Haunted by longing and driven by love, the Silver Surfer seeks to return to Zenn-La, the utopian world he sacrificed to save the cosmos. But his journey is thwarted by a mysterious energy barrier that defies even his Power Cosmic. Desperate for answers, he turns to the Watcher, who reveals that Zenn-La has been displaced into a hidden dimension – its coordinates erased from existence by forces unknown.

Together, they traverse the stars via a Plasma Jump to the Universal Library, the sacred repository of all cosmic knowledge and the Watchers’ homeworld. But the Library is under siege. The Sarq, a fanatical race led by the brutal War Leader Morg and the zealous High Priest Thiran, believe knowledge is a corrupting force. Their mission: to destroy the Library and usher in a new Dark Age where ignorance reigns supreme.

The Surfer intervenes, but is captured in a net designed to drain his cosmic energy. As the Sarq prepare to use his power to annihilate the Library, the Virals – ethereal beings formed from pure thought and memory – merge their consciousness with the Surfer’s. This fusion unleashes a torrent of mental force that overwhelms the Sarq, forcing them to retreat.

Though weakened, the Surfer is granted passage through the barrier by the Virals and finally returns to Zenn-La. The reunion with Shalla-Bal is tender and triumphant, a moment of peace after endless wandering. He is also surprised to learn she is Master now – and followed by a Thanos who is a pacifist and has no memory of the Surfer. But this serenity is shattered by the arrival of the Soul Hunter, a spectral entity who claims dominion over this hidden dimension. Viewing the Surfer as an intruder, he violently casts him away, leaving Zenn-La’s fate – and the Surfer’s – hanging in the balance.

The End of Eternity (Part 2) | The Soul Hunter (Part 2)