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*****
"Tap!"
In the blink of an eye, the four people and one wolf who had just been on the battlefield landed in an unfamiliar place.
"Where is this? Whose house is it?" Peter asked in confusion.
"What was that just now?" Harry waved his hand, prompting his Goblin Glider to begin scanning the surroundings. A virtual display projected above his forearm.
Luke retracted his ability, his expression solemn as he turned to Gwen. "That power just now—was it what I think it was, Gwen?"
Gwen hesitated slightly. "I'm not sure."
There were many who could open portals; she couldn't be certain it had been Clark.
She released her transformation, and at the same time, Three-Eyes returned to normal form. Sniffing the air, the wolf suddenly growled in a particular direction.
All four immediately turned, bracing themselves for a fight.
"Come out!" Gwen barked.
The next moment, as the figure emerged, the four widened their eyes in shock.
—Meanwhile, in Chamonix.
After sending Gwen away, Clark descended slowly from the sky, landing where she had stood just moments ago. He surveyed the enemies around him, his brow furrowing slightly.
They were all familiar faces. But he knew well that these were nothing more than soulless shells—clones, manufactured as grotesque tools meant to disgust and torment.
Even as that thought crossed his mind, the clones surged forward to attack.
With a flicker of intent, a card appeared in Clark's hand.
Name: Professor X.
The card materialized. An afterimage flashed, and in the instant before the Logan clones' claws slashed and the Scott clones' laser beams struck, a wave of overwhelming psychic force erupted outward, freezing every clone in place.
Clark didn't want to smash those familiar faces into bloody pulp with his fists. He would rather use a swift, decisive method to let them fall with some semblance of dignity.
A heartbeat later, the psychic force exploded.
Thud. Thud…
The sounds of bodies hitting the ground rang out one after another, as the clones collapsed lifelessly.
Terrified, the townspeople gasped and shrieked. The portals that had been open around the area flickered and vanished one by one.
Clearly, whoever had been watching grew afraid.
Clark exhaled softly, summoning another card.
Name: Amaterasu.
Skill Description: A black flame of devastating destructive power.
Note: A new method for erasing bodies.
The card took form. With a simple wave of Clark's hand, black flames fell upon the corpses, reducing them to ash. Only then, amidst the horrified stares of the townsfolk, did Clark open a portal.
Stepping through, he emerged in the Kent family farmhouse.
The instant he appeared, four sets of eyes fixed upon him.
"Uh… I already explained the general situation to them," Tony said quickly from the side.
Clark's gaze swept across the three young men.
Handsome, exuding both arrogance and refinement, Harry Osborn carried himself with confidence and noble airs.
Broad-shouldered and powerfully built, Luke Brennan had rugged features and a dazzling smile.
Gentle-looking, scholarly, and still quite handsome in his own way, Peter Parker gave off a warm and approachable aura.
Clark gave the three a brief nod. Then his eyes fell on Gwen, and instantly his expression softened.
Her platinum-blonde short hair framed her face with a sharp, clean look.
Her tall, slender figure and exquisite features seemed as though God Himself had carved them by hand. To Clark, she radiated brilliance.
At that moment, Gwen's light blue eyes, tinged faintly with green, were fixed on him—like a boundless ocean concealing countless emotions, threatening to drown him.
Meeting Clark's tender gaze, Gwen suddenly felt as if she had eaten a piece of candy made of sunlight itself.
Warm. Sweet…
Her eyes grew misty, and she whispered, "Dad."
Just two simple syllables, yet Clark could hear the endless grievance and sorrow in her voice.
In an instant, he appeared before her, drawing her naturally into his embrace.
"I'm sorry," Clark murmured, gently stroking her hair. "I'm sorry, my child."
At those words, Gwen finally broke, sobbing loudly.
Her grief, her anger, her helplessness—all poured out with her cries.
She had thought that, when she saw Clark again, she would be furious and cold to him. But now, standing before him in reality, all she wanted was to bury herself in his arms and weep like she had when she was small.
Peter's heart ached as he watched her.
Harry and Luke sighed, tugging Peter along.
This moment belonged to father and daughter. Outsiders had no place here.
The three nodded, grabbed a protesting Tony who was still fiddling with his recorder, and dragged him outside.
For a time, the farmhouse echoed only with Gwen's cries and Clark's steady, soothing pats on her back.
"Dad… Charles, Erik, they're dead. The Celestials killed them. Clark is missing. And Aunt Raven… she died protecting me… wuuuu…"
Gwen's words, broken with sobs, cut deep.
Raven… dead?
Tony's intelligence reports had claimed she was one of the X-Men survivors.
Was it truly to protect Gwen?
Clark hugged her tighter, his eyes turning colder by the second.
"Dad, why did you take so long? Why are you only here now? I missed you so much… I missed you so, so much!"
Her fists pounded against his chest as she whimpered.
Only in Clark's arms did Gwen finally feel safe.
Clark remained silent, his heart brimming with tenderness toward Gwen, even as his fury and hatred toward the Celestials burned hotter.
After a long bout of crying, Gwen finally lifted her head. The weight in her chest had eased somewhat. She noticed her tears had soaked Clark's shirt completely. Embarrassed, she touched the fabric lightly.
Before she could say anything, Clark spoke first.
"My Gwen has grown up… and become so beautiful."
He looked at her reddened eyes and whispered again, "I'm sorry, Gwen."
Gwen pressed her lips together. "Tony already explained everything to us."
She now knew that Clark and his companion had come from a parallel world's past.
Clark nodded. "I never expected such a thing."
He then explained that he was the only unique existence across all parallel worlds.
With her knowledge, Gwen quickly grasped the concept. But she still struggled to believe why her father alone was singular.
Clark suspected it was because of the system, but he couldn't be certain. Nor could he explain it to Gwen. He simply shook his head. "I don't fully understand it myself."
(End of Chapter)