After Eden, William, and the bombshell senior linked up, they didn't waste time. Straight into Upstate University's lecture hall, sitting in on a class aimed at prospective freshmen.
One student in particular caught Eden's eye—D.A. Sinclair. The kid was a pain in the ass, loudly tearing into the professor, claiming he didn't understand the real power of pharmacology, biology, or anatomy. Just a disruption, nothing more.
After class, the three of them grabbed some American barbecue. Halfway through, the senior leaned forward with a grin.
"There's a welcome party tonight. You two wanna come?"
"I'm out." Eden checked his phone and shook his head. "That's bedtime for me."
"A party?!" William's whole face lit up. "Hell yeah, I'm in. I love parties." He scrambled to the senior's side like a puppy, laying it on thick. Then he jerked a thumb toward Eden. "Don't let the size fool you. My guy looks like he's captain of the football team, but really? Straight-A, early-to-bed, early-to-rise. Ivy League goals. Let us degenerates handle the nightlife."
The senior laughed, charmed despite herself. "Fair enough. Good luck with your dream schools, Eden."
"Thanks." With his super-hearing, Eden caught every word of William's slander—and agreed completely. If playing the model student kept him out of stupid parties, so be it. His whole deal was simple: keep it low-key, keep training, keep getting stronger.
"Have fun tonight," he said softly, genuinely hoping William scored points with his crush. Then he excused himself and headed to the dorm the senior had set aside for them.
The place was modest, just a two-bed room with the basics. More than enough.
After a quick wash, Eden collapsed onto the mattress and whispered:
"Simulation, start."
He lived for this. For fighting. For getting stronger. It was the only high that mattered.
[Master, select your opponent.]
"The opponents: Omni-Man Nolan and Invincible Mark."
[Opponents selected.]
[Choose battlefield.]
"Empty zone. Always."
[Battlefield confirmed.]
[Simulation commencing.]
A pulse of light, and the world shifted. This time, like always, the fight started midair. Eden hovered in the sky. So did Mark and Nolan.
"Hey." Mark's eyes narrowed the second Eden appeared, his blue suit gleaming in the sun. He tilted his head toward Nolan, smirking. "Guess what, Dad? Another idiot."
"Hmph." Nolan's stare was ice. "Humans never learn. Submission to the Viltrum Empire is the only path." He glanced once at Eden, dismissed him instantly. Earth's heroes—Cecil, the Guardians, all of them—were already dust beneath their boots. Why would this random kid be any different?
Mark flew right up to Eden, jabbing a finger in his face. "Where the hell did you crawl from? Don't you get it? Earth is already ours." He sneered. "Say it louder for the back row—we own this planet."
Eden's expression didn't flicker. So this Simulation's giving me a variant Mark and Nolan. Figures. Angstrom Levy was right. Nine times out of ten, every parallel universe spits out the same thing: Mark and his dad, both assholes.
This Mark wasn't Invincible. He was an Invincible little thug. And Eden hated him instantly.
"You say something, punk? Keep running your mouth, I'll pop your skull. Same way I did Rex and Bulletproof!" Mark snapped.
"Perfect." Eden's eyes went cold. "That means I don't have to hold back." If it had been the main-universe Mark—the naive, too-kind one—Eden might've hesitated. But this one? No problem.
He moved without warning. One hand shot out and clamped around Mark's throat like a planetary press.
Mark choked, thrashing uselessly. His strength didn't matter. Eden's grip was unbreakable.
"Didn't your dad ever teach you basic manners? Respect strangers. That's lesson one." Eden's voice was flat steel. "This is what happens when you don't."
And then—snap. Mark's neck twisted at an unnatural angle. His body went limp.
"Mark!" Nolan's roar shook the air. "You bastard—you killed my son!"
Eden dropped the corpse without a glance. His eyes locked on Nolan. "You're next."
Twenty minutes later, Nolan's broken body joined Mark's on the ground.
"End Simulation." Eden exhaled, already critiquing. "Not good enough. This Mark's too weak. Barely qualifies as a Viltrumite warrior. That wasn't two-on-one—it was just Nolan with extra dead weight."
He scowled. Strength meant nothing without challenge. "System. Next time, give me two Viltrumite elites. No more Nolan-and-Mark combos. Make it a real fight. And set it on an uninhabited planet."
The only way forward was harder battles. Stronger enemies. True tests.
...
[Command received.]
[Simulation loading.]
[Opponents: Conquest and General Kregg.]
[Location: uninhabited planet.]
The moment Eden gave the order, his surroundings dissolved into static haze.
By the time he blinked, he was already standing on a desolate rock. Ruins everywhere, the corpses of alien beasts scattered across the ground—it looked like a planet the Viltrumites had already chewed up and spit out.
A sharp hum split the silence.
The instant Eden materialized in the sky, two sets of eyes locked onto him.
