Welcome to the planet

A quiet hum filled the scout ship, deep beneath the ocean. Kalar was focused inwards today, preparing to deliver Tor Od into his new life. A pang of sadness accompanied the anticipation. For an estimated sixteen years, it would be secluded within the ship, developing the artificial dantian for Tor Od. Kalar had spent decades on this journey, little Tor never truly away from it no matter where it was on the ship. It was comforting. But now, it was time to take the next step. Kai and Mei were a perfect choice, it knew that. The time to execute was now.

With a whisper, Kalar moved swiftly to a console and initiated the Somatic Conditioning program. Images, information, and basic instincts flooded the baby's nascent consciousness – martial arts, knowledge of the Origin Isles and their powers, survival skills, and the ability to read and write. Critically, Kalar instilled the understanding that the cultivation techniques practised on this planet wouldn't work for him.

This knowledge, however, was not to manipulate or shape him. It was a mere seed. He would grow up with the freedom to choose his own destiny, with the knowledge coming to him as he needed it.

Next, Kalar's metallic tendrils, reformed from the makeshift probes it had recalled from the surface, shifted and morphed into a cradle and delivery vehicle. It would be filled with the same liquid used in the stasis pods, mitigating the crushing pressures the little vehicle would endure on the way up. 

Next, with practised efficiency, Kalar began preparing Tor Od's "gifts." The first was a small, spherical construct. It pulsed with a faint blue light, a sign of its nascent intelligence. This "bracelet," as Kalar envisioned it, was more than just an ornament. It possessed enough awareness to monitor Tor Od and act as a limited form of defence if the child encountered any danger. It wouldn't be a complete shield, but it was the best Kalar could offer given the constraints.

The second gift held a far greater significance. A sleek, black pendant materialized from the command console. Its cross-section, shaped like a pentagonal shield, hung from a fine chain of the same material. This was the ship's command key. With this quantumly entangled pendant, Tor Od, no matter his circumstance, could access the scout ship. It lacked the ornate house sigils Kryptonian society revered, for there was no House of Od. But Kalar, in a moment of inspiration, etched a small sun onto its surface. A symbol of hope, a reminder of Tor Od's origins and the potential that burned within him.

The final gift, the artificial dantian, would take years to refine. But Kalar was patient. It had the time, and more importantly, the unwavering determination to see this through. This gift, unlike the others, would only be bestowed upon Tor Od when he was truly ready. When the boy's heart brimmed with an unyielding desire for power, the artificial dantian would be his to claim.

___

Somewhere above the busy Kalar, the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the churning ocean in hues of orange and crimson. Surrounded by violent whisps of emerald energy, Elder Wu, his jade robes whipping in the salty wind, glared across the waves. He had finally found that cur of a dog, Captain Jin! The drums of war were already echoing across the Isles and Elder Wu had thought to take his revenge on the battlefield. But by some strange compulsion, he found himself here, practically running into the object of his hate! 

Captain Jin of the Skyborn Clan, floated above the ocean, his aura calm and unyielding. He had hoped to claim merit on the battlefield but this exasperating old fool just couldn't wait!

"Captain Jin," Elder Wu's voice was a rasp, rawer than the ocean wind. "Did you really think you would go unpunished after snuffing out the brightest light of the Jade Lotus?"

Jin scoffed, a cold glint in his steely gaze. "Elder Wu, respectfully, watch your words. Your precious disciple's demise was unfortunate, but that is the path of cultivation. At your age, someone should have taught you this by now."

"Dog!" Elder Wu thundered, "You don't deny it then?"

"Elder Wu", Jin said, "I already gave your sect an explanation and your sect master was satisfied. Are you sure you, a lowly Mission Hall elder, are qualified to throw away his face like that?"

"Good, Good, Good! Tell me... Do you bleed?" Elder Wu's aura thrummed around him, his killing intent palpable. "Because today, the shame on Jade Lotus! The Blemish on my heart! Today, I'll wash it all away with your blood!" Elder Wu's hand flashed as he hurled a glowing jade talisman. It arced through the air, transforming into a ferocious jade serpent that hissed with emerald energy, lunging towards Jin.

Jin flicked his wrist, and a pair of translucent, razor-sharp wings erupted from his back. With a blur of motion, he danced through the air, the serpent snapping harmlessly at his wake.

"You're fueled by grief, Elder," Jin called out, unleashing a volley of crackling blue Origin Energy bolts. "Grief clouds judgement. Your sect won't reward you for this! Continue and you will die a pointless death."

Elder Wu roared " Pointless? Nothing I do now is pointless, even if I die! After all, a good death is its own reward!" Suddenly, his aura exploding outwards, he summoned a shimmering jade disk, its surface etched with intricate symbols. With a guttural chant, he activated the artefact, propelling himself forward like a jade arrow.

