"Where is this place, Wonder Woman?"
Eric frowned and asked the youthful Wonder Woman.
The Wonder Woman in front of him, from this timeline, was not as serious as the Wonder Woman who had traveled from the future.
Perhaps due to her age, or perhaps due to a preconceived notion, her initial impression of Eric was quite good.
"You can call me by my name—Diana. I don't mind."
Diana, wearing a grey trench coat that concealed her impressive figure, turned to face Eric and said, "As for where we are, it's an island."
An island?
As soon as he heard 'island,' Eric thought of the unfortunate Green Arrow, who was still waiting for him on a deserted island.
"What island?"
"Themyscira!"
Wonder Woman spoke a word that astonished Eric.
"Yes, my homeland."
"I heard that men are not allowed on Themyscira."
Eric stated the information he knew.
"To be precise, that's correct. Once a male sets foot here, he will be expelled and hunted down. But I think, with your abilities, you shouldn't have to worry about my sisters hunting you!"
Diana pushed aside a tree branch in front of her and walked into the forest, stepping on the sand by the beach.
"This is my home, but it's also not my home. The first time I left here was after an argument with my sisters. I always thought I was made of clay, and because of that, I often heard my sisters discussing and despising me."
Diana's expression remained unchanged as she continued walking forward. "But later, I learned the truth. I wasn't made of clay; I am Zeus's daughter."
"Uh-huh, that must not have been very good news for you."
Eric replied casually.
"Yes, I couldn't accept it, so I left Themyscira. When I left, I even doubted if this was truly my home. I was filled with confusion and didn't even notice my mother's earnest calls."
"I'm afraid to come here, but most of the time, I have nowhere else to go."
A faint smile appeared on Diana's lips when she mentioned her mother.
"I can sense certain magical energies within you that bear a strong resemblance to some presences on the island. My mother told me that after I grew up, I could trace the source of magic that interested me. This is why you are here."
"I don't use magic."
Eric said, frowning.
"Yes, you may not use magic, but I can sense a certain dark side within you, which reminds me of a story from a certain moon-hunting night."
Diana recounted an experience from her childhood to Eric.
"The result of Hecate finding me was—"
A light of unknown meaning flickered in Diana's eyes. "—the witches branded a mark on my forehead with a hot iron, a mark of the Witch Mother composed of a full moon and a crescent. I fainted, and when I woke up, I found myself lying in bed. Naturally, there was no mark on my head. I told my mother, and my mother summoned the witches. They denied what they had done to me, claiming it was just a dream!"
"But I know it wasn't a dream!"
Diana's gaze became exceptionally serious. "I can feel it. A certain imprint or curse has been placed inside me, and now it's about to awaken!"
Listening to Diana tell the story of Hecate, Eric roughly understood.
Hecate, the light side of magic, the source of all magic.
Known as The Trinity Goddess, she stole the Witchfire from the Upside-Down Man beyond the Source Wall and passed it to the Prometheans.
Ancient wizards, guided by Hecate, became the first beings to learn magic.
The magnanimous Hecate did not mind giving her witchcraft to humans. She longed for human respect.
People also respected her greatly, but the result was that constant giving would foster greed in human hearts.
All the wizards rose up against her, and the result was, of course, failure, because she was the progenitor of magic; she could not be defeated.
The first ones to whom she gave witchcraft—Zeus, Nabu (Doctor Fate)—were all suppressed by her.
To prevent her power from being coveted in the future, Hecate dispersed her power into human girls.
The Wonder Woman in front of him should be one of the hosts.
Although Wonder Woman did not understand magic, a simple imprint could control her, and Hecate would control her to use magic.
Recalling what he had learned in his previous life, a hint of gloom flashed in Eric's eyes.
When Brainwave controlled the thoughts of Metropolis's people, some dark presences were leaked, and as a result, Hecate outside discovered them and planned to enter this world?
Although he didn't know why Hecate was preparing to enter the present world so early, Eric felt that he might not be her opponent.
How to stop her?
Since the Wonder Woman in front of him was one of the means for her resurrection, should he act against Wonder Woman now?
Eric looked at Wonder Woman standing in front of him and shook his head.
Forget it. Although she might become an enemy, the possibility of her becoming an ally was higher.
Following behind Wonder Woman, they walked forward until they entered a paved stone road, and everything before them suddenly opened up.
Magnificent buildings with ancient Greek architectural styles appeared before the two of them.
As Eric looked at the buildings in front of him, Wonder Woman suddenly noticed something was amiss.
There was no human sound coming from the vast island!
She knew there were countless sisters on this island.
How could there be no sound at all?
Normally, at this time, everyone would be training.
A bad premonition rising in her heart, Diana quickly walked forward.
Entering the plaza in front of the main hall, Wonder Woman was stunned by the scene before her!
In front of the grand hall stood dense crowds of people, but they were all completely motionless, their bodies transformed into stone statues.
They maintained the poses they had before turning to stone, either holding spears in their hands, ready to attack, or striking an attacking pose.
Diana, shocked, walked up to her sisters who had turned into stone statues and tremblingly reached out to touch the statues.
"Mother?"
After caressing the statue for a moment, she immediately realized something very important.
That was her mother's safety!
She quickly walked inside and saw a presence that made her feel extremely terrified and broken!
Her mother had also turned into a stone statue!
One hand was extended forward, and the other was at her waist, as if she was trying to stop someone.
Tears instantly gushed from Diana's eyes, and she collapsed to the ground.
"Mother!"
Covering her face, Diana let tears drench her cheeks.
