Chu Men shifted aside, letting the camera sweep over the devastation behind him.
"Space-based kinetic orbital weapons, divine artifacts from Olympus, even magic from the Order Dimension."
"They even tried to reverse time and erase causality."
Chu Men lowered his head, looking at the heroes sprawled at his feet.
"And then what?"
The corners of his mouth curled up, exposing stark white teeth.
"That's it?"
Those two words brought muffled sobs from the underground plaza in Metropolis.
Despair spread like poison through the broadcast signal, reaching every corner of Earth.
Chu Men turned and walked over to Bruce.
Chu Men leaned close to his ear.
"This next performance..."
The amusement faded from Chu Men's eyes, leaving nothing but utter desolation.
"Was prepared just for you."
Bruce's pupils shrank to pinpoints in an instant.
Chu Men straightened.
He reached out with his right hand, seized Barry by the nape, and lifted the limp young man into the air.
Barry's eyes rolled back, his breath caught in his throat, and his arms hung limply at his sides.
The Neural Activator's side effects erupted in full, making every tendon in his body twitch.
Chu Men's eyes lit up.
A dark gleam, deep as ink, flashed within them.
That light spilled from Chu Men's fingertips like tiny worms, burrowing beneath the skin at the back of Barry's neck.
Spiritual Imprint.
"Aah...!"
A heart-wrenching scream suddenly tore from Barry's feeble throat.
His body twisted wildly in midair, his feet kicking at empty space.
Deep inside his mind, his memories were being brutally crushed.
The rainy night when his mother lay in a pool of blood.
The breeze he had felt the first time he ran amid lightning.
The laughter as everyone clinked glasses in the Hall of Justice.
Every conviction and emotion that belonged