Chương 36: Emancipation 6

And he said"I went skydiving I went Rocky Mountain climbing I went 2. 7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu And I loved deeper And I spoke sweeter And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying" And he said"Someday I hope you get the chance To live like you were dying"

"There you are," I called out as I landed on the cliff, folding my wings away as I approached the seated woman. I winced internally as she flinched at my voice, though I didn't let it show on my face. This was going to be an awkward conversation as it was.

"My Lord," Melina nodded in greeting though she kept her eye skyward. The young drakes, Hengeron II, Llamrei II, Andromeda, and Cassandra, were all flying in the skies above. Melina was watching them fly around and 'play' with drakes that called the mountains home. At this point, very little on the Island could threaten them, but they were still young enough that it was better to have someone there to keep an eye on them.

Though they were initially the same as other drakes from the Dragon Aerie, they had been fed a steady supply of my blood over the last year. Despite being 'infants' less than a year old, they were all tier 7 and towered over their fellows. I sat beside her while we watched Hengeron II, the group's only male, dive towards a nearby valley and return with a squealing boar in his talons. Rather than kill and eat the creature, the group amused themselves by dropping it, diving, and catching it before it hit the ground.

My cat was a negative influence on them. Unfortunately, Cassandra missed a grab, and the creature fell to the ground with a meaty spat. Neither of us even winced at the sight, well used to worse visuals. I kept waiting for her to say something, anything really. I should have known better. In our relationship, I had always been the one to engage Melina, not the other way around. It was the first relationship of its kind for me, as I was usually the one who kept my own company.

It just went to show how desperate I had been for someone, anyone, to be with me by the time I reached Elden Ring. Still, my feelings for her were not so shallow as to ignore her now that I wasn't alone 99% of the time.

"You've been avoiding me," I said after minutes of silence. She didn't answer, continuing to stare skyward. Even though I had noticed her odd behaviour right away, I had given her space for the last month and a half while I searched for a way to get my body back. I had also hoped she would use this time to connect with the other women, but she had maintained her distance from everyone but Ranni and, to a lesser extent, Priscilla.

I had initially assumed her reticence was caused by an awkwardness with the other women on the Island. They had been together for a year and had formed a tight bond of friendship and, in some cases, intimacy. Watching them in the Dream had been like watching a slice-of-life anime sitcom filled with high jinks, rivalries, twists and turns, and a good helping of lust. After my... talk with Ranni, I knew that was only one tiny facet of Melina's internal struggle. She had died.

I knew I was the odd one out when it came to my casual disregard for my own deaths. While I didn't know if Melina had ever perished in the Lands Between while the Rune of Death was sealed, her death was final when she burned upon the fires of the Fell God. And she had done it willingly. On top of the fact she had been dead for decades, Melina had awoken in an unfamiliar world surrounded by foreign women.

She had found out her lover had been lying to her by omission and that her sacrifice, one at a high cost to herself, had been almost meaningless. There was a lot to grapple with and I, more than most, understood that sometimes people just needed time. But I also understood that talking things out like adults could solve most issues before they festered. And I was not willing to let Melina go without a fight.

"Ranni tells me you have been having nightmares," I tried a different tactic. Andromeda decided that one of the blue drakes was her new best friend and was flying beside it. The smaller beast, nowhere near as intelligent, flipped out and tried to fly away, leading to a merry little chase.

"Wanna talk about them?" After a few more moments of silence, I opened my mouth to prod her again when she spoke.

"I dream of the Forge," Melina said softly. Though her one eye was gazing skyward, I doubted she saw any flying monsters.

"Of the Flames. I feel my skin blister and crackle. Smoke fills my lungs, and I scream and scream, but you can't hear." I flinched once more, this time in guilt and phantom pain.

"Sometimes I awake when the flames consume me," she continued slowly.

"All the pain leaves then. I am at peace. Dead. Most of the time, I continue to dream. I dream of Death. She extends a hand to me, and I know what she offers. Life and pain. Death and peace. I must choose. In my dreams, I turn away. Every time. I rest in peace, and you burn. You live, yet the fire never goes out. And I watch you burn."

