Silver Superman

Chu Hang tore open space and brought Clark to a silent star system.

Three red dwarfs orbited a dying white dwarf, and the nearest civilization was tens of thousands of light-years away.

"Here."

Chu Hang landed on a barren, crater-covered planet and raised a hand, setting up a golden barrier.

The moment the barrier unfolded, the flow of time changed—one second outside was three days inside.

Clark stood beside him, the energy within him restless and turbulent.

Ever since absorbing the Artificial Miniature Sun, he had been in a strange state—full yet hollow, powerful yet fragile.

Energy surged through his veins and roared within his cells, as if something were about to break out of its cocoon.

"Stabilize yourself first."

Chu Hang glanced at him.

"For the next three days, I'll completely refine the origin of the Silent Universe."

"The energy inside you will erupt along with it."

"It'll hurt."

"I can take it."

"That's not the issue."

Chu Hang shook his head.

"There are fragments of Anti-Monitor's will within that energy. I purified them, but their essence remains."

"They'll try to rewrite your genes and reshape your form of existence."

"If your will isn't strong enough, you may become someone else."

Clark fell silent for a moment.

"Then why did you give it to me?"

"Because this is your only chance to break through."

Chu Hang looked directly into his eyes.

"The upper limit of a Kryptonian's power is locked by physical rules. No matter how much solar energy you absorb, you'll only be circling within the Rule Layer."

"To reach the Conceptual Layer, you must break those shackles."

"Anti-Monitor's power happens to be capable of that."

After a pause.

"Of course, that's assuming you survive."

Clark took a deep breath and nodded.

Chu Hang sat cross-legged and closed