DC: The Shadow Monarch's Chronicles

Lex Luthor stopped struggling.

The moment they passed through the dark veil of space, arriving in the Shadow Domain, his body seized. His limbs locked up, not by force but by fear.

Darkness stretched endlessly in every direction, a suffocating abyss without light or warmth. And in that darkness… they stared.

Countless eyes. Glowing, ominous, unblinking.

Purple orbs of all sizes blinked at him from every corner of the void, some no larger than a coin, others the size of boulders. Some hovered close; others floated in the distant black.

His blood ran cold.

[How many of them are there?] he thought, his brilliant mind unable to comprehend the vastness of what he had entered.

The shadow still holding him by the throat rose higher, wings fanning out, and without a word, it flew, carrying him across the void. In the distance, something began to rise from the dark.

A palace. A massive, radiant white palace.

It was a stark contrast to everything around it, standing tall and majestic in this oppressive world of shadows and eyes. It glowed faintly, almost ethereal, as though it had no place in the nightmare realm that surrounded it.

They entered.

The creature dragged Luthor through long halls, the soles of Lex's shoes scraping loudly against polished white stone. He felt like a sack of potatoes being pulled behind a cart and he didn't dare protest. Not here. Not in this place where he had no authority, no allies, no hope.

He simply watched.

The creature carrying him had changed, the once blue energy that crackled around it now glowed purple, its body darker, matching the hue of the many eyes that watched them from beyond the palace walls.

The palace was pure white. Everything, the floors, the high vaulted ceilings, the silent, seamless walls, was carved from a stone that shimmered like polished pearl.

Eventually, they entered a vast hall. Lex took it all in quickly.

Dozens of creatures lined both sides of the hall, all of them monstrous, unique, and powerful. Each stood like a silent sentinel, unmoving, their glowing eyes tracking his every movement. Not one was identical to another, yet they all shared that same, unsettling presence, beings of impossible power and devotion.

At the far end of the hall sat a white throne. Empty.

Lex's heart pounded. This was a throne room. He was in the court of the king.

The creature dragged him to the center of the hall and, with unnatural strength, forced Lex to his knees.

Lex didn't resist.

He didn't dare.

Then the shadow grabbed his head and pushed it into the cold, smooth floor. Lex grimaced, unable to move as the creature knelt beside him.

And around him… all the others did the same.

A wave of synchronized motion, the entire host of monsters lowered themselves in a bow.

The silence was absolute.

Then soft steps.

Lex's ears picked them up before his eyes could see. Measured, confident steps echoed through the throne room.

The steps stopped.

Then came a voice, smooth, calm, and unbearably familiar.

"Rise."

The pressure on Lex's head vanished.

He looked up slowly and froze.

There, sitting on the throne, was Ashborn.

A smile played on his face. Amused. Knowing.

"You have done well, Beru," Ashborn said without looking at Lex.

Lex followed his gaze and saw the creature that had brought him bowing even lower now, the air around it humming with pride and devotion. It knelt in complete reverence, shuddering slightly in what Lex could only describe as joy.

Lex couldn't believe it.

This thing, this monster that tore through Superman like he was paper, was practically giddy from receiving Ashborn's praise.

Ashborn turned his gaze to Lex, smile gone, voice colder now.

"Now, Lex," he said softly, "I have explained it to you. Warned you. I even tried to show you another way to play your game."

His tone dropped, filled with disappointment.

"But all of it was in vain. You remained the same to the very end."

He tilted his head, his eyes narrowing.

"You are a disappointment among humans."

Lex twitched. His body tensed as fury surged through his veins.

His pride, his ego, his entire being rejected those words.

"Disappointment?" he hissed, lifting his head defiantly. "I am a human. And yet, I stood toe-to-toe with gods! I could threaten even Superman! If I had completed my perfect body, I would have become a god! You wouldn't dare speak to me like this if I had!"

His voice echoed off the walls of the throne room.

But none of the shadows moved.

"No," Ashborn replied calmly "Nothing would have changed. Even if you had completed the body and became a god, as you so proudly put it, that is all you would have been. Just another puny god."

Lex clenched his fists, his teeth grinding together in frustration. "Then why?" he spat. "Why did you bring me here? To insult me before killing me?"

Ashborn chuckled, a quiet, humorless sound. "As amusing as it is to see you like this, no." His eyes narrow. "The outcome didn't change and your choices remained the same. Not even with my interference. Which leads me to believe… that Darkseid's revival because of you is inevitable at this rate. If I had left you to the League, they would have failed to stop it from happening."

He took a slow step forward, his tone colder now.

"I simply think it's fair to let you hear the cause of your end."

Lex's face paled, the arrogant veneer faltering. "What are you talking about?" he demanded. "What does any of that have to do with me?"

Ashborn's smile returned, but it was not kind.

"You have Brainiac inside you," he said. "And eventually, you two merge. Once you separate again, one thing leads to another. You try to revive your partner, and in doing so, you set off a chain of events that ends with Darkseid invading Earth."

Ashborn's eyes gleamed.

"I'm simply removing a troublesome future. One you were going to die in anyway."

Lex opened his mouth to protest but pain wracked his body before a word could escape. He fell to the floor, clutching his chest as it twisted, his muscles spasming unnaturally. A scream ripped through him as his stomach bulged outward, forming a face.

Not just any face.

Brainiac.

Lex's voice trembled. "What… is this?!"

But Brainiac ignored him, turning its forming eyes toward Ashborn.

"I had planned to stay hidden until a more suitable body was ready," it said in its cold, metallic voice. "How did you know I was there?"

Ashborn's tone didn't change.

"I already explained, I know how this ends," he said. "Your program never completes. You are destroyed, regardless of what I do today. I'm just cutting losses here."

He gestured slightly. "Nothing personal."

Brainiac didn't reply immediately, but a new glow sparked in its eyes. "You are powerful, Ashborn Black," it said. "You crave knowledge, yes? I can give you that. Every star I've consumed, every race I've cataloged, all of it, can be yours. If we join forces."

At the same moment, Lex cried out again, desperation filling his voice. "Please!" he begged, his eyes filled with terror, sweat running down his brow. "Don't let it take me! Help me, please! You have the power!"

Ashborn's eyes focused on Lex alone, ignoring the AI's offer.

"What makes humans special in the DC universe and in any other," he said, voice low and steady, "is not just their intelligence or creativity. It's their emotions. They have more than any other race and they can control and repress them."

He took another step closer.

"They can act on their goodness and be holier than angels… or give in to their malevolence and become worse than demons."

Ashborn's voice dropped, heavy with disappointment.

"Lex… you clung only to pride, power, obsession. You represent the worst humanity has to offer. Superman, the person you despise the most, and despite all his faults, naivety and alien origin, he is more human than you"

Ashborn paused, letting every word sink before continuing.

"That's why you're a disappointment."

Ashborn stood up.

"It is too pitiful, you had a path to greatness," he said quietly. "Yet you abandoned it."

Then, without another word, he vanished, leaving only silence behind.

Lex was left kneeling, trembling. His mouth opened to scream, but no sound came.

Then the shadows moved.

All of them.

The creatures that had stood silently like statues began to converge. Their eyes glowed brighter, hungering.

Lex wanted to crawl back. "No… no, wait!"

But Brainiac was controlling the body, its arms bulging and morphing into slick, writhing tentacles, striking out in one final, desperate struggle.

The court of shadows fell upon them.

And Lex's screams were drowned in the endless dark.