Soul of Searing Steel

Chapter 1050: Passing on The Flame in The Darkness

Endless darkness shrouded the skies, leaving even the earth in a sheet of gloom.

Even so, a single glaring streak of light became a flying star that split apart the heavy stillness, bounding across the lightless realm.

Though Alpha was merely a Gold-tier individual, there was no fear in him even if he was flying to the edge of the Nightfall Zone alongside the many prehistoric champions, along the path towards the Lightless Zone—a place that even the greatest of adventurers feared.

His daughter had been saved. Even if her soul was all that was left of her, Simboa and the other Children of the Stars assuredly did not suffer any sort of torment. While neither his wife nor his son were in Bright Splendor City where they could have saved them as well, at least they were not tortured or suffering—following the raid in the city, Alpha had, as a bare minimum, realized that the Order of the Ashes was a group of good people, although he would never condone their actions. Given that the ancient Legends did not cause any casualties either, they would not do anything excessive in the heat of the moment, much less vent their anger at mortals.

With that being the case, Alpha had nothing to be afraid of. In fact, his blood for adventuring was thrilled—over the hundred thousand-year history of the Three Worlds and Nine Skies, which adventurer could enjoy the escorting of a dozen Ultimate Legend ‘bodyguards’? Who could have opened ten ancient crystal obelisks in less than a year?

And now, he was heading towards the Lightless Zone, a place only treaded upon once in history: fifty thousand years ago, when the legions of the Alliance had come with the support of divine items in the Age of Chaos. It was a place overflowing with mysteries, and it was rumored to hold the secrets of the world’s Creation along with the origins of Chaos. Champions with the ambition to uproot Chaos, as well as explorers and scholars curious about the secrets of Creation all used to set their eyes on this place, but the decay and wearing down over fifty thousand years, along with how hard it was for the Lightchasers to just stay alive, their entire race no longer had the effort to spare in exploring the distance and satisfying their curious heart.

“At least I am witnessing the final and most profound change in this world.”

With that thought, Alpha looked up front at the champions before time, who were confirming their next operation.

“According to my research, there should be a former fortress built by the Silver Fairies near the edge of the world. When the Flame of the Three Worlds and Nine Skies slowly fades and the darkness spreads without ceasing, every fortress and ruin along its way would be abandoned one after another, and hence claimed by the Chaos—be that as it may, as long as there are no Demi Saint Evil Gods, the Silver Fortress which is planted into the World Barrier itself should not be penetrated.”

At present, Mycroft was speaking with frankness and assurance in front of the party. The silver-haired lady scholar had been the chief schemer and planner for the entire operation, while Karlis was the executor.

Mycroft had awakened the memories of her preexistence as a former Steel Python early on, and it was probably during the moment when she learned how to write. Hence, to determine the current situation of the realm she was in and to learn the truth of everything, she had chosen to become a Royal Scholar and had managed to get her hands on the best kept secrets of the realm—then, when she gained an audience with the Heavenly Sword Empress, Mycroft felt a familiar presence from the sacred blade in her hand. It was identical to the presence of the weapons within that warrior’s grasp back then, and was even basically a fragment.

Knowing that, she promptly understood as she turned to look at the Three Worlds and Nine Skies.

Soon, she quickly discovered Karlis’s identity in this life, but it was on around a decade ago when she finally found a way to awaken her. The two hence discussed a plan to revive Joshua, which had since gone smoothly until now.

“Even if the Demi Saint Evil Gods are not completely obliterated, they would perhaps be suppressed and torn into little pieces—because there is no way Joshua would allow any Chaos of such level stay alive, even if just in its physical form. That being said, we cannot discount the chance that there are Ultimate Evil Gods as well, and if encountered, we must swiftly deal with them and not be delayed. Remember: our target is the edge of the world, not to mention that we are bringing several civilians with us. They would never be able to withstand the sheer blows resulting from our battle.”

Neither Alpha nor Grong said a word in return. In reality, they were Gold-tier and Supreme-tier respectively and would certainly not be considered civilians. However, in the presence of these champions who could control celestial bodies at will and waged wars on the scale of worlds, they were certainly no better than ants.

Still, Alpha could not help feeling a little doubtful at the very thought. In his case, it was because he was the last individual whose body flowed the blood of the Silver Fairies and the one key that held that race’s authority, something which Professor Karlis had mentioned before. In fact, he had been the one to unlock the seal placed over the other ancient champions here as they slumbered while being restored, meaning that he was necessary.

On the other hand, Grong was nothing more than a High Judge from the Order of the Ashes. But though he held considerable position, he had no decisive authority and should have been freed during the raid on Bright Splendor City.

Why was he still with them now?

Clearly, the old white-haired High Judge was furrowing his brow and considering that mystery as well.

Nonetheless, Igor seemed to be able to tell what they were thinking, and hence calmly said, “He is here as a witness.”

