Chapter 45: Galactus · The Cosmic Cataclysm
The Silver Surfer's arrival and departure were like a fleeting,冰冷的 (bīnglěng de -冰冷的) glance from the cosmos. The battlefield returned to its deathly silence, the suffocating despair not dissipating but deepening with this trans-dimensional interlude. The remaining heroes lay collapsed, devoid of even the strength to lift a finger, their eyes vacant with麻木 (mámù -麻木).Yet, at this moment when even the universe seemed to have given up—High above, in the depths of cosmic space, a face of indescribable immensity, seemingly composed of stars and dark matter, slowly manifested. Its eyes were like two black holes吞噬一切光明 (tūnshì yīqiè guāngmíng -吞噬一切光明), its breath化作能量风暴 (huà zuò néngliàng fēngbào -化作能量风暴) that swept across galaxies. The mere presence of this being caused Earth's orbit to tremble and made the sun's light dim!Galactus. The Devourer of Worlds! One of the cosmic entities, a维护者 (wéihù zhě -维护者) (or破坏者 (pòhuài zhě -破坏者)) of balance, the master of the Silver Surfer... had descended!He had not come for Earth, nor for Sun Wukong. He came for energy. The collision between Sun Wukong and the Phoenix Force, and the subsequent clash with the Silver Surfer, had leaked traces of pure and vast energy波动 (bōdòng -波动). To this slumbering deity, it was like placing the most delicious morsel before a starved beast, finally awakening him completely!Hunger... extreme hunger... drove his primal instinct!No warning, no communication, not even deeming Earth worthy of addressing as an ant. Galactus opened his maw, vast enough to swallow star rivers—An indescribable suction force,超越能量范畴 (chāoyuè néngliàng fànchóu -超越能量范畴), like a cosmic-level siphon, instantly enveloped the entire battlefield,乃至整个北美大陆 (nǎizhì zhěnggè běi měi dàlù -乃至整个北美大陆)!This was not an attack; it was harvesting! Feeding!The earth groaned! The energy of mountains was drained, turning them to dust! Ocean water evaporated, life withering instantly! The atmosphere was torn asunder, drawn into the endless maw! Even the flow of light and time became viscous,扭曲 (niǔqū -扭曲), as if about to be吞噬 (tūnshì -吞噬) as well!Earth was like an orange being squeezed in a giant hand,疯狂榨取 (fēngkuáng zhàqǔ -疯狂榨取) of all its juices!The remaining heroes couldn't even generate fear; their life force, their energy, their very souls... were being forcibly stripped away and抽走 (chōu zǒu -抽走)! Consciousness faded rapidly; their bodies began to crumble like desiccated sand sculptures!This was the true, despairing might of the cosmos! In the eyes of a deity, all life was but sustenance!"Huh?!" Sun Wukong finally showed a truly grave expression for the first time!The land beneath his feet was losing all its "vitality"; the spatial structure around him was becoming fragile,崩解 (bēngjiě -崩解)! He even felt a faint, yet real, tug on the法力 (fǎlì -法力) within his body!"My, my!" Sun Wukong's Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils blazed with unprecedented brilliance. The Great Monad Dao Fruit within him,混元如一 (hùnyuán rúyī -混元如一), operated at an unprecedented speed, forcibly stabilizing his own being. "What gluttonous ancestor is this? Daring to吞天食地 (tūn tiān shí dì -吞天食地),掠夺造化 (lüèduó zàohuà -掠夺造化)?! Quite the appetite!"He could see this giant wasn't targeting him specifically but was engaging in indiscriminate,毁灭性的进食 (huǐmièxìng de jìnshí -毁灭性的进食)! But such actions had crossed his bottom line!"Wretched beast! How dare you wreak havoc!" Sun Wukong勃然大怒 (bórán dànù -勃然大怒), holding back no longer!"Law of Heaven, Form of Earth!"His body grew with the wind, instantly transforming into a colossal giant whose head touched the firmament and feet trod the earth! His form was so vast it surpassed mountains, seemingly able to confront Galactus's starry visage across space!"Taste this old Sun's staff!"He gripped the now mountain-sized golden-hooped staff with both hands, pushing the大道 of strength to its极限 (jíxiàn -极限), and smashed the staff towards Galactus's all-devouring maw!This strike was no longer playful or试探性的 (shìtàn xìng de -试探性的); it was driven by genuine rage, imbued with the supreme power to粉碎星辰 (fěnsuì xīngchén -粉碎星辰) and搅乱混沌 (jiǎoluàn hùndùn -搅乱混沌)!Where the staff passed, the terrifying suction force was forcibly interrupted and torn apart! Space was plowed open, leaving a massive,久久无法愈合 (jiǔjiǔ wúfǎ yùhé -久久无法愈合) black fissure!THUUUUUUUUUUD-OOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!A sound indescribable by any earthly physics, one that震撼整个太阳系 (zhènhàn zhěnggè tàiyángxì -震撼整个太阳系), erupted near Earth's orbit!The golden-hooped staff struck squarely against the "facial" region of Galactus!On Galactus's eternally impassive, starry countenance, a fluctuation appeared for the first time! The face, composed of countless stellar dust,剧烈震荡 (jùliè zhèndàng -剧烈震荡) and凹陷 (āoxiàn -凹陷)! His devouring action was halted abruptly!"