Their clash was a whirlwind of fury. Elder Wu unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks, each one imbued with raw power and honed by decades of experience. Jin, younger and nimble, countered with a dazzling display of dual-wielding swordsmanship, his blades leaving trails of blue light in their wake. Their energy auras grated against each other, the churning ocean reflecting a light show of Origin Energy sparks.

Driven by vengeance, Elder Wu fought with a desperation bordering on madness. He tossed handfuls of spirit powders, creating blinding clouds that weakened Jin's Origin barrier and choked his breaths. Elder Wu popped a scarlet spirit medicine and charged, his muscles bulking with unnatural strength as he grappled with Jin, their bodies locked in a fierce struggle.

Jin, however, was a prodigy. He unleashed a torrent of Origin Energy, forcing Elder Wu back. From his space ring, he retrieved a gleaming blade – the hilt wrapped in intricate silver filigree, the blade itself radiating an ethereal white light. It was a Heavenly Grade Artifact, a treasure reserved for desperate situations.

Despair twisted Elder Wu's face as he recognized the blade. He knew its power. But before he could react, Jin lunged. The Heavenly Grade blade sang through the air, a blinding flash of white light. Elder Wu raised his arm, aura flaring brightly in a desperate block, the force of the impact shattering the jade disk and overloading every single protective talisman and formation hidden in his clothes, sending him hurtling backwards.

He plummeted towards the unforgiving ocean, his severed arm splashing in after him not too far away. Pain exploded in his chest where the Heavenly Grade blade had sliced a deep gash and in the stump of his arm. But even as his vision blurred, a chilling, bloody smile showed on his face. This had been a good death. He hadn't let Yuèliàn's death be in vain.

Laughing, Elder Wu gathered the last vestiges of his strength and raised a small empty vial filled with a sickly green powder residue. Jin's heart skipped a beat! "Those powders from before... No!" Elder Wu's weak, mocking laughter was like a dagger in his heart! "Hahahaha! Origin Severing Powder!" A forbidden spirit poison! It would slowly eat away at a cultivator's dantian, the source of their power, tormenting them until their cultivation was destroyed. To Jin, it might as well be death!

Before he could unleash his rage, Elder Wu made a defiant smirk and sank beneath the waves, his body succumbing to his injuries. Captain Jin roared in agony and frustration to the sky! "Damned old man!" 

His victory tasted like ash in his mouth. And like ash, his dreams were blown away before his eyes.

As the last rays of sunlight faded, the ocean churned, witness to two vanquished, but it was not the only one. A laughing Xi'an, from his vantage point in a fold of space, had finally gotten his show.

___

At the Nexus, the four ancestors of the four great powers descended onto a Levitating platform above the ocean. News of Wu's death and Jin's crippling reached them, further fueling the already strained relations. "The anomaly is a weapon!" Ancestor Huo, former sect master the Flamefists, bellowed, his voice resonating across the vast expanse "And as such, we are entitled to it as per the accord to maintain balance.

"Nonsense!" Grand Master Yu, the stoic leader of the Jade Lotus, countered. "It is a treasure, a Dao Inheritance left by an Upper Worlder! We all have a right to it!"

Ancestor Zhan of the Zolan remained silent, his gaze unwavering. Treasure divining was his domain and he somewhat knew the truth. The anomaly, while it caused a spectacle felt by all cultivators of a certain rank, was itself nothing more than a mundane object. It had no Origin fluctuations of its own. But he saw an opportunity. War, though undesirable, could lead to the rise of powerful Zolan warriors.

"Enough!" boomed Ancestor Tian, the wizened leader of the Skyborn Clan. "None of you have seen the thing yet you bicker over it like dogs over a bone!" He could feel the Worlds Will's restraint on his aura, the ancient pact still had power. He couldn't wait to ascend and be free of it. "I know you are all trying to break the balance, so Let me say what we are all thinking. We will settle this dispute the old way. Our descendants will fight a four-way war for the right to dominion with the losers paying obeisance, including rights to the anomaly, whatever it may be."

A heavy silence descended upon the meeting before the other ancestors grudgingly agreed. The pact between their founding ancestors before the Worlds Will prevented cultivators of the four powers of their strength from directly clashing lest they cause a calamity. 

___

Xi'an, the Shadow Weaver, was returning to a safe house, satisfied with a job well done.

For weeks, rumours had flitted across the Origin Isles like phantoms about a certain anomaly in the world barrier, their source untraceable. Whispers of a great treasure fallen from the heavens. Some claimed it held the Dao Inheritance of an Upper Worlder – a being who had transcended the limitations of their world and now offered their knowledge and power to a chosen few. Others believed it to be a weapon of immense power, capable of tipping the balance between the four continental powers in a devastating instant.