“Grong is a member of the Order of the Ashes, and not quite like you, he is a Lightchaser in the truest sense—in other words, he is a native to this world and a representative of its civilization and its Order. Us being people from an ancient time recently awakened, a person who could act as an agent of the ‘present’ is needed to witness all which we are doing.”

“Whether the future would be good or bad, whether we would succeed, and whatever the ending is that awaits the Lightchasers and this world, we need a different perspective watching as everything unfolds.”

Reasonably speaking, it should have been an action of not much significance—or at least Alpha could not find any.

Even so, it held great meaning for the champions.

Either way, since it had nothing to do with himself, Alpha said nothing when he realized that fact and simply looked out at the sights of the long journey from within the flash.

***

Because most of the stars had been moved, the outer reaches of the Nightfall Zone were very dark and almost without any brightness. From time to time, when their group had to cross a dark region without any stars, they would often encounter legions of Chaos aberrations that lunged towards them in droves, but the flash would simply dart past them, breaking tides and stopping waves as it sped along, leaving corpses all over the place.

Along the way, Alpha would come a cross the debris of ancient mobile cities or floating towns. Those were all ruins dating back to the Age of the Gods. He could even discern the marks left in honor of divine beings on some of the larger ruins, and though they had once left a strong presence in the ancient text, everything was mostly dust and bits of ruins now.

Without any pause, the group had travelled past the boundary of the Nightfall Zone and entered the Lightless Zone.

“Karlis and I had once attempted to explore the depths of this world but we ultimately gave up. The realm which the Lightchasers call the Three Worlds and Nines Skies is basically a small area where the light reaches…how should I put it? It is merely the size of a single solar system at the center of a galaxy. Naturally, the Steel Continent is countless times larger than a galaxy, and the few places suitable for living in the Radiant Domain hold millions of stars.”

Mycroft was spoking in her assured tone again—the scholar who held vast knowledge in both preexistence and the current life was explaining the structure of this world to the ancient champions. “Basically, every place beyond the Solar System is covered in darkness—in other words, the ‘Lightless Zone’. In fact, there should also be another region of Radiant or Nightfall on the other side of the Steel Continent where our other old friends and Steel Pythons would be asleep. It is merely by coincidence that all of us here are placed in the same location.”

“In turn, the Lightless Zone could be divided into a Dormant Zone, where there is neither life nor light and sheer stillness, along with the Darkest Zone, which is active with substantial Chaos. Back when Karlis and I were exploring the edge of the world, we had almost arrived at a spot of dimensional anomaly in the Darkest Zone, only to end up encircled by dozens of Legendary-tier Chaos aberrations and we almost could not escape—those were not even Evil Gods, just ordinary Chaos aberrations… although I suspect that there are still Evil Gods which have not been fully destroyed, but buried an suppressed in the Steel Continent.

Searching for the edge of the world was indeed an extremely difficult matter. Whether it would be dimensional distortion, black holes hovering along the Lightless Zone, or legions of Chaos aberrations, anything would be a major threat if they came too close. In the period when Mycroft and Karlis had ‘disappeared’ to explore the region freely, they had come very close to meeting their ends—hence, one of the other champions decided to ask of why they should not awaken a few more companions from the past, since having almost twenty Ultimate champions working together would mean that they could still hold on even if there was a Demi Saint Evil God…given that if it was not an especially powerful one.

“It is not necessary, nor is there the time to do so.”

Karlis was the one to answer, and she was shaking her head helplessly. “Our main objective is to prevent the Lightchasers from really creating a new World Will for the Three Worlds and Nine Skies…even if it would be very frail in the beginning, the sacred soul combined from the many Steel Python souls would start to grow if it is consecrated by every other living being, and might perhaps really assume the authority which Joshua had left.”

“That being said, that is just a mere possibility. In reality, this world does not have much time whether we would try to interfere with it, because the Chaos is still here—after the Order of the Ashes had moved the stars to the Radiant Domain, it was no different from having majorly nullified the remaining power in the seal against the Chaos. Even if they really did create a World Will, it has to repel a torrential Chaos far larger than the one that had attacked this realm fifty thousand years ago. I really do not believe that they have a chance for victory.”

“Moreover, the Demi Saint Evil Gods in the past which Joshua had sealed might not have been fully worn down despite a hundred thousand years passing, not to mention that the shrinking of the Nightfall Zone also means invading Chaos and the many deaths of Lightchasers are likely to birth new Evil Gods, or even awaken ancient evils…and if they do completely awaken, it would fuse with this world and grow into the most powerful Demi Saint Evil God in history, just like the Evil God of Death.”

With that, Karlis smiled vaguely before sighing. “And I do believe I speak for everyone here: whether it is us or the Multiverse beyond, there is no being alive who would want to test how powerful an Evil God which Joshua had turn into could be.”

