Gazing into the vast expanse of space, Lucas suddenly felt his heart grow still.
His mind emptied completely.
No thoughts moved within it.
He stopped consciously controlling his body and simply allowed Earth's gravity to carry him, drifting along near-Earth orbit as he circled the planet.
It had been a very long time since he had entered such a state.
The last time had been shortly after his birth—when all he needed to do was eat and sleep. Somehow, he had slipped into it naturally.
Back then, both the quantity and quality of his spiritual power had improved tremendously.
Now, as Lucas entered this deep state of emptiness, the red Lantern ring on his right hand suddenly flickered.
Inside the ring, Blood Butcher—unable to sense Lucas's mental activity—grew suspicious. He considered emerging to investigate.
When he realized Lucas had entered a special meditative state, he began contemplating whether this was the perfect opportunity to escape.
The seal within the ring was not particularly strong against him. After all, this was a Red Lantern ring—his domain.
Had it been a Yellow or Green Lantern ring, breaking free would have been far more difficult.
Furthermore, Lucas had not added an additional personal seal. Even Sinestro had layered his own sealing power when imprisoning Parallax.
After struggling internally for a moment, Blood Butcher clenched his teeth and prepared to break through—
Suddenly, golden flames erupted from Lucas's body.
The blazing aura startled him so badly that any thought of escape vanished instantly. He retreated back into the ring without hesitation.
Lucas's golden aura continued to surge, expanding until it rose hundreds of meters high.
From afar, he resembled a brilliant golden flame suspended in orbit.
---
Within Lucas's spiritual world, everything was calm at first—like a mirror-smooth lake.
Then—
It began to boil.
The once tranquil surface churned violently, waves crashing in every direction.
Lucas's consciousness hovered above the raging sea, observing the true state of his body.
In his Super Saiyan full-power state, his S-cells were continuously generating tremendous energy.
But every advantage came with a cost.
He could clearly see that the ordinary cells surrounding the S-cells were being compressed and distorted by the immense output of power.
Those closest to the S-cells twisted under the pressure.
Some ruptured entirely.
They died.
Almost immediately, energy enveloped the dead cells and incinerated them into nothingness.
New cells rapidly divided to replace them.
Lucas fell into deep contemplation.
Super Saiyan transformation dramatically increased a Saiyan's battle power.
But it was like forcing high-pressure water through a pipe.
The pipe might not burst immediately—but each surge damaged its internal structure.
Given enough time, it would inevitably fail.
In the original universe, Super Saiyan transformation had always been defined by three flaws:
Short transformation duration
Massive energy consumption
Enormous physical strain
"So this," Lucas murmured inwardly,
"is why the Elder Kai called Super Saiyan a crooked path?"
In many philosophical traditions—power should be gradual, controlled, and nourishing to the body.
True strength strengthens the vessel.
Super Saiyan did not.
To solve this, there were only two options:
1. Strengthen the "pipe"—refine the body until it could withstand the strain effortlessly.
(The path Goku and Vegeta constantly pursued.)
2. Abandon the explosive transformation path entirely and seek a higher state.
There were alternatives.
The Elder Kai's "Ultimate" form.
Gohan's later Beast transformation.
And above all—
The God Form.
Lucas preferred the God form—the red-haired state.
Not Super Saiyan Blue.
But the pure God form.
That state consumed almost no stamina. In battle, it could even restore energy naturally.
It was the ideal evolution.
There was just one fatal problem:
In this universe, he was the only Saiyan.
He had already experimented with cloning using his own DNA.
The clones did not possess S-cell foundations. They could not transform.
Which left only one uncertain path—
Perhaps offspring born with a non-Saiyan partner might awaken Saiyan bloodline potential.
If even that failed, the divine path would be unreachable.
Super Saiyan transformation, at its core, was the explosive multiplication and activation of S-cells, altering a Saiyan's physiological nature.
What Lucas needed now was control.
He had to ensure that when S-cells erupted, the energy would not damage his body.
Physical refinement was fundamental.
But spiritual advancement was equally critical.
Future enemies would not all rely on brute force.
There were beings like:
The Ancient One
Dormammu
The Vishanti
Even if they never became direct adversaries, mental resilience was essential.
He had no intention of being like Clark—who often struggled against magic-based opponents.
He did not possess Clark's solar-powered healing.
Nor did he enjoy the narrative fortune of being the universe's chosen protagonist.
Even if he lacked magical aptitude, he would ensure that those who wielded it could not easily trouble him.
---
Thus Lucas drifted through near-Earth orbit, lost in contemplation.
Along the way—
He accidentally collided with a satellite.
Moments later, he brushed past another satellite from a nearby peninsula nation.
Both satellites were destroyed instantly.
The two nations panicked.
Believing they were under extraterrestrial attack, they immediately escalated to Level One military readiness.
Troop mobilizations began.
Their neighboring countries interpreted the movements as potential aggression and activated their own defense protocols.
Within hours, several major global powers had entered heightened military alert.
Even President Ellis, upon receiving reports that overseas nations had suddenly shifted into war posture, was completely baffled.
Then intelligence reports clarified the truth:
Lucas had accidentally destroyed the satellites while drifting in orbit.
Once this information circulated among world leaders—
A collective, silent decision was made.
De-escalate.
No one wanted to confront the man who could flatten a continent with a single palm.
___
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