This feeling was so wonderful; he had never experienced such subtle sensations before, as if just standing in the Arctic, he already possessed the entire world. He could hear the faintest sounds from every corner of the earth, and countless worlds blossomed in the palm of his hand.
He looked at Clark, clearly hearing the sound of Clark's heartbeat in his ears.
"That's your heartbeat..." he whispered, placing his hand over Clark's heart, "Your heart is beating so fast, Clark. Ah, my heart is beating fast too—"
"Because I'm in love with you," Clark replied with a smile, wrapping his hand around Soren's. "Just seeing you smile makes me so happy, so happy."
They both experienced a "day of Superman" together.
Soren followed Clark as they soared through the clouds, gliding above the earth. One moment they landed on the outskirts of Johannesburg, and the next they were in Ulaanbaatar, standing on the vast plains watching a transcontinental train pass by on the tracks.
They traveled around the world, providing rescue to people, helping them avoid fatal car accidents, saving elephants that had fallen into pits, propping up houses that had been blown down by typhoons, and lifting stricken airliners out of trouble. They were busy all day long, barely able to rest.
But the feeling of saving people was simply—wonderful! Soren had never known that helping others could bring such joy. Seeing the relief and gratitude in the survivors' smiles made him feel incredibly happy. People thanked them profusely, and the tears and cheers from the depths of their hearts gave Soren endless motivation.
He truly wanted, truly wanted to be able to help others like this forever, and not just for this one day.
The day flew by.
The effect of the genetic enhancer gradually wore off after 24 hours. The next morning, Soren found he could no longer hear the sound of the waves crashing against the sands of the New Zealand coast. The blue crystal cave began to fade from his sight. He flew slower and slower, and finally, he lost the ability to fly altogether, needing to be carried back to New York by Clark.
In the last moments of the genetic enhancer's effects, they went to prevent an accident involving a high-altitude gondola operation.
A few window washers, forgetting to secure their safety belts before boarding the gondola, clung anxiously to it as it spun helplessly in front of the skyscraper's outer wall. Clark timely caught the gondola, while Soren pulled the safety line from the rooftop to prevent it from breaking.
Just as Clark lifted the gondola higher, a white thread suddenly brushed past Soren's ear.
He turned his head and saw Spider-Man, the friendly neighborhood hero of New York, rushing over from the far side of the rooftop, using his web to help stabilize the gondola.
—Oh, he had indeed run into Spider-Man again.
Soren had always found it strange why he seemed to encounter Spider-Man every time he went out.
Spider-Man always appeared in every corner where he was. When he was having afternoon tea in a café, he could see Spider-Man swinging by outside the window. While sunbathing in Central Park, he'd catch a glimpse of Spider-Man darting through the treetops. Even when he was wobbling along on a scooter in the underground tunnels, he could see Spider-Man swiftly crawling overhead.
…Compared to other New Yorkers, his frequency of running into Spider-Man was simply too high.
Over time, the initial excitement of running into Spider-Man had turned into calm indifference, and eventually, he could greet Spider-Man with ease: "Good morning, Spider-Man."
But Spider-Man always left in a hurry, never responding to his greetings; that fleeing figure almost seemed like it was… shy.
…Now, he began to understand that perhaps Spider-Man, like Clark, knew him before he lost his memory.
What he didn't know was what their relationship had been, and why Spider-Man always seemed to avoid him.
Spider-Man noticed the Superman uniform and red cape that Soren was wearing. His white spider eyes narrowed in surprise, nearly causing him to lose his grip on the web-shooter.
Soren smiled at Spider-Man and waved enthusiastically, "What a coincidence to see you again, Spider-Man."
Spider-Man turned his head away, pulling on the web, seemingly trying to directly pull the gondola up, but then felt a lightness in his hands as the gondola, stuck to the web, began to rise slowly on its own.
The gondola emerged halfway over the edge of the rooftop, with several workers leaning over the edge, looking down—
Below the gondola, the figure of Superman in his blue uniform cradled the gondola, arms spread wide like an aging Christ, coming into Spider-Man's view.
Spider-Man's spider-sense activated instantly!
The muscle memory from years of battling Superman in the unjust timeline surged back. The moment he saw Superman, he quickly retreated, instinctively taking up a defensive posture, every muscle in his body tense.
Spider-Man eyed Superman warily.
Although he had already learned about Superman's situation from Tony, just as he had raised the point during one of Soren's lectures, he could never truly trust Superman, no matter the circumstances.
When a person is powerful enough to rival the entire universe, the delusion of controlling him through self-supervision undoubtedly becomes the most uncontrollable method.
