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Chapter 398: Crumbling in Fear
"No!"
Black Superman's eyes widened, his pupils clearly reflecting the figure within the brilliance.
Tall, imposing, and radiating a scorching light, as if it would burn all the shadows in the world to ashes.
"No, no, this isn't real, it can't be real!"
He muttered incoherently, unconsciously taking a step back.
"I received a gift from Darkseid, I'm invincible! What the hell are you? How could you... how..."
The brilliance suddenly erupted, and the momentary flash made him instinctively blink. When he could see clearly again, Orin Vale had already flashed in front of his face.
"You blinked."
The voice seemed to pour directly into his mind, followed by a flurry of fists. Even with Superman's brainpower, he had no time to think, only managing to dully raise his arm to block. But it was another feint. A low sweep took the opportunity to knock away his supporting leg, immediately followed by a barrage of elbow strikes.
The pain made Black Superman let out a soft grunt, his body crashing back to the ground. He could almost hear the sound of his ribs breaking.
Could I... lose?
No, absolutely not.
Black Superman propped himself up with his hands, blood dripping from his split cheek and the corner of his mouth onto the ground.
He was the one chosen by Darkseid, the strongest warrior on Apokolips. With this power, there was no way he could lose, no matter what his opponent was.
A jet-black fire ignited in the corners of his eyes.
Anyone or anything that stood in his way... would meet only death.
As Orin Vale approached from behind, reaching for the shoulder of the Black Superman whose back was turned, a cold smile appeared on the Black Superman's lips.
Got him.
Two dark red rays, one on Orin Vale's left and one on his right, arced in a wide, reverse loop through the buildings and streets, shooting out from both sides behind Orin Vale, locking onto his back.
Although he had absolute confidence in the power of the Omega effect, Black Superman had still held back and didn't fire it head-on. He had taken advantage of the moment he was knocked back by Orin Vale's punch to fire his Omega Beams into the ground, remotely controlling them to circle around for a surprise attack from behind.
For a light-speed ray, the time it took to circle such a small loop was completely negligible. Coupled with the Omega's automatic tracking, it was absolutely impossible to evade.
In fact, Orin Vale really didn't dodge. It seemed he hadn't noticed the Omega Beams' approach at all. The rays struck his body without any resistance...
and passed right through.
Black Superman: "!?"
With no time to process what had happened, in his intense shock, the rays had already pierced through Orin Vale and were hurtling straight toward Black Superman himself.
A heavy blow struck him head-on, the tyrannical energy exploding on his chest. Black Superman's figure swayed, his feet sliding back several meters on the ground. Black smoke rose from his chest, where two mangled, bloody holes now flanked the black S Emblem.
He had taken the full brunt of the Omega's energy and destructive power himself. The only thing that prevented him from being erased by the Omega effect was the protection of the Omega effect within his own body.
Black Superman fell to his knees, looking with difficulty at the Orin Vale the Omega energy had penetrated. He saw the figure undergoing high-speed vibration, blurry like a mosaic, and in an instant, it vanished.
"A high-speed... afterimage," he gritted out.
An afterimage left behind by Speed Force energy and super-speed movement.
He thought his sneak attack with the Omega Beams was brilliant, but Orin Vale had seen through it long ago. In the end, the only thing about this darkened Superman that made Orin Vale even slightly wary was the Omega Beams, so of course he would be on guard.
He wasn't directly protected by The Source like Superman, nor was he yet as fast as The Flash, who could perform a Time Jump from a standstill. On the premise of not wanting to test whether he could tank the Omega Beams himself, he could only use his brain beforehand.
The high-speed afterimage was one of the solutions he came up with.
The Omega Beams will chase a target to the ends of the universe, provided they have locked onto a target. By using a high-speed afterimage to trick the opponent into firing the Omega Beams, and then dispelling the afterimage the instant the beams are fired, the Omega effect naturally loses its target.
Furthermore, by positioning the afterimage directly in front of the enemy, the Omega Beams, having lost their target, would naturally continue on their original path, forcing the opponent to swallow the bitter pill themselves.
It seemed to be exceptionally effective.
"This is... impossible..."
Black Superman swayed, covered in injuries.
"The Omega effect is unbeatable, it has no weakness, it's impossible..."
"No ability is unbeatable. No matter how powerful an ability is, the person wielding it can be its weakness."
Orin Vale gently waved his hand, and a light was released, enveloping Black Superman.
Black Superman, half-kneeling on the ground, gritted his teeth in terror. "What... what are you doing...?"
