The hustle and bustle of the Ark Base was blocked off by a heavy alloy door.
Mark stood in the elevator leading to the living area. His brand new matte black combat uniform was spotless, hiding the tiny scars underneath that were healing rapidly.
He deliberately restrained his stellar-like majestic aura and let his heartbeat and breathing rate return to normal range.
But deep within those golden-red pupils, the settled stardust and lava-like power could not be completely hidden.
The elevator door slid open silently.
A familiar scent hit me in the face, a faint floral fragrance and the smell of old paper hidden under the smell of disinfectant.
And...the taste of home.
This is a special living area connected to the GDA base for the families of core personnel. Debbie's suite is in the quietest corner.
The door was ajar.
Mark pushed the door open and walked in.
The light in the living room is warm.
Debbie was standing with her back to the door, carefully wiping a picture frame.
In the photo frame is a picture of Mark as a teenager, wearing a baseball uniform and being held high by his father Nolan, both of them with bright smiles on their faces.
The sunlight streamed through the window, giving the picture frame a soft golden edge and illuminating Debbie's slightly trembling shoulders.
Mark paused.
At this moment, the iron will seemed to be grasped by an invisible hand.
That photo, that boy with a sunny smile and eyes full of admiration... seemed like he came from another universe.
"mom."
Mark's voice sounded, deeper than he had expected.
Debbie whirled around.
When she saw her son at the door, the longing in her eyes was instantly replaced by a more complex emotion: joy, but more of an indescribable sense of strangeness and worry.
"mark!"
She put down the photo frame, walked over quickly, and wanted to hug her son as usual.
But when her hand was about to touch Mark's arm, she paused involuntarily.
The son in front of him was still tall, but seemed more solid, like cast steel, with an indescribable sense of heaviness.
His eyes were as deep as the starry sky, terrifyingly calm, and there was no trace of the recklessness and confusion of his youth.
"You...you're back."
Debbie's voice trembled slightly, and she finally hugged Mark gently, burying her face in his broad but unusually hard chest.
There was no familiar heartbeat and body temperature with a youthful aura, only a restrained and constant warmth like the metal after cooling from a furnace.
She could even feel the blood flowing beneath the skin, which was as tough as the core material of a star.
"Well, I came back to see you."
Mark's voice softened, and he patted his mother's back very gently with his huge palm that was strong enough to crush alloy.
"Rest for a while, we'll be leaving again soon."
Debbie looked up and studied her son's face.
The edges and corners became more distinct, like rocks polished by cosmic storms. The golden-red pupils were calm, but they made her feel a terrifying sense of power.
She reached out and lightly touched a very tiny, almost healed white mark on Mark's cheek with her fingertips.
That was the last trace left by C'Thun's acid.
"Are you hurt?"
Her voice carried a mother's unique heartache and sensitivity.
"It's a minor injury, I'm fine."
Mark held his mother's hand, stopping her from exploring.
His movements were still gentle, but the control of his strength and the unquestionable meaning made Debbie's heart sink again.
"Mark...you..."
Debbie looked at him with confusion and deep worry in her eyes.
"You've become... different. Not the same as before, and not the same as when Nolan left."
"What the hell... happened, down there?"
Mark was silent for a moment, then he pulled his mother to sit on the sofa.
The couch groaned slightly as he sat down.
He picked up the photo frame that his mother had just wiped, and his eyes fell on his father's face in the photo, which he once admired so much but now only showed cold hatred.
"Something happened, Mom."
Mark's voice was calm, but it carried a great weight.
"Something... something that forces me to become stronger, strong enough to block the artillery fire from the sky, to tear apart the monsters from the ground, strong enough to protect you, and to protect everyone on this planet who is struggling to survive like us."
He put down the photo frame and looked directly into his mother's worried eyes with his golden-red pupils.
"This kind of strength comes at a price..."
"My body... has been reshaped by the sun, by cosmic radiation, by battle and pain, by something else... Anyway, it is no longer the product of the mixture of Vitrum and Earth blood."
"It's more like a weapon, a weapon that I have to have complete control over, otherwise it will hurt innocent people."
Debbie's tears fell silently.
She looked at her son and seemed to truly understand for the first time the weight he was carrying.
"So... you don't feel any pain anymore? Don't feel... tired anymore? Don't feel... scared anymore?"
She asked, bringing out her deepest fears.
She was afraid that her son would become an emotionless war machine, just like Nolan eventually became.
Mark's eyes fluctuated slightly.
He reached out his hand and wiped away his mother's tears very gently with his fingertips. He was very careful, as if he was afraid that his rough skin would scratch her.
"I can feel the pain. Every time I get hurt, every time I burst my strength to the limit, it hurts to my bones."
