As Abin Sur spoke, he pondered the new cosmic landscape that might emerge after a conflict between Heisenberg and Brainiac.
But what he didn't know was that, at that very moment, within the divine kingdom...
Heisenberg, resting quietly on his recliner, suddenly furrowed his brow.
He tightened his arms slightly around Mogo and asked in a soft voice.
"Little one, do you Green Lanterns always talk with such an air of superiority?"
"Superiority about what?"
The little one was confused. She spun around, turning her emoji face toward Heisenberg, and displayed a question mark.
"Did you hear what B'dg said?"
"No, it's Abin Sur. I saw him."
Heisenberg replied with a smile, giving the little round ball a gentle squeeze.
The little ball rolled side to side playfully, bouncing up and down as she played with Heisenberg.
"Sun, Sun, I think I get what you mean. You think they're a bit too full of themselves, right?
That's part of why I don't like them either. Even though I'm grateful the Green Lantern ring chose me, most Green Lanterns I can't even be bothered to know!"
With that, Mogo plopped down onto Heisenberg's head.
Beside him, Kara looked at Heisenberg with unconcealed envy.
She wanted a soft, squishy, self-moving ball to hug and play with too!
But...
She glanced at Heisenberg worriedly. Was she really going to fight the Sun God—the one who even scared Aunt Astra—over a toy?
With that thought, the little girl finally shook her head. She'd better not set her sights on His Eminence's big ball.
So she turned to Astra and giggled quietly.
She didn't dare snatch His Eminence's big ball, but she could borrow one of Aunt Astra's smaller ones.
They were a bit small, but Aunt Astra had two of them.
Aunt Astra was so stingy—she had them, so why hide them under clothes?
And your balls are nothing compared to His Eminence Heisenberg's.
Let me borrow one, okay? I promise I'll play with it until it grows as big as His Eminence's!
...
Nearby, Heisenberg was still chatting with Mogo about Abin, completely unaware that a tragedy—one that would make loved ones laugh and enemies rejoice—was about to unfold right beside him.
Listening to Mogo's question, Heisenberg answered on his own.
"So you don't like them either. That's what I thought. The way they talk, it's like they put themselves on too high a pedestal.
That posturing reminds me of someone—a woman I once killed. She was the same way..."
"AUNTIE!!!"
Before Heisenberg could finish, a sudden shout burst from Kara.
Kara, even as she yelled, lunged straight at Astra.
Heisenberg, hearing the commotion, naturally looked over right away.
And so...
He watched as Kara's little paws reached toward Astra's full bosom.
Feeling her chest being ambushed, Astra was puzzled. This was the divine kingdom—the Kryptonians' own territory. Who would dare be so bold, sleeping wherever they pleased?
So she opened her eyes immediately.
"Kara?"
She asked in confusion, then reached out with her right hand to move Kara off her belly.
But Kara, energized by the sunlight, deftly dodged Astra's hand. Then she grabbed the highly elastic Kryptonian bodysuit and, without a care in the world, took a good look inside.
Having seen everything, Kara seemed a bit confused. She didn't grasp the gravity of the situation and continued reaching into Astra's clothes to explore.
And as for Astra...
Expressionless, she grabbed the wrist of Kara's hand reaching into her clothes, then turned a darkened face toward Heisenberg, who couldn't help but glance over.
"Your Eminence!"
Astra's voice made Heisenberg helplessly turn his head away. What was this? Kara, you're this young and already giving your great-grandfather fanservice?!!!
You really are doing the lord's work!
At the same time, Astra sat up with a blank expression and hauled the bewildered Kara up by the scruff.
"Your Eminence, this child seems eager for some training. Children are quite energetic, after all, aren't they?
You wouldn't mind if I sacrifice some of my sunbathing time to properly play with her, would you..."
Astra asked calmly. Heisenberg swallowed and nodded lightly.
Go ahead.
"Yes, Your Eminence!"
Astra bowed to Heisenberg, then dragged Kara off toward the distant training grounds.
Even as they flew, Heisenberg heard the innocent Kara ask Astra with a smile.
"Auntie, are you really going to play with me?"
Bam!
Even while still in the air, Astra delivered a solid knuckle to the little brat's head.
Astra knocked Kara senseless, all while shouting at her.
Bam!!!
Another knuckle, completely rattling Kara.
Immediately after, an endless stream of Kara's screams erupted from the training grounds...
Hearing the distant screams, Norn drew quite a few curious glances.
In a corner invisible to Heisenberg, someone quietly asked Norn.
"Vice-Commander, did His Eminence really... with the Commander...?"
"I don't think it's likely. How could His Eminence be interested in such things? As a god, his mind must be entirely on the future of the divine kingdom and the reconstruction of Krypton.
