Chapter 31

After a stormy night, Kara lay weakly on the bed, completely bare and bathed in sunlight. Her cells, hungry for energy, absorbed the light to strengthen themselves and gradually restore her stamina.

"Norin, is there really no hope for Kal? Then what is my purpose anymore?"

Kara’s eyes were filled with confusion.

Her mission was to protect Kal and restore Krypton’s glory.

Kal was Krypton’s last hope—the destined leader.

But now that Kal had been killed by Zod, the only thing left in Kara’s heart was revenge. Yet, she felt a void inside her.

Norin calmly replied:

"Kal cannot be saved. Zod and his forces will prioritize hunting you, especially Kal. They believe Jor-El embedded the Codex of Life into Kal’s body. To rebuild Krypton, they must obtain it."

"But to extract the Codex, they need to kill the host. Do you think Kal has any chance of survival?"

This was the flaw in embedding the Codex within Kal’s body.

Jor-El had hoped it would prevent the Codex from falling into the wrong hands and act as Krypton’s chance to evolve past its outdated traditions.

But he hadn’t anticipated Zod escaping the Phantom Zone—barely surviving Krypton’s destruction because of his exile.

Nor did he foresee Kal and Kara being separated during their escape, leaving Kara without exposure to yellow sunlight, thus unable to grow stronger.

Zod quickly tracked them down, killing Kal, who had no chance to resist.

As for Kara, without proper sunlight, she couldn’t unlock her genetic potential to match Zod’s strength.

The gap between a seasoned warrior like Zod and a civilian like Kara was insurmountable.

From that moment, the tragic fate of this universe was sealed.

Even if the Flashpoint Paradox failed, Zod would reshape Earth into New Krypton.

Kara fell silent.

Krypton was destroyed.

Her cousin Kal was dead.

Only Zod and his forces—and herself—remained.

But out of hatred for Zod, Kara vowed to kill him.

Even so, her loneliness became painfully clear.

Her eyes lingered on Norin—the only familiar face left in the universe.

"Norin! Help me get stronger!"

At that moment, Kara no longer cared about anything but revenge. She had become a machine driven by anger—a shell of her former self.

She didn’t want to think about her losses. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Krypton’s fiery destruction and Kal’s death.

"You don’t have to do this," Norin said softly, gently brushing Kara’s flushed face.

"No! I have to!" Kara clenched her teeth.

Even though she was lying helplessly, her gaze held the fierce determination of a queen.

"What? Can’t handle it anymore?" Kara teased, though her voice trembled slightly. "Just say the word, and I’ll let you off the hook."

"You’re dreaming if you think I’ll back down now," Norin smirked.

Though Norin tried to reassure her, Kara had already made up her mind.

Still, Norin could see that her obsession with revenge might leave her broken even after Zod’s death.

"Actually, Kara…" Norin leaned in closer, his voice low and deliberate. "What if I told you Kal exists in other universes?"

Kara’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"What? Kal is alive—in another universe? Does that mean Krypton isn’t extinct?!"

But her brief excitement faded quickly.

"So what? I can’t travel between universes, and you can’t bring people through time."

Her hope crumbled as fast as it had appeared.

Suddenly, Kara’s eyes sparkled again.

"Wait… a child? A daughter?"

Her voice turned flustered.

"I-I mean… am I even old enough to have kids? Isn’t it too early?"

She babbled nervously.

"Why just one daughter? Why not a son? Are you against having sons? Don’t you want to rebuild Krypton?"

Kara rambled on, blushing deeply.

Norin smirked.

"You’re thinking too much."

Kara tried to push him away but barely used any strength. Her resistance was half-hearted, and she finally surrendered, clinging to him instead.

The truth was, Kara felt cornered.

Aside from Zod’s forces, Norin was the only other Kryptonian-compatible person she could rely on.

Her longing to revive Krypton, coupled with her feelings for Norin, left her conflicted but ultimately yielding to his touch.

Norin, sensing her determination, didn’t hesitate.

"For Krypton!"

And with that, their battle to revive Krypton began.

The next day, Norin emerged from the room, exhausted. The sun had already set.

He saw Bruce leaning against a pile of logs, gazing up at the stars as if savoring the calm before the storm.

"Not bad," Bruce remarked without turning around. "But still slower than me."

Norin rolled his eyes.

"I recorded everything you said earlier," Norin teased, waving his phone. "I’ll show this to the younger version of you someday and see if you can back up your claims."

Bruce spun around, trying to grab the phone, but Norin made it disappear in a flash.

"You’d better be serious about this," Bruce said, turning back to the sky.

"Do you think we’ll ever see a future worth fighting for?"

Norin didn’t hesitate.

"We will. I promise."

Whether it was for Kara, for himself, or for Krypton, Norin was determined to grow stronger.

In just a few hours, their odds of victory had already risen by five percent.

And Norin was certain—he would push that chance to 100%.