Silver Surfer: Black #2 (2019)

Reflecting on his history of facilitating planetary genocide, the Silver Surfer recalls his first encounter with the Symbiotes. In the wake of one of Galactus' feasts, Norrin Radd had noticed a strange dark planet nearby and investigated, only to discover it wasn't a planet at all but an enormous mass of living darkness. Kneeling to inspect the eldritch world, he sensed something dark sealed deep inside its core. Before he can react, the dark "planet" made it clear that his presence was unwelcome by manifesting an enormous floral maw and devouring him. Taken to its core and suspended by tendrils of living abyss, the Silver Surfer finds himself gazing upon the sleeping visage of a primordial god of darkness, bound and imprisoned by the very creatures he'd created. Surrounded by countless symbiotes, the Silver Surfer senses that all of them hate and fear him with ineffable intensity, but cannot fathom why. Breaking free from the planet's depths, the Surfer flies to the surface and asks the symbiotes why they bear him such malice when he's done them no harm - but receives no answer in reply. Displaced billions of years in the past, Norrin Radd now understands why the symbiotes hate him so intensely - he made their dark god, Knull, bleed. Evading a slash from Knull's symbiote-sword, the Silver Surfer blasts him with a beam of Power Cosmic. Knull retaliates by manifesting multiple-barrelled artillery from the Symbiote Throneworld's surface and firing a barrage of purple energy projectiles. Weaving through tendrils that erupt from the ground to chase him, the Silver Surfer blocks the flak with beams of cosmic energy. Enraged, Knull stabs his Necrosword into the ground and fires a massive torrent of purple energy at the Silver Surfer. Knocked from his board, the Silver Surfer is snared by tendrils of living abyss, thinking to himself that it's a fitting punishment for a destroyer of worlds to be devoured by one. As Knull clenches his fist, snarling that he is the God of the Dark and rightful ruler of all existence, the Silver Surfer is encased in living abyss. He struggles to resist, but the symbiote bonding to him overpowers his will; Knull sneering that resistance is futile, as no matter where the Silver Surfer flees to there will always be darkness. Dropping to the ground and transforming into a dark monstrous figure, the symbiote-corrupted Radd swears fealty to Knull, who dubs him the Void Knight. Perusing Radd's memories through the symbiote hive-mind, Knull is impressed by Radd's history of planetary genocide. As the Void Knight manifests a Gigeresque board and says that the Light must die, he is suddenly engulfed by a beam of psionic energy, Knull recoiling in shock as a mysterious voice calls out, telling the Herald of Galactus to brace himself for intense pain. The beam of energy intensifies into a nuke-like blast that immolates the Void Knight symbiote and engulfs Knull. Engraged, the King in Black shields himself and bares his fangs, but Radd blasts him point-blank with the Power Cosmic. The mysterious voice tells Radd that he cannot defeat Knull on his own, urging him to flee and follow it. As the Silver Surfer takes off, feeling genuine terror for the first time since he became a Herald of Galactus, Knull lets out a scream of rage; the Symbiote Throneworld blossoming into a massive hand and reaching out for Radd as he streaks away into the nascent cosmos. Regaining his composure, Knull summons the trio of goddesses that Radd had briefly freed from his control. As they bow before their god-king, Knull states that he has a star to kill. The symbiote-infected goddesses volunteer to kill the Silver Surfer for Knull and bring him his head. Manifesting a symbiote-dragon from the Symbiote Throneworld's living abyss, Knull instructs them to stay and guard the throneworld, saying he's in the mood for a chase. As Radd flies away from the Symbiote Throneworld, the mysterious voice urges him to move faster. The Silver Surfer replies that he's still weak, before asking how the voice knows who he is. The voice replies that it knows all about him and his sordid history as a Herald of Galactus, supporting his desire for redemption - and that it knows these things because it can see into Radd's mind. As Radd asks who it is, the voice suddenly warns him of oncoming danger. Turning, Radd sees Knull mounted on the symbiote dragon and closing in rapidly. Narrowly avoiding getting eaten, Radd conjures another star and fires it down the symbiote-dragon's throat - the darkness blackening his hand spreading to cover his arm. The symbiote-dragon explodes, leaving Knull dazed and adrift in space. Weakened, the Silver Surfer tells his board to follow the voice, glancing at his blackened arm and worrying that Knull's abyss has infected him and is corrupting him. The voice comforts him, saying that it will be his salvation. Arriving in the Black Galaxy, the Silver Surfer finds himself surrounded by eldritch life and face to face with Ego the Living Planet.