Chapter 43: Moon Knight · The Oracle's Confusion
The judgment of hell, represented by the Ghost Rider, had been effortlessly dismantled. Even attacks on the soul proved ineffective. The fog of despair had thickened to an impenetrable degree, as if hope itself had died completely amidst these ruins.Yet, in this suffocating, deepest hour of darkness—"The will of Khonshu... must be upheld!"A hoarse, chaotic whisper, as if woven from several different voices, arose from a shadowy corner untouched by moonlight.Then, a figure in pure white, like a ghost stepping out from an ancient mural, moved soundlessly onto the battlefield. Moon Knight. Marc Spector... or Steven Grant... or perhaps Jake Lockley? The entity currently piloting this body might not be a specific personality, but the冰冷而偏执的使命 (bīnglěng ér piānzhí de shǐmìng -冰冷而偏执的使命) bestowed by the moon god Khonshu.Clad in a white cape and suit, he seemed utterly out of place on the war-torn battlefield, as if donning mourning attire for this absurd apocalyptic drama. His gaze (if there was a gaze behind those white bandage-covered eye sockets) was空洞而狂热 (kōngdòng ér kuángrè -空洞而狂热), locked firmly on Sun Wukong.He was not here to save or protect, but to judge and punish. In the ancient and扭曲 (niǔqū -扭曲) perception of the god Khonshu, Sun Wukong's very existence was an absolute亵渎 (xièdú -亵渎) of "order," a source of chaos that must be "purified" by the moon's radiance."In the name of Khonshu! Heretic... be punished!" Moon Knight's voice shifted between shrill and低沉 (dīchén -低沉), filled with inhuman, divine madness. He raised his hand abruptly, and moonlight (though the sky was obscured by smoke and dust, with no moon in sight) seemed to凝聚 (níngjù -凝聚) in his grasp, forming a crescent-shaped dart shimmering with an icy cold gleam. It shot towards Sun Wukong, carrying a寒意 (hányì -寒意) capable of tearing souls!This dart was not a physical object but更像是一种月光神力与诅咒的凝结体 (gèng xiàng shì yī zhǒng yuèguāng shénlì yǔ zǔzhòu de níngjié tǐ -更像是一种月光神力与诅咒的凝结体), aimed at severing the connection between soul and reality.Sun Wukong, feeling bored, saw another flamboyantly dressed figure and yawned. "Another one playing at being a god or a ghost? Wrapped in white cloth like a rice dumpling. What act is this?"He flicked his finger casually.The dart imbued with the moon god's power struck his fingertip like an ice crystal hitting a hot iron, instantly vaporizing without creating even a ripple."Hmm?阴寒之力 (yīnhán zhī lì -阴寒之力)? With a hint of香火愿力 (xiānghuǒ yuànlì -香火愿力), pity it's驳杂不纯 (bó zá bù chún -驳杂不纯). Even worse than the tricks of those mountain spirits and local gods from back in the day." Sun Wukong smacked his lips, offering his critique.Moon Knight, unfazed by the failed attack, did not retreat. Instead, he let out a more狂热 (kuángrè -狂热) battle cry (or rather, a嘶鸣 (sīmíng -嘶鸣) of mixed voices). He crossed his arms over his chest and flung them outward violently!Countless冰冷 (bīnglěng -冰冷), pale chains composed of moonlight神力 (shénlì -神力) materialized from thin air, entangling Sun Wukong from all directions. These chains were not meant to束缚肉体 (shùfù ròutǐ -束缚肉体) but to禁锢神魂 (jìngù shénhún -禁锢神魂), attempting to drag him into the moon god's illusory realm!"Tch. Endless nuisance." Sun Wukong grew impatient. He opened his mouth and blew gently.A breath of纯阳真气 (chúnyáng zhēnqì -纯阳真气)吹出 (chuī chū -吹出). This breath,蕴含 (yùnhán -蕴含) the