Titan Sanctuary transformed into a cosmic wound.
Nolan Grayson's chaotic storm, ignited by his life, was like molten lava poured into a divine lake, unleashing a destructive frenzy.
The indescribable chaotic energy, a mixture of ancient filth, Titan order, Viltrumite life essence, and guardian will, surged wildly, tearing at this once indifferently ordered sea of energy.
Countless Titan energy life forms were swept into the storm, their cold, constant wills experiencing violent and chaotic fluctuations for the first time!
It was like scalding grit poured into precise gears, emitting an invisible wail.
The once orderly flowing sea of energy was completely disrupted, forming countless raging whirlpools and energy currents, colliding, annihilating each other, and erupting in blinding light and invisible shockwaves!
The spatial structure of the Sanctuary was like glass struck by a heavy hammer, covered in huge, hideous black cracks that greedily devoured all surrounding energy and material fragments, emitting a soul-shivering sucking sound.
The entire Sanctuary trembled violently, twisting, as if it could completely disintegrate at any moment!
And the ultimate purifying energy, condensed at the core, capable of destroying the universe, instantly dimmed like a giant cannon cut off from its energy source, under this sudden chaotic impact.
The countdown to destruction was forcibly paused, and perhaps… its precise energy structure was permanently interfered with!
Mark Grayson lay on the cold metal wreckage, his consciousness adrift in agony and immense sorrow.
Under his shattered battle suit, blood soaked charred wounds; each breath tugged at broken bones, bringing heart-wrenching pain.
But his molten-gold eyes were fixed on the center of the chaotic storm that had consumed his father.
There, the most violent energy at the storm's core seemed to begin to collapse and condense.
Under the pull of some invisible force, the chaotic colors gradually outlined a blurry silhouette; it was no longer Nolan's human form, but more like an unstable core composed of pure chaotic energy.
It emanated a heart-pounding fluctuation, like a cosmic bomb about to detonate at any moment, or a gateway to a deeper madness.
"Mark..."
Nolan's remaining half-face seemed to return to the kind and benevolent appearance from memory, his eyes filled with deep affection as he stared in Mark's direction, his broken lips moving, Nolan's voice like rusty gears grinding.
Memories surged like a tide.
Seven years ago, on that stormy night, he personally tossed the infant Mark into the sky, watching the baby float in the lightning and thunder by instinct alone; at that time, his eyes did not gleam with pride, but with the unique scrutiny and calculation of a Viltrumite.
"I once thought that by making you witness the death of a billion humans, you would understand the cheapness of life."
Nolan's Adam's apple bobbed, every word like swallowing broken glass.
"But you showed me with blood-stained fists that it is precisely this fragility that makes their smiles so dazzling."
"Father..."
Mark's soul wept silently.
"Your mother was right, I truly didn't understand what humanity was... until the moment I lost you both."
"Forgive me..."
Nolan's only remaining cheek began to dissipate, but a relieved smile lifted the corner of his mouth.
"You are more like a true Viltrumite than I am, because you have learned... love."
"I love you... son... take good care of your mother for me..."
As his voice faded, Nolan completely vanished into the energy maelstrom.
Mark understood that this was Nolan's final will, forcibly condensing and compressing this uncontrollable chaotic power, attempting to stabilize it, to buy him and the universe a final moment.
The cost was the complete annihilation of his own existence, not even a trace of his soul remaining.
"Go..."
An extremely faint mental thought, as if about to dissipate at any moment, like a candle in the wind, struggled to penetrate the violent chaotic energy field and entered Mark's consciousness.
It was Trigg! He was still alive!
Mark struggled to turn his gaze; not far away, Trigg's body was half-buried under a large, twisted metal plate.
His left arm was severed at the shoulder, blood congealed into ice crystals at the wound, and the charred wound on his back was bone-deep, the surrounding muscles still twitching slightly.
His sole remaining right arm clutched desperately at the edge of the metal plate, his eyes dim from severe pain and blood loss, yet still burning with the Viltrumite will to survive and unwillingness to yield, etched into his bones.
"...The Titans... will soon... regain control..."
Trigg's mental thought was intermittent, extremely weak.
"...Must... leave... take the message... back..."
Trigg's gaze struggled to the unstable chaotic core at the center of the storm, then looked at Mark, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
The shock of surviving, a re-evaluation of Mark's strength, awe at Nolan's final act, and...
A hint of undisguised covetousness for the terrifying power and possibilities contained within that core.
Mark gritted his teeth sharply!
The Viltrumite tenacity and the unyielding spirit of his Kryptonian bloodline erupted once more; he ignored the crushing pain throughout his body, using his last strength to violently prop up his broken body!
Blood continuously seeped from the corners of his mouth and wounds, drifting in the vacuum.
Leave! He must leave!
This bloody path torn open by his father's life could not be wasted!
Earth was still waiting!
The threat was not over!
