Holding the Star Scepter in his hand, Eric gazed out at the night sky, where dark clouds churned.
A strong, ominous aura pervaded the entire manor.
"How much longer?"
Eric frowned and asked Sir Winters, who was still healing Rachel.
"It won't take too long, but I'm afraid it's already too late!"
Winters spoke words that slightly annoyed Eric.
"I sense the approach of some kind of hell dimension entrance."
Baron Winters said to Eric, beads of sweat on his forehead, "You need to stop its approach! Whatever happens, don't let Trigon get near here!"
As he was speaking, he noticed his old companion, "Merlin," leaning against him, lifting its furry head, and looking at its master with a confused gaze.
Baron Winters knew what it wanted to say.
"Don't look at me like that, Merlin. I admit, I had a bad opinion and impression of Eric before, but trust me, everything is constantly developing and changing."
Baron Winters said to "Merlin."
Ignoring the conversation between the man and the leopard, Eric gripped the Star Scepter, struggling to suppress the rampant violent emotions spreading within him, and frowned as he looked at the dark clouds gradually engulfing the entire city.
A vast power swept across the entire region.
It was as if an inverted hell had arrived in this world, with all its intense aura of slaughter and fear extending outwards.
Such an anomaly even caught the attention of Batman, who was far away in Gotham.
He looked up, gazing in the direction of Metropolis, a hint of solemnity flashing in his eyes.
"Has it finally arrived?"
At this moment, Green Lantern, Supergirl Kara, and Wonder Woman had also noticed the heart-pounding aura emanating from Metropolis.
Supergirl Kara and Green Lantern, who had mostly recovered, immediately rushed towards Metropolis.
Wonder Woman, however, frowned, staring at the distant dark clouds, a bad feeling rising in her heart.
Bang!
Landing on the ground, Supergirl Kara looked at Baron Winters' residence on the outskirts of the city.
At this moment, the sky above the manor had formed a swirling mass of black clouds.
The thick, constantly swirling clouds, under the howling wind, produced a strong, unsettling aura.
"What is this?"
Supergirl swallowed and asked Green Lantern, who had been healed and recovered by Batman.
"It should be some kind of—"
Hal, now more mature and composed after the vampire virus infection, shrugged and said, "Some powerful entity that has crossed dimensions!"
"Hal, I think you know something. You've been trying to hide something from us."
Supergirl Kara finally spoke her mind, "Ever since we returned to the present with the help of Flash and Batman, you've been keeping your distance from Wonder Woman and me, and you haven't been in a hurry to find a way back. If you weren't constantly acting behind our backs, how would you have been infected with the vampire virus by Brainiac?"
As Supergirl spoke, she cast a suspicious glance at Green Lantern.
"Kara is right."
Wonder Woman walked towards the two, step by step, from behind.
"Hal, perhaps Batman gave you some mission when you departed from the future."
Wonder Woman also expressed her distrust of Green Lantern.
"Supergirl, Wonder Woman, we are all Justice League teammates. Shouldn't we have full trust in each other?"
Green Lantern claimed he wasn't hiding anything from them.
"But you're particularly active today. Before Supergirl and I even figured out what was happening in Metropolis, you said that whatever was happening here must be related to Eric."
Wonder Woman pointed out that Green Lantern had revealed himself.
Seeing the determined expressions of the two women, Green Lantern sighed and said dejectedly, "Alright, I knew I couldn't keep a secret. Actually, you two thought that Flash and Batman's device malfunctioned, which caused us to travel back in time earlier. But the truth is—"
Green Lantern explained to them, "The time we traveled to was not wrong, it wasn't earlier. Our purpose in coming here was not to find a weapon to fight the guy who has been destroying the multiverse, but to prevent the destruction of the spatial barrier."
"Spatial barrier?"
Wonder Woman looked up at the constantly accumulating black clouds above her head, her eyes filled with incomprehension, and asked Green Lantern, "Are you talking about the Source Wall?"
