The embodiment of fear—the emotional entity representing the terror of all sentient life—descended from the heavens.
"West Avenue. Let's move."
Thea didn't wait for their reply. She shot forward like a golden comet.
Batman and Nightwing, those two maniacs with zero self-preservation, took a few running steps and launched themselves into a glide with their capes, chasing after her.
"Carol, go! Get out of the city—don't hesitate!"
Hal Jordan pushed his girlfriend to flee, then blasted toward the battlefield himself.
Thea was the fastest among them. She was the first to see Parallax.
And she had to admit—the thing was absurdly conceptual. The fear creature combined with the twisted lifeform of a fallen Guardian produced the monster now looming before her: a colossus occupying an entire city block, its yellow-black, smoke-like body writhing, with tendrils of vapor reaching out to siphon the souls of civilians still trapped nearby.
"I am the bearer of the Yellow Ring—the fallen Guardian! By the authority of the Book of Parallax, I command you to obey me!"
Thea had come to deeply understand the joy of "talk-no-jutsu." Throwing out a command before the fight started truly felt great—especially when the target was technically under her jurisdiction.
Holding the Yellow Ring high, the Book of Parallax in hand, she immediately drew the great entity's attention. A massive head emerged from the smoke—its features somewhat Guardian-like, except twisted and magnified a thousand times over.
At first, that massive head seemed startled. But as its gaze locked onto her ring, the ancient Guardian knowledge surfaced, and it began to laugh.
"They separated the rings? Those fools truly don't understand power! I'll deal with you first, take back the Yellow Ring, and then return to Oa to visit my old friends!"
With that, Parallax opened its enormous maw, firing a yellow energy beam over ten meters wide.
Thea darted aside just in time. The beam carved a crater nearly a hundred meters across and more than ten deep into the street.
What a pity…
If this thing had possessed some random alien, she could've bluffed her way through. But unfortunately, it had taken over a Guardian—beings who knew everything about power rings. Naturally, he saw through her bluff instantly.
Negotiations failed.
Fine. Then they'd fight.
But even during a fight, the proper theatrics had to be maintained. With her growing understanding of ring mechanics, Thea knew one rule held true no matter the Corps: Momentum is everything.
"How dare you offend me!"
She shouted without embarrassment—she believed her own words even if no one else did.
A construct giant materialized—towering, armored like Ares, but with her own face, wielding a massive spear as it roared into the sky.
This was the first Yellow Ring.
Even though Sinestro had taken more than half of its power
(Sinestro: Excuse me? YOU took half of MY ring!)
—the remaining energy still far surpassed any normal ring, let alone the pitiful temporary ones.
If a temporary ring converted emotion to energy at ×50, a true ring was ×100.
Thea's ring sat at around ×150.
Fear energy surged around her, feeding the colossal construct.
The hundred-meter-tall yellow giant radiated overwhelming pressure, siphoning fear from nearby citizens—an unavoidable consequence.
Two whirlpools of fear formed on the battlefield:
Parallax, massive beyond measure.
Thea, with unyielding willpower.
Both devouring fear energy at alarming speed in preparation for the clash ahead.
"Is this thing an alien? Does physical force even work on it?"
The first to arrive beside her, hovering in midair, was the man in the blue suit with a red cape.
Superman had rushed over after being summoned. He had overheard her conversation with Batman and Nightwing earlier—but seeing a smoke-formed, physics-defying horror in person still gave him pause. He wasn't sure whether his punches would do anything.
"Don't hit the smoke—he has a physical core."
Thea, who wasn't exactly close to Superman but certainly wasn't a stranger, gave him a quick explanation before charging in with her spear.
Holy—she's bolder than me?!
Superman, who once mistook her for his cousin, was stunned for half a second, then followed without hesitation. Other than kryptonite, nothing in the universe frightened his steel body.
Superman was unbelievably fast. Even though Thea had charged first, they reached Parallax simultaneously.
"Die!"
The downside of the emotional spectrum: emotions amplified a hundredfold were far harder to restrain. Thea couldn't stop herself from yelling as she thrust her spear straight into Parallax's face.
Superman's fist landed on the other side of its head, but Parallax didn't budge.
Its massive body trembled, then launched another thick beam of yellow energy toward the two.
Superman easily dodged, but the hundred-meter-tall construct Thea controlled couldn't move as flexibly. She manifested a giant shield and was blasted backward more than three hundred meters before finally stabilizing herself.
"My attack power is weakened… is that because of fear?"
Superman flew to her side, sighing with relief when he confirmed she was unharmed.
"He can manipulate your fear. If your willpower isn't strong enough to suppress your own terror, you will be affected."
Thea explained calmly.
Judging by Superman's pursed lips, he had plenty of fears buried inside.
"Power of emotion, huh…"
Batman had finally arrived, sliding across rooftops with his grapnel gun until he caught up. One look at the smoke-shrouded monster told him his fists would be useless. Hearing Thea's explanation, he lowered his gaze, already formulating strategies.
Thea still had immense faith in Batman.
Nightwing, who followed right after, was shaking—not from height, but from Parallax's fear aura overwhelming his psyche.
Superman was affected too, though he hid it well. Anyone good at reading micro-expressions could see his tension.
Batman, however, looked exactly as always—unreadable.
Then he tapped his forearm computer.
Above them, the cloaked Batwing decloaked and released a barrage of colorless gas bombs.
"This is an antidote I recovered from Scarecrow—releases a euphoric pheromone. I'm not sure if it'll work."
Batman fired a grapnel and swung to a nearby building, preparing to contribute however he could.
Thea couldn't allow Batman to fight Parallax with his bare fists.
She was immune to Parallax, after all—this creature couldn't intimidate her.
Controlling the yellow giant, spear in hand, she charged back into the fray.