As Verlin journeyed through the cosmos, he thought about the technology the aliens had. They were able to successfully sneak up on him and avoid his detection even after he had carefully inspected the entire electromagnetic spectrum.

Not to mention they managed to teleport their gargantuan spaceship several light years away. Even though he had issues with the Coratians, Verlin found it quite impressive. He himself had thought about ways to teleport and had some success. But what he had in mind was similar to the teleporter used by the enhanced humans. Using an anchor in a fixed point in space to move from one place to another.

But the aliens were able to teleport to a distance location without the need for a predetermined anchor point. This was beyond the knowledge of his current understanding. The base scientific information and theories he had acquired from earth didn't even give the slightest clues on how that was possible.

Fortunately, He had taken a look at their ship and would be able to remake their technology as long as he re-made an exact copy down to the minutest detail. And if he couldn't find a way to reverse engineer their technology, he would just have to find the god seeds and leave the planet; if it came to that, he could only hope they left the Earth alone.

Verlin kept his eyes on Earth, even from here he could see, the vibrant blue and green hues of the planet, a speck of vivid color against the dark canvas of space. As he hurtled towards it, Verlin's vision allowed him to observe the minute details of life on Earth, even when he was light years away he could still see everything in real time. He could see that the humans were still at war, almost like they didn't notice they were a hairs breadth away from mass extinction.

Even with his dissatisfaction he still had to watch normal life activity on earth. If he kept flying in isolation, with his perception of time, the 22 days could be extended to several millenias.

As time went by, Verlin watched from the distance as the pyramid of solitude left Earth's atmosphere and traveled through the inner solar system before returning back to Earth. Knowing it was Desna and Chloe that were probably looking for him.

Verlin kept moving at a constant speed, and every so often he would look around the solar system, just to make sure the aliens hadn't yet returned. Eventually after days of non- stop flying he reached the solar system.

Finally feeling the sun's rays after days of travel through the dark void of space, Verlin embraced the warmth and energy it provided. Even though he was only 7 light years way from the solar system. It was his first time being so far from everything. It would be a lie if he were to say he wasn't scared. In fact he was terrified, a couple months ago his top speed had just barely reached the speed of light.

If the Coratians had attacked him then, it would have taken him 7 whole years just to get back. And that was if he had survived the attack, and judging by how badly he was hurt. He would have probably died if he was hit with that sort of attack a couple months ago. This thought quickly turned his happiness from returning into subtle anger.

Verlin raced passed the outer planets and slowed down his speed when he approached the asteroid belt. He flew past mars and Earth and went straight for the sun. Being deprived of it for days now, he realized he wasn't at full power when he woke up in the Alien ship. Hovering just thousands of kilometers from the sun's blazing surface, Verlin absorbed its potent rays. The warmth and energy enveloped him, seeping into his cells, recharging his Kryptonian abilities to their peak. It was rejuvenating, like a parched land welcoming a rainstorm.

After some time basking in the sun's energy, Verlin turned his attention back to Earth. He didn't know how much longer he had before the aliens returned. Since time was uncertain he had to get prepared as soon as possible.

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He left the soft embrace of the sun and headed straight towards earth, and before long he entered the planet's atmosphere. After being in absolute silence for so long , all the sounds he usually considered noise didn't sound so unpleasant in his ear. Verlin stayed in the upper atmosphere for a while before going down to where the pyramid of solitude was kept.

As he went descended he could feel the slight warmth of re-entry and watched as his surroundings cooled as he flew through the Arctic. He quickly reached the entrance of the pyramid, and the door automatically slid open upon detection of his arrival. Verlin floated in and noticed that the pyramid stayed the exact same as it was when he left. He heard the doors of the control center open up and saw Chloe rushing towards him.

As Chloe approached, Verlin could see a mix of relief and guilt in her eyes. "You're back! We were so worried," she exclaimed, her voice a blend of joy and concern as she enveloped Verlin in a bear hug.

Verlin returned the hug with a smile on his face, "I know, Chloe. I know."