"Kid looks young."
The first Viltrumite was massive, built like an Olympic powerlifter, his short white hair streaked with age. His most striking feature wasn't the scar carving across half his face or the ruined socket of his right eye. It was the arm—a prosthetic of pure cosmic alloy. Every inch of him radiated battle-worn brutality.
His name was Conquest.
A sadistic butcher who got his kicks from wiping out prodigies, warriors, whole civilizations dumb enough to think they could resist the Viltrum Empire.
"Finish him quick."
The man at Conquest's side carried himself with aristocratic poise. A crimson monocle gleamed over his right eye, and every gesture reeked of authority.
General Kregg.
Two of the Viltrumite elite. Warriors whose power was rivaled only by Thragg and Nolan.
The planet trembled when Conquest moved. One second he was standing still, the next he was in Eden's face, that metal arm cocked back to smash his skull in.
"Perfect."
Eden smirked, meeting steel with flesh as he swung forward. No talking, no bullshit—just fists. Exactly how he liked it.
The collision shook the atmosphere.
"He's Viltrumite."
"And his strength… matches ours."
Conquest barked the verdict after one exchange, shouting back toward Kregg.
Eden flexed his numbed arm, eyes narrowing. Stronger than Nolan? Or was it just the alloy arm making the difference? Either way, that hit rattled him more than any blow from Nolan ever had.
"Since you're one of us, I'll give you a chance," Kregg said smoothly as he floated up to him, arms crossed. His voice was dripping with condescension. "Join the Viltrum Empire. Fight for our glory."
"I refuse."
Eden didn't hesitate.
"Then you die here."
Kregg shook his head, almost pitying. "Shame."
"Not a shame at all," Conquest grinned cruelly. "Killing young warriors is my favorite pastime."
They dove at him together, one from the left, one from the right, fists cutting through the air like meteors.
"Shit!"
Eden crossed his arms to block, but their combined punch sent him tumbling, copper flooding his throat.
And he laughed.
It was just like his very first simulation. Just like trading blows with Nolan.
"You're a natural-born Viltrumite, kid!" Kregg barked in amusement, circling behind him.
"Not gonna let you sneak up on me."
Eden spun instantly—
—but Conquest was already there, slamming a fist into his back.
"Son of a—!" Eden coughed blood, rage flaring.
"No time for whining, boy." Kregg chuckled darkly, locking Eden's arms from behind in an iron grip.
Eden thrashed, but Kregg's technique was flawless. Power meant nothing if you couldn't use it. For now, Eden was trapped.
"Too late to beg for mercy now," Kregg sneered.
Conquest's grin widened as he drove punch after punch into Eden's face. Blood sprayed in the air with every hit.
"Look at me, boy!" Conquest roared, yanking Eden up by the collar.
Eden's only answer was twin beams of heat vision blasting straight into Conquest's last good eye.
The monster shrieked. "My eyes! You cheating little bastard—what kind of trick weapons did you hide in there?!"
He clawed at his ruined face, stumbling back blind.
Eden smiled coldly.
Behind him, Kregg froze, stunned. "You… you turned your own eyes into laser cannons? That kind of obsession with combat is… insane."
Eden didn't waste the moment. He tore free from Kregg's grip, blurred forward, and drove his fist straight through Conquest's throat.
The air exploded red.
Conquest gargled one last scream before Eden ripped him apart at the neck.
"You're next."
Eden was drenched in gore, couldn't even tell whose it was anymore—his or Conquest's.
Kregg, hardened by a lifetime of war, actually flinched. For the first time, fear pricked at the edges of his mind.
And fear meant defeat.
Eden surged forward.
One hour later.
He staggered out of the simulation, one hand clutching his bleeding side, the other dragging Kregg's corpse like trash. "End simulation."
[Master, shall I load two more Viltrumite elites for you next time?]
"No." Eden wiped his mouth. "I need a break. Give me a variant Mark and his bastard father."
He wanted something easy. Something to rip apart.
Variant Mark snarled in the generated world: "What am I, a clown to you?!"
[As you command.]
The simulation reset.
By the next morning, Eden rolled stiffly out of bed. He'd slaughtered that variant Mark five times overnight. Mixed in another five brutal two-on-ones with Conquest and Kregg. Every fight had ended in his victory—but only barely, and only when he leaned on his Kryptonian powers.
"Still not enough," he muttered.
Then he noticed the empty bunk across the room. Perfectly neat. Untouched.
William hadn't come back last night.
Eden raised a brow. "No way. Did he actually hook up with that hot senior?"
But when Eden tracked her down on campus, she told him the truth—William had left the party early. And never returned.
"See? This is why I tell people not to waste time at pointless parties." Eden sighed.
Now he had another problem. Finding William.
He closed his eyes and cranked his super senses to maximum.