"What can I say? I'm hot," I tried to lighten the mood a little with a joke, but she didn't laugh. I slid closer to her till I pressed up against her side and warp an arm around her shoulder. She leans into me, though her eyes remain on the sky. In the past.

"You didn't turn away, though. You took Death's hand. You came back to me. I cannot express how much that means to me."

"I came back a fool to a fool," she snorted disparagingly.

"I made a pointless sacrifice. I was so convinced that my purpose was to die so my Lord might live that I tossed myself upon the pyre without need or meaning. Indeed, falling in love with you was the most foolish thing I have ever done. I feel like a right jester."

"I was the worse fool," I said bitterly.

"If I only trusted you and told you everything, things would have been different. I was so afraid, afraid of losing control, of losing myself, that I lost you instead. Make no mistake, I will never forgive you for leaving me, but I won't forgive myself either. If anyone is a jester, it is me. In fact, I think Ranni's called me that a few times already."

"You could stand to hold thy tongue more, 'tiss true," Melina nodded, and I allowed myself to smile. If she could take digs at me, then things were looking up. But then she shook her head again.

"But it renders my action no more meaningful. I died without true purpose and hurt us both in the doing. My entire existence, I have been searching for meaning. Why was I given life by my mother? What was my purpose? Even as I tossed off her yoke of expectation, even as I dedicated myself to a new Lord, every action was but a failure in the end. All the pain I suffered, all the pain I inflicted, twass pointless."

"Pointless?" I asked rhetorically.

"Was I heartbroken? Certainly. Pissed off? Definitely! But not once did I think your sacrifice or death was pointless." She looked at me, finally, with her one open eye, almost accusing me of using empty words to comfort her. I never did find out what was up with her and Ranni's eyes, but it didn't matter. Melina, while no Godfrey, was more a warrior than most. She did not want platitudes. I needed to convince her that I wasn't spouting bullshit.

Which was difficult since most of what came out of my mouth was bullshit. Or jokes. Or puns... or teasing. The point was, I needed to convince her that my words weren't empty. That I meant everything, I was saying. To do so, I needed to do something I hated. I needed to lower my defences, the emotional, non-supernatural ones. The shields of humour and bluster, masks and deceit I had built all my life. I needed to be genuine. Vulnerable. I hated that. It left me raw and exposed. But Melina was worth it.

"What do you know about my experience in the other worlds. The ones I was trapped in before the Lands Between?" I rested my chin on her head as I pulled her closer. It was now I who couldn't look at her, and this story was long.

"Not too many details," Melina admitted, her voice curious at the sudden change in topic.

"I have spent little time with your other consorts. I understand the Lands Between was the fourth realm you visited since your cursing. You were skilled because you had conquered the challenges of the previous three worlds. I know you were cursed with undeath even then, though of a different sort than that afflicted by Marika's Order. I know you slew a Godking of Sun and Lightning in your first world and were bathed in the divine flames.

That is why you would be able to maintain your sanity even if you had accepted the Giant's Flame in my place."

"That's the gist of it, though I have to correct a few things." Even as my mind drifted back to days, I would instead not remember, my hands idly toyed with a small pyromancy flame. A long-gone habit. One from when it was just me against a dying world, I struggled to maintain my sanity every day. Knowing now that I had put safeguards in place didn't lessen any of the fear I felt then. I loved fire. I hated fire. Pyromancy had saved my ass so many times early in my incarceration that it wasn't even funny.

As I grew more and more skilled as the years dragged on, my Talents given time to flourish, I relied on it less and less.

"You are right. I would have retained my sanity through the Fell God's Flame. But it wouldn't be a voluntary choice on my part. Because I once stood where you did. I was consumed by the Fires of the First Flame. I burned for who knows how long. Decades at least. Probably centuries. Maybe millennia. I can't tell, but that isn't the point. The point is, I gave up. All the contingencies I had set up to keep my sanity were useless if I chose to actively give up.

