Chapter Eleven: Who is actually hiring whom?

The light was like a campfire in the freezing wind of a winter night, or the flickering illusion conjured by the little match girl—it looked fragile, ready to extinguish at any moment.

But regardless, it was lit.

Elias placed the lantern directly next to the ring, and energy began to surge into it continuously. Whether it was his imagination or not, the ring spoke in a tone far too energetic for a mechanical voice:

"Are you prepared to be teleported?"

Elias asked calmly, "What did you say? Repeat what you just said."

The ring obeyed without hesitation: "Are you prepared to be teleported?"

Elias: "Repeat it again."

The ring: "Are you prepared to be teleported?"

Elias: "Repeat it again."

...

This cycle repeated seven or eight times. The ring responded with pinpoint precision the instant Elias stopped speaking, with no difference in tone or articulation. The final time, Elias abruptly stopped, and the ring followed suit, falling silent. A faint air of stupidity permeated the cold wind of the slum. The old building had poor soundproofing, and the neighbor upstairs screamed at the top of his lungs: "Are you sick?! Who plays with a repeater at three in the morning before dawn?!"

Elias ignored him, looking at the ring and thinking: So, is this really just something akin to artificial intelligence, devoid of true self-awareness?

He lowered his voice further to avoid disturbing the neighbors and asked the ring: "What is the destination of the teleportation?"

"Headquarters of the Sinestro Corps, center of the antimatter universe, Qward."

Elias stared at it quietly.

A few seconds later, the ring automatically translated it into plain language: "Outside of Earth."

Good grief. For other people, job orientation means traveling across the city; for you guys, it’s straight out of the galaxy.

Elias was filled with rejection. On one hand, he was unemployed but had a home, and as a conservative Earthling who had never traveled into space, he didn't want to leave without knowing the duration and safety of the trip. On the other hand, as an experienced corporate slave, Elias keenly realized: Isn't this the legendary new hire orientation?!

On that planet called Qward, there would surely be empty promises from bosses, sycophantic colleagues, the mandatory self-introduction session, and some team-building games that might lead to bloody incidents.

But his mind shifted. Changing his posture, he didn't reject the ring outright, but instead interrogated it: "You said you could bake bread."

The ring corrected him: "I said I could repair a toaster."

Elias: "It’s all the same thing. So, can you fix a door?"

"..."

Who exactly was hiring whom here?

Ten minutes later, the ring—which perhaps had a "Sinestro Corps New Recruit Guide" embedded in it—began to professionally instruct Elias on how to release the 'fear' energy stored within it to envelop the shattered remains of the door and piece them back together.

During the attempt, Elias's power ring emitted a rich yellow light just like Sinestro's. This light seemed almost tangible, capable of changing or moving according to his will, like an extension of his limbs. When it enveloped Elias's body, it acted as a 360-degree defensive shield; when it reached outward, it became a flexible, versatile weapon that followed his personal combat style.

However, typically, a wielder of the yellow ring should make their enemies feel fear.

But Elias's current enemy was a broken door.

His ring, dutifully executing the tutorial, pointed at the broken security door as if facing a formidable foe: "You must exert your full strength to make it feel fear. Only then can the yellow light achieve its most prominent effect."

Elias: "...Thanks. Why don't you try it yourself?"

Who would intimidate a door?!

At the end of the day, the power ring was still just a tool with no independent thinking capability, functioning only according to pre-set programs.

He spent some time repairing the security door and reinstalling it. By the time everything was back to normal, dawn had broken. Elias squinted against the morning sun and yawned. The power ring stubbornly asked in his ear: "Are you prepared to be teleported?"

Elias took off the ring and shoved it into the coffee table drawer: "Shut up."

He stuck a note on the drawer for Ophelia, noting what was inside, and then went to bed.

***

Sinestro landed at the headquarters of the Sinestro Corps, Qward. The surface of this planet was an ugly, earthy yellow. As far as the eye could see, there was little vegetation; dried mud cracked across the landscape, and the sky was exceptionally dim, making Qward appear desolate and barbaric. His loyal subordinate, Lyssa Drak, stood on a raised hill, having waited for a long time.

She was a tall woman with blue skin and long black hair, resembling a human in appearance, a Talokite from Space Sector 3500. She bowed quickly upon seeing Sinestro and asked, "How was the trip to Earth?"

Sinestro’s tone was indifferent, tinged with arrogance: "Ordinary. Almost got into a fight with Superman."

Lyssa mused that it meant no fight had actually occurred, and that the standoff was at best a draw, otherwise Sinestro wouldn't have this attitude. She said naturally, "It seems that bringing two Corps members with you was just the right amount. So, what about our new recruit?"

