"With the current level of technology on Earth, there shouldn't be anything capable of threatening me," Victor said quietly to himself. "Not even an ordinary nuclear bomb."
A faint smile appeared on his lips as he felt the immense strength flowing through his body.
Only a massive nuclear weapon capable of devastating the entire world and triggering a global catastrophe might seriously injure him now.
And even that depended on the circumstances.
Of course, when Victor referred to "normal technology," he meant the conventional kind.
Technology in the DC universe was rarely normal.
Every so often, some brilliant mind on Earth would invent a piece of technology so advanced that it bordered on the impossible.
There were the Metal Troopers—true artificial intelligence combat robots built using Earth's technology. There was the Red Tornado, an android powerful enough to fight Kryptonians head-on.
And then there was the infamous Amazo robot.
That machine could copy every superpower it encountered and had once defeated the entire Justice League.
"That thing is practically comparable to Doomsday," Victor muttered.
Doomsday was the ultimate weapon of destruction created through Kryptonian biotechnology.
After briefly letting his thoughts wander through those possibilities, Victor refocused.
He still had one final test to complete before leaving.
"Energy projection… through the eyes."
Thanos possessed both biological enhancements and advanced technological equipment that allowed him to manipulate and release cosmic energy.
Victor had already proven he could fire energy from his palms.
His eyes should theoretically work the same way.
"I was able to release energy from my hands earlier," Victor murmured thoughtfully. "My eyes should be able to do it as well."
He concentrated and began guiding the energy inside his body upward.
A faint warmth spread through his eyes.
Suddenly—
Two beams of purple energy shot outward.
They carried intense heat and destructive force.
The twin rays carved two deep, charred trenches across the ground before converging at a single point in the distance.
Victor smiled slightly when he saw that the technique worked.
Then he increased the output.
Zzzzz!
The earth began melting under the terrifying heat.
The soil liquefied into glowing magma that bubbled and evaporated violently. The surrounding groundwater boiled away instantly.
Cracks spread across the ground.
Nearby leaves curled and shriveled under the heat.
If he kept going, the surrounding forest might ignite.
Victor quickly shut off the energy flow.
The faint purple glow still lingered in his eyes, giving him an almost divine appearance as he stood there quietly.
He blinked a few times as the warmth faded.
"No major difference," he concluded calmly.
His eyes and hands were equally capable of releasing energy without causing him any strain.
Satisfied with the results, Victor relaxed.
He had tested every aspect of his abilities.
Now it was time to leave.
As for Clark's childish competition about who would solve the Rickman problem first, Victor did not care much about the outcome.
"Clark should be able to handle it," he said quietly.
Still, a small trace of concern remained in the back of his mind.
Even the fully matured Superman occasionally made mistakes.
Clark, in his current inexperienced stage, was far from perfect.
Crunch.
A faint sound suddenly echoed from the distance.
A dry branch had snapped under someone's weight.
Victor's expression instantly sharpened.
"Come out," he said coldly.
His gaze locked onto a bush several dozen feet away.
The excitement of gaining a new template had made him momentarily careless. He had failed to notice someone watching him from the shadows.
Unlike Clark, Victor did not possess super hearing or telescopic vision.
Though in truth, Clark rarely used those abilities properly anyway.
A moment later, a tall and graceful figure slowly stepped out from behind the bushes.
The young woman's face was filled with shock.
Her eyes lingered on the patches of molten earth on the ground.
"Your eyes… they can burn everything," she whispered.
Victor narrowed his eyes slightly.
"It's you?"
He recognized her immediately.
The person who had witnessed his power was not a stranger.
"So the legend is true," the girl murmured with trembling excitement.
Her eyes shone with an almost religious intensity as she stared at Victor.
"What legend?" Victor asked coldly.
Despite being discovered, he showed little panic.
The girl standing before him was no ordinary person.
"When did you get here?" he asked.
"Victor Kent, don't worry," the girl said quickly, raising her hands in a calming gesture. "I've known about your abilities for a long time."
"I won't reveal them to anyone."
She seemed genuinely excited.
Victor's frown deepened.
"You've known for a long time?"
His eyes filled with suspicion.
