Soul of Searing Steel

Chapter 561: Codename Stellaris

“Saving a world.”

Repeating the phrase simply, Joshua was not emotional over the profound words since he had done that before, and so merely stared calmly at the will that suddenly appeared in his spiritual sea. “The azure splendor should be the Azurite,” he said solemnly, “while I am the so-called successor. It’s all understandable, but could you please specifically explain the reasons and your origins? That way, I could prepare.”

The silver sphere circled around within the warrior’s dark spiritual realm. It was different from Light that was translucent possessed a visible core; its entire body of luminous silver liquid metal formed its whole body. Having ascertained Joshua’s question, it rapidly replied with a flat tone. “Third Successor, the commanding will of the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds is at your service.”

Hence, the self-styled commanding will of the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds divulged every piece of information it was aware of with prim wording and an unemotional tone. Illuminated by its silver radiance, the warrior’s expression was serene yet his thoughts unfathomable, and the situation continued until the sphere stopped narrating while Joshua finally spoke again.

“I know. The Sage… could speak with World Wills.”

Having listened to the explanation of the commanding will, Joshua closed his eyes and paused for a moment, as if to digest the information before opening them again. “It’s perfectly reasonable…” he muttered to himself, “I should have realized the fact when the Azurite first awakened. A youth who was just a dozen years old who lived in a mountain village, and yet could traverse the dimensions visit other worlds at the very thought. If not for the help of a World Will, it was not possible no matter how gifted he was.”

“And that innate power could raise the dead and heal all maladies. An essence with affinity to all things, how similar is that to the Steel Shard that I acquired in the past? The Sage was born capable of interacting with us and roamed the Multiverse in his youth, thus attaining power that surpassed everything.”

Just like how Karlis had recently invited Joshua to help itself and other worlds—the Sage must have experienced the same thing before, and performed exceptionally.

Now, many inexplicable things in the past were now explained, and Joshua gradually understood the history in the Sage’s era thousands of years ago. It was also exactly how he now learned the true purpose of the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds.

Towards the end of the last era, the Sage has led his people and the gods to work together and build the greatest project in Mycroft’s history: a celestial demiplane, independent and beyond this world. The work was so monumental that it took almost a century even for the gods to search for world fragments across the Void, and the moment the demiplane was built, it possessed the ability to connect with any planes of Order around the Multiverse thanks to its materials and energies that the Saint especially granted.

It was the door to the future, the bugle call for expansion, its very existence embodying the path for civilization to advance. Through it, sages could see the future of every race on Mycroft that had been approaching its limits, kings saw new frontiers and power, warmongers saw battles and conquest, traders saw new marketing spots and great riches. Even beggars and criminals were brimming with hope, for with the many worlds before them, they who had fallen to the bowels had brand-new possibilities.

A passion came to the entire Mycroft Continent.

And that was exactly what the Sage wanted.

Standing upon a higher place further above the gods, the Sage looked around at the Multiverse within the Void, and could sense that darkness was extending in the infinite distance. Seeds of Chaos had been sowed in one world after another, blooming flowers that unleashed death and destruction. It was not something the Evil Gods could do themselves—there was a darker existence lurking deep behind. To help, to save those worlds that required aid and salvation, the Sage split his own power so that the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds had profound authority.

According to his plan, the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds would connect endless worlds over the faraway Multiverse that required help and had been tainted by Chaos. Such worlds were extremely sensitive to outer stimuli and easy to enter. Under the leadership of the Mycroft gods and the world’s multitude of champions, the races that had almost developed to its own paragon would assist the world in banishing Chaos and living within them, expanding their own influence. In return, the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds would also deliver the rewards from the World Will of the assisted worlds to its ordinary inhabitants that could not communicate with it, granting them growth of extraordinary power.

They started from worlds where the Chaos erosion was weaker that perhaps need just a few people to slay some weak monsters, before advancing to more corrupted worlds that require the simultaneous entry of several parties. In that cyclical process, many worlds regained vigor, while all intelligent beings in the Mycroft continent also developed into extraordinary and sublimated. The world of Mycroft hence elevated itself over as a world above worlds, to the threshold of the ‘Datum Point of Order’.

The gods were infinitely agreeable to that. They naturally knew that the Sage was using their power to fulfill his own wish, but they were willingly driven. Apart from that, the Sage also set certain emergency regulations—he would act himself, descending upon civilizations where the corruption was extensive or were facing immediate danger of destruction and clearing the Chaos. If he really could not do anything due to unforeseen circumstances, it would be up to the twelve apostles.

Such was the true form of the Multiverse Sacrificial Ground—the [Multiverse Incident Management Hub].

Even Joshua’s heart surged as he recalled the information the commanding will was recounting.

It was a bridge for the world towards the Multiverse, a passage of civilization refinement; it was a light to save worlds from Chaos, a way for Order to expand itself endlessly. The existence of the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds was the utmost of ‘curiosity’ and ‘desire for all intelligent beings—the meaning of its existence was indescribable with words, for it was nobility and glory incarnate.

