A/N: These are some of the words you would come across in the story. The meanings are as follows:
Kretin - A derogatory term
Gusog - A curse/slang typically meaning Fuck
Ra'yja - Lord/Highness (pronounced Ra-ay-ha)
Baskeran - A term for the lowest caste
Yoms - Equivalent to hours
Keäjarr - Emperor (pronounced Kay-ehh-yarr)
Bliát - A curse/slang typically meaning Shit
Fhō - A term for Hell
Spintchza - A term for someone with no name
Reksch - A derogatory term
Pyinfaōs - Equivalent to minute
Moau - A God
No long intro. Important A/N at the end of the fic. Cover art : insta oreo_artexpression
Happy reading.
Prologue
At first I had nothing
In a deep cavernous space stood a figure looking over its finished work. A large design of two enclosed circles with four lines reaching the outer edges of the inner circle and two lines joining just inside the inner circle on the upper side of the ritualistic design.
Not one thing to call my own
An orange light illuminated the space and as it shimmered, there emerged an entire congregation of shimmering orange figures and items, be it living or just materialistic possessions. These constructs surrounded the person before the circle.
Everything I had was taken from me
The figure convulsed as the constructs seemed to slowly break apart into energy and melt down into a pool of gooey liquid energy as the circle beneath it glowed a bright white/orange and bathed the space. The figure slowly bent down towards the gooey pool, as if recovering something.
I wanted something
Disappearing into the orange gooey pool, the space became silent. The echoing cavern bereft of any sound whistled the wind's rush towards the exit. No trace of life. No trace of movement. Nothing but the cold emptiness of death lingered in the cavern.
I never had anything to keep
Ripples emerged in the pool as the water rose around the glowing circle previously made. Orange aura burst from underneath the pool and whipped around the cavern launching through the roof of the cavern and into the vast black space overhead. Debris crumbled and the explosive sound reverberated the lands.
But now, now I know
The orange burst of energy died down and the pool evaporated in an instant. Vapors and steam rose up as soon as the pool disappeared and the orange glow of a figure shone in the steamed energy fog. As soon as the steam cleared there it appeared kneeling. Slowly rising, the figure wore a form fitting skin suit that had an orange and black design on it with the ritualistic symbol, it drew before, in its chest.
Everything that I see and feel is…
The figure had a lantern on its right hand. An orange lantern, uniquely shaped like an hourglass, glowing with immense power. The figure could feel the immense power and so it grinned. Taking a deep breath and bringing the lantern to its chest, it brought up its left hand glowing bright orange from a ring it wore and menacingly whispered to itself in absolute mad certainty.
MINE!
Chapter 0: Orange is the new Death
Present
Thaggh Planetary System
Planet: Verohahl
Self POV
I cannot remember the last time I had found peace. Peace of any kind, to say.
Here I stand with nothing but a mere thought in my mind. To take it all. Take everything. Everything in the world. Anything in the world.
...ine! mine! minE! miNE! mINE! All..
MINE!
"Shut Up!" I growled. And it fell silent.
I look around this place. The planet of Verohahl, another colonized base, the main army headquarters of the slaving empire of the Karn family of savages. Another one, its warriors and conquerors, all part of my army. My corps, as the ring once suggested.
"Soon. Soon." I steadied my breaths.
My eyes turned and I gazed into the distant horizon that had nothing but a mere destroyed landscape in vision and a palpable silence that followed it. The wind singing lonely songs. The ground drinking the blood that spilled.
It's all gone now. A planet brought to its end.
I looked to the sky. The clouds draped over the ever present sun of this world, Yumae. Covering its rays, over shadowing the landscape before my eyes. The light, not reaching the lands, stuck in between the layers of smoke, debris and drifting matter. All around, the devastated lands leered back at me. Smoke reached the sky's limit from various destroyed buildings and monuments.
An abyss of nothingness stared back at me.
So I stared back, peeking into the tiniest details of the abyss. The treasures it kept behind a veil of terrifying blackness. I brought my left hand up and gazed at the fingers. I notice the ring glowing, worn on my middle finger. The ring that gave me power. The ring that gave me solace. The ring that helped me through my end, when I had nothing to myself. No identity to call my own. This ring. The ring that is mine! Belonging to Nagiib! I, Nagiib, the Orange Lantern! It felt good to admit it.
I look forward into the distance, towards blinking lights amongst the blackened clouds above. My eyes narrow. I feel them. All around me. All over the clouds above me. They arrive. My end. Or is it?
They send their final legion of terror. Their last vengeance. Their last action. But nothing matters. Nothing. Nor death, nor danger. I clench my fists and release the power battery from a space storage in my ring. Appearing in an orange light. An hourglass-like lantern. My lantern.
"Charging procedure commencing." came a voice from my ring as it made contact with the symbol etched upon the lantern's body.
Ophidian, it once told me, it called itself.
The very embodiment of the orange light. Of avarice itself. The one that shone the light. The light that gave me this power. This ring. The one who claimed me as its own and gave me something to claim for myself as well. I have had my eyes opened to worlds beyond, of treasures lying in wait. All I needed was to open myself. Open it all. All of it.
"Ring power capacity at 200%."
I tear my hand off my battery and as soon as I do I hear the ring speak again, whining of sorts, "Why would you do that! I almost had my fill."
