บท 222: I Will Go to You Like the First Snow (Part 2)
"That's why I have to bring him back. I owe him that much—I have to give him the happiest life possible. That's the debt I carry."
These were Clark's final words in their conversation.
From that day on, he left Earth.
Since Soren couldn't be found on Earth, Clark would search the universe.
If Soren couldn't be found in this universe, he'd go to another.
The moment Clark regained all his memories, his long imprisonment began.
On this exiled path, he searched every star in the universe.
There are over 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy, and among those 200 billion stars, the yellow sun is merely one, located 33,000 light-years from the center of the galaxy.
Quietly, it shines from the Orion Arm, radiating warm light as it bids farewell to its favored son, watching him journey farther and farther away.
His starting point was the solar system, and from there, he began his long trek across the stars of the Milky Way.
One light-year, two light-years, three light-years, four light-years… Slowly, he ventured beyond the solar system, reaching every star system that harbored intelligent life, searching for traces of Soren.
After 27.1 light-years, he arrived at the remains of Krypton.
This planet had exploded from within after his father sent him away, becoming just another ruin among the endless expanse of the universe.
He stood quietly outside the ruins of Krypton for a while.
This was the origin of his life.
Before the planet collapsed on itself, Jor-El had placed him in a spacecraft bound for Earth.
That blue-watered planet, 27.1 light-years away, was personally chosen by Jor-El—a planet full of love.
At that moment, did Jor-El ever imagine that, decades later, his son would one day destroy Earth?
Clark lingered only briefly outside the remnants of Krypton.
He didn't have much time left.
He still had to find Soren—Soren was out there somewhere in the universe, waiting for him.
He had to find him, and then repay the debt he owed him, all of it.
He traveled across 400 billion life-bearing planets in the Milky Way and then continued onward toward the 50 trillion galaxies beyond.
On Apokolips, he encountered the most powerful enemy he had ever faced in his life: Darkseid.
Apokolips had always been one of his primary targets.
Long ago, Clark had suspected that if anyone possessed the power to erase someone's existence, it might be Darkseid.
Darkseid's Omega Beams nearly killed him.
The most powerful of the surviving New Gods, Darkseid, had Clark's head pinned beneath his boot.
He raged at Superman's audacity—for daring to challenge him alone on Apokolips before he had even begun his conquest of Earth.
How could this pathetic Kryptonian have the gall to confront him in such a way?
Clark lay crushed beneath Darkseid's boot.
The Omega Beams had carved a deep wound from his forehead to behind his ear.
His battle suit was shredded, blood streamed down from his brow, and his lungs felt as though they were turning to ash.
Above him, Darkseid clasped his hands behind his back. "Your arrogance surprises me. How could you ever believe that you could defeat me, a New God?"
Clark's hand weakly fell to the ground of Apokolips.
Blood from his brow dripped onto his eyelashes, blurring his vision.
He could feel at least half of his bones shattered.
As he teetered on the edge of death, a vision flickered before him—Soren, staring at him with cold, disdainful eyes.
Soren's voice echoed harshly in his mind: "I don't want to see you again, Kal-El."
Soren.
Soren, don't look at me like that...
He had been too greedy.
His love had become a ravenous, insatiable hunger.
When he hadn't seen Soren, all he wanted was one last glimpse of his beloved.
But the moment he did, Soren's single glance of hatred was enough to shatter him to his very core.
Don't look at me like that, Soren… I swear, I will give everything back to you…
I will repay all that you've lost…
Just give me one more chance, just one… just one more chance, that's all I need...
The obsession with love ignited an immense surge of power within him at the brink of death.
In an instant, his body exploded with limitless strength.
Fist clenched, Clark swung at Darkseid once more, launching a desperate attack!
He fought like a madman, pouring every ounce of strength from his body, every last spark of his golden, sun-born life, enduring the Omega Beams slicing through his flesh.
With sheer willpower, he defeated Darkseid.
Even though this Darkseid was only an avatar of the true Darkseid from their universe, while his real god-like essence remained in a higher realm,
Clark only needed to confirm that Soren wasn't on Apokolips—that was enough for him.
Darkseid fell.
Clark was covered in blood, his body torn open.
His abdomen revealed blackened, crimson organs, and the wound on his forehead, like a gaping chasm, turned his face bright red with blood.
He bent down and picked up his severed arm from the ground.
Ripping a piece of fabric from his ruined uniform, he tied his arm back to his shoulder.
In a world drenched in red, he gazed down at Darkseid for a moment, then lifted his head to look at the rust-colored sky of Apokolips.
The Parademons swarmed, surrounding him like vultures circling a dying beast, eager to tear him apart piece by piece.
But what rose above Apokolips was nothing short of apocalyptic—burning red heat vision.
The red beams erupted like a mushroom cloud, spreading across the entire surface of Apokolips with the force of an explosion.
…On that day, Superman—Kal-El—single-handedly annihilated the most terrifying planet in the universe.
After the battle on Apokolips, Clark lingered briefly near a star, absorbing its energy to sustain his life.
The light of a star, similar to Earth's sun, could heal him.
Given enough time, he could fully restore his once-strong, unscarred body.
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