"We tried to find you, but after that thing attacked you, it suddenly dissapeared and we lost all traces. We thought you had died." Chloe said as her eyes brimmed with tears.

She continued, " You were right, I should have listened to you."

Verlin gently reassured her, "Chloe, it's not your fault. We were dealing with an enemy with technology so advanced, even I can't understand it. Not to mention, its partly my fault, there were other ways to deal with Phobos, but I was overconfident and thought nothing could hurt me. I guess we were both wrong."

Chloe let go of Verlin as she wiped her tears, " You should probably put some clothes on."

"Right," Verlin said, momentarily taken aback by the mundane yet necessary reminder. "I almost forgot my clothes got atomized by the attack, give me a minute."

Verlin moved to get some spare clothing in a seperate room. When he returned to the control center, he could see Desna's physical body standing idly on the side. While Chloe was sitting in one of the pods.

"Welcome back, Verlin," Desna said

Verlin nodded, " Its good to be back."

"I apologize for not being able to react in time," Desna continued, his neutral voice reflecting regret. " Before we could do anything the enemy ship disappeared completely from detectable range. We could only hope you would make it back eventually."

Verlin shook his head slightly, a gesture of understanding. "Desna, there's no need to apologize. I know what the pyramid is capable of. When I regained conciousness we were already several light years away. There was nothing you could have done."

Desna hummed back in response. "I understand."

"Do you know who or what they are?" Chloe asked

"Im not sure, I know what they look like. I also know what they are after. Do you by any chance know what a god seed is?"

Chloe shook her head, "No, I've never heard that term before."

"Well, that was one of the things they mentioned."

Chloe gave it a thought before saying, " I might not know what it is but Alexander might have heard about it."

"Can you contact him and ask?" Verlin suggested

Chloe nodded eagerly, "I'll contact him right away, but it might be better I go there in person. I haven't left the pyramid in 2 weeks."

Verlin concurred, "Sounds good, let me know if there is any info on them."

After Chloe left for her meeting with Alexander, Verlin went to the data board, and made schematics and diagrams of the ship that captured him ,focusing on capturing every intricate detail he could recall.

After he was done, he turned to Desna and said, " I've remade the exact image of what the ship looks like from the biggest part, down to the smallest component. Try to identify any unknown materials or technologies in these designs. If you can't identify, formulate theories on how they work."

Desna immediately began processing the detailed schematics. The screens around Verlin lit up with complex diagrams and calculations. "Alright, I will cross-reference the designs with our existing database for any matches or anomalies,"

While Desna was occupied, Verlin's thoughts turned to his next move. He decided to visit Venus again, not only to get materials recreate the alien technology, but this time to make a suit of armor. Something to provide him with extra levels of protection. He knows better than to underestimate his enemies now.

" Desna, I'll be heading to Venus to prepare the materials needed to construct the new tech. Ensure you have the analysis of the alien ship's technology ready by the time I return. "

"You're leaving so soon?" Desna inquired

Verlin nodded, " I don't know how much time we have have left before they returned. We need to be prepared as soon as possible."

"I understand, be careful on your travels." Desna replied, its voice echoing a sense of concern.

"I will." Verlin responded as he once again left the pyramid and took off into space. The last time he had gone to Venus it had taken him nearly 5 hours to complete the journey. Now that he was much faster and the distance between Venus and Earth was now almost the shortest it could be, the trip only took a few dozen seconds.

Looking at Venus that had been ravaged by his previous experiment, fortunately the chaotic environment from before had stabilized, and now Venus has its own pair of proud rings like Saturn. Albeit the atmosphere was still being mostly diminished making it more impossible to host life. On the bright side, the lack of atmosphere meant he could get unfiltered sunlight directly from the sun.

Verlin passed by Venus' ring and down into the surface of the planet, the first thing he would make is the armor, and knowing that the kryptonium from before wouldnt add much protection for him. Even he can now easily bend and twist kryptonium like steel. He would have to make a new version crafted by his new strength, it will be named kryptonium V2.