Rise of an Immortal Chapter 82: The Day the Clown Cried

Novel: Rise of an Immortal Author: Kakarot1809 Updated: Jun 07, 2026

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Now reading: Chapter 82: The Day the Clown Cried from Rise of an Immortal, a Action novel by Kakarot1809.

Within the walls of a Aeon Biotech, Anna, Lena, and Pala sat in peaceful silence, enjoying a brief mont of normalcy over lunch.

A mont ago, the trio had been laughing together—just a peaceful lunch inside Aeon Biotech's private lounge, surrounded by arcane crystals and lush greenery summoned by Pala.

But then suddenly—BOOM.

The air cracked violently, the construct shuddered as a wave of deafening thunder swept through it. The shockwave hit like a hamr, roaring allover the building. Anna's senses went into overdrive.

In a blink, she raised her arms.

Shield of Seraphim!

Light Reddish sigils flared to life, encasing all three of them in a do of glowing energy just as a raging firestorm devoured them.

The blast tore through the structure beneath them. tal scread. Glass shattered.

Lena scread. Pala crouched down, shielding her head.

Anna's teeth clenched. She could survive this, but the others couldn't. Not without her help.

For a split second, the world beca a haze of fire, smoke, and panic.

And then... silence.

Ash rained like snowflakes.

Bits of what used to be the Aeon Biotech Headquarters crumbled all around them.

Outside the shield, chaos consud everything.

Inside the shield—silence, except for ragged breaths.

Lena finally lifted her head. "What... the hell just happened?"

Pala gasped at the devastation surrounding them. "Everything's gone. Did we just get bombed?!"

Anna, still shielding them, muttered under her breath, "How the hell should I know?"

The building was caved in around them. They were buried in debris—fire licking at the edges of the shield.

Lena, still shocked, said, "We need to get out of here—"

Anna glared. "No shit, Lady Sherlock." She raised both arms. "Hang on."

With a flick of her wrists, the construct rose into the air, lifting the three won above the rubble. The magical barrier burst upward, throwing debris aside like a spear breaching the earth.

They landed safely several ters away from the epicenter.

Screams filled the air.

Crowds had gathered, many wounded, others in shock. The once-beautiful skyline was now scarred and ruined. First responders flooded the area. News drones buzzed overhead.

Just as Anna scanned the damage, a familiar voice echoed inside her mind.

> "Anna, are you okay?"

She blinked.

> "I'm fine, Ethan." she replied internally. "Did you know our HQ was—"

> "I know." Ethan's voice cut in, slow and seething. "Not just the HQ. Our hotel too. And everyone inside..."

She clenched her fists, fury building inside her chest.

"Damn it, Ethan!" she shouted aloud, drawing stares. "Who the fuck is it?! Just give the na and I'll beat that guy's ass into the afterlife!"

Lena and Pala glanced her way, but said nothing as they moved to help pull a group of trapped survivors from the rubble.

> "It was Joker."

Ethan's voice was calm, but Anna could feel the storm beneath. Rage, barely held back.

> "I'm sorry, Anna... but there won't be anything left of him when I'm done. So you won't get the chance."

Before Anna could respond, the sky darkened.

A pressure unlike any other rolled over the city like a tsunami of dread.

Thunder growled in the distance.

Blue lightning cracked violently across the heavens.

Wind picked up, swirling like the breath of a god preparing for war. The temperature surged unnaturally—hot and cold at once—throwing the entire area into chaos.

A supernatural storm had arrived.

Lena looked up. "What now?"

Pala stared at the clouds, her arms trembling. "What's going on?!"

Anna's eyes glead with a flicker of humor—even in this chaos. "I can practically see four guys dancing with a coffin on thier shoulders right now."

Then she turned serious. "Rest unpeacefully, Joker."

As the winds howled, Anna ran toward the crowd, casting barrier spells to protect civilians from falling debris. Pala and Lena joined her, leading people out of danger zones, healing those they could, stabilizing the chaos as best as possible.

Then—a soft chi.

Above them, a green magic circle appeared in the sky like a divine eye opening.

Its energy washed over the entire area.

The winds stilled.

The fires died.

Everything slowly returned to normal... including the ones that died ca back like nothing happened, but the silence left behind was tense—unnatural.

Anna stared at the glowing sigil.

Pala and Lena finally stood in front of the crater that had once been the Aeon Biotech HQ. They didn't even know how to react anymore.

"What do we do now?" Lena asked.

Anna exhaled, her tone firm. "Let's send everyone ho. Evacuate the area. Prioritize safety."

Pala clenched her fists. "Whoever did this... they'll pay."

Anna gave a small chuckle—but there was no joy in it. "Trust ," she said, "he will."

