Despite the arrival of the Indigo Lantern known as Munk, the Lanterns are still greatly outnumbered by the dead. Munk does his best to eradicate the menace, channeling the Green energy and combining it with his own light to destroy the Black Lanterns, but it's a slow and arduous process.

In order to sever the ring's connection, the power discharge must be a direct and intimate. A simple mirror construct or broadening of the lights would only dilute the power and thus defeat the point. Furthermore, although he was able to teleport himself to Oa, he cannot teleport himself out. Doing so would drain too much precious energy from his already heavily taxed Indigo ring. And as the Black Lantern Corphans (the children and families murdered by the Yellow Lantern Kryb) horde continues to close in on him and Vath Sarn, things certainly begin to look dire.

But then, as suddenly as the attack began, it stops.

"100% Power Level Exceeded. Devour Will." their rings say. And like the mindless drones that they are, the Black Lanterns simply stop what they are doing and fly off.

Embattled Lantern Kilowog is pummeling in the face of his former instructor when the order goes out. The sad blackened faces pause for a second and in that moment it seems as though all of them are looking at their own former instructor. And the guilt begins to weigh on poor Kilowog.

"WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT?!?! You all knew the risks when you accepted the ring. I never hid the fact that death was part of the corps! ... Everyone always thinks they're immune from it -- that it'll be the Lantern next to him! Well, it was You! And You!... Did you think YOU were special -- that your names would never be inscribed in the Lantern Crypt?!? You were all Lanterns! And Lanterns die... lanterns die." he trails off, watching them go.

When the new Black Lantern battle directive is announced, Soranik Natu still has her fist shoved down the throat of Jade. She's nearly taken for a ride as the Black Lantern dives off towards destination unknown before her lover Kyle Rayner saves her. But the two love birds have little time to rest as the startling revelation as to where all the Black Lanterns are headed begins to come clear.

Gathering at the base of the Green Power Battery, the Black Lanterns begin to construct a dark matter creature that envelopes the entire Battery base and threatens to encase the entire battery!! Realizing that their individual attempts to stop the dark matter from materializing are hopeless, Kyle Rayner decides to turn to the only thing capable of wreaking destruction on the scale necessary to stop them. For that he turns to Sciencell 8985 and the murderous beast locked inside known as Vice.

The other Lanterns retreat as the Red Lantern Vice begins to make mince meat out of the Black Lanterns. He rips through them at such a rate that they are unable to re-construct themselves. But his release causes the Alpha Lantern Chaselon to charge into action. His strict programming forbids him from retreating from the fray as he attempts to re-capture Vice. Unfortunately the super-charged mini-battery placed inside of his chest only draws the remaining Black Lanterns to him. And in no time, his chest is ripped open and his battery exposed.

Knowing that the battery will soon detonate, Kyle Rayner selflessly dives in and snatches the battery from the Corphans holding it. He seeks to draw as many of them out and away from the main battery as possible before it explodes. With seconds left he tells Soranik he loves her and thanks Guy for being a brother to him.

And then there is nothing but the deafening silence of the mini-battery's detonation. Kyle Rayner is dead.