Now he was merely a consciousness, existing in the consciousness space, but what was the connection to the Fear Venom?
Being influenced by bloodlust before didn't bring him here, but now great fear had led him to a place he had never been to.
Wait...
Deathstroke knows no fear; his brain remains perpetually rational. So, because he never felt fear, did experiencing this emotion for the first time cause his self-consciousness to retreat?
Is this blank space the manifestation of his fear?
"The blank is my greatest fear at heart. What does it signify..." Su Ming sat cross-legged in mid-air, scratching his chin.
To leave this strange space, he had to understand his true inner self and face himself directly.
The battlefield is no place for enlightenment; outside it was a riot of action, if he remained still, he'd be a sitting duck.
But honestly, there's something oddly satisfying about scratching your chin while floating in mid-air...
"That's it! I see now!" He discovered his chin was clean-shaven, and his spiritual form was actually Su Ming, not Slade.
In this world empty except himself, his presence symbolizes fear, and what Su Ming feared was becoming that mundane self again!
The moment he realized this, countless figures appeared around him, walking towards him with smiles.
From their attire, it was clear they came from different professions—some in suits, others in camouflage, some dressed as homeless, and some in mental hospital patient outfits.
A hundred or more people materialized, approaching him, and one by one, they entered his body, restoring a flood of memories instantly.
These were former Slades, with an existence that let Deathstroke roam endlessly in the worlds, reincarnating time and again. But Su Ming's crossing had changed everything.
"You've remembered." Su Ming nodded, speaking to himself in an eerie tone.
"Yes, someone veiled my memories, forcing me to live and die on different Earths as an ordinary person. My original memories were hidden in my human fear instinct. Since Deathstroke had no fear, he would subconsciously skip over these memories."
An unexpected happening from outside the world interrupted a cycle, allowing Slade to reappear as Deathstroke.
"My memories and soul come from outside the DC World. To him, I am a high-dimensional existence. There's an 80% chance my appearance affected his plans."
Su Ming spoke to another 'self,' knowing what lay ahead for him.
"Your soul is a high-dimensional existence; he cannot erase you. I believe he will banish us again." Slade's voice echoed in his mind, devoid of emotion.
"Do you remember who you specifically are?"
"I once thought I was you or any one of them, but those memories seem too mediocre, like..."
"Like they're fake, right?" Su Ming spoke the words for him: "Truthfully, you were caught in an infinite loop, experiencing different lives each time."
Su Ming rubbed his head, but absorbing memories in this space came with no discomfort. Those were various lives Slade had experienced countless times, now fused with Su Ming.
Not much useful knowledge, as Deathstroke already mastered a lot, but he now felt his soul stronger, his spirit more vigorous.
Since Su Ming's soul came from DC Outer World, it was of a higher dimension and naturally became the strongest soul, mastering everything.
"I am from the Origin World, a character within the game 'Batman: Arkham Origins.'" Slade inside finally recalled his origin: "An accident revealed to me that I was actually a character in the game. I found a bug in the game, transcended that world, but thus entered the DC Main Universe, encountered him, and was immediately thrown into an infinite loop."
"My soul isn't under his control. He may have to use new means this time." Su Ming had gleaned some memories from those phantoms, all parallel worlds of DC where Deathstroke previously reincarnated, likely being cast into the Infinite Earths era.
Those lives were never complete; not a single one ended peacefully, all succumbed to untimely deaths.
Not only was memory sealed, but even destiny was arranged...
"He will come for us, seeing me as a cosmic error." Slade answered him, and armor pieces flew in from all directions, reassembling on Su Ming, arming him once again.
"Absolute rationality does not bring absolute power." Su Ming was always unimpressed by that guy: "You can rest, I'll handle him."
"Exactly. Infinite cycles; maybe that was his plan to wear me down, but fortunately, you arrived." Slade's voice resounded: "Perhaps my soul will dissipate, but our memories will endure as a whole."
"Yes, we are all Deathstroke, and I have a plan to deal with him."
Su Ming was calm. He felt that after receiving these memories, Slade and those previous reincarnated souls were likely no longer in existence, lacking numerical basis, just a strong premonition.
Slade's voice disappeared, and Su Ming gained everything of his.
He looked up, facing a world of white.
"I am Su Ming, also Slade Wilson, code name Deathstroke. I am fear itself!"
The next second, the white space was stained, as though blood flowed from distant skies, turning everything a blood red. The consciousness world subsequently shattered, and he returned to the streets of Binhai City, surrounded by nothing but a faint green light.
From the dark sky above came the constant clash of weapons.
"Slade?" Barry saw him open his eyes and leaned in a bit to tentatively ask.
"What's up, Barry?" Su Ming fumbled for his cigarette case, pulled one out, and lit it again.
