Chapter 4456: Prelude to Darkness (Finale)

Everyone stood up. Hal still looked incredibly troubled as he said, "You all need to talk properly; don't start a conflict with them. The Guardians of the Universe possess extremely high technological levels; many years ago, they were already a top-tier civilization in the universe..."

Clark didn't waste any words, simply waving his hand and saying, "Open a portal."

Hal had no choice but to open a green portal, though he couldn't go directly to the Guardians' planet, so they went to the Green Lantern Corps headquarters first.

As soon as the green portal opened and the Justice League members stepped out, the security monitoring equipment began to blare alarms. The Green Lanterns looked toward the main hall and flew over one after another.

"My god, Hal Jordan! How could you bring non-Green Lanterns to headquarters?! This is a serious violation..."

Before the words even finished, a red flash appeared, and a laser beam knocked the speaker down. Hal hurriedly flew into the air to intercept Clark, whose eyes were glowing red, and said, "Don't, don't, don't! Don't attack them, they're all good people."

The other Green Lanterns immediately assumed a combat stance, and the Justice League didn't back down either. For a time, green energy and red lasers flew everywhere, interspersed with Hal's screams.

"Stop fighting, stop fighting!! Let's talk this over!!"

"Clark, stop immediately! And you, Sinestro, stop too!! We aren't enemies!!"

Clark didn't bother with them. He knew very well that since they had come here, a fight was inevitable; otherwise, there was no way they could take the green energy. It was going to be a fight regardless, so he might as well start it now.

The Green Lantern headquarters had thousands of Green Lanterns, and even those who had rushed to the hall numbered in the hundreds. Clark was completely fearless, standing in the middle like a defensive turret, shooting wherever he saw movement with lasers that went "pew-pew-pew" without stopping.

After a while, he seemed to get annoyed, took a deep breath, and fired a laser cannon three meters wide in a 360-degree sweep, causing the Green Lanterns to fall like raindrops.

The Green Lanterns didn't give up either, and Sinestro fired a green energy cannon in return. But to everyone's surprise, a magical shield appeared in front of Clark. The prismatic shield of multicolored light reflected the green energy cannon directly back, sweeping away another group.

Immediately after, Clark soared into the sky, his body protected by magical energy, and descended like a meteor. With a palm strike from above, a "Boom!" echoed as he smashed a massive crack into the planet's surface, causing the entire world to shake violently.

"Stop, stop quickly!"

"The planet is going to fall apart! Stop him!"

"Hal, stop your compatriot!"

"Do you think he looks like my compatriot?!"

Sinestro, having just climbed up from the ground, said helplessly, "Hal, make him stop. Let's talk properly."

Hal rushed forward to intercept Clark, who was planning to crash into the planet again. If that hit had landed, the planet would definitely have shattered. Where the hell did this monster come from?!

Clark landed back on the ground, floating in mid-air with his arms crossed. Sinestro looked at him and asked, "Did you come here just to cause trouble?"

"Of course not," Clark said. "I'm just here to inform you that a multiverse-level disaster has descended upon Earth, yet you, as the guardians of the universe, haven't contributed at all. Now is the time for you to show your worth."

As soon as he said this, a heated discussion broke out below. They hadn't sensed any multiverse-level disaster; the universe had been unusually quiet lately, and even the troublemaker Darkseid had been keeping a low profile.

But Sinestro was clearly more perceptive than the others, and he asked, "Does this have anything to do with Darkseid?"

"It's related on a deeper level, but that's not the point right now," Clark said. "Death energy is polluting Earth's oceans, and we need enough green energy to disperse the contamination."

"Coming to us for that is useless," Sinestro said. "The source of green energy is controlled by the Guardians of the Universe..."

"That's why I need you to take me to the Guardians of the Universe," Clark said. "Since they call themselves Guardians of the Universe, surely they wouldn't be stingy about providing energy to those who are actually guarding the universe, right?"

"I can take you there," Sinestro said, "but I don't suggest you use such violent methods against Oa."

"That depends on their attitude," Clark replied unyieldingly. "If they are willing to fulfill their responsibilities, I will naturally treat them with courtesy; if they aren't, I'll have to offer some reminders."

Sinestro said somewhat helplessly, "The Guardians of the Universe have great power; aren't you afraid for your home planet..."

"My home planet was destroyed long ago," Clark said. "Are you unaware that the Kryptonians are extinct?"

Sinestro was surprised, looking at Clark and saying, "You're a Kryptonian? But... but I've never heard of any Kryptonian having superpowers..."

"He's a special breed." Hal pulled Sinestro aside and said, "You'd better send a message to those big blue brains to warn them. Superman has nothing to lose. If he really smashes Oa, what can the Guardians do to him?"

Sinestro also realized the severity of the problem. Other civilizations might have concerns, but Kryptonians were truly fearless. Even if the Guardians were powerful, they couldn't exact revenge on them.

Sinestro used his ring to contact Oa. Normally, there would be an automatic reply, and someone would contact him quickly, as he was a leader of the Green Lantern Corps and held in high regard. But this time, there was no reply for a long while.