There certainly was no need to dwell on that: everyone was hastily shaking their heads—truly, no one in the Multiverse would want that, save for Joshua himself.

But even after that discussion concluded, Mycroft was still talking about various interesting things she had encountered while exploring the Lightless Zone, which counted as both a crash course and killing time.

Alpha was listening to her humorous descriptions of the many dangers she had ran into with interest when he felt a massive ripple of Chaos exuding from just ahead. He felt a major swarm of Chaos approaching their group’s location, their own presence akin to a colossal space storm, diving towards them with the magnitude of an apocalypse—however, the ancient champions were not even lifting a finger to defend themselves as most of them were still listening to Mycroft’s escapades, leaving him stricken with worry and trying to warn them many times.

Be that as it may, in the instant when the storm of Chaos approached, one of the ancient champions made a move. Her body resembling a spider and covered in full-body heavy armor which was adorned with glimmering veins of crystal, she nonchalantly twitched a few joints and boundless ether energy charged radiantly out of nowhere before materializing as a titanic lance of cosmic proportions that blocked out the skies.

Boom!

The lance was launched, and as if a star being flung out, it turned into a streak of light that pierced the storm, clearing an entire path. The others in the group simply passed through the opening without much fuss.

Meanwhile, after throwing the ether lance, the spider champion returned to their flash as if nothing had happened. The same routine would continue over the next few days: each time they ran into a swarm of Chaos, there would be one—or at most, a few champions—who attacked and broke through their barrier, simply and leisurely.

“It really feels relaxing now that we are not trying to kill them all and just stopping them from being an obstacle.”

One of the champions said after another bout, “It really is so different without a single Evil God.”

“Don’t get careless. Legendary-tier Chaos aberrations are actually no weaker than Evil Gods. Moreover, it has been proven that when Evil Gods that are killed but not completely purified, their essence would move on to Chaos aberrations with almost equal power. ”

“By the way, is the edge of the world in the depths of the Lightless Zone? How much further do we still have to go?”

As someone asked about the estimated time of arrival for the journey, Karlis simply replied, “Soon.”

Then, noticing everyone else’s strange expression, she awkwardly stood her ground, saying, “No, I’m not being dismissive—we really are almost there. The edge of the world is a dimensional distortion point that has nothing to do with distances in the physical sense. As long as we have the coordinates, we would reach there easily…to use an analogy, you just have to imagine a demiplane stuck in a World Barrier, just like the Infinite Horizon and the world of Mycroft: sense the presence of the dimensional distortion, and we’ll be able to enter regardless of distance. In turn, the further we are inside the Lightless Zone, the more distinct that sense would be.”

“Given what we had learnt from our last approach, it would be less than ten days before we reach it.”

Naturally, apart from luck, the clearance of a Silver Fairy was required to really reach it. Last time around, Karlis herself and Mycroft had been stuck at that step and therefore unable to enter—at the thought, Karlis turned to glance at her student of this existence.

At the moment, Alpha’s silver hair was not actually fading but glistening with a metallic luster. It was evident that he was becoming stronger with each visit to the crystal obelisks, and that the Silver Fairy blood in his veins was almost fully awakened.

***

In reality, the group were actually moving with a combination of spatial distortion and long-distance warping, covering what would normally pass off as the distance of a dozen galaxies within a short period of time. Behind them, the Radiant Domain had long since become a tiny speck that could hardly be seen even with a space telescope, and though the Lighchasers were certainly advanced with such technologies, it remained that they had just started their journey, as Mycroft had put it.

“The Steel Continent is actually so massive…”

Despite being an Ultimate Legend, Igor actually felt how small himself was compared to the vast dimensions and that endless continent of unbelievable scale, and could not help but shake his head. “So there is actually such a great gap between Demi Saint and Legend? In addition, the difference between the Wise Ones and the Demi Saint would probably not be that small either—and above all that, there is still the Mastermind that is capable of killing Wise Ones and was being all this…”

Joshua had never held back his own theories about the darkness lurking behind the Multiverse, having clarified about the reality in his Sermon and the subsequent publicizing of data, with the various Ultimate Legends knowing it by heart. Still, everyone here had once despaired, but also stepped out of it to confront that hopelessness head-on.

Therefore, despite having felt the horrifyingly vast gap between themselves and those beyond them, they simply laughed at it. “When Joshua wakes up, we should get him to generously instruct us since we do want to become Demi Saints too.”

“That’s true. Moreover, after a hundred and twenty thousand years has passed, who knows how many of our former comrades could ascend as Demi Saints? We certainly shouldn’t keep getting left behind after sleeping for so long.”

“Well, there’s no telling if my own race still exists…I can only hope that they will not be so embarrassing as to get wiped out even without Evil Gods invading—I really don’t want to create them from scratch again and babysit.”

