The night was dark, the moonlight sparse and obscured by clouds, casting a barren, frigid glow.
In the distance, the ground was desolate from battle, riddled with massive craters and scattered rocks.
The line of sight followed the trajectory of a sonic boom streaking across the ground. Cornfields were torn apart, bent outward on both sides like a warpath, stretching all the way to the Kent family farmhouse.
In front of the house.
Bardi's tall figure stood like an entrenched mountain. A dark mist rose around him, faintly illuminated by the moonlight, exuding a chilling aura of fear, cold and ruthless like a demon.
His eyes, already devoid of emotion, stared at Jor-El.
He had given Jor-El a chance.
A choice between sacrificing Martha, who loved her son dearly...
Or letting his own son, who had almost no chance of escape—still fail to survive, while Martha died regardless.
Jor-El hung his head in grief, eyes closed. His vision stung with pain, and tears mixed with blood oozed from the corners of his eyes. His dog-like face was contorted with sorrow and agony.
It was a firm decision—a painful one, made without hesitation.
Jonathan knelt before him.
Begging him to stop the opening of the extra-dimensional wormhole.
He and his wife had done nothing wrong.
They didn't deserve this.
They had adopted Clark and raised him as their own son.
They even accepted Krypto, making them a true family.
So why… why was his wife being dragged into such danger? Why was she being left to die?
He and Martha were good people.
So why had it come to this?
Space distorted. The darkness twisted into a vortex, emitting a resonant hum.
White light enveloped Martha and Clark. It was composed of tachyon particles spinning violently, radiating blinding brilliance, like a divine child descending into the world, dazzling and radiant.
Around them, a warped gravitational field and a repulsive barrier formed.
Bardi stood silently in the darkness. His massive body, cloaked in black mist, was like a mountain looming over the scene, watching everything unfold.
He looked at Jor-El's silent grief—blood and tears in his eyes—but not a word spoken, no attempt made to stop the wormhole's activation.
Jonathan cried bitterly, kneeling in desperation and pleading with him to stop, to spare his wife.
That powerless plea finally drove Jonathan to madness. Bulging veins appeared on his face, his bloodshot eyes filling with rage. He pounded the ground with clenched fists, dirt flying with each strike, his screams erupting in anguish.
Why was his wife being sacrificed?
He lowered his head, his fists slamming into the earth until they bled, tears streaming down without pause.
"Why are you doing this to us!!"
Jonathan roared, his eyes bloodshot, veins crawling up his face—grief and fury overtaking him.
He stared at Jor-El with disbelief and rage, screaming hoarsely, his mind unraveling. He couldn't believe that Krypto—or rather, Clark's biological father could treat him and Martha this way.
They had raised Clark.
Loved them as their own family.
But in return, Clark's biological father showed nothing but cruelty. He refused to shut down the wormhole, allowing Martha to be torn apart and killed.
"It's all because of him."
Jor-El's head lowered. His eyes opened slowly, blood-red and full of resentment, glaring at Bardi with hatred.
It was all caused by Bardi.
From Krypton until now.
Bardi stared at him coldly. Black mist swirled around his massive, suffocating frame. From high above, he looked down—emotionless.
He said nothing. His face was icy, for he had spoken enough. He had already vented all his emotions.
He never believed himself to be kind, nor did he wear the cape of righteous justice in his heart.
He had always been clear about what he was. He was... evil. A demon.
A sudden feeling of revulsion and disgust rose in Bardi's heart—toward someone like Jor-El.
It was nauseating. Absolutely repulsive.
He didn't want to communicate with him any longer.
At this moment, none of the enemies he had calculated appeared.
That meant—it was over.
The spatial distortion emitted a piercing sound, a screech that tore through everyone's hearts. It was more unbearable than fingernails on glass—enough to make one cough up blood.
The white light surrounding Clark—the rotating tachyons—had reached their limit.
Everyone present seemed to panic at once. The twisted gravity flipped erratically.
Space trembled and wailed in unrest.
The tachyon particles around Clark vanished in an instant, twisted and compressed into a singular point.
A pitch-black vortex suddenly emerged behind Clark, expanding to half a meter in diameter. Inside, it was utterly dark, void of even a sliver of light. It appeared for only a moment.
The vortex exploded outward, shattering the surrounding gravitational field and unleashing a blinding white shockwave that rippled in all directions.
The vortex vanished again in an instant.
But in that instant, it had already swallowed Martha whole.
Infant Clark fell to the ground, still asleep.
Lay Martha's severed limbs. Her dazed, lifeless head had landed beside the baby.
Jonathan was blown backward by the shockwave, flipping several times before hitting the ground. He scrambled up in a mess, and when he saw Martha's head.
A deafening hum rang in his mind, blanking out everything.
He crawled through the mud, wide-eyed and frantic, until he knelt before Martha's head, clutching it as he howled in pain.
Jor-El's eyes were filled with disbelief.
Which meant—his son...
His dog-like face twisted, veins bulging grotesquely. Blood-red fury filled his eyes, and a guttural roar of hatred erupted from deep within his throat.
He struggled up from the ground, preparing to launch a final attack on Bardi.
Bardi's tall, mist-shrouded figure appeared behind him like a towering mountain.
Within Bardi's dark eyes, a sharp focus appeared—one that carried the rage boiling inside him.
His large hand, engulfed in mist, surged with immense dark magic, slamming down on Jor-El's body, ruthlessly pinning him to the ground. Jor-El could only struggle madly in vain.
The overwhelming magic force eroded his cells, weakening his body.
Bardi raised his right hand high. The dark magical mist around it condensed into a tangible mass, covering his clenched fist.
His dark eyes flashed with fury—and he smashed his fist into Jor-El's contorted, beast-like face!
"I told you—you can't save Krypton!"
"I told you—your son won't escape. Martha will die!"
With the third punch, Bardi's blow smashed directly through Jor-El's dog-like skull. Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere. Jor-El's broken body twitched beneath Bardi's feet.
Bardi's face remained cold, his dark eyes merciless.
His massive frame stepped forward, advancing toward Jonathan. His looming shadow engulfed Jonathan, who was weeping and screaming in agony.
Bardi paused. He reached a hand to the side, grabbed the swaddled baby, and lifted it in his grip.
His expression was blank, his sharp, chiseled face cold as stone. As he turned, even that motion from his massive body stirred a gust of wind, blowing across Jonathan's grief-stricken face.
The overcast clouds suddenly parted, revealing bright moonlight overhead.
Bardi walked away toward the moonlight, his form casting a long shadow.
And as always he offered hope.
"You want to bring her back to life? Then follow in my footsteps!"