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The World Engine pulling debris into a spiraling vortex as it charged its metallic heart glowing with the power to remake the Earth.
Through the boiling clouds above it, two streaks of light cut across the sky one golden and one violet.
Arthur and Kara.
They broke through the smog like twin comets. The machine loomed before them, a monstrous construct, every few seconds, it released a low, resonant thrum, a scary sound.
Arthur slowed his flight, shadow energy coursing around him in thin ribbons as he circled the structure. Kara followed his lead, moving in wide, graceful loops her blonde hair flickering with sunlight as she studied the machine with narrowed eyes.
"So," she called out over the roaring wind, lips curling in a wry half-smile, "brute force?"
Arthur smirked, his voice carrying effortlessly through the air between them. "Yes. The moment it activates, we blast straight through it. The weak spot's at the core where that white beam starts forming. Time it right, and we can destroy it quickly."
Kara's eyes widened slightly. "You seem to know an awful lot about our tech."
Arthur's violet gaze flicked toward her, amused. "I did my research."
A beat of silence.
Then, deadpan, he added, "My girlfriend happens to be Kryptonian."
Kara laughed an honest, lighthearted sound that momentarily cut through the chaos. "That's a lie," she said, still smiling.
Arthur only smiled back, but then his eyes shifted glowing brighter. His mind reached outward, beyond the horizon, linking through his shadow soldiers. 'Igris', he called telepathically. 'Where is Zod heading?'
The response came almost instantly, a deep, echoing voice that reverberated through the shadows like thunder.
"My liege," Igris said, his tone calm but edged with battle-thirst. From atop Kamish's massive form, the dragon marshal's wings tore through the clouds, leaving lightning trails in their wake. "My target is flying toward a crystal structure in the snow. He won't escape my blade."
Arthur's brow furrowed. "A crystal structure in the snow…?" His eyes narrowed as realization hit. "Is he heading to the Fortress of Solitude?" he said outloud.
At that, Kara stopped midair, her heartbeat quickening. "The Fortress? Why would he be going there?"
Arthur turned toward her, his tone low and probing. "Is there something he might want from that place?"
Kara shook her head quickly, visibly unsettled. "I don't know. It's Kal's sanctuary..his base. Whatever Zod's after, it's not something ordinary. But… how would he even know about it?"
Arthur gave a short, grim nod. "Kryptonian readings, maybe. Or.." he glanced at her briefly "through you. You were captured for some time. They might've extracted something."
Her lips parted slightly in guilt. "Right…" she murmured, voice small. "I didn't even think of that."
Arthur didn't press further. His eyes glowed again, brighter this time, casting faint light on his sharp features as he reached back out to Igris. 'Do not let him live.'
There was a pause. Then Igris's voice came again, steady and cold."I will present you his head, my liege. That much I promise."
Arthur's mouth curved faintly into a dark smile. "That's what I like to hear."
Kara looked at him, then to the horizon where faint streaks of light and energy battles flashed far in the distance. The sky above Metropolis still churned, and the ground trembled beneath the rising pulse of the World Engine.
Arthur's expression hardened as he gazed upward. "I just hope Clark manages to defeat H'El…" His tone dipped, quiet but weighted. "But I doubt it, I'm not even sure that thing even realizes what he is capable of..."
Kara's head turned sharply at that, eyes full of worry. She looked from Arthur to the sky, searching for any trace of her cousin's symbol amidst the chaos above.
Her hand tightened into a fist, her heart pounding as she whispered under her breath, "Come on, Kal…"
Arthur glanced at her from the corner of his eye, seeing that flicker of fear and determination, and for just a moment, he softened.
"Hey," he said quietly.
Kara looked back at him.
"We'll destroy this," Arthur said simply, with that unshakable certainty of his. "And we'll help out Kal if H'El proves to be too much to handle."
The world engine roared then its light surging to life, a beam of blinding white gathering at its heart.
Arthur's violet aura flared like a star.
Kara's eyes blazed blue.
"Now."
They shared one last nod then dove straight toward the heart of the machine.
****
THE ARCTIC SKY -
The world below was nothing but endless white, the auroras above shimmered faintly, their green light reflecting off jagged peaks of ice. Through that howling blizzard, a streak of black and violet tore across the heavens like a comet.
General Zod flew fast faster than the storm, but even the air itself seemed to resist him, dragging at his battered body. His armor hung in tatters, scorched and half-melted into the flesh beneath. Forcefully absorbing the yellow sun's radiation at high levels had done what no weapon could, it had changed him. His veins bulged with unnatural light, skin cracked like stone, and every breath sounded like a furnace struggling for air.
Still, he pushed on.
Behind him, the roar of something deadly and monstrous echoed through the night a sound that made even the northern wind falter.
Zod risked a glance back. His vision swam, but even through the haze of pain and frost, he saw it a shadow vast enough to swallow the sky. The beast's wings blotted out the stars, wings and eyes glinting faintly with violet energy. And upon its back, a knight of black armor rode, his longsword crackling with blue lightning, eyes burning the same dreadful hue.
The dragon's chest swelled.
Zod twisted violently aside just as a blast of fire thundered past him, hot and melting through air and ice alike. The flames painted the horizon in red and violet before exploding against a glacier below, turning solid ice into a boiling sea.
Zod grit his teeth, pain lancing through his limbs. "Damn..damn it all…" he rasped, voice shredded. "I must… reach Jor-El's outpost… before I die to these stupid insects…"
The words came out dry and brittle. His lungs burned from the heat still trapped within him, the unnatural surge of solar energy searing him from the inside out. He could feel his cells screaming, mutating, trying to adapt and failing all at once.
Another roar split the night.
Zod looked back just in time to see the knight's sword slash downward. Lightning cascaded from the sky, twisting into a crackling arc of pure destruction. The blast missed him by inches, he almost felt it, as sparks crawled over his back.
He snarled, veins glowing brighter. The next second, he shot forward, breaking through the sound barrier.
The dragon roared again a terrible, echoing bellow that rippled across the Arctic like thunder over the sea. Its eyes, glowing pools of violet, locked onto him with predatory precision.
Zod cursed under his breath, forcing his damaged body to move faster, faster still. Blood trickled from his mouth, freezing against his chin before the wind tore it away.
"They won't stop," he hissed. "These damned shadows… they're not after capture… they're going for the kill."
The Fortress of Solitude shimmered faintly ahead, its crystalline spires rising like frozen lightning bolts.
For the first time in his life, General Zod felt something unfamiliar gnawing at his chest.
Not rage.
Not pride.
Fear.
He pushed harder, pain forgotten, his deformed body blazing like a dark star across the Arctic sky. But the dragon was gaining and the knight atop it raised his sword once more, lightning gathering at its edge, and Zod knew the next strike wouldn't miss.
Still, he didn't slow.
He couldn't.
/-\
If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Solo leveling in Westeros.
&
If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my patreon at
"https://www.patreon.com/FrenzyAren"
You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want