The oath's first two lines still described the Indigo Tribe's previous circumstances. In the third line, Thea hoped they'd broaden their horizons. The fourth line expressed hope they'd find true compassion, both for others and for themselves.
The Indigo uniform matched their symbolic emblem—simple and plain. And... used very little fabric... Thea looked down at what she was wearing, more like beachwear, and fell into speechless silence. She secretly resolved that unless it was urgent, she wouldn't wear the Indigo ring.
The ring's general functions were similar to Green and Yellow Lanterns. Since she didn't know what number ring this was, despite her excellent craftsmanship, this ring was merely elite-level.
The Indigo-specific constructs were mediocre. However, the teleportation was incredibly powerful. Thea felt she could now teleport directly to the Source Wall instead of laboriously hopping through wormholes.
Incorporating the Indigo ring's teleportation techniques into her magic, Thea's teleportation spells would be unmatched in the world. Though this would still require time to explore.
The Indigo Light also possessed healing capabilities. Compassion's power, converted through the ring, could repair physical damage. Except for the White Lantern ring—which was beyond normal categories—among the seven spectrum rings, Thea felt Blue and Indigo each held part of the healing function. Since Indigo could heal the body, Blue Lanterns likely healed the spirit.
Though fundamentally different from magical healing, each could inform the other. Drawing from both, her healing spells also made new progress.
There were additional abilities like holographic imaging and creating illusions. Thea felt this ring could be called the "Conversion Ring"—all its major functions centered on how to make targets repent. Thea carefully avoided the forced brainwashing feature, yet the remaining abilities still focused on persuasion techniques. This left her somewhat speechless.
The Indigo Tribe naturally also issued her a staff. This staff could absorb and store the seven spectrum lights, then fire them out.
It looked pretty cool, but for Thea, this function was merely a gimmick. Useless? Well, sometimes it might have unexpected effects. Useful? There was no appropriate scenario to employ it.
Overall, the Indigo Light's capabilities leaned toward guiding people to goodness. The entity Proselyte's name—meaning "conversion"—fully explained this point. Its support functions were excellent; correspondingly, its combat power was mediocre.
Thea communed with Proselyte and withdrew the ring energy, taking all rings offline except her own.
Under her supervision, all the Indigo members regained their senses. These people were no saints—they'd all been major criminals Abin Sur had captured from across the universe. If they regained their wits and started killing each other, the sin would definitely fall on Thea's head.
Her time was tight. She spent considerable effort persuading young Proselyte, talking about life, ideals, and the future, gaining its limited support. Thea began adjusting the ring settings.
Brainwashing people the moment they wore the ring—this function affected intelligent life too greatly. Calling it evil wasn't excessive. This forced emotional transformation wasn't compassion at all. Like Superman's father said, they gave Superman the right to choose. Thea now gave these ring members a chance to choose again.
A simple choice appeared in each member's mind. Thea used spiritual power to bypass language barriers, asking whether they still had the will to practice compassion.
Even without the ring's enhancement, Indigo-1 immediately made her judgment. She chose to continue on the path of compassion.
The others hesitated, some slowly growing determined. Ultimately, all one hundred and three tribal members chose to continue wearing the Indigo ring.
This moved Thea somewhat. Didn't they know their will had been forcibly transformed by the ring? They weren't children—they all understood. But they still chose to continue their previous path. From this, Thea saw compassion's powerful inclusiveness.
"Well, I gave you the choice. Now it's your problem." Thea muttered to herself, continuing adjustments. First, she canceled all the native language oaths—everything changed to Common.
Daily language also changed to Common. Many of these people were interstellar criminals and actually knew Common. But to accommodate their old habits, Thea retained that distinctive "nok" verbal tic.
Adjustments complete, she returned their ring energy.
Through silent teleportation, all one hundred and three people appeared before Thea.
Indigo-1's attitude finally changed. Her previously expressionless face now held a trace of anger. "Outsider, you have no right to interfere with our lives!"
Thea examined each person in turn. Some glared at her furiously, some lowered their heads in avoidance, some had complex expressions.
They'd recovered from fanatical brainwashing. Only powerful inertia left them somewhat at a loss. Memories of their time together were vivid—before, they'd truly been like family. Now, each having recovered their wits, and all being criminals by origin, there was subtle wariness between them.
Regarding Indigo-1's accusation, Thea felt no guilt. So they had some barriers between them now—big deal!
Without needing ring assistance, she extended her hand and set up a massive shadow illusion spell. She added her modified version of "Yellow Millet Dream," adjusting the spell's internal time flow, infusing fear emotions, and also separating part of her spiritual power to enter the prison.
Fear emotions manifested countless monsters flooding toward the Indigo members like a tide. Within the illusion, they could only huddle together for warmth, supporting each other. As battle intensity deepened, barriers quickly dissolved. Thea naturally mixed in and became familiar with them.
They ultimately achieved mutual support—no longer the ring's compulsion, but genuinely accepting each other from the heart. Brilliant compassionate light took root among them, sprouting and growing strong.
When their emotions converged, Thea's fear emotions were directly shattered. The prison broke without attack, and everyone regained consciousness.
"Is this compassion?" Someone reached out to touch the indigo energy before them.
"Were we wrong all these years?" Truth was truth. Forcibly brainwashed compassion versus the essential compassion existing between heaven and earth—there was a world of difference. This group quickly discovered the subtle distinctions in their energies.
"Was this really your goal all along? Is this truly compassion?" Indigo-1, now crying, her body trembling slightly, asked uncertainly.
Regarding this bearer of the first Indigo ring, Thea had been secretly observing her every move.
It must be said, Abin Sur's evil compassion method still had results. The former serial killer had been completely transformed. Her heart was full of remorse for past sins. While others still had some mental resistance, as the strongest Indigo ring, the powerful energy had completely rewritten her from body to soul.
To her question, Thea nodded and answered seriously: "That's right. This is true compassion."