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The black winds thickened as soon as Nekron finished his words, and the ground split open From the base of the Black Central Power Battery, a shape began to appear, a silhouette of bone and void, rising like a shadow peeled from the underworld itself. The air turned frigid, as the figure took form, a massive skeleton draped in the rags of death, eyes two pits of endless black, holding in his hands a scythe.
Nekron had manifested, only partially.
Arthur stood with his sword lowered, cloak stirring in the gale, violet light wreathing his form. His lips curved into a sharp, cold smirk.
"So this is the great lord of the dead?" His voice dripped with mockery. "You are even more ugly than I thought."
The skull turned toward him, its jaw creaking like a tomb door.
"Your arrogance will be your undoing, mortal pretender,"Nekron's voice was a choir of the damned, reverberating across the dead plains. "The full might of the Black Lantern Corps will change course towards Earth. While you waste yourself here, Earth is doomed.. destined for death. There is no one there who can destroy my soldiers."
Arthur's laugh was loud, yet menacing, but with a thread of genuine amusement. "You think I came here without preparing for that? If this was your way of sending me away from here, then it's not working." He raised his ringed hand, shadows swirling around his fingers. "I left my soldiers there. And Earth…" His eyes gleamed like molten amethyst. "…is far from defenseless. There are heroes who will fight for the bitter end, even when the odds spit in their faces."
He snapped his fingers, and the ground trembled. "All I have to do is kill you here, if possible." His smile sharpened into something almost feral. "No I won't stop with battery and your herald… I'll make sure you are gone as well."
The earth around the Black Central Power Battery erupted. Two colossal hands of pure shadow each the size of the battery itself clawed their way out from the abyss, their fingers like titanic spires of midnight. They wrapped around the battery, crushing it with a incredible force. The barrier around the battery flared black in protest as it fought to resist the inexorable squeeze of Arthur's will.
Black Hand's composure shattered. "No! No, you fool stop!"
Arthur didn't even look at him. With a mere move of his free hand, a wave of invisible force slammed Black Hand onto the ground, bones grinding against the stone. He pinned him there effortlessly with Ruler's Authority, the air itself shackling his limbs.
"You just keep watching, I'm getting tired of making you stay put" Arthur said coldly, voice like steel scraping stone. "If you can't die properly, just wait. When I destroy this," he nodded toward the screaming battery, "then I can make you rest for good."
Behind him, something twitched.
The corpse of Scar still sprawled where it had fallen, lifeless, headless, eyes staring at nothing jerked unnaturally. A thin hiss of wind carried a faint, sickly glow, and from the shadows came a small, shrieking comet of black a ring, glowing with black energy, homing in on the carcass like a starving predator.
It slid onto her frail finger.
Her body convulsed, fingers clawing into the ground, and a wet, unnatural sound echoed as her mouth gaped, spewing black light. The cut where her head had once been cleaved began to stitch, not with flesh, but with black. The dead Guardian twitched, then slowly, agonizingly, began to rise.
Arthur's gaze shifted slightly, one violet eye glinting over his shoulder. "Tch, of course..."
****
SPACE -
The void of space was quiet now, eerily so. Chunks of rocks drifted where a battle had raged only moments ago, and the remnants of Abin Sur floated in tatters, dissolving like ash into the starlight. Greed hovered nearby, his violet-shadowed form still humming with the residual energy of the fight, a faint trail of smoke curling from his new shadow ring. Razer's twin auras, one red with rage, one blue with hope flickered around him like two battling spirits barely kept in harmony.
Hal Jordan exhaled sharply, his green aura dimming to a steady glow as he lowered his fist. "That's it. Ring's gone. He's not regenerating this time."
The corpse of Abin Sur was no more, the void-light in its eyes fading, the remains of the black ring already tumbling away into the nothingness. Hal caught it with his construct, crushed it in one hard squeeze, and let whatever left of it scatter into dust.