—He would never underestimate Superman again. The past few years had taught him enough lessons; history had proven that his suspicions were correct.
Soren noticed that Spider-Man's reaction seemed a bit off, and he tilted his head, asking, "...Spider-Man, what's wrong with you?"
Clark set down the gondola on the rooftop, and several workers trapped inside rushed out, repeatedly thanking Superman.
Meanwhile, the rescue team had arrived, with fire trucks parking below. Clark nodded to them and said, "Everyone, go check your health first."
The workers expressed their gratitude again. Any doubts that had arisen in their hearts upon seeing Superman's white hair quickly dissipated. They glanced at Soren and Spider-Man, their eyes filled with curiosity, constantly stealing glances at the uniform Soren was wearing.
Soren smiled but didn't say anything; he had received many similar curious looks throughout the day. However, Clark didn't explain his identity to anyone. Although Clark wanted to shout to the world that he was holding the brightest, most flawless star, he couldn't reveal Soren's identity for the sake of his safety.
Therefore, he installed a brainwave interference device on Soren's uniform so that people could see Soren but wouldn't be able to remember his face. Soren could appear alongside him without worrying about attracting any trouble.
As the workers bid farewell to Superman and headed downstairs, Spider-Man witnessed all of this but remained tense, still pointing his finger on the web-shooter as he faced Superman.
Clark looked at Spider-Man, his expression somewhat complicated.
Soren stood up, sensing the hostility Spider-Man had toward Clark. He raised an arm to block Clark, asking Spider-Man, "Is there some misunderstanding between you two...?"
Otherwise, Soren really couldn't understand why the atmosphere between the two superheroes was so tense.
But Clark grasped his wrist.
"It's because of me, Soren," Clark said softly. "I've... made some serious mistakes in the past. Can I take you home first? I need to talk to Spider-Man."
Soren nodded, not entirely understanding. He looked at Clark, whose prominent nose cast a shadow over Soren's profile, half of his face submerged in darkness.
Clark took him back to his home in Manhattan. Soren climbed through the bay window of his third-floor room, turning to look at Clark, asking, "Will you come find me after you finish talking with Spider-Man?"
"If you want me to come," Clark said, stroking Soren's hair, "then I will."
Soren dropped his bag, took Clark's hand, pulled him closer, and held Clark's strong jaw, kissing his lips gently.
"I don't know what you did in the past, Clark," Soren said, gazing into Clark's weary blue eyes, "but you need to know that no matter what, I will love you. Even if everyone else hates you, I will still love you."
Clark was deeply moved by his words.
He carefully touched Soren's cheek with his finger, planting a dry kiss on those petal-thin eyelids.
It felt like kissing the most precious diamond in the world, a little bird nestled in his palm.
After saying goodbye, he faced Soren and slowly floated away from the windowsill.
But Soren suddenly called out, "Wait!"
Clark quickly brought the car to a stop. "What's wrong, babe? Did you forget something?"
"I want to take a photo with you," Soren said, scratching his head in embarrassment. He pulled out his phone from his bag and looked at Clark with eager eyes, sparkling with excitement. "I want to post it on Instagram!"
Clark chuckled softly, lifting him out of the house and letting Soren sit on the windowsill while they took a picture together, their heads leaning closely against each other.
The two of them, dressed in matching uniforms, pressed their chests tightly together. Just as Soren pressed the shutter, Clark leaned down to kiss Soren on the top of his head.
"All done!" Soren said happily, cropping the top half of the image to only show their chests. He tapped send on Instagram.
As the system notification chimed "Sent successfully," the image, with their faces cropped out, was simultaneously pushed to the homepage of the only follower on his account, Peter Parker.
Peter Parker's thumb paused as he scrolled through the screen.
In the photo, Soren and Superman were closely snuggled together. Soren held his phone in one hand while wrapping the other around Superman's shoulder, and Superman embraced Soren as well. They looked completely at ease with each other, and in the sunlight, Soren's neck seemed to shimmer.
Soren also added a caption: "This is the most wonderful day, like a dream!"
Peter looked down at the photo. Even though it didn't reveal Soren's face, he could feel just how happy Soren was when the photo was taken.
—This was the happiest photo he had seen from Soren since his return.
He sat on the rooftop of a residential building in Queens when Superman's red boots quickly landed before him.
Clark looked at Spider-Man and said, "Let's talk."
Spider-Man cautiously studied him, slowly putting his phone away into his backpack. He spoke, "Will he always be like this, Superman? Can you really keep him from regaining his memory forever?"