"You never do." I replied. And yes the ring never had its fill. Countless worlds ravaged and I felt no guilt towards any of them. For I had hoarded everything they had. For I had nothing to my name before this. Everything was taken from me. Only taken. Never to have. Nothing but theirs. Never mine!
"Security breach detected. Intruder approaching the battery." Huh, but my lantern was right here and I could detect no one around me. Suddenly, the ring spoke again, more from the very lantern itself that was near me, "Deep in my carrier's base. The wanderers that I sense near my power core. They don't know that the only thing awaiting them is their end. He, my tamer. The blight that took my light. My light. My avarice. I couldn't corrupt him." the ring stopped again, before continuing.
"You too. You are an anomaly. You called out and you wielded this light, my light. Far out in a distant place, you called out to my light and I could feel your want. Your needs. Your greed. Your avarice. They guided the ring in their own way through countless new worlds to reach you. But now, no other! No one else will wield this! Their end approaches."
When I heard that I figured out that the central power battery for Ophidian was the one being attacked so I let it go. I asked though,
"Ring, estimate amount of intruders by the glowing strobe lights visible above." An invisible pulse radiated out of my whole body.
"There are a total of 90 ships and counting." came the reply after a small pause. I nodded. I could still feel more troops arriving all over me. The sky was lighting up and the lands brightened up from the blinking lights above. I continued still,
"Ophidian, have you ever met the other Lanterns? What are they like? I would like to have a taste of their powers and try taking it as well." I grinned.
"There are others, yes. We can take them all. Taste all their powers. The green ones are especially delicious." I felt it seemed very smug about it. "Others are spread out and I haven't had their fill. But before that, don't you have to take care of those nuisances above, I can feel, are gathering?" came the end reply of the entity of my lantern light.
"You get really pleasant to talk to after recharging the ring, every time. Very weird."
"Shut up, the ring is its own consciousness and its voraciousness transfers to me since I am shared between you and him now. Two rings Baaah! That is why now, I feel like I will never be satisfied. I am avarice. So is the ring. The world is just a pocket full of treasure waiting to be taken. This world and the next, nothing is far from reach. Keep growing your army. New food approaches."
"Those lights must be really big ships. Well, all the more for me. Big ships. Small ships. Big enemies. Small enemies." Yes, I could feel the intoxication again. The power, it creeped into you. It tickled your brain. Slowly enhancing your voracious greed, bringing it into the forefront. I could feel it. My mouth, already salivating. I could hardly wait.
"They look very enticing. I'm coming, my sweethearts." my voice took a crazier turn as I could see the aura around me glow. I dismissed my lantern into my pocket space in my ring and focused above with enough control through the intoxicating greed.
My ring glowed a brighter orange and before you know it, I took off in one big jump into the sky, intent on breaking through the clouds. The only thing I could make out before I blasted through the thick walls and into the first ship's interior hull was the hunger to take everything for Me!
"Mine!"
XxxxxxX
150 Years Ago (Earth Time)
Thaggh Planetary System
Planet: Orhg
The Green Lantern Corps watched over 3600 of the known sectors in the universe. But the universe was vast. Always in motion. Always moving forward. Expanding its reaches. Creating new worlds. It was never constant.
Distance to target: 300 light years to contact
Amongst the many unknown parts of the universe lay the Thaggh Planetary System. A new world. Savage. Ruthless. Young. It glowed and contained in it the many young worlds that were birthed and amongst them was the planet Orhg. One of many in this undiscovered sector of the universe. Home to the working community of alien beings named Ogonians, the world was young but far from hope and a happy beginning.
"Kretin*! You better not keep anything from me, now hand over all of it!", a huge male humanoid alien with a big axe on its right hand hefted over his shoulder, wearing armor and a hunched back, loomed over a miserably malnourished and very injured alien who whimpered.
The smaller alien had an elongated skull and barely had the muscles on his body with four fingered hands and two toed legs who looked beaten to the ground. Ogonians were the only alien beings in this part of the new world with those head and body features. The injured smaller Ogonian coughed up a few drops of blood to the ground as he weakly growled, "I told you already. You took everything that is mine. I have nothing left of me. What more do you want? My rags? I have nothing on me but this piece of torn banner I'm wearing. What the gusog* more do you want that's mine?!"
Screaming that, the Ogonian crumbled over to the ground. The alien, unable to speak or move anymore, he laid there in a mixture of snot, blood and grime of the back alley dump that he was cornered in. The bigger alien was insulted. He raised his axe and was about to get to chopping something off when,
"Zondua, leave the trash to the streets. You should have been guarding the front gates of the fourth estate surrounding the fourth Siphonheart engine but you are here playing with slaves." came a voice from behind that paused him. He recognized the voice. His superior. He slowly turned with a trembling face and bowed before the slender looking royally clothed alien male.
"I-I wasn't f-f-forsaking my du-duty my Ra'yja*. I saw the baskeran* slacking off his duties so I thought..!"
"No excuses, leave."
A shiver running down his spine, he bowed low and quickly ran past the other. Whispering, "Lucky kretin."
'Poor baskeran.' was the thought of the royally dressed alien. Looking over at the almost dead and heavily injured Ogonian native in front of him the aforementioned alien named Zondua left.