essence of ultimate Yang and rigidity, was the natural bane of all阴寒神力 (yīnhán shénlì -阴寒神力)! The pale chains, encountering this breath, melted and evaporated like snow under the scorching sun, unable to even get close to him!Moon Knight's body convulsed violently, as if his divine power had been forcibly severed, suffering反噬 (fǎnshì -反噬). But the will of the god Khonshu within him seemed彻底激怒 (chèdǐ jīnù -彻底激怒)!"Blasphemer... unforgivable!" He let out an inhuman roar. His entire body began to膨胀 (péngzhàng -膨胀),扭曲 (niǔqū -扭曲)! Shadows seemed to writhe beneath his white suit! More庞大 (pángdà -庞大),更加混乱 (gèngjiā hǔnluàn -更加混乱),更加古老 (gèngjiā gǔlǎo -更加古老) lunar power began to gather! He even began attacking everything around him indiscriminately, falling into彻底狂乱 (chèdǐ kuángluàn -彻底狂乱)!"Summon... the dark side of the moon! In Khonshu's name... consume!!"The shadows at his feet蔓延 (mànyán -蔓延)疯狂 (fēngkuáng -疯狂), transforming into countless black tentacles made of纯粹负面神性 (chúncuì fùmiàn shénxìng -纯粹负面神性) and疯狂信仰 (fēngkuáng xìnyǎng -疯狂信仰)! They surged towards Sun Wukong like a tide, attempting to drag him into a lunar illusion realm constructed of madness and despair!This attack had transcended the physical or energetic层面 (céngmiàn -层面), touching upon the领域 (lǐngyù -领域) of divine污染 (wūrǎn -污染) and信仰诅咒 (xìnyǎng zǔzhòu -信仰诅咒)!Sun Wukong watched this chaotic,癫狂气息 (diānkuáng qìxī -癫狂气息) laden assault and finally frowned. Not out of a sense of danger, but out of... disgust."What乱七八糟的玩意儿 (luànqībāzāo de wányì -乱七八糟的玩意儿) is this?邪神附体 (xiéshén fùtǐ -邪神附体)?心魔入侵 (xīnmó rùqīn -心魔入侵)? Making everything乌烟瘴气 (wūyānzhàngqì -乌烟瘴气)!"He lost all patience and couldn't be bothered with the见招拆招 (jiàn zhāo chāi zhāo -见招拆招) game. He simply raised his golden-hooped staff. He didn't even exert much force, just swung it casually towards the surging shadow tide and the癫狂 (diānkuáng -癫狂) Moon Knight, as if swatting a fly."Piss off! You're an eyesore!"There was no earth-shattering explosion, only an absolute,不容置疑 (bùróng zhìyí -不容置疑) force of "驱散 (qūsàn -驱散)"!The汹涌的阴影潮汐 (xiōngyǒng de yǐnyǐng cháoxī -汹涌的阴影潮汐), the癫狂的月神之力 (diānkuáng de yuèshén zhī lì -癫狂的月神之力), the混乱的诅咒 (hǔnluàn de zǔzhòu -混乱的诅咒)—upon contact with the golden-hooped staff's煌煌正气 (huánghuáng zhèngqì -煌煌正气),万法不侵 (wàn fǎ bù qīn -万法不侵) surface—met their natural nemesis. They let out a silent,凄厉的尖啸 (qīlì de jiānxiào -凄厉的尖啸) and instantly烟消云散 (yānxiāoyúnsàn -烟消云散)! As if they had never existed!Moon Knight was struck as if by an invisible hammer. His狂乱的气息 (kuángluàn de qìxī -狂乱的气息) was instantly scattered. He was thrown backward, his white suit becoming黯淡无光 (àndàn wúguāng -黯淡无光), crashing heavily to the ground. After struggling briefly, he fell completely unconscious. The躁动的月神意志 (zàodòng de yuèshén yìzhì -躁动的月神意志) within him seemed to have been temporarily silenced by this single blow."Playing at being a god,不堪一击 (bùkānyījī -不堪一击)." Sun Wukong retracted his staff and curled his lip. "The minor gods of this world have卑劣手段 (bēiliè shǒuduàn -卑劣手段) and不正心术 (bù zhèng xīnshù -不正心术). Worse than the mountain and earth gods this old Sun used to slay back in the day."The judgment of the moon god had become a clumsy and肮脏的闹剧 (āngzāng de nàojù -肮脏的闹剧) before the true "Victorious Fighting" one. With a casual sweep, it was彻底清净 (chèdǐ qīngjìng -彻底清净).The abyss of despair seemed to have hit rock bottom. Not even madness could elicit an echo within it.