Chapter Ten: Yellow Light
Nelson rarely spoke of his past, but Kane had figured it out in fragments.
The old man had scars—not just on his body, but in his magic. His wards were too perfect. His silence too sharp. He didn't just know war. He survived it.
And just because Nelson avoided fighting now didn't mean he'd forgotten how.
That became clear when the wards burned gold.
Kane was in the back field meditating under the frost-heavy trees. The moment the runes flared, Nelson was already moving. He grabbed an old staff—carved bone and obsidian—and barked, "Inside. Now."
But Kane didn't listen.
Because he could already see the intruder descending from the sky.
Gold light. Sharp. Orderly. Controlled.
Sinestro.
The yellow aura around him pulsed with confidence, not rage. He landed softly, arms behind his back, uniform pristine. No minions. No theatrics.
Just a statement.
"You're Kane," he said, voice smooth as polished stone.
"You're Sinestro," Kane replied evenly.
Nelson appeared at Kane's side, jaw clenched, staff humming.
"No need for dramatics, Kent," Sinestro said. "I'm not here to fight. Yet."
"Yet?" Kane asked.
Sinestro's eyes turned to him fully. Studying. Calculating.
"You've drawn attention. Not from me. From something older. I've only come to deliver a message."
Nelson snorted. "Since when do you play errand boy?"
Sinestro ignored him. "You're not a Lantern, Kane. Not bound to a Corps. Not indexed by the Guardians. But you exist outside expected parameters—and that… unnerves those who value control."
"Who sent you?" Kane asked.
Sinestro's ring gleamed. "A presence older than your Earth's gods. It doesn't yet know what you are. But it's… curious. And caution often follows curiosity."
Kane kept his voice even. "So what's the message?"
Sinestro took one step closer. The air grew denser. His presence wasn't chaotic. It was precise. Like a blade that hadn't been drawn yet but could be.
"Come peacefully," he said. "Present yourself before the one who sent me. Let it… assess you. Submit. Or—"
He extended a hand.
"—we do it the other way."
Kane didn't move. But the light in his eyes flared subtly.
"I don't even know what I am," he said. "You think I'm going to kneel for answers you won't give?"
Sinestro smirked. "It was worth asking."
"You came alone?" Nelson asked. "That arrogant, or just desperate?"
"I came because if I come, there's a chance this ends without fire," Sinestro said, with the weight of truth behind it. "You don't want who's next."
He looked at Kane again.
"You're not ready."
Kane's voice dropped low. "Maybe. But I won't go."
Sinestro's expression shifted. Not quite anger. Something closer to... disappointment.
"Then the next visitors will not ask," he said. "They will take."
He floated back a few feet. The golden light flared, swirling around him like a crown.
"I've seen gods fall," he said. "And boys like you turn into monsters trying to not become one."
Kane's hands clenched, his aura spiking before he could fully control it.
Sinestro raised an eyebrow. "Careful. Letting power leak is how predators find you."
Then he lifted into the sky.
No more threats. No fight. Just an exit—and a warning carved in silence.
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After he vanished, Nelson turned to Kane, eyes serious.
"From here," he said quietly, "you train for war."
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