"He tried to retreat," Hal muttered, frowning. "Pulled back… like he got the order to run." His jaw tightened as the thought sank in. "This isn't random. They're not all acting on their own. Someone is moving them like pawns."
Razer floated closer, "Whoever it is… they've spread farther than I imagined. Even out here in the middle of nowhere" His gaze fell on Greed, who remained silent, the violet glow in his eyes showing no emotion.
Before they could speak further, Hal's ring chimed an urgent, clipped tone. "Jordan," a fellow Green Lantern's voice came through, Kilowog, sharp with the sound of chaos in the background. "Status report: the Black Lanterns… they're retreating."
Hal's brow furrowed. "Retreating? Where?"
"From almost every sector," came the reply, static cutting in. "They're pulling back. Consolidating. All our scans show one sector lighting up, one world pulling them in."
Hal's gut turned to stone. "A certain planet?" he asked, trying to keep the dread out of his voice. "Tell me it's their homeworld. Tell me we just got a gift-wrapped target."
There was a pause then the Kilowog's voice came back, grim. "No. They're heading for Earth."
Hal's eyes widened, a green flare erupting around his fist. "Shit," he hissed under his breath. "I'm on my way."
Razer's red and blue lights pulsed. "Then I go with you. Allow me to aid you."
Hal glanced at him, half a bitter smile cutting across his face. "You're eager, I'll give you that." He raised his ring, already plotting the jump vector. "But you better be ready for hell. The numbers are growing out of control, it's like fighting cockroaches. You crush one wave, and another just crawls out of the grave."
Razer folded his arms, almost scoffing. "You know they are corpses, right? Of course they'll.."
"I know," Hal cut him off sharply, his jaw clenched. "I don't need the reminder." He turned his gaze forward, emerald light flaring bright enough to cut a path through the dark. "Let's just get back to Earth. The Corps will be there. Blue Lanterns too. And if my gut is right… the Shadow Lantern hasn't fallen, Arthur might have found the Herald already."
Greed tilted his head slightly at that, silent as the void, and he simply followed them.
"Move!" Hal barked, and the three of them shot off into the abyss, streaks of green, red-blue, and violet-shadow tearing across the stars heading for the one planet now standing at the center of the war.
****
OA -
The Hall of Guardians, The circle of ancient figures hovered in their usual formation small, robed, ancient as starlight, yet tonight there was no calm upon their features. Their faces were lined with clear worry.
"They withdraw," said a Guardian, his voice a bit edged. "Across every sector they fall back, abandoning footholds bought with the dead. This is no retreat born of defeat there is a purpose." His eyes gleamed pale in the green light as he looked to the others. "And that purpose points to one world."
"Earth," another intoned Sayd, her tone quiet, the word itself seeming to echo through the chamber.
"Of course, Earth," a third Guardian muttered, the folds of his robe rustling as he turned. "Always Earth. A planet cursed to be the fulcrum of every cosmic upheaval."
A ripple of voices followed, the circle breaking into murmured speculation.
"They will amass there. It is bait, perhaps."
"Or the endgame. Nekron may see something in that sphere none of us yet understand."
"Do we not understand already?" said a Guardian, his voice sharper than most "It is the world where too many mysteries exist, even that.."
The hall quieted at that, for they could not deny it.
Ganthet, who had stood silent, finally raised his gaze. "Our Corps is stretched thin," he said slowly, "every sector still trembles from their first push. To summon the entirety of the Green Lantern Corps to one planet would leave countless others exposed."
"Then leave them exposed?" another Guardian shot back, old fingers clenching on his staff. "And if this is misdirection? If the Black Lanterns scatter again once our force is gathered?"
"It would be chaos."
"Chaos has already arrived," Ganthet answered, and though his voice was level, his hand tightened. "We are no longer discussing the luxury of balanced deployment. We are discussing survival. You have seen the projections. You have felt their corruption creep even into Oa's distant pulse."
/-\
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