Chapter 463: The Origin of Number Seven
A Faint Hope
It wasn't until midnight that Clark dragged his exhausted body back home.
Lois was waiting for him. Seeing the look on her boyfriend's face, she couldn't help but ask,
"Are you okay?"
Clark managed a weak smile. "Has Kara responded yet?"
"No. Since receiving your message, I've been trying to contact her. No one is at her company, and she's not answering her phone. No one knows where she is."
Lois sensed something was wrong and asked hesitantly, "Did something happen?"
Clark sat on the sofa, clutching his head.
"Luke Shaw is dead."
Lois gasped in surprise. "How is that possible?"
Clark shook his head bitterly. "It's my fault. I was too weak. If I had fought Zod with all my strength from the start, I would have had time to support Luke. He wouldn't have been killed by H'el."
Lois still felt skeptical. Luke Shaw didn't seem like the type of person who would die young.
"Are you sure he's dead? Could there be a misunderstanding?"
"His body was right there on the rooftop. We all saw it. There's no mistake."
Clark sighed deeply. "What I'm most worried about now is Kara. She's not like me; she has no real affection for Earth. The main reason she stood with us was Luke Shaw. Now that he's dead, who knows what she'll do."
"I'm calling her right now."
Lois couldn't sit still. She immediately pulled out her phone and dialed Linda's number. Still, no answer.
Dozens of calls, and no response.
Their anxiety mounted.
"She's not actually going to do something crazy, is she?"
The Apostles
North of Metropolis, there was a lake-view manor nestled within a beautiful forest.
After the destruction of the Cape Villa, this had become Luke's temporary base.
In the manor's underground base, a hazy green mist lingered. With a roar, the mist dissipated, and twelve soul phantoms appeared in mid-air.
Linda stared at them intently.
"Number Seven! Where is Number Seven! Come out here!"
The third phantom from the left walked to a chair and put on a psychic transceiver.
"Oh dear, little Linda, we meet again! I've missed you so much."
The familiar voice was as affected and theatrical as ever. The girl was in no mood for small talk.
"Where is Luke Shaw?"
The phantom pointed to the "corpse" floating in a medical pod. "There! He's right there! You saw him, didn't you?"
"I'm not talking about the body. I'm talking about the soul."
Linda gritted her teeth, her eyes bloodshot and faintly radiating a red glow. Staring intently, her presence was as captivating and intimidating as a ferocious tiger.
"Luke Shaw isn't dead, is he?"
After a moment of silence, Number Seven nodded slightly. He sensed a dangerous aura emanating from the girl.
Linda was overjoyed. "Where is he? Tell me now!"
"Apologies, little Linda. We don't know the location of the Original Body. You see, we are servants, and he is the master. How could a servant know the master's location? That would be overstepping."
Linda didn't believe his nonsense. The ghostly outline of a fierce tiger materialized around her. Killing intent surged out like a tsunami. The surrounding phantoms all showed looks of horror, backing away involuntarily as if encountering a natural predator.
"You definitely know something. Tell me, or else..."
She clenched her right hand. A ghostly light exploded in her palm, transforming into a ferocious tiger's head—complete with menacing brows, mouth, and eyes. Tiger roars filled the air; killing intent boiled.
In Oriental legend, a tiger that lived for a hundred years was called a Mountain Lord, possessing the ability to control ghosts. Linda already had a fraction of that divine presence.
Number One, the steadiest of the group, walked to the chair, pushed Number Seven aside, and put on the psychic device.
"The Original Body is indeed alive, but his condition is very poor—so weak that he can't even communicate normally."
"How did this happen?"
"Let Eve explain!"
As the words fell, a virtual screen appeared in the air, showing the white light generated by the starship's explosion. Simultaneously, a soft, synthesized electronic voice spoke.
"Hello, Miss Danvers. I am Eve, a duplicate of Ava, temporarily managing the central system."
"Based on known information, the Master and H'el engaged in battle within the Kryptonian starship. Due to unknown reasons, the ship initiated a self-destruct sequence. The resulting singularity impact inflicted heavy damage on the Master."
"Where is he now?"
Number One interjected. "The distance is too great. We can only faintly sense his soul fluctuation. What is certain is that he is on Earth."
Eve added, "After the singularity explosion, the Kryptonian starship was reduced to countless fragments. A portion flew into outer space, and a portion fell toward Earth. Based on trajectory analysis, the fragments likely landed in this region."
A world map appeared on the virtual screen, showing a large circle centered south of the Himalayan mountains.
"The Master's soul must be inhabiting one of those fragments. If we find the fragment, we can revive him."
"I'm going now."
Linda moved instantly. After a few steps, she turned back. "And you! You're coming with me to search! None of you can run!"
The girl left, and Eve vanished.
Number Thirteen whispered, "Is this the power of love? How moving."
Number Seven gave him a peculiar look.
"What, is little brother getting lovesick now?"
Thirteen snorted. "Don't you want that?"
"I'm different from you. I'm interested in men."
The air instantly fell silent. Whether it was an illusion or not, a vacuum seemed to form around Number Seven. Everyone moved away from him. Number Eleven was thoroughly confused.
"Did the Original Body make a mistake when creating Sister Seven?"
Number Six added, "The reason Number Seven is like this is because something was added."
"Something?"
Numbers Eight through Thirteen all looked curious. "What was added?"
"The obsession of Villian."
Number Five's voice echoed psychically. "Villian was an envoy sent to Earth by the Zamarons. She possessed extremely rare psychic technology. To acquire this technology, the Original Body devoured her soul. However, that woman was a homosexual and hid a deep obsession in her heart. The Original Body couldn't fulfill her request, so when creating Number Seven, he attempted to strip that obsession from his body and merge it into the new consciousness. Surprisingly, he succeeded."
Number Nine mumbled, "No wonder Brother Seven is different. So he's a she."
Number Seven scoffed in displeasure.
"Who are you calling 'Brother'? I am not your brother! Call me Sister Seven."
"Enough!"
Number One interrupted the conversation. "Don't talk about this anymore. The most important thing now is to retrieve the Original Body. If he dies, we all suffer. You understand that."
Everyone fell silent. They were the Thirteen Apostles—fragments of Luke's soul, and his backups. If the Original Body were to perish, he would be reborn in one of them, and none of them wanted to disappear from the world without warning.
Number Twelve suggested,
"Should we ask Brother Two for help? He's the King of Atlantis now, ruling the Four Seas. He's so majestic, I'm quite envious."
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!