Chapter 53: Worth a Try

Several words struck a deep chord in Homelander's subconscious, a place desperate for love. Like a bolt of lightning, they flashed through his heart. He felt as though he had grasped something—but it remained elusive.

"Homelander, you're facing the same dilemma as God Himself, walking a twisted path without realizing it," Stormfront said calmly.

"You're as powerful as a god, yet trapped in a cage built by the hands of mere mortals.

Have you ever heard the story of the elephant and the stake from the circus?"

She gently caressed Homelander's cheek, like a wise teacher comforting a student.

"An elephant that can uproot a towering tree is still bound by the same flimsy stake that restrained it as a baby…"

In the circus, trainers would tie a newborn elephant to a wooden stake with a rope. At first, the baby elephant would struggle furiously, trying to break free. But despite its efforts and the wounds it suffered, it couldn't pull loose. Eventually, it accepted its confinement.

As time passed, the baby grew into a mighty elephant, weighing several tons. Yet it remained shackled by that tiny stake—not because it couldn't break free, but because it had stopped trying.

"What are you trying to say?" Homelander's expression darkened, offended at being compared to a cowardly, dumb elephant.

"Smart as you are, Homelander, you understood every word. That's why you're so angry. You are that elephant. And Vought is the stake."

Stormfront smiled.

"I know what Vought did to you as a child. That constant hunger for attention and validation they bred in you—it never left.

But have you ever considered that, with your power, you could do what God did? Escape your cage the same way."

"You mean… end the world?"

Homelander's expression changed drastically. A flicker of revulsion and disbelief crossed his face.

Though he viewed human lives as insignificant, the thought of wiping out the world had never truly occurred to him.

"I want admiration and reverence from people—not to stand atop a mountain of corpses swarming with flies."

"No, no. Hear me out. No matter what you do now, to the public you're like a white sheet stained with ink—never pure again.

Wherever you go, there will be stares of suspicion and eyes filled with disgust…"

Stormfront pressed her hand to his chest, calming him with her touch. Her voice was seductive, mature, and full of dangerous allure.

"But if you—a man as mighty as a god—were to cleanse the world, leaving only those who worship you, who match your ideals…

Return civilization to its primitive state, rebuild the rules of the world by your will—you would be surrounded by boundless love."

"Children of the next generation would grow up reading scriptures that praise your name. They would chant it as a sacred mantra. You would become… the God of the new world."

"The God of the new world…" Homelander's mouth went dry. In his ears, it was as if choirs of people were already singing his name.

As he pictured that scene, he closed his eyes in pleasure. His face flushed with excitement.

That world sounded like paradise to him. Yet even the sweetest dream must eventually end.

"No. No!" Homelander gritted his teeth, prying her hand away. "I almost let you convince me. I won't do it. You're insane.

You've lost it. That's not realistic. One man can't destroy the world."

"Not just one man. We could build a superhuman army—with you as the leader. They would be the angels of a new era, worshipped by all, and you… you would be their God. Humanity would kneel wherever we walked."

"Vought would never allow it."

Again, Homelander found himself tempted by the possibility of such a future, his expression torn by conflict.

Few knew that all superhumans were manufactured products of Vought.

"And that's exactly the problem. You know nothing about Vought. You're like an elephant assuming the stake is too strong—just because you've never tested it again."

"You think I don't know Vought? And you do?" Homelander snorted coldly.

"No one knows Vought better than I do. Because Vought was founded by my husband." Stormfront stood up, walking to the window with her hands behind her back.

"What nonsense are you spouting?

Frederick Vought founded the company back in the last century. You're saying you were his wife?"

Homelander frowned.

"Look up the name Stormfront."

At her suggestion, Homelander quickly found the information—and was stunned to discover that the woman before him had been a superhero dating back to World War II.

"You really were Frederick Vought's wife?"

.....

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