(Source Wall: The boundary of the known DC universe. Beyond the wall is 'The Source.' Many crucial matters in the DC world are connected to the Source Wall. It is the origin of all New God powers and the source of the Lantern Rings' power. It can be simply understood as a type of spatial barrier, one of the purposes of which is to prevent different parallel universes from interacting.)
"Although it's not exactly alike, it's close enough."
Green Lantern looked up at the lightning strikes from the oppressive dark clouds above, then looked down at his Green Lantern Ring, and said, "This time's visitor is Trigon, who has crossed dimensions. His battle with the two Supermen caused spatial distortion and the destruction of the spatial barrier, which also led to the crisis the Justice League later faced."
"So, our purpose in coming here is to stabilize the balance of our universe."
"Balance?"
Kara looked at Green Lantern in astonishment, "Their fight will cause the spatial barrier to be destroyed? Is that what led to the subsequent disaster?"
"Theoretically, yes."
Green Lantern explained to the two, "Even if this attack is a projection of Trigon, he still possesses immense power. Our purpose in coming here is to stop him!"
"I don't think I have the ability to stop a world-destroying entity!"
Supergirl Kara shook her head beside him.
"No!"
Green Lantern Hal said to Kara, "What we need to do is not to fight Trigon, but to stop Eric. Eric and Baron Winters are treating the dying Rachel. Rachel is Trigon's daughter, and it is she who attracted Trigon. What we need to do now is to stop Eric and Winters from saving Rachel! Cut off the channel, and prevent Trigon from descending!"
"What?!"
Ignoring the sweeping winds and lightning, Kara's eyes widened as she looked at Green Lantern, "You must be crazy, Green Lantern! If we stop Eric and Baron Winters, Raven will die!"
"I feel the same way you do."
The usually cheerful Hal also lowered his voice and said, "But compared to the destruction of the entire universe, one person's life... I'm sorry, Supergirl, I don't know what to do either. All I'm doing is carrying out the decision we all discussed!"
"Not us, it's you!"
Wonder Woman, filled with anger, took a step closer to the two and said, "I am the vice-chair of the Justice League, yet I know nothing about this. I believe Clark is the same; he would never abandon his own sister for the so-called benefit of the majority!"
"This was Batman's idea, wasn't it?"
Wonder Woman walked over and grabbed Green Lantern's arm, saying fiercely, "As long as I'm here, Hal Jordan, you won't lay a hand on her! I'd rather fight the so-called Trigon!"
"Me too!"
Kara quickly sided with Wonder Woman, saying, "I will never sacrifice Raven for the so-called lives of the majority!"
"I knew this would happen."
Green Lantern said helplessly, "From the very beginning, I knew I wouldn't be able to convince you no matter what. So—"
As he spoke, he pulled a letter from his pocket.
"This is from Raven to you."
"What?"
Hearing that it was a letter from Raven, Kara was stunned.
"Actually, it wasn't Batman who proposed this plan, but Raven. Raven asked me to give this to you before I left. The multiverse has been destroyed by the Anti-Monitor to only a few universes remaining. Raven, she hopes to do her part to save our universe!"
Green Lantern said something that shocked the two, "And, this isn't a sacrifice, but a rebirth. Raven told me this before we left."
"Ra-Raven—"
Looking at the first sentence of the letter—"Dear Brother"—Kara's tears flowed uncontrollably.
At Winters Manor, Eric had already felt Trigon's gradual approach.
The ground was enveloped by a powerful pressure, and all existing things were on the verge of collapse.
Even though the entire manor had been enchanted with a magical barrier by the Baron, that heart-pounding aura continued to sweep through the manor.
Eric pushed open the door and walked out, finding Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Kara standing before him.
"Your senses are quite keen."
Eric glanced at the massive black cloud vortex above his head, then frowned and said.
"Actually, Eric—"
After hesitating for a moment, Kara said to Eric, "What we should do now is close the channel through which Trigon comes here. Rachel is the key for him to enter."
