Soul of Searing Steel

There was no greater lunacy in this world than this.

Since Barbarossa was born more than a hundred years ago, he had come across infinite things that defied belief. Whether it was slumbering ancient toads dug up from beneath subterranean stone that remained alive after a thousand years, or undead who resided in ruins and could not be killed by any means albeit having no soul or life, he had all touched with his hand and fought against. However, there were always reason and causes for those unbelievable things—for example, the toad’s unique inner circulatory system and an optimum environment would allow it to slumber to a stage of as if time had stopped, while the undead which appeared not to have died was simply resurrected from death again and again through their obsession that bore a hint of resemblance to humanity.

And yet the sum of all those things would not be a single percent more extraordinary than what he heard today.

When that new Legend—a young warrior of the North had recently returned from an otherworld, recounted one inconceivable thing after another that somehow appeared to be logical and orderly, Barbarossa found no greater lunacy in this world than all that. The Sage, the Glorious Era, the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds, the Door to Funality, the First Abyssal War, Evil Gods, Apostles, the gallant battles of the ancient gods, the Flame Seed of the world of Grandia, extinguished civilizations, the Lost Three Hundred Years, and the disappearance of the Apostles… Even as everything was being told, every Legendary champion could not help wanting to speak up and interject, but for some unknown reason, none of them did.

Barbarossa was the Fourth Seat of Skypiercing White Tower, but was effectively the leader of the organization which boasts the most powerful mages on the Mycroft Continent. Those who stood above him was the First to Third Seat—the founder of the White Tower, the pioneer of alchemy, and his own teacher, the innovator of modern spells by uniting all traditional mages and separating them according to different disciplines. The trio were occupants of the First to Third Seats respectively, while Barbarossa himself, the most powerful man who sat on the shoulders of giants, was the Fourth Seat. In days to come, all leaders of Skypiercing White Tower would take the Fourth Seat as well—it was both a gesture of honoring the fathers who paved the way through thorns and swamps, as well as reminding everyone that nothing reigned supreme in the Path to Truth, only modesty and humility.

As a Legendary mage who owned infinite ancient texts and legacies, Barbarossa had wanted to stop Joshua since he knew part of the truth regarding this world as well such as the end of the Glorious Era, the previous invasion by the Abyss and the Evil Gods. However, he had only sporadic records in other aspects—Barbarossa knew at once when the warrior spoke that it was nothing but reality. Be it matters regarding the Sage, the previous Era or the Evil God, all were definitive candor, but it was also precisely so that he would not speak freely—in the Void where there were no defenses in place, there were those who had no right to know these matters. Such critical information must be defended in the tightest of fortresses, spoken to Legendary champions in a concealed conference room isolated from everything else.

Barbarossa looked out around the Void, while Israel and the Eastern Sea Sage Vahina did the same thing as well. None present were noncommittal when Joshua said that he had certain important matters and truth to inform each powerful faction, and paid him the most solemn of attention. Legendary champions had no need of exaggerated methods to attract attention—if the warrior said that it mattered to the world, then it was unquestionably correlated to the rise and decline of a world, and not something they could be half-hearted about. Soon, two more representatives of Legendary champions arrived—they were the envoy from the Seven Gods Church and apprentice of the current Pope, Roland, and Elsa, an apprentice of the Nature’s Magister, and a druid. The Legendary murloc Godard itself came to the Void later, before a Psion named Arnold representing the West Mountains Psion Royal Family.

Now, these people were all gaping. There were some of them who were already acquainted with Joshua just as there were those who never met him before. None of them, however, would suspect that he was lying, which was why they could only believe when he stated each information he had about Mycroft, regardless of how hard it was for them to buy it.

“The Seven Gods Church is certainly prepared for Abyssal Invasion. The Pentashade Dragons were clearly working with the Demon Generals of the Abyss throughout the course of the Berserk Dragon Plague, and according to what we know, those dragons had now taken an unoccupied Abyss and were now completely fallen ‘demons.'”

The envoy of the Seven Gods Church—Roland knew Joshua for a long time and had a fine relationship with the warrior, but this was not the time for greetings. The holy knight was now using intelligence collected by the Seven Gods Church to prove Joshua’s veracity, ascertaining that the warrior was not simply crafting tall tales. “If we had been spent resisting the Pentashade Dragons, those demonic tormentors would have invaded anytime. Still, it was fortunate that there was no irreversible throughout the continent apart from wanton destruction in the Far Southern Kingdom, and with that—along with the condition that we don’t fight each other—we would have the strength to stand against joint invasion by multiple Abysses.”

