For the first time in history,

The sun went black.

Not eclipsed.

Not hidden behind smoke or warships.

It was gone.

The sky was pitch black.

Earth was dying.

And in that silence,

The true war began.

Superman Awakens The Impossible Savior

Superman's eyes flickered open.

His chest still hurt from the wound Imperium had inflicted.

His body was still weak.

But he was alive.

And someone had rescued him.

He looked up.

And saw a figure standing over him.

A figure bathed in golden light.

"You're not finished yet, Kal-El."

Superman's breath caught.

He knew that voice.

"No…"

The figure knelt beside him, eyes burning like twin stars.

"You always fight alone," the figure said softly. "But not this time."

Superman's hands shook.

Because this was impossible.

The man in front of him was dead.

Had been dead for years.

Yet here he was.

Jor-El.

His father.

The Celestial's First Strike

On Earth, the Failsafe hung suspended in the sky, its existence the only thing preventing the planet from collapsing in upon itself.

Below, Omni-Man and Mark gazed upwards, agog.

"What… the devil is occurring?" Mark breathed.

Omni-Man's hand on his son's shoulder clamped tight.

The Celestial's face swung towards the Failsafe.

It spoke, though not in words, but in power.

A voice that shook the atoms of existence itself.

"You were not intended to be awakened."

The failsafe didn't blink.

His voice was serene, absolute.

"And yet, here I am."

The Celestial lifted a solitary hand.

And struck.

The Battle of Gods

The whole universe shook.

The Celestial's attack was not gentle. Not energy.

It was something beyond the capabilities of human minds.

Something that shouldn't be.

Something that no being should be able to survive.

But the failsafe held fast.

A shield of fire and energy exploded around him, meeting the oncoming force.

The impact was so immense that whole galaxies were broken apart in the distance.

On Earth, the League realized it.

Batman's fists clenched. "That wasn't an explosion."

Cyborg's voice trembled. "No. It was a rewrite."

Flash gulped. "Of what?"

Cyborg's scanners flashed erratically.

"Of everything."

The energy wave was not only tearing apart.

It was rewriting reality.

And if the failsafe failed?

Then nothing—not Earth, but everything—would no longer be.

Imperium's Breaking Point

Imperium, suspended in the emptiness, watched in terror.

He had been conquering for centuries.

He had never lost a war.

He had slain gods.

But now, he felt insignificant.

Small.

He tightened his fists.

"This is wrong," he whispered. "This was never meant to occur."

A voice spoke in his mind.

"You were merely a pawn, Imperium."

He stiffened.

The voice belonged to the Celestial.

Imperium's hands trembled.

For the first time,

He knew he was nothing.

And then

The Celestial shifted its attention toward him.

Imperium hardly had a chance to respond before

A ray of pure blackness enveloped him.

He didn't even get time to scream.

When the light died away,

Imperium was no more.

Vanished.

As if he had never been there.

Mark stood there in awe.

"He… just…"

Omni-Man took a breath.

"That's what happens when you mess with powers beyond your comprehension."

Then he caught Mark by the shoulder.

"And that's why we need to move. NOW."

The League's Last Move: The Failsafe's True Power

The Failsafe clenched his fists.

"You want to unmake this reality," he breathed, eyes fixed on the Celestial.

"But you are forgetting one thing."

The Celestial did not blink.

The failsafe was gone.

Then

BOOM.

He punched right through the Celestial's chest.

The shock ripped through the universe itself.

Whole dimensions exploded like shattering glass.

The Celestial reeled.

For the first time,

It was in pain.

Then it spoke, its voice ringing through all of existence.

"Ahh. I see."

Mark held his breath.

"What? What does it see?"

Batman's voice over the comms.

"The Failsafe isn't a weapon."

Silence.

Then Batman uttered words that ran a cold shiver down every hero who remained standing.

"He's a prisoner."

Mark's heart fell.

Omni-Man was stunned.

The Failsafe spun around, his blazing eyes fixing on Batman via the Watchtower's feed.

Then

He grinned.

"You finally realized it."

And then

He turned on them.

The failsafe shifted.

His aura, once golden and afire with holy anger, darkened.

The League stood frozen.

The Celestial's giant form stiffened.

And then

It laughed.

Low. Resonating.

Something that had never occurred before.