“Humph. Mine would certainly still be there—I did remind them to do as I’ve told before I left, and they would definitely not be struck by calamity.”

“Are you talking about that ‘Multiverse Threat Memorandum’, where even its table of contents overflows with data? I suspect they would just keep it around and not read it.”

“We might be antiques that have fallen behind the times once we out there, though. Maybe there are legions of Legends and Supremes across the Multiverse, and only Demi Saints could be considered formidable. Ouch, don’t hit me—it’s just a joke…”

As the group ventured deeper into the Lightless Zone, the Ultimate champions were becoming talkative as they thought about the Multiverse that they would soon see. Alpha and Grong also could not help be left in awe that even such ancient, powerful beings were basically intelligent beings as well, certainly having their preferences and things that they care about, especially what it was that awaited them after they had slumbered for so long, which could be the day they dreamt of…

Or, after having thousands of years pass by, all they had fought and struggled for vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Even so, they did not show any expression of dejection. They were alive regardless of how bad the situations out there could be, not to mention that Ultimate Legends were basically a one-man civilization in their own right. Even if everything could have disappeared into the smoke, they would be able to pull it out by force and create it once again, a confidence that their own power blessed them with, which was also summation of their struggles thousands of years ago.

***

Though the journey was long, the moment of arrival would always come.

As Mycroft and Karlis slowed down ahead, the relaxed faces of the many champions became solemn.

“We’re here,” Mycroft told the other champions, and nodded at Karlis and Alpha. “Get ready.”

As the flash decelerated to finally stop at the utterly empty, dark, and silent realm, Mycroft raised her left hand while Karlis raised her right one beside her. Two streaks of the purest and brightest Steel Strength shot out like keen blades, launching straight into the skies and abruptly vanished into the skies a dozen seconds later, seemingly having entered an unusual space and triggered some mysterious mechanism.

Boom—Boom—

All at once, a dull rumble echoed as if both sky and ground had become a massive drum, the dimensions being the drum skin which vibrated strongly, distorting and echoing loudly.

Then, in the moment that the dimensions shook like ripples over water, a dazzling rift of glaring silver light appeared before everyone, breaking through the ripples. It laid out a path composed entirely of light, with mysterious and bizarre runes hovering on its surface, making it appear at once both illusory and solid.

Having been informed about the procedure beforehand, Alpha stepped forward. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his leg and step it unto the path composed entirely out of light, which began to reverberate with waves of echoes the moment his soles made contact.

[Brethren energy signature detected.]

[Silver Fairy species/subspecies detected.]

[Port fortress presently in automated unmanned mode. Total runtime: 77, 429 years, 4 days, 2 hours, 5 minutes, 13.7796 seconds. Automated running duration long since exceeded.]

[Present emergency situation confirmed.]

[Commencing emergency situation clearance transfer protocol.]

[Welcome, newly appointed Fortress Commander.]

The voice was speaking Mycroft Basic with a Silver Fairy accent. Everyone apart from Grong understood it, and when they heard that Alpha was now the new Fortress Commander, Karlis, who had her fists clenched, breathed out a long sigh.

She had been afraid that Alpha, who was not a pure blooded Silver Fairy, would not be able to enter the fortress at the edge of the world which clearly was a class above the crystal obelisks. If that proved to be the case, he would not be able to enter the core of the Radiant Domain and reach Joshua’s core igniter, and any chance of awakening Joshua would basically be zero.

It was by luck that the Silver Fairy did not determine clearance too strictly. Perhaps the spawns of Joshua had imagined that there would be a day when the Steel Continent would become inhospitable for them as its Flame faded…and it might have been during that time that Alpha’s ancestors had preserved the bloodline as a backup key to be used, hidden amongst the Lighchasers.

“Hurry inside. The activity here might attract the Chaos swarm.”

Without saying too much, they advanced, since they were allowed to. Before long, the group reached the end of the path of light, where they found a warped demiplane that was in pieces just like a broken mirror.

The demiplane had been completely torn apart, its dimensions erratic and distorted, and much more horrific than the most violent area of a dimensional storm in the Void. Even the Ultimate champions could not help but frown and assume combat stances—they had felt the lingering presence of the battle a hundred and twenty thousand years ago in that distortion: a Chaos presence was tangling with divine power signature, incessantly tearing through all dimensions and destroying anything within reach. Both forces were bent on breaking the world apart, and yet a delicate balance between them was maintained, in turn keeping the demiplane together.

Nonetheless, there were also blocks of tiny silver buildings laid over the edge. That being said, those buildings were actually ‘tiny’ in comparison to the entire demiplane and could indeed be considered fortresses: each were almost a thousand meters tall, the chain of fortresses hence building up stable region that was neither too huge nor too small. Incidentally, the path of light on which the group was walking was connected to an entrance into the strongholds, and with its door already open, everyone entered while the path of light also diminished alongside dimensional rift on the Three Worlds and Nine Skies.

