In the end, Kara couldn't make sense of it. She had heard of the seven Lantern Corps, so White and Black Lantern rings were comprehensible. But what was this new ring? Why did it look so unique, and what exactly did it represent? Was it truly like something out of The Lord of the Rings, a ring for each finger, or even akin to the legends of King Solomon?
But the most baffling aspect was that this tenth ring was unlike the others. It didn't display any specific color, and there was no indication of which emotional spectrum or belief it drew its power from.
Kara glanced down at her left hand, studying the ring on her thumb, perplexed.
"What kind of ring is this?" she muttered.
And not only that—she was wearing all the other rings as well. Why did they all acknowledge her at once? How could she wield so many? Kara couldn't understand it, but the green ring seemed able to counteract the harmful rays of the red sun. She knew it could become a powerful asset.
Kara had read enough about her heritage to understand that the Kryptonians once had significant grievances with the Guardians of the Universe. The Guardians' experiments had indirectly led to the creation of Doomsday, Krypton's most terrifying bio-weapon. Yet, Krypton's later decision to end its imperial expansion and colonization campaigns had eventually eased tensions with other alien powers like the Asgardians, shifting from rivals to cautious allies.
Even Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern, seemed relieved when he saw Kara was calmer, as he finally dared to approach her. "Kara, are you alright?" he asked cautiously. The intense power she had displayed earlier made him uneasy, and it was only now that he felt safe enough to fly over to her.
"Yes, I'm fine," Kara responded with a thoughtful tone, as she continued examining the green ring. "I have the ability to create a space-time tunnel and jump through it. With this, I could be back on Earth in a second." Kara looked over at Hal. "You're a Green Lantern too. Tell me, what other powers does this ring hold?"
Green Lantern rings could indeed open time-space tunnels and even travel across dimensions, although their time-travel capabilities were limited—able only to witness, not to alter, historical events.
Kara's attention drifted back to the strange ring on her left thumb, her gaze lingering on it thoughtfully. She had an inkling that this ring held more power than the others. It was as though her left thumb had always been reserved for it, a vacant spot waiting to be filled by something beyond the ordinary Lantern rings. The tenth ring had seemingly come to her of its own accord, crossing space and time, and Kara suspected she wouldn't have found it otherwise. She didn't know whether it came from some distant past or a far-off future, but its origin was still a mystery to her.
"I need answers," she said, her eyes narrowing. "It's time to speak with the Guardians again."
When Kara returned to the hall, the other Lanterns had dispersed, including Sinestro, who had been taken for medical care. She knew she hadn't killed him with that blow; it had only left him severely injured. But she understood that taking his life could have had grave consequences.
The Guardians were waiting, having anticipated her return. They had witnessed the spectacle caused by Kara when she wielded all ten rings, but seeing the unfamiliar ring on her thumb left them visibly shaken.
"How… how do you have that ring?" one of the Guardians asked, visibly disturbed.
"Oh?" Kara raised her left thumb, showing off the mysterious ring. "You know what this is? Care to share?"
The Guardians exchanged worried glances, and with an expression that spoke of a deep-rooted unease, one of them finally muttered, "The First Lantern… We call him Volthoom."
They explained that long ago, before they became the Guardians of the Universe, they were an ordinary alien race with no knowledge of the emotional spectrum. But a human, traveling from an unknown future, arrived during the Guardians' early days. He taught them the ways of the emotional spectrum, and the first Lantern ring was created under his guidance, a ring known as the First Lantern.
"It's not bound to a single emotional spectrum, but instead draws from all of them, transcending the power of each individual ring," a Guardian elaborated, his voice grim. "It has the power to rewrite reality, traverse time and space, alter history—even reshape entire universes."
Kara listened intently. "So, why does this ring even exist now? And why me?"
"The First Lantern, Volthoom, was a powerful being, but his potential to alter reality terrified us," the Guardian explained. "We sealed him away ages ago to prevent catastrophe. His appearance now could signal a dark return—a threat to all creation."
Kara pondered this. The First Lantern had indeed come from the future, and perhaps one day she would face Volthoom himself.