After returning to Earth, Lucas flew straight into outer space—to the battlefield where he had previously fought Zod.
With the Kryptonian mothership destroyed, the remaining warships had lost their central command system. Deprived of direction, they now floated silently in the void.
Why hadn't anyone come to claim these ships?
Setting aside whether anyone could even operate them—without Lucas's permission, who would dare touch a Kryptonian warship?
Lucas opened his right hand. The Time Stone, glowing with a crystalline green light, rose into the air.
As energy flowed into it, the space around him began to slow… then slowed further… until it came to a complete standstill.
At the same time, the Space Stone in his left hand began to shine as well.
As the light from the two Stones intertwined, new information surfaced in Lucas's mind.
When the Time Stone is used in conjunction with the Space Stone, both energy consumption and side effects are significantly reduced. More importantly, certain advanced abilities of the Time Stone become accessible.
This did not surprise Lucas.
After all, when gathered together, the Infinity Stones form the omnipotent core of the universe. Even just two Stones could naturally complement one another.
Next, Lucas began to manipulate time with his will.
Time and space merged into a panoramic control interface. With a thought—or even a slight movement of his fingers—he could make time move forward or backward.
This was his first time experiencing such direct control. Yet unlike most people, he did not rush to peer into the future.
Lucas understood that the so-called "future" was merely one branch of countless timelines.
Or perhaps something even more complex.
Either way, he had no interest in it.
The true future, in his view, was something one created, not something dictated by time itself.
Returning to the task at hand, Lucas began dragging the timeline backward—like scrubbing through a video.
The surrounding scene rapidly rewound. He even caught a glimpse of his own battle with Zod.
He spared it only a brief glance before continuing.
Soon, time rewound to the moment Lois was killed as collateral damage in the clash between the two Kryptonians.
At that instant, Lucas activated the Red Lantern Ring on his right hand.
A vast surge of crimson energy flooded into his body. Immediately, his eyes lit up with a red glow.
Until now, Lucas had never truly seen a soul.
At first, he had considered asking Hela or the Ancient One how to perceive souls. But Blood Butcher had told him that his energy could make souls visible.
Blood Butcher had been right.
Through the Red Lantern's power, Lucas saw a faint, translucent Lois separate from her body.
The moment she appeared, Lois noticed Clark, who stood nearby with eyes blazing in grief and rage.
She reached out, shouting desperately.
But a soul's cries could not cross into the physical dimension. Clark neither heard nor saw her.
At that moment, space behind Lois rippled faintly.
A colossal gate—vast beyond imagination and exuding an ominous aura—materialized in the void.
Compared to it, the already massive Kryptonian mothership looked like a lone human standing before a skyscraper hundreds of stories tall.
The gate's frame was forged entirely of bronze, yet it shimmered with a dark golden glow. Countless reliefs were carved upon it.
With his nanoscopic vision, Lucas saw clearly—
They were people, trapped in flames, each face frozen in agony, as though suffering eternally.
Yet Clark and Zod appeared completely oblivious to the gate's existence.
Suddenly, a sound echoed forth—ancient, deep, as though rising from an abyss older than time itself.
The gate slowly opened, revealing darkness beyond—a darkness so absolute that no light escaped, and none could enter.
Yet Lucas could sense it.
Within that darkness, a pair of enormous eyes fixed their gaze upon Lois.
A formless beam of light shot out from the gate, enveloping her.
No matter how she struggled, she could not escape.
Like prey swallowed by a colossal beast, Lois was dragged into the pitch-black gateway.
Lucas did not intervene.
This was the past.
Instead, he moved directly to the gate and entered without hesitation.
He was still in temporal observation mode, aided by the Space Stone. Neither distance nor dimensional barriers could restrict him.
As long as something existed within the flow of time, he could witness it.
Following the path Lois had taken, Lucas passed through the darkness.
All around him was blackness—so complete that even his perception struggled to penetrate it.
"Could this be the Source of Darkness?" Lucas wondered.
He was not arrogant.
Whether in DC or Marvel, every universe contained forces beyond his current reach—enemies he could not yet confront.
And this universe was a fusion of both.
How many truly terrifying existences lurked within it?
The answer could only be more, never fewer.
Yet a Saiyan feared no powerful enemy.
On the contrary—it was the existence of such enemies that fueled Lucas's relentless desire to grow stronger.
After an unknown span of time, a faint light finally appeared ahead.
When Lucas focused on it, he realized he had emerged into another dimension.
A world of fire.
Flames stretched endlessly in all directions. Countless souls writhed within them—screaming, howling, begging.
Massive demons of grotesque and varied forms roamed the land.
As they walked, they would casually seize struggling souls and toss them into baskets at their sides.
Lucas watched as one demon, seemingly unable to resist temptation, grabbed a soul and tried to devour it.
At that very moment, a beam of light shot out from an ancient black castle atop a towering obsidian mountain in the distance.
The demon was instantly trapped inside a massive translucent sphere.
"Mercy, my lord!" the demon screamed in terror.
But its so-called master did not answer.
A pale, ghostly flame ignited upon the demon's body—starting small, then spreading rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, the demon was reduced to nothingness.
Lucas narrowed his eyes, his brow furrowing.
"This is… Hell?"
...
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