Thea had been monitoring events throughout. Although Kyle Rayner's journey had largely followed the original timeline, there remained a margin of uncertainty—he had a strong chance of saving the universe, but failure wasn't impossible.
She'd pre-positioned teleportation anchors near each of her loved ones. If the universe detonated and underwent a hard reboot, every friend and family member would be whisked to her pocket dimension for safekeeping.
In the worst-case scenario, she could personally intervene to save Earth. Everyone else out there would just have to fend for themselves.
But the Source Wall blocked her sight completely. Even the Anti-Monitor Tower she'd seized from the Antimatter Universe couldn't glimpse a thing inside. All she could do was wait in silence for the final outcome.
Another day passed. By her calculations, the universal reboot was only hours away.
Ordinary people continued their daily lives, oblivious to the catastrophe bearing down on them.
The blue and orange lights finally died. The seven Lantern Corps that had once spanned the cosmos seemed to have passed into history. Whether the universe itself would follow remained anyone's guess.
Why is it taking so long? What is Kyle Rayner doing in there?
Even Thea was growing anxious. In her estimation, Kyle was supposed to charge in, dump the Entities into their respective pools, then waltz out with the Life Equation. Simple and clean. So why was it taking this long?
But fate, it seemed, had everything in hand. With roughly thirty minutes left on the clock, a beam of white light—considerably dimmer than when it had entered—shot out from behind the wall.
The Guardians scrambled over each other to catch him. "Colleague Rayner!" "Torch Bearer!" The scene dissolved into chaos.
Watching this unfold, Thea finally exhaled. She extended her senses: Lantern rings across the universe were flickering back to life. The Emotional Spectrum had stabilized. The seven Entities had dissolved into their purest emotional essence and replenished the Reservoir.
And Kyle Rayner's White Lantern Ring now contained something that defied easy description.
The Life Equation.
Thea allowed herself a small smile. As long as the Equation was outside the Source Wall, everything else was manageable. But now wasn't the time to make her move—the banner of righteousness still needed to fly high.
Her gaze pierced the dimensional barriers, turning toward New Genesis. Though she'd anticipated this, events were unfolding exactly as expected.
The moment she'd spotted the Life Equation, Highfather had spotted it too.
With Thea's rise and the Anti-Life Equation in Darkseid's possession, Highfather's pressure had been mounting by the day.
He still cut an imposing figure, but the wisdom in his eyes had dimmed—replaced by urgency and a trace of greed so faint it was nearly imperceptible.
As the leader of the forces of justice, however, he couldn't simply charge in and seize it by force. He had subordinates' morale to consider, relationships to manage, appearances to maintain.
Highfather's gaze fell first on the underworld. Thea's power already exceeded his own. Long before his eyes reached her, she'd slipped into her playing-dead routine—lying there in perfect stillness, the picture of Sleeping Beauty.
He then looked toward Apokolips. Darkseid had already extracted most of the Anti-Life Equation. A dark, roiling mass of energy loomed above the planet, driving the demon armies into a frenzy of assault. But Darkseid was holding firm, and with none of the Archdemons committing to the fight, his odds were strong.
As for Heaven, Highfather didn't bother looking. Each Archangel individually was weaker than him, but together they could overwhelm him—to say nothing of Michael, lord of Heaven, whose power he had no desire to test.
Thea "grievously wounded and comatose." Darkseid and Hell's forces both tied down fighting each other. Heaven's stance unclear, though they'd always remained above worldly affairs and theoretically wouldn't compete for the Life Equation.
More to the point: Darkseid had the Anti-Life Equation. If Highfather claimed the Life Equation, cosmic balance would be preserved.
He was practically hypnotizing himself with justifications.
The catch was that he couldn't take it the way Darkseid would. Even dealing with a mortal like Kyle Rayner required tact and discretion.
Especially given that Diana knew Kyle Rayner personally. If Highfather, champion of justice, resorted to outright theft, what would she think?
The warrior goddess's unwavering commitment to justice and her commanding presence inspired respect even in Highfather. Diana was on good terms with several of his legion commanders. If he didn't want to alienate everyone around him, he needed to tread carefully. And yet the Life Equation's pull had shattered his composure entirely.
Once selfish ambition takes root, it grows like wildfire. Somewhere deep down, Highfather knew he shouldn't cross this line. But the realities pressing in on him left him feeling like he had no choice.
His legion commanders were formidable warriors, each with their own sense of justice. Highfather didn't want them involved.
After careful thought, he summoned his adopted son, Orion. Darkseid's second-born had been raised as Highfather's own, and Orion would lay down his life for the man he called Father.
"Father, you called for me?" Before long, Orion arrived at Highfather's chambers—bigger, broader, and more imposing than ever.
"...My son, I need you to handle something."
"Your command is my duty. I will obey any order unconditionally—just tell me who the enemy is!" Orion declared with characteristic fervor.
"I need you to travel to a particular universe and find this young man. Bring him back to New Genesis. He possesses the ultimate weapon that could end the war between good and evil." Highfather kept the details deliberately vague.
Orion studied the image on the screen. Kyle Rayner—reasonably handsome, clearly young. Not someone he recognized, and the man didn't look evil. He bore no resemblance to the cosmic monsters or interstellar crime syndicates Orion had expected to hunt.
But orders were orders. He pulled out his Mother Box to receive the target coordinates.
One look and he froze. These coordinates were unmistakable. "Father, this universe is...?"
"The one where the Goddess of Death and Diana come from. Their home universe."
Orion was thoroughly confused. If they already had allies there, why send him?
New Gods generally avoided visiting another New God's home universe. The native populations worshipped New Gods as genuine deities—showing up as yet another "god" caused nothing but complications. It was an unspoken rule among all New Gods, not just New Genesis but Apokolips too. Unless you were there to fight, you didn't set foot in someone else's home universe.
"My son, do you believe in my justice?" Highfather deflected with a question.
"I always have. Without hesitation." Orion's response was absolute, and he meant every word.
"Trust me. You're the only one I can entrust this to. Take my personal guard, select the most loyal soldiers, and bring this man to New Genesis as quickly as possible."