As the ring disintegrated and vanished, the darkness that had been rising inside Clark's heart faded just as quickly. The savage expression on his face disappeared, and the hostility in his eyes slowly drained away.
For a few seconds he simply stood there, confused and disoriented.
Then panic took over.
"I… what did I do?"
Even though his vision was still dark and blurry, Clark's mind was clear again. Memories of everything that had just happened rushed back all at once—the cruel words he had thrown at his parents, the hostility toward David, and the violent fight.
"And those horrible things I said…"
David let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Jonathan and Martha, seeing that their eldest son had returned to normal, immediately rushed over.
"Son, are you alright?" Martha asked anxiously.
Both parents wrapped their arms around Clark, their faces filled with concern as they glanced toward David for reassurance.
"He's fine," David said calmly.
Jonathan looked Clark over from head to toe. Compared to David—whose clothes were still completely intact—Clark looked much worse.
Clark's shirt had been torn almost to pieces, and his eyes were swollen like bruised fruit. Tears kept streaming down his face from the irritation, leaving him looking exhausted and miserable.
"Mom… Dad… David… I'm sorry."
Clark recognized the familiar heartbeats of his parents and hugged them tightly. Though his blindness frightened him, their presence brought immediate comfort.
Regret weighed heavily in his voice.
"It's alright, sweetheart," Martha said gently.
She stopped him before he could continue apologizing.
"We know that wasn't really you."
Jonathan still looked serious as he studied his son.
"Clark, what exactly happened?" he asked.
Clark hesitated.
"It was that ring… the ring."
The moment he had put it on, everything inside him had changed. His normal thoughts had been suppressed, replaced by impulses he couldn't control.
It felt like having a second personality take over.
But he couldn't explain why.
"It was probably a meteor rock," David said as he walked closer.
"I can't think of any other explanation. The same meteor shower that brought Clark to Earth likely left behind other fragments capable of affecting him."
Jonathan nodded slowly.
He had been about to point out that not every meteor rock they'd found was green.
But just because they had never encountered another type before didn't mean it didn't exist.
Now it seemed obvious.
Green meteor rocks affected Clark's body.
Red ones affected his mind.
"David… I'm really sorry."
Clark sounded like a child who had gotten into serious trouble. Even though David hadn't been the one hurt, Clark still felt guilty.
"It's fine," David replied.
"After all, I'm not the one who got injured."
Even as he said it, however, his brow remained slightly furrowed.
He wasn't angry at Clark.
He was worried about something else.
"Clark made a wish," David said quietly. "We don't know what price the stone might demand in return."
Clark raised a hand and rubbed his swollen eyes.
"My eyes…"
He tried to open them.
For a brief moment he could see faint shapes through the swelling. But as the sunlight touched his face, the last bit of clarity faded away.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Clark reached forward instinctively, touching the air in front of him.
"Clark, what's wrong?" Martha asked anxiously.
"I can't see."
Jonathan exchanged a worried glance with his wife.
"Did your brother hit you too hard?" he asked nervously.
David shook his head immediately.
"My energy beams could damage someone's eyes," he said, "but Clark's body is far too durable. That kind of injury shouldn't happen so easily."
And besides—
It was daytime.
Clark suddenly seemed to realize something.
He slowly opened his dull gray eyes.
Despite the blindness, an unexpected calm settled over his expression, as if he had already accepted the outcome.
"This is the price for my wish," he said quietly.
In exchange for removing his greatest weakness, the stone had taken away his sight.
"What?" Martha gasped.
Jonathan stared at Clark's empty gray eyes, disbelief written across his face.
"Clark… are you saying this blindness is permanent?"
Clark reached out and gently held his mother's cold hand.
"Maybe this is the best result," he said softly.
Although the loss of his vision unsettled him, he still managed a small smile for his family.
He had been afraid the stone might demand a price from his parents or his brother instead.
"If the price is just my eyes," Clark said, "then it's not so terrible."
David frowned slightly.
"It shouldn't be permanent."
The Wish Stone originated from a powerful Greek deity known for deception.