"When you and your brother Clark were dealing with Greg near the forest that day," she explained, "I saw everything from deeper in the woods."
She spoke openly without hiding anything.
Now she was completely certain.
She had finally identified which of the two brothers was Naamah.
Victor's mind moved quickly as he listened.
That meant she had witnessed him and Clark using their powers against Greg.
Ever since that party, he had occasionally sensed someone secretly observing him and Clark around the school campus.
Now the mystery was solved.
"You managed to keep quiet for several days," Victor said coldly.
His voice carried a clear warning.
"I hope you can keep doing that."
A faint glint of danger appeared in his eyes.
"If you don't want me visiting you again… and making sure you never speak about this."
With that, Victor turned and began walking away.
"Wait, Naamah!"
The girl called out urgently.
Victor stopped and turned his head slightly.
"My name isn't Naamah," he said flatly.
"And why should I be careful of Clark?"
Clark had been irritating lately—always worrying about him, watching him closely as if trying to stop him from becoming dangerous.
But there was no reason to be wary of his own brother.
The girl in front of him, however, seemed strange from head to toe.
Her gaze burned with devotion, like that of a believer staring at a sacred figure.
"In the legends of our tribe," she said earnestly, "you are called Naamah."
"And your brother is called Sergai."
Victor blinked.
"Naamah? Sergai?"
He turned toward her fully.
"What tribe legend are you talking about?"
"Our Kawachi tribe has existed for more than five hundred years," she said proudly.
"Five hundred years ago, a man from another planet fell in love with the woman who would become the mother of our tribe."
Her eyes sparkled as she spoke.
"From that forbidden love, our tribe was born."
"The day he left, he flew into the sky and left behind a prophecy."
Her voice trembled slightly with emotion.
"He said that five hundred years later, his people would descend to Earth with fire from the heavens."
"The one named Naamah would arrive to stop his brother Sergai from destroying the Kawachi tribe… and the entire world."
Victor raised an eyebrow.
"Except for the alien part, it's a pretty creative legend," he said calmly.
"But it has nothing to do with me."
He turned and started walking again.
He was absolutely certain of one thing.
He was not this so-called Naamah.
And Clark certainly was not someone destined to destroy the world.
"I'm an Earth native," Victor said dismissively.
"In the prophecy, Naamah isn't only defined by arriving with fire from the sky," the girl insisted as she hurried after him.
"He also possesses strength greater than ten men combined."
"And the power in his eyes can burn everything."
She stared at him intensely.
"You match every one of those signs, Victor."
Among the Kawachi tribe, many people had speculated that the meteor shower seventeen years ago—the fiery objects falling from the sky—might have been the "fire from heaven" mentioned in the prophecy.
After witnessing Victor and Clark's powers that day in the forest, the thought had taken root in her mind.
Two brothers with extraordinary abilities.
One of them even had purple skin.
Could they be the two figures mentioned in the prophecy?
"I've been observing you ever since that day," she admitted.
"I needed to confirm which of you was Naamah… and which one was Sergai."
To prove she was not delusional, the girl raised her hands.
Her palms suddenly transformed.
White wolf claws extended from her fingers.
"Until today," she said. "When I saw the beams from your eyes melting the earth into lava."
"That's when I knew."
"You are Naamah."
Victor stopped walking.
"A wolf?" he said, studying her claws with mild curiosity.
"There have been rumors in town about a giant white wolf appearing in the forest at night."
"Was that you?"
Despite her dramatic story, Victor remained calm.
The legend she told sounded interesting, but he treated it more like folklore than reality.
Aliens, ancient tribes, prophecies—it was possible some parts were true.
But he was certain they had nothing to do with him.
"This is a meeting of destiny, Naamah," the girl said passionately.
"I am the daughter of the Kawachi tribe's chief."
She raised her wrist.
A beautiful silver bracelet set with turquoise shimmered in the light.
"This bracelet belonged to the mother of our tribe."
"And I was the one who discovered you."
The Kawachi tribe had waited five hundred years for the prophecy to come true.
The girl's eyes burned with determination.
"I will assist you completely and without reservation."
She took a step forward.
"I will help you defeat your evil brother Clark…"
"And stop him from destroying the world."
....
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