at the same time.
The core of the universe, Sector 0.
[ Oa ]
There is no distinction between day and night here.
The entire planet was shrouded in a verdant canopy by the Guardians's immense power, gleaming with Eternity emerald light.
Looking around.
There are no green plants or rivers visible on the planet's surface.
The palaces, sculpted from high-dimensional crystals, are suspended high in all directions and connected to each other by straight energy bridges.
Tens of thousands of meters in the air.
Countless legion members clad in green and black bodysuits were flying swiftly, their wakes turning into streaks of green as they patrolled back and forth.
This is the heart of the cosmic order.
On a floating wall on the eastern side of the planet stands a black square tower.
[ Sanctum of Contemplation ]
On the edge of the suspended platform, a tall, thin man stood with his hands behind his back.
His hair was combed back meticulously.
His temples were slightly gray, and he had a thin black mustache on his lips.
Beneath his deep crimson face, a pair of dark golden pupils narrowed slightly, and he exuded a cold, oppressive aura that kept strangers at bay.
His name was Tal Sinestro.
He is in charge of Sector 1417, is recognized as the strongest person on the planet, and is also one of the most prestigious elders in the legion.
At that moment, Sinestro raised his right finger, using the energy of the Lantern Ring to project a giant screen of information.
He quickly reviewed the security reports submitted by hundreds of civil affairs stations within his jurisdiction.
And it was at this moment...
"Buzz!!"
The Lantern Ring suddenly emitted a piercing buzzing sound.
"Whoosh--"
Immediately afterwards, a scarlet lettering appeared on the giant screen projected by the energy.
Sinestro's fingers paused, his movement frozen in mid-air.
[Real-time monitoring: Sector 2814 ]
[Legion Member: Abin Su]
[Energy signal lost... suspected activation of the selection system]
[Status: Unknown]
[Note: Force majeure]
"Um?"
The green quill that had been gathering at Sinestro's fingertips instantly dissipated, his brows furrowing as he stared at the light screen in disbelief.
" Abin..."
Sinestro pondered, his cold, calm eyes beginning to tremble violently.
His colleagues saw him as domineering and Coldblood, so he had almost no friends.
But Abin Sue was an exception.
She was his guide and mentor, and also his only confidant.
Even in private, Abin Sue is the older brother of his wife, Arlene Sue.
Fighting side by side through thousands of interstellar cycles, entrusting each other's backs countless times...
For Sinestro...
Abin Sue was one of the few sources of warmth and sentiment he could find in this cold universe.
But now...
This calm and gentle dear friend, how could he have died so suddenly in a remote and nameless star field?!
"Court death..."
Sinestro's face instantly darkened, a flash of shock crossing his eyes before undisguised killing intent erupted:
" Sector 2814 is just a primitive, barren wasteland... That's absolutely impossible!"
" Lantern Ring Sharing Information System, immediately retrieve the data from Abin Su's ring!"
He suddenly raised his right hand, channeling his ferocious willpower directly into the Lantern Ring, forcibly connecting it to the highest emergency channel on Oa.
The Green Lantern Corps' selection process is based on data archives.
In the event of the wearer's death, the ring will transmit information parameters and handover records within a very short time.
At the same time, the ring will automatically activate the beacon, forcing newcomers to report to Oa and undergo assessment and training.
But the information shared within the rings is ridiculously scarce.
When Sinestro's will forcibly cut into the data link.
"Sizzle... sizzle..."
A strange line of garbled text suddenly appeared on the screen.
[Data chain retrieval failed...]
[Error code:@/#&?]
[Terminal communication matrix is offline]
[Final coordinates: Remote quadrant, codenamed "Earth" (three types of carbon-based planets)]
[Recall Procedure: Ineffective]
[Beacon blocking...]
Sinestro's pupils suddenly contracted.
"Recall interrupted? Beacon blocked?!"
He even suspected that the ring's sensor was malfunctioning.
Since the founding of the Oa army hundreds of millions of years ago, nothing so bizarre has ever happened.
It's important to understand that the recall command for the Green Lantern Ring is a supreme authority personally encoded at the bottom layer of logic by the Guardians.
Unless the ring is thrown into a black hole and crushed, it is impossible to sever its connection with the Central Battery, even across millions of light-years.
But the absurdity of it all is right there in front of us.
Abin is suspected to be dead, and the ring has begun the process of selecting a successor on a backward planet called "Earth".
