Green Lantern's Blight
**Time:** 1702 AA / 1818 AD
**Location:** The Citadel, Sector 3601
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Sleep was a distant memory.
The quiet of the Citadel—once a source of calm and control—felt like an unbearable weight pressing down on me. My mind buzzed with possibilities, contingencies, and worst-case scenarios, each one gnawing away at the foundations of the fragile fortress I'd built around myself.
I paced the length of my personal chambers, the soft hum of the Ring in my ear, a constant reminder of power waiting to be wielded. The faint glow from the twin moons cast long, jagged shadows along the walls.
They felt like cracks.
I couldn't afford cracks.
**++ Incoming communication: Thala Dor-Van. ++**
I didn't hesitate this time. "Accept."
Thala's face materialized in front of me, her features illuminated by the cold green light of the Citadel's command center. Her expression was controlled, but I could see the tension in her eyes, the way her fingers curled just slightly around the edge of the console.
"Michael," she began, her voice low and urgent, "we've detected another anomaly. This one's inside the Sector."
I felt a chill slip down my spine. "Where?"
"Just beyond the crystal forests, near the Valley of Echoes."
My jaw tightened. The Valley of Echoes was close—too close to the Citadel, to everything I'd worked to protect. This wasn't just a test. This was a deliberate move, a needle sliding into the weakest part of my defenses.
"How strong is it?"
"Minimal right now," she said, "but it's growing. Slowly, like it's feeding on something."
"I'm on my way," I said, the words sharp, each one a promise.
"Michael, wait—" Thala started, but I severed the connection before she could finish.
*No more waiting.* No more debating, no more doubt. This was my Sector, and every challenge was a threat to my authority. To my control. To *me.*
I would not let it stand.
---
**Time:** 30 Minutes Later
**Location:** The Valley of Echoes, Sector 3601
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The air in the Valley was cold, thin, and filled with a strange vibration that seemed to crawl beneath my skin. The crystal formations rose around me like jagged sentinels, their surfaces reflecting distorted versions of myself—a hundred fractured Michaels, each one a little more unrecognizable than the last.
I hated this place.
The anomaly pulsed ahead, a swirling mass of dark energy suspended in the air like an open wound. It was small, barely the size of a human head, but I knew better than to underestimate it. Small cracks could become chasms if left alone.
The Ring's glow intensified as I approached, scanning the anomaly.
**++ Dimensional instability confirmed. Origin: Unknown. Growth rate: Accelerating. ++**
"Contain it," I ordered, my voice a low growl.
**++ Construct ready. ++**
A cage of green light formed around the anomaly, layers of reinforced willpower folding in on themselves. The energy within the cage writhed and twisted, dark tendrils pressing against the walls of my construct.
It wasn't enough.
Cracks began to form in the green light, thin lines splintering outward like veins of poison.
I gritted my teeth, pouring more energy into the construct. "Hold. *Damn it, hold.*"
The Ring pulsed, straining against the force of the anomaly. Sweat beaded on my forehead, my muscles burning with the effort of maintaining control.
Control.
The cracks deepened. A jagged tendril shot through the construct, reaching for the sky like a grasping finger.
**++ Warning: Containment failure imminent. ++**
"NO!" I roared, pushing more power into the Ring. The green light blazed, flaring so brightly that the crystals around me shimmered like molten glass.
For a moment, it felt like I had it. The tendril recoiled, the anomaly shrank.
Then the entire construct shattered.
A shockwave of dark energy blasted outward, knocking me off my feet and sending me skidding across the ground. My back slammed into a crystal spire, pain lancing through my spine.
I staggered to my feet, my vision swimming. The anomaly had grown larger, its tendrils spreading out like roots burrowing into the ground.
I'd failed.
"Michael!"
Thala's voice rang out, and I turned to see her flying toward me, Sul-Da just behind her. Their faces were etched with worry, but I barely registered it.
"Stay back!" I snapped. "I've got this."
"You're losing control," Thala said, landing beside me. "You can't do this alone."
"I don't need help," I growled, my fists trembling. "I just need more power."
Sul-Da stepped forward, his eyes wide. "Michael, listen to her. This thing… it's not just about power. It's feeding off something. Maybe off *you.*"
"Off me?" I snapped, my eyes narrowing. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Your fear. Your anger. Your need to control everything," Sul-Da said softly. "It's like it's using that against you."
I opened my mouth to argue, but the words died on my tongue. The tendrils of dark energy pulsed, almost like they were mocking me, feeding on the fury that was boiling in my veins.
I was giving it power.
For a moment, the truth hung in the air, sharp and undeniable.
*Control is an illusion.*
My hands shook, the glow of the Ring flickering.
"Michael," Thala said, her voice steady, "we need to work together. We can't let this thing divide us. That's what it wants."
I swallowed hard, the taste of bile bitter in my mouth. Everything in me screamed to push them away, to hold onto my authority, my power. But the dark energy was growing stronger, feeding off my stubbornness.
I took a shaky breath. "Fine. Help me."
Thala nodded, her eyes softening just a fraction. "Together."
Sul-Da's hands flared with blue light, and Thala's crimson aura shimmered. I let my own green energy flare, merging with theirs. The light expanded, pushing back the darkness.
The tendrils writhed, retreating inch by inch.
Slowly, painfully, the anomaly began to shrink, its dark light fading.
For the first time in a long time, I felt something crack in my mind—not a fracture, but a release. A loosening of the chains I'd wrapped around myself.
The light flared one last time, and the anomaly collapsed in on itself, vanishing with a soundless *snap.*
The silence that followed was deafening.
I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Thala and Sul-Da stood beside me, their faces weary but relieved.
"We did it," Sul-Da whispered.
I nodded slowly. "Yeah. We did."
But deep inside, I knew this was just the beginning.