As for the size Kara mentioned, I wouldn't know—I'm not interested in that sort of thing either.
Aside from those vulgar El family members, who would be interested in the old-fashioned, rigid mating rituals of the ancients?
Only barbarians do that!"
With that, Norn lay back down without a care, continuing to enjoy the sunlight that perpetually bathed him in the divine kingdom.
This sunlight... it's really yellow, isn't it...
As for Astra being his wife...
Isn't marriage just putting a name on a door and living in the same house?
What does marriage have to do with mating?
Aren't children just issued by the state?
Sunbathing suited him much better!
With that thought, Norn's sunbathing grew more and more comfortable.
In the distance, Heisenberg quietly wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He wasn't afraid of them at all, but he suddenly feared they might drag him into some ridiculous spectacle.
But since he didn't mind...
Ahem, since he didn't mind, then let's just forget this whole thing. I didn't see anything!
Heisenberg resolutely rolled over, hugging Mogo as he returned to his nap.
As for the mole on Astra's chest...
Who knows?
Heisenberg certainly didn't!
...
...
...
At that moment, atop Mount Everest, Abin had no idea that he had narrowly escaped death because someone had simply forgotten about him.
He was still continuing his discussion with B'dg.
After pondering, Abin nodded lightly.
"I think I might have a lead on Brainiac. There were reports from Sector 1295 about a planet invaded by B'dg.
But as you know, Brainiac only takes one city each time.
Aside from that one city, he's never slaughtered the rest of the planet's life, so the Elders' attitude toward him has always been ambiguous."
"Ambiguous my ass! Those Elders have had their brains fried by green light!
Even a bee like me knows right from wrong, but they can't figure it out for the life of them!"
B'dg cursed in frustration, then used his green light to form a giant fist and lightly thumped Abin's chest.
"I don't care about the Elders' attitude. I just want to know—are we doing this job or not?"
"Of course we are. We can't take down Brainiac on our own, but the Old God Heisenberg very well might!
In that case, I don't mind collecting a few more confinement orders from the Elders."
"Same here. But I'll confine myself on Mogo. If they want to come looking for trouble, let them come! Haha!"
B'dg's tiny body let out a hearty laugh. When he finished, he continued.
"But before we set off, don't you want to pay your respects to Heisenberg?"
"Heh..."
Hearing B'dg's question, Abin frowned in displeasure.
"Just because he gave you some benefits doesn't mean you need to grovel before him, B'dg!
Pay respects?
Even with Yuga Khan back then, we faced him head-on, didn't we?
Sure, we couldn't beat him, and his subordinates roughed us up a few times, but a powerhouse like that still isn't enough to make us look at him differently.
They have their power, and we have our hope. Don't you remember?"
As he spoke, Abin raised his ringed hand.
"Of course I remember!"
B'dg shrugged his wings, then spoke earnestly to Abin.
"Yuga Khan was an enemy. We learned tens of thousands of years ago that we should not take pride in our enemies!
Besides, Heisenberg isn't an enemy. At the very least, we have a chance to stand on the same side!
And... you haven't seen him in person. If you had, you'd understand how I feel.
There's something about him... something..."
At this point, B'dg couldn't help but recall Heisenberg's image.
He had no idea that Heisenberg's mind had just undergone a natural elevation through the invitations of two equations.
The Heisenberg who appeared before him was no longer the nouveau riche of the past!
After reminiscing, he spoke to Abin with admiration.
"There's a mysterious sense of balance about him. I felt like I could directly sense his equal view of good and evil, and his respect for both life and death.
That balance makes every word he says seem filled with reasonableness!
That's right—reasonableness!"
At that, B'dg raised one of his thin legs, giving a bee-version thumbs-up.
"About thirty thousand years ago, Yuga Khan's youngest son invaded Earth. I wasn't involved in that battle, so I never got the chance to see the ancient gods before they left Earth.
But I imagine not a single one of them would give me a stronger feeling than Heisenberg does!
It's been a long time since I've sensed such a pure divine presence—that impartiality constantly wavering between extremes and indulgence, those choices endlessly shifting between coldness and passion.
Even that purity of his, as he searches for himself between evil and justice!
Honestly, if he had appeared tens of thousands of years earlier, he would absolutely have become the greatest power in the universe after Yuga Khan's mysterious disappearance!
At least, I don't think anyone could match him—not even Uxas, the one who renamed himself Darkseid!
Compared to Heisenberg, Uxas's pure sense of domination feels low-class to me.
He's still far from it!"
/-\
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased chapters!
~ +20 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon! (+1 Chapter daily)
https://p-atreon.com/Its_Zack
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access Patreon normally)