With the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds and the Sage standing at the zenith of ethics and duty, the world of Mycroft could self-expand in the process—unlike the civilization on Karlis and Xillia which dispatched one or two Void Battleships, it was the true shape of a Multiverse civilization.

Perhaps it was simply too perfect that even Fate itself could not just sit and watch, that the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds would link to the endless Abyss in the very moment it was finished?

“After all, even the Sage would never imagine that the most sorrowful world that needed aid the most in the Multiverse, was precisely the Abyss that wrought terror and despair to other worlds.”

Joshua took a deep breath as he recalled the miserable past of the Sixth Abyss and Bloodmoon Abyss. In the final war of the previous era, multiple Abyssal levels had been destroyed by the raging Sage and gods, with several Evil Gods corpses still floating around amidst the Multiverse. On the other hand, the civilization on Mycroft that was about to step into the Multiverse was thrown into the bottom of the valet—many deities and Legendary champions died in that one battle, while the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds was virtually levelled, with less than seventeen percent of self-repairs complete despite having run the process over a thousand years.

“The Multiverse information gathering plugin of the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds was damaged by sixty-three percent, rendered incapable of collecting the movements of Chaos in other worlds. However, it could still receive voluntary distress signals in worlds where the Sage had left his tokens.”

The silver luminous sphere was still relaying information about itself with its emotionless voice in the warrior’s spiritual space. It was an artificial soul the Sage created and possess profound processing abilities to analyze information regarding the Multiverse. However, Joshua could tell that its damage in the final battle had been critical and was still festering, but it still woke up from its long slumber for its duty to search for Successors capable of saving worlds.

“When a task is completed, the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds would receive part of the resources from the world’s blessing to repair itself which permits the possibility of reshaping despite utter destruction, which is why the mission takes priority.” The silver luminous sphere—the commanding will of the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds said calmly, before repeating itself. “The Pluralistic Quadrant Teleportation is ready; it can be activated anytime. Is the Third Successor going to the center of the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds to begin his mission?”

“Of course.”

Joshua watched the unchanging sphere that kept whirling, unchanging. His expression was unfathomable under its silver yet fluctuating radiance, indistinct from a smile or his usual calm.

Nevertheless, the warrior’s answer was somber and powerful.

“Saving worlds is precisely what I’m here for.”

*****

Outer zones of the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds.

Joshua opened his eyes that had been tightly shut in reality.

“Master? What happened to you just now?” Ying asked anxiously as she noticed that he had come to. She had been hugging the warrior’s arm, sighing in relief—in her eyes, Joshua had suddenly pressed on his own forehead before losing consciousness to the trance while standing upright. In that instant, Ling, Light and even Nostradamus turned pale in panic, with the black-haired youth suggesting that they leave the demiplane immediately, while the old mage entered his battle-ready mode, searching everywhere for a possible ambusher.

Legendary champions were not without enemies despite their power. There were certain unique beings in many worlds that could damage or indeed kill Legends, with the most common being the ancient abominations of the Abyss, as well as minions of the Evil God and Void Behemoths that roam the Void of the Multiverse. Although this concealed demiplane appeared peaceful, it was clearly a former battlefield against the Abyss, and there might have been some beings that could affect Joshua’s spirit.

Nostradamus, however, found nothing, while both Ying and Ling could not even move the warrior an inch even as their faces went red with exhaustive effort—the warrior was simply too heavy, and even the mage’s dimensional spells could not throw Joshua into any portal if he did not move on his own accord. Therefore, they could just wait where they were until he woke up.

“Something of an emergency.”

Quickly understanding the current situation as he awakened, he first soothed the divine armament siblings beside him before catching the levitating luminous orb and forcefully compressed it into a thumb-sized ball before putting it into his pocket. “There’s no time to talk. Turn to your weapons mode, it’s time to leave.”

“Alright!”

“Ding-ring-ring???!”

Being compressed was nothing to Light since it had once been molded by a curious Joshua into a diverse range of shapes, but the warrior’s sudden brusqueness surprised it. Still, it was not time to mind such things—both Ling and Ying, already prepared earlier, turned into their weapons form at Joshua’s call together and entered his grasp. Then, the warrior turned towards Nostradamus, who was canceling his combat-ready status and approaching him, his expression baffled.

“Something urgent came up, I’ll be going first.” He said simply. But even before he finished, Joshua had stamped down forcefully, and the flat land that never changed for a thousand years shattered, contorted and churned. Countless stones and dust rose into the air, while a red light that accelerated to the center of the demiplane along with a sharp, rapid boom.

“What—What’s going on?!”

Nostradamus gaped as he watched the scene unfold, while three other surprised wills wafted from other directions of the demiplane. The old mage had utterly no clue about what just happened—he had been worried when Joshua mysteriously fainted, and even before he could breathe in relief that he awakened, that fellow seemed to have met something unexpected and was already flying towards that immeasurably dangerous demiplane obscured by a dense silver fog.

Nonetheless, what surprised him most was a different thing.

“How was he able to use his full power?”

