7 · Chapter 7
Messiah stared at the ruins of Metropolis in silence.
"This place is about to become a dead city." Superman folded his arms and stood in the sky with Messiah. "Because of the residual nuclear radiation, no one will live here for at least a hundred years."
"Starting tomorrow, Metropolis will be sealed off and buried until the radiation dissipates."
"Let's take one last look at it."
Messiah subconsciously placed his hand on his pocket, where was the thing that the Metropolis had left for him.
From the pre-nuclear metropolis... and the tailbone of a kitten's remains.
"No need to look again." Messiah whispered, "It's not Metropolis."
He didn't think there was anything worth lingering in Metropolis; it was just a spawn city he had briefly explored after entering the game.
It's no different from other cities.
Messiah looked at the ruins of the City of Tomorrow, his heart was almost emotionless, but his hand unconsciously grasped the tailbone.
Life... is so fragile.
Messiah looked at the ruins of Metropolis indifferently. He could see the tombstones standing in the distance and hear Superman's gradually becoming more rapid breathing.
"Messiah, you must stay by my side." Superman tightly grasped Messiah's arm. He repeated this sentence countless times. "You are the only survivor of Metropolis. You must remember Metropolis."
Unconsciously, Superman transferred some of his feelings for Metropolis to the Messiah. This man who had lost everything could not lose anything anymore.
Superman's emotions are too obscure for Messiah to understand, and Messiah cannot understand the hidden meaning.
The God of the Worlds, who had a body of steel and super strength, was extremely powerful. The force with which he gripped Messiah's arm could almost crush the bones of any creature, but Messiah felt nothing about it.
He just let Superman hold his arm tightly, and listened expressionlessly as Superman read out one name after another like a crying ghost.
The names on those tombstones.
Messiah and Superman buried all the regrets of Metropolis together. He personally found the remains of the little girl who once gave him candy from the ruins of the circus, and buried the remains of the kitten with his own hands.
Wonder Woman once tried to stop Superman, believing it to be an act of self-abuse and disapproving of the underage Messiah being involved.
But when she met Superman's stubborn blue eyes, Wonder Woman's outstretched hand curled up and retreated as before.
She couldn't say anything harsh to Superman who had lost everything, so she had to compromise again and again.
——Until there is no turning back in the future.
The blue sky of the metropolis is no longer blue, the city of tomorrow no longer exists, but the sun is as bright as ever.
Superman's emotions gradually stabilized. He took a deep breath and whispered, "Let's go, Messiah."
Messiah took one last look at the ruins of Metropolis and turned away without hesitation.
The City of Tomorrow was left far behind.
Superman and the Messiah flew rapidly in the sky. They crossed half of the earth and arrived at the Fortress of Solitude in the Arctic.
Superman and Messiah landed lightly on the ground. He held Messiah's arm, and the Kryptonian's unique biological force field covered Messiah, protecting Messiah from the cold Arctic air.
The Messiah did not notice this. He stood in the ice and snow of the Arctic, observing his surroundings curiously.
When Messiah saw the furry polar bear, he felt an itch on his fingertips, an itch that could only be relieved by touching something.
Messiah didn't understand this feeling, but never one to be unfair to himself, he decided to address it.
His eyes stayed on the polar bear's fluffy fur, and he couldn't help but break away from Superman's arm and take a step forward, escaping the coverage of Superman's biological force field.
The moment Messiah came into contact with the cold temperature of the Arctic, his body was briefly frozen and numb, but the next second his body temperature returned to normal, and he quickly adapted to the Arctic temperature.
Messiah was unaware of this and did not realize that his body had ever turned cold for a moment, as if this body was just a shell to which his spirit depended.
Superman was about to use the key to open the Fortress of Solitude, but in a moment of carelessness, he allowed the Messiah to escape from his bio-force field. He immediately rushed towards the Messiah in worry.
The temperature in the Arctic was fifty degrees below zero, and the Messiah was only wearing a thin shirt!
However, the next second, Superman stopped and looked at the Messiah in astonishment, who was completely unaffected by the Arctic temperature.
Messiah was concentrating on stroking the polar bear's fur. The furry polar bear lay down at Messiah's feet, arching Messiah's legs and acting coquettishly like a cat.
The polar bear's fur was as hard as steel needles, but Messiah's ruthless iron hand did not feel any pain.
"Messiah," Superman couldn't help but call out the Messiah's name, "What on earth are you..."
He had wanted to ask about Messiah's abilities. So far, Messiah had demonstrated the ability to fly at super speeds, the defensive ability to survive in the center of a nuclear explosion, strength beyond that of an ordinary person, and the ability to maintain a constant temperature and endure the cold.
If Superman hadn't been sure that the Messiah was not a Kryptonian, he would have suspected that he had gained a new member of his own species.
Superman confirmed that Messiah has not yet developed the awareness of exploring abilities. Once he brings up this matter, Messiah will definitely realize this and want to explore abilities.
But he had other things to do and needed Messiah to stay alone in the Fortress of Solitude for a while. Now was not the time to explore Messiah's abilities.
He wouldn't allow... No, he didn't trust Messiah to explore his abilities alone, it was too dangerous.
Messiah heard Superman's voice, looked up in confusion and said "Huh?"
When facing the furry polar bear, his expression softened unconsciously, but when he saw Superman, that rare gentleness disappeared again.
