Awakened

The Battle in the Temple

With a deafening bang, the ice crystals shattered into a glittering cloud, and a blinding green light beam surged forward, cutting across the frozen battlefield. 

The God King's envoy, a figure of unmatched elegance and power, was visibly taken aback. Her icy domain, which she believed to be impenetrable, had been shattered by a single, forceful attack. She had never encountered anything capable of breaking through her low-temperature field so suddenly. 

Instinctively, she reacted, her years of battle-hardened reflexes saving her. Without even glancing back, she launched herself into the air, her body twisting and accelerating away. The green beam narrowly missed her, brushing the edge of her flowing white robes and slamming into the temple floor with tremendous force. 

For a moment, the temple trembled. The ground beneath them, which had withstood countless blows in the fight thus far, finally showed signs of wear. Cracks spread like a spider's web from the point of impact, radiating outward in jagged lines. The sound of the floor splintering echoed through the vast hall as fragments of stone shot up like the ripples of a wave. 

The God King's envoy was thrown backward by the force of the shockwave. Tumbling through the air, she managed to regain her balance with an acrobatic twist, landing lightly a few feet away. But as she turned her gaze back to her opponent, there was an unmistakable flicker of fear in her eyes. 

Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern, stood firm in the center of the destruction. His green armor shimmered, his ring glowing with an almost otherworldly brilliance. He had not even flinched amid the chaos. Instead, he raised his fist, focusing the power of his will through the ring once more. 

A sharp beam of green energy erupted from the ring, surging forward with unrelenting speed. The God King's envoy, though swift, barely had time to react. She summoned her icy powers again, creating an intricate wall of frost to block the oncoming attack. 

But it wasn't enough. The beam pierced through her defenses with a thunderous explosion, sending shards of ice flying in every direction. The icy barrier shattered like fragile glass, and the green energy continued forward, unwavering. 

This time, the envoy couldn't fully avoid the attack. The beam grazed her shoulder, spiraling through her once-pristine armor and leaving a deep, bloody gash. She let out a sharp cry, staggering back as drops of blood splattered onto the fractured floor. 

Hal pressed his advantage. A successful hit spurred him forward, and he quickly fired again. A second beam. Then a third. Each attack was precise, powerful, and unrelenting. 

The true strength of the Green Lantern ring lay not in the weapons it could create, but in its flexibility and the sheer force of its user's will. Hal had learned through this battle that flashy constructs and complex strategies were ineffective against the envoy's frost. Her cold domain was too absolute, freezing every intricate creation he sent her way. 

So, he changed tactics. He abandoned his reliance on creativity and focused on raw, concentrated energy. Instead of crafting elaborate weapons, Hal channeled the ring's power into pure, unstoppable beams of light. 

Each beam was simple yet devastating. A single, unyielding manifestation of Hal's willpower. The will to "cut" became a slicing beam that tore through the air. The will to "pierce" formed spiraling projectiles that broke through barriers. 

The air was alight with green energy, the beams crisscrossing the temple like shooting stars. The sheer intensity of the assault was overwhelming. The surrounding area, once a grand and indestructible hall, was reduced to rubble. Cracks ran through the walls, and shattered stone littered the floor. 

The few spectators who remained watched in stunned silence. Most of the crowd had fled earlier in the battle, overwhelmed by the sheer power on display. Those who stayed behind, either too fascinated or too foolish to leave, now regretted their decision. 

The relentless beams of green light filled the air with deafening explosions. Each near miss left the spectators trembling, the shockwaves rattling their very bones. Some clutched their chests as if their hearts might burst from the pressure. 

At the center of the storm, the God King's envoy struggled. Her frost, once an impenetrable barrier, could no longer keep up with the unyielding assault. Each time she summoned her icy defenses, another beam would shatter them. The frost that coated her body, meant to protect her, became her burden, slowing her movements and weighing her down. 

She darted left and right, her agility remarkable even under the circumstances. But no matter how fast she moved, she couldn't avoid every strike. Beams of green light grazed her again and again, leaving bloody gashes and scorched marks on her armor. 

Finally, she faltered. One beam struck her square in the chest, knocking the wind out of her. She let out a muffled groan as she was flung across the battlefield, rolling twice before coming to a halt. For the first time, the envoy remained still, unable to rise. 

The remaining onlookers stared in disbelief. 

The God King's envoy was no ordinary opponent. She was a figure of immense power, revered as a near-divine entity in the star realms. To those gathered here, she was untouchable—a being of unparalleled strength and authority. 

Yet here she lay, defeated by a lone Green Lantern. 

The star realms were a place steeped in divine influence, where the strongest warriors owed their abilities to the blessings of the gods. The God King's envoy, however, was on an entirely different level. Her powers were not borrowed but directly granted by the Supreme Lord himself. Her strength was supposed to be absolute. 

And yet, Hal Jordan had triumphed. 

He stood amidst the wreckage, his ring still glowing with the brilliant light of his willpower. The battle had taken its toll on the surroundings, but Hal remained steadfast, his focus unwavering. 

The few spectators who hadn't fled were paralyzed by fear. No one dared to move or speak, their minds struggling to comprehend what they had just witnessed. 

Some warriors in the crowd, those who once boasted of their strength, now questioned everything they thought they knew about power. The defeat of the envoy shattered their understanding of the world and left them wondering if the Green Lantern might be even more than a match for the gods themselves. 

Then, the air shifted. 

A heavy stillness fell over the temple. The faint sounds of battle—the crackling of energy, the crumbling of stone—faded into silence. 

The light dimmed, and the air grew dense, pressing down on everyone like an invisible weight. Those still standing felt their breath hitch in their throats, their hearts pounding with an unexplainable sense of dread. 

Slowly, a massive shadow began to rise from the ground. It was not a shadow cast by the broken temple or the flickering green light. It was something far more ominous, a presence that seemed to grow larger with each passing second. 

The shadow loomed over the battlefield, its size incomprehensible. To those who looked upon it, it felt as though a mountain had risen from the earth, its peak hidden in the darkness above. 

Though its head was shrouded in shadow, the sensation of its gaze was unmistakable. It was an all-encompassing, soul-piercing stare that seemed to look through every individual present, seeing their fears and weaknesses laid bare. 

The remaining spectators sank further into silence, their fear now palpable. No one dared to move, their bodies frozen by the sheer intensity of the presence before them. 

This was no ordinary being. It was the one they had come to see, the one whose power dwarfed even that of the envoy. 

A god. 

And it had awakened.