Soul of Searing Steel

A flash with no equal appeared at the very heart of the Bloodmoon Abyss. It was a dazzling illumination that could compare to the burst of supernovas—myriad color light shot out from thin air visibly, consuming half of the Bloodmoon Abyss's center. Be it stone island or air, all that the light touches went abyss, and turned into ash.

That light pierced all matter and the dimensions, as well as the world barrier itself as it unfurled throughout the entire Void. In that instant, the battlegrounds by the edge of Mycroft trembled. Thousands on the continent lifted their gaze to the other 'sun' that appeared in the sky that burned in silver flame, eclipsing the light from the other star.

In the Seventh Abyss, Vahina, 'Sage of the Oceans' stood upon the land that was now all magma, the boiling golden molt bursting beside her, and yet unable to even make her frown. Before her was a towering mountain: It was once the highest peak of the Seventh Abyss, broken by half by Igor and Joshua's battle. Now, however, a gigantic drake was hovering over that peak—the Ether Drake's dozen pairs of eyes flickered in orange light, half of its body alone outsizing that peak that was thousands of meters tall considerably.

The two had been fighting fiercely. The sage, having mastered the mysteries of the soul and substance could attain endless energy, as long as she was willing to pay the price. The Ether Drake on the other hand was a superior lifeform born in the Void, planets were its lairs and it could devour worlds—its smallest output of breath could instantly vaporize an entire city. The two superior lifeforms of limitless reserves hence slowly battled in the Seventh Abyss that was gradually freezing due to insufficient energies, with veins of crisscrossed light cannons fire in different directions, spreading excess energy melted the ice and forming a sea of magma in the center of the world.

But now, sage and drake looked up together toward the light in the distance, their gazes reflecting the silver starlight upon the skies. That light pierces all things, with the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds unable to stop it as it brightened the Seventh Abyss which sun had long dimmed, refracting streaks of rainbows in the waterdrops amidst the air.

The entirety of a small, dead world near Mycroft was trembling, its mountains shaking, while huge sheets of dust and dirt were blown to the highest point in the atmosphere under violent impact, pouring down as a rain of dust. This was the world where the Divine Dwarven Craftsman was doing battle against Leviathan, but there was no longer any hint of their figures there.

However, the center of that world was a metallic 'mountain chain' that moved without stopping. Normal people would find it befuddling when they see it from afar, for that so-called 'mountain chain' were piles of steel giants as tall as hills. They were combining as if to subjugate something, and the sixty-million-ton mountains they formed was undulating because of that thing.

The Divine Craftsman had fused himself into the mountains, controlling the thousands of steel giants, but was the Leviathan, the behemoth that rampaged across the Void, a being that would be crushed by a mere mountain? The two's battle trembled the very foundations of that small world, the continental shelf crumbling and the earth's crust splitting. The earth's mantle that had long frozen disintegrated, causing the two powerful titans to sink into the earth's core. Even so, they noticed the tremendous energy radiation shooting toward their direction from the other side of the world, illuminating half the heavens.

In Nature's domain, the Nature Magister was sitting on the tentacles of the behemoth which resembled an entire floating island. The behemoth had tangled its thick tentacles into a seat, and Galanoud settled herself on the green grass growing over it while communicating with the fearsome creature that had no ill-intent. Her eyes flowed with emerald light, just as the behemoth sprayed pillars of gases from its back as if in reply.

"You're no ancient dragon, and yet you have reached the state of perfect being, why is that… Ah, I know! You are a combined form of all lifeforms in this world, a colossal collective being. This is just a part of your body!"

The Nature's Magister was in a pleasant exchange with the peaceful being. There was nothing better than solving problems without a fight, and through her own study in the aspect of life, she quickly discovered the extraordinariness of the behemoth before here eyes. It was not a singular body, but the combined form of thousands: infinite lifeforms of all kinds formed an ecosphere that covered a whole world—similar to how many dissimilar cells formed the human body—and the ecosphere itself became sentient!

It was one and all, all things and a singular body. It had come to the world of Mycroft not to plunder the throne of the World Will, but because it sensed the presence of a 'cousin' as an assemblage of wills for all things. In short, it simply wanted to 'stroll around'.

Or more precisely, to watch the show.