Mark's fists clenched.

"Wait, what's happening?!"

Superman, still suspended in the void, finally realized.

His eyes went wide.

"No… NO!"

The Failsafe faced the Celestial.

And then

He knelt.

His voice was serene.

"I have served my purpose."

Then

He extended his hand.

And Earth began to fold in on itself.

The Moment the Universe Shattered

The sky was black.

Not like night. Not like space.

It was emptiness.

Like the very idea of light had been extinguished.

The Earth shook as gravity warped in impossible ways.

Oceans were lifted into the air, curling into spirals of suspended water.

Mountains collapsed, reforming into jagged, unnatural peaks.

The planet itself was being rewritten.

Mark groaned to his feet, his body screaming in agony.

He looked at Omni-Man, who stood staring at the sky with an unreadable face.

"Dad," Mark gasped, his voice raw. "What the hell is going on?"

Omni-Man didn't respond.

Because he didn't know.

Then

A whisper coursed through the world.

Not a sound. A thought.

A voice so old it had no beginning.

"Your world is not your own."

Mark stood still.

The words were not in English.

They were not in Viltrumite.

But he knew them.

Because the voice was not talking to his ears.

It was talking to his soul.

The Failsafe Moves: The Godkiller Awakens

Floating above them, the Failsafe hung silently.

A creature of pure energy, born from the combined wisdom of Kryptonians, Martians, and Amazons.

His golden armor vibrated, changing as if it were a living thing.

His white-hot eyes fixed on the Celestial.

"You do not belong here," he stated.

The Celestial's head cocked.

Its void-like presence stretched across the sky, blocking out everything.

"Neither do you," it growled.

Then

The Celestial moved.

It didn't strike.

It was erased.

With a mere motion, space itself folded inward.

The very laws of existence warped toward nothingness.

And the Failsafe was no more.

Mark's heart stopped.

"What the"

Then

BOOOOM.

A golden explosion ripped through the void.

The Failsafe returned.

Untouched.

Unshaken.

Unstoppable.

He raised a lone hand.

And struck the Celestial.

The blow was beyond force.

Beyond physics.

Planets exploded in distant galaxies.

Nebulae were crushed.

The universe itself trembled.

For the first time

The Celestial reeled.

Superman's Rescue: The Impossible Savior

Superman barely clung to consciousness.

His body floated in the emptiness, his chest wound oozing glowing red blood.

His heart was faltering.

He was dying.

Then

A hand closed around his wrist.

A brilliant golden glow enveloped him.

He barely had the strength to open his eyes.

And when he did

His breath caught.

Because the figure that held him

The one who had rescued him

Was Jor-El.

His father.

Standing over him. Whole. Alive.

Impossible.

Superman's mouth opened. "Dad…?"

Jor-El smiled gently.

"Not quite."

Then

Superman's body erupted in golden flame.

And his heart began beating once more.

Stronger.

Faster.

Like some ancient thing within him was coming to life.

Like something beyond Kryptonian.

Then

His eyes burst open.

And they blazed with golden flames.

Imperium's Horror: The Truth Revealed

Imperium watched the conflict unfold.

Witnessing as the Failsafe exchanged blows with a Celestial.

Witnessing as reality itself began to come apart.

And he knew.

This was no war.

This was not a matter of conquest.

This was a matter of erasure.

And he was in the way.

For the first time in his life, Imperium wanted to run.

Then

The Celestial turned its head.

And stared straight at him.

Imperium's blood ran cold.

"No," he breathed.

The Celestial's huge, boundless voice boomed.

"We have no use for broken things."

Then

Imperium screamed.

And disappeared.

Erased from existence.

As if he had never existed.

Mark and Omni-Man stood frozen in horror.

"Did he just?" Mark gagged.

Omni-Man's voice trembled.

"He's gone."

And for the very first time ever… Omni-Man sounded scared.

The Failsafe and the Celestial fought again, their war burning beyond time and space.

Superman, reborn in the fire of gold, woke up.

Mark, alongside his father, realized that they were utterly helpless against what was to come.

And then

The Celestial uttered one final word.

And it wasn't talking to them.

It was talking to something else.

Something worse.

"The last world resists."

A silence.

Then

"Unleash the Endbringer."

And then

The Earth split open.

