On this day, the mighty world of Krypton died.
For hundreds of thousands of years, the Kryptonian Empire had stood at the peak of civilization. Its history was written in conquest and exploration, stretching across star systems and living planets scattered through the cosmos. Every Kryptonian grew up knowing that their people had walked on tens of thousands of worlds, their ships cutting through the void as they mapped the infinite expanse of the universe.
Reconnaissance fleets traveled endlessly, spreading outward like ripples in an ocean. Their sensors scanned distant galaxies, cataloged unknown stars, and measured the vast width of space itself. To the Kryptonians, the universe had never been something to fear. It had always been something to conquer.
But even giants grow old.
Over time, the empire that once expanded without restraint became stagnant. The leaders of Krypton abandoned the age of expansion and chose instead to preserve what they had built. Exploration slowed, colonization halted, and the once-fearless civilization turned inward, bound by conservative policies and rigid traditions.
The empire that once dominated star systems slowly began to decay from within.
In the end, the planet itself paid the price. Krypton's core energy was drained dry after countless millennia of exploitation, and the world's resources were pushed beyond their limits. What had once powered a galactic civilization finally collapsed under its own exhaustion.
Then the inevitable happened.
Boom.
The entire star region began to fall apart.
The red sun that had nurtured generations of Kryptonians suddenly destabilized and erupted in a catastrophic explosion. A chain reaction of cosmic devastation followed, sweeping through the surrounding systems like an unstoppable storm.
The destruction was absolute.
Stars collapsed. Planets shattered. The once-glorious Kryptonian Empire vanished in a tide of fire and radiation that erased entire systems from existence.
When the catastrophe finally ended, the star field that had once held Krypton was nothing but silence.
An empire had disappeared.
Only a handful of survivors remained.
Some of those survivors would eventually become legends across the galaxy. One of them was a child who would later grow into a hero known throughout the universe: Clark Kent, the future Superman.
Another survivor was General Zod, the infamous Kryptonian commander who had once attempted rebellion against the Kryptonian government. For his crimes he had been sentenced to exile within the Phantom Zone, imprisoned along with a group of loyal soldiers.
Those names would echo across history.
But they were not the only ones who survived.
…..
Long before Krypton's destruction, a reconnaissance vessel had already been operating far beyond the empire's star field. While the homeworld collapsed under the weight of cosmic disaster, that ship remained safely outside the blast radius.
It never experienced the destruction.
It simply continued drifting through the darkness of space.
Sssss—
A burst of icy vapor filled the air as mechanical locks disengaged. Inside the vessel, rows of dormant pods slowly opened one by one, releasing the occupants who had spent years in suspended sleep.
The figures inside began to stir.
Interstellar travel was not a glamorous adventure. A mission that crossed vast sections of the universe could last decades, sometimes centuries, depending on distance and mission parameters. To make such journeys possible, most crews spent the majority of their time in cryogenic stasis.
Only after the ship returned from its long voyage would the crew awaken again.
Now, fifteen years after Krypton's destruction, the wandering reconnaissance vessel had finally completed its mission.
The sleepers were waking up.
"It's over… Krypton is gone. Everything is gone…"
The man speaking collapsed against the console as he held his head in his hands. Captain Edward, commander of the reconnaissance ship, stared at the reports flooding the central system and broke down in despair.
None of them had expected this.
The crew had entered stasis believing they would eventually return home to Krypton. Instead, the moment they awoke, they were greeted with news that their entire civilization had already been wiped out.
Silence spread through the command chamber.
There were eleven official members aboard the ship: the captain, his adjutant, three soldiers, two scientists, two engineers, and a medical officer. Each of them stared at the reports in stunned disbelief as the reality of the situation sank in.
Krypton was gone.
Their homeworld had been erased from the universe.
Yet as the crew slowly processed the devastating news, someone finally noticed something strange.
The number of people present didn't seem right.
There were twelve people standing in the chamber.
One of them didn't belong to the official roster.
The extra man scratched the back of his head in confusion as he looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. His expression carried a mix of disbelief and irritation.
"Damn… did I seriously transmigrate?"
…..
One month later, life aboard the interstellar battleship had settled into an uneasy routine.