'Your world is already about to die in a few yoms* so it would've been merciful to let him kill you yet if you might just live, however small the chances, might be delicious to watch your despair. Despair over when we leave your worthless planet and leave it rotten. Leave it for dead.'
A chuckling royalty left the alley, leaving the half-dead Ogonian in the streets laying over a small pool of its blood. The Ogonian after a short while, tried to lift himself. His unsteady hands carried his unhealthy malnourished body into the nearby wall. Crashing on his back onto it.
He may have had a name but he didn't remember it anymore. Lost in the countless battles and verbal of being called a low life nameless being. He took deep breaths and tried steadying his ringing head. He felt his head as he lay there for a few more moments until the headache subsided gradually. He weakly lifted himself up, feeling a flare of pain burst in his chest region. He ignored and limped towards a different small path that led into a secret underground pathway.
Trudging the pathway by feeling the flow of air and the walls, the alien came out into an empty devastated street. He found a dark corner mostly unnoticeable and limped there as he sat down by the wall again. His pain was flaring up. Sitting there the Ogonian's thoughts drifted back to his younger days.
His birth didn't happen during the best of times and he never grew up in the good way. They had invaded a few decades ago. The Empire, enslaving the entire planet with their advanced warfare death crafts and machines over the mostly ignorant working planet inhabitants. As soon as they enslaved them, they had started mining and harvesting the planet for a precious metal lining the inner crust of it. A material that he was told to be one of the most malleable of any metal in the known universe and also said to be able to channel any form of magic. They called it Dagktelite.
For this, they had turned the once proud and happy civilization of Orhg into a planet of slaves for the Karn Empire's mining holes and harvesting intentions. They had forced every single healthy fertile Ogonians to reproduce amongst themselves and then the Empire scientists aged the newborns into one at the least able to use their hands and legs with the additional thinking capacity. Fodder workers.
Many did not survive the procedure but for the empire we were expendable. The healthy were just breeders, the aged were drugged workers, the newborns were all just left aside. They were all monitored via a choker to prevent them from going rogue. For the children it was a rough time in the devastated lands they were left to. The Karns lived on floating discs high above the population of Orhg. Looking over them with disdain, like Gods over ants.
XxxxxxX
Thaggh Planetary System (Present)
Self POV
Yes, the feeling.
Gods. Ants. I see it now.
Don't Gods call everything their own? That they create everything so they own everything?
"Aren't I God?!" I exclaim while laughing as I blast the Karn soldier before me through his guts, his entrails painting the picture behind him, with a giant hole in the wall of the ship. I've been battling this army for quite a while now. Every few I destroy, a couple more appear. I can feel more and more of the ring take hold. My greed eats away my fears. My anxieties. My inhibitions. I see the orange light encase over the recently dead.
"Copying subject species: Galionthrophe, aka Zergovnian. Name: Fargul Oolagh. Welcome to Nagiib's Orange Lantern Corps."
Many more chants such as this follows. The ring gathers them all. I don't bother. I gather power and blast through the various levels, vacant of anyone except destroyed walls and halls, as I appear in space, orange light covering me. I see the small amount of remaining battle ready ships and the various already destroyed ones spread like debris among the crowded space around me. My eyes focus on the gathered army in one of the more bigger and more armed ships before me. I feel it. The growing want, again. To take them all. Yes. It feels glorious. I see them fire their weapons at me. Throwing up a shield construct I stop the short barrage as I construct a whole spaceship for myself, ramming it straight through three enemy ships in my sights. I fly around, dodging their weapons and attacks, and let loose beams of orange at the ships, destroying their weapons and blasting through their armors.
I power up and I take off towards the bigger ship I had focused on but before I can ram the ship through, a blast of energy hits me straight on. I am forced back through some huge pieces of ship debris and through a Karn ship itself that was behind me before I stopped myself. I grin.
A worthy prey. A powerful being. "Now it's turning out to be more fun."
For Laghruk Karn, royal commander of the empire, it was embarrassing and heresy to his order. To think, his army. His glorious murder machines, and finest soldiers. For him to see them being torn apart like that by this. This pathetic little baskeran from the dead world of Orhg! The nerve of that low life. His world was only good for the cultivation of the metal that gave birth to his precious armor he wore right now. Presented to Laghruk by his Keäjarr, the Emperor, himself for his ever present loyalty to the throne.
But when the Emperor suddenly started getting reports of many of his outposts being destroyed in succession, from his scout parties, with none surviving, he had been concerned. He would not have sent Laghruk himself until he was sent a report of one of his own sons, with his wife, had been reported dead from a world he had conquered and given to them.
The Emperor had raged and trashed half of his castle and destroyed part of his own castle garden as well in his anger. It did not help when not a few sun cycles later he had been given a report of their main army headquarters in Verohahl being under attack. The Emperor had immediately ordered Laghruk to take every last royal battleships and the army to Verohahl's space to end the threat once and for all.
Laghruk wanted to argue that it was overkill and unnecessary to take their royal battle fleet against this unknown enemy, confident in his own skills to end the threat with his own small fleet but one look from the Emperor had shut all and any argument in his head and mouth. He had obeyed and now, looking at the damage all around him.