Roland’s words certainly hit the nail on the head, with both Murloc High Priest Godard and Barbarossa himself nodding. There had always been a grudge between the Murlocs, the Eastern Sea Sage’s faction, and the Skypiercing White Tower, with Barbarossa himself once wiping out several murloc tribes—but if they traced the grudge back to its origins, the Legendary mages own ancestry had many who had also died to murlocs who rampaged the Eastern Oceans. Be that as it may, the grudge was one within Mycroft Continent only. Everyone needs a complete and fine ecosphere, which was a decisive point of conflict for them against the invading demons that only bring plunder and destruction, and one that could get the Easterners to temporarily put their grudge against the murlocs on hold.

“The Sealed Land of Chaos has certainly been active in recent years.”

The Psion Arnold, an old man who appeared over seventy, also verified the facts. “Since the Great Mana Tide began, the corruption left behind by the Evil Gods was expanding ceaselessly, which should also why the Cult of Pestilence appear active in recent times.”

“Those Great Devourers born from Chaos are definitely coming back.”

In fact, almost every faction present were guardians over one or two Sealed Land of Chaos, and they were certainly aware that, as the Evil Gods awakened from their ancient slumber along with the ripples of the Great Mana Tide and began to wander the worlds again, these would be the markers they left behind. In other words, the appendages cut off from their bodies by the Mycroft civilization of the Glorious Era would attract them here again, and when they do, they would come bringing fire and blood, and spread ruin on death to endless worlds.

In the meantime, each faction had verified Joshua’s statements consecutively. At the moment, even if everyone did not understand all of it clearly, there were at least a few things they learned: in a dozen years, the Abyss would invade and the Evil Gods would return.

The warrior had almost told them everything he learned from the pre-existence.

There was utterly no meaning for one man to be aware of the future. But if they were Legendary champions, the leaders who control all resources in the world and was the symbol of the highest combat force learned about it, changing the so-called future would be as simple as having a meal. No one would have believed Joshua right after he had transmigrated, but when he became a Legendary champion, every word he spoke could change the world.

“Then… The sudden activation of the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds you mentioned having sent you and Nostradamus to another world, proves that it had not completely stopped working.”

Vahina, the Sage of the oceans spoke. She was a lady whose appearance and expression were unfathomable, as if shrouded in light. Each strand of her hair resembled transparent crystals and yet emitted mild and soft white radiance, as if they were flowing veins of light. A powerful spiritual power surrounded her, barring all dimensional turbulence in the Void. “You’re saying that the demiplane was the joint creation of a champion called the Sage and the gods in the last era, and carried the power to link worlds,” she said with a hint of doubt in her words, “but it was also precisely what brought the Door of Funality, allowing multitudinous Abyssal demons to invade our world with it as an entry point, thereby destroying the previous era—why should we not simply demolish it?”

It was as if Vahina’s voice did not exist. All who heard her could only remember what she said but not her voice, her tone, and rhythm—a pure spiritual language. Still, what she said received a few nods in return, with Israel leading them. Given that the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds was the source of the previous destruction, then it was difficult to differentiate where its sudden reactivation was a good thing or a bad one.

Before that, they must also ask about what Joshua and Nostradamus encountered in that foreign world. The Psion Arnold had wanted to raise the issue—as an elder of the Psion Royal Family who held a noble position, Arnold had always been lived with importance, which was why he had intended to maintain his habit and press both the warrior and the mage for every detail. But just as he opened his mouth, a foreboding psionic omen surfaced in his heart. As if remembering something, Arnold quivered and closed his mouth silently.

He was not a fool—in this place where Legendary champions were piling up, he had utterly no place to speak. Indeed, even if he went senile, he would never dare to compel a Legendary champion to speak.

Meanwhile, Joshua glanced at Vahina. He mostly knew the facts regarding why the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds was connected to the Abyss—it was a creation of the Sage, a Multiverse-class center to aid intelligent civilizations, providing corresponding class of missions and world depending on the applicant’s ability. In the first place, the Sage should have been the first to activate the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds… And that was where the problem came. With the Sage’s ability and grand ambition, what world was there for him to save?

Only the Abyss. That endless Abyss, formed from the fragments innumerable perished worlds that were chained together, the Abyss known to be the graveyard of the Multiverse. Hence, the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds opened all doors to the Abyss, because it believed that the Sage—and only the Sage—could help them.

But that was just a guess, one that should not be mentioned.

“All things bring both benefits and downsides. The Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds assuredly brought ruin to the previous era, but it also brings us an inexhaustive opportunity, but that would depend if all of you were willing to try, or conservatively insist on supposed stability.”

