The dark purple magic circle slowly opened.

  Unlike the teleportation magic used earlier for escape, Rachel was using soul magic this time.

  "Soul magic usually requires a magical material that can protect and stabilize the soul's state in critical moments. Your golden apple just happens to serve this purpose."

  Following Rachel's instructions, Viktor pced the golden apple in the center of the magic circle. He then stood opposite Rachel again.

  Rachel raised both her hands, spreading her fingers wide, with her palms facing him.

  "When I was in Azarath, Azar once told me about the course on soul conflict magic, and your soul is currently experiencing this issue."

  As the magic circle continued to form and complete, Rachel slowly described the problems with his soul.

  "That past you're hiding contains bnd and dull mental energy, which caused you to develop strong rejection when you were forced to absorb Viltrumite cultural spirit."

  "Due to excessively intense belief conflicts and forcing yourself to suppress emotions in order to survive... Your soul has fractured from a portion of your spiritual power."

  Viktor's eyes rolled around in their sockets as he watched the purple-bck magic smoke, resembling tentacles, penetrate his head. He shook his head somewhat uncomfortably.

  "Uh… so you're saying I have schizophrenia or something?"

  "Don't interrupt!"

  Rachel scolded him coldly, then denied Viktor's question.

  "I don't know how doctors on Earth would name it, but it's not what people call schizophrenic or split personality. It's more like a split in your soul. To protect yourself from going insane in that hellish environment, your soul has gradually fractured into two parts since you became a real Viltrumite at the age of three."

  "One part is the ordinary Viktor, who longs for a peaceful, safe, happy life. And the other part is the Viltrumite Viktor, cking emotions and, in order to protect his memories, adapted to Viltrumite's culture and rules, even actively participating in competition."

  Raven remained silent for a moment, seemingly recalling the memory of that boy with hollow, lifeless eyes from the memories earlier.

  "Because of your previous experiences, you easily learned the survival rules of Viltrum. You know that the better you perform, the safer you are, and the higher your chances of successfully escaping in the future. But in the process of pursuing greatness, everything you needed to accomplish would make your original soul suffer more."

  It seemed like Rachel was reaching a critical point in her magic and suddenly stopped talking. She moved her fingers carefully, like a surgeon performing a difficult surgery.

  There was something Rachel hadn't said yet.

  Originally, if his soul continues to go on and on like that, Viktor would probably truly suffer from schizophrenia. The Viltrum version of Viktor would likely stop recognizing his past self and would try to mentally "kill" his former self.

  However, Viktor just happened to have a mental breakdown and an eruption at age ten. This prevented his soul from fully splitting.

  From a magical point of view, a blood-red boy with only half a face, expressionless and exuding a strong, pungent blood scent, hovered over Viktor's back.

  As the soul magic stitched things together, the soul gradually sank into Viktor's body, merging with his original soul.

  Rachel's forehead began to bead with sweat as if the surgery had reached its most critical part.

  Viktor wasn't having an easy time either, with his brows tightly furrowed as if his brain was struggling with some kind of pain. He gradually began to recover the emotions he had lost for over a decade.

  The killing of other "unqualified" young Viltruites, destroying "inferior products" under a month old, not having completed his training, with the instructor punishing him by crushing more than ten of his bones, and traveling to other pnets to complete conquest missions with the goal of exterminating entire species.

  The years of suppressed negative emotions that he had pushed down for years came rushing out at once… straight into the gentle, peaceful part of his soul that just wanted a normal, happy life.

  Viktor's face turned red, and mist started to rise from the top of his head, and his head was boiling with extreme pain.

  "Ahh—"

  The pain at the soul level was different from the physical pain he had experienced before, and he couldn't help but cry out in agony.

  Meanwhile, in outer space, a ring shining with bright yellow light was speeding toward Earth.

  A certain vibration, audible only at the soul level, was continuously shouting in mechanical tones:

  "Intelligent life form identified. Viktor from the Virgo Supercluster possesses the ability to instill fear in others. You have been chosen."

  Rachel's gaze sharpened.

  The golden apple pced in the center of the magic circle leaped up out of nowhere.

  The divine artifact, which Viktor had never been able to leave any mark on with his unconscious grip, now seemed like it was being squeezed dry, releasing golden liquid.

  The liquid swirled in the air, eventually transforming into a ten-meter-long golden thread that entered Viktor's forehead. In the next moment, a sudden cool sensation enveloped his soul and brain, causing him to exhale in relief.

  Rachel also breathed a sigh of relief, lowering her hands and once again examining Viktor's current soul state.

  The dark, evil energy was quickly fading, and the bloody soul form was no longer mottled but becoming pure and transparent.

  A golden diamond-shaped gem, simir to the one on Rachel's head, gradually began to form in the center of Viktor's forehead.

  Suddenly, Viktor let out a muffled grunt. The itching sensation from three days ago came rushing back, and it came more fiercely than any previous time.

  The yellow ntern ring, which had already broken through the atmosphere, began to slow down. The "recruitment broadcast" also became choppy as if it had lost its target.

  However, the power of the fear spectrum still briefly radiated throughout Viktor's body.

  Rachel's expression changed dramatically.

  "How can this be?"

  From a magical perspective, Viktor's soul was rapidly falling apart at an extremely fast rate, with the blood-red color disintegrating.

  Even the golden gem on his forehead was melting away like ice cream under the sun.

  In Coast City, Hal Jordan, who had been warned by Batman to stay away from Gotham, could no longer sit still.

  The yellow ntern ring was now floating several thousand meters above Gotham, thousands of meters in the air, and it was really testing Hal's patience and job.

  A beam of green light shot into the sky as Green Lantern gritted his teeth and flew toward the yellow ntern ring.

  "Get out of here! There's no one you're looking for on this pnet!"

  The green and yellow lights intersected above Gotham City.

  As the Green Lantern ring at full power bloomed with radiance above Gotham City, Viktor couldn't help but let out a muffled grunt again, but this time his tone seemed quite comfortable.

  Then, the Batcave exploded.

  Batman watched as various mixed energy curves on the screen continued to fluctuate while the particles in the observation chamber began evolving at a rapid pace once again.

  This feeling of losing control was something Batman really disliked.

  He flicked his bck cape behind him but didn't jump into the Batwing to fly up and confront Green Lantern. He knew the yellow ntern ring showing up suddenly wasn't Green Lantern's fault.

  Hal was just doing his normal Green Lantern job.

  The low hum of the Batcycle's engine cut through the air, transforming into an arrow that sped toward Nightwing's location.

  "Tell me you've found Viktor!"

  It took quite a while, but Nightwing finally located Viktor and Rachel. He had changed into his superhero outfit and was quietly lying on the roof of an abandoned factory, peeking through a rusty hole to look inside.

  Suddenly hearing a sound through his earpiece, Nightwing gnced up at the fshing yellow and green lights in the night sky.

  Nightwing carefully shifted his position and spoke in a very low voice.

  "Yes, I've pretty much watched the entire process."

  "How's Viktor doing now?"

  "I can't exactly understand the magic stuff, but judging by his expression, it seems like a good sign?"

  Raven, looking anxious, watched him, whose body was changing in ways she couldn't understand. As she saw his expression finally calm down, she couldn't help but ask.

  "What happened to you?"

  Viktor looked down at himself in surprise and clenched his fist.

  "I don't know what happened, but I think I… evolved?"

  Rachel was stunned.

  "This kind of manifestation is called evolution?"

  "Do you even know what's happening to you from a magical perspective right now? Your soul, the divine power of the golden apple, and magic... all have been absorbed by your body!"