Even after seventy thousand years had passed, the fortress was still operating normally as if everything was new. One could certainly tell that the interior of the Port Fortress was unexpectedly vast despite having been constructed by the Silver Fairies, probably with the consideration that it would not just be themselves using it.

Nonetheless, Alpha did not concern himself with the unusual interior decorations of another civilization or the curious artistic sense that the Silver Fairies has, but instead issued his command that the fortress brought everyone to where they needed to be.

“Take us to the control center!”

[Orders received]

As teleportation radiance shone, everyone reached a semi-circular hall in the very next instant. There were projection screens on the walls which displayed the situation of the entire demiplane, as well as the many Chaos lairs around it.

Most of the lairs shown had developed extensively—rooted into the Steel Continent, or was simple composed of flesh, crystalline or energy structures, they were sprouting healthily and growing hordes of Chaos. They were simply irrepressible even under the stellar radiance since that light did not have Holy Light attributes, hence expanding as much as they would.

“So, so many of them…”

It was not only Alpha—even Grong was left gaping. Each of the Chaos lair they could see from the screens were entirely capable of wreaking a storm, and more than ten would leave the Order of the Ashes defending cautiously. On the other hand, if every lair mobilized, every Lightchaser had to unite and fight together or be wiped out at any given moment.

Presently, even the ancient champions were being serious because they were able to see the countless abnormal darkness squirming in the heart of those lairs…if what they had imagined was right, those were the fragments of Evil Gods reassembling themselves, and they were proven correct in their theory that the one hundred and twenty years did not fully wear away the essences of those more powerful Evil Gods.

Like themselves, they were awaiting their own revival and would attack this world once they did.

“Hurry up, Alpha. Ask the fortress AI if it could connect to the Multiverse outside and send a message?”

Even as many thoughts ran through her mind, Karlis focused herself, frowning as she prompted her student who was staring blankly. In turn, Alpha recovered, nodded and did as asked.

“Can I connect to the Multiverse outside and send a message?”

[Connecting to Multiverse… searching items… related items found: lingering energies surrounding Great Wound Demiplane.]

[Theoretically speaking, the demiplane formed from the Great Wound can be connected with the Multiverse beyond or used as a pathway. However, the remnant energies of Ruler and the Chaos are causing heightened disturbance that obliterates any information passing through. The Port Fortress has been built to solve this issue.]

[Subject progress, blocking and utilizing disturbance source: 100%. Time completed: 7,655 years ago.]

[Port Fortress completed. Multidimensional transmitter fully charged. Transdimensional message can now be sent at any time.]

[Glory to the Ruler.]

***

It was clearly a fact worth rejoicing, but Alpha felt an inward ache for some reason.

Silver Fairies were a race which was not quite demanding in terms of living environments, but it remained that they were aligned to Order, and therefore they were retreating on every turn as the Flame faded and the light diminished across the Three Worlds and Nine Skies. A hundred thousand years ago, they had built massive crystal obelisks across the realm to revive the champions of old, and seventy years ago, all of them had scrambled pitifully as they retreated from the Port Fortress, leaving on its AI to handle everything. In the end, all of them waged a decisive war against the hordes of Chaos resurrected following the fall of the Age of Gods fifty thousand years ago, exerting their last remaining strength until what was left of them was that one bloodline, passed down from Alpha’s ancestor to himself.

The Silver Fairies had burnt themselves out all in the glory of their Ruler. The power contained in his blood allowed Alpha to feel the past immeasurably optimistic mindsets of their kind even in the face of extinction, feeling no disappointment at all, but just regret that they could not witness the splendor of their own world and the restoration of their Ruler.

It was utterly regrettable that the world which they had protected with their own hands for a hundred thousand years could no longer accommodate them.

Ah. So everything has come to pass in the name of the Ruler…but who could he actually be? This being whom the ancient champions would restore even at the price of destroying a world and killing its Flame, the being whom the Order of Ashes call ‘Father’…could he, or indeed He, really be worth the sacrifice of so many?

If he truly is…then this Ruler would certainly have had sacrificed much for all life in the Multiverse. If not for that, would so many champions who have barely been woken from their slumber not hesitate before running around with the professor, at the very mention of his name?

Nonetheless, it was not just Alpha—even Karlis was inwardly silent.

The Silver Fairies themselves were born in her world, creatures born in the union of Joshua’s remnant power and the world of Karlis. In other words, they were her children too, and the Silver Fairies dying out over the Three Worlds and Nine Skies certainly brought her great misery.

She could only hope that the Silver Fairies that were still alive would be soaring happily in the Multiverse beyond.

Still, sadness would not have made anything happen, just as the outcome of sacrifice certainly should not be neglected. Karlis hence move up and clapped Alpha’s shoulder, her tone calm as ever.

