Chapter 280: Lantern, Lantern, Lantern, Lantern, Lantern, Lantern, Lantern (Part 2)

In the instant Shieler finished speaking, everyone was enveloped in gray mist; Gordon was the first to vanish—he blinked once, then found himself in a wondrous place, beneath his feet a floor woven from black and gold, above him endless floors stretching infinitely.

Before him stood two Shieler: one he recognized, and another with green hair; beside them stood yet another figure with green hair, painted with a clown's makeup.

"You're letting him go first?" Joker circled Gordon twice, clicking his tongue. "Fine—this kind of man looks like Batman's opposite: always clinging to his ridiculous kindness and hope…"

Shieler ignored Joker and explained to the bewildered Gordon: "Right now, the combined mental power of all of us isn't enough to fully destroy this monster."

"One reason is that the laughing egg may possess extremely unique properties—unless one's rank is high enough, it's nearly impossible to eradicate it completely. The other is that Parallax, as one of the sources of the Yellow Lantern Ring's power, is inherently difficult to destroy."

"Then what do you plan to do?" Gordon looked at Shieler, then glanced around the environment. "It seems you already have an idea?"

"Correct. The tower you see is actually my Mind Palace—and just now, I modified it to become an 'amplifier.'"

"Amplifier? To amplify what?"

"Emotion." Shieler gave a clear answer. "The universe contains countless emotional spectrums; when any one emotion reaches its peak, it draws forth a mysterious force—the Lantern Ring."

"I will use this tower to infinitely amplify your emotions and send them into the universe, actively attracting Lantern Rings—then you can fight using their power."

"Alright, but why me?"

"Each Lantern Ring represents a different emotion, and only those who possess that specific emotional trait can attract the Ring's arrival."

"Though my Mind Palace can greatly amplify a certain emotion, those naturally endowed with intense emotion will succeed more easily."

"And you, Detective Gordon, focus now—recall the scenes in your heart filled with light and hope…"

Though still confused, Gordon obeyed; scenes began to surface in his mind.

Day after day in this city of despair, he worked tirelessly, returning home exhausted under the black night, chased, cursed, even hunted.

He remembered being hunted himself—that rainy night, fleeing for his life, pain and the stench of blood surging up, doing everything to escape the killer, leaping from a window, landing in a trash pile, cold rain slapping his face.

Yet within him surged boundless resolve: even if this city had only one person left who truly wanted to save it, that person would be him—Gordon.

The powerful emotion of hope surged straight up through the Mind Tower into the cosmos; soon, a hazy voice reached Gordon's ears, muffled as if through thick walls.

"Day of dread, night of pain,

Blazing fire drives back the chill,

All lost in war's devastation,

Look to the stars—

The light of hope never fades!"

"Sentient being locked: James Gordon from Earth. You possess the ability to instill unwavering hope in others. Welcome to the Blue Lantern Corps!"

The Sun and Moon's Splendor

Shieler turned his head toward the walls of the Mind Palace, as if gazing beyond the walls and dreams into reality.

In reality, a ring emitting blue light floated silently above the sleeping Gordon's head.

The Blue Lantern Ring, drawn by the amplified emotion of hope, had arrived—but it was momentarily confused.

It could sense its future host's consciousness immersed in dreams, but if the host didn't awaken, how could it accept the Ring?

If the host didn't willingly accept the Ring's power, the Ring couldn't bond—just like in the original comics, where Batman stubbornly refused to wear the Ring, leaving it powerless.

But you came all this way—could it really just go back? The blue-glowing Ring hesitated, then decided to draw closer to the host's consciousness.

Yet the Ring was a physical object—it couldn't merge into Gordon's body. So the blue light slowly detached from the Ring and seeped into Gordon's forehead; the now-powerless Ring clattered to the ground.

Only the Blue Lantern's energy entered Gordon's body; the physical Ring remained outside, drained of power and inactive.

As the crisp "clack" echoed, a blue Lantern Ring appeared before Gordon in the mental space; he examined it and asked: "This is the Lantern Ring you mentioned? Should I wear it?"

"Of course, Detective Gordon—but don't let this power control you."

"Don't worry, I understand—I've never liked over-relying on external things." Gordon reached out; the blue light flew to his finger.

When Gordon emerged from the Tower, he had changed completely—his entire body shimmered with blue light; Hal stared, dumbfounded: "That's the Lantern Ring's power? The Blue Lantern Ring??? How do you have Blue Lantern power????"

Before he could process it, Victor vanished from the space—he had clearly entered the Tower.

"This is tricky—perhaps the Purple Lantern Ring, representing 'love,' only accepts women…" Shieler told Victor.

"On what basis? The soul? Then if my inner self is female…"

"Don't finish that sentence. Just treat yourself as transgender—it won't dare not come!"

