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Chapter 201: Attempting to Become a Battery
Author: Rowing Without Oars 233
All the power rings chose one person. What was going on?
This was an unprecedented development that left everyone stunned. The prospective members all cast questioning gazes toward their Guardian Master, but the Guardian...
The Master's expression seemed to say, "Why are you looking at me? I don't know the answer to this one either."
"Perhaps the parameters of the power rings still need calibration," Sayd mused. "The Green Lantern rings would never have a situation where multiple rings select the same person simultaneously."
Ganthet nodded in agreement. "The program still needs improvement."
It seemed there was a problem with the candidate selection program. Fixing bugs is always more difficult than writing the program, and it seemed this was true even for the Little Blue Men. Perhaps this also explained why the great Guardians of the Universe were mostly bald.
Orin Vale casually picked up one of the power rings hovering before him. At that moment, he inexplicably felt the other rings dim slightly, giving him a strong sense of déjà vu, like being at an audition.
He figured it was most likely because the nature of his own light was similar to the Blue Lantern light, which had attracted the rings in some way.
The Blue Lantern recruits from below had also made their way up. Saint Walker looked at Orin Vale with delight. "You must possess a steadfast hope that is rare in the universe. Perhaps you are the one the Legion has been waiting for!"
"I don't know. Further research is needed to be certain."
"But it is a fact that the power rings chose you, and there was also that time on Biao..." Ganthet trailed off.
He had found it a bit strange back on Biao. The experimental Blue Lantern power source he was carrying had reacted to Orin Vale, but at that point, Orin Vale definitely shouldn't have had any tool like a power ring on him.
The use of the Emotional Spectrum required a tool. The most common were power rings, but there were also spaceships, gloves, and the like. Even a powerhouse like Hal Jordan, whose willpower was off the charts, still needed a power ring to wield the green light.
But back on Biao, he had distinctly felt that this creature of light seemed to have harnessed the power of the Light of Hope with his bare hands, without a power ring or any other tool.
This was completely new, even to the Guardians' tech tree. Ganthet was greatly astonished, but at the time, he was trapped deep underground and couldn't see what was happening on the surface from such a distance, so he wasn't entirely sure of what had occurred. However, he instinctively realized that the person before him might be the key to building the Blue Lantern Corps.
"You said there are two more tests?" Orin Vale looked at Ganthet.
Ganthet nodded. "The test is divided into three parts to test the qualities of the corps members to the fullest extent."
"Then count me in for the next two parts as well," Orin Vale said decisively.
The brief burst from the Blue Lantern power source on Biao had allowed him to absorb a massive amount of energy, which led Orin Vale to a few speculations. An Ultraman's body was a container for energy itself, and his earlier research on the Manhunters had given him a slight understanding of how energy operated in Emotional Spectrum weapons. He had used what he learned then to convert the absorbed energy into the light of the Ultraman Race.
An ordinary creature would need a power ring to wield the light of emotion, but his own body acted as both the container and the weapon, achieving an effect similar to a power ring.
However, that energy had been quickly expended in the battle with the Manhunter commander. He needed to come into contact with a similar energy source again to reabsorb and convert the energy of the Blue Lantern light.
But he didn't want to stop there. He had a bolder idea.
What if he could be more than just a power ring?
To be even bolder, what if he could act as a central power battery?
Like the Central Power Battery at the heart of the Green Lantern Corps, which simultaneously powered the entire planet of Oa and the power rings of three thousand six hundred Green Lanterns. Every Lantern had to periodically return to the Central Power Battery to charge their personal lantern, and before every operation, they had to use their personal lantern to charge their power ring.
Of course, the energy wasn't truly infinite, but the energy level of the Central Power Battery was so immense that, even for the Lantern Corps, it approached the concept of infinity. It could continuously draw the light of willpower from the Emotional Spectrum and had never been extinguished in the hundreds of millions of years since the Green Lantern Corps was founded.
So, if he could bypass all these Lantern Corps tools and directly access and draw energy from the Emotional Spectrum himself—just like the Central Power Battery—wouldn't he be instantly fully charged?
To achieve this, he needed to conduct further research into the attributes of the blue light and how it interacted with his body.
Naturally, the two Guardians had no objections.
Orin Vale joined the ranks of the new recruits. They were instructed to sit in designated positions, close their eyes, and clear their minds.
When he opened his eyes again, it was as if he were looking at hell.