A black hand bigger than cities ripped itself from the core.

And everything was reduced to ash.

The instant the sun dimmed, the universe itself was holding its breath.

All life on Earth, from the shattered heroes to the final frightened civilians—looked up and saw it.

The sky was not right.

The stars were extinguished.

The world was submerged in pure, unadulterated blackness.

And at its center

The Celestial stirred.

It was not swift. It did not have to be.

Its very presence warped space and time, redefining reality with every step.

Mark's stomach churned.

This wasn't like battling Omni-Man.

This wasn't like battling Viltrumites, or Xyron, or Imperium.

This was different.

Something that didn't belong.

Then

It spoke.

"The harvest begins."

And the world cried out in terror.

Superman's Salvation

Superman should have died.

The cut in his chest was deep.

His body lacked air. Strength.

He was plummeting into the void.

And yet

Something was restraining him.

Something burning with light of gold.

Superman's eyes opened.

And he saw a face he never expected to see again.

A face that shouldn't be there.

Superman's breath caught.

"Jor-El?"

The man holding him, his father, the one who had banished him from Krypton so many years before, smiled.

But his eyes blazed with something more.

Something ancient.

Something older than Krypton.

His voice was steady.

"Not quite."

Then

Superman's body burst into flames of gold.

And the sun flared to life.

The Failsafe vs. The Celestial

The moment the sun flared back to power, the failsafe stirred.

He sprinted at the Celestial, fists afire, eyes fixed on the target.

He had no second thoughts.

No fear.

For he was created for this.

He hit.

The blow exploded the heavens.

The Celestial stumbled back.

The first time it had ever been shoved.

It turned its head, a slight tilt.

Then

It spoke once more.

"You are incomplete."

Failsafe's gaze narrowed.

And the Celestial lifted its hand.

Failsafe's body halted midair.

The League stared in terror.

Even Imperium's face contorted in shock.

Failsafe tried, but he couldn't move.

Then

The Celestial folded its fingers.

Failsafe's whole body exploded apart.

Like glass.

The League gazed in horror.

The Failsafe, their final hope, was lost.

And the Celestial hadn't even attempted.

Batman's fists clenched.

"No."

Mark vs. Imperium—The Final Betrayal

Mark's blood was raging.

Everything was going to be lost.

He spun, gazing at Imperium, the warlord who had begun it all.

"You," Mark snarled, advancing. "You were scared of that thing. What is it?!"

Imperium didn't reply.

Mark's fury burst.

"Tell me!"

He seized Imperium by the armor.

And Imperium's fist went into his stomach.

CRACK.

Mark gagged on blood.

The punch punched through him like a spear, sending him sliding back, shattering concrete and steel.

Omni-Man's eyes blazed. "Mark!"

Mark gasped for air.

He looked up at Imperium, dazed.

"You"

Imperium's expression was serene.

Frosty.

"You are in my way."

Then

He stepped aside.

Omni-Man cut him off.

The two met in midair, shockwaves ripping across the battlefield.

A final fight had commenced.

Superman Returns—and He's Not the Same

High above, deep in space, Superman's eyes opened.

His body was not the same.

His suit was different tissue woven with golden energy, crackling with a power he did not comprehend.

His injury was erased.

He could sense the sun within him burning hotter than ever.

He had been something more than rescued.

He had been reborn.

And he knew what he had to do.

Superman turned toward the Celestial.

His fingers curled into fists.

He shot forward.

Faster than he had ever moved before.

The world blazed beneath him.

And as he flew

He whispered to himself.

"I'm not done yet."

Then

He collided with the Celestial.

The impact shook the universe.

For the first time, the Celestial reacted.

It tilted its head, acknowledging Superman.

Mark watched from the battlefield, his breath catching.

"No way."

Omni-Man hardly had time to look up before Superman's attack propelled the Celestial back.

The sky ruptured.

The sun burned hotter than ever.

And then

The Celestial's jaws opened.

A silent, incomprehensible energy wave burst from them.

Superman was devoured whole.

And then

He was lost.

The League stood frozen.

Mark looked on in horror.

Omni-Man's breath caught.

Batman's eyes went wide.

Wonder Woman shook her head. "No…"

And then

The Celestial said a final word.

"Kal-El has been unmade."

Then the planet started to shatter apart.