Emerging from the Hall of Justice's shield, the cloak carried Su Ming into the sky. Because of the glowing ring on his finger, the other Lantern monsters besieging the Hall of Justice completely ignored his presence.
Su Ming was immune to the control of the Lantern Corps, which also meant he had rejected their power.
Aside from an intangible ring, he got almost nothing. But perhaps as an unintended side effect of the ring, he was now able to speak in space.
It was a pleasant surprise, and Su Ming's main goal was the identity that this ring represented—he only wanted to use it as a pass.
"Stranglehold, disguise me to look like their uniform."
While flying, Su Ming gave the order, and soon, he had transformed into a generic Unseen Light Lantern.
His destination was Umbrax at the edge of the solar system, which was slowly approaching Earth, like a second black sun.
Massive solar flares moved across its surface like tentacles of a sea monster stretching out into space.
Surrounding it were countless dark planets—worlds it had captured and absorbed, now orbiting it like loyal followers.
They orbited Umbrax with a specific rhythm, forming a giant galaxy.
It couldn't be allowed to move forward any further. The eerie energy it emitted was already affecting the solar system, assimilating the outer planets.
As he passed through the debris belt formed by the shattered moon, Su Ming saw from a distance that John and Cyborg were being beaten by Sinestro. That red-faced man was incredibly powerful, far beyond an ordinary Lantern.
Sinestro had summoned a horde of creatures, and the two had no power to fight back.
Su Ming had no intention of interfering in their battle—it was unnecessary worry. Cyborg had the Mother Box, which could open Boom Tubes at any moment, allowing them to retreat if needed. He had more pressing matters.
The only strange thing was the absence of other Green Lanterns. While the rule was that each sector was guarded by a single Lantern, Hal Jordan wasn't exactly known for following rules—he had bent them for his home planet.
Sector 2814, which included Earth, still had four Green Lanterns, even excluding Kyle Rayner, who had become a White Lantern, and Guy Gardner, who had become a Red Lantern.
They often filled in for Hal with the Justice League, and Earth was always accessible to them without concern for Corps rules.
Besides Hal and John, there were Simon Baz and his apprentice, Jessica Cruz.
Simon's abilities were quite unique—he could even use his ring to resurrect people, making him one of a kind among the Green Lanterns. The Book of Oa called him the "Miracle Worker."
Jessica, on the other hand, was a typical young heroine, though she had once dated Barry.
Now, with such a big commotion in the solar system, and no Green Lantern Corps in sight, Su Ming couldn't help but wonder if they were facing some crisis as well.
If so, things were becoming complicated.
In reality, Hal Jordan, along with the Green Lantern Corps, plus the Red, Violet, Blue, and Indigo Corps, as well as White Lantern Kyle, were all struggling against the attacks from the Source Wall.
After Superman and Martian Manhunter made contact with the Totality that had fallen to Earth, the Source Wall on the edge of the DC Universe seemed to come alive. The giants trapped within it began to detach in their stone forms.
The Green Lantern Corps, who had been monitoring the wall, immediately realized something was wrong. They first dispatched a small team, but as the situation worsened, they mobilized completely.
Realizing the difficulty, Hal called on some old friends to bring their respective Corps to help, just barely holding the line.
Even so, Lanterns were still being wounded or killed from time to time.
Hal was aware of the situation in Sector 2814, but he chose to trust the Justice League. He set up the outermost defense line, while matters on Earth were left to his teammates.
Su Ming arrived at the edge of the solar system, hovering along the path of Umbrax towards Earth. The closer he got, the more immense the celestial body before him became.
Now his entire field of vision was filled with the purple-black mass.
This star had no warmth, nor any light—it seemed to be continuously absorbing the light from the solar system, like a massive black hole.
The planets within its galaxy resembled zombies, lifeless and dull, radiating a murky, bleak color.
Su Ming paused briefly to observe, then rushed towards the colossal star. Though he was mentally prepared, seeing it up close was still overwhelming.
He needed to find its weak point, so he moved in closer for a careful inspection, while keeping a safe distance to avoid being caught by the star's massive gravitational pull.
Suddenly, a purple beam shot past him, forcing Su Ming to stop.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Sinestro, clad in a black-and-purple uniform, appeared behind him, his red face twisted in mockery.
So, he had been seen through? When he saw Sinestro near the moon, naturally Sinestro had noticed the out-of-place Lantern too.
Su Ming thought Cyborg and John could hold out longer, but clearly, they were falling short.
He patted his chest, and Stranglehold retracted through the seams of his armor, revealing the black-and-yellow armor underneath.
Sinestro smiled, tilting his head with interest.
"So, it's you—Deathstroke from another world. The Yellow Lantern recorded your existence. Your soul has an Eastern name, and you haven't been honest with the Justice League."
"Long time no see, Sinestro. It feels like just yesterday we fought side by side," Su Ming said, quietly preparing for battle. What was Sinestro's weak point?
"Hahaha, it's not too late to fight side by side now. You and I are both wielders of the Unseen Light. Together, we can embrace destruction." The red-faced man extended a hand towards Su Ming.
Su Ming had no intention of shaking hands; instead, he drew the Duskblade. The Cloak of Levitation fluttered behind him, and Stranglehold tightened around every muscle in his body.
"Where's your Yellow Lantern ring? Tired of it?"
"Before destruction, none of this matters anymore." Sinestro raised his hands, not in surrender, but to draw power directly from Umbrax, like two bolts of purple lightning coursing into his arms.
Though both of them were talking, it was clear that a fight was inevitable.
"What good is destruction to us?" Su Ming asked. They all depended on this universe for survival, and destroying it would bring no benefit.
"It's for change—changing a decaying future." Sinestro clenched his fists, purple-black energy spreading over him, burning like ghostly fire. "Come, let me show you the secrets deep within everyone's hearts. Then you'll understand... everyone is a traitor! Everyone will fear my divine light!"