Soul of Searing Steel

“Very well. Thank you for answering.”

Joshua was certainly satisfied with Yana Milo’s simple and direct answer. He nodded solemnly as he reached out to help her get up from the healing platform, allowing the Glorious Era Legend to meet him face-to-face—naturally, Yana instinctively flapped her wings and hovered in the air… she would only reach the warrior’s hip otherwise.

Nostradamus and the others had also entered the lab now, but Joshua appeared unconcerned with their stares and pressed, “Although you have just awakened, things are dire at the moment and there is no time for idle chatter.”

At that, he raised his hand and relayed information through Steel Strength, directly enlightening her about unusual happening in the Sartrean and Abyssal realms.

“My name is Yana Milo, the Ashwing.”

As she accepted the information, the Avian Legend closed her eyes and nodded slightly, telling everyone her name.

If it had still been the Glorious Era, she would also have been revealing her position in her clan, her position in the Glorious Union Government, who was her mentor, her parents’ identity and what she inherited… but now, those ancient former glories and names that once embodied countless tales and histories had lost all meaning, and thus she simply revealed her name only.

“Chaos Chain, civilization unrest, an Evil God Embryo that might have been born…”

In three seconds, Yana Milo understood everything that had happened.

She was now aware that the present era, the one named Starfall was a different one from the Glorious Era, and was one that had grown from the ashes of her homeland. At present, they face the threat of awakening from ‘That Entity’, which was why before Joshua pressed her, she knew what he would ask.

“You wish to know what ‘That Entity’ actually is, whether it is an evil god, how should it stopped from waking up along with how it could be destroyed. Correct?”

“That’s right.” Unsurprised that she could guess his thoughts, Joshua said quietly, “Do you know the answers to those questions?”

“For some of them, at least. But most that information is kept secret.”

Yana looked around the laboratory. Apart from Joshua who emanated a strong presence, the other three Legends were standing in a corner and waiting for her to answer as well. If she was truthful, the Avian Legend was in slight awe: the Starfall Era was definitely their successors—after all, ordinary civilization that did not excel at Extraordinary Powers had a very low chance of birthing Legends, and it was already impressive for Void civilizations to birth one or two Legends.

Fated Legends symbolized the inheritance of Extraordinary powers, a path of refinement. For one such powerful and complete legacy to appear in civilization, it meant that other inferior legacies would lose purpose. Furthermore, in worlds rich with lifeforce where combat aura developed more rapidly than magic, there is essentially meant no Legends accomplished in spells, just as super-elemental planes with dense ether would never have anything other than ultimate ether skills. In an ordinary world, when Legendary champions who could subjugate worlds alone with their ultimate martial power, there would basically be no Legendary champions who were accomplished in other disciplines, with Legends that ascend afterward tending to be an apprentice and heir of the former.

It was not neither pressure nor exclusion. In truth, after one reached Legendary tier, none would have such mundane thought: witnessing other paths while accomplishing themselves were the fastest way that all Legendary champions improved with, though the only issue with that is how their successors would develop another brand-new path since there was already a tested, proven and accomplished path. In essence, civilization’s very form would shift with the path of Legendary champions, at most becoming more profound and refined, just like how certain bipedal ape used energy: they used coal to boil water, before turning to natural gases, oil, and nuclear energy to achieve the same ends… why would anyone bother seeking a new path to cook water after the end of that path had been reached?

Be that as it may, those were factors of tendencies in ordinary worlds, leading to the specialization of a single path, or the inability to adapt to multiple Extraordinary abilities due to the uniqueness of race.

For their part, the Mycroft civilization was born a world with dense mana possessing multiple systems for Extraordinary abilities and boasted diverse races or societies that had adapted to those different systems. In that world, the concept of Extraordinary power was integrated into a singular body, unsegregated into types such as ‘aura’, ‘magic’ or ‘ether’—the diverse races simply cultivated different powers, presenting different civilizations upon the continent.

Yana Milo knew that other worlds with the same conditions would always end up having the most powerful race massacring or assimilating the other races to hence assume unification. Even so, it was the only way that the civilization could integrate its resources at maximum capacity, reaching the pinnacle on a single aspect and hence achieving the sublime.

The Mycroft civilization, however, was different.

Before the diverse races and the gods fought between themselves, an existence had prevented that inclination.

He stopped wars by force so that there was peace upon the world, compelling the publicizing of the path to the Extraordinary to the common man, while grooming thirteen Legends of varying paths.

With his individual power, he had led Mycroft civilization to a different path from other worlds and societies.

Now, even after thousands of years, Mycroft had a hundredfold more Legendary champions than other worlds, and innumerable dazzling feats as a civilization.

That was why everyone reverently addressed him as the Sage.

***

That trail of thought lasted for half a second—Yana Milo was distracted by the Sage’s presence which she felt from Joshua, the powerful man who stood before her. The Avian’s thoughts whirled thousands of cycles over an instant as she considered confidential agreements, classified information, and dangerous-information-that-should-never-be-made-public, before finding her resolve.

Yes, the Glorious Era has ended, and she had no reason to stay silent over prohibition set in place millennia ago.

