Although Esdeath was tempted to train Emma, Zod's orders were absolute. Her unwavering loyalty to him, whether by her own conviction or the loyalty that Zod had instilled, kept her in check.
To enhance Esdeath's strength, Zod had constructed a space station close to the sun. Adjusting the magnetic fields around it, he ensured that the station wouldn't be pulled into the sun's orbit yet could still gather intense solar energy. With this setup, Esdeath's powers were growing rapidly under the constant sunlight.
As Zod assessed her progress, Esdeath noticed and eagerly suggested, "Up for a spar, Boss?"
"Why not?" he replied, leading her to a specialized combat room constructed from atomic alloy—capable of withstanding the intense clashes of two Kryptonians.
Wasting no time, Esdeath launched forward with a punch that shattered the sound barrier, her fist moving at supersonic speed. Zod, however, calmly released an electromagnetic field that slowed her strike, effectively freezing her punch in mid-air as he increased its weight to millions of tons.
"Boss, let's fight fair!" Esdeath protested, craving a more traditional match.
Zod grinned, relaxing his hold. With a battle cry, Esdeath threw a powerful uppercut, but Zod dodged effortlessly, countering with two quick jabs that sent her flying backward. She quickly recovered, her biological force field absorbing the impact.
With blinding speed, Esdeath moved behind Zod, bringing both fists down in a hammer strike. As he looked up, she smirked and unleashed her full power in a blast of thermal vision. The intense heat divided the air like molten blades, but Zod stood unscathed, absorbing her attack without so much as a hair out of place.
Not only was his biological force field virtually impenetrable, but Zod's unique energy absorption made him immune to such attacks, letting him transform the energy into even greater strength. In response, his eyes glowed icy blue, emitting freezing rays that collided with Esdeath's thermal vision, instantly freezing her.
Even caught off guard, Esdeath quickly broke free of the ice. Just as she was about to release her freezing breath, Zod aimed his hand at her, transforming his energy into gravity. The immense pull yanked her forward against her will, straight into his grip.
Before she could react, he released his heat breath while she countered with her own freezing breath. The clashing energies created a tempest of fire and frost, but his concentrated heat ray easily overpowered her, sending her crashing into the wall.
Even as the relentless heat bathed her in light, Esdeath managed to deflect it with a punch, dodging to the side before finally conceding, realizing that Zod's power far outmatched hers.
As she nestled up to him in surrender, Zod raised an eyebrow. "What's on your mind?"
Her voice dropped to a whisper, her two long legs wrapped around his waist. "How about a different kind of battle, Boss?"
Zod blinked, processing her suggestion. But as realization dawned, he didn't hesitate, and the two entered an entirely different struggle that lasted over three hours. In the end, Zod emerged victorious, his recent power boost proving too much for even the formidable Esdes.
---
Meanwhile, Pietro stirred awake, groggy and aching from the prior night. Instead of seeing a familiar ceiling, he found himself in darkness so deep he momentarily feared he'd been blinded. As he reached out in the pitch black, panic set in.
He tried to recall the events leading up to his captivity, but his fragmented memory offered only glimpses of the brutal beatdown he'd received and the biting cold that had followed.
"Where am I?" he muttered, his voice echoing in the silence. "Hey! Is anyone there?"
His cries went unanswered, the thick, soundproof walls absorbing every sound he made. With each futile shout, his energy waned, leaving him in a cold sweat. His resolve weakened as the relentless darkness surrounded him, seeming to stretch on forever.
In this isolating void, where time lost all meaning, Pietro's spirit began to fray. The endless darkness consumed his sense of self, making him feel like a shadow adrift in an infinite abyss. He had no perception of time or even of his own existence—only an endless fall into the void.
To him, it felt like an eternity.
An eternity in an instant.