I sat frozen in my father's study, my body trembling as cold sweat beaded across my forehead. The massive obsidian desk before me seemed to blur as my mind reeled from what had just happened.
'What was that!?' The thought screamed through my consciousness. 'A dream? A hallucination? Or is there something wrong with my body?'
The memories—no, they weren't my memories—still pulsed fresh in my mind like an infection I couldn't shake.
Images of a blue and green world, primitive flying machines, beings who couldn't even harness the power of their sun properly. It felt so real, so vivid, as if I had lived an entire life as someone else.
"LYRA," I called out, my voice cracking slightly. The artificial intelligence that managed our household had been my only real companion since... since the accident.
"Yes, young master?" Her melodic voice filled the chamber, emanating from hidden speakers woven seamlessly into the crystalline walls.
"Run a full body scan. Now." I gripped the armrests of my father's chair, feeling the cool metal anchor me to reality.
"Initiating scan sequence immediately."
The walls hummed to life as dozens of microscopic scanners emerged like silver fireflies, their soft blue light washing over every inch of my body. The familiar sensation should have been comforting, but my heart still hammered against my ribs as the scanners worked their way from my head to my feet.
After a few seconds, LYRA's voice returned. "Scan complete. No abnormalities detected in your physiology. However, your stress levels are elevated approximately thirty percent above your baseline normal range."
I let out a shaky breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.
"Young master," LYRA continued, her voice carrying that subtle note of concern she'd developed over the years. "Your biometric readings suggest significant psychological distress. Has something happened that I should be aware of? Perhaps I should contact the medical council—"
"No," I replied quickly, perhaps too quickly. "There's nothing wrong. Just... nightmares."
I couldn't explain this to an AI, not when I barely understood it myself. How could I tell her that alien memories had somehow invaded my mind?
I sank deeper into father's chair—my father's chair—letting the weight of that reality settle over me once again. Dead. Both of my parents were in a transport accident just one week ago.
The entire noble class had attended their funeral, offering hollow condolences while secretly calculating how this power shift might benefit them.
They had no idea what they were truly mourning.
My family's lineage wasn't just another noble house among Krypton's elite.
We were the direct descendants of God King Rao himself, the divine figure that all of Krypton worshipped.
This knowledge was kept secret, known only to the heads of the most ancient noble houses who had served House Rao since the Golden Age. For eons, my ancestors had ruled this world with absolute authority, shaping civilization itself.
Then, for reasons lost to time, one of my predecessors had simply... stepped away.
Handed power to the Kryptonian Council and faded into the shadows of nobility.
Why would someone abandon such incredible authority? It was a question that had haunted me since childhood, one that my father promised to answer when I came of age.
Now I would never know.
I was the last. The final heir of the Rao lineage, sitting alone in a study that had once been the private sanctuary of kings.
But all of that—our glorious heritage, our entire civilization—might soon become nothing more than cosmic dust.
The memories that had exploded through my consciousness belonged to someone named Alex, an eighteen-year-old human from a primitive world called Earth.
Most of his recollections were mundane: worries about examinations, relationships, social hierarchies that seemed absurdly trivial compared to the politics of noble houses. Their technology was laughably backward—they had barely managed to escape their own planet's gravity well.
By Kryptonian standards, Earth was nothing more than a backwater world populated by children playing with fire.
Those memories should have been amusing, a glimpse into the simple concerns of a less evolved species. Instead, they had filled me with a terror I'd never experienced.
Because Alex knew things. Things about my world that no primitive alien should know.
He possessed memories of something called "comics"—illustrated stories from his world that somehow contained detailed accounts of Krypton's fate.
According to these tales, my planet was doomed. Only a handful of survivors would escape, scattered across the cosmos like seeds on solar winds.
But what enraged me most was learning that the one who possessed the Codex—the genetic template of our entire race—never even attempted to restore our people.
He let our species remain dead when he could have brought them back.
Yet something didn't add up.
In Alex's memories, these stories existed in a universe called "DC." Krypton belonged to the DC Universe.
But I had grown up hearing my father's tales of our conflicts with both the Kree and the Shi'ar Empires. Those weren't myths or legends—they were historical facts recorded in our archives, conflicts that had shaped galactic politics for millennia.
According to Alex's memories, the Kree and the Shi'ar were not part of the DC universe, but rather from their rival company called Marvel Comics.
The Marvel universe was frightening in its own right, filled with cosmic entities that made even gods tremble.
'Could it be?' I wondered. 'Am I living in some combination of both realities?'
I needed confirmation, and I knew exactly how to get it.
"LYRA," I said, straightening in the chair. "Search the historical archives for any reference to beings known as Celestials."
There was a brief pause before her response. "That information is classified under restricted access protocols, young master. Only the highest levels of government clearance can—"
"Override with my authority." The words came out sharper than intended, but I was grateful for this privilege of my bloodline. Nothing could be hidden from House Rao—even the Council did not have access to some secrets that our house guarded.
"Authority confirmed. Accessing restricted archives now."
Several moments passed before LYRA responded, and when she did, her voice carried an unusual gravity that made my skin crawl.
"Three documented encounters exist in our records, young master. Our deepest scout vessels have observed massive entities, significantly larger than most planetary bodies, engaged in both planetary destruction and creation. These beings possess technology that defies our understanding of physics itself."
My blood ran cold.
"The Council classified this information to prevent public panic and maintain social stability," she continued. "However, the reports suggest these entities operate on a cosmic scale that makes our entire civilization appear... insignificant."
Celestials. The cosmic judges from Alex's Marvel memories.
I had never heard of them before, not in any archive or in any simulation I was taught. The only place I had encountered them was in these alien memories that had somehow branded themselves into my consciousness.
So, if they existed here, then my worst fears were confirmed—I was living in a merged reality where the threats from both universes were real.
The implications were staggering. Not only did I have to worry about Krypton's destruction, but I now lived in a cosmos filled with beings and powers that made even Kryptonian technology seem primitive.
I gripped the edge of the desk, my knuckles white against the dark surface.
The knowledge pressed down on me like a collapsing star. But beneath the fear, something else began to emerge—something that had been dormant in my bloodline for generations.
Determination. The will to rule. The divine fire that had once commanded galaxies.
If I truly was the last heir of God King Rao, if I carried the blood of divinity itself, then perhaps I wasn't as helpless as those comic book stories suggested. Maybe this knowledge was a gift, a chance to change everything.
After all, in those memories, the Kryptonians who survived the doom of my world were not exactly weak.
But first, I needed to know exactly how much time I had.
"LYRA," I commanded, my voice steady despite the chaos in my mind. "I need you to run a comprehensive scan of Krypton's core. Check for any signs of instability."
"Young master, that data is also under restricted acce—"
"Override. Use my full authority as the heir of House Rao on any of the matters I ask in future."
"Accessing restricted planetary data. Core analysis commencing. Estimated completion time: three minutes."
I leaned back in father's chair—my chair now—and watched the holographic displays materialize around me. Data streams flowed like rivers of light, showing me readings that the Council probably didn't even know existed or hid from the world.
This scan would help me learn the fate of my world.
And if the doom was coming then, it would help me discover if I had days, months, or years to prevent the extinction of everything I'd ever known.
The scanning commenced, and for the first time since the memories had flooded my mind, I allowed myself a grim smile.
Whatever was coming for Krypton—for this entire merged reality—I would be ready.
The last descendant of Rao would not go quietly into the cosmic night.
And if the universe thought it could simply erase my people from existence, it would learn the true meaning of divine wrath.
.....
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