"So it was you who erased him from Earth!"
Clark finally knew who had taken Soren away.
He clenched his fists, looking at the being with glowing white eyes, "Why did you do this?"
"Because—this is fate."
Dr. Manhattan remained calm. "In time, this was destined to happen. He would be sent back to the black hole, and you would come here to search for him."
"Time is a force that cannot be broken by anyone, not even me, and certainly not you."
"But it was you, not time, who took him from me. What you call time is just an excuse," Clark replied.
Dr. Manhattan turned to him. "—It wasn't me."
"Then who was it?" Clark pressed.
Dr. Manhattan didn't directly answer the question; instead, he began to recount his own story: "On November 9, 1959, during a quantum conversion experiment, an accident occurred. I became, like Schrödinger's cat, a substance caught between existence and non-existence in the experiment chamber—my body was annihilated, but my consciousness entered the fourth-dimensional space. I then began to reorganize my body, moving into the fourth dimension, away from Earth, becoming a quantum observer."
"I observe time, watching each moment; for me, every moment is the present, every moment is happening. I observe the timeline of this universe and discover that, starting fifty million years ago, I am no longer the strongest being in the universe."
"You have become the strongest being in the universe, Superman. You are to take my place and safeguard the time of this universe. You are to erase all the fractured realities, ensuring that the timeline is singular—one that revolves around your birth and extends from you."
"You must make this world become what it ought to be, what it must be. You must erase all choices; you cannot possess choices. You can only let the timeline extend along its predetermined path, and then it can reach that point—"
Dr. Manhattan drew a long white line in the void.
The line stretched from left to right, beginning to glow with various bright points.
"This is the established timeline. Up until now, your entire life, without exception, has occurred on this timeline, in the present moment. This includes Soren's arrival, his departure, and every word we are speaking now—all happening along this timeline."
"And this point," he pointed to a small glowing dot on the right, "is the moment when Soren returns to this universe."
Clark's gaze fixed on the luminous dot. "He will come back? What do you want me to give? What do you wish to gain from me? Whatever the trade, I can make it."
"You don't need to trade with me, for there has never been a transaction along this timeline," Dr. Manhattan said.
"But I need you to erase all choices, to allow this timeline to continue extending as it is now—" Dr. Manhattan destroyed the other end of the timeline. "Otherwise, the timeline will become chaotic because of you. You do not understand your own power; you are the center of this universe, and this universe exists because of you. From now on, you must discard all choices and push the timeline into its present form, over and over. The timeline will infinitely reboot around you until it reaches where it is meant to go."
Clark stood motionless, gazing at the thin timeline flickering with countless star points.
Slowly, he began to understand what Dr. Manhattan was conveying.
"If time for you occurs all at once, then you need me to return to the previous timeline and push those moments into the present, because that is also what happens on the timeline, right?
"So, Soren will return to the present after I complete all of this?"
Dr. Manhattan slowly nodded. "Yes, Superman."
"I can set off right now," Clark said immediately.
Knowing that Soren could come back, he couldn't wait a moment longer; he wanted to bring Soren back to Earth as soon as possible.
"You will become dark matter in a different dimension in the past; they will not be able to observe you, but your immense power will allow you to influence that time. But be aware—you have no choices. You must make time into what it must be, which is now, Superman," Dr. Manhattan explained.
Clark nodded. "I understand."
"I will send you to before it all began… you will come to know everything about him." Dr. Manhattan stepped closer, locking eyes with him for a second; all that had happened on his timeline flashed in his mind.
"This is his life up until now. Go, bring him back to this universe."
Dr. Manhattan said this just before sending him away.
Clark began to traverse the universe.
He leaped through one universe after another, carrying the stars on his arm, holding Soren's life in his heart, filled with the guilt of giving up his own life, until he finally reached Dr. Manhattan's destination.
A planet settled by humans thousands of years later.
…In this universe, they called it New Earth.
The new Earth, humanity's new planet, the homeland of a new humanity.
He arrived in the capital of New Earth and walked through the garden corridor of the New Earth palace, where he saw a child crouching in the corner, crying.
The child had golden curly hair, was no more than four years old, and his chubby little face was flushed from the chilly spring breeze.
His baby blue eyes were as clear as the sky above.
In that moment, his heart, which had been barren for billions of years, finally came to life.
His chest swelled to the brink of bursting, and that heart thumped vigorously, echoing like thunder in his ears.
He floated in a dimension unseen by others, his red cape gently billowing behind him, like fresh blood that had fallen from his body.
Soren.
Soren.
His Soren.
This was his Soren.
His one and only Soren, the star he had searched for in the universe for billions of years.
His Soren.
His treasure.
His star.