Chapter 275: Weak

The meditation chamber was dimly lit, with lights mimicking the flickering of oil lamps, casting shadows across H'el's chiseled features.

The traversal vortex slowly rotated in the air, its center shrouded in darkness, emanating a sense of imminent danger that made H'el uneasy.

"The world on the other side poses a deadly threat to me," H'el muttered, his expression cautious and solemn as he furrowed his brow and stared at the vortex.

He could feel an intense reaction within his body whenever he considered stepping into the vortex. Every cell seemed to transform into a sharp needle, piercing his bones, platelets, marrow cells, and nerves. His heart raced, and his blood surged like a raging river through his veins. His innate self-defense mechanisms activated, causing his eyes to flicker with a unique psychic glow, vibrating intensely.

His hair stood on end, his shoulders stiffened, and every warning signal of danger flared up within him.

H'el was instantly on alert. The world beyond was evidently hostile to him.

But what puzzled H'el was what kind of world could trigger such an overwhelming sense of mortal danger.

"Is it a world so chaotic that I'd be crushed by the environment the moment I step in?" he pondered. "Or is it a world entirely controlled by intelligent beings that do not permit any other life forms?"

He knew he couldn't figure it out just by thinking.

This world was different from the previous universes he had entered. In those, he never felt such a strong sense of peril, and often, there was no danger at all—almost like beginner's luck.

"Has my lucky streak ended?" he wondered. Even in the Transformers universe, where the planet-devouring Unicron resided, he didn't feel a threat to this extent. Nor did he feel it during his battle with Darkseid.

Of course, compared to an entire universe, an individual's power hardly posed a threat to H'el.

"My physical body can't enter this universe. I would be annihilated in moments."

H'el contemplated various solutions.

The world might be extremely dangerous, but intelligence sometimes trumps brute force.

"Zero, completely seal off the meditation chamber. No one is allowed to enter. I might need to enter a period of deep meditation. Handle all matters in my absence."

"Understood, Master," Zero responded.

The door of the meditation chamber began to close with a solid, seamless barrier of atomic steel, followed by the deployment of a superconducting energy shield, enveloping the entire room.

The chamber was now sealed airtight, becoming the highest security zone, designated by Zero as a place of utmost importance.

Even if the entire New Krypton were to be destroyed, and H'el's companions—Athena, Ceri, Kalu, and the various New Kryptonian legions—were all killed in an attack, Zero would still defend the meditation chamber.

Everything about H'el was contained within this chamber.

After ensuring that Zero had set up all the defenses, H'el took a couple of steps back, sitting on the meditation platform. He placed his legs up on it, lying back so that his spine rested along the platform, and his head touched the cool surface. He closed his eyes, relaxed his body, and began to breathe deeply, calming the physical warnings he had felt about the universe on the other side of the traversal vortex.

An ethereal form of H'el, like a spirit leaving its body, rose from his physical form lying on the platform.

This was a mental projection.

With his will and psychic power, H'el's mental body could survive without his physical form.

Using his psychic powers to manipulate matter, H'el could easily recreate a new physical body if needed.

Moreover, if his mental body were to be destroyed, it wouldn't harm his physical form; at most, he would lose a significant portion of his recoverable psychic power.

This was the safest approach.

H'el glanced back at his physical body, noting his own sharp and handsome features as he lay in a state of minimal consumption.

He then turned his gaze to the traversal vortex. This new universe, which felt so dangerous, was not suitable for bringing along his black battle suit and physical body.

Rising from the meditation platform, his mental form—barefoot and unclothed—stepped toward the vortex.

As he approached, a prickling sensation surged through his mental form from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, like Tom in "Tom and Jerry" when shocked, causing his entire body to bristle with spikes.

'Is it still too powerful?' H'el halted his steps.

Even without the immense stellar energy of his physical body, his psychic-powered mental form was still strong enough that the universe on the other side would crush him the moment he entered.

H'el extended his hand towards his body lying on the meditation platform. A stream of psychic energy shot from his palm, merging into his physical form.

He began to gauge and test how much he needed to weaken his power to avoid being detected by the other universe, ensuring he could enter without triggering a lethal response.

The energy level of H'el's mental body gradually decreased.

From a power capable of destroying a star, it was reduced step by step to:

- A single blow to destroy the Earth.

- Two blows to destroy the Earth.

- Three blows to destroy the Earth.

- Four blows to destroy the Earth.

- ...

- Destroying the surface continents.

- Surviving a nuclear blast.

- Surviving an intercontinental missile.

- Surviving an armor-piercing round.

- Surviving an AK-47.

- Surviving an M9 handgun.

- Being able to fight off a fully grown tiger.

Until it reached the strength of an average office worker who couldn't even take on a tiger.

Only then did the last remnants of the danger warnings completely dissipate.

H'el's mental body became so ethereal it appeared as a faint projection in the meditation room, flickering and almost invisible to the naked eye.

"This is too weak. Weaker than an average healthy person."

H'el frowned, lowered his palm from his physical body on the meditation platform, and looked at the traversal vortex.

He felt his mental body had been reduced to its bare minimum, incapable of influencing or manipulating other minds.

Since his exile from Krypton, this was the weakest he had ever felt.

H'el took a step and entered the traversal vortex.

The moment he walked in, he felt a blackness envelop his vision, and he lost consciousness. Just before he blacked out, he sensed his mental body shrinking, and some form of energy beginning to construct a physical body around his psyche.

The traversal vortex slowly disappeared from the meditation room.

°°°

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