Their conversation was naturally overheard by the Green Lanterns watching from the sidelines, as well as Hal Jordan. What did that mean? The ring exploded?! Hal had witnessed Thea's entire fight, and it only reinforced his belief that this girl lived in a completely different world from him. Especially that last exchange—he had only felt the aftershock, yet he knew for sure he couldn't have blocked it.
Even Sinestro, forged of iron will, was a little dazed. At first he'd thought that blast was Thea's ultimate move and had hidden tightly behind his shield, but what followed made it clear he'd misread the situation. Having trained countless Corps warriors, he truly had never imagined a "temporary ring" could be forcibly overloaded until it blew apart. Just how intense did her emotions have to be?! Seeing the battle couldn't continue, he dismissed his construct and steadied his breathing. The fight had drained him badly.
Faced with Thea's accusation, the Guardians couldn't reach a consensus among themselves.
Some supported Thea, some supported Sinestro, and some said they should fight again. The lead blue dwarf gathered their opinions and made the final call: "This match ends with Sinestro as the victor…"
"I didn't hear that. Say it again!"
"I refuse to accept that victory!"
Thea snapped instantly. This was obviously your quality issue—I didn't lose! Sinestro wanted the Yellow Ring more than anything, but his pride wouldn't let him accept a win like this. This wasn't victory. It was humiliation.
Both of them rejected the Guardian's ruling outright. The lead Guardian was so angry his nose practically crooked; he wanted to make them keep fighting and let them die if they must. But to preserve their authority, even a wrong decision had to be upheld… and for a moment he hesitated.
Right as they were struggling for a solution, an unexpected disruptor handed them a perfect step down.
"Elders, Earth is in danger. I beg for your aid!"
The speaker was the slightly goofy but fiercely righteous Green Lantern rookie—Hal Jordan.
This Earthling might be a bit weak in combat, but he sure knew how to read the room. The lead Guardian no longer nitpicked Hal the way he used to, and said gently, "You're right. Maintaining universal peace is our duty. You go ahead first. Reinforcements will follow immediately."
The hot-blooded youth was fooled by the old undead into rushing to Earth as advance support. Delighted, Hal flew off Oa toward Earth.
The remaining Green Lantern spectators were also sent away by the Guardians under the excuse of "rescuing Earth," told to go prepare their gear.
A stadium that had been packed moments ago was now left with only the Guardians—and Thea and Sinestro.
The Guardians summoned from the void that ring flashing with yellow light, saying nothing about the earlier battle. "Next, let the Yellow Ring choose its wielder. Who goes first?"
Thea hesitated for a heartbeat, but Sinestro had already stepped out. "I'll go first."
Thea wanted to watch the process anyway, so she nodded. Her resolve simply wasn't as firm as his.
Sinestro removed his Green Ring, took a deep breath, walked up to the Yellow Ring floating in midair, and grabbed it.
"Ugh—AAAH!"
A scream of pain echoed across the plaza. Sinestro's tall body was knocked down in an instant. He dropped to one knee, throat spilling out meaningless sounds, face twisted, sweat pouring from his purple skin. His hands clawed into the dirt by instinct, veins bulging across his palms, the whole scene vicious and terrifying.
Thea jumped in shock. What the hell—was it really this painful?! Watching Sinestro's features mashed together like he was in labor made her feel a little guilty. This was the man said to have conquered Parallax? Was he not meant to claim the Yellow Ring today in the original timeline?
She wasn't far off. Sinestro truly hadn't reached his historical peak yet, and his clash with Thea had consumed a huge amount of his mind and spirit. The birth of the Yellow Ring was inevitable, but the Guardians didn't want it to emerge this early. They used his urgency as bait, set the trap in full daylight, and denied him time to recover—forcing him to face the Yellow Ring in a weakened state. It was an unmistakable, blatant gambit.
But they underestimated Sinestro's potential and ambition. Even knowing the situation was stacked against him, he still stepped in without hesitation, relying on nothing but his belief and determination.
To the Guardians' disappointment, after half an hour of mental oppression, Sinestro's voice was shredded into nothing, yet he finally overcame his fear of the Yellow Ring. The process was brutal and reluctant, and he collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion—but there was no doubt he had earned the Yellow Ring's recognition.
They had no choice but to acknowledge it. Still, Thea caught the worry flickering at the corners of their eyes.
"Miss Thea, your turn."
They didn't expect much from her, but they had time to spare; letting her try wouldn't hurt.
If Sinestro had any strength left, he would've protested: Are you kidding me?! I already got its approval, and you still let her try? But he was completely spent now, fighting just to stay conscious. The fact that he could even sit upright was already a testament to his willpower.
Thea walked up, uneasy, and copied Sinestro's earlier motion—grabbing the Yellow Ring.
Scenes flashed before her eyes like a spinning lantern.
The first was failing an exam. Thea snorted. I could write nothing—and I've got money. I can fill in whatever score I want. That's fear?
Then came her parents' deaths. It stung a little, but when she saw Moira killed by Deathstroke, and Malcolm crying as he was blown apart, she still let out a soft laugh. Deathstroke? One hand could crush him. Malcolm's a cockroach—almost nobody can actually kill him. Even if he died, he'd die laughing. What kind of nonsense is this?
When the image shifted to Diana bound to a cross and burned alive, Thea burst out laughing. That's hilarious. Diana's a demigod—one of the strongest demigods. Mortal fire can burn her to death? Bullshit.
The next several scenes seemed tied to the reincarnators she had fused with, but they were blurry—hazy images, drifting like smoke, obviously fake. Thea glanced once and didn't bother taking them seriously.
When the Yellow Ring turned into a giant vaguely resembling Darkseid, only for Thea to stab its eyes out with a steel spike, the Yellow Ring froze like a crashed system and stopped showing scenes altogether.
What's your deal, Yellow Ring? Thea couldn't help thinking. Am I destined for this thing? Isn't it being a little too obvious about going easy on me?
If the Yellow Ring had a human form, it'd be making a helpless shrug right now. Did Thea have fear? Of course she did. But who did she fear? Gods, cosmic monstrosities—the kind of beings even Parallax-based Yellow power couldn't conjure. Not even a shadow of them.