Joshua was not just answering Vahina’s question. He glanced around the Void—at Nostradamus, Israel, Barbarossa, Godard, Roland who represented Igor, Elsa who represented the Nature’s Magister as well as Arnold, the spokesman for the most influential faction of the West Mountains. These people symbolized more than seventy percent of the powers on Mycroft, and therefore this crude Void was assembled with half of the Legendary champions and future Legends of this world.

“In the distant edge of the dimensions,” Joshua then spoke solemnly, “Nostradamus and myself had stood against a minion serving the Evil God of Pestilence in battle, a Legendary Void aberration that was far larger than the entire Imperial Capital and the Triplet Mountains put together. It was a hard fight—we could only destroy it after both Nostradamus and myself had given our all.”

“Regardless, that world had many illustrious civilizations and almost endless soil suitable for living. Nostradamus collected many data regarding their technology that could rapidly advance our world’s standard over several generations. If we could construct a large-scale semi-permanent portal for colonization over there, why would we even develop hatred and slaughter each other over some insignificant land?”

Joshua had no intentions of concealing the outcome of using the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds. If he alone claimed the demiplane it would at most be a transit area that provides missions—and he did not need one since the Steel Python Karlis had contacted many other World Wills, and it could do the same thing as the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds. That place should, as the Sage wished for in the last era, becoming a hub that provides for the entire civilization, allowing every faction of a world to advance towards grand-scale expansion and teleportation. The Mycroft civilization of the Starfall Era would therefore absorb nutrients from many worlds, grow swiftly and become an equal of the Glorious Era, or perhaps even greater.

Joshua could feel Israel’s gaze. He turned to find his Emperor smiling, and grinned as well.

Hiding the function of the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds and have the other factions slowly figure things out, allowing the Northern Empire to grab the advantage—was certainly possible. Israel must have thought of it too since both Joshua and Nostradamus were citizens of the Empire. But that was rather meaningless. Apart from the slow progress of exploration given that there was only one nation at work, there was no long-term hiding of the fact and could result in the Northern Empire being sanctioned by other factions. Most importantly, heaven knows if there were any civilizations worth interacting and trading with—if it were a primeval world, it was at most gaining a land that needs developing.

The advantages were limited but the risks were great. However, Joshua knew the reason Israel did not raise the idea and actually appeared glad to see Joshua’s actions bearing fruit was not out of simple calculative profit, but because he, Israel, was ironically a ‘revolutionist’ Emperor who wanted to shift the foundation of nobility. He hoped to see not the rise and monopoly of a single power, but for the comprehensive progress of ‘humans’ and the ‘world of Mycroft’.

Joshua turned to glance at the other Legendary champions once more. There was nothing to elaborate on Nostradamus, who was the same as Israel. Barbarossa, who pursued the Truth, would certainly not mind exploring the Truth in other worlds, while Vahina who was one with the world definitely not find anything wrong with being one with several worlds. It was the same for the Murloc High Priest Godard, who was probably eager for others to discover other worlds and find one with seas, so that the murlocs could freely propagate and strengthen as a race—what was there to lose?

Apart from that, the Seven Gods Church, the elves, and West Mountain psionics had no differing opinions—or perhaps they have to return and report to the Legendary champions and the persons in charge to make a decision. But now, Joshua’s mission was completed—he had told everything he could to these people.

What remained was the merriment of the entire world.

The leaders of the Seven Factions left—including Nostradamus and Israel who prepared for a return to the Imperial Capital. Joshua, on the other hand, planned to stay in Fairyland to take a look at the situation in the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds.

Before they left, the Holy Knight Roland whom Joshua had not seen for some time smiled as he told the warrior that Pope Igor wished to see him over a certain matter, and would soon be visiting him. The elven ambassador Elsa—a graceful green-haired elf with a warm smile also informed Joshua courteously that the Nature’s Magister also had matters to inquire after him, and would soon select an opportune moment. Meanwhile, Israel unexpectedly did not display any rage, and only smiled bitterly, shaking his head. Leaving only the words “it’s nice being young”, the Emperor departed elegantly, returning to the Imperial Capital through the portal that Nostradamus opened.

In an instant, the Void where multiple Legendary champions had gathered became empty, leaving Joshua alone who in turn flew towards Fairyland. However, the warrior knew then that while each faction appeared calm on the surface, it meant that their hearts were surging, perhaps with tidal waves that reached the skies. When they settled down and finally understood all that he had said, the same tides would rise in the real world as well.

When that time comes, he would change this world, not by insignificant frivolities such as merely saving a few cities or changing the flow of certain events, but by an ‘upheaval’ that could shift the skies and the earth, twisting the river of fate to a different direction.