150 battleships and an army of 38,000 reduced to a meagre 20 battleships, the only big one remaining being his, and no sign of his other comrades. His trusted allies.
His Keäjarr was right to have him bring the best. The whole royal fleet but even then, doubt had started to slowly seep into Laghruk's mind when he saw the destruction first hand. The first of many. Never facing a being like this, Laghruk couldn't figure the enemy out. He could build orange constructs that decimated his ships. Constructs! How was he able to become so powerful? He did not understand this power. A mere Ogonian? A wretched lower life form of a back alley planetary system that didn't have any idea of the space around. Of the worlds afar. How could it become so powerful? He wondered what could've happened there for this baskeran Ogonian to have gained this power. He wondered if it was due to a hidden power within the Dagktelite. He couldn't reason well on his ideas or make head to toe about it.
He could feel it. The dreaded emotions in his ship's gathered warrior's eyes behind and around him. Fear and doubt taking hold of their being. Watching their empire's most powerful armed fleet get slaughtered and destroyed this way. They may have been savages on other lands but now, they only knew fear. Karnian magical energy flowing in his veins, Laghruk had earlier blasted the orange maniac of an enemy away as the bastard made its way to his ship, intent on ramming through it. Before he could think more he noticed something in his peripheral as from one of his ships, the ship navigator called out.
"Th-the enemy is b-back my Ra'yja."
Laghruk readied himself and ignited the Karnian magic inside him as he saw the orange silhouette appear again. If the plan he just thought to himself did not work, he still had his four generals with him. He would start the assault on the enemy himself if necessary now. He growled into an equipment in his armored helmet, "All ships, I order to fire everything you have! Everything Right NOW!"
As soon as the order was spoken a mass bombardment commenced in the space above Verohahl. Energy beams, missiles and the likes flew towards the orange beam heading towards them and a few moments later, the space is alit with one of the brightest and most destructive explosions. Forcing back even the other ships in the vicinity and Laghruk himself from the shockwaves that erupted. The Karnians thought for a few moments that it was over. That they had done what they came here to do. It was finished. The enemy was done for. This had to be it.
I am excited. A powerful treasure just appeared. He would be a great addition to my corps.
"Ring power capacity at 450%."
Yes, the new additions are good. Very good.
I can only keep snickering as the ring's influence slowly has most of the hold on me. I feel it creeping over my brain completely and I shake my head to relax my body. Calm myself, for even a little bit. I ready myself and in a burst of orange light, launch myself towards the Karnian menace I see in front of the biggest ship. As I fly towards him I narrow my eyes at one of his subtle actions and before I know it I see the ships commence a bombardment of the area where I am flying to. I focus and a huge construct of one alien being, with the thickest hide for shield, appears instantly, just before the bombardments make contact. Enclosing me whole.
I am blasted away by the initial blast and then the shockwaves again by a few feet. My construct crumbles. "Ring power capacity at 150%."
That is unacceptable. The bombardment ate away the power. My construct. I see it crumble away. Fading away. The energy keeping it in form, dissipating into the space around me. This was so unacceptable. Loss. I feel the loss. With that I feel rage and with that rage, the greed returns tenfold. My construct. Destroying my construct. Pay. They will pay. I will take everything from them. Everything they own. Everything. Mine.
My head is filled with grief and hunger, and with speeds I thought I couldn't reach, I plow through two more ships in my vicinity. I could feel the fear in the space around me. Their fear of death. Of oblivion. They grow terrified and squabble among themselves like childrens. Just like back home.
XxxxxxX
Flashback (Continued)
Planet: Orhg
The children, all that were left to fend off for themselves, fought over any of the rations they got to buy by exchanging a ticket they could get working in the mines themselves as well for a fixed time. But this was not the only problem that plagued the invaded and enslaved inhabitants. The main problem were the stationed guard dogs of the empire. Taking every chance to rob the children and workers alike and making even the tiniest of hope for a good happenstance not worth any for the enslaved natives.
For the injured Ogonian that lay in the corner, this was where he had to face the competition. He was a natural born. He had only started growing up along with his parents before he got seperated, far apart, from them into a different part of the planet during his younger days when the invasion occured. He was suddenly left to the wolves. Every small item he fought and bled to get, in the devastated area where he was dropped, never stayed with him. The Karn guard dogs always looked at any Ogonians as a lower life form and either robbed them all or plain beat them down when they pleased. The children themselves had become oppressors, robbing from their own fellow Ogonians to at the very least ease themselves off sufferings. They had nothing to themselves anymore. He had nothing for himself anymore.
Distance to target: 140 light years to contact
"Bliát*! This hurts so bad today." the injured Ogonian alien spoke to himself. He heaved in slower breath cycles to not put more pressure on his diaphragm. The blunt side of the weapon that the Karn guard knocked him back with, hit more badly than he had thought of.
'To Fhō* with this! My last morsel of good food. Damn Karns. They only take and take. Nothing else! My parents. My books. My food. My clothes. My life. Nothing is mine anymore!', his thoughts drifted towards the various things he had been forced to steal since young, to try and ease his pain of being empty handed, only for them to always be taken away from him. From where the bastards, both soldiers and the orphan thugs, knew to find him he never knew. They always beat him up before taking away his items. His treasures. His! His!
Grrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmhhh!