If it had been Zeus himself granting the wish, the outcome might have been different. But most gods likely didn't possess the power to permanently strip away a Kryptonian's natural gifts.
"It's okay, David," Clark said calmly.
"I still have my hearing."
Sunlight normally healed his injuries quickly, but this time the blindness didn't fade. Clark assumed his brother was simply trying to comfort him.
He had lost one sense.
But he still had another—one far stronger than ordinary people.
"Give me some time," Clark said confidently. "I'll adapt."
"With my hearing, I'll be able to function just fine."
…
Later that day, David quietly erased the traces of their battle. Craters were smoothed out, scorched earth repaired, and debris removed so no one would discover what had happened.
Clark adapted quickly.
Although he wasn't perfect yet, within just two or three days he moved around the house almost like a normal person. Aside from the sunglasses he wore and the white guidance cane he carried, few people would immediately realize he was blind.
In many ways, his daily life continued almost unchanged.
A week later, both brothers finished their final exams.
Their scores weren't extraordinary, but they were comfortably near the top of their class.
If they truly wanted to dominate the rankings, neither of them would have needed much effort. However, doing so would attract unnecessary attention.
"This is a good result," Jonathan said proudly.
He sat in front of the computer reviewing their report cards and nodded with satisfaction.
"You know," he added jokingly, "if either of you wanted to earn money, you could probably make tens of millions a year as professional athletes."
He chuckled and shook his head.
"That's a lot more impressive than a farmer like me who only knows how to handle tractors and plows."
"So," Martha said with a warm smile, "what are your plans for the summer?"
Academically, neither of their sons had ever given them reason to worry.
College was simply the next step.
Both boys had already been accepted to Metropolitan State University in Metropolis. The campus wasn't far from Smallville at all—close enough that someone determined could even ride a bicycle there in under an hour.
In other words, it was practically next door.
Of course, college life might bring new challenges.
At eighteen years old, it was also the age when young people started thinking seriously about relationships.
"Chloe is going to intern as a reporter at the Daily Planet during the summer," Clark said.
"She asked if I'd be interested in helping her as an assistant."
"A reporter?" David raised an eyebrow.
Clark working alongside a journalist so early felt oddly fitting, considering the future he was destined to have.
"What's wrong with that?" Clark asked with a laugh.
"Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I'm helpless. If anything, my hearing has become much sharper."
Losing his vision had changed the way he saw the world.
For the first time, he began to truly understand people who lived with disabilities.
"Before, I always worried about how different I was," Clark admitted.
He shook his head.
"My problems are nothing compared to what some people deal with every day."
He paused thoughtfully.
"Maybe Dad is right," he continued quietly.
"Maybe the abilities I was given aren't something I should fear."
Instead, they might be something he should use.
A new maturity flickered across Clark's face.
David looked at him with mild surprise.
Even though the blindness might only last a few days, the experience seemed to be pushing Clark closer to the path he was meant to follow.
In the past, Clark had always been kind.
But he had still been a teenager dealing with ordinary school problems. He rarely thought about actively protecting others.
Now that mindset seemed to be shifting.
"Are you thinking about becoming some kind of masked vigilante?" David asked jokingly.
"Like Batman in Gotham?"
Clark scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"I don't know yet," he admitted.
The idea of becoming a hero still made him hesitate.
If he exposed his extraordinary powers to the world, his family might be dragged into the spotlight as well. For now, he wasn't ready for that.
But that didn't mean his thoughts wouldn't change someday.
"And you?" Clark asked.
He turned his head toward where David was sitting.
"What are you planning to do this summer?"
"Me?"
David leaned back slightly and looked out the window.
Beyond the distant mountains, the sky stretched wide and blue.
"I might go on a trip."
"A trip?"
[Template fusion: 59%]
David's eyes narrowed slightly as a thought formed in his mind.
If he could cause emotional fluctuations within an entire superpowered race, the speed of his template fusion would skyrocket.
After all—
Paradise Island alone was home to thousands of Amazon warriors.
And they weren't the only extraordinary race living on Earth.
Deep beneath the oceans, another powerful civilization existed.
The Atlanteans.
....
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