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Chapter 207 The Target Is Undamaged
Author: Rowing Without Oars 233
The universe is far more complex than it appears to the average person.
The things that constitute its existence are not just the matter people are familiar with, but also spirit. The spirit, emotions, and even the very existence of thought in intelligent beings all originate from a part of the fundamental laws. And these laws, in turn, can sometimes become matter.
Parallax is precisely such an existence.
It is the embodiment of all fear in the universe, a monster formed when the spirit called Fear was given physical form. From this description, it's not hard to imagine how powerful it can be.
"What is Parallax?" Hal demanded.
Ganthet frowned. "How do you know about Parallax, Lantern Jordan? That's history. It was already..."
"Destroyed? Sorry, but it's alive and well right now. And last week, it just killed seventeen Green Lanterns, all elites from the Lantern Corps," Hal said icily.
Ganthet and Sayd both showed expressions of surprise.
"That's impossible. Parallax has... It shouldn't be in this universe anymore."
Sayd said, "We banished it, exiled it to the Anti-Matter Universe billions of years ago. That place is completely cut off from our reality; it's impossible for it to appear."
Orin Vale listened silently from the side, noticing some differences from the early lore. In the original comics, the Guardians also subdued Parallax billions of years ago, but they imprisoned it within the Green Lantern Central Power Battery on Oa.
Because Parallax is the embodiment of fear, corresponding to the yellow of the Emotional Spectrum, it caused all functions of the early Green Lantern rings to be ineffective against anything yellow.
"It's true, I saw it with my own eyes," Hal said irritably. "The power ring is almost useless against it. An entire squadron of Green Lanterns was like a swarm of flies before it. I've never seen anything so powerful..."
"Because it is the emotional entity of fear, the antithesis of the green light of willpower you wield," Ganthet said grimly. "You were countered, so naturally, you were no match for it."
"I went to ask those Guardians, but they said it was classified information and told me not to pry," Hal said, annoyed. "That's one thing. But the Lantern Corps calculated its trajectory, and that thing is clearly headed for Earth!
But those cowards forbade us from attacking! I see it now, these Guardians are all spineless cowards. They say they'll prepare to engage on Oa and will act when Parallax arrives... but I can recognize the cowardice in their eyes.
They're scared. They're afraid of that thing, and they've even forbidden the Green Lanterns from fighting it. They're going to let my planet die."
Ganthet sighed softly.
"My brethren... they abandoned what we swore to protect so long ago that they've forgotten why we fought in the first place."
Sayd met his gaze and said, "We must go."
Ganthet nodded in agreement, then looked at Hal. "We must be clear, Lantern Hal. Sayd and I have no way of fighting Parallax either. As the embodiment of the universe's fear, it is more powerful than an entire corps combined.
But we will do what we can..."
"No need," Orin Vale interrupted. "I'll handle it."
Although Parallax should theoretically be a terrifying enemy, to Orin Vale, it was the most suitable and profitable experience-point jackpot at his current stage.
A month ago, he might not have been able to deal with it, but now he was confident.
Because of attribute countering.
There are countering relationships between the different lights of the Emotional Spectrum. The Yellow Light of Fear happens to counter the Green Light, which is why the Green Lantern Corps seemed like a bunch of fragile weaklings in front of Parallax.
But, as luck would have it, the Blue Light of Hope also happens to be the very light that counters fear the most. A Blue Lantern Ring can instantly drain the energy of a Yellow Lantern Ring, using hope to eliminate fear.
It's immensely powerful, yet perfectly countered by my attributes. Who could be a better experience farm than Parallax?
Ganthet mused, "I know you might think the power of the Blue Light will counter the yellow spectrum's power. But Parallax is different. It isn't just a Yellow Lantern user; it's the yellow emotional entity, the embodiment of the universe's fear..."
"And I'm not just an ordinary Blue Lantern user either," Orin Vale smiled. "Thank you for your concern, but I have this under control. The greatest help you can give me right now is to hurry and accelerate the establishment of the Blue Lantern Corps.
If I need anything else, I'll ask."
"...Alright." Ganthet nodded. "Then be careful."
"I will be."
Orin Vale knew Ganthet meant well, but this Little Blue Man didn't really understand what the current Orin Vale was capable of.
"Back to Earth together?"
As they flew out of Odym's atmosphere, Orin Vale asked Hal, who was beside him.
Hal shook his head. "I still need to go to Oa first and try to convince those old stubborn fools. Of course, the chances are slim. I'll head back to Earth in a bit. Even if I'm alone, I'll fight to the very last moment."
Orin Vale wanted to say it wasn't necessary, but Hal was insistent, so he let him be. The two parted ways for the time being, one flying toward Oa, the other toward Earth.
A vortex of light opened in Sector 2814, and a red and silver afterimage shot out. The vortex closed, and Orin Vale, trailing lightning, rushed into the stars.
After a series of interstellar jumps, he was already back in the Solar System.
