Chapter 44: The Silver Surfer · The Sigh of the Stars
Moon Knight's madness and divine punishment had been swept aside with a casual gesture. The last vestiges of unconventional struggle on the battlefield fell completely silent. The fog of despair had solidified, as if time itself had stopped flowing within these ruins.Yet, in this suffocating, deepest hour of darkness where even madness seemed to have died—Not with the sunrise, but with a purer, more vast, more frigid cosmic light that descended abruptly!A streak of brilliant silver light, like a comet tearing through the fabric of space, soundlessly ripped through the dust and gloom shrouding the battlefield, hovering mid-air. As the light收敛 (shōuliǎn -收敛), it revealed a humanoid form composed entirely of liquid silver metal, standing upon a silver surfboard.The Silver Surfer. Norrin Radd.The Herald of Galactus, the embodiment of cosmic power. He had come to monitor Earth. The collision between Sun Wukong and the Phoenix Force, and the subsequent law-level波动 (bōdòng -波动), had finally disturbed his slumbering master, forcing his descent.He had no emotions, no立场 (lìchǎng -立场), only使命与职责 (shǐmìng yǔ zhízé -使命与职责). In his perception, which transcended the mortal, Sun Wukong's very existence was a massive, unstable anomaly—a variable that could threaten the cosmic balance. He had to "assess," and if necessary, "correct" or "eliminate."He hovered in the air, his silver face expressionless, his gaze (if it could be called that) calmly observing Sun Wukong below. He offered no words, no threats, only slowly raised his hand.Instantly, the cosmic rules of the entire area began to change!The gravitational field紊乱 (wěnluàn -紊乱) violently, the ground undulating like waves!Electromagnetic forces were扭曲 (niǔqū -扭曲), all electronic devices failing instantly, energy weapons dimming!The strong and weak nuclear forces were subtly干扰 (gānrǎo -干扰), the atomic structure of matter becoming unstable!He even began to drain the fundamental energy of the space itself—light dimmed, heat流失 (liúshī -流失), as if transforming it into an absolute, dead vacuum!This was suppression and瓦解 (wǎjiě -瓦解) at a level beyond energy clashes—a more fundamental, rule-based assault! Its aim was to否定对方存在的“基础” (fǒudìng duìfāng cúnzài de “jīchǔ” -否定对方存在的“基础”)!The distant heroes couldn't comprehend what was happening; they only felt a primal, existential fear of having their very "existence" negated!Sun Wukong finally shed his playful demeanor. His Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils narrowed slightly, a flicker of genuine surprise within them."Well? Finally, one with some substance?" He felt the剧烈变动 (jùliè biàndòng -剧烈变动) of the rules around him, as if transported back to the era when he开辟混沌 (kāipì hùndùn -开辟混沌) and wrestled with the laws of heaven and earth. "Somewhat interesting. You can actually动摇 (dòngyáo -动摇) the 'Dao' within the few feet around this old Sun? You, silver-skinned boy, have quite the wild methods!"He wasn't alarmed; instead, he found it intriguing. He took a deep breath, and the Great Monad Dao Fruit within him,混元如一 (hùnyuán rúyī -混元如一), vibrated faintly!A more宏大 (hóngdà -宏大), more古老 (gǔlǎo -古老), more稳固 (wěngù -稳固) "Dao resonance" emanated from his body, forcibly stabilizing the space within three feet of him! Regardless of the gravity颠倒 (diāndǎo -颠倒), energy枯竭 (kūjié -枯竭), or laws崩乱 (bēngluàn -崩乱) outside, the area where he stood seemed independent of this universe,自成一方天地 (zì chéng yīfāng tiāndì -自成一方天地), impervious to all laws, repelling all evils! Within this space, hewas the source of the Dao!An extremely subtle fluctuation seemed to pass over the Silver Surfer's impassive silver face. He clearly hadn't anticipated the other party could resist the alteration of cosmic rules in this manner.He ceased his rule-based suppression. His silver surfboard erupted with radiant light! Boundless cosmic energy converged—not a simple torrent, but highly condensed cosmic radiation imbued with the properties of matter annihilation and space粉碎 (fěnsuì -粉碎)!A silver beam capable