The injured Ogonian's eyes narrowed. He felt the planet rumble and shake from underneath. As if something just gave in and the ground was ready to burst. He could feel something approaching the surface. From the core of the planet.
Staggering and pushing through the pain, the Ogonian stood. The place where he made his resting and hiding spot was a few distance away by foot. He made his way, limping.
'I have been feeling the rumbles every night. Growing in sounds and tremors. Those machines. The Siphonheart engines. They are a wet dream for people who love world ending machines but that is it. They are killing our planet. If I could have one, if only I had one. I'm jealous, yes. I'm angry, never more than now. I'm fed up, truly. I want…! No, no stop! I can't.' he gritted his teeth and scratched the choker on his neck. A device he got strapped with when he was thrown to the wolves after being taken from his parents.
'This stupid piece of junk. The only thing they can never take or will take. A cage. Only a damn cage I can keep for myself?! The others don't even realise the world is going to Fhō. It is only a matter of time before we get disposed of, as well.'
The Ogonian reached an overarching broken platform that gave way to a door as he limped towards it. As soon as he gripped the handle though, he stopped for a moment. His eyes carefully examined the knob in his hand. Something was not right. Before he could make any sense of it, it happened in a flash.
With a blast of energy, the door was blasted off its hinges and the injured alien with it. As the door disintegrated mid way in the air, the Ogonian crashed into the remains of a nearby demolished old Ogonian shelter.
"Look kretins, another spintchza* hideout. Thought you could never be found huh? You thieving little reksch*." came a voice that belonged to the now visible figure that looked Ogonian as well but more bulked up and fit. Five more appeared all around the area and watched over what had just happened.
"Gorah." the former, now worse for wear Oganian, rasped out. Oh he had seen better days now. "You finally figure out the place huh? Gusog!"
His recently healing bones were again broken and internal wounds opened up, flaring a burning pain across his body. The Ogonian, Gorah, spoke, "You stole from us. You think I wouldn't know about the prototype machine you took with you when you left us after that job we pulled? It could be the end to our hunger problems, and you stole it!"
Gorah stood before the broken body of the former. He looked pissed but he also saw the state that the other Ogonian was in. The other five figures fell into positions behind Gorah.
"Heh, hunger problems? That's your problem. I liked the machine. I found it. It was mine. I took it." came the raspy reply of the "thieving" injured Ogonian.
"You are a spintchza and also a baskeran. You have nothing that you have to yourself! Not even a name! Do you think you deserve to keep living when others, better than you, are dying out there." Gorah replied heatedly.
"You think I give two bliáts about your stupid dreams of ruling and conquering?! Your fake ideals and words you spout from that ugly mug of yours?! Look around you Gorah! Everything is going to Fhō! Your dream world is a dream. Nothing more!"
Anger filled Gorah as he charged down his weapon but was surprisingly stopped by two of his own allies. Gorah looked at them menacingly, hoping for a very good explanation which was given as,
"Gorah, let me handle it. I can extract the information more efficiently." one of the more, taller Ogonian spoke by unveiling a box of various different tools and instruments. Gorah glanced and steadied his rapid angry breathing and nodded.
"Make sure you ge…!"
Suddenly a siren rang all over the place as everyone panicked and looked around. One of the Ogonian allies of Gorah checked some kind of instrument around his head and ear and a few moments later, turned around terrified towards Gorah and the others. He said,
"They're leaving us. Us in a dead world Gorah! Our planet is done for! They're leaving us! Orhg is done for! We have to go if we want to hitch ANY ship of theirs left. ANY!" He was scared. The idea of being swallowed in a planetary blast ignited a primal fear in the alien that he could not stop mumbling after it. As soon as he heard the radio of the planet completely destroying itself from inside out he had been rendered catatonic for a moment.
Gorah's eyes narrowed and he gritted his teeth. His eyes narrowed towards the huge floating palace discs overhead glowed even more brighter. As if they were getting ready for a take off. He could even see some ships start flying away from the nearby mining stations with the Siphonheart engine attached to them. He growled. Glancing back at the laying half dead Ogonian he first nodded towards the one who had stopped him from attacking before who nodded back and said,
"We need to leave Gorah. He is half dead. If what Karhal said is true, we need to move now. Let this baskeran die alone. We can still salvage things if we have a ship."
Gorah nodded. "You are right." glancing back at the laying alien. "You can die here knowing your selfishness has been your undoing baskeran. Die like the low life you are."
Saying that all five Ogonians along with Gorah quickly made way towards a direction, dashing and jumping away at varying speeds. Then there was him.
His body was broken. Spirit, torn. Nothing in his hands. He wondered about his life. About where or what he must've done wrong. Something that he did perhaps, that has come to bite him really badly now. He felt lost. His ears could pick up the distant rumblings grow louder. The skies slowly brighten up. Engines flying, coming to life. And here he was.
With nothing in his hands right now he felt incomplete. He wanted something in his hands. As his breaths slowed down in an undetectable manner he wished to hold something precious in his last moments. To not die empty handed. It was his biggest fear to die alone. He wanted something. Something.