For the first ti in all their years together, Anna had felt Ethan's rage through their telepathic link.

"Joker," she muttered under her breath. "You've made a mistake you can't unmake."

----------------------

Inside a dimly lit apartnt at the edge of Gotham's underbelly, the maniacal laughter of the Joker echoed like a broken music box. Cracks lined the television screens around him, all flickering with grainy news coverage.

He sipped cheap wine from a cracked teacup, his painted grin twitching with excitent.

Outside, the sky had turned jet-black, veined with crackling blue lightning, the kind of sky that warned gods to stay indoors.

And Joker?

He was thrilled.

"Looks like the golden boy's pissed off, heh-heh!" Joker clapped his gloved hands like a kid at a puppet show. "He's got that god-complex energy again. Always fun when people with halos start throwing punches!"

He spun in place and mimicked a news reporter. "Breaking news! Aeon—our shiny little golden god—throws temper tantrum after Joker makes him the punchline!"

He jumped up and twirled, still in his purple vest, sared red lips curling into a grin.

"Makes feel all tingly inside," he added, leaning close to a window. "This is what I live for. That scream of anguish. The tension in the air. The world trembling beneath a god's foot!"

One of his goons, wearing a clown mask, glanced nervously at the monitors. His voice shook. "S-Sir... uh... he did it. The building. Both of them. They—they're back."

Joker paused, head tilting. "Back?"

The goon nodded. "The hotel. The HQ. It's like ti reversed. Everything restored. Like... magic, sir."

The Clown Prince of Cri blinked... then laughed harder. He fell to the floor, pounding his fist.

"Oooohh, this is gold! GOLD! He reversed ti! This is better than therapy! Maybe I should ss with the other gods more often—not just ol' Batsy!"

"Damn! I just wanted to make headlines, maybe ruin his vacation plans. Didn't think I'd push him into playing Chrono ssiah! HA!"

He grinned wide enough to show his gums.

"I should blow up billionaires more often. This is entertaining!"

But then...

A voice, low and chilling, slipped into the room like a winter wind,

"What do you find so entertaining?"

"What's so amusing about this?"

Every man in the room froze.

It wasn't a shout. It wasn't dramatic.

But it carried weight. Weight like the silence before a nuclear blast.

"What do you take life for?"

The goons turned slowly, feeling the weight of their own breathing. One dropped his weapon. Another soiled himself.

Ethan Carter, clad in a dark, form-fitting coat, his eyes calm and piercing, stood in the corner. His hands were still in his pockets.

The goon stamred, "W-When—how did he get in?"

The air felt thick, like drowning in pressure.

The goon who spoke earlier didn't even blink. He couldn't. His legs locked up. His heart beat like a war drum.

Joker... sweated.

But still, he grinned, licking his lips.

"Well, well... look who crashed the party. Golden boy himself," he cackled. "What's with the monologue, Ethan? You think you're so kinda movie protagonist now? You need better dialogue."

He subtly slipped his fingers into his coat and pressed a button.

Joker chuckled, "I an, if you're gonna monologue, might as well cue the fireworks!"

From the shadows, dozens of goons erged. All masked. All ard. They aid high-caliber rifles, launchers, even energy weapons at Ethan.

Joker threw his arms wide. "Light him up, boys!"

Gunfire erupted.

The apartnt exploded into chaos—bullets, rockets, grenades.

Except... nothing hit Ethan.

The bullets froze in mid-air, suspended like beads of rain in a photograph. Dozens of tal missiles floated an inch from his skin.

Ethan didn't flinch.

He took one slow step forward.

The next... The room trembled.

A rocket fired—Ethan's eyes glowed red—and the warhead disintegrated into ash mid-flight. Every gun, every blade, every piece of tal turned to dust with a wave of his hand.

Then—

Everyone froze. Literally.

Each goon was lifted into the air, locked in place by telekinetic grip, their eyes wide with terror as invisible hands strangled them in place.

Joker was already halfway out the window... when he, too, froze. Midair.

His body twisted mid-air by telekinesis, until he was face-to-face with Ethan. He had a manic grin and wide, panic-laced eyes.

Joker chuckled nervously, the grin twitching.

"Y-you're really embracing the whole 'avenging deity' aesthetic, huh?"

"You think this is funny?" Ethan's voice rumbled low, like thunder across a field of graves.

Joker grinned wider. "Oh, absolutely! It's hilarious! You, the all-powerful golden boy, brought down by a clown with a few fireworks. That irony? Chef's kiss!"

"Well," Joker then rasped with sweat pouring down his neck. "You got . What now, Aeon? Gonna throw in Arkham? Give a slap on the wrist? Kill and make a martyr?"