The Messiah seems to be better at getting along with animals and is more easily loved by animals than humans.
Superman concealed the unnaturalness in his expression and reminded Messiah with a smile: "The Fortress of Solitude is about to open. If the polar bear continues to stay here, it will damage its hearing. You'd better let it go."
Messiah stood up reluctantly, rubbed the polar bear's fur for the last time, and watched the polar bear leave, who was also reluctant to leave and kept looking back.
Superman lifted the 50-ton key and inserted it into the huge keyhole of the Fortress of Solitude, opening the door of the Fortress of Solitude.
Perhaps Superman forgot that he didn't use the process of opening the door to the Fortress of Solitude to let the Messiah test his strength.
Or maybe... Superman doesn't want the Messiah to have the ability to freely enter and exit the Fortress of Solitude.
Messiah curiously walked into the Fortress of Solitude, Superman's secret base located in the snow and ice.
Superman leads Messiah to the lounge of the Fortress of Solitude and tells Messiah that he can use everything in the lounge freely.
"I'm going to leave for a while." Superman smiled at Messiah, but didn't mention what he was going to do. "Don't worry, the Fortress of Solitude is safe. It will protect you."
Messiah nodded slowly and watched Superman leave.
After Superman left, Messiah did not rest or play video games as Superman had imagined. Instead, he pushed open the door of the Fortress of Solitude, which also weighed dozens of tons, without hesitation and walked out of the Fortress of Solitude.
He knew that Superman had super hearing, so he deliberately concealed the sound of his breathing and heartbeat.
In the Fortress of Solitude, Jor-El watched Messiah leave in silence.
It... He is an AI formed by uploading the self-consciousness of Superman's biological father, and has emotions that artificial intelligence does not have.
——Superman is a Kryptonian orphan who was sent to Earth by spaceship. His Kryptonian name is Kal-El, and Jor-El is Superman’s Kryptonian biological father.
When Superman first returned to the Fortress of Solitude, he realized that his son had lost control after losing Metropolis and his wife and daughter. He wanted to control everything and wanted to lock everyone in a crystal ball for protection.
Before leaving, Superman asked him to monitor the Messiah's actions, but Jor-El knew this was wrong.
Therefore, when the Messiah walked out of the Fortress of Solitude, he revoked the internal protection function set by Superman and chose to let the Messiah go.
Messiah stood in the ice and snow of the Arctic, silently gazing at the glaciers in the distance.
Even Superman can be curious about the Messiah's abilities. How could the Messiah, who has always been committed to pursuing himself and exploring all strange things, remain indifferent?
Since the destruction of Metropolis, Messiah has been wanting to explore his abilities.
His ability to survive a nuclear explosion with no survivors can be explained by the fact that he is the only player in the game.
but……
There is one thing the Messiah must know.
He once refused to see the death of a worker whose breathing and heartbeat stopped at one point but who still survived.
The Messiah once thought that his power was to make his wishes come true, and that he could do anything he wanted to do.
As the game introduction says - "You have the power to change the world."
After the nuclear explosion in Metropolis, Messiah had the same idea - he rejected the death of the kitten, rejected the nuclear explosion in Metropolis, and rejected the loss of life in Metropolis.
But in the end, he couldn't even refuse the death of a kitten.
If Metropolis is too big, why can he resurrect the workers but not the kitten?
Is it because the kitten is just a skeleton?
Messiah stood on the thick white snow, his palm turned into a knife and he cut off his right hand without hesitation.
Blood trickled down to the ground, staining the snow red.
The scarlet blood contrasted sharply with the white snowflakes.
The polar bear that had run away was attracted by the smell of blood, and ran towards Messiah with a wail, nudging Messiah's leg with its nose.
It did not have any desire to eat, but like a human, its eyes became moist and tears flowed down.
Just like the Messiah did not choose to test his power on a polar bear, but chose his own hand.
Messiah gently stroked the polar bear's fur with his left hand, being careful not to stain the polar bear with his blood.
After experiencing Superman wiping his blood, Messiah learned one thing - that it is wrong to stain his body with blood, so he deliberately kept the blood away from the polar bear's fur.
The polar bear with snow-white fur lay beside Messiah, quietly accompanying him.
Messiah looked at his hand rolling to the ground, his heart moved, and a ball of fire appeared out of thin air on the ground, burning his palm until only bones were left.
He felt an unknown power flowing through his body, a power that was warm and holy.
Like being bathed in divine grace.
Before the Messiah intentionally explored his abilities, that power had been operating autonomously, fulfilling his wishes according to his inner thoughts, thus giving the appearance of his wishes coming true.
That power seems to be able to change reality.
Messiah controlled that power to change the reality of his hand turning into bones.
Soon, as if time had gone back, the bones turned into hands again, the blood flowed back into Messiah's body from the snow, and Messiah regained his right hand.
Messiah quietly looked at his right hand that had returned to normal, and acted again without hesitation.
The polar bear bit Messiah's trouser leg, trying to stop Messiah, but Messiah gently pushed him away.
In the ice and snow, the smell of blood filled the air again, and the polar bears let out mournful cries.
In space outside the Earth, Superman, who was discussing with the Justice League about establishing a regime to protect the Earth and ban all wars and killings, lowered his head as if he had sensed something.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