He whispered, and for the first time there was a hint of barely perceptible fatigue in his voice.
"Tired... It's a mental burden, and I'm afraid..."
He paused, and a shadow flashed in the depths of his golden-red pupils.
"I'm afraid of losing you, Mom. I'm afraid of losing you, and those who trust me and rely on me. I'm afraid of failing this power. I'm afraid... the earth will be destroyed before my eyes."
"This fear is heavier than any physical pain."
Debbie held her son's hand tightly, as if wanting to pass on all her warmth and strength to him.
"Mark...my child...you don't have to carry it all alone! We can do it together..."
"No, Mom."
Mark shook his head slightly, but his tone was extremely firm.
"There are some burdens that only I can carry."
"Nolan's shadow, Vitrum's threat, Angrum's fleet, and the roots of the Old Ones beneath the earth...they are all beyond the Earth's ability to handle alone."
"I must go to the universe, divert the flames of war, find the answers, and end the source of all this."
When Nolan was mentioned, the air in the living room instantly became cold and heavy.
Debbie felt her heart tighten as she watched the hatred in her son's eyes, which was like molten lava.
"You hate him."
Debbie's voice was bitter.
"I hate him for betraying Earth. I hate him for almost killing you. I hate him for… for making us like this."
"hatred?"
The corners of Mark's mouth curled up in a cold arc. There was no warmth in that smile, only endless chill.
"Yes, I hate him. I hate his deception, his cruelty, and his willingness to crush everything for the glory of that damn Vitrum."
"He destroyed my faith, ruined countless families, and nearly destroyed the entire planet!"
His fists clenched unconsciously, the air in his palms made a slight popping sound, and the armrest of the sofa sank silently beside his hands.
"but…"
Mark's voice suddenly became low, with a hint of complexity that even he himself could hardly understand.
"Behind the hatred... Mom, have you ever thought about... why?"
He raised his head, his golden-red pupils seemed to penetrate the ceiling, looking into the endless universe.
"Why would a being as powerful as him be so obsessed with a low-level planet? Why would he resort to such extreme means?"
"Is it just for conquest? For resources? Or... is there a deeper reason? What exactly happened to the Vitrum Empire?"
These questions were like poisonous snakes entwined in Mark's heart.
After countless life-and-death battles and power transformations, his understanding of Nolan no longer just remains at the level of anger at a betrayer.
He began to think deeper.
The nature of power, the fate of race, and the unknown struggles that may be hidden behind the father's cold mask.
"I don't know, Mark."
Debbie shook her head bitterly.
"All I know is that he chose the cruelest path. He chose to be a destroyer, not a protector."
"Yes, he chose destruction."
Mark's voice returned to its steely coldness.
"Whatever his reasons, his choices have caused irreparable harm, and this sin must be paid for."
He stood up, his tall figure casting a long shadow under the light.
"But I'm not going to be like him, Mom."
He looked down at his mother, a determined fire burning in his golden-red pupils.
"My strength comes from the will to protect, not the desire to conquer. I will use this strength to correct his mistakes and end the disaster he has brought."
"No matter where in the universe he hides, no matter how strong he becomes... I will find him."
"Then what?"
Debbie's voice trembled.
"Kill him?"
Mark was silent.
He had tortured himself with this question countless times.
Kill Nolan, the father who gave him life and was once his idol, but is now his biggest enemy?
That blood bond is like the deepest curse.
"I have no idea."
Mark finally gave an honest answer, his voice heavy with confusion.
"But I knew I had to stop him, my way."
"For you, for all those who suffered because of him, and for... the boy he once lifted up, who believed in the myth of the Omniman."
He leaned over and placed a soft, metallic kiss on his mother's forehead.
"Don't worry about me, Mom. I will come back. When I solve the trouble in heaven, when I find the answer... I will come back."
He turned and walked towards the door, his steps still steady and powerful, but his back was heavier than when he came, as if he was carrying the expectations of the entire planet and the shadow of patricide.
Debbie watched her son disappear through the doorway, tears blurring her vision again.
She picked up the spotlessly clean photo frame, which showed Nolan with a bright and sunny smile.
She murmured to herself, her voice barely audible.
"Nolan...what did you do to our son?"
Outside the door, Mark leaned against the cold metal wall, tilted his head back and closed his eyes.
Super perception allows one to clearly hear the mother's suppressed sobs.
That voice was like a needle, piercing his iron heart, filled with hatred for his father, confusion about his own strength, and bewilderment about the future.
And the deep love and guilt for his mother...all kinds of complicated emotions rolled and collided in his chest like lava.
He took a deep breath and forced these emotions down, as if compressing the violent energy into his core.
A golden-red light flickered faintly under the tightly closed eyelids.
The break is over!