Soul of Searing Steel

In that instant, a storm arrived upon countless different worlds.

The life nearby Restoration Beams in every realm watched in astonishment as the silver luminous pillars began to shine and expand.

The beam, which had carried out countless redemption transactions and had stored uncountable mass and energy, casted a massive bounded field extending over miles between breaths. It did not hesitate to cast teleportation, transferring the energy stored without any concern to the other side of space…

To the part of ‘itself’ that most needed that energy.

In living worlds, the Restoration Beam operated carefully, mainly setting priority on transporting present stores. On the other hand, in worlds without life that were explored and purveyed by exploration teams where Restoration Beams were placed, the cold and callous silver light flooded the world like a tide.

In the depths of the sea within a realm of orbicular sky and rectangular earth, a beam shone, illuminating the empty deep ocean where a huge cavity was eaten out of the lithosphere. The silver beam hence descended along the cavity, and within minutes, heaven and earth trembled as an earthquake beyond class-12 reverberated over the bottom of the oceans. The tremors grew even more violent, turning the entire realm into a mire that only cold silver light beneath the World Barrier could be seen from the Void beyond the world.

In another world orbiting a star, a silver trail of fumes left by a beam resembling a comet was moving at 80% light speed, streaking through the horizons within half an hour. Thin shrouds of Steel Strength were following preset orders of its master, wafting towards surrounding planets, gas giants, or even stars. It cascaded like watery mists, before falling unto physical bodies in the planetary system one after another, spreading the Φ symbol.

Not even the stars themselves were spared—as the silver symbol enlarged, the star began to wither and age as all elements within were extracted and converted, consumed in a more efficient method before being delivered through extreme distances.

Meanwhile, the same thing was happening in countless places. Be it unbeknownst to anyone or as certain civilizations watched in shock, one world after another was destroyed, drained of mass and energy without anything left. That single action caused gravitational shifts across worlds, even skewing the trails of many worlds in the Void.

***

In Stellaris, the silver core black hole of the Dark Galaxy, the gravitational waves caused by the burgeoning of mass cascaded like tsunami. As if a bomb had detonated within the Ultimate Sublimator’s hand, the abrupt burst of energy completely destroyed the strength that it had split out. The entire body of the entity was actually forced one step behind then, inching closer to the silver core black hole that consumed all.

In reality, the dark galaxy was without life, even if the black hole was not detonated by Joshua.

The battle in the heart of the galaxy and the storm of gravity Joshua stirred had left the central planetary clusters in an utter mess, with the chain reaction of their gravitational shifts extending to the very edge of the galaxy. When the battle ended and before a brand-new Order of gravity naturally re-established itself, the billions of cosmic bodies in the galaxy would be sent flying by the gravity slingshot over a few million years.

In fact, every star near the Central Black Hole was pushed away from their orbits—needless to say, it was the same for planets too, pulled apart and shattering as space dust.

As the accumulated mass and strength were sent to him, Joshua quietly gathered all the energy, directly advancing.

The Triple Curtain and the Steel Python did the same at the same moment.

Crack —the dull instead of clear sound of something breaking rang as the controlled space in front of the Ultimate Sublimator shattered. It was pushed back and shrunk, before being pushed gradually towards the silver core black hole, with a part of its form being drawn in the ergosphere, all of the singularity being hence worn away.

Now, with the sudden explosion as well as Joshua, the Triple Curtain, and Star the Steel Python who pressed forward at itself, the Ultimate Sublimator was forced to acknowledge that it only had two choices at the moment.

One was to allow itself to be pushed into the black hole due to its adversaries’ burst of strength, giving up on everything it had done so far and admit the failure of this invasion.

The other would be to try dodging, allowing Joshua the opening to detonate the silver core black hole, allowing the body that remained in Stellaris to be utterly destroyed and its own true form to be caught and hurt significantly in the shockwaves.

Even so, it was more astonished by the resolve those lifeforms were showing.

“To destroy you, even sacrificing ourselves would be fine.”

Despite insurmountable agony because of its inability to control all of its own power, to force its energy core to operate beyond its capacity, the Steel Python Star was increasing its strength output despite its diminishing consciousness. Bellowing wrathfully, it coiled around the giant cocoon and pushed it towards the celestial body of finality, unhesitating even if the momentum would send itself out of Stellaris.

Having not really lived and hence not fearing death, eternal slumber and death were no different to Star the Steel Python.

Even so, before falling to eternal slumber, it would destroy the great foe in front of itself—not because of anyone, but only because it ‘wanted to’.

[Highest Authority, One: First Final Guard Protocol—Destroy all foes who threaten life at all costs, releasing self-preservation sequences and permitting self-destruction.]

[Highest Authority, Two: with the Highest Authority and assurance of the Triple Curtain, the present circumstances fits the conditions described in the First Protocol.] 

[Highest Authority, Three: Self-preservation sequence released.]

On the other hand, the Triple Curtain had lived too long—it had been a prolonged and desolate eighty million years, and while the psionic machine collective could have lived on, it was a freedom with no regrets for the sentient intelligence to be able to choose ‘death’.

In response, the warrior said nothing. He merely quietly exerted his full power, since it was what he should do in battle. Indeed, placing himself beyond life and death was also fundamental logic for Joshua himself.

The silver world and silver Giant Python were pressing down gradually upon the dark alternate space, pushing it backwards.

It was the last strike back and the highest limit the Space could withstand. With such conditions, even the Ultimate Sublimator could not continue increasing its output, only allowing itself to be pushed back by the twofold assault towards the black hole.

However, just when Joshua, the Triple Curtain, and the Steel Python would end the battle, at the center of the alternate space where the paradox spiral connected to the Ultimate Sublimator’s main body was, and send it into the silver core black hole whirling at sub-lightspeed, they realized in shock that they could not give the final push.

Unknowingly, the Ultimate Sublimator had arrived to the black hole pole where the physical streams of relativity were gushing near lightspeed—the entity itself was so unimaginably powerful that it found a ‘chance’ from the worst choices, even with three ultimate Extraordinary individuals bearing down on it at full power.

Using the force exerted from the black hole and its own strength, it simply retained the stalemate just before its defeat by sheer force.

“Damn it!”

Joshua roared in rage upon noticing that. He had already fully unleashed every power in his grasp of present and had no strength to spare. It was likewise for the Triple Curtain and Star the Steel Python—after having exerted their full power, they were just one hair breadth’s away from self-ruin.

“Almost!”

Almost —the Ultimate Sublimator was roaring as well. The giant cocoon in the Void beyond the world had already extended all of its tendrils into Stellaris with its full power. If things continued, even the Demi Saint would have to admit that it was about to fail, as it not longer had any replenishments in its journey seeking the Truth.

It would have to drag along its maimed body as it searched the other side for the Fountainhead of the Mana Tide, which was absolutely devoid of life.

Two confronting parties, with four beings and four wills, had placed everything on the line in the stalemate of a battle.

Just a little bit was enough—whatever it could be, whatever power or whomever!

To break the balance!

***

Meanwhile, faraway on the other side of the dimensions, where the Galaxy of Bloodbath was.

At the heart of the Twelve Sanctuaries of the Takur Ruin Cult, an old, tired silhouette took a step forward in the grand, imposing hall.