"My original plan was to let you try the Blue Lantern's light, because I know Superman never gives up Hope, no matter what. But now I've noticed, that's not what you need. The blue light can't change you. What you need is this."
Orin Vale's five fingers clenched into a fist, and the light enveloping Black Superman changed accordingly.
It wasn't the hope-awakening light of the Blue Lanterns, but a golden-yellow, tyrannical and horrifying... Fear.
"Arrrggghhh!!!"
Black Superman's pupils contracted, and he screamed, clutching his head.
"Get it off! Stay away from me! Don't... don't..."
The light of the Yellow Lantern captured the Fear in his heart, dragged out the deeply hidden parts, and molded it into a physical form through Constructs.
The Yellow Lantern's construct cape fluttered, its lifelike face vivid and spirited. Its eyes, meticulously carved by the light of the Construct, were clear and full of Hope. He stood with his hands on his hips, hovering in mid-air, the S Emblem that countless people had once yearned for on his chest.
Superman.
"This is your deepest Fear," Orin Vale said coolly. "Because deep down, you've known all along that you are not Superman."
"You might look like him, you might have the same abilities as him, the same memories, and maybe even retain some semblance of emotion derived from those memories. But that doesn't change your essence. You can never become him. This is your Fear, because you know it's the truth."
"No, no..."
Black Superman clutched his head, muttering in despair.
His already broken body continued to crumble under the yellow light's illumination. His skin peeled off in flakes, like an aging wall. His muscles, like weathered rock, turned to sand and trickled away.
"I am Superman, I am Superman..."
He gradually lost his human form, his facial features blurring into a mess. He clutched his head, kneeling on the ground and struggling in suffering.
"I... for the great Darkseid... I..."
The light of Fear seemed to have finally drained the last of his strength. Boundless Fear completely engulfed him, and the collapse of his consciousness further accelerated the disintegration of his physical body.
His lower body had completely disintegrated, and the remaining half of his torso fell into the pile of sand and stone. At his last breath, his hand still struggled to reach for the sky, as if yearning for the light.
"Mom... Dad... Lois... I'm sorry..."
The body of Superman completely crumbled, until even the desperately outstretched hand turned to sand and scattered with the wind.
(end of chapter)
"No!"
Black Superman's eyes widened, his pupils clearly reflecting the figure within the brilliance.
Tall, imposing, and radiating a scorching light, as if it would burn all the shadows in the world to ashes.
"No, no, this isn't real, it can't be real!"
He muttered incoherently, unconsciously taking a step back.
"I received a gift from Darkseid, I'm invincible! What the hell are you? How could you... how..."
The brilliance suddenly erupted, and the momentary flash made him instinctively blink. When he could see clearly again, Orin Vale had already flashed in front of his face.
"You blinked."
The voice seemed to pour directly into his mind, followed by a flurry of fists. Even with Superman's brainpower, he had no time to think, only managing to dully raise his arm to block. But it was another feint. A low sweep took the opportunity to knock away his supporting leg, immediately followed by a barrage of elbow strikes.
The pain made Black Superman let out a soft grunt, his body crashing back to the ground. He could almost hear the sound of his ribs breaking.
Could I... lose?
No, absolutely not.
Black Superman propped himself up with his hands, blood dripping from his split cheek and the corner of his mouth onto the ground.
He was the one chosen by Darkseid, the strongest warrior on Apokolips. With this power, there was no way he could lose, no matter what his opponent was.
A jet-black fire ignited in the corners of his eyes.
Anyone or anything that stood in his way... would meet only death.
As Orin Vale approached from behind, reaching for the shoulder of the Black Superman whose back was turned, a cold smile appeared on the Black Superman's lips.
Got him.
Two dark red rays, one on Orin Vale's left and one on his right, arced in a wide, reverse loop through the buildings and streets, shooting out from both sides behind Orin Vale, locking onto his back.
Although he had absolute confidence in the power of the Omega effect, Black Superman had still held back and didn't fire it head-on. He had taken advantage of the moment he was knocked back by Orin Vale's punch to fire his Omega Beams into the ground, remotely controlling them to circle around for a surprise attack from behind.
For a light-speed ray, the time it took to circle such a small loop was completely negligible. Coupled with the Omega's automatic tracking, it was absolutely impossible to evade.
In fact, Orin Vale really didn't dodge. It seemed he hadn't noticed the Omega Beams' approach at all. The rays struck his body without any resistance...
and passed right through.