The Multiverse was not actually so bustling with ill-intent, and not every powerful being lived to wipe out the weak. It was also possible for kindness to exchange in the interactions between different races, but the Nature's Magister was aware of how ware beings as pure as that behemoth. When gains and lust come into account, all kindness was but peaceful exploitation.

And while Galanoud intended to speak with the behemoth for a bit and discuss its birth as a natural living collective, silver radiance pierced the clouds and brightened the land. The Nature Magister's looked up, finding a streak of light stabbing through the skies.

On the Infinite Horizon in the world of Mycroft, every powerful being that was sealing the World Will sensed the frightening presence coming from the Bloodmoon Abyss, and every single one of them saw the silver light. The Sacred Swordsman was unmoved, Barbarossa narrowed his eyes, while Israel lifted his brow, blinking once. "That fellow Joshua…" he tutted.

"Joshua van Radcliffe is besieged by Kanor the Black Dragon King and two Demon Generals."

In the Infinite Horizon, the wills of the gods were linking. Using their divine power as a medium between Mycroft and the Infinite Horizon, smoothening the process of their combination. At present, the fusing of Infinite Horizon by following the guiding light from Sacred Swordsman Ternant was half complete, and only now did the Seven Gods had the remaining power to take notice of the worlds beyond.

"Kanor's body is damage, the Dragon King's soul scattered. Helm and Saluka are partnering to besiege Joshua, but that warrior's combat prowess is far beyond our estimation. In direct battle, he could hold against three Legends of equal ability."

"He is, after all, a Successor of the Sage. All of them are so, simple and powerful."

"Do we need to help them?"

"Of course not. He could handle things himself."

As the whispers of the gods concluded, the Five-Headed Dragon God was lifting its five heads in the Void beyond Mycroft. Five distinct forces, great and boundless shook the dimensions: Flame that burned eternally without end, sub-zero domain that freezes the soul, negative energy tide that erodes life, wind that manipulates the combining and disintegration of particles…

And, in its very center, the light of life that helps all things flourish.

The five energies become one, incinerating, freezing, eroding and destroying all things. Beams of indeterminable destructive force rained torrentially upon the Infinite Horizon, each wielding power that could destroy an entire city. The thousand-year effort of the gods would be for naught if they hit the residence of the gods, but even with so many attacks, not a single god came out to stop it, every single one of silently continuing their work.

They were fearless because it was unnecessary, and felt contempt because they were unmoved… Most importantly, there was one who would come forward to stop it: their agent upon the earth, Pope Igor. That is why the Seven Gods did not have to act.

He alone could handle everything.

Against the thousands of seemingly endless beams, the small elderly figure that could not be noticed in the Void simply raised the Bright Scepter in his hand. The dimensional turbulences began to distort at once, the ripples of worlds that raged like angry rivers freezing beneath the power of the pontiff into something akin to a dark water surface. Igor brandished his scepter, and all the beams were blocked by that dark plane—what light that entered it would crawl like a snail instead of moving at its natural three hundred-thousand-kilometer speed to the second.

A dark domain that slowed light speed? It was not a technique with such depth. The elderly pope was simply folding the dimensions, turning the flat surface into a trap that catches light. At once, the dark plane started to shine as the myriad-colored beams disintegrated under the 'water surface', a wondrous sight displayed by lights of different wavelengths and energy under extreme-slow lightspeed.

"You dare be distracted while facing a god?"

When the silver radiance shone, Igor's reflexes had actually slowed for an indiscernible instant even though he appeared unfettered, and the sneer of a deity trembled the Void at once. "How vain."

"You were distracted when the Black Dragon King died too," Igor calmly returned the Dragon God's mockery. "You are but a weak, old, dad—such a soft heart."

Although the Dragon God was not enraged by the retort, it added a notch more of power in its attack. The multi-element combined attack of flame, ice, particles, and negative energy struck at once as if starlight, but while the elderly pope appeared suppressed and defenseless, he actually blocked every single attack. Such was the fight between the pontiff and the Pentashade Dragon God: all they did was probe each other from time to time.

Igor even appeared unhurried, for time was on his side. Though powerful, the Dragon God's power could not continue endlessly with its race about to go extinct. Furthermore, after the Infinite Horizon and the world of Mycroft combines, the Seven Gods would be freed—when that happens, they would expel the Dragon God to the ends of the Multiverse despite their immeasurable fatigue.

