From the Underworld, Thea watched the scene with keen interest. Kyle Rayner believed the resurrection was a power of the White Lantern Ring alone. He was wrong. The ring was merely a conduit; the Life Equation was the true engine driving it. The ability was produced by the two forces working in tandem.
Within the white light, traces of a higher-order energy mingled with raw life force. The fallen Lanterns' heartbeats began to return, and success seemed moments away—when something went wrong.
The white light grew hotter and hotter. It wasn't content to merely revive the dead. It wanted to change things. To rewrite the rules by which this world operated.
"What's happening?!" Kyle Rayner cried out in alarm.
Everyone on Oa was bathed in light warmer than sunlight. The dead rose to their feet. The Highfather's Guard lowered their weapons. In an instant, every grievance between them seemed to vanish, as though they were all about to become one big happy family.
This wasn't right. This state was absolutely wrong. Kyle Rayner didn't know of any version of togetherness that was achieved through brainwashing.
He struggled to rein in the ring, but it completely ignored his commands, smashing through his control like a flood through a plank of driftwood.
The white light over Oa grew blinding. Apart from a few Guardians, Orion, and two Archmages who were still resisting, everyone else—Lanterns and Highfather's Guard alike—wore warm, serene expressions, as if every pain they'd ever known had been forgotten.
Deeply unsettling. Watching from the Underworld, Thea was caught off guard too, which only strengthened her resolve to stay on the sidelines.
She was content to watch. Someone else, however, was not.
Amid the searing white radiance, Kyle heard a thunderous boom beside his ear. He recognized it immediately—a Boom Tube from New Genesis.
A deep, commanding voice rang out: "Child, take my hand! Let me help you bear this burden!"
The newcomer was tall, imposing, radiating an innate majesty—the unmistakable bearing of a sovereign born to rule.
Kyle had never met him, but he recognized the man at once. Highfather. Highfather himself had come.
Kyle was furious at New Genesis's heavy-handed actions. His disgust ran deep.
But he couldn't refuse Highfather's help. His White Lantern Ring was completely out of control, like an unbridled stallion, and it was actively rewriting reality.
Kyle couldn't tell whether the problem was his own insufficient strength, a fundamental lack of mastery over the ring, or something else entirely. Incalculable amounts of life force poured outward. Reviving the dead had been his intention, but the blissed-out daze afflicting everyone was definitely not. Worse still, he noticed that the metal and stone of Oa itself had begun to stir with faint signs of life—and the effect was spreading outward into the cosmos.
Limited by his own realm, Kyle couldn't perceive the full scope of what was happening. But Thea could see it clearly.
The Life Equation was absurdly potent in its own right. Like the Anti-Life Equation, it possessed the ability to overwrite free will. Beyond that, it could bestow life upon all matter. It sounded wonderful in theory, but if every single thing in the universe became alive, the result would be total chaos.
It was neither good nor evil. It simply represented the force of life in its purest form.
And it was precisely this power that had driven Highfather to throw aside all restraint and intervene personally.
His reasoning wasn't hard to guess: strike while the iron was hot, exploit the narrow window before anyone else was ready, and seize the Equation.
Thea's reaction was a silent, dry laugh. Highfather had lost the composure and wisdom he was famous for. He'd been consumed by the allure of power.
Whether the Life Equation and the Anti-Life Equation were relics left behind by God remained unknown. Where the source energies of life and anti-life originated—whether they'd always existed or came from some higher plane—all of it was still a mystery.
But one thing Thea knew for certain: unrestrained life was fundamentally incompatible with the laws of the universe.
How would Highfather contain the Life Equation once he had it? Through righteousness?
And how would Darkseid master the Anti-Life Equation? Through evil?
Perhaps both of them believed they could. But Thea was certain they were deluding themselves.
Only she—the Goddess of Death—could properly wield and restrain the Life Equation. And the Anti-Life Equation would require a deity of life to control.
Opposing forces sustaining each other, maintaining balance, preventing either from spiraling out of control.
Despite seeing all of this, Thea made no move to intervene. Every choice was theirs to make.
Highfather was an excellent leader in many respects—charismatic, perpetually compassionate and caring. If the stakes had been lower, Thea might have extended a hand. But he stood in the way of Diana's path forward. There was only one mantle of justice, and under that constraint, not fanning the flames was already more than generous.
He'd taken this step of his own volition. No one could undo that for him. And Thea could see it—a hairline crack, nearly imperceptible, forming in the foundation of Highfather's righteousness.
She watched from a distance as Highfather used sheer divine power to force the Life Equation into submission. The process was grueling, but the power coursing through him only deepened his intoxication.
"Kyle Rayner, please come with me. This power is far too dangerous. It doesn't belong in this universe." Highfather's voice was still warm, the kind that instinctively put people at ease.
There was no denying it—Highfather was impressive. Majesty and compassion in equal measure. A single glance was enough to inspire trust.
Even Kyle Rayner, who'd been seething at New Genesis, found himself swayed by Highfather's presence. The earlier brutality? He automatically pinned that on Orion. Probably just the man's rough methods, poor handling of the situation, that sort of thing...
Kyle nodded in agreement. Highfather said nothing more, opened a Boom Tube, and departed with his forces for New Genesis.
"Young man, please wait here briefly. I will explain everything," Highfather said, then closed his eyes and said nothing more.
It was Kyle's first time on New Genesis. The environment was breathtaking, but he had no appetite for sightseeing. The near-catastrophe he'd just witnessed still had him shaken to his core. The power of life, uncontrolled and uncontrollable—was this why Thea, despite possessing the White Lantern, had never gone on a resurrection spree?
He'd been reckless. Kyle cursed himself bitterly. He'd crudely triggered the resurrection without thinking through the consequences. If Highfather hadn't intervened, the fallout would have been unimaginable.
While Kyle was filling in the blanks on his own, Highfather was carefully composing his words. His true body had entered the wider universe, drawing attention from multiple quarters. His own legion commanders had almost certainly noticed. To fend off outside forces eyeing the power, he needed to unify his inner circle first.
Some commanders might question the rashness of his actions. That was manageable—he could smooth it over.
Diana, however, was another matter entirely. He couldn't argue with her, couldn't discipline her, and she was the single most difficult variable in this equation.
Highfather was getting a headache. Sure enough, not a minute later, the first person through the door was Diana. The warrior goddess stormed in, shoving the doors open, and strode forward with purpose.