The city skyline burned under the evening sun, crimson light bouncing off skyscrapers and the shimmering aura of Carol Ferris. Star Sapphire. Her violet energy glowed like molten glass, radiating anger and power that made the air hum with tension. Every flick of her wrist sent ripples of violet light into the streets below, and you could feel it even from your perch in the sky, your Green Lantern ring buzzing in response.

You hovered a few meters away, heart hammering in your chest, not from fear, but from the weight of what had been. “Carol,” you called, voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through your veins. “Please, just… hear me out.”

Her eyes, glowing deep violet, snapped toward you. “Hear you out?” Her voice was sharp, like shattered crystal. “You? The same man who’s been trying to control me for years? Who always thinks he knows what’s best?”

You raised your hands, palms open, trying to convey sincerity. “I’m not trying to control you. I’m asking you to see what’s happening. You’re letting the Star Sapphire ring consume you, Carol. You’re hurting people. Yourself. Me.”

She laughed, bitter and melodic, the sound cutting through the wind. “Consume me? This is me! You think your shiny Green Lantern ring and your moral code are the answer? That I should just… change because you say so?”

“No,” you said, voice low, intense. “Because I say so, maybe. But also because I know you, Carol. I’ve loved you through every fight, every betrayal, every moment you tried to push me away or crush me. And I still see the woman who can be more than the ring, more than the power, more than this… this cycle of rage and revenge.”

Her wings of violet energy flared, sharp arcs cutting through the evening sky, and the force pushed you back slightly. You struggled to hold your position, but you kept your eyes on her, on the woman behind the power. “You’re scared,” you said softly. “Scared that if you let go, you’ll lose yourself. But look at you, Carol. You’re already losing yourself.”

Her gaze faltered for a heartbeat, a crack in the armor of fury. “And what? You think I’ll just… fall into your arms and start over? Just like that?”

“I don’t care how long it takes,” you said, your voice trembling slightly despite your efforts to remain calm. “I’ll wait. I’ll fight for you, for us. Not as a hero demanding redemption, but as the man who loves you, who believes you can be better than this… who knows you are better than this.”

The violet light around her pulsed, bright and chaotic, almost like a heartbeat. You hovered closer, letting the ring’s green glow mingle with her violet energy, creating a tension of light and power in the air. “I know the Star Sapphire ring amplifies everything—your rage, your pain—but it doesn’t define you. You can choose to break the cycle. You can be a hero again.”

Her fists clenched, energy crackling around her wrists. She hovered, torn between fury and longing. Finally, she exhaled, the violet light dimming slightly, though the edge in her eyes remained. “You always were hopeless,” she said, voice softening, almost lost in the wind.

“I know,” you admitted, a small, self-deprecating smile tugging at your lips. “But I also know you, Carol. And I’m not giving up. Not on you. Not on us. You don’t have to do this alone.”

For a heartbeat, the city below seemed to hold its breath, and you could see it—the flicker of the woman you loved, the woman who had always been more than Star Sapphire, staring back at you, her violet light dimming but still glowing. And in that instant, you knew that no matter how long it took, how many fights, betrayals, or heartbreaks came between you… you would keep reaching for her, keep fighting, because some loves are worth every battle, every scar, every moment of doubt.

She hesitated, the air thick with tension and possibility, as though the very city itself waited to see if she would choose the darkness… or choose you.