It had been less than a month since he last left, but upon his return, he was completely different. He had now undergone a complete hardware upgrade to adapt to the current environment; blowing up a planet was no longer a big deal.
He hadn't tested his speed yet, but he could already feel a significant increase. This time, it wasn't due to the time-space techniques of the Speed Force, but a case of 'brute force creates miracles'—an attribute leap brought about by the increase in his energy level.
Shrouded in brilliance and electric currents, he flew across the Solar System, heading straight for Earth. Suddenly, his super-senses seemed to pick something up, making him instinctively slam on the brakes and stop.
The red and silver figure left a trail of lightning behind it, shooting a long way forward under the inertia of its superspeed before braking to a halt, hovering near Saturn.
As an alien who was essentially light, he was very sensitive to things like signal spectrums. Though it was faint, in that instant, he seemed to have caught a weak signal in the space of the Solar System that didn't belong there.
The next moment, an intense light burst from behind him.
A sneak attack!
Some kind of interstellar weapon, energy-based. By the time he turned his head, it was already overwhelming him.
A silent explosion in the vacuum. A fireball, along with a blue plasma-like glow, detonated, turning into a brilliant firework in the starry sky.
Not far away, a cosmic warship hovered in mid-air, maintaining its stealth mode.
"Target hit," an Operator said.
"Hmph." The warship's Commander snorted coldly. "I don't know where this guy came from, but since he's within the 'Annihilator's' area of responsibility, it's just his bad luck—"
"Sir, the target... the target is still there!" the Operator shouted.
"What!?"
The Commander almost spat.
What kind of interstellar joke was this?
A direct hit from a planet-class warship's annihilation beam cannon, and something survived that kind of power?
He sat bolt upright as if launched from his seat, eyes wide as he stared at the display.
Sure enough, he saw the red and silver giant floating there, completely unharmed. It looked as if it hadn't even felt the power of that blast.
The Commander felt the back of his neck stiffen.
This was the first moment he began to think that maybe... firing at this guy was a poorly considered decision.
"Sir?" The Operator swallowed hard. "The target... shows absolutely no signs of damage..."
"I see it."
The Commander frowned.
"But don't panic. We're in stealth mode. No matter what this guy's deal is, there's no way he could know who fired that shot—"
He hadn't even finished his sentence.
When he saw the red and silver giant, unhurriedly, slowly, turn its head.
Its eyes were like deep suns, looking impassively in the direction of their cloaked warship.
At that moment, the Commander felt his heart and lungs stop. It was as if a giant word had materialized on his forehead.
DANGER!
(end of chapter)
Author: Rowing Without Oars 233
The universe is far more complex than it appears to the average person.
The things that constitute its existence are not just the matter people are familiar with, but also spirit. The spirit, emotions, and even the very existence of thought in intelligent beings all originate from a part of the fundamental laws. And these laws, in turn, can sometimes become matter.
Parallax is precisely such an existence.
It is the embodiment of all fear in the universe, a monster formed when the spirit called Fear was given physical form. From this description, it's not hard to imagine how powerful it can be.
"What is Parallax?" Hal demanded.
Ganthet frowned. "How do you know about Parallax, Lantern Jordan? That's history. It was already..."
"Destroyed? Sorry, but it's alive and well right now. And last week, it just killed seventeen Green Lanterns, all elites from the Lantern Corps," Hal said icily.
Ganthet and Sayd both showed expressions of surprise.
"That's impossible. Parallax has... It shouldn't be in this universe anymore."
Sayd said, "We banished it, exiled it to the Anti-Matter Universe billions of years ago. That place is completely cut off from our reality; it's impossible for it to appear."
Orin Vale listened silently from the side, noticing some differences from the early lore. In the original comics, the Guardians also subdued Parallax billions of years ago, but they imprisoned it within the Green Lantern Central Power Battery on Oa.
Because Parallax is the embodiment of fear, corresponding to the yellow of the Emotional Spectrum, it caused all functions of the early Green Lantern rings to be ineffective against anything yellow.
"It's true, I saw it with my own eyes," Hal said irritably. "The power ring is almost useless against it. An entire squadron of Green Lanterns was like a swarm of flies before it. I've never seen anything so powerful..."
"Because it is the emotional entity of fear, the antithesis of the green light of willpower you wield," Ganthet said grimly. "You were countered, so naturally, you were no match for it."
"I went to ask those Guardians, but they said it was classified information and told me not to pry," Hal said, annoyed. "That's one thing. But the Lantern Corps calculated its trajectory, and that thing is clearly headed for Earth!
But those cowards forbade us from attacking! I see it now, these Guardians are all spineless cowards. They say they'll prepare to engage on Oa and will act when Parallax arrives... but I can recognize the cowardice in their eyes.
They're scared. They're afraid of that thing, and they've even forbidden the Green Lanterns from fighting it. They're going to let my planet die."
Ganthet sighed softly.
"My brethren... they abandoned what we swore to protect so long ago that they've forgotten why we fought in the first place."
Sayd met his gaze and said, "We must go."