What was more, he was never fighting alone, and reinforcements had now arrived.

As substantial holy light shot out amidst the Void, a pure-white silhouette began to rise from the surface of the world. One of the Dragon God's head turned to find a super-dreadnaught over seven kilometers long rapidly crossing the dimensions and materializing in the Void. A joint creation of every resource at the Divine Dwarven Craftsman and Holy Mountain of the Far Sea's disposal, armed with technological support by the three Legends of the Northern Empire, the elves' blessing cycle, the Murloc High Priest's restoration cycle, weapon system designed by the Skypiercing White Tower, the mobility hub provided by the Eastern Sea Sage… the colossal creation was the crystallization of Mycroft itself, and before it, the Northern Empire's Void warship, Apocalypse, was a small dot.

The Dragon God watched the warship, where the sacred symbol of the Seven Gods shone dazzlingly beneath the illumination of holy light. Infinite runes of divine realm were inscribed upon the ship's body, runes that the Dragon God was very familiar with after seeing them countless times: Those were runes on the Holy Mountain, the dimensional lock over the skies of that mountain, an ultra-grand scale hybrid circle the Seven Gods Church used thousands of years to design—

It was the Holy Mountain of the Seven Gods itself!

"You would turn the Holy Mountain into a warship?! A Void fortress?!" The Dragon God exclaimed in shock without ceasing its attacks. Bing one formerly of Mycroft, it had seen how the Seven Gods Church changed a typical mountain of stone into an iron bucket-like fortress. During the Holy War, the combined might of the three Legendary Dragon Kinds, raising tidal waves and employing divine weaponry did not even threaten the core of the Holy Mountain… Though it was the objective of all its foes, it did not mean that the Holy Mountain was feeble. In fact, it was the most stalwart fortress of all Seven God Church, the never-falling fortress!

Now, the Holy Mountain of the Seven Gods rises, placing itself in the Void. The entire center of the Grey Island of Aida in the Far Southern Sea was a huge crater. Residual but overwhelming holy light was emanating tricolored radiance of gold, silver, and gray. All clergies were either shocked or delighted, the project that every single one of them knew or were ignorant of was undoubtedly successful!

"Don't be too shocked, Dragon God."

The smile on the elderly pontiff's face became even more pleasant as he repelled every attack from the Dragon God. He looked towards the Holy Mountain—or 'Fort Glory' as it should be called now, his heart bursting with pride. "It's just a mountain. It should have risen a long ago after we prepared for centuries."

"Hear me. We, the people of Mycroft, are fated to step towards that distant starry skies. There would come a day, one Holy Mountain notwithstanding, even the Mycroft Continent would be raised by our hands into the Void, unleashing endless radiance and be praised by countless races and civilizations!"

The gargantuan Holy Mountain warship was changing vectors. It was shaped like a rhombus summit, its body wrapped in a tricolored core of gold, silver, and gray as well. Every Supreme-tier clergy and High Priest of the Seven Gods were controlling the majestic creation, and where sacred holy light flickered around the fortress visibly, thousands of beams turned into a torrential rain that struck towards the back of the Dragon God—it was the same offense that Igor had faced.

"Pentashade Dragon God. Take the chance, surrender as soon as you can and accept judgment. Your sins are unforgivable, but for the sake of having lived together for ten thousand years, we would spare your descendants."

Igor spoke patiently, even as he continued fighting. "You have erred greatly, but do not endanger the other dragons—to avoid culling of the Seven Gods, every Metallic Dragons had isolated themselves to the little realm of Dragon Island. They should not be carrying the burdens of your mistakes.

"They deserve it," the Dragon God replied. "Dragons never retreat, and have no use for sympathy.

***

Meanwhile, in the Bloodmoon Abyss.

Callous radiance flashed as an energy flow that could lay waste to all things unfurled like corona. However, if one ignored that incredible, unobservable light, they would notice the presence of a gigantic human figure at the center of the light.

Just as the gods had said, Joshua was not dead, just as Saluka the Insectoid Demon did not—in fact, the demon had shrunk itself into a thick cocoon that hung behind the warrior, allowing it to survive as Joshua's body took the brunt of the blow.

And in that very moment, the warrior was in dire straits.