While I burned, I tried to discard my sanity, to go hollow. I wanted the pain to disappear, and I would have done anything to end it." I was not proud of it, of giving up after decades of effort and toil and abandoning the women on the Island to eternal entrapment. But I was also realistic. No one in my place could fault me for it when the literal king of gods in that world did the same. And it was all caused by my ego, my hubris in believing the First Flame to be just another fire.

I should have walked out of the Kiln, but I had been blinded by the idea that I only needed to die one more death before being Free. To this day, I wonder if walking away was possible or if burning had been required, but I expected it wasn't since both cases needed me to wait a certain amount of time. Diana's 'order' had saved me. Even as I grew to love her, a small part of me would always resent her for it.

"I've never hidden that aspect of my journey from anyone," I said.

"It was my failing, my ego, and my pain. It has shaped me into who I am today and given me the strength to carry on."

"I am not so strong," Melina said bitterly.

"I burned for a few minutes, and it haunts me."

"I don't believe in comparing pain," I shook my head lightly, careful not to dig into her scalp with my chin.

"Everyone goes through their own lives, faces their own trials, and faces their own losses. Did what happen to me suck? Yes, but it doesn't detract from you in any way. Besides, if we are talking about the hardest things I've ever done, burning in the First Flame after killing Gwyn is... fourth place, I think. Barely top five."

"What was the most difficult," she asked morbidly.

"Getting over you," I said softly, looking down at her. She flushed slightly, a rare sight that made me grin.

"Number two was letting Emma into my mind to wake me up. I was only able to do so because I had done worse before. Number three is... number three is the reason I have never thought of your sacrifice as pointless." I paused, remembering we were not completely alone.

"Hm?" I ignored Melina's questioning sound and turned to look at my shadow.

"Raven," I said, and my shadow waived at me.

"I know how much of a chatterbox and a gossip you are." It flipped me the finger.

"But keep what you hear a secret from the others, okay?" My shadow flashed me a thumbs-up. For some reason, whenever I talked to her in my shadow like this, she was always so expressive.

"Why keep it a secret?" Melina asked.

"Because I lied to them about it," I explained.

"And all explaining it would do would make them feel bad. I am only telling you because it proves my point that your sacrifice wasn't pointless." I took a deep breath, filling my nose with her scent.

"If burning in fires of the First Flame were the fourth hardest thing I ever did, it is because choosing to burn a second time in them was so much worse." She stilled.

"Those first three worlds all followed the same rules, more or less. They were a trilogy back home. All the stories happened when the Fires of the Flame were dying out. Fire wasn't just heat and light in that world. It was light, life, and civilization all wrapped up in one. When the fires fade, kingdoms crumble, the dead walk the land, and people are drawn to the flickering flames to serve as kindling to reignite it so the age can continue. For a whole bunch of reasons I won't get into, the games end in two ways.

Once you beat the game, you have two choices. You either burn or you walk away. In my ego, I burned in the first game. For the second, I walked away. Whatever you choose, someone will eventually link the flame, so it doesn't really matter if it was me or someone else. I was prepared to wait thousands of years if it meant I didn't have to burn in those fires again."

"But you went back anyway. Willingly," Melina said with realization.

"For over four hundred years, I walked the world," I continued.

"I was undead. I did not age, and pain and joy were all muted by my condition. I was unaware that time was shifting on Island at my whim, so I thought the women on the Island had been sitting here for years, waiting for me to free them with no contact. Nevertheless, I was set on avoiding that pain at all costs. Even if it took me thousands of years."

"What changed?"

"An old friend found me," I thought back to the Knight of Mirrah. To her begging, her pleading as her kingdom was destroyed because there was no one to link the Flame. The happy end I had promised and delivered turned into another nightmare.

"She forced me to face my faults. In clearing the way to the flame for others, I had stripped them of the ability to link it. The core philosophy of that world is that anyone, even the lowest of the low, which has never held a blade in their life, can overcome anything with enough willpower. I had stripped it of its meaning by making the path to the Kiln easy." The point of Dark Souls or any Soulsborne game had never been 'git gud.'