Though the Titans were temporarily disrupted, once their logic was re-established, they would only be more ruthless!
And this chaotic core, forged by his father's life... was it a new disaster? Or a new hope?
The answer must be found by those who lived!
He staggered, leaving a bloody footprint with every step, walking towards Trigg.
With each step, broken bones grated, the intense pain nearly causing him to faint, but his molten-gold eyes always burned with fire.
"Hold on!"
Mark's mental thought was transmitted roughly, carrying an undeniable command.
He reached out his scarred arm and violently grabbed Trigg's only remaining right arm, the immense force making Trigg grunt in pain.
"Ugh—!"
Mark let out a silent roar, his muscles bulging to their limit once more; he dragged the almost incapacitated Trigg, his legs unleashing the last of their space-tearing kinetic energy, rushing towards the increasingly unstable vortex channel entrance they had come through!
The return journey was ten thousand times more perilous than the way in!
Terrifying chaotic energy currents were like invisible giant beast tentacles, lashing and tearing from all directions!
Mark, dragging Trigg, was like a small boat in a raging storm, struggling to navigate and dodge between the violent energy currents and huge spatial fragments!
Each impact added to Mark's injuries, blood spilling as if it were worthless!
Although the Titan core area was in chaos, the outer energy life forms had already begun to attempt to re-establish order, their cold will fluctuations like invisible blades, cutting at the two men's spirits.
Occasionally, scattered beams of pure ordered energy shot out; though far less devastating than the previous strangulation, they still left bone-deep burns when they grazed their bodies.
Mark's back gained several more charred scars!
This was an escape paved with life and will!
Mark's vision blurred from blood loss and intense pain, but his molten-gold eyes remained fixed on the increasingly close, yet also distorted and warped, vortex exit in the storm.
Only one thought occupied his mind.
Get out!
Take back the truth and warning his father bought with his life!
Finally!
Just as another chaotic current almost swept them away, Mark saw the exit.
He squeezed the last bit of Solar Energy from his body, his leg muscles making a tearing sound from the strain; with an unyielding determination, he dragged Trigg, like a burnt-out meteor, crashing into the twisted light and shadow!
...
Experiencing the tearing of chaotic gravity again was nothing short of torture for the two severely injured men.
When Mark dragged Trigg, like broken sacks, spit out of the vortex's eye and heavily thrown onto the cold wreckage platform of the Void Graveyard, both almost simultaneously lost consciousness.
He didn't know how much time had passed, perhaps a few minutes, perhaps an eternity.
Mark was awakened by a violent cough, blood mixed with internal organ fragments gushing from his mouth; he struggled to pry open his heavy eyelids, his molten-gold eyes dull, reflecting the suffocating iron-gray tones of the graveyard.
Trigg lay not far away, new scabs covering the ice crystals at his severed arm, the wound on his back shocking to behold, his breath weak but steady, clearly the powerful vitality of a Viltrumite at work, but still in a deep coma.
Mark struggled to sit up, looking around.
The silent graveyard remained, giant starship wreckage floating soundlessly.
In the distance, the disguised submarine was like a silent black dot, hidden in the shadows of the wreckage; Allen must have been frantic on board.
But Mark's gaze was firmly drawn to something else.
On the cold deck not far in front of him, something lay quietly.
It was a broken, red Viltrumite standard gauntlet.
It was his father Nolan's!
It had clearly endured unimaginable impact and energy surges, its surface covered in cracks and burn marks, but it had miraculously survived.
It lay there silently, emanating an indescribable sorrow and... a faint but tenacious trace of will.
Mark reached out his trembling, blood-stained hand, slowly, and with immense reverence, picked up the broken gauntlet.
The cold metallic touch came, seeming to still retain his father's last body heat, and the lingering energy aftershock of that earth-shattering explosion.
Mark clutched the gauntlet tightly in his hand, as if grasping the last trace of his father's existence.
Immense grief, like a tsunami, overwhelmed him; this warrior who had not fallen before the Titans, now his shoulders trembled violently, silent tears mixed with blood, streaming down his grimy and scarred face.
Father... was truly gone.
Perhaps to atone, for Mark's slim hope, he chose the most complete sacrifice.
Just then, the unconscious Trigg let out a painful groan and slowly opened his eyes.
His bloodless eyes scanned the gauntlet tightly held in Mark's hand, then looked at Mark's tear-stained and blood-smeared face; finally, his gaze turned towards the distant starfield.
His voice was hoarse, weak, yet carried a chilling premonition and heaviness.
"Grayson... no time for sorrow..."
Trigg laboriously raised his only remaining right hand, pointing towards the profound darkness.
Mark sharply raised his head, the immense grief in his molten-gold eyes instantly replaced by a fiercer, more resolute fire.
He wiped away the bloody tears from his face, pressing his father's gauntlet tightly against his chest, as if drawing the last of his strength from it.
He looked towards Earth, his eyes sharp as knives, burning with a will to protect at any cost.
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