Soul of Searing Steel

In Starfall Year 372—or four hundred and sixty-five years ago, five dragon eggs of different colors were placed in the center of a massive magical formation, in an island at the edge of the Far Southern Sea.

The formation itself was made up of five concentric circles, with millions of complex runes moving along flowing mercury. At the center of the formation were five huge Pentashade dragons that stood, encircling the divine statue of the Five-Headed Pentashade Dragon God which was placed at the center point of the circles. The dragons had long horns, while the wings on their backs appeared to have been forged from steel. The elements obeyed their command, and their incredible ability caused space around them to tremble.

However, they were also immeasurably old. Their once-sturdy scales were rotting visibly, their greying teeth and claws could no longer tear prey apart. Their maws—where their teeth were about to fall out from—could only spew enchanted curses, unable to devour or bite down on their foes any longer.

"Our path is mistaken… The Lost Three Hundred Years lost us too many classical texts and knowledge. This isn't the path to perfect being."

The massive formation whirled slowly like combined gears, as a magical signature that would leave the gods in shock stirred the clouds over the island into a vortex of five colors. At the center of the island, the green dragon which appeared to be the oldest sighed, and hence spoke with a weathered voice in the ancient dragon tongue.

"Our time has come. Hand the Legacy to the next generation."

The other four dragons—being specimens of different colors—shook their heads, with the black dragon speaking out, "the Legacy ritual is about to begin. This may be the last time we would meet."

"What, you scared?" Another dragon laughed in retort.

"Am I now? It is a beautiful thing, after all, to witness the future of the Pentashade born before us."

Shaking its head, the aged black dragon watched the black egg placed before him. The outer shell of the egg was not actually black, but showed that hue due to excessively substantial negative energy that does not reflect light. The other eggs placed before the dragons corresponded with their respective colors as well, wherein the prodigies amongst prodigies of every Pentashade progenies since the Lost Three Hundred Years were incubated. Each hatchling in the egg would display excelling gifts and unbelievable developments, and along with their Legacies that dated back so far in the past it was inestimable, there is no determining how bright the future of the hatchlings could be.

"The Pentashade needs their own god, but more than that, they need kings…"

"My kin—"

The light of the magical formation grew. As the magical gears moved without stopping, the mercury that shaped the formation began to boil. Sheets of silver-blue vapors hence shrouded the five old dragons, linking them to the eggs as five different colors began to blaze over their bodies. Even as the old black dragon kept its eyes on that black dragon egg before it, it began to utter words of blessing.

"You would have the talons of dragons, fearless against all-powerful foes and invincible."

A light shone.

"Child of mine—"

The withering blue dragon smiled; its wings had already begun to whiten. "You would inherit the wings of dragons, unchained and dauntless."

Two lights shone.

"Successor—" The white dragon lowered its head and narrowed its eyes at its assigned egg, speaking softly. "Thou would be given eyes of the dragons, thine gaze shall pierce all things."

Three lights Shone.

"My continuity."

The red dragon—the largest of the five spoke so sonorously that even its muffled voice rumbled. "You shall be given the heart of the dragons, flowing with passion that surges eternal."

Four lights shone.

Lastly, the green dragon that was the oldest and carried the most powerful presence slowly straightened its neck. Though being near the center of the formation as well, the green dragon did not give the egg before its blessing, even as the fifth Legacy beam that linked it to its assigned egg was gradually shining. Watching the egg that was completely oblivious to what it was facing, it remembered many things—the history of the Celestial Dragons, their cousins that were distancing themselves, the burdensome past and the unforeseeable future. All of it made the green dragon unable to repress a sigh, but it still smiled as it looked at the lively dragon egg.

"Our exiled race has given up on our Mother, and yet this world accepted our ancestors without caring for bygone enmity… Even so, exiles remain exiles. What right do we have to desire more, or to demand more from our descendants?"

"There is no need for you to succeed anything… Children of ours, you just need to live well."

The fifth light shone.

The bodies of the five aged dragons began to burn, and soon turned into dust, the purest of lifeforce and the most profound of Draconic Legacy flowing along the circles and surging into the five dragon eggs. Meanwhile, five dragon souls as boundless as mountains that trembled the skies circled around formation, glancing at the world once nostalgically before turning together and rushed toward the statue of the Five-Headed Dragon God at the center of the magical formation. Five radiances shone from within that statue, as if welcoming their return with open arms.

It was the final and eternal destination of every former dragon king, as well as their god.

***

Kanor, Dragon of the Nether Sea is flying across the Void. It did not follow the Pentashade Dragon God tightly behind, and was simply flying toward its homeland, even though it was taught time and time after by its elders that the world was not its homeland.

It was born in Mycroft and lived in Mycroft, but the Pentashade was not. Those lands and worlds would hence never be its home, and the Celestial Dragons would be eternal exiles that had given up on their own world, wandering around the Multiverse. Thousands of worlds refused them shelter, countless races saw them as nemesis: long as there was a day that the Pentashade could not wash away the sins on their bodies, they would never gain peace.

