Chapter Text
Prophecy was not a foreign concept to Abin Sur. In the far reaches of his sector, he had come into contact with many different life forms that believed in many different foreboding visions. Some of bright futures where their world would be saved. Others where evil would rend them asunder.
He himself knew that evil well.
Beyond the galaxy was a darkness that threatened everything, that sought to bring his truth to the universe. It was his prerogative to stop it. As was the way of a Green Lantern.
Though many in the ranks of the corps had been destroyed as a result of that evil, his will had never faltered in the face of it. Steppenwolf, a subordinate of the Dark God, tested that will on an underdeveloped world light-years away. The Lanterns were the only ones able to fight against his tide of parademons.
The New God had been encroaching on his sector for some time. Though Abin was grateful for the time it took the armies of Apokolips to make landfall. Even with the abilities of a boom tube, it would take many more years before Steppenwolf completed his penance. The Lanterns would keep battling the darkness so that wouldn’t occur. And they would, because he believed they would.
Now, a different evil was before him.
Abin Sur had no fear for what he was approaching. Fear was a precursor to death, and he knew he would not die here.
It was his fate to die to something else.
Ahead of him was Ysmault, a planet of demons. Normally, he would avoid this world as it was off-limits. A decree by the Oans, set in stone from a long and bloody war. Only now there was no choice, and his interference was necessary.
In the void of space hung the red world. Ashen and silent, it looked like a wound in the vacuum, bleeding a malevolent light. His ring carried him down through the atmosphere, and green light cascaded around him. He did not want to spend a moment longer on this world than necessary. If not for the prophecy he was told, he would not have come here.
Blackened trees lined the foothills to ruined cities. Abin did not set foot on the dirt of the planet. He did not know what curses had seeped into the heart of the world. His soul could not take another blow, especially from an excursion such as this. It was needed, of course, so Abin floated amongst the decrepit wastes. His light touched the ground where he would have walked. If he did not know better, he would have mistaken it for flora. Life did not exist here.
Smoke rose from crevices, leaving the stench of ash in the air. It tasted of death, like a million burning funeral pyres. Dry grey sand collapsed on the dunes ahead of him. No wind blew from that direction. Was he being watched?
Abin held his ring to his chest, prepared for any hidden hostiles. Laughing echoed down from the mountains, dry and choked. His position was already known. An ambush was likely, but he was prepared.
“BE GONE, GREEN LANTERN! LEST YOU TEMPT FATE, I WILL GORGE ON YOUR BONES,” said a mysterious low voice far off in the distance.
This was a pitiful ambush. The enemy had already let him know that he was there. Was it a warning? Leaving wasn’t an option. Abin did not fear disembodied voices.
“Reveal yourself, demon!” Abin shouted, “I have come for knowledge, and I will not leave without it!”
“SO BE IT.”
A thunderous crack reverberated down the mountain. Abin moved to cast a shield, managing to do so right before a colossal crimson fist struck him. The green construct held, and the red monster moved to claw at his throat. It missed, giving Abin the opening to lock the creature down with another construct.
The creature was a hulking red thing. Long fangs protruded from its maw, leaving trails of blood. It had intelligence that was clear, though its breathing was rapid and uneven. It stared at him with eyes filled with rage. That anger had made him unfocused.
Abin already knew his name. It was told in stories among the corps. The last of the Empire of Tears, crucified as retribution by the Oans.
Atrocitus.
It wasn’t entirely known what his crimes were, and the Green Lanterns were forbidden from setting foot here, so they would never truly find out the truth. Technically, his feet were still hovering above the soil, but he doubted the Guardians would enjoy that excuse.
“WHY HAVE YOU COME HERE?” Atrocitus snarled.
“Knowledge, as I’ve said before.” Abin crossed his arms, watching Atrocitus seethe in his bindings. “I seek insight into the future.”
He laughed, “YOUR RING WILL FAIL IN YOUR MOMENT OF ABSOLUTE FEAR.”
“That is troubling to hear,” Abin said nonchalantly.
“THIS DOES NOT SURPRISE YOU?!”
It did not.
“I have spoken with another, before coming here, he told me to seek you out.”
Before coming here, Abin was graced by a mysterious hooded figure in the vacuum between the stars. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him until it spoke. It told him not to be afraid. It told him he would die, but his death would be the precursor to peace. For all he’d seen, that would have been a worthy death of a Green Lantern. Then, the being told him of another prophecy, before telling him to come here and vanishing. It was a leap of faith, coming to Ysmault, and now Abin knew he had made the right decision.
“DO YOU NOT EVEN FEAR YOUR OWN DEATH THEN? YOU ARE A FOOL”
“It is my fate. To fear it is more foolish.”
“THAT WILL OF YOURS IS NOT AS STRONG AS YOU THINK IT IS.”
“It is, Atrocitus. Your prophecy is not the only one. I was told there was another.”
“YOUR VISITOR TOLD YOU THIS?”
“He did.”
“WAS HE THE ONE WHO MADE SUCH A FOOL OF A LANTERN?” Atrocitus tested his strength against the green restraints. They did not budge. “OR WERE YOU A FOOL BEFORE?”
“Tell me, Atrocitus, what becomes of this universe?” Abin kept his tone steady.
“BLOOD AND FEAR WILL BE BORN FROM A KNIGHTMARE. ALL WILL WOULD BECOME HIS—DARKSEID’S. HE IS ABSOLUTE.”