“Let’s do this. Send out that transdismensional message.

Alpha nodded silently. Clenching his fist and breathing in deeply, he growled: “Activate! Energize Multidimensional Transmitter, commence transdimensional broadcast!”

[Orders received]

[Multidimensional Transmitter energized. Commencing transdimensional broadcast and charging… charging complete. Success rate: 100%]

At the demipilane on the edge of the world, a clap of thunder echoed over the Great Wound.

Within dimensions that were utterly dilapidated and no different from a kaleidoscope, a single vein of energy that tangled with the Chaos began to exude from the tiny fortress on the edge of the demiplane. It shot within the energy that was kept in a delicate balance in the absence of its master’s control, like a tiny droplet into an ocean.

Even so, its entry was not silent—in a split second, as an energy from the same source entered itself and repeated resonating boosts, a boundless, profound energy which mere shockwaves could shatter entire galaxies finally crashed over the Chaotic force which was at the level of Demi Saint, surging past it and destroying it while leaving nothing behind.

It was an analysis made a hundred and twenty years ago and a fruit that blossomed hundred and twenty years later. Everything was as natural as the river flowing downstream, with no surprises in store.

Boom!!!

As a violent rumble reverberated across the world, the entire demiplane was almost entirely crumbling part. The power which kept the frail space together vanished as gushing divine power and Steel Strength swept over all shattered dimensions!

And yet, that power did not actually wreak destruction: every ancient wound and all things that were broken were fixed—the demiplane may have shattered, but a brand-new world was hence born! A flame of divine power was alight in the nothingness, with Steel Strength converging and shaping all things in their first forms!

It was in that single split second between destruction and rebirth that the Port Fortress, which was still inside the stable zone, dispatched message after message, boosting itself by borrowing the energy emanating from the birth of a world and the creation of all things, breaking through the borders of the newborn realm and the Three Worlds and Nine Skies, extending beyond to the Multiverse out there.

***

[This is a distress call]

The magnificent power of creation was supporting the voice, breaking through layers of World Barrier to arrive upon the Void beyond. Once it appeared, the energy level in that message leapt up to the maximum capacity, sweeping off all surrounding dark nothingness to directly reach the distant stars.

Nearby the source of that voice, a Black Dragon, which could not have been more ancient and had been in the midst of an eternal slumber in the darkness, heard the voice at once. The crystal by her chest was shining in a light that illuminated dozens of worlds, with several Void civilizations built around her.

Nonetheless, the black dragon looked up in surprise when she heard the voice, her movements causing the worlds around her to stir and leaving the beings within stunned.

[To any who can hear this call, please listen to me.]

The message was not merely sent outside, but also across the Three Worlds and Nine Skies. It stretched across the stars, ignoring all distance as it was sent to every corner across the realm, allowing all that had mind and emotion to understand if they could hear it.

At the same time, within the Sky Blade Realm and the Earthen Axe Realm, two dormant consciousness were awakening following the stimulation. After being thrown off in the pass, she and he had spent their last fraction of their strength to return to him, becoming seals that helped their master and restrained every Evil God—now, they had heard the call and hence stirred, with every other divine item and the nine stars trembling in resonance.

[No matter who you are, your race, civilization, or allegiances, regardless of what you are doing at the moment, we sincerely apologize for troubling you.]

At the faraway cosmos, in the eye of a dimensional superstorm that raged across the many galaxies, there was a single normal world which was made entirely of academies for Extraordinary individuals. Famous across the many cosmoses, it was an academy which produced uncountable champions and scholars and founded many cultivations or technologies, contributing monumentally for Order in the battles against the Chaos.

And now, at the Dean’s office on top of that world, a warped humanoid form seated upright within seemed to have heard some voice. The former maven of dimensions and present sovereign of worlds shook his head blankly, before focusing his spirit, concentrating as he listened. Then, he abruptly stood up: the erratic dimensional face which could leave mortals comatose with one glance displaying genuine surprise and delight.

[However, everything said here matters to you. Please don’t ignore this.]

There was a traveler who was roaming the stars without knowing where she was going and was now floating around whimsically over the Silent Void. She did not feel bored, however, because she was the one of the Mana Net hubs which coverage spans of multiple cosmoses—her profound power kept her connected to countless people at every given moment even in absolute emptiness, although she could never quite reach that person she wanted to contact.

But now, as the voice transcended all worlds, the traveler paused at its call, loose energies hence reassembling into a flawless body of magical energy. The avian lady turned towards the dark Void, towards a single spot across endless distance, her eyes overflowing with endless delight and determination.

[A great threat is about to come upon the Multiverse, for a man is keeping still in the solitude of time.]

[His name is Joshua van Radcliffe.]

Within a large Void fortress chain at the edge of the cosmos where legions were trained to fight the Chaos, there was a single stronghold shining in bright Holy Light as if an eternal lighthouse hanging in the dark emptiness. Its mere presence kept the endless Chaos at bay, and under its guidance, every fleet heeding it would remain unstoppable and invincible.