Ethan Drake had gradually adapted to his new reality.
In his previous life, he had been the definition of a carefree rich kid. His family's wealth guaranteed a comfortable future, and his career path had always been smooth and predictable. Most of his spare time had been spent playing games or staying at home, happily embracing the life of a dedicated gaming nerd.
But everything changed the moment he woke up here.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself inside a completely different world—and inside the body of someone who happened to share his name.
"Spaceships, interstellar travel, the endless cosmos… honestly, this is pretty exciting."
Instead of panic, Ethan felt genuine curiosity.
During the past month, he had slowly pieced together the identity of the body he now inhabited. The original Ethan Drake had been a promising Kryptonian soldier, famous for his combat talent even during his teenage years. Because of that reputation, he had been assigned to this reconnaissance mission as part of the escort unit.
The moment Ethan realized the keyword "Krypton," his mind immediately connected the dots.
This universe clearly contained elements from DC.
But things became even stranger when he studied the star charts stored inside the ship's navigation database.
Several familiar names appeared among the recorded coordinates.
Sakaar.
Xandar.
The moment he saw those two planets listed in the system, Ethan suddenly understood the truth.
This universe wasn't just DC.
It was a combined Marvel and DC cosmology.
Sakaar was the gladiator world ruled by the Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnarok. Meanwhile, Xandar was the well-known neutral planet that frequently appeared throughout the Guardians of the Galaxy storyline.
Realizing that both of those planets existed here meant one thing.
This universe was extremely dangerous.
In a place where cosmic disasters and universe-shattering events happened almost casually, survival itself could become a serious challenge.
But Ethan wasn't particularly worried.
Because he had already discovered something that made him far more confident about his future.
"Oracle System."
Hum—
A faint vibration echoed inside his mind.
A translucent interface suddenly appeared before his consciousness, displaying a simple template.
Host: Ethan Drake.
Skills: Extraordinary Self-Healing LV1, Extraordinary Strength LV2, Extraordinary Defense LV3.
Ethan stared at the interface with barely contained excitement.
Back in his previous life, he had once been obsessed with a fantasy game. In order to defeat powerful bosses and obtain the legendary Pangu reward, he had actually written a small cheating program for himself.
The tool was extremely simple.
It didn't contain complicated attributes like agility, intelligence, or stamina. It didn't have complex menus or advanced systems either.
It had only one function.
Skills.
The cheat allowed him to instantly fill skill points and raise abilities without limit.
Now that exact system had somehow followed him into this world.
When Ethan looked more closely at the interface, he noticed something interesting. Behind the skill labeled "Extraordinary Self-Healing LV1," there was a small plus symbol.
A smile slowly appeared on his face.
He focused his thoughts and mentally pressed the button.
Ding.
"Extraordinary Self-Healing LV2."
It worked.
The moment the notification appeared, Ethan's heartbeat nearly jumped out of his chest. The cheat system he had created in his previous life was actually functioning here.
Without any hesitation, he pressed the button again.
Ding.
"Extraordinary Self-Healing LV3."
"Extraordinary Self-Healing LV4."
"Extraordinary Self-Healing LV5."
"Extraordinary Self-Healing LV6."
The levels climbed upward effortlessly.
Even though the process seemed easy, Ethan fully understood how terrifying these abilities actually were. Kryptonians were already one of the most powerful species in the universe, and their natural biology granted them incredible durability and regenerative power.
As an elite Kryptonian soldier, Ethan's base combat strength was already astonishing. His Extraordinary Defense at level three alone was enough to render most conventional weapons useless against him.
Bullets simply couldn't penetrate his skin.
At best, they might leave a faint scratch if he was unlucky.
The regenerative ability was even more frightening. Rapid wound healing was only the beginning. At higher levels, the power could regenerate damaged organs and even restore severed limbs.
Ethan didn't stop there.
After boosting his healing ability, he immediately turned his attention to the other two skills.
Ding.
"Extraordinary Defense LV4."
"Extraordinary Defense LV5."
"Extraordinary Defense LV6."
The notifications continued appearing as the levels increased.
Then he shifted to the final ability.
Ding.
"Extraordinary Strength LV3."
"Extraordinary Strength LV4."
"Extraordinary Strength LV5."
…