Chapter 29: The Black Bolt's Whisper · The Sound of Annihilation
Storm's retreat was like a silent full stop placed at the end of the remaining heroes' desperate assembly. Individual power, no matter how unique or how close to the forces of nature, had proven utterly futile against that being. The despair in the air had almost solidified into a tangible substance.Yet, within this suffocating silence, another, more bizarre and fundamentally unnatural terror descended quietly.At the edge of the Washington ruins, space twisted without a sound. A figure clad in a black uniform, his face serene but his eyes unfathomable like abysses, materialized amidst an almost imperceptible quantum fluctuation.Blackagar Boltagon, the King of the Inhumans, ruler of Attilan. He had been reluctant to involve himself in the conflicts of the surface world. But the collision between Sun Wukong and the Phoenix Force, the shockwaves that shook the very foundations of reality, had finally disturbed the Inhumans in their lunar seclusion. He could no longer remain idle.He hovered a few feet above the ground, silently observing the distant figure leaning casually on his iron staff, looking almost bored. There was no anger, no provocation, not even a flicker of emotion in his demeanor. His very existence exuded a heart-stopping, absolute silence.An urgent, suppressed warning crackled over Nick Fury's comms: "Fury! It's Black Bolt! He's left Attilan! Warn everyone! Evacuate! Now! His voice... his voice is—"The warning was cut off abruptly, as if severed by some external force.Fury's single eye widened. He didn't even have time to issue a command.All the remaining heroes, poised for their tragic final charge, involuntarily halted. A primal fear, stemming from the very core of their life instincts, seized them! They felt their heartbeats, their breathing, even the sound of their blood flowing, being stripped away by an invisible force! The world seemed to have been muted!Black Bolt slowly raised his head, his calm gaze locking onto Sun Wukong. He did not open his mouth to speak. He did not even part his lips.He simply... drew a faint, almost inaudible breath.Yet, with that subtle action—An indescribable wave of destruction, transcending the very concept of sound, erupted from him in a扇形 (shàn xíng - fan-shaped) arc towards Sun Wukong's location. It was utterly silent.This was not a sound wave. It was the complete disintegration of matter at the molecular level! The absolute annihilation of energy structures! The utter demolition of spatial stability!Where the wave passed, everything perished in "silence."The air vanished, creating a zone of absolute vacuum.The earth evaporated, leaving behind bottomless, smooth, mirror-like cross-sections.Light twisted and fractured, the area becoming a kaleidoscope of distorted reality, as if pixelated.Even the flow of time within that zone became viscous and aberrant.This was pure, ultimate destruction. Devoid of any energy attribute, any physical phenomenon. It was simply the most direct—"erasure."Black Bolt's power was not sound itself, but a quasi-sonic energy released through his vocal cords, capable of triggering nuclear disintegration of matter. Even the softest whisper could tear mountains asunder. And now, he was employing power far beyond a "whisper."This terrifying, silent deluge of annihilation instantly swallowed Sun Wukong whole.All the heroes in the distance paled in horror, instinctively retreating several steps. They had no doubt that if they were caught in that zone, they would be reduced to fundamental particles in an instant, leaving not a trace behind.At the center of that kaleidoscopic, annihilated zone.The protective golden glow around Sun Wukong vibrated with unprecedented intensity! It even emitted faint, hairline cracking sounds, like fine porcelain about to shatter! The ground beneath his feet was gone; he hovered in absolute vacuum, his fur pressed flat against his body by the destructive wave.For the first time, an expression of extreme gravity appeared on his face!"Incredible!" Sun Wukong's Fiery Eyes blazed with a light more brilliant than ever before, fixed intently on Black Bolt. "Words becoming law?! No! Sound moving the cosmos?! Such tyrannical power of annihilation! It can actually shake this old Sun's protective divine light?! How does this world have so many monsters brushing against the edges of the Great Dao?!"He sensed the terrifying nature of this power. It wasn't an energy impact, but a direct incitement of collapse at the level of cosmic laws, similar to the great supernatural abilities of certain ancient beings from the primordial times who specialized in the Dao of Destruction! Had his Indestructible Diamond Body, tempered to be impervious to all phenomena and unified in the Great Monad, not been what it was, he might have truly been harmed by that first strike!Black Bolt, seeing his attack hadn't achieved full effect, showed a flicker of the faintest surprise in his otherwise impassive eyes. He drew another faint breath—This time, the destructive wave was more concentrated, more terrifying! It even formed a visible, reality-distorting transparent ripple in front of him!Sun Wukong dared not rely solely on his defense anymore! He thrust his golden-hooped staff into the "void" before him!He invoked the staff's fundamental ability as the "Pacificr of the Seas"! Not to calm water, but to pacify all turmoil and chaos! To stabilize the collapsing laws!The staff erupted with a vast, profound yellow light, standing firm like an immovable pillar amidst the deluge of annihilation! The destructive wave crashing against this pacifying light was like raging tides hitting a primordial reef—while stirring up immense turbulence (space扭曲 [niǔqū -扭曲] to its limit), it ultimately could not cross the boundary!A terrifying, silent explosion erupted between the two! Space shattered like falling mirrors, layer upon layer, only to be forcibly repaired by the world's own restorative power! The area became a complete dead zone, where even light could not escape normally!Black Bolt's brow furrowed slightly, seemingly surprised that his opponent possessed a "treasure" capable of countering his power. He slowly raised his hand, his fingertip aimed at Sun Wukong, clearly preparing a stronger, more concentrated strike!Sun Wukong's fighting spirit was fully ignited. "Such vicious methods from a mute! Taste this old Sun's staff!"His figure blurred, employing the ability to shorten the ground to an inch. In an instant, he traversed the dangerous zone of annihilation and appeared right before Black Bolt, raising his staff to strike! The power condensed on the staff was at its peak, enough to smash stars!Black Bolt reacted with extreme speed, his body instantly floating backward while he opened his mouth—Not to utter a sound, but to release a more concentrated, more terrifying pulse of annihilation, shooting silently straight at Sun Wukong's face!Sun Wukong neither dodged nor evaded. His Fiery Eyes blazed with divine light as he opened his mouth and blew!A breath of Primordial Qi, not the Samadhi True Fire Wind, but a more fundamental, Yang-pure energy infused with the power of his Golden Immortal Dao Fruit! This breath collided with the annihilation pulse. There was no explosion, but an极其诡异 [jíqí yǐguǐ - extremely bizarre] confrontation and mutual annihilation at the level of cosmic laws!The two figures clashed and separated instantly, each retreating several steps. The space around them continuously cycled between shattering and repairing, as if unable to bear their presence.Sun Wukong looked at Black Bolt, his eyes burning with intensity. "Fascinating! Truly fascinating! It's been an age since this old Sun encountered someone who can match him in a contest of 'Laws'! Again!"Black Bolt remained silent, but his eyes grew sharper, his entire being radiating an even more dangerous aura of annihilation. A far more perilous battle, involving the collision of the universe's fundamental laws, was on the verge of erupting.However, at this critical juncture—A sudden, unforeseen change occurred!