The Crossed world.
The sky was a coagulated scab of blood, and the earth was covered in corpses and rusted steel.
The air was thick with the stench of rust and rot, as if the entire planet were festering.
Ian's other clone stood atop a mountain of flesh piled high with twisted bones.
His eyes were cold and devoid of emotion as he looked down at the endless tide of infected surging toward him.
These creatures, once human, bore cross-shaped rashes on their faces, their eyes burning with pure sadistic desire.
They let out incomprehensible roars, scrambling over one another to reach him, eager to tear him apart in the most gruesome ways imaginable.
Faced with this hellish scene, Ian calmly raised his hand.
A deep blue object, pulsating like a beating heart, appeared in his palm.
Sculk Catalyst.
He opened his hand, letting the heart-like object plummet into the sea of corpses below.
Hum—
A silent pulse rippled outward.
The Sculk Catalyst absorbed the corpses on the ground. Centered around its point of impact, a dark blue, almost black sculk patch spread at a visible rate.
All the infected corpses covered by the sculk were rapidly absorbed and broken down, turning into fine dust that merged with the eerie ground.
Death became the nourishment for this land.
The sculk patch expanded faster and faster. Wherever it passed, everything withered away, leaving only dead silence.
"Roar!!!"
A furious roar from deep underground made the entire earth tremble.
A massive, grotesque Warden, with a gaping void in its chest, was summoned from the depths of the sculk.
Tracking the densest source of noise, it violently charged into the horde of infected.
It was a pure, suspense-free slaughter.
With every swing of the Warden's arms, swaths of infected were smashed into meat paste.
And the deaths of these infected further expanded the reach of the sculk.
A perfect, self-sustaining loop of carnage was formed.
Soon, this small town overrun by the Crossed was completely transformed into a dark blue wasteland of death.
In The Crossed world, the corners of Ian's mouth curled into an amused smile.
He stepped across the dead sculk and arrived at the edge of another city gripped by madness.
He consumed EMC.
Rows of adorable Sunflowers burst from the soil in front of him, striving to bloom against the blood-red sky.
Next came Peashooters, followed by Wall-nuts.
Sunlight scattered, and peas flew.
"Puff! Puff! Puff!"
The dense barrage of peas acted like submachine gun bullets, accurately piercing the bodies of the charging infected.
They riddled the filthy, twisted monsters with holes one by one.
Upon this wasteland that symbolized despair and agony, a vibrant plant defense line, brimming with dark humor, was expanding at an astonishing speed.
...
Meanwhile, in The Boys world.
Vought International Headquarters, top-floor conference room.
The head of the Crisis Management Department, Madelyn Stillwell, was trying her best to maintain her composure.
However, her slightly trembling fingertips betrayed her inner unease.
"A-Train is severely injured and comatose. Over seventy percent of the bones in his body have suffered comminuted fractures," she reported.
"According to vague testimonies from eyewitnesses at the scene, he appears to have been kicked flying by an Asian male Supe who appeared out of nowhere."
Sitting at the head of the conference table, Homelander, clad in his star-spangled suit, rested his chin on one hand. His face revealed neither joy nor anger.
"Furthermore," Madelyn took a deep breath and switched the image on the screen.
It was a ground-penetrating radar scan of New York City. A glaring red trajectory was piercing straight through the geological layers.
"The geological department reports that just moments ago, abnormal ultra-high-frequency seismic waves were detected beneath New York City."
"The source... is moving straight toward the Earth's core at an incomprehensible speed."
"A Supe who can cripple A-Train with a single kick and burrow through the ground like a groundhog?"
Homelander finally spoke, a flash of excitement akin to a hunter spotting prey gleaming in his azure eyes.
He smiled, revealing a set of pearly white teeth.
"Interesting."
He stood up and walked over to the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, looking down at the city below.
"Send someone to find him, Madelyn."
"I want to see where this new hero came from."
"Perhaps..." He turned his head, a playful smile on his lips. "The Seven is just missing a new member like him."
...
Earth, the core.
The golden-red molten iron-nickel core released terrifying temperatures capable of instantly vaporizing anything, along with unimaginably massive pressure.
Ian floated in this golden-red ocean.
The [Adaptability] trait took effect, turning this hellish environment into a comfort zone akin to warm water.
In his hand, he held a Matter Pickaxe exchanged with EMC, gleaming with a crimson light.
With every swing, large chunks of the Earth's core matter were directly broken down and sent into the Transmutation Tablet.
In his mind, his EMC value was skyrocketing at an almost insane speed.
Soon, that number broke through an astronomical threshold.
"That's enough energy," he muttered.
Ian stopped his movements, shifting his thoughts.
"Load the Superman template!"
Boom!
A vast, sun-like power originating from the distant planet of Krypton instantly flooded into his body.
Every cell of this recently occupied body began the deepest level of deconstruction and restructuring under the wash of this power.
His body's genetic chains were unlocked, rewritten, and engraved with the sacred mark of a Kryptonian.
He could feel the muscle fibers beneath his skin arranging and combining in an entirely new way.
His bone density surpassed that of the hardest alloys on Earth.
Deep within his eyes, it seemed as though two scorching suns were slowly rising.
Just then, a message was transmitted through the Transmutation Tablet from his clone in The Crossed world.
In Ian's consciousness, two petite, exquisitely glowing plant phantoms appeared out of thin air.
He willed it with a thought.
The next second, two lively and adorable Twin Sunflowers abruptly appeared on his shoulders.
They curiously observed this golden-red world and affectionately rubbed against Ian's cheeks.
Then, they swayed their bodies and gave a gentle shake.
"Pop! Pop!"
Four miniature suns, radiating pure light and heat, popped out from their flower disks.
This sunlight seemed to be drawn by some kind of traction, actively merging into Ian's body.
In an instant, it was as if the newly restructured Kryptonian bloodline within Ian's body had been injected with top-tier fuel.
The power, which originally required time to adapt and absorb, completely boiled over at this moment!
The strength, speed, and senses of this body were all skyrocketing madly!