Soul of Searing Steel

Starfall Year 834, the 21st of March. Dawn at Moldavia, the North.

As the snow eagle screeched in the sky, the bell tower of the cathedral rang gently. Cracks were appearing amidst the dark clouds, showing a glimpse of the eastern sky that was slightly white. Chimneys of the houses in town were issuing smoke—signs that a new day has come.

But this new day was not as quiet as it had always been.

Adventurers who were either rising early or returning late were treading upon the paths of the main city. They were draped in leather armor or capes, their weapons hidden—in Moldavia, apart from factions serving to the liege, none were allowed to equip arms.

On both sides of the main street, all variety of shops including blacksmiths, enchantment workshop and tavern were yet to open for business. From the windows, the owners could be seen diligently preparing their merchandise and beer they would be selling for the rest of the day.

Suddenly, due to a curious premonition, the pedestrians who were busy walking could not help looking at the sky above. Even the shopkeepers promptly opened their doors and looked above with a slightly panicking heart.

Then the crowd widened their eyes.

On the blue yonder over the city built from stone and steel, there was a sudden brightness. As machines worked and occluded gears hummed, streaks of pure rainbow-colored lights simply appeared without precedent, hanging above the skies.

The light of dawn certainly could not overlap the tidal surge of mana. Countless colors combined into radiance, the fallout of a terrible power from beyond this world sweeping through the edge of the Mycroft Continent for the first time.

It had struck the Northern Realms first where the dimensional barriers were the weakest, and the blue sky immediately turned gray-blue. The multitudinous stars appeared between the clouds, their light shining in a lively manner amidst the aurora and surging with indescribably majestic power.

Meanwhile, at the top of the liege's residence tower in the heart of the city.

"Leaving?" The blue-haired artificial intelligence lady asked softly as she floated beside the warrior. "The first fallout had already arrived, and the Great Mana Tide would descend upon this world. Are you sure you want to leave now?"

It's too dangerous. That was a sentence she left unsaid.

The dimensional sea in the multiverse would be disturbed by the terrible energy. If he left for a different world now, it meant that he would not be able to return to Mycroft for months. Therefore, if there were to be some unforeseen danger on the other end, the warrior would have no way back.

"Of course," standing at the edge of the tower, the carefree man watched the churning mana aurora in the air and spoke with a calm voice, "If we wait for months until the Great Mana Tide finally comes and settles itself before we leave, it'll be too late."

Joshua then turned and solemnly said to 03, "Thanks for helping to watch over the domain all this while. Still, this time I'll be gone for quite some time—I'll have to keep troubling you."

"It's fine, I am created to manage a city from the start," floating in a corner and fiddling with her hair, the A.I. lady spoke with an accustomed tone of indifference, "You on the other hand, please do come back."

"It's just a search for a certain object. I'll bring you along next time." The warrior smiled nonchalantly. He could sense a hint of disgruntlement from 03's tone, and so leaned over and whispered to her ear.

"Go have a look in the study when I'm gone. There's a surprise."

03's body shuddered slightly before calming down. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but in the end just shook her head, before the mana projection there shattered in little shards of light.

Today was the day of the scheduled departure.

The Sacred Mountain of the Far South had made all preparations. The coordinates towards the other world had been verified again and again by countless clergies, finally acquiring a result that was enough to be declared perfect.

After 03 left, Joshua himself stood upon the tower, looking below at the city that belonged to him.

When he first inherited the title of count, the city of Moldavia had changed tremendously. The blacksmiths that once burnt coal to heat metal had now turned into high-grade workshops that elemental magic furnace. Furthermore, magical factories brought all sorts of new and unique magical creations, while weapon stores, tailors or enchantment workshops had been refurbished and taken over many times. Though it did not appear so on the surface, Moldavia did not lose out on the technological aspect even when compared to huge cities like the Eastern Plains where magical technology was common.

Under 03's watchful all-weather surveillance, there was no crime apart from some trivial matters such as theft and confidence trick. Robbery and intimidation would be discovered right at the start and quickly stopped by the city guards who rushed to the scene. Still, in truth, there were not many who dared to tread on the wrong side of the law in this city thanks to the reputation of its liege.

After more than ten minutes, the aurora over the sky slowly faded, the starlight that engulfing the sky too dispersing entirely. The first fallout before the arrival of the Great Mana Tide was now over, but in months to come the fallout would become more rapid until the true Mana Tide descended.

Meanwhile, behind Joshua, a soft-blue dimensional portal was slowly opening.

The warrior turned. The one who had opened the doorway had been none other Pope Igor himself, and on the other end was the inner sanctum of the Great Shrine that stood on the Sacred Mountain of the Far Sea.

