At this mont, Su Ming was completely unaware of the events unfolding on Earth. He had already entered the core of Umbrax, and the experience was far from pleasant.
It felt like falling into an infinitely deep well or so kind of endless track.
All he could sense was that he was continually sliding downward, enduring increasing pressure, and accelerating faster and faster.
The heat generated from the friction forced Stranglehold to retreat into his body, and the Cloak of Levitation tried to help slow him down, but with limited success.
Umbrax was not the sun, but with its consciousness, its gravity was far stronger.
"Godslayer, maximum form—beco a parachute!"
In critical monts, the old ways work best. Physical deceleration appeared to be more effective than magical ans right now.
As his speed slowed, Su Ming felt as if he had fallen into a jar of glue, every movent hindered by the pressing forces from all sides.
However, the surroundings were not bad. It was like a vast sea of dark purple, with black energy shimring like rippling waves.
Su Ming took out his phone and snapped a few pictures.
It wasn't for Twitter—he needed evidence, sothing to support his employnt claims.
"Cloak, help find the area with the most concentrated energy."
The Cloak curled one of its corners like a dog sniffing around, then led Su Ming deeper.
He could still manage; the Cloak of Levitation provided considerable resistance to pressure—understanding how wasn't necessary.
As they delved further into the center of Umbrax, Su Ming saw the light grow brighter, with a purple glow glimring not far away, growing larger and larger.
Umbrax clearly hadn't expected anyone to reach its core, and its supposedly unbeatable mind-control had no effect. Now it was like a beast, unable to deal with the small bacterium invading its stomach.
Su Ming approached the glowing point, watching as it expanded, from a pinpoint to the size of an apple, then a stadium, until eventually, it was even larger than the moon.
This was the power battery of the Invisible Spectrum Corps.
Unlike the conventional Corps' Central Power Batteries, it lacked the lantern-like casing. It might be because the casing was also invisible, but after Su Ming poked it with his greatsword, he confird it was the forr.
To counteract this black-and-purple Lantern energy, the most reliable option would be White Lantern energy—the total of all spectrums. Unfortunately, Su Ming didn't have that.
What he had was a flashlight-sized black power battery, representing the power of death and enslavent.
But now that he was here, there were no other options. He had to proceed with the plan.
The energy in the Black Lantern Battery alone wouldn't be enough to blow up such a massive power battery; it needed amplification.
Gritting his teeth, Su Ming plucked a drop of X-tal from the Midnight Blade. As a fundantal substance of the DC universe, X-tal could empower anything in this world.
He pressed the drop of liquid into the Black Lantern Battery, letting it rge within to amplify the black spectrum.
The effects were imdiate—the Black Lantern Battery grew colder, its aura of decay and death enveloping Su Ming entirely. Everything around him began to be infected by the black mist, losing its vitality.
Su Ming's hand began to rot; even the armor couldn't stop the energy of death. His flesh turned to putrid liquid, seeping out of his gloves.
The healing factor kicked in, and a thirst for blood began to rise.
But Su Ming remained calm—though the Black Lantern Battery had grown stronger, the target was massive. He needed to enhance it even more.
He plucked another drop of X-tal, reached into his pack, and took out one of the gemstones gifted by Doctor Manhattan. Wrapping it in X-tal, he pressed it into the Black Lantern Battery.
It lted away, like snow in spring.
Black energy enveloped everything around him, and half of Su Ming's body that was holding the battery instantly decayed into a bloody ss. Only Stranglehold clung to his X-tal bones, avoiding the worst of it and helping his host move.
"This should be enough... go!"
Stranglehold, attuned to its host's intentions, maneuvered his skeletal fra to perform a throwing action. The trendous force hurled the Black Lantern Battery toward the core of the Invisible Spectrum Power Battery.
The purple-black fla within the battery flickered. Soon after, the black began to overtake the purple, vying for control of the energy.
The changes beca increasingly intense, and the entire star began to shudder and tremble.
"Cloak, get out of here!"
Though he said this, their escape speed was far too slow. The massive glowing orb before him turned half purple, half black, and then suddenly exploded.
Su Ming was instantly consud by the darkness, losing consciousness.
When he woke up again, Su Ming found himself in a dim world, everything around him in shades of gray. Tiny ashes constantly drifted down from the sky.
The ground was littered with white bones and black ash, and he lay in the midst of it, on a narrow mountain path.
On either side of the road stood various tombstones, and emaciated figures shuffled about near them.
Su Ming's first reaction was to check his pulse.
His heart was still beating, albeit slowly—proving he was alive.
All his weapons were intact. Stranglehold and the Cloak of Levitation were still with him. Apart from his body being emaciated like a mummy and a heightened urge to kill, he felt otherwise okay.
"What is this place?"
Su Ming rose, looking around, but the moving corpses paid him no mind. They continued wandering among the small mounds and bone-covered fields.
They acted as if they didn't see the newcor.
Su Ming initially thought he'd been sent to the 'Land of the Unliving,' the Black Lantern's domain, the stronghold of Nekron.
But there was none of the chilling cold that Black Lanterns carried; instead, there was only peace and tranquility.
For reasons unknown, his desire to kill quickly subsided here. He felt as though he had transcended life and death, left only with a sense of release and detachnt.
The surroundings were quiet, except for the sound of bone ash crunching under the feet of the walking corpses.
Su Ming approached one of the corpses, waving a hand in front of its face. Surprisingly, the corpse seed to glance at him, shook its head, and with an inexplicable emotion flickering in its pale eyes, walked around him and continued its march.
Countless corpses were walking through the mountains and wilderness, making their way towards so unknown destination. They didn't talk, didn't rest, and seed unaffected by any outside force.
Finally, after Su Ming had bothered countless corpses, one responded to him. The shriveled, naked body raised a bony finger, pointing to the peak of a distant mountain, saying nothing before moving around Su Ming to continue on its way.
Su Ming removed his helt—the air here was still breathable. He could feel himself slowly healing, though his heart remained peculiarly calm.
At the peak of the mountain was a constantly shifting, rotating tunnel, composed of intertwining black and white, resembling swirled milk chocolate.
The corpses were all headed there, entering the tunnel and never returning.
If Su Ming wanted to leave this strange world, he had to go there and see for himself.
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