That 'slogan' was a by-product of people's pride in their achievements and internet culture being what it is. You did not face Ornstein and Smough, Sir Alonne, the Nameless King, and the Orphan of Kos because they were easy. You did it to prove to yourself that, even though you were nothing special, you could stand the equal of gods through your own effort. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"I was left with the same choice once again," I finished.

"Burn or walk away. I would either waste away over thousands of years in the hope that the world would last long enough for someone of sufficient will and power to link the flame. Or, I face the consequences of my actions and follow through on my beliefs. Freedom is not the freedom of consequences. Freedom is having bad choices and living with the consequences of those choices. In a world without meaning, our every choice gives itself meaning.

I walked into that fire for a second time because I decided that burning was less painful than losing myself and who I was. That was my choice. I would rather burn for my Freedom than rest my hopes on the whims of fate and chance." Of course, at the time, I hadn't realized my own spiral into a pit of paranoia and nihilism, but even if I had, I would have chosen to burn anyway. I had never wanted to be a hero, nor did I desire to be perfect.

All I wanted to do was look into a mirror and recognize the man looking back at me. Something I would have failed to do if not for the woman in my arms. I pulled her from me to look into her eye, wet with tears. My own eyes weren't dry either. Though I was talking about myself, because I was an egoist at heart, I willed her to understand that I understood her. I understood the pain and the conviction it took to do what she did. We both burned so that the world we wished to see would come from the flames.

"It took months to get back to the Kiln. Every single day I would second-guess myself. I dragged my feet. I turned away at least a dozen times. I feared that pain. But I walked into it for my Freedom and my ego. You, also, chose to burn. But you did it for me." I said with all the emotions I could gather.

"I would be here today if not for you. I would have continued to Rot, never genuinely trusting again. This Family would never have come together if not for what you did. Your death did more for me than killing any number of gods. Was it unnecessary to destroy the Erdtree? Possibly. But the necessity of an action does not give it meaning. Only we can provide things with meaning. And you dying for me was the most meaningful thing anyone has ever done for me. And I will never forget nor forgive it."

There was a pregnant silence, as I finished my monologue and waited to see if it reached her.

"As always, your pep talks leave much to be desired. All I heard was me, me, me, me," Melina said with a wet chuckle, wiping her eyes. Then she kissed me. Slowly, with a tenderness that made my heart ache and my pulse quicken.

"Thank you."

"Of course. What are crazy husbands for?" I asked with a smile, surreptitiously wiping my own eyes.

"Though it doesn't change the fact that I am still purposeless," she snuggled closer.

"The one my mother gave me is long gone, and the one I gave myself is fulfilled. What shall I do with myself?"

"That's easy," I said with confidence. This was something I had long practice with.

"Live for me!"

"Once more, your ego is only eclipsed by your ability to say things of a most absurd nature," she sighed, believing I was joking. I wasn't.

"I'm serious. Live for me. Live for the Family. Live for yourself. I am doing all three. A purpose is something others can suggest, but only we, ourselves, can decide. That is a Freedom everyone has." I thought back to Solaire, who chased a sun he would never find. To Alsanna, lonely queen of an empty Ivory Kingdom. To Sirris, standing guard over a small child painting a new world.

"If you don't know how to determine your own purpose, take things one day at a time. We have, quite literally, all the time in the world to define our own purpose."

"You are right. We have plenty of time." She paused as if going over things in her head. I didn't know how old she was, the war of the shattering had gone on for at least a few centuries, but she was definitely older than most on the Island.

"I'm always right," I said as I stood up and helped Melina to her feet.

"Life would be so much easier if everybody just accepted that fact." She rolled her eye but gave me a fond smile. I didn't know if this conversation would truly help her, but it was an excellent first step. Now I just needed to fix a few other problems.

"You know, now that all the hiding I was doing was rendered pointless, we can move much more openly, right? I was thinking we should all spend some time off the Island."

"What for," she asked warily.

"I know that look in your eye. You have some manner of scheme in the making."