But Mycroft accepted them.

Mycroft sheltered them as if they were their own brood, and so the Celestial Dragons were able to survive at their very last breath.

Kanor could not tell what itself was thinking clearly; it never favored the thing called 'thought'. Ultimately, the blessing the Black Dragon attained all those years ago were the talons of dragons: it could only destroy enemies and that was enough. As for what it was doing now—Kanor was not even sure whether itself was trying to grab the slight chance alongside the Dragon God or simply wanted to return to its home.

After all, it was Mycroft. The same Mycroft that once sheltered the Pentashade, the Mycroft that hosted a dozen gods and Legends and the unfathomable Mycroft —the world of Mycroft, where the full might of the Pentashade could barely take a nation.

Was it here, in its desire to struggle for a brand-new day for the Pentashade, or simply was so exhausted that it now desired death?

Kanor did not mind those things at all; it had already left its legacy. Hence, that Dragon King now had no fear in its flight amidst the Void, and unprecedented calm in its heart, and never felt as powerful before.

The huge dragon let out a long draconic cry, as if an ancient song.

***

On the other side of the dimensions, Joshua turned toward the Mycroft World as it combined with the Infinite Horizon without stopping. The two massive realms emanated powerful illumination never seen before as they fused, and he knew how shocking that sight would be on the surface. It was as if the skies were shattering like glass, and unequalled holy light appeared, for the first time before the eyes of all living things, sticking the two realms like glue and holding all reverberations in the skies above. At the same time, the Marks of the gods would rain like a fiery shower of meteors down to the world.

It was the age where gods descended, the era where the legacy of the gods reappeared.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

"Could the Sacred Swordsman hold on? He is keeping the guiding beacon running for the Infinite Horizon and the world all by himself, and I could see that Ternant is guiding them to a vital point of the seal over the Steel Python."

Joshua thought nothing of the future; he was merely watching the world of Mycroft.

"I know that the Sacred Swordsman is formidable," he said mildly, "but he is no master in that aspect."

Igor shook his head in return. "He might be the only one who could do it," the pontiff said quietly. "World Will possess no actual form—any physical seal would only hold it temporarily, and yet 'it' would keep slipping out all the time, and the information flow that caused everything at present was because it slipped out."

"However, Mystletainn, the Sword of the Silver Oak is its bane. It is difficult for all things in Mycroft to hurt their Mother, and only unnatural, artificial creations could ever strike against them. That is the Holy Sword that the Sacred Swordsman's clan had forged across generations: it is not crafted from steel but from a solid, long and wide artificial space. It bears no thickness, but could transmute everything its blade struck into essence similar to itself, making it invincible. Even if the World Will lashed out at it, it would simply be compressed into a flat surface for a brief moment."

"I see, so it's inert two-dimensional transmutation… if that's so, you would set up a perfect Klein Bottle seal, imprisoning the Steel Python forever."

Joshua nodded after listening silently to the old pontiff's explanation. "A perfect seal, and without external interference it would either regain clarity or die in the endless isolation… if there is no external interference."

As he spoke, the warrior looked up to the Void—he had heard the draconic cry and the stink of the Abyss that were two familiar presences. And on the other side of the Void, three massive lifeforces illuminated their surroundings like the suns. Void Behemoth, superior lifeform, or perhaps some other supernatural creature was rapidly approaching the Infinite Horizon as well.

There were at least six or seven Legendary-tier beings, and perhaps one untraceable deity. It was nigh impossible to stop them from not destroying the combining and the sealing ritual, and focusing their efforts in stopping one would allow others to swiftly bypass their interception. Nevertheless, neither Joshua nor Igor showed any signs of worry.

What was more, there were no other Legendary champions beside them. The Void was empty and devoid of any presence, and no one was hiding.

Could they intend to stop all those powerful enemies with the power of two?

They just might be to do that one day, but not today.

Joshua swept his gaze over the Void.

He was already prepared.

***

Kanor the Black Dragon has already approached Mycroft; it could clearly see the dazzling light of the world. Complex feelings roused in its black dragon heart, it was a sensation as if it had returned to a homeland where it was not welcomed, even spurned. But it was precisely because of that sensation that it reaffirmed itself to attain the power of 'That Person'.

It is only by attaining that power that the exiled Celestial Dragons would secure their own future and their own world, and not be a hermit in the world of 'others', a docile ostrich.

At the same time, it sensed the powerful presences of other powerful beings that did not lose out to it, coming from other directions. Kanor, however, was not afraid—as it had been blessed before, the black dragon was fearless against powerful foes and invincible."

Powerful negative energies eroded the dimensions as Kanor broke through the chaos of dimensional turbulence, arriving by the edge of the world, a dimensional region where there was a hint of Order. Looking up, the black dragon saw that colossal world in the distance, and the black plane that was slowly fusing into the outer walls of the world. Like tidal waves, the brute force surged without end at the surrounding Multiverse, displaying its existence to all.

