The vast, pitch-black universe.
"Bzzz~"
A sleek, aerodynamically designed vessel, its surface etched with Kryptonian script and patterns, was lined with decorative elements along both sides.
The desolate-looking spacecraft drifted aimlessly through the boundless cosmos, lonely and miserable.
"Hiss~"
Inside one of the ship's temperature-controlled chambers, a wisp of white mist drifted from the crack in the hatch.
"Click!"
The crisp sound of a door unlocking rang out.
Thud!
A shriveled, frail figure staggered out of the cramped, stifling hatch.
"Hah... hah!"
The figure collapsed onto the cold deck, gasping for breath.
With every breath and rise and fall of his chest,
it seemed that after absorbing the energy-rich substances within the chamber, his once-shriveled skin became supple and smooth again.
He slowly opened his brown eyes and shook his short blue hair.
He wore nothing but a pair of white briefs, emblazoned with a conspicuous "S" symbol above the waistband.
He straightened his chest.
As far as his eyes could see, there was only desolation.
Abandoned furniture. Twisted iron tables.
Dilapidated, warped metal walls.
"Where am I..."
The man clutched his forehead.
"Chitter!"
Several strange-looking alien creatures hid in the corner. The moment they saw the man, they shrieked, opened their huge mouths, and pounced at him.
"Die!"
The instant the monsters lunged at him, the man abruptly raised his head. The red glow in his eyes shot forth like twin blades, slicing the two leaping rats in half.
Sparse intestines and dark green blood burst apart like oozing cheese, raining across the floor of the chamber.
"What the hell..."
Hael clutched his head and looked around, staring blankly at the yellowed steel walls.
"How long was I unconscious?"
He stroked the cold wall and slowly closed his eyes.
His adoptive father's instructions. His family's expectations.
All of it