"I am affronted," I said in an over-the-top manner.

"That you would think that I, the most innocent and wholesome of beings, would concoct some dastardly scheme! Why I never!" She remained looking at me, one eyebrow raised. I gave in with a sigh.

"Fine, I do have a bit of a plan. It's nothing malicious, though. Promise."

"To me? Or at all?"

"To you," I clarified.

"Maybe not to anyone. It's just me being paranoid."

"What is this plan then?"

"So I thought we could all use a vacation, right? It's been a pretty stressful time all around. This would also give you and Ranni time to get to know some of the others."

"If you hope for me to jump into bed with them, I am afraid I will have to disappoint."

"That's not it at all," I shook my head.

"Sex is not necessary for the Family. While a few of the girls are bisexual or at least have some leaning in that direction, it is not a requirement. Robin tried with Yoruichi and Tsunade and wasn't a fan. Maybe because she could do everything by herself with her Devil Fruit? Or it could just be a preference thing. I think Raven is almost completely asexual due to the problems with her emotions, though she did have some male partners in the comics.

And I don't know one way or the other about Emma or Ranni if they are attracted to the female form. We don't all have to lust for each other, but we need to get along. We have a long time to spend together, and I would hate for this divide to remain because of a lack of communication. On both sides."

"Very well, I shall make more of an effort to talk to your consorts if only for your peace of mind," she nodded in agreement.

"Why outside the Island?"

"That is where my evil plan comes together," I said, rubbing my hands like a cartoon villain and affecting a nasally voice.

"You see, my dear, nothing brings people together quite like a common foe. Just think of Radahn and the Festival of War. In fact," I paused as a great idea came to me.

"Let's go to Caelid!"

"Caelid? You wish to return to the Lands Between?" Melina asked in disbelief.

"It is certainly inhospitable enough to foster companionship, but you despise Caelid. After claiming Radahn's Great Rune, you swore to never return."

"What you fail to realize, my dear, is that earth has a Caelid all on its own," I leaned in to whisper in her ear as if revealing a dark secret.

"It has its own massive birds and beasts wishing to tear you limb from limb. Its red sky and oppressive heat are indicative of its maliciousness. Everything there wishes only to inflict the most painful of deaths upon anyone visiting. Ay! Like Caelid, even the grass is deadly! I speak, of course, of Australia!" She deadpanned at me as I grinned at her. In comics, the most dangerous places in the world were where the superheroes called home. Those cities got destroyed every other day.

As a whole, though, I would rate Australia as more dangerous than the Savage Lands. You could shoot a dinosaur but not a blue-ring octopus.

"And why would we wish to go there?"

"Well, for one, it is beautiful," I said, returning to my regular voice.

"The Island has excellent forests and mountains, but it doesn't have any similar typography to the Land Down Under. I think most of the Family could do for a bit of a change of pace, don't you? And none of them have been there. Not only that, but it's spring there, so it's not too hot yet. The large cities have some great attractions too. Ranni, Robin, Glynda and Priscila might be interested in catching a show at the Opera House in Sidney. We can do a few people at a time, giving you a chance to get to know them.

All in all, it makes a great place for a vacation. You know, if you are immune to everything that will kill you that lives there. Witch is everything."

"And the other reason?" She asked, waiving her hand as if telling me to get on with it. I love how sassy she became after spending so long with me.

"None of your plans are ever simple."

"I already told you," I said with a smirk.

"A common enemy. Now that my face is known worldwide, I give it half a day before we are recognized. Local heroes, villains, and certainly the Justice League will all come running. While diplomacy would be preferable if it comes to blows, most of Australia is uninhabited. I don't really care about collateral damage, but most of the others are more heroic than me. We can go wild without worry." There was also the tiny, hidden goal of keeping an eye on Melina. Trauma did not disappear overnight.

Just because I was unconcerned about my deaths didn't mean that others were the same. Most went hollow after only one or two deaths.

"And do you have another reason you won't tell the others?"

