At this moment, Su Ming knows nothing about the events occurring on Earth. He has entered the interior of the Eclipsing Star, and the experience is far from pleasant.
It feels like being inside an infinitely deep well or some endless trajectory.
He can only feel himself continuously sliding downward, enduring increasing pressure, and accelerating speed.
The heat generated by friction has already caused the Godslayer to retract back into his body, while the Magic Floating Cloak tries to slow him down, but the effect is quite limited.
Though the Eclipsing Star isn't the Sun, its conscious gravitational force is much stronger.
"Godslayer, transform maximally into a parachute!"
At crucial moments, relying on old methods, physical deceleration is more effective than magical deceleration in this situation.
With his speed decreasing, Su Ming feels like a fly stuck inside a glue bottle, facing pressure from all sides with every little move he makes.
However, the scenery around him is quite nice, resembling a deep sea-like purple ocean, with the black energy above shimmering like sparkling waves.
Su Ming pulls out his phone to take some pictures.
He's not posting to Twitter; he needs to capture evidence since his compensation depends on it.
"Cloak, help me find the place with the densest energy."
The cloak perks up a corner, like a dog sniffing around, then guides Su Ming to continue drilling downward.
He can still endure this because the Magic Floating Cloak provides significant pressure resistance, which he doesn't need to understand the mechanics of.
As Su Ming delves deeper into the Eclipsing Star's core, the scene before him becomes brighter, with a purple light dot gleaming nearby, growing larger by the moment.
The Eclipsing Star clearly did not anticipate anyone entering its interior, and its prideful mind control powers are entirely ineffective—it now resembles a beast helpless against the tiny bacteria inside its stomach.
Su Ming approaches the light dot, watching it grow from a pinpoint to the size of an apple, then to the size of a stadium, and finally, larger than the Moon.
This is the Lantern Furnace of the Invisible Light Lantern Group.
Unlike regular corps Lantern Furnaces, it lacks the typical lantern shell, perhaps because the shell is invisible, though Su Ming confirms this is the case after poking it with the Great Sword.
To counter the black-purple energy of this Lantern Group, the most reliable option should be White Lantern Energy, the sum of all spectrums, but unfortunately, Su Ming doesn't possess any.
He only has a Black Light Battery resembling a flashlight, representing the power of death and enslavement.
But having reached this point, there's no alternative—he must proceed with his prior plan.
The energy within the Black Lantern Battery is insufficient to explode the massive Central Lantern Furnace before him; he needs to expand the Black Lantern's power using something with energy.
He grits his teeth, plucking a drop of X Metal from the Nightfall Greatsword—this substance is charged with the essence of the DC World, capable of energizing any object within it.
He presses this drop onto the Black Lantern Battery, controlling it to integrate into the battery, fortifying the black spectrum.
The effects soon manifest: the Black Lantern Battery becomes increasingly cold in hand, enveloping Su Ming in a scent of decay and death as black mist infects everything around him, sapping vitality.
Su Ming's own hand begins to rot; his armor cannot stave off the Death Energy, turning his flesh into pus that leaks from his gloves.
The Healing Factor kicks in, causing the bloodthirsty desire within to begin to rise.
Yet Su Ming remains calm, aware that although the Dark Lantern Battery is now strengthened, the target before him is immense—additional fortification of the Black Lantern is required.
He picks another drop of X Metal, retrieving a gemstone given by Manhattan from his pack, envelops it in X Metal, and thrusts it into the Black Lantern Battery.
It melts there, dissolving like spring snow.
Black Light engulfs everything around, and half of Su Ming's body holding the battery instantly decays into pus-blood, leaving only Godslayer clinging to the X Metal Skeleton, escaping calamity and aiding its host in movement.
"This should be enough... go on!"
Godslayer shares the intent with its host, its skeletal tug executing a throw, hurling the Black Lantern Battery toward the core of the Invisible Light Lantern Furnace with tremendous force.
The purple-black flame of the Lantern Furnace flickers, the black gradually overtaking the purple, competing for energy domination.
This change intensifies, causing the whole Fixed Star to shake and tremble.
"Cloak, get me out!"
Though Su Ming commands so, his departure speed is far from sufficient; the gigantic Light Ball ahead shifts to half-purple, half-black before suddenly exploding.
Su Ming is immediately engulfed by darkness, losing consciousness.
............
Upon regaining consciousness, Su Ming finds himself in a dim world, where everything around him is cloaked in gray, and the sky continuously sheds fine ash.
The ground is littered with white bones and black ash, and he lies among them on a mountain path.
On both sides of the road,
there are various tombstones, with many shriveled figures staggering before them.
Su Ming's first instinct is to check his heartbeat.
His heart is still beating, although extremely slowly, proving he's alive.
His weapons are intact, Godslayer and the Magic Floating Cloak are present too. Apart from his own body resembling a dehydrated mummy, and his inner desire for slaughter soaring, there's nothing amiss.
"Where is this place?"
Su Ming stands up, gazing around, yet the animated corpses pay him no mind—they continue traversing small hills and through bone piles.
They seem indifferent to this newcomer.
Su Ming initially speculates being transported by Black Light to the 'Death Territory,' said to be Black Death Emperor's domain, the Black Lantern's headquarters.
Yet it lacks the coldness expected of Black Lantern's presence, featuring only peace and tranquility.
For reasons unknown, his bloodthirsty desire swiftly dissipates in this environment, looking through life and death until only detachment and calm remain.
All is silent, with only the sound of skeletal ash crunching underfoot as the walking corpses move past.
Su Ming approaches a walking corpse, waving a hand in front of it, unaware that the corpse seemingly acknowledges him with a glance, shakes its head, and a peculiar emotion crosses its pallid face and vacant eyes as it skirts around him, continuing its march.
Countless walking corpses wander the wilderness, advancing toward an unknown distance, engaging in no conversation, taking no breaks, unaffected by external factors.
Finally, amidst numerous attempts at bothering them, one walking corpse responds, raising a finger pointing towards the distant mountain peak, without uttering a sound, skirting past Su Ming as it proceeds onward.
Su Ming removes his helmet, discovering the air remains breathable, sensing his gradual self-healing, with an unusual sense of calm.
Atop the mountain peak, lies a constantly rotating and transforming tunnel, intermingled with black and white, resembling milk chocolate candy upon first glance.
The walking corpses head there, entering the tunnel never to return.
If Su Ming wishes to exit this bizarre world, he must visit there for answers.