"God, you actually overcame the Fear Venom; overcoming human instinct with thoughts is much harder than suppressing a knee-jerk reaction." Barry reached out and touched his arm, only to feel the cold Holy Statue Armor.
"It's nothing, although there was a little accident during the execution of the plan." Su Ming took a drag of his cigarette and calmly answered him.
"Uh... you seem to have changed a bit..."
"Have I?"
"Uh, hard to say, overall the feeling you give off has changed." Barry grinned, indicating his vocabulary was insufficient to describe it.
"As long as I'm not getting old, it's fine. Besides, the accident brought me quite a few benefits; I discovered an... enemy." He patted Barry's shoulder and then took out a cigarette for Hal.
Hal waved his hand repeatedly. "I'm a pilot; I don't smoke."
Su Ming shrugged, he initially wanted to offer him some nicotine seeing how miserable he looked, but this guy didn't appreciate it. "Your loss, this is a genuine import I brought from Earth -11."
"Smoking doesn't help our current situation." Hal leaned against the wall with a displeased expression, feeling pain all over.
"No worries, I'm just letting the ring fly a bit longer." Su Ming calmly drew his Great Sword, leaned it against his arm, and looked up at the sky.
"Ring?"
Hal wanted to ask more questions, but the scene before him answered them.
In the thick black sky, a golden trajectory shot straight down and stopped in front of Su Ming.
Wrapped in golden light was a ring, intricately engraved, and a cold voice echoed simultaneously.
"Intelligent life form has been identified, Su Ming from Earth of Sector 2814, you have the ability to wield and impose great fear onto others, welcome to the Sinestro Corps!"
Hal spat a bloody saliva, struggling to stand up. With an expression full of disgust, he said, "I knew Deathstroke didn't overcome fear through willpower; you simply use fear as a tool!"
If not as a tool, what else could it be? Deathstroke could use anything as a tool to achieve his goals.
Su Ming didn't care about Hal's remark; he never intended to wear the Yellow Lantern Ring.
Even if he wore the ring and became a Yellow Lantern Demon, he'd just be a rookie. How to manifest fear constructs, how to use the Lantern Ring, he wouldn't know. How could he fight against the Dawn Deceit Lantern?
The ring slowly approached him, indicating for him to extend a finger. But he only gripped the Great Sword, slashing down, and the ring shattered instantly.
This action left Hal and Barry bewildered, their mouths agape. The Yellow Lantern Ring was a famous powerful force in the universe. If he didn't want it, why did Deathstroke go through all that trouble?
Injecting Fear Venom wouldn't be beneficial to one's health.
"What are you doing? Are you regretting it?" Hal watched the fallen ring roll across the ground like fireworks, sparking until it gradually dissipated. He asked Deathstroke with a face full of confusion.
"Hal Jordan, do you still not understand why?"
Another voice rose from the sky, speaking in a familiar tone, but the attitude was anything but friendly.
Hal was instantly struck as if by lightning, his whole body stiffened, stunned for a second or two before slowly sitting back against the wall.
"Sinestro..."
He realized why Deathstroke destroyed the ring. Sinestro, as the Yellow Lantern Leader, would certainly know where the ring flew to. If it happened to head towards the Green Lantern Hero's city?
Hal had previously worn the Yellow Lantern Ring and even served as a vessel for the Lamp Beast, but he had since turned over a new leaf. If anyone in Binhai City became a Yellow Lantern, the prime suspect would be Hal Jordan.
Sinestro was once a Green Lantern Hero, as well as Hal's mentor and comrade. However, after going through some events, he defected from the Green Lanterns and became the leader of the Fearful Yellow Lanterns.
Hal had fought him countless times and cooperated with him countless more; their entanglements could not be easily expounded.
When he discovered a Yellow Lantern Ring flying towards Binhai City, he immediately took interest, following the ring here.
Initially planning to mock Hal a bit, deal him a blow, and then take Hal back to the Yellow Lantern Headquarters to throw him a welcome party. He still regarded Hal as a friend, and the Yellow Lantern Corps needed a strong Green Lantern Traitor like Hal.
But to his surprise, the ring was not attracted by Hal, but by Deathstroke. And that wasn't all; it seemed he had absolutely no regard for the Lantern Ring, casually destroying it.
Sinestro slowly descended from mid-air, glancing at the sky, then at the laid-back man put away his Great Sword while smoking, a cunning smile appearing on his face.
"A good plan, I like clever people. If you wish to join my corps in the future, I can give you another ring... You have great potential; even the Lantern Ring fears you."
Su Ming just played with his helmet in front of him like a noble and nodded slightly, offering no response.
Sinestro was quite pleased, enjoying signs of submission to authority, thus focusing on Hal again. Staring at his half-alive ring emitting a faint green glow, he chuckled, his fiery face's mustache curling upward.
"Green Lanterns are useless, Hal, I've told you before. Now I'll let you see how the enemy you can't defeat succumbs to fear!"