"My inner chuuni really likes the idea of going to the world's asshole and being the most dangerous thing there," I admitted without shame. I had my fill for the day being genuine, emotional and vulnerable. I wanted to be a ham, damnit! I had been too emo for too long! I demand silliness! Live was too long to spend it all being miserable.

Miles away, Robin wiped her eyes and picked up her book from where it had fallen. She kept her shrunken ear hidden in Mikael's hair. While she had been able to grow her limbs for years, shrinking them was a relatively new ability. One of the perks of being Tier 7. She had been right to worry about the man. He was the 'suffer in silence' type, just like she thought. For the longest time, she had compared him to Usopp and herself. He was skilled in his own way but prone to dramatics and lies when it suited him.

Someone who had grown over the trials he went through. That was an aspect of him, but there was one other crewmate she now knew he most resembled.

"Nothing." He said, taking a deep breath and dislodging the ash accumulated on his body.

"Nothing happened." Zoro had been a booze hound, an idiot with no sense of direction, and someone with more muscles than brains when it came to anything but swords. He had also been the best, most devoted and loyal first mate the Strawhats could ever ask for. Robin toyed with the idea of telling the others what she had heard but ultimately decided to keep her silence on the matter unless it became necessary. Mikeal had too many secrets come out recently. Any more would feel a bit like bullying the man.

As someone who liked her own secrets, she could sympathize a bit with his recent struggles. Even if she did find it a bit funny. For now, Robin decided to continue her vigil over the man pulling this new Family together. Besides, a vacation did sound nice. Robin had never been to an Opera before, so it would be a novel experience. That, and the chance to finally try out her new Conquerers Haki against some of the so-called 'heroes' of the world was appealing. Oh my.

Robin realized she might be more Zoro-like than expected as well.

"Thank you for the meal, Lois," Steve Rogers said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"It was delicious."

"You're welcome," Lois Kent said as she cleared away the table with Captain America's aid. The old soldier had been around the house enough times and insisted enough that everyone had gotten used to him helping out. Usually, Clark would also have helped, but he was occupied with his essential duty.

"Babbaubu," Jonathan Samuel 'Jon' Kent babbled happily as his father bounced him up and down on his knee. It was getting late, and the little tyke had been fed, cleaned and bundled up for bedtime in his superman pyjamas. Clark smiled, warmth filling him. No matter what happened, unless the world was literally going to end, he always made time for his family.

His duties as Superman were important, but he felt most happy when he hung up the cape and returned to being Clark Kent, photographer, reporter, friend, husband, and father. Their cozy home on the outskirts of Metropolis was more a sanctuary than the cold, impartial halls of the Justice League would ever be.

"C'mon, Smallville," Lois said after watching the pair for a moment.

"Justice and the truth never sleep, but this little guy does need to." Clark reluctantly passed Jon to his mother, the toddler letting out little yawns and pawing at his eyes.

"I'll join you two in a moment."

"Here," Steve passed Clark a cold beer as the two retired to the couches in the living room. Both cracked theirs without needing a bottle opener, one of the lesser perks of being a Super.

"One of these days, you need to take me to Smallville. Lois still won't tell me her meatloaf recipe. I should get it from the source. Martha Kent's cooking is legendary."

"Ma'd be happy to hear that," Clark said with a smile. Both his parents, and he, by extension, had been raised on stories of Captain America. Sam Kent, Clark's grandfather, had fought in the war. While he had never served directly with the 'first hero,' he had met Steve a few times. He had bragged about it countless times.

"Pa would love to meet you." Truth, Justice, and the American Way had been his slogan, always taking pride in the nation he lived in and the heroes it fostered. The national blinders came off as Clark grew up and learned more about the world and America's actual role and history. But his grandparents' and parents' lessons and ideals had stuck with him all these years. America might not have lived up to its ideals, but that is why it needed symbols. Symbols like Superman and Captain America.

Clark firmly believed that as long as hope existed and symbols of truth and justice continued to rise, then each succeeding generation would be better off than the last. That is why he helped create the League. To create a legacy of international cooperation, an institution dedicated to the betterment of humanity that would last for generations. Even if he wasn't around to see it.