She had assumed that with Sinestro going in person, the matter was a done deal, and that the new recruit's orientation and everything else would proceed as usual. She didn't expect Sinestro's expression to turn subtle upon hearing her question. Folds appeared on his reddish face—which looked slightly comical by Earth standards—and the elf-like pointed ears on either side of his head twitched. Lyssa watched in surprise as Sinestro said:

"He is not bad. His strength meets the criteria, and his temperament is acceptable. I am confident that he will join, but..."

Lyssa understood; it would take time.

"Superman was meddling and blocked us," Sinestro said dismissively. "But I can tell that Elias Esposito is the same kind of person as I am. The lazy, free-roaming settlements of Earthlings don't suit him. Sooner or later, he will follow the guidance of the ring and come to Qward."

Lyssa curled her lips, her stern expression softening, and she said respectfully, "Of course, fear is the source of all power, and your authority is beyond question."

Similar fawning words were written into the Sinestro Corps oath; Sinestro didn't know how many times he had heard them in a day. He ignored it out of habit and said as he walked toward the foundry where the rings were produced:

"Is the Weaponer at the foundry? Tell him to stop dispatching rings to Sector 2814 where Earth is located. I don't know what happened with the last few; they all went to Earth. Their built-in translation systems seem to have a glitch as well. Elias Esposito's mother tongue shouldn't be English, yet the ring didn't automatically switch to the correct language—don't waste resources until I figure out where the setting went wrong."

Lyssa's smile stalled.

Sinestro felt something and turned back to look at her, his tone still relaxed: "The fourth ring also flew to Sector 2814? Forget it, one extra doesn't matter."

Lyssa's stiff expression didn't improve with his words, and Sinestro began to develop a bad premonition.

He changed his tone, asking sternly: "What happened?"

Lyssa couldn't help but cough twice before saying, "You know, the rings have been losing contact one after another, which has made the Weaponer very annoyed."

Sinestro was now fully awake from his post-battle lethargy, asking vigilantly: "And?"

"And he set an automatic command for the rings just leaving the factory. As long as the previous ring loses contact, the next one will automatically track the former's location and change its flight path to follow it..."

***

Elias was awakened by the rustling sound in his ear.

Before waking, he had a nightmare where he was surrounded by a dozen power rings. They hovered and spun around him like a planetary ring, making the dark-clad Elias in the center look like a charred Christmas tree.

Elias: "..."

This couldn't be a prophecy, could it?

After everything that had happened—nearly being consumed by the Book of Destiny and learning about the supernatural entity hiding in his house—Elias had expected he wouldn't be able to sleep. Surprisingly, he had lost consciousness as soon as his head hit the pillow, though the nightmare had been filled with bizarre scenes, so it wasn't exactly a good rest.

The strange noise in the room stopped the moment he opened his eyes. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, sat up, and glanced at the clock on the nightstand: 11:00 AM.

Sunlight squeezed through the gap in the curtains, lifting Elias's mood slightly. That was the one good thing about Metropolis: plenty of sunshine and frequent good weather, so even going out for a walk could relieve stress.

But Elias didn't plan to go out immediately, even though he was still thinking about finding a job. He crawled out of bed, went to the kitchen to grab two slices of bread, and pulled out the faulty toaster, deciding to see if he could fix it with the power ring.

Before starting, he remembered that this toaster was meant for Ophelia, so he stood there and called out, "Philly!"

The old house was quiet; no one answered.

Elias suspected she hadn't woken up yet, so he raised his voice and called again: "Philly!! Ophelia!"

Still no response.

Now something was wrong. Elias recalled those faint, strange sounds that had woken him and frowned: Could Ophelia have encountered the unknown entity hiding in the house?

But Elias had always felt that the house, which the Sinestro Corps couldn't enter, the Book of Destiny, and those rustling sounds were all interconnected—and they were all targeting him. Ophelia was just an ordinary girl of unknown origin; what use would supernatural forces have in kidnapping her?

That said, he still couldn't put his mind at ease. He simply abandoned the toaster, took the power ring, the staff transformed from the Book of Destiny, and two guns, and moved lightly and cautiously toward Ophelia's bedroom.

He rarely went this way, considering that he and Ophelia were of different genders and had no blood relation, and the little girl was already very afraid of him; constantly approaching where she slept would only invite misunderstandings.

Whether Ophelia believed him or not, he didn't even have the key to her bedroom door.

—In an emergency, breaking down the door didn't require a key.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. Elias stood in front of the door for two seconds, confirming that there were no human sounds inside—not even the sound of breathing—and raised his hand to knock one last time:

"Ophelia, are you awake?"

"..."

The hallway was silent enough to hear a pin drop.

Elias didn't hesitate anymore. He kicked the door open, ignoring the broken lock, and immediately scanned the room upon entering.