Distance to target: 10 light years to contact
He gritted and heaved his dying broken body towards a mark he saw a couple feet ahead of him. Focusing on it he knelt up and as he was about to move forward, the ground groaned as if it gave in and the siren now blared even more louder than before and unlike before, this time it kept going without stopping. He glanced around weakly and saw at a distance.
Geysers, huge explosions of the planet's core. They erupted. Spewing ashes over to the atmosphere. The distant cloud of ash slowly encroached and the kneeling lonely alien could only keep watching. He shook himself out of his stupor and continued to weakly crawl by his knees towards the mark. He could hear countless screams echoing amongst the rumbling grounds. Then came the silent shudder as it grew and grew and it gave way to one massive quake that flipped the injured Ogonian up from his knees and back on the ground. The planet itself gave a massive pained groaning rumble that only kept on growing with the shaking.
'No! The mark!', he saw the ground before him split into cracks with the planet's molten core seeping through the various fault lines created. The sirens now drowned away by the sounds of the Orhg's own destruction. He saw the grand floating palace slowly ascend away. Various ships in the air. Flying off to the skies beyond the blackened ash clouds. He could still hear screams among the cacophony of imminent destruction.
Another tremor rippled through and before the Ogonian could notice, the patch of land he was on split in half and a wide crevice opened up beneath him with the molten planet core at a depth slowly rising. His eyes widened as he felt himself become weightless while he fell down, eyes looking at the sky above.
Distance to target: 500 meters to contact
His eyes picked up a disturbance. An orange light pierced through the darkness as he saw it approach his way as he fell. In an instant it appeared in front of his face, floating alongside him as it seemed to speak something he could not understand. The falling terrified Ogonian didn't know what to do. What this was. He didn't have anything in his mind right now besides panic and confusion.
" Nagiib of Planet Orhg. You want it all. Welcome to your Lantern Corp. "
Next thing he knew, the ring had lodged itself in his left middle finger and as soon as it did, a bright orange light engulfed all around the crevice. Under the bright lights engulfing the Ogonian, he could feel himself changing. His features morphed as the orange light glowed from his being. He kept screaming silently as he floated during his transformation. Little did the Ogonian realise the change that his life had undergone. Little did he realise of a future that awaited him; a future that he never ever could have dreamed about.
"User authentication complete. User healing in progress. Welcome, Orange Lantern Nagiib."
After a short while, as silence descended around the crevice walls, an orange blur flew up towards the sky, out of the crevice. Exploding lava following suit from the crack. The echoing hoarse voice that trailed the orange light beyond the ash clouds above had only one thing it screamed,
"MIIIIIIIINE!"
XxxxxxX
Back to Present
Thaggh Planetary System
"You will be miiiiIIINE!"
A purple streak shot through space and into another new planet's surface, an orange streak of light, following through next. The planet was mostly covered in a frozen environment.
The battle. It spanned till two more planets nearby before this. The two planets in question, having been worked down to massive smoking craters and destroyed planetary monuments. The five ships, including commander Laghruk's armored ship being the last heavily equipped one, were the only ones working and they had been on a retreating stance ever since their enemy had blasted down the remaining troops and ships, whilst battling in destructive space and aerial combat with their commander and his last two remaining elite soldiers.
They heard the planet's groans. They could feel the combat even in space. The various flashes of light they would see as they approached the new planet that was to be the battleground of their army and one enemy. It was unthinkable. The ships followed, entered the airspace of the frozen planet as they kept following the trails of light and just when they all broke through the outer cloud barrier of the planet's stratosphere, a beam took out one of the smaller remaining ships immediately.
He was consumed.
The rage. The pain. The hunger.
All of those had taken over Nagiib.
He saw the Karnian commander get up from the hole in the mountain. Two other bodies lay strewn, bent in different angles behind him. Blood pooled and splattered all around. It didn't matter to him. He blasted off towards the commander. As the commander saw the orange trail approach, he shielded the initial impact of the construct enhanced punch that followed with his wrist guards.
He was blasted off yet again, this time through the mountain he was previously embedded in, but he steadied his hold on the open frozen field he crashed upon. A large construct appeared over him as if to crush him but he gathered the Karnian magic and punched it back. A howl of effort later, the construct broke apart and he exploded saying,
"I AM LAGHRUK! I HAVE LAID WASTE TO THE COUNTLESS WORLDS OF THAGGH FOR THE KARN! YOU INSIGNIFICANT BASKERAN DARE LAY WASTE TO OUR KEÄJARR'S ORDER. HIS KINGDOM!"
Blood spit out from his raging face as his armor had already seen better use. Laghruk couldn't believe the spectacle. He had thought he could overpower the enemy with his usual tricks and methods but this. This was viciousness on a whole new level. He had never faced a being like this. An orange baskeran, wielding an orange light of immense power. He wished he could have this power. He had started making plans for it as soon as he had laid eyes on its abilities during this, this,.. What should he call it?!
He didn't know.
This wasn't war. This wasn't even a fight.
This was as if chaos itself had emerged to exact vengeance.
Vengeance over the few centuries of massacre that the Karn had committed in their world conquering path. Laghruk didn't understand. How could they lose?! What was this power? This orange light? He reasoned he would take it forcefully but that had proven to be his downfall. An army of the best, one of his best, reduced to a meagre handful of soldiers. Soldiers with no bravery. Soldiers that remained in the ships behind metal walls. His four trusted allies, Gareuhk, Phalrax, Oriha and Heaketon, all dead. Dead under his command. Under his foolish decision.
