Chapter 48: Cloak and Dagger · The Interweaving of Light and Dark
The annihilation of the thunderstorm had drained the last vestiges of strength from Thor and Ororo, capturing Sun Wukong's fleeting attention. In that brief, transient moment before the chaotic energy flows had fully subsided—The shadows at the very edge of the battlefield began to boil, soundlessly.It was not an explosion of energy, but a more fundamental collapse of existence.Tyrone Johnson, Cloak, had long since vanished. In his place was an expanding, absolute void, a黑洞 (hēidòng - black hole) of nothingness that吞噬一切光与声 (tūnshì yīqiè guāng yǔ shēng -吞噬一切光与声). It was not mere shadow, but a rift to the Darkforce Dimension, exuding a soul-freezing cold and死寂 (sǐjì -死寂). Its goal was not to attack, but to吞噬 (tūnshì -吞噬), to pull Sun Wukong's very existence into that eternal exile where even time lost meaning!Simultaneously, Tandy Bowen, Dagger, stood diametrically opposed to the dark void. Her body was wreathed in an unstable, blindingly刺眼 (cìyǎn -刺眼) pure white flame! This was not the warm, healing light she usually wielded, but an extreme luminous energy forged by强行转化 (qiángxíng zhuǎnhuà -强行转化), compressing, and purifying all the pain, despair, rage of the remaining heroes, and even the哀鸣 (āimíng -哀鸣) of Earth itself, in a近乎自毁的方式 (jìnhū zìhuǐ de fāngshì -近乎自毁的方式)! This energy was狂暴 (kuángbào -狂暴),尖锐 (jiānruì -尖锐), and filled with毁灭性 (huǐmièxìng -毁灭性). Her body cracked and bled under the torrent, bloody tears streaming from her eyes, yet her expression held a殉道般的决绝 (xùndào bān de juéjué -殉道般的决绝)!No shouts, no communication. This was their prearranged, final gamble!"NOW!" Tandy screamed soundlessly in her heart, violently pushing the凝聚了所有绝望与希望 (níngjùle suǒyǒu juéwàng yǔ xīwàng -凝聚了所有绝望与希望),极度不稳定的光明洪流 (jí dù bù wěndìng de guāngmíng hóngliú -极度不稳定的光明洪流) towards the all-devouring dark void!Light and dark did not merge. Instead, they collided with the most extreme,激烈 (jīliè -激烈),互斥 (hùchì -互斥) intensity right where Sun Wukong stood!There was no sound. No explosion.Only a剧烈湮灭 (jùliè yǎnmiè -剧烈湮灭) at the level of existence itself!The ultimate light and the ultimate darkness canceled each other out, annihilating each other, giving birth to an absolute singularity of nothingness indescribable by physical laws! Space vanished there, time fell into chaos, all laws of matter and energy lost meaning there!This singularity was not meant to destroy Sun Wukong, but to create a vacuum of laws, an absolute prison where "existence" itself was temporarily negated! Its aim was to drag Sun Wukong into it, exiling him to a虚无 (xūwú -虚无) beyond concepts!This疯狂的一击 (fēngkuáng de yī jī -疯狂的一击) even surpassed Galactus's earlier rule-alteration, touching upon the宇宙最本源的对抗 (yǔzhòu zuì běnyuán de duìkàng -宇宙最本源的对抗) between "being" and "non-being"!All remaining heroes, even Nick Fury in the distant observation base, felt a灵魂深处的战栗 (línghún shēnchù de zhànlì -灵魂深处的战栗) and悸动 (jìdòng -悸动)! They couldn't comprehend what it was, only sensing the birth of an极致 (jízhì -极致) "emptiness" and "nothingness"!The casual expression finally vanished completely from Sun Wukong's face. His Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils blazed with unprecedented brilliance!"Eh?! Creating from void? The interplay of being and non-being? These two youngsters have actually touched upon this threshold?!" His