Ethan's voice was ice. "You're way past that phase."

He took one more step, now nose-to-nose with Joker in mid-air.

"You want irony? Here's irony—your world ends not with a bang, but with silence."

Joker blinked. "Oh? Spooky. Real spooky—"

The world around Joker shattered like glass.

----------------

Inside the Tsukuyomi World...

A vast, silent void.

Joker stood in the center of a city.

His limbs were bound by chains of thought. He couldn't speak. Couldn't move.

Then he looked around.

There were people. But no chaos. No Batman. No Joker.

No one rembered him. Not even his na.

He watched a version of the world where he never existed—and it was peaceful.

Everyone was happy. Smiling. Peaceful.

Joker scread—but nothing ca out. No sound. No attention.

Days passed.

Then weeks. Then years.

He tried to scream. Tried to laugh. Tried to move.

But No one cared.

The world was better without him.

Centuries passed. He watched cities evolve, people grow wiser. Cri disappeared.

And Joker remained—forgotten. Unloved. Unnoticed.

The Joker, who fed off attention, beca nothing.

Eventually, he stopped fighting.

He stopped feeling.

Then—Agony.

Unbearable, soul-consuming, identity-shattering pain.

His body lit afla. His very existence burned.

And Joker... laughed.

A soft, broken cackle through clenched teeth.

"Ahhh... there it is... feeling..."

And then—death.

But it wasn't over.

The loop restarted.

Again. And again. And again.

--------------------

Back in the Real World

Only three minutes had passed.

Ethan stood in the center of the ruined apartnt. Joker hung limp in mid-air, mouth open, eyes glazed white, foam trailing down his lips.

Ethan didn't even want to touch him. He held the monster suspended like a disease.

He spat on the floor. "Fucking monkey... no. Even monkeys would be insulted by the comparison."

Suddenly—WHOOSH!

A figure cloaked in black landed behind him.

"That's enough."

It was Batman.

Monts later, Superman hovered down beside him.

Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Cyborg, and Shazam entered one by one, surrounding Ethan in a wide circle.

Bruce's voice was low, commanding. "That's enough, Ethan."

Ethan didn't turn. "You have the audacity... to ask to spare him?"

Batman walked closer. "You can't kill him, Ethan."

Ethan turned with eyes glowing faintly red. "I'm not killing anyone," he said slowly. "I'm removing a bug... a virus. I'm doing this world a favor."

Superman stepped forward. "You've already reversed the damage. No lives were lost—"

"And you want to risk more?" Ethan snapped, stepping toward him. "How many tis has he escaped prison, Bruce?"

"He'll be dealt with," Bruce insisted.

Ethan clenched his fist. "You've locked him up before. How many tis? How many escaped prisoners until you learn?"

Barry stepped up. "Ethan... you already saved the lives he took. The people are back. He didn't win."

"But he will try again," Ethan said. "And next ti, he'll get smarter."

Bruce stared. "If you kill him, you'll cross a line you can't return from."

Ethan turned sharply. "You think I care about your lines?"

Batman didn't answer.

Ethan continued. "He butchered innocent people. Laughed while doing it."

Ethan walked right up to Bruce's face. "Even Death herself respects life more than he ever has."

The room went silent.

Diana and Victor didn't speak. Shazam stared at the floor.

Barry shook his head but said nothing.

Batman stared at Ethan with a complex mix of sorrow and rage. "I won't let you do this," he said.

Ethan slowly turned to face him, the red glow fading from his irises.

His voice was calm—but the warning was clear. "Even if every one of you stood against ... I could still end him with a snap of my fingers."

The tension in the air thickened.

Bruce narrowed his eyes. "We can still try."

His words were t with unease. Everyone could feel it. This wasn't a fight. It would be a massacre.

Before anyone moved, Cyborg raised a hand.

"Hold up," Victor said before stepping between them. "There's another way. We don't have to go down this road."

All eyes turned to him.

Victor looked at Bruce, then at Ethan. "You talked about this before, rember? The Phantom Zone. You said it was the perfect place for threats too dangerous for Earth's prisons."

He turned to the others. "Let's send Joker there. That way, he won't die. But he'll never hurt anyone again."

Diana was the first to speak, nodding with a sigh. "It's a good compromise. Justice is served... without blood."

Flash raised his hand imdiately. "Yeah, yeah, I'm down for that. I an, co on, it's Joker."

Shazam followed quickly. "Sa here. I really didn't want to throw punches today. Especially not at him."

Hal Jordan also nodded. "Works for . Let's avoid the intergalactic headlines."

Clark looked at Bruce, then gave a slow nod. "If this prevents another tragedy... I'll support it."