of vaporizing a star in an instant shot silently towards Sun Wukong! Where it passed, space itself dissolved and collapsed!Sun Wukong's eyes sharpened; he finally began to exert some real effort. He didn't take it head-on. Instead, he held the golden-hooped staff horizontally before him, chanting under his breath:The staff instantly暴涨 (bàozhǎng -暴涨), transforming into a pillar that held up the heavens! Earth, water, fire, and wind swirled around its length as the supreme power of the Pacificr, capable of镇压鸿蒙 (zhènyā hóngméng -镇压鸿蒙), was fully unleashed!The cosmic radiation slammed violently into the golden-hooped staff!There was no explosion, only an极致对抗 (jízhì duìkàng -极致对抗) between absolute annihilation and absolute stabilization! The silver cosmic energy and the profound yellow light of the Pacificr疯狂交织 (fēngkuáng jiāozhī -疯狂交织),抵消 (dǐxiāo -抵消),湮灭 (yǎnmiè -湮灭)! Space shattered like broken glass layer upon layer, only to be forcibly repaired by the two opposing forces!A stalemate! A brief stalemate!The Silver Surfer's surfboard glowed brighter,调动 (diàodòng -调动) more cosmic energy!Seeing this, Sun Wukong laughed heartily. "痛快! 痛快! (Tuòngkuai! Tuòngkuai! - exhilarating!) Much better than those tickling before! Take this old Sun's staff too!"He pushed forward with both arms, shoving the staff violently! The profound yellow light on the staff surged, forcefully pushing the cosmic radiation back! Simultaneously, he employed the Law of Heaven, Form of Earth. Though his physical size didn't increase, he seemed to merge with the staff, carrying the磅礴伟力 (pángbó wěilì -磅礴伟力) to粉碎万法 (fěnsuì wàn fǎ -粉碎万法), smashing down towards the Silver Surfer's head!The Silver Surfer instantly transformed into a silver streak, evading at superluminal speed. At the same time, his hands moved continuously, unleashing countless cosmic energy blades capable of切割空间 (qiēgē kōngjiān -切割空间) that shot towards Sun Wukong like a暴雨 (bàoyǔ -暴雨)!Sun Wukong whirled his staff, shattering the energy blades one after another. His form moved like lightning, pursuing relentlessly! The two chased and collided in the air at speeds invisible to the naked eye! Each clash caused space to剧烈震荡 (jùliè zhèndàng -剧烈震荡) and rules to短暂紊乱 (duǎnzàn wěnluàn -短暂紊乱)! This was already a confrontation接近宇宙神明层面 (jiējìn yǔzhòu shénmíng céngmiàn -接近宇宙神明层面)!The aftershocks of the battle made the people on the ground far below feel their hearts palpitate, as if witnessing the birth and destruction of stars.However, the Silver Surfer quickly realized that no matter how he attacked or altered the rules, he could not truly breach the other's "impervious to all laws" defense. And each of the other's attacks was heavy enough to粉碎星辰 (fěnsuì xīngchén -粉碎星辰), forcing him to evade with all his might.He was not a combat-oriented Herald; his mission was assessment and reporting.After another fierce collision, the Silver Surfer used the force to retreat rapidly, hovering in the distance. His silver face remained unchanged, but he seemed to have completed his "assessment.""Anomalous variable... Level: Immeasurable. Threat level: Extreme. Recommendation: Observe. Do not intervene at this time." His冰冷的 (bīnglěng de -冰冷的) data stream transmitted on a cosmic level.He took a deep "look" at Sun Wukong, as if to permanently etch this existence into the cosmic database. Then, without further停留 (tíngliú -停留), his surfboard flashed with silver light. In an instant, he transformed into a streak of light, shot into the clouds, and vanished into the depths of space.He had come swiftly and left swiftly, like a mere passerby in the cosmos.Sun Wukong put away his staff, scratched his head, and looked in the direction where the Silver Surfer had disappeared. "Tch. Ran away fast. That silver-skinned boy has some skill. Pity he's not a straightforward fellow, slipping away before the fight was finished."The assessment of the cosmic Herald, faced with an "anomalous variable" of immeasurable level, chose temporary retreat.On the despairing battlefield, a cold aftertaste from beyond the stars was left behind.