Seeing Clark's expression growing increasingly hostile, Sinestro could only say, "I'll take you there first."

He opened a portal. Clark stepped through without hesitation. He wasn't worried, but the Green Lanterns were, and they followed him through. But the scene behind the portal left both Clark and Sinestro stunned.

Oa was nothing but ruins.

Sinestro froze, and the Green Lanterns who followed were also stunned. Clark looked at Sinestro and asked, "What is going on here?!"

Sinestro flew up in disbelief, only to find that the once-prosperous city was completely destroyed, with ruins everywhere, and the power batteries were nowhere to be found.

"This is bad," Sinestro muttered to himself. "Darkseid, it must be him."

Clark frowned. Sinestro continued, "Darkseid hasn't destroyed any planets lately, and we thought he had turned over a new leaf. Now it seems he was brewing an even bigger conspiracy. Only he has the power to destroy Oa..."

"The bigger conspiracy probably isn't just destroying a planet," Clark said. "He stole the power batteries so we couldn't get enough green energy, ensuring Earth's oceans would be polluted. Once Earth falls, the barrier will be breached..."

"The barrier?" Sinestro looked at him.

"That's right. A powerful entity possessing death energy is trying to break through the multiverse barrier, turning this place into a lifeless realm. Our universe is the bridgehead he has chosen. The large-scale invasion has already begun."

"Darkseid has also played a major role in this," Clark said. "We suspect he is the one who incited this powerful entity to invade the multiverse."

"That explains it. To prevent us from getting the power battery energy, he invaded Oa in advance." Sinestro sighed deeply. He scanned Oa and said, "Search around here."

"Search for what?"

Sinestro opened his mouth but didn't say it, only saying, "Anything at all; there must be something useful left."

The Green Lanterns had already scattered to search, and the Justice League could only help. But the destruction here was extremely thorough; not only were there no little blue men left, but buildings, instruments, and roads were all destroyed, and even the plants hadn't been spared.

Sinestro's expression grew increasingly puzzled. Clark looked at him and said, "You'd better be straight with me. If your concealment leads to any serious consequences, you will be a sinner of the multiverse."

"It's not that I won't say, I just can't be sure," Sinestro said. "I've only heard rumors of such things. The original owner of the Emotional Spectrum was imprisoned by the Guardians of the Universe. That was an extremely powerful being; he shouldn't have been killed by Darkseid..."

"Then he must have escaped," Clark said.

Sinestro shook his head again: "If he were here, he wouldn't have let Darkseid take the power batteries. He had always wanted to reclaim the power of the Emotional Spectrum. There's no reason he couldn't defeat Darkseid's army."

"This isn't the time to study that," Clark said, feeling increasingly anxious. "Where else can we get Emotional Spectrum energy?"

"He is the key," Sinestro emphasized. "He is the only one besides the Guardians who knows how to utilize the energy of the Emotional Spectrum. Finding him is our only hope!"

Sinestro looked around and said, "I'll contact the other Lantern Corps first to see if they have any leads. You return to the Green Lantern headquarters and move the power batteries there. The Green Lanterns will follow; the energy should be enough to hold out for a while."

Clark was somewhat dissatisfied, but there was no better option. He led the Justice League away. Sinestro took one last look at the destroyed Oa and left as well.

On the way back, Clark paused. He realized something was wrong. He looked at the Justice League members and said, "I'm not surprised Darkseid could destroy Oa, but how did he manage to do it without the Guardians sending out a single message?"

Diana was also stunned, saying, "That's right. Aren't the Guardians supposed to have high-level technology? They should have been able to call for Lantern support; how could they be wiped out without a sound..."

"If Darkseid could wipe out the Guardians, he would have done it long ago," Martian Manhunter said. "He's the type of brutal person who is a sworn enemy of the Green Lantern Corps. If he could have wiped out their home base so cleanly, he definitely would have. The fact that he didn't means he couldn't, or at least not so cleanly. It would have required a massive war."

"There must be something we don't know," Aquaman said. "But I can't imagine who else would..."

Suddenly, a detail Aquaman had seen on Oa flashed through his mind. The last time he had seen similar ashes was when the Hellbat armor killed Steppenwolf.

Because that battle had taken place in the water, Aquaman had seen more details than the others, and the ashes had fallen into the sea. He knew better than anyone what an enemy killed by the Hellbat armor looked like.

Aquaman's breath hitched. He wanted to speak, but the words caught in his throat. If it really was Batman's doing, and he hadn't said anything, and had even let so many people come to search, he must have had his reasons. He couldn't ruin his plan.

But just after returning to Earth, they learned another piece of bad news—the resurrected Steppenwolf, Atlan, and other undead and enemies of the Justice League had formed a supervillain organization and publicly declared war on them.

A strange, low voice echoed over Metropolis.

"In blackest night, the sun is veiled; as light fades, darkness prevails. With hearts torn out, your lives shall end; by the Black Hand, the dead ascend!"

"You will eventually understand that death is the eternal destination, and we, like the Blackest Night, shall descend, dragging the universe into the abyss. Come, offer your loyalty—to the great Nekron!"