tone was filled with genuine astonishment. "A pity! They've taken the wrong path! Offering themselves as sacrifice,强行引动光暗对冲 (qiángxíng yǐndòng guāng àn duìchōng -强行引动光暗对冲),模拟鸿蒙未判之相 (mónǐ hóngméng wèi pàn zhī xiàng -模拟鸿蒙未判之相)... They're courting death!"He could see that the two were燃烧生命与灵魂 (ránshāo shēngmìng yǔ línghún -燃烧生命与灵魂),强行模拟 (qiángxíng mónǐ -强行模拟) the primordial state before the separation of heaven and earth—the混沌未分 (hùndùn wèi fēn -混沌未分),阴阳互冲 (yīnyáng hù chōng -阴阳互冲) of the undivided chaos—trying to use it to "return" this "anomaly" back to "non-being"!Facing this annihilation singularity that touched upon the本源法则 (běnyuán fǎzé -本源法则), Sun Wukong finally ceased his overconfidence. He took a deep breath, and the Great Monad Dao Fruit within him, tempered through immeasurable calamities and already混元如一 (hùnyuán rúyī -混元如一), operated at an unprecedented speed!He did not evade. Instead, he stepped forward,主动迎向 (zhǔdòng yíng xiàng -主动迎向) the center of the light-dark annihilation singularity! Simultaneously, his hands formed an ancient,玄奥的法印 (xuán'ào de fǎyìn -玄奥的法印) before his chest, and he chanted under his breath:"The Dao begets One; One begets Two; Two begets Three; Three begets all things.""This place is neither void nor substance, neither being nor non-being! For me... stabilize!"A more宏大 (hóngdà -宏大), more古老 (gǔlǎo -古老), more包容一切的 (bāoróng yīqiè de -包容一切的) "Dao resonance" emanated from his being! It did not对抗光暗 (duìkàng guāng àn -对抗光暗), but包容光暗 (bāoróng guāng àn -包容光暗),定义有无 (dìngyì yǒu wú -定义有无),稳固乾坤 (wěngù qiánkūn -稳固乾坤)!The violently annihilating singularity, on the verge of becoming absolute nothingness, upon touching this "Great Monad Dao resonance," seemed to crash against the very foundation of the universe! Its process of annihilation was强行中止 (qiángxíng zhōngzhǐ -强行中止),抚平 (fǔ píng -抚平)! The light and dark did not vanish; instead, they became like children meeting their mother, turning温顺 (wēnshùn -温顺),平息 (píngxī -平息), and finally消散 (xiāosàn -消散) slowly, returning to the world between heaven and earth.In the distance, Cloak and Dagger collapsed simultaneously, their life forces like candles in the wind, rapidly黯淡 (àndàn -黯淡). Their desperate, all-or-nothing strike had been effortlessly resolved by the other party in a higher-dimensional manner.Sun Wukong散去了法印 (sàn qùle fǎyìn -散去了法印), looking at the unconscious pair. He shook his head, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes. "Courage is commendable,悟性 (wùxìng -悟性) not bad either. Pity their道行 (dàohéng -道行) is too shallow,根基不稳 (gēnjī bù wěn -根基不稳). Forcing the use of forbidden arts only harms themselves... Enough. Considering their sincere, if misguided, intent, this old Sun will save you."He flicked his fingers, and two points of pure Yang vitality,蕴含生机 (yùnhán shēngjī -蕴含生机), shot into their bodies, protecting their即将消散的心脉 (jíjiāng xiāosàn de xīnmài -即将消散的心脉).After doing this, he surveyed his surroundings—the彻底化为焦土 (chèdǐ huà wéi jiāotǔ -彻底化为焦土) battlefield littered with the defeated—and finally lost all interest completely."Boring! Utterly boring!" He shouldered his golden-hooped staff and let out a huge yawn. "Fought for so long, nothing but mediocre tricks. Not a single one who could put up a real fight! This place... is utterly dull!"The ultimate collision of light and dark, before the Great Monad Dao Fruit, became a lamentable, futile sacrifice.