"Would you do it again?" Clark asked out of nowhere after a few minutes of companionable silence while waiting for Lois to return.

"Pardon?" Steve asked.

"Knowing what you know now," Clark clarified.

"Knowing what it would cost you, would you still have gotten on that bomber?"

"If I could go back in time, I probably would have tried harder to stop it from taking off in the first place," Steve said with good humour. He took another sip of his beer, looking thoughtful.

"I think... I think I would do the same thing again."

"Even though it cost you a chance with Peggy?"

"Even then," Steve nodded somberly.

"When I signed that dotted line for enlistment, I knew very well I might not make it back. When I was positioned for the Super Soldier Program, Epstein was very forthright that the chances of death were high. Every soldier, no matter their nation or cause, should be aware of the risks they take."

"What was going through your mind?" Clark asked morbidly.

"What most people think about," Steve said with a far-off look in his eyes.

"I was scared. I didn't want to die. I wanted to see Peggy again, to get the dance we never had. I wanted to see my friends again. To walk the streets of manhattan after the war was over and see the soldiers I had fought beside return to their families." Many of those same thoughts had swirled around Clark's head for the last few days since Bruce told him of his 'fate.' Superman had rarely truly felt threatened.

There had been some close calls, and he had failed a few times, but rarely had his life been in danger despite facing beings stronger than him. It had always been others, the civilians and their livelihoods, that had been what he safeguarded. His few weaknesses were always eclipsed by his strengths or the help of his friends. A man of steel did not have much to fear from a world of cardboard. Until now.

"But," Steve continued.

"As terrified as I was of death, as much as I wanted to go home, I was faced with a choice. Not a nice one, but a choice nonetheless. We must all live in the real world… and sometimes that world can be pretty grim. But it is the dream… the hope for tomorrow… that makes the reality worth living. I made a personal pledge to uphold the dream, even at the cost of my life. And that is why I would do it again because even today, I am fighting for that dream." Clark wondered if he, a small-town farmboy, could do the same.

When the moment came, and he saw his death in the face of the Elden Lord, or whoever the Ultimate was, could he die doing what was right? Could he kill?

"What brought this up?" Steve asked after Clark didn't respond. He was saved from answering right away when Lois returned from putting Jon to bed. Rather than grab a drink, she sat beside her husband on the couch.

"I swear," she said with a fond smile.

"That boy is a work and a half. I blame you, Smallville."

"Why me?" He asked as he pulled her tightly against him, luxuriating in her warmth.

"It's the Kryptonian in him. I just know it. He won't fall asleep unless I tell him about Superman or another hero. And god forbid he lay down without his stuffed Batman."

"You still won't tell me where you got that," Steve chimed in with a smile of his own.

"It's not common merch, definitely handmade. A few of the wards are huge batman fans, and Christmas is coming up."

"Sorry, I promised I wouldn't say," Clark responded honestly with a shrug of his shoulders and a humorous look at his wife. It had been a gift from Bruce when Jon was born. The old bat was a colossal softy once you got past his prickly appearance. And demeanour. And paranoia.

"I can ask for a few more, though."

"I would appreciate it."

"Have you asked him yet?" Lois asked, looking up at her husband.

"I was waiting for you."

"Ask me what?"

"Well..." Clark dithered, unsure how to broach the topic.

"I'm pregnant." Lois was always the blunter of the two. It helped in her journalism career, and it helped now.

"Wha... Congratulations!" Steve exclaimed with joy, standing up from his seat. Clark and Lois remained seated, smiling at the old soldier but not as exuberant.

"That's not everything," Steve said after watching their faces for a moment. He sat back down.

"Is it?"

"It's not," Clark admitted, even as his hands held his wife's for strength.

"I re-We recently got some bad news." He hurriedly corrected himself at his wife's dangerous look.

"Are you two all right?" Captain America asked worriedly.

"We're fine," Lois waved away his concern.

"Healthy as can be. Jon wasn't a problem, and we don't expect any troubles with little Elanor either."

