Chapter 3

Chapter 2: The Weight of Krypton

After the harrowing event in Gotham, Michael Harris found himself once again in the cosmic chamber, his conscience heavy with the lives he had altered – and ended. The god's voice, once a beacon of guidance, now resonated with a daunting echo. His next mission was clear yet unimaginably burdensome.

"In this altered universe, Krypton did not meet its destined end. You must ensure its destruction to pave the way for the rise of Superman," the god intoned.

With the weight of an entire planet on his shoulders, Michael stepped through the portal, emerging on Krypton. Unlike the comic book depictions, the reality was overwhelming. The planet was alive with vibrant colors, advanced technologies, and a bustling society of Kryptonians, all oblivious to their doomed fate.

Michael's task was to destabilize Krypton's core, the very act that would lead to its destruction. The cosmic amulet he bore guided him towards Krypton's main energy facility, a colossal structure pulsating with the power that fueled the entire planet.

As he infiltrated the facility, Michael's heart sank. He was about to annihilate a civilization. He wrestled with the morality of his task – was the creation of Superman worth the death of millions?

Navigating through the facility, Michael located the central control room. He had to initiate a chain reaction that would destabilize the core, ensuring the planet's end. The technology was alien, but the amulet aided him, its energy interfacing with the Kryptonian systems.

With a heavy heart, he began the sequence. Alarms blared throughout the facility as the core became increasingly unstable. Michael watched in horror as Kryptonians scrambled to respond to the crisis. His heart ached with every panicked face, every cry of confusion.

As the core's instability reached a critical point, Michael was abruptly transported back to the cosmic chamber. He couldn't see the destruction he had set in motion, but his imagination painted a haunting picture – cities crumbling, families torn apart, a world dying.

The god's voice echoed, "You have done what was necessary. Kal-El will now become Superman, a symbol of hope for Earth."

But Michael felt anything but victorious. He had become an instrument of death on a cosmic scale. The burden of his actions was a heavy shackle, chaining him to an unbearable guilt.

As he pondered the gravity of his actions, the amulet pulsed once more, signaling another mission. But Michael's thoughts lingered on Krypton. Among the millions he had condemned, he knew that two survived – Kal-El and Kara Zor-El, sent to Earth in hopes of a better life.

He realized then that his role was not just to create heroes but to shape entire destinies through unimaginable sacrifices. Each action he took was a thread in the complex tapestry of these universes, each thread necessary but fraught with moral ambiguity.

Standing in the cosmic chamber, Michael understood the enormity of his journey. He was a keeper of destinies, a catalyst for heroes born from tragedy. As he braced himself for the next mission, he couldn't help but wonder – in his quest to save universes, how much of his own humanity would he lose?

The chapter closed with Michael stepping through another portal, his figure silhouetted against the cosmic backdrop, a lone man carrying the weight of worlds on his shoulders.

Michael stood in the cosmic chamber, his mind a tumultuous sea. The echoes of Krypton's impending doom resonated within him, each reverberation a reminder of the harrowing task he had just undertaken. He thought of the Kryptonians, their lives unknowingly ticking towards a cataclysmic end. Among them, Jor-El and Lara, parents to Kal-El, were perhaps initiating plans to save their son.

"I am forging heroes at the expense of entire worlds," Michael whispered to the void of the chamber. "Is this the price of a greater good?"

As if in response, the god's voice filled the space, its tone more empathetic yet firm. "Your actions, while painful, are necessary. You are the unseen hand guiding universes back to their rightful course."

But Michael struggled with this justification. He was shaping destinies, yes, but at what moral cost? He thought of young Kal-El, who would grow up on Earth as the last son of a lost world, carrying a legacy he would never fully know.

"Am I a savior or a destroyer?" Michael questioned aloud, his voice barely a whisper.

The chamber shifted, presenting Michael with his next task. He was to travel to a world where the Green Lantern Corps never existed. Here, he had to ensure that the fateful crash of Abin Sur's spacecraft occurred, leading to Hal Jordan becoming the first human Green Lantern.

Stepping through the portal, Michael arrived on Earth, near Coast City, just in time to witness the crash of Abin Sur's ship. Hidden in the shadows, he watched as Hal Jordan, a test pilot, approached the crash site, drawn by a strange, compelling force – the ring choosing its bearer.

Michael observed as the dying Abin Sur passed on the ring to Hal, entrusting him with the immense responsibility of a Green Lantern. As Hal accepted the ring, a sense of awe and uncertainty crossed his face, a reflection of the monumental change his life was about to undergo.

Michael felt a kinship with Hal in that moment – both thrust into roles larger than themselves, both guardians in their own right, albeit in vastly different ways.

Returning to the cosmic chamber, Michael's mind was awash with the faces of those he had impacted. Bruce Wayne, now an orphan; Kal-El, destined to be the last of his kind; Hal Jordan, bearing a cosmic responsibility. Each a hero forged through loss and circumstance.

"How many more lives must I alter? How many more paths must I redirect?" Michael pondered, his soul heavy with the burden of his actions.

The god's voice, ever-present, sought to offer solace. "You are the architect of heroes, Michael. Your actions bring balance and restore order to these universes."

But Michael found little comfort in these words. He was caught in a moral labyrinth, each turn presenting a new ethical dilemma. He was shaping a pantheon of heroes, but at the cost of his own inner peace.

As the chamber revealed the next portal, Michael steeled himself. He was the chosen one, tasked with an unimaginable duty. With each universe he set right, he hoped to find redemption, both for himself and for the lives he had irrevocably altered.

Stepping through the next portal, Michael left behind the echoes of Krypton, the newly burdened Hal Jordan, and the countless lives he had touched. He carried with him the hope that, in the end, his actions would be justified, that the heroes he forged would bring light to worlds shrouded in darkness.

Yet, as the portal closed behind him, a lingering question haunted him: "In creating heroes, what do I become?"