"Are you ready?" The elderly man asked; his expression rather exhausted. A dozen days of continuous verifications and calculations of a world on the other side of a doorway would have been unbearable even for a Legendary Champion.

"Joshua, where are the siblings?"

"Already here." Joshua turned to look at the single access of the tower where Ying and Ling were quickly hurrying out from towards the warrior. The two seemed to had been bidding Black farewell; their bodies had the hint of a sulfuric odor.

"Very good." Pope Igor inhaled deeply at the sight, and said in a deep voice: "Preparations for the magic circle are complete. You could leave immediately if it's alright with you."

"Then why wait?" Joshua quickly replied with an easy smile. "I can't wait already."

Then, in the very next instant, the warrior led his own weapons through the dimensional doorway.

The blue doorway slowly closed before vanishing entirely.

After the door completely disappeared, specks of mana began to assemble in the air. Soon, a projection that was looked almost alive formed, and the artificial intelligence lady quietly watched where Joshua departed.

After a long silence, she mumbled softly.

"The study?"

In the blink of an eye, 03's projection appeared in the warrior's study—the A.I. was omnipresent within the reach of the crystal rune energy. Whether it was Joshua's study or Moldavia's narrowest street, she could reach it with a single thought.

The warrior's study was mostly plain. Apart from the desk piled with official documents were just a sofa for rest and chairs. On the four walls were maps of Moldavia, the Northern Realms, the Empire and the Mycroft Continent.

However, there was an enormous steel box right in the center of the study.

03 floated over to it curiously. She saw that there was a button mechanism over the surface of the box, and pressed on it without hesitation. As gears clicked, the huge steel box slowly opened, revealing the object placed carefully right in the middle of it.

"Eh?"

03 paused for an instant after seeing the object.

What stood before her was a masterly crafted puppet that bore a striking resemblance to her own appearance, and appeared to have been made by liquid metals.

The Gray Island of Aida, the Sacred Mountain of the Far Sea.

Behind the dimensional doorway to a Moldavia dawn, was noontime at the Great Shrine of the Sacred Mountain.

The Sacred Mountain that was above the cloud layers was covered in a golden radiance that flooded the majestic altar casted in white marble. Its roof was a brilliant picture of stars; its four walls sculpted in land scenery. At present, one could observe from this spot that was closest to the skies, there was a flashing star plummeting in the distance, turning into a meteor as it streaked across the faraway horizon.

Leading Ying and Ling, Joshua followed the pope's steps through the dimensional doorway and arrived at the heart of the shrine.

Coincidentally, Igor saw the falling star, and sighed. "Something from another realm is falling again…"

Be it the Nuclear Star or the Divine Moon Diamond, they were all meteors that fell from the skies. They were remains of other destroyed worlds that were ultimately captured by the power of the Mycroft realm, shaping into the many mystical treasures.

Its appearance meant that an entire world somewhere nearby—or perhaps far away—had been entirely destroyed, the immeasurable matter streaking across the Void. It was also the reason the aged pope sighed.

Who could tell if the Mycroft Realm is the next world to be destroyed?

"Follow me. The portal is in another shrine."

Igor did not chatter much with Joshua at present. He knew the warrior's personality that disliked meaningless communication, and as such seemed stepped forward towards their objective.

"Although our calculations recently had been perfect, it does not mean that the portal was perfect—that's something I have to tell you before so that you would better prepare."

The Pope then began to explain in detail the world Joshua would explore this time.

The world where the the fourth Sage's Legacy was located at the very edge of far-flung space. It was an ordinary realm hospitable for humans, its ecosystem was not much different from Mycroft's. The warrior did not need to prepare any special equipment to survive as he traveled there—certainly good news for the warrior since his movements would not be shackled.

But due to a shortage of time and the distance simply being too far, the Church of Seven Gods could not prepare too many materials to extend the dimensional portal in time. As such, the portal could only transport the warrior and the divine armament siblings—any more would be too much and might even cause the transportation to fail.

"That dragon of yours is too massive. It will be very inconvenient even if she turned into human form, that's why she could not be sent over for the time being."

The issue that Black would not follow the warrior's adventure was something Igor had discussed with the warrior.

"However," the Pope then added after some thought, "if you really need her, I would send her along with some material support during the second opening of the dimensional doorway. It'd take a dozen days."

"There's no need." Joshua shook his head in response. He could not help recalling Black's awfully distressed reaction when she was up in the air, not sure If he should be angry or laugh. Still, he ultimately turned to Pope Igor and said earnestly, "Your Holiness, if possible, I would like to appeal for your help to train that dragon of mine. Or, at the very least, make her stop wailing when she's flying."