Though the laws of a demiplane were extremely similar to the Mycroft Continent, there were underlying fundamental differences. It appeared to be connected to some profound yet faraway existence and held a reverent authority that made people retreat. Towards that, other Legendary champions were considerably prudent, unable and not daring to unleash their full strength, and yet Joshua had crumbled their belief.

“Count Radcliffe has already analyzed the essence of the demiplane?”

“That speed’s incredible.”

“Boldly heading for the ruin cluster at the center of the demiplane? Reckless.”

Unlike the other Legendary champions who had varying thoughts, Nostradamus merely felt an unprecedented fatigue that accumulated in his heart since meeting Joshua, which now approached its very limit.

The calm and collected mage could not help sighing feebly.

“How could so much happen…”

Despite that, even before he sighed, his body began to flash with streaks of pale blue ripples that resembled radiance and vapor formed for little particles at once. They entered the depths of the dimensions and opened a portal that was fluctuating which Nostradamus entered in the very next instant.

“I could only give chase and have a look,” he said, shaking his head.

On the other side, Joshua arrived by the edge at the center of the demiplane that was shrouded in silver fog. He had already seen those huge ruin cluster that was both unfamiliar and familiar.

“Silver obelisk, ancient stone plaque, Initial Flame totem, arbitrary hub, point of Steel.”

The warrior recited the names of those ancient buildings and ruins in the pre-existence, coming across several colossal but dormant giant god warrior. Those killing machines which had light blue shells constructed from transformable armor had yet to self-repair—their bodies were dilapidated, depicting the toils of that final battle. He even saw a giant graveyard for those machines, with hundreds of their destroyed remains piling up. It would be the most precious treasure in the demiplane if nothing unexpected happens—with them, the Starfall Era of the Mycroft Continent could rapidly catch up to the Glorious Era.

Both civilizations had the same origins after all—even their magical technology and benchmark were virtually identical. Additionally, the present civilization on the Mycroft Continent was a summation of its various races, and that fact alone made it even more progressive than the Glorious Era.

Flashing past at a dozen times the speed of sound, Joshua did not pay too much attention to those buildings or remains—those were not his objective. At present, the warrior arrived beside the central obelisk right below the dim gray sun.

“Light of the silver sky—the man-made sun in the air is my real body.” The commanding will told him in his own spiritual sea. “The top of the Multiverse obelisk at the center of the plane is where the Pluralistic Quadrant Teleportation equipment is located. It is far less damaged than I am, and with sufficient energy provision, it could be improved to a near hundred percent success rate.”

“And where does its energy come from?”

“By burning my soul.”

Even as it continued with its emotionless voice, the commanding voice issued instructions on what to do next. “Third Successor, please head towards the top of the obelisk. Serial number 000001—the first emergency mission teleportation is ready. I could hold on for long, please hurry.”

After a brief silence, Joshua briskly landed at the top of the huge obelisk. In that very second, a huge power quaked the body of the tower, shaking away the dust and stone layer that had been covering the tower, revealing its original composition of dull silver metals and light blue crystals.

“I’m ready,” Joshua said, looking up towards the sun overhead that was gradually brightening. “Let’s go.”

While the commanding will suddenly become silent and unresponsive instead, the sun above the obelisk began to emanate radiance that gradually became more powerful.

Scientifically, the name of the Multiverse Obelisk which was a thousand meters tall was known as the ‘Multiverse Quadrant Positioning Unit’. It was now vibrating, emitting a faint, dazzling light as it was provided sufficient power while it activated for the first time since it was built. Tiles of pale blue crystal charged along with its circuits and extended towards the top of the tower—the center of which Joshua stood upon. He grasped his weapons, watching the seemingly eternally grey skies of the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds as if his gaze could pierce the Multiverse, towards that path of light that stretches to ten thousand worlds.

One day, I shall walk that path too . Joshua thought, lowering his head to find that the crystal was now welling and the obelisk seemed to have finished charging. In that very moment, Joshua sensed that the space around him was turning hollow, hazy and dark like the Void itself and appeared around him in an orderly manner, with countless starlight glinting within. It was a miniaturized view of the Multiverse, with galaxies, constellations and even flocculated constructs appearing before his eyes. There was a single red speck amongst them—it was the Mycroft Continent itself, an inconspicuous dot that would never be discovered if it was not especially pointed out.

“Benchmark world locating completed.”

The commanding will’s flat voice rang across the Multiverse Sacrificial, prompting shock glances at their surroundings from everyone including the Legendary champions. Then, they all saw that silver sun that was so bright it now illuminated the entire sky, and beneath it, a massive dark space was expanding, with infinite starlight flashing within as if ascertaining something. It was a mystery that everyone could no comprehend at once, a great heritage of the last era.

Meanwhile, the voice continued, “Search of target world commencing… Living world on the seventh quadrant, serial number one hundred and seventy-five thousand, four hundred and ninety-three. Codename Stellaris.”

“Pluralistic Quadrant Teleportation ready. Countdown: Three, two, one, zero.”

“Warping initiated.”

The moment they countdown ended, the dark space violently shrunk, vanishing like a blackhole that devours everything.

And the person within had already left, heading to the distance.