Faora stared at Wanda.
When the knock came at her door, a faint look of anticipation flickered across her face. She thought it would be Lorien, but to her disappointment, it wasn't.
"What are you doing here?"
Even after all these years, Faora still held some resentment toward Wanda. After all, this woman had once pinned her to the ground and nearly smashed her skull open. To Faora, Wanda was nothing but a violent brute.
What she failed to see was that she herself had no right to speak that way—because she too was violent.
"We've sheltered you long enough. Back then, we had our reasons for keeping you here, but now it's time for you to leave."
Wanda never bothered with tact. She spoke bluntly.
Faora's expression darkened instantly, her fingers digging into her palms until it hurt.
"Is this Lorien's decision? He's the one sending me away, isn't he?"
"Not exactly. This is the conclusion we came to together. We have no obligation to care for you. And honestly, after all these years of being under watch, I'm sure you're tired of it too. We all know you've been searching for something.
Now that you can leave, won't you be able to search for it more freely? What is there to be unhappy about?"
But Faora was anything but satisfied. She didn't want to leave.
Still, she refused to argue here and make herself look pathetic. She pressed her lips together firmly.
There wasn't much in this house that belonged to her.
"I'll leave now."
She gathered only her battle armor, changed into it, and paused briefly. When the person in the other room never came out, she stepped away and left the house.
She hadn't been inside long, yet now she walked alone through the night.
For the first time, she didn't know where to go. For the first time, she felt lost.
Once, her every thought, every fiber of her being, had been fixed on finding that one thing. Every cell in her body had screamed at her to pursue it.
Now she knew exactly who held it. She should go to Clark Kent. But the thought of harming him made her hesitate.
What would Lorien think? That thought alone kept her from acting.
Faora! How can you allow yourself to be so merciful?
This cannot be tolerated!
After wrestling with herself, Faora's expression hardened again.
She had been wavering before—doubting whether her actions were right or wrong, fearing they might provoke Lorien's displeasure. But now that she had been cast out, there was nothing left to hesitate over.
She had to complete her mission.
With that conviction, she quickly set off in Clark Kent's direction.
...
Not long after Faora left, Gwen carried a cup of tea into the room for Lorien.
When she looked at him, her expression held a trace of confusion.
"Why didn't you send Faora away earlier? Why choose this moment?"
Gwen truly couldn't understand. To her, Lorien seemed to have done this deliberately.
After all, she and Wanda had brought it up many times in the past, but Lorien had never responded. Sometimes he even said outright that he wouldn't drive Faora out for the time being.
If not for his attitude back then, she and Wanda might have sent Faora away in the very first year.
"Because the time is almost upon us."
Lorien licked his dry lips and smiled faintly. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, giving him an air of quiet satisfaction.
"The time is almost here. What time do you mean?"
Gwen felt increasingly lost by his words.
Lorien took the tea and sipped it.
As the bitterness spread across his tongue, his expression shifted—subtly, but unmistakably different.
"Faora is no simple woman. Her strength is far from weak, yet every time she fights Wanda, she ends up suppressed. She's been concealing her true power."
Of course, part of it was Wanda's attitude as well: "Since that woman insists on pretending, I'll just play along with her little act."
As Lorien spoke, there was a growing note of amusement in his voice. He had always known Faora had never truly abandoned her mission.
Gwen and Wanda, too, had some idea of what that mission was. It seemed to revolve around Clark Kent. They might not have realized it at first, but as time passed, the signs became clearer.
"That boy Clark won't be in danger, will he?"
A trace of worry flashed in Gwen's eyes.
"He'll be fine. This is part of his growth. If something really does go wrong, we'll show up before him—just as we've done before."
Lorien couldn't help but find the thought of Clark's astonished reaction amusing.
...
Just as Lorien sent Faora away, General Zod received her transmission.
"General, until now we'd had no word from the Deputy Commander, but we've finally made contact."
A soldier's voice carried unmistakable excitement.
Though Zod looked calm on the outside, inside he was just as shaken.
"What did her message say?"
"She's located the child from back then, and she's already marked the exact coordinates."
They had all expected the search to drag on much longer, yet things had gone surprisingly smoothly.
This group had been exiled to the Phantom Zone for an unimaginably long time. Since Krypton's destruction, led by General Zod, they had been consumed by the obsession of rebuilding their world.
"Since she's found him, then that object must also be within reach. We depart at once!"
To avoid any accidents, they needed to give Faora their full support.
They knew her progress had been impressive, but they couldn't ignore how long she'd gone silent after leaving the Phantom Zone. Clearly, she'd encountered problems on that planet.
No mistakes could be allowed. Not now.
This thought weighed on them all.
Among them, no one was more driven than General Zod himself. His obsession was the deepest of all.
"Faora has done exceptionally well this time."
If Krypton could be reborn, he would see to it that she held a place of great honor.