Solomon patted Clark on the shoulder, then added:
"Luthor possesses humanity's finest intellect, along with its most extreme madness and arrogance. Honestly, if I hadn't come to this world... in the original course of fate, Clark would have died at his hands a few years from now."
Solomon paused, revealing another hidden chain of cause and effect:
"It was precisely because Clark died in battle and Earth lost its strongest guardian that Steppenwolf sensed its weakness and dared to invade Earth with his army of Parademons without restraint."
"What?!"
Everyone in the living room cried out at once. Even Diana stopped in her tracks and stared at Clark in shock.
Just how terrifyingly powerful was Clark?
Even without absorbing the power of the Twelve God Champion, he stood at the very pinnacle, unrivaled across Earth!
Lex Luthor was nothing more than an ordinary mortal. How could he possibly kill him?!
Clark frowned slightly. A thought flashed through his mind, and he understood at once:
"...Kryptonite?!"
"Smart. That's right, kryptonite."
Solomon smiled and nodded.
"Kryptonian genes may be perfect, but they offer practically zero protection against kryptonite radiation. Now, though... Clark has fused with the ancient gods' champion power. With those two layers of protection combined, mere kryptonite can no longer hurt him in the slightest."
At those words, Clark looked at Solomon gratefully.
So Solomon had insisted on transferring Shazam's and Black Adam's divine power to him because he feared someone would kill him with kryptonite later!
Standing to one side, J'onn lowered his head deeply, his green face filled with dejection and self-reproach.
He had lived for countless years and weathered all manner of storms throughout the universe, yet now an ordinary mortal on Earth had played him like a puppet, even turning him into a pawn against his