Black Superman: "!?"
With no time to process what had happened, in his intense shock, the rays had already pierced through Orin Vale and were hurtling straight toward Black Superman himself.
A heavy blow struck him head-on, the tyrannical energy exploding on his chest. Black Superman's figure swayed, his feet sliding back several meters on the ground. Black smoke rose from his chest, where two mangled, bloody holes now flanked the black S Emblem.
He had taken the full brunt of the Omega's energy and destructive power himself. The only thing that prevented him from being erased by the Omega effect was the protection of the Omega effect within his own body.
Black Superman fell to his knees, looking with difficulty at the Orin Vale the Omega energy had penetrated. He saw the figure undergoing high-speed vibration, blurry like a mosaic, and in an instant, it vanished.
"A high-speed... afterimage," he gritted out.
An afterimage left behind by Speed Force energy and super-speed movement.
He thought his sneak attack with the Omega Beams was brilliant, but Orin Vale had seen through it long ago. In the end, the only thing about this darkened Superman that made Orin Vale even slightly wary was the Omega Beams, so of course he would be on guard.
He wasn't directly protected by The Source like Superman, nor was he yet as fast as The Flash, who could perform a Time Jump from a standstill. On the premise of not wanting to test whether he could tank the Omega Beams himself, he could only use his brain beforehand.
The high-speed afterimage was one of the solutions he came up with.
The Omega Beams will chase a target to the ends of the universe, provided they have locked onto a target. By using a high-speed afterimage to trick the opponent into firing the Omega Beams, and then dispelling the afterimage the instant the beams are fired, the Omega effect naturally loses its target.
Furthermore, by positioning the afterimage directly in front of the enemy, the Omega Beams, having lost their target, would naturally continue on their original path, forcing the opponent to swallow the bitter pill themselves.
It seemed to be exceptionally effective.
"This is... impossible..."
Black Superman swayed, covered in injuries.
"The Omega effect is unbeatable, it has no weakness, it's impossible..."
"No ability is unbeatable. No matter how powerful an ability is, the person wielding it can be its weakness."
Orin Vale gently waved his hand, and a light was released, enveloping Black Superman.
Black Superman, half-kneeling on the ground, gritted his teeth in terror. "What... what are you doing...?"
"My original plan was to let you try the Blue Lantern's light, because I know Superman never gives up Hope, no matter what. But now I've noticed, that's not what you need. The blue light can't change you. What you need is this."
Orin Vale's five fingers clenched into a fist, and the light enveloping Black Superman changed accordingly.
It wasn't the hope-awakening light of the Blue Lanterns, but a golden-yellow, tyrannical and horrifying... Fear.
"Arrrggghhh!!!"
Black Superman's pupils contracted, and he screamed, clutching his head.
"Get it off! Stay away from me! Don't... don't..."
The light of the Yellow Lantern captured the Fear in his heart, dragged out the deeply hidden parts, and molded it into a physical form through Constructs.
The Yellow Lantern's construct cape fluttered, its lifelike face vivid and spirited. Its eyes, meticulously carved by the light of the Construct, were clear and full of Hope. He stood with his hands on his hips, hovering in mid-air, the S Emblem that countless people had once yearned for on his chest.
Superman.
"This is your deepest Fear," Orin Vale said coolly. "Because deep down, you've known all along that you are not Superman."
"You might look like him, you might have the same abilities as him, the same memories, and maybe even retain some semblance of emotion derived from those memories. But that doesn't change your essence. You can never become him. This is your Fear, because you know it's the truth."
"No, no..."
Black Superman clutched his head, muttering in despair.
His already broken body continued to crumble under the yellow light's illumination. His skin peeled off in flakes, like an aging wall. His muscles, like weathered rock, turned to sand and trickled away.
"I am Superman, I am Superman..."
He gradually lost his human form, his facial features blurring into a mess. He clutched his head, kneeling on the ground and struggling in suffering.
"I... for the great Darkseid... I..."
The light of Fear seemed to have finally drained the last of his strength. Boundless Fear completely engulfed him, and the collapse of his consciousness further accelerated the disintegration of his physical body.
His lower body had completely disintegrated, and the remaining half of his torso fell into the pile of sand and stone. At his last breath, his hand still struggled to reach for the sky, as if yearning for the light.
"Mom... Dad... Lois... I'm sorry..."
The body of Superman completely crumbled, until even the desperately outstretched hand turned to sand and scattered with the wind.
(end of chapter)