Nonetheless, that light went out for an instant, which left every fleet pausing for a moment in surprise, although their fine training stopped them from reducing themselves to a mess—but soon, the light shone again, and even brighter than before! The blazing source of the Holy Light even bounded out of the stronghold and revealing his profound body of sacred light: the former blond Holy Knight was now a warlord who stood watch over an entire cosmos, but even he felt warm tears in his eyes upon hearing that name.

[We need his revival and return to bring salvation to all—regardless if you remember or if you are aware, such is the truth.]

[But I believe none of you have forgotten that memory or lost that part of history.]

Within absolute pitch-blackness, a single elite party was darting away in the midst of an assault wave composed of endless Chaos aberrations. The party’s own roster was quite complex: it included humans, dwarves, elves. along with other unknown races, but their ability were certainly formidable, not to mention that they were fearless even after being surrounded by billions of Chaos spawns.

Their leader, a swordsman, looked up when he heard the voice.

Hence, he unsheathed the twin blades by his hip, the destructive radiance carving a cross-shaped scar that destroyed the Chaos legion to the last abomination. After that, the blades were sheathed once more as he turned and left, the violent energy shockwaves resulting from the destruction of Chaos extending. Beside him, the swordsman’s companions smiled as they heard that voice as well, and they were all now having an urgent impulse to go there and see what happened.

After all, they had not forgotten.

The voice was still reaching out, broadcasted over worlds and cosmos—never had there been a Demi Saint so extravagant who would use the pinnacle of his power to just send a message, but it had happened today: the copious sacred sound was reverberating, crossing Abyss, Void, Vortices of Creation, multitudes of living beings, lifeless realms, ever resounding and allowing countless to hear it.

Thus, the final part of the message reached them.

[I believe that, as how he had stepped forward bravely without hesitation on that fateful day, all of you would come just as bravely now in his moment of need.]

[I believe that the fires in your heart which has ignited from the Final Flame itself, the flame passed on in the darkness…]

[…is still burning.]

“—Heh.”

There was a cold snort. In an Abyss which was assimilated into Shadow Subspace and now a part of the Shadow Realm itself, a monarch of demons was frowning in sheer insolence as it looked beyond the Shadows towards the distant Multiverse.

What nonsense—he’s coming back? Who would believe that! Everything left from that battle has gone, with seven generations of multi-cosmic federation founded since then…Need help? When we labored to build our own home in this dark Multiverse and establish ourselves upon the countless Shadow Realms, I did not see many coming to help use as we fought by our lonesome against every enemy and Chaos in those unknown domains!

“Your Majesty, what are you doing? Are you leaving the Shadow Realm?”

“Shut up and save your breath. I am heading out.”

The King of Demons roughly shoved off the Confounder Demon who was reporting to it, before instinctively looking towards a single direction.

“Tut. They really were right—all the demons are touched in their heads.”

“I really am mad.”

Even so, this is not out of kindness: you had once stood up for us back then, and so I shall make a stand for you this day. It is nothing but the cycles of karma.

***

“We should go.”

There was a prosperous Void city between cosmic borders belonging to an empire of commerce which flourished as the hub for logistics between galaxies and entire cosmoses, with endless resources moved to and from its domain. No one was aware of the faction behind the First Trade Alliance, although countless Void civilizations tried to claim the city and its other worlds within their borders and hence become the sovereign in nearby galaxies or even cosmoses, but infinite time had passed and the city still stood by itself. Instead, it was those scheming civilizations that were lost over the long tides of history.

However, everything became clear after that voice resounded. As the Void churned and dimensional storms gushed, massive warships the size of continents or even planets were rising from the worlds belonging to the First Trade Alliance, flying the banners of ‘Mycroftians’. The outer structure of the Void city was dismantling itself as well, turning into smaller merchant ships whereas the city took the form of a colossal world ship as everyone looked on.

“It is word from our mentor… After such a long time has passed, I have even begun to suspect that he has forgotten about us.”

A platinum blond human man was standing on the ship bridge in the company of another woman with the same colored hair, a dwarf, as well as the flickering projection of another human woman. The four, their eyes leveled at the distance, were commanding the ships to turn.

“We will be bringing him grand-apprentices…okay, I’m not too sure if he would be so happy about that.”

“Ahem. Reasonably speaking, I think he would be happy since he is a good mentor—when he has the time.”

“It’s just that our own grand-apprentices would never survive his training. That’s the problem.”

***

“—turn around, and check coordinates!”

Faraway, in the Silent Void, there was a great fleet that was journeying forward in a non-stop voyage over a hundred and twenty thousand years. Their champion, whose consciousness had long since shrouded the entire fleet, was stopping the expedition of steel stars. They had been wanderers in the past, and flourished across the extensive epochs, but a voice that needed them urgently now was calling from the very edge opposite abundant stars, where all the travelers and wanderers once belonged.

