Ian stood frozen at the bathroom door.
His pupils reflected the woman who walked out from behind his father.
The woman seemed to have noticed him.
"How truly special..." The woman, who was gazing at Ian as if to pierce through all his information, whispered softly. And just as Clark was about to turn his head to look again.
In an instant.
The entire world seemed to lose its color, fading into a black and white tone. Clark maintained his turning motion, completely frozen like a solidified statue.
Even the air seemed to stop flowing.
Ian could hear his own frantic heartbeat, standing out sharply in the solidified time and space.
"What did you do?!" He was genuinely shocked. His invincible Superman father was affected without even resisting. The power possessed by the bizarre woman in front of him was truly far beyond his imagination.
Facing the boy's stunned question.
"I was just waiting." The woman tilted her head. She also had a pendant chain around her neck, but what was hanging on it was covered by her black uniform.
"Waiting for what?" Ian was certain the woman wasn't waiting for a group dinner. He hadn't built his business empire in the US yet, and the things such a powerful woman wanted to do would certainly not be simple.
*Gulp*
Ian's Adam's apple bobbed.
His peripheral vision caught his father's petrified profile—he knew that even when facing mystical forces, his Superman father should never have been this powerless.
The woman in front of him was at least a "Divine Mage" level powerhouse. She didn't look very old, possessing the calmness of an elder sister mixed with a girlish vitality.
A very contradictory temperament was interwoven so harmoniously.
To be honest.
Ian found it terrifying.
She looked like an ancient monster who had simply aged well.
"What am I waiting for?"
The woman did not directly answer. She walked slowly towards the bay window at the end of the hallway. Her pale, long legs looked particularly white in this black and white world.
"Please allow me to apologize to you, special child." The woman opened the window, looked out at the night view, raised her hand, and caught a withered leaf that was also frozen in mid-air.
"You are going to lose your father, and I will take him away. Please rest assured, I promise to take good care of him." The woman turned to look at Ian, a gentle curve on her lips.
Ian's thoughts were racing, his panting becoming more obvious.
"You are Death..." Certain pieces of information surged in his mind, making his soul tremble. This fear absolutely did not originate from the woman in front of him.
But from the events he had guessed.
"You actually know about Death?" The woman was clearly taken aback, her tone astonished. She examined Ian closely again, then flipped over the window sill and sat on the ledge.
"No, I am not Miss Death. How could I be as beautiful, gentle, kind, and approachable as her?" The woman turned the withered leaf in her hand, her tone full of admiration.
Perhaps there was also a hint of yearning.
Before Ian could speak again, the woman seemed to know what Ian wanted to ask.
"My name is Tessa, and I am like them." Saying that, the woman who called herself Tessa raised her slender, pale hand and pointed toward the pitch-black night sky.
There seemed to be some hidden figures there. And when Ian hesitated for a moment and walked to Tessa's side, his pupils contracted sharply again.
He saw.
The streets were densely packed with black figures.
All uniformly dressed in black suits, standing tall in the faded world.
The elderly woman in the front row held a black umbrella, but the ribs were made of stark white bone. A small boy in overalls held a chick, and the chick's eyes glowed with a deep, ghostly fire.
There was also a man with a solemn expression wearing a top hat.
There were men, women, and children of all ages. Not just on the streets, but also on the roofs of the houses and the tops of cars, people dressed in these black suits stood with straight postures.
Without exception, they were all looking toward Ian's location. Everyone was expressionless. Only Tessa smiled, raised her hand, and waved at the group before they reacted.
They looked very mechanical.
The bizarre group in suits all bowed in unison toward the window.
Perfectly neat.
Their movements were synchronized.
As if they had been rehearsed thousands of times. Everyone's skin was as pale as snow. In the black and white world, this scene looked even more eerie.
"They are saluting you... lucky one to receive such an honor." Tessa glanced at the back of Ian's hand. She seemed to be able to see the brand on Ian's hand.
And discovered certain information and secrets.
"Uh, can you explain what is going on?" Ian's scalp tingled as he looked at the dense crowd of people in black outside. He tried his best to keep his emotions stable.
"Honestly, all of you have good looks. Are you interested in partnering with me to start a company that allows interesting souls to display a mysterious past when they gather with their families? All attendees will be severely shocked and question their lives... I believe we will be widely acclaimed."
The forced humor.
Was perhaps Ian's last stubborn resistance.
But his attempt to mask his emotions clearly failed to deceive Tessa.
"I believe you've figured it out." Tessa gently rubbed the withered leaf in her hand until it slowly disappeared. "You are just not willing to admit it yet."
"My dear little one... don't be afraid, and don't be sad." Tessa reached out to stroke Ian, "All things must come to an end. That is not a punishment, but a new beginning."
Her voice was exceptionally gentle.
But Ian dodged her pale hand.
"Impossible, how can this be? There must be a mistake somewhere... You simply don't know..." Ian wanted to struggle to say something more.
However.
The woman's slender finger was already pressed against his mouth.
"We absolutely don't make mistakes about this kind of thing." Tessa spoke softly. Her black eyes met Ian's, and Ian felt a profound depth that made him feel dizzy.
"I am a psychopomp, and so are they. There is only one reason for all of us to appear." Tessa's voice was light and soft, yet it shattered Ian's final fantasy.
"Your father, Clark Kent, has a greatness that deserves respect. Therefore, we have come. At least all of our nearby colleagues have come, gathering here with admiration and reverence."
"Today, a God has fallen."
"The lament of a saint, the death of a hero... requires sufficient witness." Tessa's words exploded in Ian's ears like a thunderclap, completely crushing Ian's last glimmer of hope.
It was like a ten-thousand-ton boulder.
Pressing down on the distraught boy, who found it difficult to even breathe.