——And his weathered and battle-worn Clark stood not far away, choking back his emotions as he closed his eyes.
Time reset more than 80 million times that day.
In the very end, Soren still used the <
In the explosion, Clark took his own eyes—the deep blue eyes of Kal-El, as vast and profound as the universe itself.
The explosion wasn't enough to cause him that kind of harm.
In this world, the only thing that could kill him was himself.
He held his own eyes in his hands and looked at Soren.
Soren's body was shattered, lying in the arms of the young and handsome Clark Kent.
His lifeless blue eyes gazed up at the sky. "Did I complete my mission?"
Then, he heard a familiar, distant voice from an unseen place.
Dr. Manhattan glanced at him, and on the shimmering white timeline that had been glowing since before his departure, a bright point of light flared brilliantly.
On the opposite side of that timeline, Clark Kent looked at that glowing point.
After billions of years of agonizing journeys, his heart began to beat again.
For the final time, he brought back from the black hole a flawless, crystal-clear diamond, sparkling with purity.
All the shadows within its facets had completely faded away.
Holding that diamond, holding the most precious star in the world, Clark knew deep within himself that his eternal life, as boundless as the sun's, had been entirely consumed during this long exile.
But his diamond would shine forever, flawless, and would live a life full of happiness.
April 4, 2021, Easter.
A boy with beautiful Kryptonian blue eyes opened them on Earth.
He found himself lying on a soft bed, surrounded by people—
At the front stood a kind-looking couple, their eyes filled with tears as they told him he was their child.
Standing beside him was a middle-aged man with a small mustache, his features strong and intense, with a triangular device on his chest emitting a faint blue glow.
The man had his hands shoved tightly into his pockets, looking both awkward and as though he had countless things he wanted to say, but in the end, he just averted his gaze and hurriedly muttered, "I'm your Uncle Tony."
"But I... I don't remember my name," the boy said, scratching his head in frustration. "It feels like I've forgotten everything."
At that moment, the man in the black suit, leaning against the doorframe, spoke up.
"Soren."
The man raised his eyes to the boy, his bespoke black suit fitting like a suit of armor as he slowly walked toward him.
Shiny black shoes pressed down on the thick carpet as he stopped in front of the boy.
His steel-blue eyes were as still as a deep lake, yet they held the intensity of a raging blizzard.
"…Your name is Soren."
Sunday morning in Metropolis was calm and peaceful.
This "calm and peaceful" meant no supervillains, no sudden alien invasions, no bank heists or train robbers—just the warm sunlight streaming from the bright blue sky and a few lazy white clouds drifting by.
Here and there, citizens strolled through the park.
A little girl and boy laughed as they flew a kite, while a street musician, lost in his art, played his violin on the corner.
A group of tourists from across the country stood under the sun, waiting in line to enter the Hall of Justice.
Among the tour group, a blonde-haired boy took off his tennis cap, cupping his hand over his mouth as he whispered something mysteriously to another boy with black hair standing behind him: "I didn't expect you to be a Justice League fan, Tim."
The dark-haired boy, with piercing green eyes, wore a short-sleeved shirt, black dress pants, and a deep red mechanical watch on his wrist.
He cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly at the comment and replied, "Ahem, I just got curious all of a sudden."
—He lied without blinking, though his mind instantly flashed back to the previous night when Bruce had summoned him to the Batcave: the old bat holding his tablet, carefully detailing every instruction, telling him to make sure that Soren's visit to Metropolis today didn't run into any "accidents."
Tim had thought long and hard about it but still couldn't figure out exactly what kind of "accident" Bruce had been warning him about.
Tim thought long and hard but still couldn't figure out exactly what kind of "accident" Bruce had been warning him about.
Soren was just visiting the Hall of Justice as part of a tour group, also exploring the City of Tomorrow across from Gotham.
What kind of "accidents" could possibly occur that required him to accompany them the entire time?
His gaze fell on Soren's golden, curly hair, which gleamed like sunlight.
Sometimes he felt that Bruce's protectiveness over this boy was a bit excessive—
Two months ago, he had seen Bruce leave Wayne Manor in a hurry, and when he returned, he had spent an entire day and night alone in the Batcave.
After that, Tim often noticed Bruce fixating on the monitors, watching the boy's movements at any time.
The boy's appearance was strange, and Bruce's excessive concern for him led Tim to use some technical means to search for his background—
Only to come up empty-handed.
There was no record of him anywhere; the government archives contained nothing but a simple name and date of birth, with everything else left blank.
He seemed like an outsider who had suddenly appeared in this world, yet everyone was revolving around him.
Not just Bruce—Dick had also returned to Wayne Manor not long after, asking Bruce about the boy; even Alfred seemed familiar with him, consulting Bruce on whether they should prepare a special guest room for Soren to stay in at Wayne Manor.
Tim, who is left out of the loop: ???
He was baffled, not understanding why it seemed like everyone except him already knew this boy.