...?!" A cosmic-level意念 (yìniàn -意念) filled with pain and extreme astonishment swept out,震得 (zhèn dé -震得) countless near-Earth satellites to malfunction instantly!He clearly hadn't anticipated that within this "food" lurked an existence capable of harming his本体 (běntǐ -本体)!Galactus was彻底激怒 (chèdǐ jīnù -彻底激怒)! From his black-hole eyes burst forth毁灭性的宇宙射线爆 (huǐmièxìng de yǔzhòu shèxiàn bào -毁灭性的宇宙射线爆) and反物质洪流 (fǎn wùzhì hóngliú -反物质洪流), like two galactic rivers,射向 (shè xiàng -射向) Sun Wukong!The giant Sun Wukong laughed heartily, neither dodging nor evading. He opened his mouth and inhaled!"吞天噬地 (Tūn tiān shì dì -吞天噬地)? This old Sun can do that too!"A massive混沌漩涡 (hùndùn xuánwō -混沌漩涡), seemingly capable of holding the sun and moon, appeared in his mouth! The cosmic rays and antimatter torrent足以毁灭星系 (zúyǐ huǐmiè xīngxì -足以毁灭星系) were actually swallowed into his belly! His stomach bulged slightly before settling, and he let out a burp, a few sparks of interstellar dust puffing from his mouth!"Taste's alright, just a bit gritty!" he commented.Galactus seemed stunned. Being反吃 (fǎn chī -反吃) while feeding?!An unprecedented sense of absurdity and rage swept through the deity!He ceased trying to devour and instead wielded his true power! His giant hand (composed of nebulae and dark matter) reached out from the depths of space towards Sun Wukong! Within that palm lay the至高权能 (zhìgāo quánnéng -至高权能) to alter physical constants and define the rules of reality! He intended to彻底抹除 (chèdǐ mǒchú -彻底抹除) this碍眼的 (ài yǎn de -碍眼的) "insect" and this pocket of space from the universe entirely!"Come, then!" Sun Wukong's eyes boiled with fighting spirit. He planted his staff in the void, stabilizing earth, water, fire, and wind. His Primordial Spirit merged with the laws of heaven and earth, erupting with the无上道韵 (wúshàng dàoyùn -无上道韵) of万法不磨 (wàn fǎ bù mó -万法不磨) and亘古永存 (gèngǔ yǒng cún -亘古永存),硬抗 (yìng kàng -硬抗) the alteration of cosmic rules!Simultaneously, he shook his body and transformed, employing the supernatural ability of三头六臂 (sāntóuliùbì -三头六臂), holding various magical instruments (though mere phantoms), and engaged the starry hand in battle!Each collision made the solar system tremble! The light of the stars flickered uncertainly!This was already a恐怖交锋 (kǒngbù jiāofēng -恐怖交锋) between a cosmic entity and a Primordial Great Monad Golden Immortal—a confrontation超越维度 (chāoyuè wéidù -超越维度)! Earth was but an insignificant battleground beneath their feet.The remaining heroes, long since震撼 (zhènhàn -震撼) into stupefaction by this incomprehensible battle, could only tremble like insects driven by instinct, praying for this apocalyptic spectacle to end.Finally, Galactus seemed to realize that this existence before him was extremely棘手 (jíshǒu -棘手). Rather than expending vast energy in a死斗 (sǐdòu -死斗) here, it was better to seek other, more easily accessible energy sources. Continuing the fight, even if victorious, would be得不偿失 (débùchángshī -得不偿失).His starry visage took a deep "look" at Sun Wukong, marking this un-analyzable "anomalous variable" at the宇宙最高危险等级 (yǔzhòu zuìgāo wēixiǎn děngjí -宇宙最高危险等级). Then, he slowly receded into the depths of space and vanished. The terrifying suction and rule suppression also dissipated.Sun Wukong also retracted his Dharma Form, returning to his original size and landing on the ground. He breathed heavily, sweat beading on his forehead for the first time."Pah! That big guy has thick skin and hides, plenty of strength, but no technique—just brute force." He wiped his sweat and muttered. "Still falls short of that palm from my bet with the old Tathagata at the foot of Vulture Peak..."The devouring of the cosmic entity had been repelled by the iron staff of the Primordial Great Monad.But Earth teetered on the brink of破碎 (pòsuì -破碎).Despair was no longer an emotion, but... reality.