Xi'an, the puppet master, had orchestrated this symphony of misinformation through his network. He had infiltrated each faction, subtly swaying conversations and planting seeds of doubt and desire while stoking the flames of pre-existing tensions. It was because of this that he knew, the war would have been inevitable anyway. He had just helped it along.

Now secure, deep in the bowels of his hidden sanctum, Xi'an laid out a map on a rough-hewn table. It depicted the Origin Isles, its familiar lines marked with twisting, crimson lines – the locations of ancient seals placed upon a certain artefact, the Heart of Chaos. It was an object of immense power, capable of corrupting Origin Energy and imbuing its wielder with unimaginable strength. What Xi'an didn't know was this artefact would do more than just grant him the power to rule the Origin Isles. The Heart of Chaos would slowly consume his id until the shard hidden within it would become him. Ultimately reviving a monstrous, extra-dimensional being that once devoured the life force of entire worlds. 

___

The first shades of dawn painted the sky a delicate rose as Mei stirred from sleep. The salty air breezed through the hut, carrying the rhythmic sound of waves crashing against the shore. As usual, she headed down to their Fisherman's hut before Kai awoke. The hut, a small, sturdy building with a thatched roof had a low-grade cooling formation, powered by ambient Origin Energy. It was quite the luxury in these parts, but they had toiled long and hard for it.

Reaching the hut, she reached out to slide open the wooden door. But before her fingers brushed against the rough surface, she stopped. A soft gurgle pierced the morning silence. Her heart thumped against her chest. Slowly, with a trembling hand, she pushed the door open.

There, swaddled in the finest white fabric she had ever seen, lay a baby. He wasn't crying, but his large, curious eyes gazed at Mei with an otherworldly innocence. Instinctively, she picked up the baby, her skin instantly warmed by the strange cloth but she didn't notice. As a sliver of sunlight touched his face, his skin seemed to react with a faint inner glow, a characteristic that sent shivers down her spine.

she did the one thing her stunned mind could think to do. "Kai!!!"

___

Hours before:

Kalar paused a moment, then began the process of waking Tor Od. It is glad at this, yet also a bit sad. Kalar's main instance would be secluded here in the scout ship, 248 miles deep in a crevice in the ocean floor and would not know how Tor Od was doing in the next 16 years. It would use a Kryptonian Crystal Seed (a holdover from the days when Krypton still sought out new worlds) to encase the ship in a fortress of solitude to completely cut it off from the world, ensuring no stray energies would escape or penetrate the ship, interfering with the dantian project. Kalar had done its part to ensure baby Tor Od could finally begin to live. The bracelet and the command key were gently adorned on the baby by tendrils sprouting from the makeshift cradle submarine. As Tor Od opened his eyes for the first time, Kalar's holographic avatar looked down at him and smiled and little Tor Od smiled back. It was time.

___

"Mei!" The sound of the scream tore Kai from his sleep. In a fluid motion, he was up and moving, throwing on his fisherman's coat, and racing towards Mei's voice. This was the practised reflex of an islander used to hostile conditions. Bounding out of their hut, he saw her standing motionless by the open door of the Fisherman's hut, possibly cradling something in her arms. It was hard to tell from the back.

"Mei," he called out, his voice heavy with concern. "What's wrong?"

Mei turned slowly, her eyes filled with unshed tears. The baby in her arms cooed softly, oblivious to the confusion he'd caused. Kai walked closer, his brow furrowing then rising in shock as his gaze fell on the child.

Mei simply looked at him, her expression a combination of shock, joy, and silent pleading. Her words were unnecessary. Kai understood. They had always dreamt of having a child, of a life filled with laughter and the pitter-patter of tiny feet. Yet, fate had dealt them a cruel hand. Now, a miracle lay in their arms.

Kai took a deep breath, his eyes meeting Mei's. Time seemed to slow down as they searched each other's faces, unspoken words hanging between them. Questions, fears, and a flicker of overwhelming hope resided in their gazes.

Slowly, Kai nodded. A silent acceptance of the situation, a willingness to embrace this unexpected gift.

A watery smile broke across Mei's face, tears shimmering in her eyes. She raised her free hand, resting it on Kai's cheek. Kai looked down at the baby, a feeling of warmth spreading through him. He didn't miss the intricate bracelet adorning the baby's tiny wrist, an unusual piece of craftsmanship unlike anything he'd seen on their island, or the cloth he was wrapped in and how it suffused his hand with warmth the instant he touched it. For now, he wouldn't ask questions. As the sun broke free of the horizon, all that mattered to him was this tiny life that had been entrusted to them and from that moment, one more had joined them in the sun.