Ganthet nodded in agreement, then looked at Hal. "We must be clear, Lantern Hal. Sayd and I have no way of fighting Parallax either. As the embodiment of the universe's fear, it is more powerful than an entire corps combined.
But we will do what we can..."
"No need," Orin Vale interrupted. "I'll handle it."
Although Parallax should theoretically be a terrifying enemy, to Orin Vale, it was the most suitable and profitable experience-point jackpot at his current stage.
A month ago, he might not have been able to deal with it, but now he was confident.
Because of attribute countering.
There are countering relationships between the different lights of the Emotional Spectrum. The Yellow Light of Fear happens to counter the Green Light, which is why the Green Lantern Corps seemed like a bunch of fragile weaklings in front of Parallax.
But, as luck would have it, the Blue Light of Hope also happens to be the very light that counters fear the most. A Blue Lantern Ring can instantly drain the energy of a Yellow Lantern Ring, using hope to eliminate fear.
It's immensely powerful, yet perfectly countered by my attributes. Who could be a better experience farm than Parallax?
Ganthet mused, "I know you might think the power of the Blue Light will counter the yellow spectrum's power. But Parallax is different. It isn't just a Yellow Lantern user; it's the yellow emotional entity, the embodiment of the universe's fear..."
"And I'm not just an ordinary Blue Lantern user either," Orin Vale smiled. "Thank you for your concern, but I have this under control. The greatest help you can give me right now is to hurry and accelerate the establishment of the Blue Lantern Corps.
If I need anything else, I'll ask."
"...Alright." Ganthet nodded. "Then be careful."
"I will be."
Orin Vale knew Ganthet meant well, but this Little Blue Man didn't really understand what the current Orin Vale was capable of.
"Back to Earth together?"
As they flew out of Odym's atmosphere, Orin Vale asked Hal, who was beside him.
Hal shook his head. "I still need to go to Oa first and try to convince those old stubborn fools. Of course, the chances are slim. I'll head back to Earth in a bit. Even if I'm alone, I'll fight to the very last moment."
Orin Vale wanted to say it wasn't necessary, but Hal was insistent, so he let him be. The two parted ways for the time being, one flying toward Oa, the other toward Earth.
A vortex of light opened in Sector 2814, and a red and silver afterimage shot out. The vortex closed, and Orin Vale, trailing lightning, rushed into the stars.
After a series of interstellar jumps, he was already back in the Solar System.
It had been less than a month since he last left, but upon his return, he was completely different. He had now undergone a complete hardware upgrade to adapt to the current environment; blowing up a planet was no longer a big deal.
He hadn't tested his speed yet, but he could already feel a significant increase. This time, it wasn't due to the time-space techniques of the Speed Force, but a case of 'brute force creates miracles'—an attribute leap brought about by the increase in his energy level.
Shrouded in brilliance and electric currents, he flew across the Solar System, heading straight for Earth. Suddenly, his super-senses seemed to pick something up, making him instinctively slam on the brakes and stop.
The red and silver figure left a trail of lightning behind it, shooting a long way forward under the inertia of its superspeed before braking to a halt, hovering near Saturn.
As an alien who was essentially light, he was very sensitive to things like signal spectrums. Though it was faint, in that instant, he seemed to have caught a weak signal in the space of the Solar System that didn't belong there.
The next moment, an intense light burst from behind him.
A sneak attack!
Some kind of interstellar weapon, energy-based. By the time he turned his head, it was already overwhelming him.
A silent explosion in the vacuum. A fireball, along with a blue plasma-like glow, detonated, turning into a brilliant firework in the starry sky.
Not far away, a cosmic warship hovered in mid-air, maintaining its stealth mode.
"Target hit," an Operator said.
"Hmph." The warship's Commander snorted coldly. "I don't know where this guy came from, but since he's within the 'Annihilator's' area of responsibility, it's just his bad luck—"
"Sir, the target... the target is still there!" the Operator shouted.
"What!?"
The Commander almost spat.
What kind of interstellar joke was this?
A direct hit from a planet-class warship's annihilation beam cannon, and something survived that kind of power?
He sat bolt upright as if launched from his seat, eyes wide as he stared at the display.
Sure enough, he saw the red and silver giant floating there, completely unharmed. It looked as if it hadn't even felt the power of that blast.
The Commander felt the back of his neck stiffen.
This was the first moment he began to think that maybe... firing at this guy was a poorly considered decision.
"Sir?" The Operator swallowed hard. "The target... shows absolutely no signs of damage..."
"I see it."
The Commander frowned.
"But don't panic. We're in stealth mode. No matter what this guy's deal is, there's no way he could know who fired that shot—"
He hadn't even finished his sentence.
When he saw the red and silver giant, unhurriedly, slowly, turn its head.
Its eyes were like deep suns, looking impassively in the direction of their cloaked warship.
At that moment, the Commander felt his heart and lungs stop. It was as if a giant word had materialized on his forehead.
DANGER!
(end of chapter)