Hence, that consciousness laughed and issued a command.

“We’re going home!”

***

“—I wonder if our leader would recognize me if I return with this face?”

In a fringe galaxy in the Void, a monarch of bizarre appearance who sat upon his throne atop a vast Void civilization was stroking his own fearsome head which shared no similarity with elves, save for the pointed ears, indicating his uneasiness for the first time. “I think the Commander could, but our dear leader hadn’t when we last met.”

“He’s just pretending he can’t see you. How embarrassing—his descendants were almost petrified because you didn’t think about fixing yourself before going back.”

Alchemist was meeting the clone of a human mage along with a clergy’s power which combined Shadow and Holy Light, with both Mage and Clergy keeping a certain Rider stuffed with Psi fluids to the point that he could not talk as he tried to free himself. “But it matters not,” one of them said, consoling Alchemist. “We are so powerful and our consciousness so pure now we could conquer worlds, open new frontiers, and bring the hammer down upon the Chaos. Everyone will praise and be in awe of us, flattering us with honors.”

“But really, your alien form is just so grotesque. Modification after modification…why even bother leaving those pointy ears? Your bones are also poking out, it’s all so disjointed…”

“Don’t you remember that the World Tree hadn’t acknowledged you? Don’t resist it—if not for our leader refusing, I would really have transmitted your face to him on livestream.”

“Shut up!”

***

“—Void observation main sequence, code 0000000001.”

Likewise, a cold mechanical collective picked up the same voice in another fringe galaxy where the many worlds were extracted for resources and developed. Compared to intelligent beings, their actions were simple and direct, as instructions were calmly relayed in virtual data worlds.

“Awakening primordial body of consciousness, activating ‘Dominator Unit Zero One’.”

***

“We have been dormant for too long. Our body has rotted and our spirit withered as we remained in the stupor of peace, hence falling into a prolonged stagnation of bewilderment. Our ancient glories left us drunk and entranced, jaded and apathetic—the exceedingly peaceful environment of the Ether Ring World made us unthinking, and we hence did not fulfill the duty as the heirs to a great civilization.”

An inconspicuous world amidst the darkness of the Silent Void was suddenly shining in endless light as the words of a champion echoed within. “We have certainly lost that memory and history, but it matters not because we shall keep it by heart from now on.”

And that was precisely why this was the very moment they should arise, to move and go forth.

“We should awaken and reclaim duty and honor.”

The bright world started to advance towards the distance.

That is not all.

In faraway Stellaris, a great psionic collective was awakening.

Far from it.

The adventurers studying the relics of the Wise One of Arcane were hastily packing up for their return voyage.

Now is the time for the invoking.

A pair of Void travelers whom many civilizations reverently addressed as the Dragon Queen and the King of Sacred Flame pleasantly bade farewell to a civilization they had aided.

Everyone.

Be it the Ascended with peerless power existing across the cosmic federation, or the brave ones fighting the Chaos at the frontline, enjoying the battle and the exhilaration of existence between life and death…

Everyone has certainly heard that voice and its call.

All of them hence moved in return, beings who had inherited the Final Flame and whose fire within never faded. They had kept it going, allowing the ‘Final’ to pass on for generation after generation, keeping the hope which could have died in any given moment unscathed.

[Flame brings heat and light.]

[Most civilizations begin with a Flame.]

[Even when a race is born in a dark world and feeds themselves with ice-cold elements and ether without needing brightness or warmth, the Flame is nothing so shallow.]

[In the Multiverse filled with despair and misery, all life would burning their will and beliefs to become light, dispelling darkness and illuminating the path ahead.]

[Belief is fire, the will is light. Both are passed on from father to son, son to grandson, teacher to student, who would instruct another in turn—an infinite cycle across time that delivers the Flame throughout the course of civilization, never fading even in death.]

[There are always bits of sparks hidden in the scorched ashes. That tinder would always shine once again to illuminate all things.]

[All living things, please keep the Flame alight.]

***

The edge of the world, the Port Fortress.

Having sent the message and silently waiting for everyone, a prolonged and sonorous draconic roar that left the world shuddering sudden resounded.

“There’s no need for haste.”

The voice that was immeasurably imposing and pierced the World Barrier echoed over the skies while bringing along unending belief and determination. At the same time, the voice was accompanied by a great rumble as if something was exploding—as everyone looked on in shock, a force which had been growing over a hundred thousand years promptly struck the World Barrier on the edge of the world. That single blow precisely struck the single vulnerable point, breaking endless cracks over the world and splitting a small gap.

At the same time, a small chest covered in a silver shell was delivered into the border of the world.

“I will be coming soon.”

“We are all coming soon.”