Moreover, the man before her appeared to be a Successor to the Sage as well, even possessing the power to slay the Evil God of Wither… and could at least strangle her weakened self. The other Legends’ reaction also indicated that he could be a character similar to the Sage for Starfall, or certainly the most special one even if he was not.

Able to see through even Legendary souls, Yana Milo could at least discern their reactions and basic emotions. Having confirmed that they were not corrupted by Chaos and were reliable, the Avian Legend breathed a sigh before speaking calmly, “The true form of That Entity is the ‘Vortex of Creation’. It was once the Bottom of the Abyss, where the cycle of Order once occurred.”

“As everyone knows, the Initial Flame illuminated all worlds, burning at the center of the Multiverse after birthing it and then entering slumber. Meanwhile, within every galaxy which was thus born, the cycle where worlds would form and destroy continues, maintaining their own existence.”

“The Abyss is hence the gathering place where all worlds which had reached the end of lifespan. It was also where the ‘Failed Civilizations’—in other words, the demons assembled. There were some Abyssal realms that were born anew thanks to some demons’ active plunder and restoration, although most Abyssal realms would disintegrate into pure Steel Shards that fall into the Void of Creation at the bottom of the Abyss.”

The information YanaMilo revealed was a secret only known to individuals of Clearance Level 6 or above back in the Glorious era. Beings lower than Legend would simply be unable to reach data about the Abyss, the demons and the Cycle of Order, nor did they need to know.

“The Void of Creation is a tide composed entirely of Steel Shards. It is not actually large, but the frames of new worlds would form there incessantly, before finally becoming new planets and return to the galaxy. Order and Chaos cycled in that place, maintaining the existence of the galaxy… but it is also the most dangerous place in the galaxy. Not even Void Behemoths would dare approach, for the world frames that keep pouring out would tear apart and crush any existence who dared approach —even True Gods could barely move in that place.

Yanathen nodded lightly. “But that was before the Final Battle. After that, the remains of infinite Evil God and their spawn corrupted the Vortex of Creation with their Chaotic force, causing a mutation that none knows about and destabilizing the very roots of this galaxy’s existence.”

Joshua and the others frowned grimly as the Avian Legend explained.

It sounded like things were bad.

The Vortex of Creation was where balance between Chaos and Order existed. Only by the Flame’s burning of the Chaos could new worlds be born, but in the Final Battle, Chaos that did not belong to this galaxy—in other words, the Chaos that was welling with despair and ruin that the Evil Gods embodied entered the Void Vortex, along with the ruins of countless worlds.

It was an unprecedented phenomenon that would never have happened in a natural cycle. Still licking their wounds after barely repelling the enemy, the Glorious Era never realized that until their champions saw that new worlds were not being born.

By then, ‘That Entity’ already grew at the Vortex of Creation.

“The entire galaxy dimmed as dying worlds increased, with one star fading after another without any new ones. When the inspecting Legend finally returned, heavily injured and revealed the news, we finally realized that the Void of Creation had been dyed in Chaos by the Evil God, and the Bottom of the Abyss was basically the breeding place of Evil Gods.”

At those words, Yana Milo could not even manage a pained smile, only able to make a sour face. “At the time, many people and deities believed that we should abandon Mycroft and head to another galaxy, but the Sage refused, believing that we should stay. He intended to solve that problem, maybe because we made this problem… therefore, after a period of nervous research and theorizing, we established Project Rebirth, using the Evil God of Wither’s power as sealing material to gradually suppress the Chaotic force in the Vortex of Creation, restoring its original state over a few thousand, or dozen thousands of years.

“That way, the energy stored in the Vortex of Creation over millennia would create a perfect world of Order. The profoundly hurt Glorious civilization would thus be reborn in Paradise, which is why we call it that.”

Leaving aside the success rate, the Glorious Era definitely had a corresponding measure at a time. That Chaos Entity that was yet born had been sealed and suppressed from the start, and after thousands of years, the Glorious Era would obtain a perfect world like no other.

It was a pity that the unknown Entity struck the galaxy in its entirety, the gap of time dilation throwing the project into disarray while the Glorious Era destroyed itself through infighting. Joshua’s slaying of the Evil God of Wither even left the sealing material that had held down the Abyssal Paradise ineffective, allowing That Entity to truly awaken.

“It appears that we were actually just asking for trouble.”

***

Having listened to everything, the Starfall Legends looked at each other and smiled bitterly—none of them accused Joshua of excessive force since the others would kill Wither even if he did not.

Mycroft simply had no intention of sparing an Evil God then, and not even the Seven Gods knew. They appeared to be aware that the Abyssal Paradise held something important, but as for what it was, how it mattered and how was it related to the Evil God of Wither…

The Seven Gods did not know.

In the end, they were gods who ascended in Starfall. That would not change regardless of what forms they initially took—there were gaps in their memories, and they could not be as well-informed as Glorious-era Legends.

“The Evil God of Wither is utterly vanquished, and Project Rebirth naturally could not continue… but it’s not as if we are helpless against That Entity.”