A burning sky, a cracked earth. The once-thriving metropolis had been reduced to ruins. The fractured remains of buildings were scattered around the city, a series of blurred and tangled wrecks. Thick, gray smoke emanated from the ruins, drifting through the desolate, burning urban sprawl.
Dark clouds shrouded the entire Earth. The once-crowded world was suddenly empty, without a single trace of life remaining.
Orin Vale looked around, feeling like the last living being in the world, standing alone in the vast, burning landscape.
A sharp wind howled through the broken structures, making a hoarse, mournful sound, as if lamenting the city's sorrow. And on that barren land, there was a person in the shadows.
His face was indistinct; for some reason, only a vague silhouette was visible, with no discernible features. He knelt on the ground, his head bowed, quietly facing this desolate world.
He was muttering something.
Orin Vale stepped forward and heard his words clearly.
"You could have prevented all of this..."
"What was the point of protecting anything?"
"In the end, you couldn't protect anything at all..."
Shadows spread silently from the feet of the bowed figure, as if poised to devour the entire world.
Looking at this figure from behind, which gave him a strange sense of déjà vu, Orin Vale quickly formed a guess.
Although the Blue Lantern light was powerful, because hope was the only peaceful light among the Seven Lantern Corps, the power ring itself had no combat capabilities. It was essentially a corps of healers.
Its most core and fundamental ability was to cleanse negative emotions and eliminate the darkness in a person's heart.
*Perhaps this was the content of the second round of assessment? A test of the ability to instill hope?*
At this thought, Orin Vale closed his eyes, trying to feel the warm light of hope he had touched before, trying to grasp that feeling.
Then, he cast that light toward the lost soul trapped in the darkness.
"Don't worry."
"Everything will be alright."
Orin Vale smiled faintly, feeling that he had grasped the essence of it.
They were born to spread hope; his racial talent helped him get started quickly. Moreover, he considered his comprehension and learning ability to be quite good, and he was confident that his understanding of the way Blue Lantern light worked had deepened another level.
However...
*Pfft—*
Under the illumination of his light, the shadowy figure's head snapped back, and he spat out a mouthful of blood that flew far.
Orin Vale blinked.
"?"
*That's not right. Isn't the Blue Lantern light one of hope and healing? Why does his condition seem to have worsened?*
*Am I doing it wrong?*
(end of chapter)
Author: Rowing Without Oars 233
All the power rings chose one person. What was going on?
This was an unprecedented development that left everyone stunned. The prospective members all cast questioning gazes toward their Guardian Master, but the Guardian...
The Master's expression seemed to say, "Why are you looking at me? I don't know the answer to this one either."
"Perhaps the parameters of the power rings still need calibration," Sayd mused. "The Green Lantern rings would never have a situation where multiple rings select the same person simultaneously."
Ganthet nodded in agreement. "The program still needs improvement."
It seemed there was a problem with the candidate selection program. Fixing bugs is always more difficult than writing the program, and it seemed this was true even for the Little Blue Men. Perhaps this also explained why the great Guardians of the Universe were mostly bald.
Orin Vale casually picked up one of the power rings hovering before him. At that moment, he inexplicably felt the other rings dim slightly, giving him a strong sense of déjà vu, like being at an audition.
He figured it was most likely because the nature of his own light was similar to the Blue Lantern light, which had attracted the rings in some way.
The Blue Lantern recruits from below had also made their way up. Saint Walker looked at Orin Vale with delight. "You must possess a steadfast hope that is rare in the universe. Perhaps you are the one the Legion has been waiting for!"
"I don't know. Further research is needed to be certain."
"But it is a fact that the power rings chose you, and there was also that time on Biao..." Ganthet trailed off.
He had found it a bit strange back on Biao. The experimental Blue Lantern power source he was carrying had reacted to Orin Vale, but at that point, Orin Vale definitely shouldn't have had any tool like a power ring on him.
The use of the Emotional Spectrum required a tool. The most common were power rings, but there were also spaceships, gloves, and the like. Even a powerhouse like Hal Jordan, whose willpower was off the charts, still needed a power ring to wield the green light.
But back on Biao, he had distinctly felt that this creature of light seemed to have harnessed the power of the Light of Hope with his bare hands, without a power ring or any other tool.
This was completely new, even to the Guardians' tech tree. Ganthet was greatly astonished, but at the time, he was trapped deep underground and couldn't see what was happening on the surface from such a distance, so he wasn't entirely sure of what had occurred. However, he instinctively realized that the person before him might be the key to building the Blue Lantern Corps.