"Elanor? You already know the gender?"

"Elanor Martha Kent," Clark said.

"We've been trying for a while for a second child, and as soon as the test returned positive yesterday, we did extensive checkups to be safe. Kryptonian/human children are still a bit of a grey area."

"So... Why the long faces? What was the bad news?" And so, Superman told Captain America of his impending doom. Of how Batman, while trying to find a way to fight the Simurgh, had inadvertently discovered something that would kill the man of steel. Clark explained how he had just learned of this and the impending deadline.

"And you think the Elden Lord will be responsible?" Steve asked. His face had grown more severe with every word spoken.

"He does fit what the profile Batman has," Clark nodded.

"It could be something else. He is just the most likely, and his arrival did push the date forward."

"And there's nothing we can do?"

"We are doing all we can currently. Captain Marvel is scouring the galaxy for any mention of The Ultimate. That's why she hasn't returned. The Clairvoyant is being supercharged but will only be ready for another question in a week. The PRT, Protectorate, SHIELD, The Guild, Watchdog and the League, and the UN nations, are all on high alert due to the Elden Lord, so they are as ready as they can be without tipping our hand and starting something ourselves. We don't want a self-fulfilling prophecy on our hands."

"The Avengers will, of course, be ready to assemble at a moment's notice. But there has to be something, anything we can do to help." Steve said, clear frustration in his voice.

"There is," Clark said seriously.

"Something only you can do."

"What is it?"

"Be Elanor's godfather," Lois said seriously.

"You've been a good friend to us, and should the worst happen, we would feel better if we knew her future was in your hands."

"You wouldn't be alone," Clark hurried to clarify as Steve sat in stunned silence.

"Batman and Diana are Jon's godparents, and my parents would help out, but I would feel more secure if I knew I could count on you."

"I am honoured," Steve eventually said, face set.

"Of course, I agree. But don't go talking like that. Hope never dies so long as we live. I will ensure you are around for that child's birth. Prophecy or not. Elden Lord be damned, no child should grow up without a parent. I want you to promise that you won't give up. That you'll keep fighting to the last to come home."

"I'm not giving up," Clark responded, filled with a resolution that had been lacking for the last few days. Talking with his friend had been the right call.

"Just like you made a pledge to that dream, I made a pledge to this family and the people of the earth. Nothing is going to get in the way of that." The two clinked their beers together with smiles, even as Lois rolled her eyes at the boys' over-the-top declarations. She was smiling as well.

The next day, at 9am Sydney time and 5pm Eastern US time, the Elden Lord would be recorded ordering breakfast at a family diner on the outskirts of the Australian city. He was accompanied by two known consorts, the Goddess Ranni and Glynda, and a third unknown woman with one eye. Even in a world filled with Supers, the group's unique appearance prompted a few people to post about them on social media.

Batman's sophisticated tracking technology immediately flagged the images and delivered the notice to the Dark Knight. Judging that the draconic alien would not be in any rush, Batman had a few heroes approach the area but maintain their distance. At the same time, the rest of the League, the Avengers and the Guild were alerted to a possible deployment request incoming. Once they were ready, Superman was to be the point of contact. Batman had argued against it, but the man of steel remained firm in his decision.

This was to a diplomatic meeting first, and only as a last resort should it escalate to violence. Bruce relented after Clark pointed out they had enough time to go in fully prepared. While they waited for everyone to be in place, Superman finished his current assignment of delivering a batch of organ donations to a hospital. Waiving off the hospital staff with a smile, Superman turned to fly to Australia to meet with the Elden Lord. Before he got very far, his communication computer beeped at him.

The pattern was for an emergency backup request. Worried that something had gone wrong with the Elden Lord, Superman breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was located in the US and thus unlikely connected to the Elden Lord. After confirming with Batman that they still needed a few minutes to move so many heroes to the southern hemisphere, Superman decided he had enough time for a quick stop nearby before talking with Mikael.

So Superman set off towards Ohio, where the local PRT was asking for help dealing with a mutant moving eastward.