to befriend Logan.

"I never said he couldn't come back!"

Ash's words jolted Logan out of his slumber. Wolverine revealed his fierce gaze, awaiting Ash's response.

"Time and space are interconnected; you just happened to be there. Once your aura has settled, you can resume your actions."

"Then how do you know me? Didn't you say it wasn't my world?"

Having regained his confidence, Logan kept asking for information, wanting to find out exactly what kind of world this was.

Not knowing what to say to prove herself, Ash could only pull out a spare phone and toss it to Logan.

"You can search it up; there are no X-Men, no Magneto and Charles, and not even mutants in this world."

Logan held his phone, constantly typing in keywords to search for relevant information.

Although, to his knowledge, the X-Men and mutants have always been at a disadvantage in public opinion, some related information still remains online.

However, Logan searched through all the search keywords he could think of and only found a comic book published in 1963 that used the name X-Men.

The comic artist even resigned due to sales issues. The latest news on his social media account is that he plans to experience various everyday jobs to create new works.

Upon finding this information, Logan gripped his phone so tightly it made a clicking sound.

Now burdened with the responsibility of saving mutants, Logan desperately hopes to return to his own timeline to prevent that tragedy from happening.

"Relax, relax. Don't get so worked up," Ash advised Logan from the side.

Then, Ash suddenly realized something, almost as if a lightbulb had appeared in his head, and said with a sudden realization, "If you're afraid of missing time, don't worry at all. Once you anchor yourself, you'll return to the original timeline."

"What do you mean?" Logan asked, puzzled.

"No matter how long you stay in this world, you will return to the moment you were originally teleported and continue your journey on the original timeline."

The experienced Ash explained the cause and effect to Logan.

After all, Firelink Shrine is a convergence point of time and space. Ash has experienced various invasions and counter-invasions. Everyone will return to their original time and continue their mission of linking the fire.

For everyone, their own timeline is fixed and unchanging. Although there may be moments when they intersect with others, time will only continue when we return to time itself.

Hearing this, Logan finally relaxed completely. Looking at the phone that had been crushed in his hand, he handed it to Ash, feeling embarrassed.

"I'll find a way to make it up to you, and also your antiques."

Ash took the phone, tossed it into the corner of her four-dimensional backpack, and then pulled out a new one and handed it to Logan.

"Here you go. You'll need a communication tool here. I'll give you some more money later, since you'll be staying for a while."

He checked his backpack; it was full of gold and silver items. He had almost no currency on hand. Since arriving at the sacrificial site, he hadn't had a chance to spend money, nor had he saved any paper money.

Fortunately, the Fire Keeper noticed Ash's predicament and handed her a stack of banknotes.

Ash handed the money to Logan and said, "This is perfect. Take this for now, and come to me if you need more. Things have been a bit chaotic in NY lately, so I probably won't have much of a chance to spend money."

"If you need a place to stay, there's a guy outside the sacrificial site with slicked-back hair who's giving orders over a walkie-talkie. Just talk to him. He'll help you find a suitable place to settle down."

Logan nodded, said nothing, and walked straight outside.

After Logan left, Stark and Cassell seized the opportunity to approach. The aura of weakness emanating from Logan deterred the two from getting too close.

Kassel was there for the legendary story, while Stark looked worried.

"Ash, is the world really as I see it today?"

Stark immediately offered a unique rebuttal to his life over the past thirty years.

Even though he had heard his father talk about the extraordinary people in Captain America's Howling Commandos, he had never actually seen them, so he always treated those stories as bedtime tales from his childhood.

Even today, in just a few hours, we have experienced several terrible things that nearly destroyed the world.

Having survived a near-death experience, Stark couldn't help but feel he should do something.

Instead of giving Stark a direct answer, Ash invited the two to sit around the campfire, took out some marshmallows from her backpack, and slowly began roasting them.

It wasn't until the two calmed down and flipped the cotton candy in their hands that Ash said, "Earth is a magical place. Many dimensions can only exist because of Earth."

“Long ago, there were many ancient gods who also set out from Earth and made a name for themselves in the universe.”