"The channel cannot be closed!"
Eric radiated killing intent, "The only thing I care about right now is your purpose in coming here!"
"I!"
Kara's eyes were red, tears flowing from them, "Eric, I have a letter here for you from future Raven."
"A letter from future Rachel?"
Eric was stunned for a moment, then took it, somewhat disbelievingly.
He opened the envelope in the strong wind.
The delicate and beautiful handwriting came into Eric's view.
"Dear Brother, I am already twelve years old this year.
Thanks to your care, I have been able to grow up happily until now.
Whether now, in the past, or in the future, I am grateful for and love you, Brother.
I often say my dream is to dig for gold, but you say I just like to wander; I say I don't like pretty princesses, but you say I'm just Cinderella who can't get crystal shoes.
I'm sorry, Brother, I shouldn't bring these up, after all, I am just a baby now, but—
I believe you can feel my emotional connection, because you said our emotions are intertwined, and each of our hearts holds the other's existence.
Forgive my selfishness this time, Brother. For this time only, please stop trying to save me, because I wish to do something very important for this world.
You once told me that you always endured pain and walked towards the distant future. So, Brother, I hope to create a beautiful future for you—
Raven
July 22, 2022"
Reading Rachel's letter from the future, Eric's eyes instantly filled with blood-red.
Heat Vision suddenly erupted, instantly blasting Green Lantern away.
Green Lantern, who was feeling guilty, was sent flying by Eric without any resistance.
Eric, whose heart was filled with rage and fury, shot Heat Vision from his eyes towards Kara and Wonder Woman.
Supergirl Kara immediately flew into the air, activated her super speed, and instantly charged towards Eric, only to be instantly sent flying by Eric's punch.
The sound of an air explosion rang out, and Kara's body crashed heavily to the ground.
Dust was kicked up, and the ground shook from the impact.
Eric dodged forward, avoiding the baseball bat Green Lantern had conjured with his Green Lantern Ring.
"Hooah!"
Immediately after, Kara charged at Eric.
"Eric, calm down!"
She tried to grab Eric's right hand to make him calm down.
But the result was that Eric, who was gradually losing himself in destruction and rampage, directly threw a punch, sending her flying backward.
Kara, spinning in the air, immediately controlled her body and shouted towards Wonder Woman, who was still standing motionless nearby, "Wonder Woman, stop him! Otherwise, the channel will open, Trigon will descend, and the spatial barrier will be destroyed by Trigon!"
Green Lantern, who had been sent flying by Eric, hovered in the air and immediately conjured a Gatling laser gun, firing at Eric.
The bullets, conjured from green willpower, instantly formed a dense barrage, shooting towards Eric.
"Wonder Woman!"
Seeing Wonder Woman still standing motionless, Green Lantern shouted towards her, "Don't let Raven's sacrifice be in vain!"
Wonder Woman, who had been looking down, raised her head, glanced at her two companions, and pulled out her Lasso of Truth.
Green Lantern sighed in relief when he saw Wonder Woman finally take action.
However, what happened next exceeded his expectations!
Wonder Woman swung the Lasso of Truth, aiming it at him.
It instantly bound him tightly.
A feeling of weakness and powerlessness immediately struck him.
"Hooah!"
Wonder Woman yelled in anger, grabbing one end of the Lasso of Truth with both hands, and pulled Green Lantern down from the sky.
Bang!
Green Lantern, who hadn't expected to be betrayed by a comrade, crashed heavily to the ground.
Kara, who was entangled in a fight with Eric, was startled by Wonder Woman's sudden betrayal. In her surprise, she was struck in the chest by Eric's punch and slammed heavily to the ground.
Raising her head in pain, Kara looked towards Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman, who had bound Green Lantern with the Lasso of Truth, walked step by step towards Eric.
After their gazes met for a moment, Wonder Woman stood beside Eric.
"I'm sorry, Kara, Hal, I cannot agree with your savior complex!"
-------------------------------
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