CXIII
Blackest Night
Of the 360 inhabited worlds he patrolled, Abin Sur of the Green Lantern Corps had made very few trips to Earth. The planet had yet to establish a presence in the surrounding galaxy and most interstellar threats seemed to be focused on the more advanced worlds, which kept the red-skinned native of the planet Ungara away from the blue and white planet. Some day he may truly believe that…
His rational mind chided him for believing in superstition - no matter who had been the source. It told him (yet again) not to dwell on the desperate lies of the five demon lords imprisoned on the planet Ysmault.
Or of the prophecies the five Terrors of the Cosmos had greedily spouted all those years ago when Abin Sur had been forced to rescue a ship that had crash-landed on the former throne-world of their Empire of Tears... Forbidden Ysmault.
Every sentient, reasonable being knew that Demons twisted facts into lies. It was a pattern that had been repeated throughout history.
But why had the five named Earth in their dread prophecy of Blackest Night?...
As a member of the Green Lantern Corps, the Guardians had finally summoned him near the planet of the prophecy. They had notified him of the destruction of Azarath, a non-violent, spiritually advanced plane of existence that had separated from Earth one thousand years before. Whoever had attacked such a peaceful place must surely be inheritably evil. Demons would even try to twist his sacred oath to use against him…
In brightest day, in blackest night,
No evil shall escape my sight.
Let those who worship evil's might,
Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!
And even if there were a prophesied blackest night, surely a brightest day would follow…
He was letting the five demon lords warp his thoughts. They had only sought to intrigue him, to make him return to Ysmault for an explanation. To draw him into web of confusion. That had been their plan all along, to instil unfounded uncertainty in him.
Navigating the protective dimension barrier and touching down upon Azarath, it was evident that an atrocity had happened here. But it wasn't anything that he hadn't seen before, no dark revelations of an end to the Corps. Still, it was his sacred duty to bring those who had waged this wholesale slaughter of innocent life to justice.
His subsequent investigations of the devastated land had revealed unspeakable murder against defenceless citizens. The life-forms of this small plane had been completely wiped out from existence in a ruthless, violent manner. No one was spared and - except for the carnage - the murderous offenders had not left much evidence at the scene in regards to motive… or their next move.
Tracking them proved difficult. He was certain it was the work of a group of beings, but they seemed to be able to disappear and reappear at will. Later, when the Guardians of Oa had further alerted Abin Sur to a powerful presence of evil energies that had emerged just inside of the Earth's orbit, he knew they had found his target. Was the Earth next on their path of destruction? But why Earth?...
After recharging his power ring and repeating his oath once more, the Green Lantern of sector 2814 broke through dimensional barriers to emerge into the solar system of Earth… when he witnessed the impact from space. He had heard that humans had developed weapons capable of such devastation, but the bright object that had caused the explosion of incredible magnitude seemed to have come from this system's sun… and directly at the target he tracked.
Without delay, Abin Sur streaked across the blackness of space and into the planet's atmosphere, bathed in the emerald power of his ring. Near the point of the impact, there were massive boulders and rocks that had been hurled into the atmosphere to an amazing height - which he guided calmly back to the safety of the land using his ring. The air was thick with dust which he also managed to clear.
He then saw the demonic-looking things which he felt certain had been responsible for the desecration of Azarath. It appeared that most of them had been vaporized by the recent explosion. Perhaps this blast had been a desperate measure of the Earth-people to defend themselves from these deadly invading hordes?
A quick sweep of the land allowed the Green Lantern to round up the handful of creatures that had survived, sealing them in a large, emerald sphere. These demons would have to answer for their crimes to the Guardians, but first he had questions of his own. When pressed, they gave him precious little information as to their actions, using a primitive language of a series of clicks and whirls, only issuing a single word that even the ring knew no meaning for… Trigon.
So be it - all questions would be laid to rest once the Guardians were involved. No secrets would remain from the masters of Oa. Still, he wondered as to the mechanism of their arrival on this world. They were awkward flyers… it would have taken them a lifetime to travel from Azarath to Earth - providing that they could even traverse dimensions.
They seemed such base, unsophisticated creatures. Had an entity simply been using them as tools to spread destruction?...
The power detection ability of his ring suddenly registered off the charts. Something was appearing…
He saw it… a massive, demonic being. His first thought was that one of the five Inversions had escaped from Ysmault. But no… the Inversions were physical manifestations of madness and this demon was certainly humanoid.
This one possessed a similar crimson skin tone to his own and a biped. If not for the four eyes and immense size, it could have been mistaken for an obscene Ungarian with the jagged physical attributes of a fierce warrior - not the scholars of his gentle home world.
Every sense and instrument told him that this was the source of power and evil, there could be no more doubt. He broadcast all readings from his ring to the Guardians who resided galaxies away. A plan would have to be formulated. Still… it would take time for reinforcements to arrive… time this world may no longer have.
Abin Sur flew into the demon's eye line, to address this mighty entity.
"I am the Green Lantern Abin Sur. This planet is under my protection. State your name and purpose on this world."
From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of three humans below. They were frantically yelling something at him in a strange language… he willed the ring to translate their speech but they had suddenly been encapsulated into a crimson force field, all sound silenced. It was the demon who answered him in his own native tongue of Ungara instead.
"Abin Sur… The Green Lantern of prophecy… welcome to your doom."
"What do you know of this prophecy, demon?! Answer!"
"Your ring shall fail you when you need it most… and there was never a time when you needed it more than now…"
That had been the first part of the prophecy on Ysmault… when Abin Sur had made the mistake of asking the demons how he would die. He had never repeated that to anyone! Not even the Guardians… but now, somehow, this demon knew!
Unwilling to allow this beast to twist his psyche further, Abin Sur channelled his powerful will through the ring, to stun the great beast into unconsciousness. It was obvious who had orchestrated the attack on Azarath and this monster would be made to answer for his crimes…
The concentrated blast of beams of green light-force had no effect against the colossus - except to provide amusement for the demon. Had his ring finally betrayed him?!...
"I am Trigon, mortal. Would you dare to wield a weapon powered by your will against me?! Against the most powerful will in the Universe! Shall I show you how your ring will betray you, Ungarian?"
Again Abin Sur focused his entire will through his ring into a force beam of incredible strength that would have levelled mountains… and again to no effect. Something fluttered inside the emerald champion… something he hadn't truly known for a century or more… fear.
The member of the Green Lantern Corps suddenly felt his hand gravitating towards the side of his head… it seemed to be moving independently of its own free will! Abin Sur struggled with all his might to resist its steady progression to his temple… until at last he felt the knuckles of his own fist and the Power Ring pressed directly against the side of his head.
"One may fall but a thousand more will take my place, demon!"
"A million of you could come and it would not matter. The power of will is useless against the course of Destiny, Ungarian. But resist… please… force your ring to move. Allow it spare your life. Make your fingers unfurl so that you may remove the cursed ring and renounce the Lanterns…
Or fulfill the prophecy that was foretold, Abin Sur. Sacrifice yourself to the true child of Blackest Night. Reveal to my daughter the power of the prophecy given to her. Prepare to enter Blackest Night…"
An emerald beam - no wider than the width of his finger – shot from the ring that had failed him and directly through Abin Sur's head. As the mortally wounded Green Lantern plummeted to the ground while three mortals below gazed upon in horror, he remembered... There had been another part to the prophecy… where the deeds of the ring's successor would surpass even his own. He prayed to Oa that this was true…
For if it were true, the ring had not failed him... It had relieved him.
He had slipped into blackest night, but a new champion of Oa would arise to bring about brightest day…