"You are miiINE! That sssshiny armor. Thossse tasssty energy boltsss. All miiiiiine." was the hissing reply from Nagiib.
"Despicable Creature Of Madness!" Laghruk growled. He caught the coming construct punch and punched back, launching Nagiib away. He had seen the madness. Caught a glimpse of it. It happened after the first big artillery bombardment. Laghruk felt his enemy grow darker. The weight of hunger press over him and everyone and he saw it. The Ogonian enemy that he thought he saw before was now gone. In his place was a creature whose face had morphed into a more heinous manner with a long tongue. He saw construct missiles approach as he tried dodging most of them in his injured state but got hit by two of them exploding close to him as he smashed and rolled in the ground.
Steadying his beaten, injured body Laghruk knelt up when he felt his enemy get close, a sword coming down on his neck. Nagiib had flown down to the commander with a big construct sword but he never found his mark as his hand was caught and he himself was thrown to the ground with the sword disappearing. Laghruk had stood over him with the intent of punching his lights out when Nagiib created a shockwave of orange energy that blasted him away from him.
Hearing engine sounds from above he gathered power in his ring and blasted a ray of light into the appearing last remaining battleships, slicing through one cleanly. It was a smaller ship that had exploded and soon after a bombardment commenced yet again.
Dodging the projectiles and energy beams Nagiib flew around the four remaining battleships and focused on taking out the smaller ones first. He flew through another one but it had blown him up close with an artillery, blasting him through several frozen peaks. The other three split up and aimed all of their weapons at the spot he was last seen.
Nagiib growled as his shoulder got dislocated. "Injury detected. Commencing self medical procedure." was the call from the ring as two hand-like constructs formed and locating the part of the body injury fixed him up in quick succession.
"Gusssogg-a!" Nagiib seemed to regain a little of his sense back as he looked at his shoulder and rolled it around a bit, to feel his movement. The intoxication had slowly lessened. His head was a little bit clear, still humming with the influence at the back of it. He kissed his teeth and wheezed a bit ending with a slight chuckle.
"It's such a drag. The fight's taking too long. Damn Karnian won't die and I gave into you again huh. I think it is time we all had a day out. I've added so many new faces. New treasures. My precious treasures, you all need to breathe once." kissing the ring he continued. "I think I should do my oath."
Bringing out the lantern from his pocket space Nagiib chants the Orange Lantern oath. The oath that emerged from deep within his psyche. An oath he discovered speaking in a trance, when he first ever wore the ring.
I unleash greed, this orange light
As all is mine, that be my right
And all world's treasures, for me shine
For they are mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, and mine!
Laghruk rejoined among his weapons ready fleet, floating in front of his own battleship over the distance. Into the smoke rising area where his enemy had been last seen. He took a breather. His armor was done for. Cracked and broken all over, his head almost exposed, chest armor piece completely caved in but due to its malleable property it slowly regained a comfortable shape allowing for easier breathing.
"My Ra'yja, we cannot seem to locate him. The energy readings on our systems are going haywire." came a broken voice message on the broken earpiece Laghruk still had.
Before he could reply, a shockwave hit him and everyone in the vicinity and it sent shivers down Laghruk's spine. His Karnian magic reserves were slowly depleting. He was a very good fighter with a great deal of energy to spare but now. He was absolutely spent, fighting for however long but the one he faced didn't even seem to get exhausted. No matter how many he fought he just kept growing stronger for some reason. It was unnatural. What was his power other than those constructs?! What was this orange light he again kept wondering. The thought of harnessing or taking the enemy back as prisoner or slave was out of the window right now.
Then there he was. In the air. Appearing in a flash. Glowing orange. He was brighter now. Brighter than before. More powerful.
What could Laghruk do anymore?
Nagiib felt the excess energy fill him up. "Body functions have exceeded the fatigue limit. Possible cell degradation is predicted to commence in three pyinfaōs*. Recommended immediate critical healing procedure."
The warning of the ring was loud and clear. Nagiib knew that this was his longest fight till now. He had been so wrapped up in trying to collect anything and everything of Karn that just after raiding and destroying the Verohahl base he had been fighting with the Karnian, who he attacked first, across the planetary space system they lived in. Two planets, in their battle, gone in an instant. Still it's inhabitants' memories, taken away. Stored away. To be his. They would live if they were remembered by his ring and him.
Only the ring had been keeping him going for a few moments and so Nagiib thought of ending everything altogether. He had three minutes before he shut down. Mentally locking a suggestion to commence a healing procedure after he falls unconscious, Nagiib brought his ring upwards and said, "Ring. Let's eat."
"Ophis Protocol authorized." the ring replied.
Nagiib watched as his ring seemed to lose its brightness.
Laghruk felt a sense of overwhelming dread wash over him.
Nagiib smiled as he seemed to reveredly look up to the sky above.
Laghruk narrowed his eyes at that as he slowly turned his attention to the sky as well.
"My Ra'yja?" some soldier spoke on the radio.
For a moment, pin drop silence stilled the already frozen world to a halt. The white skies brightened. The lights grew nearer. Shifting colors. Becoming more pronounced. The light took form. Turned orange and before their eyes dropped a nightmare one could not even begin to imagine. Much less comprehend.