Soon, a distant voice echoed:

"Fear and confusion bind two hearts,

In the darkest night, none can sleep,

A slender finger enters the ring, changing your face,

The world's lone love fills the purple light!"

"Sentient being locked: Victor Fries from Earth. Your heart holds profound love. Welcome to the Star Sapphire Corps!"

Soon, Victor appeared in the mental space, glowing with purple light; he exchanged a glance with Gordon, then both looked toward Hal.

Then Alberto vanished; soon, a deep, furious voice boomed:

"Scorching blood, crimson rage,

Drawn from corpses still warm,

Deep grudges stew in lungs and guts,

Forging your path to the underworld!"

"Sentient being locked: Alberto Falcone from Earth. Your heart surges with furious rage. You belong to the Red Lantern Corps!"

When Alberto emerged, drenched in red light, the green, blue, and purple Lanterns no longer reacted with surprise.

Finally called in was Cobblepot, who felt like a student summoned to the teacher's office; once inside, Shieler explained the principle of attracting Lantern Rings, then said: "I think the Orange Lantern suits you—it represents greed."

"Greed? Greed for what?"

"That depends on you." Shieler stared into Cobblepot's eyes. "Don't you want infinite… power?"

Two minutes later, Cobblepot emerged, glowing with orange light; now, everyone present except Batman shimmered with colored light.

Looking at the multicolored Lanterns before him, Hal finally understood what Shieler meant by: "Is Batman the only Lantern on Earth?"

Earth now had more than one Lantern…

There were five Lanterns here!!!!!

"Stop staring—get to work."

In an instant, multicolored figures charged toward the Laughing Horror.

With the power of their Lantern Rings, their strength surged; more importantly, they could now use the emotional power of the Rings to attack the Laughing Horror—crucial, because in dreams, emotion remained an immensely potent force.

Batman, despite lacking Lantern power, held his ground—partly because this was his mental space, partly because his willpower overshadowed all emotion.

Suddenly, Batman froze; his voice echoed among them: "Stop."

Others paused, confused, hovering in midair; Batman narrowed his eyes at the central monster: "The egg is moving—it's about to hatch…"

"Hatch?"

They turned to the monster's head; unseen, jagged veins had appeared on the gray egg, swelling as if about to burst; its wide grin grew stranger still, bloody streaks oozing from its corners, the entire head becoming more horrifying.

"It's been absorbing the black tide," Batman said, voice low. "A force I can't control—but now it seems it can serve as nourishment."

"We can't let it hatch!"

Hal said: "The mysterious figure who brought me into this dream told me—if he appears, he'll destroy the entire Lantern Corps! Even if he exaggerated, we can't let this horror out…"

"I know better than you."

Speaking, Batman appeared above the monster, reaching to touch the egg—but was flung away by Parallax's long tail. Hal: "It may have already controlled Parallax—we must stop it! Now!"

Those who had gained Lantern power relentlessly attacked the monster, but Parallax, now under the Laughing Egg's control, was not only immensely powerful but also extremely cautious—every move was designed to protect its head.

With the three-way stalemate gone, the Laughing Egg and Parallax merged; the monster's true terror emerged—endless fear rose in their hearts, waves of black tide crashing, much of it absorbed by the egg.

A faint "crack" sounded; fissures appeared on top of the Laughing Egg, spreading like branching tree roots; at this point of shell fragmentation, all understood: its hatching was irreversible.

A suffocating tension rose in Batman's chest; his intuition screamed at its peak—he could barely move, standing frozen as he watched the egg crack open, as if time itself had halted.

In that instant, the shell shattered—and a pale, slender hand reached out from within.

No sound. No motion. Yet from the silence, all heard the most deranged laughter: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

But what followed was not a monstrous creature emerging—it was a familiar, slightly detached voice.

"Stop laughing. It's unbearable."

Suddenly, the colorful auras flickering on everyone's bodies trembled; thick gray mist surged over them, pulling the colored lights from their bodies, twisting them into endless gray mist.

The wildly incompatible color spectrums struggled violently within the gray fog—clashing, exploding, grinding, shattering, fusing…

Eventually, in the hovering gray mist, the myriad colors merged—not black, not white, but a chaotic gray.

In endless silence, the gray mist suddenly began to coalesce, forming a circular lantern furnace.

A loud dragon's roar rang out; a dragon's head emerged from the mist, followed by a scaled neck and wings—a colossal dragon, composed entirely of gray mist, flew forth from the energy-emitting gray lantern furnace.

A low, distant voice came from the horizon:

"Gray flows, mist spreads wide,

Where does truth go? Where do dreams flee?

Pillar of thought, hall of soul,

A thousand stars shine, ten thousand wonders glow!"

"Sentient being locked: from…"

"Forget the rest—the words are too long. In short—"

"Batman. Catch."

————EXTRA NOTES————

This book is also titled: My Days of Synthesizing Giant Watermelons in the DC Universe