"That's… naturally not a problem, but…" The old pope blinked, not quite able to reflect on what the warrior was saying at once, remaining dumbfounded once he did. "Fly? Wailing? Why? It's not a problem to help you train her, the Church has some manuals left behind by Legendary dragon knights for training dragons…"

Soon, Igor ignored his own doubt. Although he was not certain about what Joshua said, the old pope believed that there were still things the warrior needed to know.

"Setting that aside—Joshua, did you know? This project to explore another world had received the affirmation of almost every Legendary champion on the continent."

"Oh? What does that mean?" Joshua asked in return with just a hint of interest.

He did not look too surprised since he was well aware. Although searching for the fourth Sage's Legacy appeared to be a private affair of the Church, it was a major event connected to the survival of this world. Hence, it was not unusual that it was supported by other Legendary champions at bare minimum, the Nature's Magister and Israel would be the amongst those in favor.

Not at all curious about Joshua's attitude, the old pope said solemnly, "That means you have all their protection."

"Before you return, your domain and homeland would be watched over by many Legendary champions. Cultist or Pentashade dragon, however powerful, would be defenseless against them. Therefore, you could simply explore the world with ease and without worrying about any trouble at home."

That assuredly was a surprising good news, and Joshua could not help but nod. With that, Moldavia might even become the safest place in the world—he was feeling a little sympathy who those who wanted to cause a ruckus in his absence.

They would never know what awaits them.

The party had arrived at their objective while they spoke.

[Star Altar]

The huge portal was sitting in one of the subsidiaries within the Central Great Shrine. At the moment, its doors were barred by a translucent platinum sheet of light.

A cluster of holy light rose from the old pope's hand, changing its form as if it were alive into starry specks that shaped into countless runes. Extending his hand and pushing forward, the runes fused and the sheet parted in response.

Every corner within the wide interior of this altar hall was filled with compact and complicated runes, whirling in resonance to energy and emitting pale-blue fluorescence in an orderly manner. At the center of the hall, there was a dimensional rift that loomed, staying open under the support of runic energy. Behind it were fluctuating phantoms of starlight, where scenes such as forest, mountains and water deposits of the other dimension were visible.

"Here it is."

The pope stopped and stared at the pale-blue rift, his eyes lingering over it for seconds before reaching within his robes to take out a little mirror the size of a palm. "Take it, Joshua." He said as he handed it ceremoniously to the warrior.

"What is it?" Joshua asked briskly as he took it, his brow lightly twitching.

"The Mirror of Holy Splendor. It can detect the presence of holy light and guide you towards the Sage's Legacy as much as possible."

 On Mycroft, mirrors were a tool that represents mystery. Since humans had patented it, the first thing the object showed was their own features, implying that mankind had recognized Self for the first time. Therefore, the carrier was the medium for most magical equipment with the functions to search and discover the truth.

The other world would not have any holy light religion, which was why apart from the Sage's Legacy there would be no other sources of holy light presence. Thus, sensing any traces holy light would unmistakably lead to the Sage's Legacy.

Meanwhile, Igor was not moving at the moment. As a Legendary champion, the threshold of energy around him would automatically affect the integrity of the runes. It would still be fine if he was alone—but with the warrior present, their power would overlap if he went too near, thereby disturbing the portal, perhaps even causing it to collapse.

While the old man had a shred of nervousness in his demeanor, Joshua advanced without any reaction. Although Igor opened his mouth to speak several times, intending to remind that rather nonchalant man to be careful, he simply kept quiet in the end, opting to trust in him.

After all, the warrior never disappointed anyone.

Taking one step after another and finally stopping before the pale-blue rift that was directed towards a distant and alien world, Joshua could sense a completely different sensation from every portal he stepped through before.

The apparition from the other world ceaselessly changed in front of him. As if a vortex in a sea abyss, the little rift was emanating the smell of foreboding darkness. The smell was the same when he went through to Karlis, Illgner, and even the Bloodmoon Abyss—the pungent rot that spread despair, agony, and death, the helpless cries as the world approached destruction.

––Another sad world, huh.

Even as that thought struck Joshua, his heart was unruffled, like still waters.

"Joshua, you're a hope for the future. Your value is greater than the untraceable fourth item."

Suddenly, the old pope spoke with a formal and somber tone from behind the warrior.

"If you meet any danger, inform me with that mirror. I would ensure your return, whatever the price."

Hearing those words, an earnest smile appeared on Joshua's face as he stood with his back to Igor.

He did not turn behind, merely raising a hand and waved.

There's no need to worry.

"I'll be right back."

Then, linking hands with his weapons, the warrior strode.

As such, dimensions rippled.

In the very next moment, Joshua vanished in the pale-blue screen of light.