"I'm sorry, Mother, I'm too late!"
On the other side, Eric stood silently in front of the queen, who had also turned into a stone statue.
"If you think crying can solve the problem, Wonder Woman, then I don't mind waiting for you here. If you want to find out the truth, then stand up—"
Eric glanced at the statue, then turned and left.
He wouldn't stay here and cry with her.
Watching Eric's retreating figure, Wonder Woman removed her hands from her face.
Her eyes instantly became incredibly resolute as she stood up and quickly followed Eric's footsteps.
"Why are you following me?"
Eric asked Wonder Woman behind him.
"I will find the culprit who caused all of this!"
Diana gritted her teeth and said, "Although I don't use magic, I can sense the magical elements pervasive in the air. No matter who that magician is, even if it's Hecate, I swear I will wield my sword against her!"
"So you've decided the culprit is Hecate? Just because the priestesses on your Themyscira are Hecate's followers?"
Eric asked her.
"I can feel that the type of magic power is the same as the magic elements about to awaken within me."
Diana said.
"Is that so?"
Eric nodded and said no more.
"I'm going to Mount Etna now to find the God of Fire to equip me with some weapons. Eric, will you come with me?"
Diana asked Eric.
Having gone through an adventure together, her impression of Eric was still quite good.
She hoped he would accompany her.
"No! I don't need to!"
Eric shook his head.
Wonder Woman nodded. "We'll meet again. I'll get my weapons from Hephaestus (the God of Fire) and then come back to find you. Tell me your address."
After parting ways with Wonder Woman, Eric returned to the Smallville farm.
Standing in front of the Kent Farm, which had been reduced to ruins, Eric bent down and picked up a broken photo frame from the ground.
Inside was a photo taken at Christmas, with him and Clark.
In the photo, he looked forward with a cold expression, while Clark smiled at the camera.
Due to camera exposure, the photo had a slight white halo.
Eric gently brushed off the dirt from the photo and then looked up at the ruined farm before him.
This farm, which held all his memories, had been completely destroyed.
His parents and Clark were gone, their fates unknown.
The complex emotions within him became even more chaotic, and for the first time, he felt confusion and powerlessness.
He thought he was a cold, selfish jerk who would never be too bound by emotions.
Even if he had re-established feelings for his parents in this life, it wouldn't be everything that sustained his life.
The same applied to Clark.
Sometimes he would ignore him, but other times he would discipline him with the behavior of a father and elder. Perhaps as Clark's younger brother, he had never truly cared about or concerned himself with Clark's growth, or perhaps he had always treated Clark from the superior position of a transmigrator.
Why, when his feelings for Clark should have been extremely indifferent, did he care so much now?!
Why did it feel, in an instant, as if everything that sustained his life had been annihilated?
"E-Eric?!"
As intense emotions clashed within him, Eric turned around and saw Pete.
"Thank goodness you're okay!"
Pete had one arm in a cast, clearly not fully recovered.
Seeing Eric, Pete let out a sigh of relief and walked over, saying, "Many houses in the town exploded and caught fire. Fortunately, most of them were concentrated in the LexCorp chemical plant area."
"My parents and Clark, Pete, did you see them?"
Eric asked him directly.
"The fire department didn't find them after putting out the fire."
Pete said with a heavy expression.
"I don't know what happened, but I believe they'll be fine. Clark is so capable; they'll definitely turn misfortune into blessings."
"Where are Lana, Louise, and Chloe?"
Eric continued to ask him.
"I don't know. They haven't appeared for a long time, but I heard—"
Pete hesitated for a moment and said, "The day of the explosion, someone saw the three of them in town, and their emotions seemed a bit off. They seemed to have some kind of moon mark tattooed on their foreheads. I'm not sure if I saw it with my own eyes, after all—"
Before Pete could finish speaking, there was a boom, and a gust of air swept through.
By the time he reacted, Eric had already disappeared.
Eric accelerated constantly in the air, instantly breaking the sound barrier and tearing through the clouds.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of sonic booms echoed in the sky, like thunder striking the earth.
Eric's speed continuously increased. After reaching Metropolis, his eyes scanned the ground without stopping.
He tried to find any relevant clues.
But no matter how much he searched, he couldn't find any useful information.
Experiencing a sense of powerlessness for the first time, his speed continued to increase, instantly breaking two Mach.
Boom!
Enveloped by anger, disappointment, and confusion, he only wanted to unleash his speed to the fullest, venting all his inner emotions.
An invisible conical wave formed on his body surface.
Eric flew through the atmosphere at 5 times the speed of sound, then broke through to 10 times the speed of sound.
The thin outer space made his inherited Homelander Template body somewhat unable to bear it.
Eric, seemingly oblivious to this, continued to accelerate and sprint into outer space.
All the pain on his body surface was discarded by him.
Only by continuously experiencing the sprint flight could he completely forget his inner pain.
The yellow sunlight shone on his body, healing it, but as his speed suddenly accelerated, his body was instantly destroyed again.
Boom!
A satellite marked "Wayne Enterprises" was struck by Eric!
The immense speed of the impact instantly caused the satellite to shatter into pieces.
The main body of the satellite and countless fragments, having lost their orbital function, immediately fell from space.
Traveling at over Mach 15, Eric, flying at super high speed, crashed into a corner of the moon, raising dust and creating a huge crater on the moon.
At the same time, the "Homelander Template" within him was constantly prompting the unlocking of progress.
It rose from 95%, and the moment he crashed into the moon like a meteorite creating a crater, a voice echoed in his mind.
"Homelander Template progress has unlocked 100%!"
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