Lughrak saw it, the massive maws, the numerous teeths, bathed in the orange light, the approaching beast. Death. Death approached them. Oh Moau, it approached them from the sky. It was real. Laghruk couldn't believe it, and the more shocking part was yet to come. Warrior armies. Warrior armies dropped from the sky, over his ships. His army. The jaws of death brought with it the undead. The army of the perished. Constructs, but real to Laghruk. He could clearly see it. The faces, those uniforms. These were his comrades.
His own people!
Perverted in orange light. Laghruk ignored the calls of his remaining soldiers as they got run down and outnumbered by the sheer number of the orange army before him and them. He had nothing left. His army was decimated. His comrades, all killed. He had been almost beaten down. Armor full of holes. All perverted. Twisted into these new orange light forms. As the big mawing jaw almost the size of his own ship came closing upon him he just looked over at his enemy one last time, asking as he whispered,
"Who really are you?" and he was no more.
Laghruk Karn was gone. Taken over slowly by the orange light. The orange army that was around, glowed and disappeared shortly as well. The fight was over. Finished in a short time. In an instant. It was meant to. Nagiib felt his body slowly give in. The Ophis Protocol was deadly. A ring restriction. He was told by Ophidian to keep it as a last resort or for his be all end all. Nagiib descended. Slowly and waveringly flying towards a cave he spotted, he landed there and laid down deep inside it. The lantern beside him, outside his pocket dimension, he set it aside and kept his arm near it.
"Ring commencing healing procedure."
And thus Nagiib laid in peaceful unconscious, drifting to the astral plane as the last thoughts of his would be about the whereabouts of Ophidian as he never came up to communicate after they left Verohahl's vicinity while fighting. Another treasure hunt was over. Little did he know, forces from beyond had been manipulated and the various corps of the known sectors were right in the middle of it. Nagiib hadn't had the slightest of clues.
Death was returning.
XxxxxxX
A/N: Hello everyone. So, today I'm starting off with something new. As you all may have read, the fic is a one-shot. The idea for it I have had it in mind for a very very long time. A Green Lantern original character origin one-shot. It is a story of my own for this account, next to the SI fic I posted. I just wanted to let you know that before I discovered anime and manga I had been and am still a very avid DC reader.
I started out on DC from the last vestiges of the Bronze Age and mostly after the Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline. Green Lantern was a character I absolutely loved reading and especially the Blackest Night and Brightest Day storylines are my most favorite. The various corps were a beauty to read about and with how in this trying times I have seemed to get back to reading DC comics more after the release and viewing of Zack Snyder's Justice League finally, I was hyped to finish it all up.
This one-shot had been in the writer's bin for a very very long time. The story was being rewritten and retconned a lot by me over the last couple of years it had been left as and finally, I would say even it may not be good or somewhat not to your liking, I am satisfied with how it turned out in the end. Also, a lot of illustrations have been made for this character which would be posted on Insta following an art event for myself that I'll be starting from tomorrow. If you guys want a glimpse of the art go check oreo_artexpression on Insta for it.
Before I leave, one of the foremost trivia I would like to explain is how the ring came to Nagiib, without spoiling much of the ideas I actually have for his story if there is ever a chance of continuation.
So the reason how the ring came to be is that, in the Green Lantern lore, if you've read Blackest Night, it is said that Larfleeze is the sole wielder of the Orange Light of Avarice. He had many rings in his posession but they were all inactive due to the reason that the Orange light made Larfleeze mad with Avarice and made him not want to share his powers and the light with anyone else. This is why he was the only Orange Lantern, called Agent Orange and his ring could actually steal his enemy's identity after death or via infection too, how he got Glume. This is how his Lantern Corps makes its appearance. They are literally his enemy's constructs.
So for the plot I had one of the inactive rings to activate to the desires of Nagiib and to seek him out over a period of space traveling. It has been said that the Lantern rings can enable its wielders to fly at/close to speed of light. Which is very fast. So that's one of the other minor reasons for using the "light years to contact" trope. The lantern rings all have a sentient way of picking up preferable wielders for their spectrum in the comics. I chose the Orange Lantern ring cuz imagine how it would be to have two Orange Lanterns but in two completely alien universes for a lantern power that empowers and feeds your own selfishness? (also I know the Luthor stuff which is exactly why this story was born) If you know Larfleeze's character, he is very hilarious to read. He is one of my most loved Lantern characters in DC and if you guys want to know more about the guy, you can try out his New52 Larfleeze issues, or his Christmas one-shot which is pretty hilarious if you ask me. Other than that, check out some of the Green Lantern tie-in issues to Brightest Day, War of the Green Lantern corps and you are good to go.
Also, the oath is self written if you guys are wondering. The official oath, as told by Geoff Johns, is in his final GL issue he wrote, which was the New 52 Green Lantern #20. It is just something I wanted to have fun with as I felt the official one to be nice and all but not anything special. Also, I wanted Nagiib to have a better oath to differentiate him from Larfleeze. So that's that.
In the end, I wanna thank you guys for reading. Follow, Favorite, Review or don't, it's all up to you. Hope you guys had a good and fun time.
Until next time.
Review