It was the omen that the Mycroft civilization was reawakening, that the age of gods is at hand once again as deities descended.

There were also two figures standing aloft in the Void, in front of the two fusing worlds.

One was an elderly person with gray hair and white robes, a scepter in hand. His whole body was streaming with dense holy light that was near-solid, and stood motionless. But contrary to that posture of serenity, the Dragon could feel the oppressive light of 'Death and Terror' welling incessantly out of him.

The other was a huge man with black hair and crimson eyes—light itself was distorted beside him, the ripples of dimension screaming in anguish. Everything about him was simple: whether it was his body composition, energy essence or power it commanded, the black dragon could see it all… and yet there was no meaning in doing so. In its brief exchange of blows with that man, as long as that simple and pure man stood there, all things would end up in two distinct absolutes—success and failure, victory and defeat, as well as the simplest and most pristine words: life and death.

Those two were so powerful they far surpassed typical Legends. Being Legendary champions specialized in 'combat', their living state is not to continue their own tribe, not for their race's progress and not for the development of civilization. They are selfish and alone, yet selfless and profound, having abandoned the possibility of other path and chose that of pure might, to stand here and fight beings such as them, the intruders.

Be that as it may, did they want to stop every single one of them with just that duo? Kanor could not stop itself from sneering. It had long understood human pride, but never could it imagine that it could fester to such extent.

Even if one of them was called Igor, the most powerful person of Mycroft and a god amongst men, it would not do.

The other powerful beings apart from the black dragon had arrived as well. Controlling a gravity boundary that could drive deep into the core of planets, Leviathan the Void Behemoth broke into the Void. As for the Ether Dragon, the chaos of dimensional turbulence was nothing when it wagged its colossal tail, becoming a moving force for it instead. There was also a superior lifeform originating from an unknown world, following right behind the two abyssal beings which bodies were flashing with spatial ripples.

Without hesitation, the beings that came to directly answer the call from Mycroft the Steel Python had now arrived. They naturally noticed the two standing before the Infinite Horizon as well, and was left puzzled.

It was in that moment that the black-haired man turned his head in the distance, and spoke a single line to the old white-robed man.

"I'm off."

***

Joshua then turned again toward the powerful beings that were rapidly nearing the Infinite Horizon. The warrior could see beings he was acquainted with as well as unfamiliar presences. While some of them were colossal and others humanoid, the power of those beings is, without exception, unquestionable. They are all paragon of worlds.

Looking on, Joshua raised his right hand which held a silver sphere. In it, a brilliance as if a star flickered: the contracted forms amidst the Multiverse surfaced on the sphere that constituted of complete light, with massive galaxies, constellations and light belts appearing within.

Facing the many powerful beings that intend to ignore him and Igor while simply proceeding to interfere with the Infinite Horizon's combining, Joshua crushed the sphere in his palm.

Silver light filled the Void around the world of Mycroft all at once, and the man who rarely set traps smiled.

"Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds, activate—Multi-Quadrant Teleportation, commence… Estimated coordinates confirmed, dimensional teleportation zone, launch!"

In one split second, the demiplane that only floated around the world of Mycroft that seemed virtually non-existent unleashed unimaginable power, an energy flow so brutal it astonished even the Legendary champions toyed with the dimensions. Space itself was warped as the phantom of a silver sun presented itself in the Void, while a calm and dispassionate voice echoed in the airless dimensional turbulence: "Teleporting objective detected—coercive warping commencing."

A power that once raged across ten thousand worlds and trembled the Abyss itself began to resonate. As Black Dragon, Void Behemoth, Ether Dragon, and Demon General looked on in infinite astonishment, a massive black space rapidly expended, countless mysterious radiance of stars rapidly flashing within.

It was impossible to stop multiple Legendary champions unless there were five times the number of equally powerful individuals, and though the world of Mycroft is powerful it certainly did not have such depth. Therefore, instead of getting into a melee at a battlefield of the opponent's choice, it was better to arm traps and prepare accordingly in other worlds alongside other Legends, and dump every enemy to that precise spot using an unstoppable force.

Joshua was one of them as well. He, however, did not resist, and simply allowed himself to be teleported away.

"I'm going," he shrugged as he left.

"Go, and come back alive." The old man—the only one not transported away—smiled in return.

"You too."

Tremendous dimensional ripples flickered. In that instant, the Void that had been shaken by the power of multiple Legends and upheaved by Chaos returned to calmness. Looking at the Void around him, the elderly pontiff did not let down his guard after his side's successful ambush on the enemy, and after half a beat, Igor looked up toward a part of the Void where five different radiance gradually appeared.

Before the world, a god amongst men lifted his head, looking at the Void serenely.

And on the other side of the Void, the Five-Headed Dragon God slowly appeared, lowering every one of its skulls to stare at the old pope.