“Really?” Abin stroked his chin. The other prophecy the hooded figure told him begged to differ, “I was told that a child will be born on a hidden world, beyond our reach. He will be the hope of the universe. He will battle tyranny and destroy Anti-Life. That is our true fate.”
“SOUNDS JUST AS FOOLISH AS YOU. ONLY ONE FUTURE IS POSSIBLE! THERE IS NO ONE OF POWER WHO CAN BATTLE HIM! ONLY A GOD CAN KILL ANOTHER GOD, AND ALL THE OLD GODS ARE DEAD.” The creature bellowed in the dead and silent valley.
“The child will be mortal, with the power of a god. Perhaps the Age of Heroes will come again.”
“WAR AND ANGER POPULATE THIS UNIVERSE. AN AGE SUCH AS THAT IS ONLY HISTORY. ALL THAT REMAINS ARE THE BEINGS OF APOKOLIPS.”
“My visitor did not lie.” Abin was also confident he would not live to see the age he hoped for.
“THE AGE OF HEROES IS A FANCIFUL TALE.”
“Your anger blinds you to the truth.”
“DARKSEID CANNOT BE DEFEATED, THAT IS THE TRUTH.”
The demon sounded so sure. It almost made him pity the bloodied creature.
“He will be defeated.”
“ANTI-LIFE WILL BE FOUND. YOU WILL FAIL. YOUR GUARDIANS WILL FAIL. I HAVE SEEN IT. THAT RING ON YOUR FINGER WILL BECOME NOTHING MORE THAN A TRINKET.”
“The one who will come after I am gone will not fail.”
“WE SHALL SEE.”
“Where is the child, Atrocitus?” Abin did not wish to spend another moment on this planet. He was needed elsewhere.
“YOUR FLESH WILL BURN GREEN LANTERN!”
Leaping into the air, the constructs around Atrocitus tightened. The demon should have been kept crucified. The Guardians did not appreciate being disobeyed. Yet he found the creature already free and withholding information. The fate of the universe depended on the demon’s compliance.
“DO YOU STILL TRUST THAT RING? OUT HERE? WHERE THE VOID WOULD RIP YOU TO SHREDS IF YOUR WILL FALTERS?” Atrocitus made a gurgling noise resembling a laugh.
What else was he supposed to use? A ship? The ring was faster than any piece of machinery. The words of a monster would not dissuade him now. “I don’t fear you. There’s no reason to believe it would.”
They flew further from Ysmault, making their way across the sector. Atrocitus was not good company for the duration of the travel. Spurting out nonsense at every pass of a supernova or lonely asteroid, the demon enjoyed testing him. Abin made a construct to gag him.
Green light shone out from his power ring. A transmission? Ah, Sinestro…
“Hello, old friend.” Abin greeted joyfully. Sinestro was a much better conversationalist than Atrocitus.
“Ysmault? Abin, you were to return to Oa.” Sinestro sighed.
Abin was already sure he was going to face repercussions for what he had done and was about to do. “I was, though duty called me elsewhere.”
“To Ysmault?”
“Indeed.”
“May I ask why?”
“I’m not sure I quite understand it myself, but I was approached by what I thought was a human-”
“The primitives of that world could not travel far beyond it.”
“Please let me finish, Sinestro.” Abin took a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing, “It was not human, not entirely. He wore a green hood and told me things. Things that I knew were true the second the words left his lips.”
“Abin…”
“I will prove it. I’m bringing Atrocitus to Oa, you will see then.”
“That is…you would disgrace yourself in front of the Guardians?! Are you mad?!”
“Do you trust me, Sinestro?”
The transmission went quiet, then his friend finally responded, “I do.”
“The demon will tell me where I’ll find the one to end the Anti-Life equation.”
“It was lost more than a millennium ago. Yalan Gur sacrificed himself so that it would be.”
“And when it's found?” Abin countered, looking out beyond onto the clouds of cool gas and dust. “There are shadows of a prophecy that speak of a mortal child with the power of a god, our last hope.”
“Prophecies and ghost stories, Abin. You risk the Guardians’ wrath for a fairy tale. If they learn you have breached their decree and set foot on Ysmault for the sake of a hooded stranger’s whispers-”
“Let them judge me, Thaal,” Abin said softly. “The demon behind me knows the truth of the coming end to will. If we do not find the child, we will all perish.
“Then I suppose we must find this child,” Sinestro said before severing the transmission.
The void’s silence returned, punctuated only by Atrocitus struggling against his green gag. Only the stars lit his way on his path to Oa. Abin steeled his resolve and willed his ring to accelerate. The emerald trail elongated behind them, leaving a vibrant streak of light against the darkness of space.
The journey to Oa was long, a trek across sectors that tested the limits of his concentration. Always keeping the red world’s prisoner in tow, flying by great gas giants and comets sputtering by. Multitudes of colors floating in the wake of dead stars. And there it was. The home of the Green Lanterns.
Oa.
As the central power battery’s glow finally appeared on the horizon like a beckoning star, Abin felt the weight of his decision. Bringing such a rageful beast to the heart of order, truly the will of a foolish Green Lantern. Abin chuckled to himself as Atrocitus kept toiling against his restraints. He was chasing a light that would one day save them all. And if this angry creature was the key, he would bear the weight of the Guardian’s ire.
Before his ring turned to another, this would be his mission.
Evil should beware his power.
For Abin Sur of the Green Lanterns would ensure its end.