"You said there are two more tests?" Orin Vale looked at Ganthet.
Ganthet nodded. "The test is divided into three parts to test the qualities of the corps members to the fullest extent."
"Then count me in for the next two parts as well," Orin Vale said decisively.
The brief burst from the Blue Lantern power source on Biao had allowed him to absorb a massive amount of energy, which led Orin Vale to a few speculations. An Ultraman's body was a container for energy itself, and his earlier research on the Manhunters had given him a slight understanding of how energy operated in Emotional Spectrum weapons. He had used what he learned then to convert the absorbed energy into the light of the Ultraman Race.
An ordinary creature would need a power ring to wield the light of emotion, but his own body acted as both the container and the weapon, achieving an effect similar to a power ring.
However, that energy had been quickly expended in the battle with the Manhunter commander. He needed to come into contact with a similar energy source again to reabsorb and convert the energy of the Blue Lantern light.
But he didn't want to stop there. He had a bolder idea.
What if he could be more than just a power ring?
To be even bolder, what if he could act as a central power battery?
Like the Central Power Battery at the heart of the Green Lantern Corps, which simultaneously powered the entire planet of Oa and the power rings of three thousand six hundred Green Lanterns. Every Lantern had to periodically return to the Central Power Battery to charge their personal lantern, and before every operation, they had to use their personal lantern to charge their power ring.
Of course, the energy wasn't truly infinite, but the energy level of the Central Power Battery was so immense that, even for the Lantern Corps, it approached the concept of infinity. It could continuously draw the light of willpower from the Emotional Spectrum and had never been extinguished in the hundreds of millions of years since the Green Lantern Corps was founded.
So, if he could bypass all these Lantern Corps tools and directly access and draw energy from the Emotional Spectrum himself—just like the Central Power Battery—wouldn't he be instantly fully charged?
To achieve this, he needed to conduct further research into the attributes of the blue light and how it interacted with his body.
Naturally, the two Guardians had no objections.
Orin Vale joined the ranks of the new recruits. They were instructed to sit in designated positions, close their eyes, and clear their minds.
When he opened his eyes again, it was as if he were looking at hell.
A burning sky, a cracked earth. The once-thriving metropolis had been reduced to ruins. The fractured remains of buildings were scattered around the city, a series of blurred and tangled wrecks. Thick, gray smoke emanated from the ruins, drifting through the desolate, burning urban sprawl.
Dark clouds shrouded the entire Earth. The once-crowded world was suddenly empty, without a single trace of life remaining.
Orin Vale looked around, feeling like the last living being in the world, standing alone in the vast, burning landscape.
A sharp wind howled through the broken structures, making a hoarse, mournful sound, as if lamenting the city's sorrow. And on that barren land, there was a person in the shadows.
His face was indistinct; for some reason, only a vague silhouette was visible, with no discernible features. He knelt on the ground, his head bowed, quietly facing this desolate world.
He was muttering something.
Orin Vale stepped forward and heard his words clearly.
"You could have prevented all of this..."
"What was the point of protecting anything?"
"In the end, you couldn't protect anything at all..."
Shadows spread silently from the feet of the bowed figure, as if poised to devour the entire world.
Looking at this figure from behind, which gave him a strange sense of déjà vu, Orin Vale quickly formed a guess.
Although the Blue Lantern light was powerful, because hope was the only peaceful light among the Seven Lantern Corps, the power ring itself had no combat capabilities. It was essentially a corps of healers.
Its most core and fundamental ability was to cleanse negative emotions and eliminate the darkness in a person's heart.
*Perhaps this was the content of the second round of assessment? A test of the ability to instill hope?*
At this thought, Orin Vale closed his eyes, trying to feel the warm light of hope he had touched before, trying to grasp that feeling.
Then, he cast that light toward the lost soul trapped in the darkness.
"Don't worry."
"Everything will be alright."
Orin Vale smiled faintly, feeling that he had grasped the essence of it.
They were born to spread hope; his racial talent helped him get started quickly. Moreover, he considered his comprehension and learning ability to be quite good, and he was confident that his understanding of the way Blue Lantern light worked had deepened another level.
However...
*Pfft—*
Under the illumination of his light, the shadowy figure's head snapped back, and he spat out a mouthful of blood that flew far.
Orin Vale blinked.
"?"
*That's not right. Isn't the Blue Lantern light one of hope and healing? Why does his condition seem to have worsened?*
*Am I doing it wrong?*
(end of chapter)