"Or perhaps a powerful outsider has begun his own experiments on Earth, creating different races."

"The Earth has always existed, even though it once had a great name, but at this moment, in the universe, it is a remote little place."

So, there's no need to worry.

Stark disagreed with Ash's explanation. He quickly stuffed a roasted marshmallow into his mouth, exhaling hot air as he said, "But we can't wait for those guys to forget about Earth. We need to have our own power."

With a somewhat gloomy expression, Stark now resolutely took on the responsibility of protecting Earth.

In response to Stark's idea, Ashe countered, "So what are you planning to do? Put a suit of steel armor on Earth?"

"I will do it if necessary."

## Chapter 96: The Remnants of the Flame

Giving Earth armor was Stark's later idea, and based on this idea, Stark created Ultron.

Ultron believed that humanity was the cancer of the Earth, and that only by eliminating humanity could the Earth be saved.

This is undoubtedly a typical logical fallacy, and the computer program has developed this logical loophole to form a complete closed loop.

To prevent Stark from doing something like Ultron, Ashe kept subtly trying to dissuade Stark from having such an idea.

"So what are you planning to do?"

"I have an idea for developing portable armor tools, and I'm going to make armor that I can use."

Stark used the bamboo skewer he had finished eating to draw on the ground, and soon a pattern resembling the Mark II armored vehicle appeared.

Originally, after being kidnapped, Stark built the Mark I in a cave using rudimentary tools. Now, with the workshop fully equipped, Stark has begun designing his Mark II.

Iron Man began his journey two years ahead of schedule.

Ash didn't stop this behavior; Iron Man's arrival was just the beginning of a major event, and he didn't intervene, either for personal or professional reasons. As for what happened afterward, he'd let it subtly influence Stark.

"How much data flow and real-time computing would be needed to power such armor?"

Upon hearing Ash's question, Stark glanced at her with some surprise. In his mind, Ash was just a clergyman with a rudimentary understanding of high technology, yet he could ask such a question, which made Stark think too highly of him.

“I have a ‘butler’ who can help me with calculations. As long as the real-time data can be connected to Stark Industries’ servers, I can always easily control this armor.”

Stark's butler is Jarvis, the same butler who served the Stark family his entire life and continued to care for Tony as he grew up after Howard's death.

Tony Stark has always had a special affection for Jarvis, so much so that his AI system was named Jarvis.

“Stark, relying solely on ‘machines’ won’t work.”

Thinking about Ultron later on, Ashe still felt it was necessary to give Stark a heads-up.

"Why not? Machines and intelligent programs are efficient and precise, and can help me accomplish almost everything."

Ash thought to herself, "I can't possibly tell you how much trouble you're going to cause in the future, can I?" So she could only express her worries in a subtle way.

“I have a friend of a friend who is an expert in computer neural networks. You can talk to him if you have the chance.”

Ash's friend is naturally Reese in the suit, and his friend is Finch, who developed the meme prediction machine. One of Finch's strengths is that he maintains a rational attitude towards his creations, allowing them to complete their tasks without letting the programs interfere too much with reality.

Having vaguely expressed his intention to find out, Stark began to ask Ash questions.

Men can become fast friends at first sight, but Ash is shrouded in mystery, making him difficult to understand.

Taking the opportunity, Stark asked the question that had been lingering in his mind: "So, Ash, how do you know so much? You even know about Logan's background, whom you just met!"

Ash couldn't answer truthfully, at least not at this moment. So he steered the conversation back to Constantine.

"You met that magician today, didn't you?"

Stark nodded, waiting for Ash to continue explaining.

“The mages have their own lineages, and they are divided into different schools. For example, Constantine has the lineages of witch, sorcerer, and magician.”

"And mages usually bear the responsibility of protecting dimensional spaces. That's why we saw Constantine on the battlefield against the orcs."

Stark wasn't swayed by Ashe's evasive tactics; he remained waiting for Ashe's explanation. Stark continued with his question: "And you, Ashe?"

"I am but ashes responsible for rekindling the fire."

At this point, Ash spoke with a mix of self-deprecation, helplessness, and, more importantly, an indescribable sadness.