However, the other party not only failed to comply with the beacon's mandatory guidance to report to Oa, but also managed to block the tracking signal of the Lantern Ring.
Since the founding of the army, there have been members who have been capable of breaking free from the guidelines.
But when it comes to signal blocking—this is probably the only one.
Could he be stronger than the Guardians?
No... I don't believe it.
Sinestro slowly lowered his hand, the murderous intent in his eyes quickly transforming into extreme coldness and vigilance:
"... I want to go there myself."
His best friend died.
He died under mysterious circumstances, and his body was even left in that desolate, godforsaken star field.
He is currently the strongest fighter in the legion and also Abin's only close friend.
Sinestro would never sit here like those pedantic bureaucrats, going through parliamentary processes that move at a snail's pace.
"No matter who you are."
Sinestro clenched his right fist tightly.
"Boom!!"
The next second, a strong, violent green light burst forth from his fingertips, spreading out in his green and black uniform and intertwining across his body.
Then, expressionless, he raised his hand and calibrated the final, vanished jump coordinates in the void.
[ Sector 2814 ]
[Coordinates: Solar System, Third Planet.]
"I will take over Abin's legacy."
"Boom!!"
The smooth emerald sky of Oa suddenly exploded, creating a huge spatial shockwave.
Sinestro's figure instantly transformed into a dark green streak, shooting off towards the target's location!
at the same time.
Krypton Outpost, Main Control Room.
Dark blue holographic particles undulated and flowed around the control panel.
Joe El's phantom stood with his hands behind his back, intently reviewing the monitoring logs from just now.
In the few tens of minutes that John tore through the ice field and soared into the sky.
The base's detection system recorded a series of extremely alarming physical parameters:
[Tropospheric vertical ascent speed: Mach 90... Mach 150... Mach 220...]
[Stratospheric pressure adaptability: 100%]
[ The Kármán line breach is complete; the target has escaped atmospheric protection and is now exposed to radiation from a yellow-scale star.]
[Cellular photon conversion peak: Breaking through the baseline of the standard Krypton physiological model, exhibiting a geometrically unknown increase...]
"How could his physiological functions... leap forward at such a speed that completely defies biological logic?"
Joe El stared at the lines of complex microscopic quantum equations, his brows furrowing tightly.
Even during the Golden Age, when the most elite Krypton warriors were first exposed to a yellow-rank star, they didn't reach this level...
How did he do that?
"Da... da..."
Just then, a series of soft footsteps entered, breaking the silence of the room.
A few wisps of white smoke symbolically emerged from the airtight isolation door, and John swaggered through the sliding gate into the main control room.
Joe El immediately turned around.
The illusory figure took half a step forward and said in a somewhat reproachful tone:
" Carl, your behavior just now was too reckless..."
Direct exposure to the intense radiation of outer space could be dangerous.
How are you feeling? Have you experienced any discomfort?
John did not answer immediately.
Instead, he strolled leisurely to the main control panel and sat down in the hover chair.
He then extended his right hand from behind his back and casually placed it on the smooth metal table.
"It feels pretty good."
John tapped his fingers lightly on the table and continued:
"Actually, I'd probably be more comfortable if I were closer to the sun."
"Okay, let's do the tests first..."
Joe El's ghostly figure was preparing to activate the physiological detection light system.
But when his gaze followed John's fingers down and he saw clearly the object on his finger—
Joe El's previously stable and interwoven illusion suddenly convulsed violently.
He stared intently at John's fingers.
That was clearly a green metal ring.
The entire piece has a warm, lustrous jade-like texture, and the center of the cabochon is marked with a unique totem of concentric circles and double horizontal lines.
Even more strangely, the ring was still glowing.
Strands of solidified, dark green light, truly like living things, slowly inhaled and exhaled along the body of the amulet.
Joe El stared at John in disbelief.
They stared at each other, wide-eyed.
His core database contains top-secret files on Krypton's hundreds of thousands of years of intergalactic expansion.
He recognized the totem, the one that represented the Emotional Spectrum— "will"...
He knew better than anyone what that ring truly represented.
A full half minute passed.
Joe El had barely recovered from the system crash when his ethereal voice underwent an unusual distortion:
"This... this is...?"
Joe El took a sudden step forward.
The hand made of light particles trembled slightly as it pointed to John's right middle finger.
" Oa's will totem... Is this the Green Corps's Lantern Ring?!"
"Child, where did you get this?"