"That's probably what a failure is like." Riley no longer wanted to parse the indifference in his own tone, he simply stated matter-of-factly: "Not everyone can withstand that kind of insane power. Superheroes survive evolution because they are inherently strong."
"What do you plan to do?" Jessica leaned towards the fire and asked, "If you have a way to leave this place, then go ahead, there's no need to get involved here. This cosmos is beyond redemption."
"The problem is, we can't leave," Xu Shang-Chi said, sitting down, "We are also trapped here, and we are clearly out of resources."
There was a mont of silence. They all knew that Xu Shang-Chi was right. Even they, with all their abilities, couldn't handle thirty or three hundred battles in a day after three.
They had already drawn the attention of these monsters, now they understood what the villains pursued by S.H.I.E.L.D and The Avengers felt like. It didn't matter if they could take down one or two, they'd have to face a swarm the mont they showed themselves.
In situations where there is a significant gap in both strength and numbers, wisdom can improve their situation, but it cannot completely turn the tide.
After a long silence, Riley suddenly said, "We might need power. No, not might - we do need power... stronger power."
Jessica didn't quite understand the three n's silence, but she still had a unique female intuition. So, she leaned forward slightly and asked tentatively, "Do you have a plan?"
"Perhaps, but it might bring greater dangers. Even more dreadful than what we're experiencing now, more terrible than you can imagine."
Jessica pursed her lips and asked, "Can it help you survive?"
"It can keep us alive."
"You don't need to include . I've told you, this cosmos is beyond salvation. I'm going to die sooner or later. I've wanted to die for a long ti." Jessica's inclination to self-destruction yields no more disguise.
Quill showed a mocking grin and said, "You said if I looked into their eyes, I would be infected with madness. But today I gave the bitch a piece of my mind, looking right into her eyes. And yet, I felt nothing creep into my brain."
Jessica stared at him as if he were a madman. The thirst common in alcohol addicts was seen in Quill's face. It was as if he was asking, "Can't it get any worse?"
"It's a matter of ti." Jessica hugged her legs and shivered, "I can already feel it. I can hear their whispers surrounding ."
"Did you hear them singing?" Riley asked her.
Jessica shook her head, "I didn't even hear any sound, just so trivial friction noises... perhaps they're all in my mind."
"What did he say to you?" Xu Shang-Chi asked.
"There wasn't any comprehensible sentence."
Jessica finally felt sothing was off. She stared at the fire and began to feel colder, then started shivering uncontrollably. Tears welled up in her eyes.
Her tear-filled eyes looked at them and said, "You've already been infected, haven't you? That's why you haven't gone mad."
"It was just a dream." Quill rested his head against the cold wall, "It wasn't even a nightmare. Just strange and bizarre."
"But it could help us find a way to break the deadlock." Riley stared at the fire too, as Jessica trembled with fear, she braced herself to ask with the sa shaky voice, "What is it?"
"The call of the Stars."
Xu Shang-Chi sat cross-legged on the spot and explained, "They are not just a voice, a gaze, or hallucinations. They leave knowledge in our minds."
"If we choose to read this knowledge," Riley swallowed and continued, "Then we can face the truth again, and hear the call of the stars again. We can offer sacrifices to gain power."
"Sounds too dangerous." Jessica shook her head vigorously, "You really don't have to do this, just hide here and find a way to escape."
"We have deeper worries than you do, miss," Riley looked her in the eye and replied, "I have a feeling that the disaster in this cosmos might spread. And my hunches are usually accurate."
"We need to do sothing about them before they make such dreadful decisions."
"What do you want to do?"
"Join them, to outdo their madness."
Jessica was about to speak when Riley interrupted gently, "I believe there's more than one puppet master behind the scenes, as this is not the first ti we've experienced such madness in the cosmos. My experiences have inford that while these puppeteers may be alike, they are not the sa and their powers vary."
"If the monsters of this cosmos have beco the minions of a God, then we can beco the minions of an even stronger, greater God to stop their madness."
"How can you ensure you won't go mad like them?"
"We have already tested it."
Jessica realized she had no power to stop them, so she asked, "Do you need any help?"
"Leave this place, go to the entrance. As soon as it's completely dark, let us know."
"Alright."
After Jessica left, the three n exchanged a glance, each seeing the anger in the others' eyes; anger for those trampling over the dignity of superheroes and for their own powerless self.
Once humans recognize their weakness, they beco surprisingly angry and thus, turn mad. A cold and calculated madness that shouts 'might is right'. Nothing can stop the march of the weak humans.
When Jessica's voice ca again, they knew it was completely dark. Riley closed his eyes, a broken lody seeped out of his mouth, becoming smoother and louder.
Xu Shang-Chi recalled the feeling of his stomach being squeezed tight. The words that once hovered in his heart resurfaced.
Quill grasped his arm tightly. Blood-red muscle texture and dried, darkened blood ford a mysterious pattern, constantly flashing in front of his eyes.
When they all simultaneously called out to the Stars, one of the Stars reached out and embraced them.
In their blurred visions, they found themselves transford into fragile saplings, being pruned by a gardener, weathering storms, and being molded into the ideal, sturdy trees that he wanted.
As they continued to grow upwards, craving sunlight, rain, and the endless cosmos, the magnificent existence deep within the Stars finally answered the call of the sprouts, bringing them both gentle breeze and rain, as well as the icy, moist, omnipresent Naless Fog.
When the illusion dissipated, Xu Shang-Chi found himself in an open space filled with fog. Above him were clouds of unceasing fog, beneath him was a desolate island.
Upon walking to the edge of the island and peering down, he found a great city hidden within the ceaseless fog beneath his feet.
Standing above the city, Xu Shang-Chi finally voiced the words that had been haunting his heart—"Karkosa... Lake Hally in the Polaris Star System... The dark sun is high in the sky..."
He turned around and saw the enormous black sun rising from the deepest part of the fog.
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