Chapter 2: Jor-El

"Save Krypton?"

Jor-El's projection calmly self-mocked.

"You never had such messianic thoughts."

"H'el, you're just a monster driven by your own desires, wanting to control Krypton, wanting to become a god of Krypton!"

"H'el, you're just too evil deep inside."

Jor-El's reproach, filled with anger, made him realize that his son of ten years had, in the end, only hidden arrogance beneath a facade of humility. This realization pained him deeply.

H'el pressed his thumbs against his nose and rubbed it.

Really...

He had thought that even if his father died, he could maintain this 'perfect' impression until the end, something he could take pride in even in the afterlife.

Having his true inner self exposed, H'el no longer concealed his actions.

His hands, which had been interlocked on his nose, slowly rested on the armrest of the steel seat. He leaned back against the steel seat, allowing the icy touch of steel to penetrate his skin and bloodstream. He smirked coldly, tilting his head slightly, and his gaze looked down upon the stars in front of him, ignoring his foster father, Jor-El, beside him.

Arrogance, huh...

From the moment he arrived on Krypton, learned that he was H'el, and realized that he would become the most powerful Kryptonian in the future, the seeds of arrogance had already deeply rooted themselves in his heart. Indulging in this arrogance, letting it burn in his heart like a raging fire, was the driving force behind hiding everything.

Although in the DC Universe, there were plenty of powerful deities, in the countless multiverse, he might be nothing more than an ant that the gods paid no attention to.

But the power to rule the cosmos, the power to dominate the stars, fascinated him beyond measure, especially someone who had once struggled at the bottom of society.

Anyone who had experienced life at the lower rungs of society yearned for this kind of power.

He just couldn't help himself!

"How did you know?"

H'el suddenly wondered.

It wasn't true curiosity but rather a realization that he had played his role so poorly that it had been discovered in the end. It was time for him to reflect.

Perhaps he was truly arrogant, but there was nothing wrong with that.

The so-called arrogance was simply a way to level the playing field.

To treat those beneath him with arrogance.

To absorb all knowledge and things beyond himself, and then look down upon them.

His past, as a pitiful person who had once lived a life of servitude, kneeling to others, hesitated, and endured, all while working tirelessly to provide a luxurious life for his boss, was so pathetic that it made him laugh inwardly.

Now, this kind of arrogance in his heart was the most genuine essence of his past humanity.

"My brother, Zor-El, he's a stubborn, traditional scientist. Our relationship has always been tense."

Jor-El spoke slowly, as if narrating a heavy story.

"As you grew closer to me, the rift between him and me gradually diminished."

"He has often gotten drunk in front of me, touched my shoulder emotionally, and thought that I had adopted a good son."

"He praised you generously, lauded you, believed that you were the only choice to save Krypton, and even placed himself beneath you."

"At the time, I was just delighted that my relationship with Zor was improving and also praised you without paying much attention. Now, looking back, there were signs of everything about you."

"It wasn't until my wife, Lara, also praised you highly that I realized that seemingly everyone around me was singing your praises."

"At that moment, I suddenly became curious about what such a perfect you were pursuing."

H'el looked down at the stars in silence.

He had never expected that the turning point discovered by Jor-El would be the lavish praise everyone showered upon him. 

People always have desires, whether it's wealth, desire, power, or fame. And if someone appears too perfect, showing no interest in any of these, there must be something significant they desire underneath that perfection.

Jor-El's tone suddenly changed, becoming cold. He said, "I deliberately got Zor drunk and learned from him that you two were cooperating."

"Furthermore... I discovered that you were violating the Elder Council's prohibition on cloning and creating a large number of clones with the same appearance as Krypton's upper echelons."

"You want to replace Krypton's high-ranking officials with clones, H'el. How dare you do such a thing!"

"I also found out that in the lower levels of Kandor City, a reform movement has arisen, a resistance force against the Kryptonian elite. The leader of this resistance force is called the new god, the one they believe will change the heavens and earth of Krypton."

"What do you intend to do, H'el?"

"What are you aiming for, H'el? You want to dominate Krypton, to be the god of Krypton!"

By the time Jor-El finished speaking, he was seething with anger. He had never imagined that his perfect son, H'el-El, who was praised and lauded by the world, would cause such chaos on Krypton. 

He had always believed that H'el had no desires beyond advancing science within the Academy and leaving a mark in history. He never expected that his adopted son would turn out to be an unprecedented ambitious disruptor, seeking to overthrow Krypton.

This long-concealed ambition had shocked Jor-El to his core.

"I am trying to save Krypton, father. Do you think the Kryptonian high council would have allowed you to investigate the planetary core? The Council doesn't believe in the seriousness of the issues raised by scientists. Krypton's demise is inevitable."

H'el responded coldly.

Kryptonians reproduce through embryo cultivation, and from birth, they are predetermined to become politicians, soldiers, scientists, and more, just like the specialized cells in a human body such as the eyes, ears, brain, and heart. The rigid class system was genetically encoded from the very beginning.

This genetic determination was considered a blessing if individuals lacked independent thought. But unfortunately, humans do possess thoughts, and this rigid system became a cage of despair.

"Replacing the high council, inciting chaos on Krypton will only harm more people. Your choice will cause the most severe damage to Krypton, and there is more than one way to solve the problem," Jor-El shouted angrily, alarmed by H'el's ambitions.

"What 'more people'? It's just you!"

"Do you view the lower-class people as beasts?"

"Father, you don't understand the aspirations of the lower-class people."

"I have delved into the lives of the lower classes. What you've triggered..."

"Is that so? You inspected the living conditions of the lower classes under the mayor's guidance."

"People can't truly empathize with each other. From the beginning, your genetics destined you to be superior, and your sorrows and joys don't resonate with them."

H'el spoke with a heavy voice, pressing his hands tightly onto the armrests of the steel seat, his gaze cold.

"Their patience has reached a point where they no longer desire life itself. At the slightest provocation, they consider me a god and fabricate their own will to act."

"Do you think I want to become their god? No, I just want to use them to control Krypton."

"But if they want a god, then after I control Krypton, becoming Krypton's god is not out of the question." 

Hearing H'el's words, Jor-El knew that there was no hope left for his son. He sighed with relief and said, "I am grateful that I discovered all of this while you were preparing everything and could send you into space."