While things were indeed bad, Yana Milo did not appear resigned to her fate—the Avian Legend slowly flapped her wings, spreading pale-blue specks while biting her right thumb subconsciously. “In the end, its true form is the Vortex of Creation,” she said seriously, “It’s only the saturated Chaos energy that caused the aberrations… it just had to be cleansed for the Vortex to be restored.”

“It’s certainly difficult and would not resolve the present dire circumstances, which is why our goal now has to be stopping That Entity’s awakening… in order words, we must interrupt the Chaos Chain that may occur in the galaxy and stop multiple civilizations from destroying itself. Also, we would need multiple superior beings who would enter the Abyssal Paradise and break up the rising Chaos.”

“After all, That Entity had yet to successfully awaken as an unbelievably powerful Evil God. As long as the champions are powerful enough to withstand the impact of the Vortex of Creation and disperse the gathering Chaotic force, its awakening could be delayed, even purged gradually.

Back then, it was not that the Glorious Era could not clear the corruption and mutation in the Void of Creation—it was simply very difficult. Nevertheless, having made a habit of creating miracles and intent on turning things around, they therefore took great pains to form Project Rebirth.

“It’s a desperate measure.”

Yana Milo sighed when she was finished. She was utterly unaware of the number of Legends and True Gods in Mycroft—if their numbers proved lacking and they could not break the Chaos before the awakening, everything up till now would be pointless.

What was more, the most important thing was to stop any Chaos Chain effect, prevent civilization and worlds from destroyed which in turn would birth new Evil Gods. If that happens, even after the newborn Evil Gods were killed, more Chaotic energies would accelerate the awakening of That Entity.

Being one of the wardens who guarded Wither and privy to Project Rebirth, Legendary Champion YanaMilo the Ashwing thought that she had done all that she could. Exhausted, she returned to the healing platform, raising her hand and smiled bitterly at the others. “It’s a pity that I would need to rest at least half a year before I could recover my full power, and it would be one or two months before I could even fight… Things would be much easier if us nine could all recover our power.”

As she said all that, she could not help remembering nostalgically her other eight companions who had sealed themselves.

***

At the moment, Nostradamus, the Nature’s Magister and William had relayed the vital news to the other Legends—even the Seven Gods, and prepared for the ensuing large-scale operation. It was now no longer up to them whether they wanted to believe in the catastrophe that civilization, even the entire galaxy faced… for safety’s sake, they must consider what Yana said as the truth, even if they assumed that her mind was clouded by Chaos corruption.

Furthermore, the Legends themselves could tell that Yana was not lying, and what she said was all real.

With such an immediate threat, who would dare to dally?

Be that as it may, Joshua had stayed motionless where he was, pondering thoughtfully.

It appeared to him that the Void Vortex surrounding Simboa could be a natural phenomenon as the galaxy adjusted itself to replace the Vortex of Creation. That said, its scale was smaller, and it was only recently that the Simboan world showed signs of ascension and World Birth.

It would also explain why That Entity could affect their entire galaxy even before it had awakened. After all, the original Void of Creation created new worlds, and the new worlds would be flung to random spots in the galaxy—in the first place, it was a galactic level of existence.

Yana Milo’s suggestion was not wrong either. They should first stop civilizations from destroying themselves and Evil Gods from being born from Chaos Chain, hence severing the supply for That Entity’s awakening and then dispatching champions to destroy its power, purging it bit by bit. It sounded plain but it was the sole solution, and the importance of the fact meant that there was no shortcut.

Still, there was one puzzling problem, Joshua thought.

According to Yana, the galaxy appeared to be in charge of its own cycles… and yet the Initial Flame had become dormant and ceased birthing new worlds.

However, it was clearly creating new worlds… or at least, at the time when the civilization that led to the Evil God of Fertility’s birth, the Initial Flame was still molding the frame of innumerable worlds.

The warrior could not stop himself from remembering the fantastic scenes in Fertility’s memory… Endless Steel Strength dispersed, unable to gather and form new worlds, along with scattered remains of civilizations, the collapse of infinite orbits and the shrinking Initial Flame.

Wrong.

Joshua shook his head and stop thinking in that direction—now was not the time for that.

At the thought, Joshua’s clone began to crumble into endless wafting Steel Strength fragments.

“Joshua, wait! What are you going to do?”

Upon seeing that sight, Nostradamus, who had been contacting Israel along with the God of Might and Justice simultaneously was left puzzled. He was planning to have Joshua contact Pope Igor and the Fairy Queens so that they would prepare, and simply did not expect the warrior to leave at once.

“What else can I do? Of course I’m taking action now and get rid of the coming threat.”

His clone now almost completely scattered; the warrior’s serene voice remained in the air. “I’ll first search for the worlds embroiled in conflict first, bringing them peace and hope.”

“Then, I shall go to the Abyssal Paradise and settle things with the Chaos force that had yet to awaken.”

Even before he finished, Steel Strength fragments dispersed into nothingness, and Joshua was gone.

On the recovery slab, Yana Milo looked tiredly and blankly at the silver specks, before turning to the others and asked quietly, “Has he always been that way?”

“…Indeed.”

The elderly mage sighed, shaking his head and unsure what to say. “Doing before thought, putting words to action at once.”

“He’s always like that.”