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JUMP CITY -
Perched on the edge of a darkened rooftop in Jump City, Arthur stood motionless, the wind tugging at his coat, his violet-lit eyes scanning the urban sprawl with the patience of a predator.
The trail had gone cold.
He exhaled slowly through his nose, a thin mist leaving his lips in the cool night air. Owl's readings had been precise, there had been something here, a residue of black energy that reeked of death and the void between life. But now, it was nothing. Faded. Not erased… no, hidden. That was different.
"Smart," Arthur muttered under his breath, his fingers flexing as he tightened his grip on the cold concrete ledge. "And aware." His gaze swept the streets again, this time with sharper intent. "That wasn't a stray black ring just wandering… that was the herald himself... he is clearly laying low for now but what was he doing here.."
For a moment, the city's distant sounds the wail of a siren, the soft rush of tires on asphalt, filled the quiet between his thoughts. He tilted his head back, staring into the stretch of stars above, his jaw tightening.
"I'll find him," he said finally, the words carrying a promise and a threat. Then, almost to himself, softer "before things spiral any further..." His tone darkened, the weight of unspoken consequences lingering in the air. "Not under my watch."
A flicker at the edge of his senses drew his eyes upward. He stood straighter, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"So," he murmured, "Raven and Doom took care of business." His voice carried a thread of satisfaction, pride even but it didn't soften his expression entirely. "Not bad…" His eyes narrowed slightly, reading the fading imprint of what had happened. "But it seems the ring's power was too much for Raven.."
"Should I go and bring her back myself?" The thought escaped in a low murmur.
He exhaled through his nose, a small huff. "No… she'd take that as an insult. Raven doesn't need a savior hovering over her shoulder." His gaze softened for a brief moment, as though he could see her through the distance, worn from the fight.
"Besides, Doom and Martian manhunter are with her," he added, their names enough to ease the tension coiled in his shoulders. "I had faith she would defeat Doomsday. Going there now… it would just make it feel worse for her. She doesn't need me watching her like some overbearing warden."
Arthur then reached for his communicator, custom-built by Lex and Owl, and placed it in his ears.
"Owl," his voice was calm, measured.
"My king" came the immediate, crisp reply, laced with the faint static of distance.
Arthur's gaze flicked toward the Titan's tower direction, A slow, knowing smile curved his lips.
There was a brief pause on the line before Owl asked. "Is there something I can do for you my king? I can keep an eye for more traces of..."
"No," Arthur said, his tone firm. "Forget about that, What I want you to do is let Batman know that we will be meeting in Jump City, Titans Tower, Tell him I expect him there. Soon."
"Of course, my king."
The line clicked softly as the channel closed. Arthur lowered the device, fingers lingering on it for a heartbeat longer, then tucked it away. His smirk faded into something colder as he scanned the city one final time.
****
PLANET RYUT – BLACK CENTRAL POWER BATTERY
The dead world of Ryut lay in eternal silence, its surface a charred wasteland of ash and bone. There were no stars here only the heavy void and the cold, pale glow of the Black Central Battery, black veins of necrotic light pulsing outward, feeding on the void itself.
Scar floated before it, her frame barely more than sinew and darkness wrapped in a Guardian's tattered robes. Her eyes gleamed with a sinister hunger, reflecting the battery's baleful glow. At her side floated Black Hand, gaunt fingers twitching with unease as his hollow gaze swept across the barren landscape. His breathing was shallow, unsteady, he did not remember how he had arrived here, only that one moment he had been elsewhere, and the next he was standing at the heart of death.
Scar's rasping voice broke through. "It seems the decision was wise, Lord Nekron… to bring him here. The Shadow Lantern is tracking him. He hunts Black Hand with purpose, could it be that he already knows…?"
The ground shuddered with a low, unnatural sound. From the void itself, a voice came not loud, but deep, vast, and final. It resonated through the hollowed bones of the planet itself, carrying with it a chill like no other.
"He knows."
Nekron's presence seeped into the world before his form did, a vast silhouette of darkness coalescing at the base of the Black Battery. His hollow eyes burned faintly as his gaze turned upon the two.
"The Shadow Lantern knows far too much. First, he shatters my rings, denying me the soldiers that were mine by right and now he dares to seek my herald. He is dangerous… and danger cannot be permitted to draw breath. Nothing is permitted to draw breath in this universe. Soon everything will return to the great darkness."
Scar bowed her head slightly, her sharp grin never fading.
"Even the forces of Oa found themselves helpless against him, Lord Nekron. His ring… his dominion over shadow beings, those sentient creatures of death that answer to his will… they are unlike anything the Green Lanterns have faced, he wiped out the yellow power of fear.."
Nekron's skeletal fingers curled slightly, the air thickening with the scent of rot and old tombs.
"And yet… it is nothing before my might." His voice grew colder, quieter, the void itself seeming to lean in to listen. "The black will fall upon them all, as it has since the first heartbeat of the universe faltered. There is no fortress, no ring, no shadow that will endure when the grave calls."
He turned his hollow gaze toward the distant cosmos, where the fragile blue light of Earth shimmered faintly among the stars.
"That world… teeming, writhing with life… it festers. Its people swarm like insects, its cities choke on their own breath. Life clings to it with stubborn arrogance.." His voice deepened into a whisper like a closing tomb. "A cleansing is long overdue. The black will sweep across it not as a mere strike… but as a tide. Corpses shall rise in legions, streets will drown in the march of the dead, and their heroes will crumble beneath the weight of their own fallen. And they'll join them soon after."
Scar's grin widened, her voice soft and serpentine.
"I see… you intend to strike at the heart of one of their great cities. To raise an army from its very bones… and let them devour the living from within, until neither hero nor shadow can stand."
Nekron's hollow skull tilted slightly, a motion that felt like a nod.
"Indeed."
Black Hand, silent until now, twitched his fingers and finally spoke his voice low, almost reverent, yet tinged with unease.
"And… what of me, Lord Nekron? What role shall I play in this purge?"
Nekron's empty eyes fixed upon him, cold and unblinking.
"You shall lead the charge. You are the hand that gathers the corpses, the shepherd of their return. But heed my words…" His tone darkened, a chill pressing against Black Hand's bones. "You will not face the Shadow Lantern. You will not seek him. To cross blades with him now would be to squander what is to come. You shall remain in the shadows of the battlefield, directing the flow of death, guiding the tide as I command."
A ripple of black energy coiled around the Central Battery, crawling up its surface like skeletal vines.
"Together," Nekron said, voice now a cold decree, "we will cleanse this universe of its plague… the plague that dares call itself 'life.'"
Black Hand bowed his head, a twisted grin spreading across his lips even as unease lingered in his hollow chest. Scar simply floated closer to the Battery, her eye glinting with anticipation.
/-\
If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Solo leveling in Westeros.
&
If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my patreon at
"https://www.patreon.com/FrenzyAren"
You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want