Bruce, though, didn't flinch. "That plan was still under discussion," he growled.

Ethan turned, his voice edged with amusent.

"Well," he said, looking around at the team, "discussion's over. Democracy wins. Majority rules."

His gaze pierced Bruce. "And you know this is the only way I walk away."

Bruce stood in silence, jaw tight. His fists trembled at his side.

But finally... he gave a curt nod. "Fine."

-----------

Two Hours Later...

Inside the Starlabs Containnt Facility, a black-site lab buried beneath the surface, the Justice League gathered around a massive circular chamber glowing with alien tech.

Victor Stone stood at the control panel, the Phantom Zone projector gleaming with bright Kryptonian symbols.

In the center of the containnt ring lay the Joker—encased in a coffin of cryo-ice, preserved and unconscious.

Victor's voice echoed through the chamber.

"By freezing him," he explained, "we prevent any erratic behavior during and after the transfer. No panic, no chaos. Once inside the Zone, he won't be able to do anything. No escape."

Ethan stood silently at the edge with his arms crossed, eyes narrowed as he studied the process.

Beside him, Diana gently rested her hand on his arm. "You're doing the right thing," she said softly.

He gave a small nod.

Victor's hands danced across the console. "Initiating sequence."

A beam of light shot down from above, scanning the Joker's form. With a pulse of white energy and a low hum, the Phantom Zone portal opened, rippling like liquid glass.

The Joker vanished. Gone—without a sound.

Superman and Batman stood side-by-side a few feet away, watching the last remnants of energy fade from the air.

Bruce clenched his fist.

Clark watched him quietly.

Barry looked around, rubbing the back of his neck. "I... I guess that's it?"

Shazam exhaled loudly. "Whew. I thought we were gonna throw hands for a second."

Hal shook his head. "Don't jinx it, kid."

---------

Later That Evening...

A press conference was held at the Hall of Starlabs, caras swarming the steps as the world waited for answers.

Superman, Wonder Woman, Ethan, Batman, and the League stood together under a golden emblem. The backdrop read:

> "Operation Zero Chaos: Justice Without Borders."

The mont was monuntal.

Joker had been erased from reality—or close enough. His reign of chaos had ended, not in death, but in permanent exile to the Phantom Zone, a pocket dinsion of endless silence.

The world wanted answers.

And Ethan... wasn't here to sugarcoat anything.

The murmurs stopped as Superman stepped up to the mic first, his red cape shifting slightly in the breeze.

"Today, the Justice League enacted a high-security containnt operation," he said, calm and steady. "The target was the Joker. After coordinated attacks on civilian sectors, including the Aeon Hotel and Ethan Carter's headquarters, we took swift and decisive action."

He paused, letting the gravity sink in. "Rather than end his life, we utilized a failsafe solution: the Phantom Zone, a dinsion reserved for existential threats to humanity. The Joker is now permanently sealed. He cannot escape. He will never harm another soul again."

Imdiately, hands shot up from the crowd. Reporters yelled questions.

Dozens of reporters shouted questions.

"Is it true the Joker is dead?"

"Who authorized use of the Phantom Zone?"

"How did Aeon restore the destroyed sites?"

A woman with a Daily Planet badge asked loudly, "People are saying you rewound ti. Do you have ti-based abilities, Dr. Carter?"

Ethan looked at her. "...That's a complicated question," he said simply. "Let's just say I make it listen to ."

The crowd blinked. Murmurs began again.

One reporter recovered. "So... are you saying you have ti powers?"

He gave the faintest smile. "I'm saying I won't let people die when I can do sothing about it. Powers are just tools. I'm the one who decides how to use them."

Another reporter jumped in, "You exhibited control over fire, telekinesis, and weather—all in one incident. Are you even human?"

He looked at the woman, then at the whole crowd.

"I'm human enough," he said. "Human enough to be furious when innocents are murdered. Human enough to know when rcy doesn't work. And human enough to stop myself from tearing a monster apart when I had every right to."

Another reporter shouted, "Is the Phantom Zone going to beco standard policy for super-criminals?"

Superman stepped forward this ti. "It will be a last resort. Reserved only for those who pose an imminent threat to global survival."

A voice from the crowd: "Who decides that?"

Batman stepped forward, his face unreadable beneath the cowl.

"This wasn't a decision made lightly," he said. "We've been developing protocols for non-lethal containnt of tahuman-level threats. This was... the first execution of that protocol."

"You said non-lethal. Isn't Phantom Zone a death sentence in disguise?" shouted a man from the Star City Post.

Victor chid in from the side. "He's not dead. He's frozen. The Zone neutralizes neural and bodily function. No suffering, no awareness."