Soul of Searing Steel

Inside the Sartrean world beneath the crystal sun.

The dark gray cluster flashed violently, intent on escaping the fold of the silver mist.

It distorted space and unleashed flames—a blaze that burned over millions of degrees arched the world around it bizarrely, scorching the mist to repel it. It stirred ether, creating high-energy waves that vibrated at a hundred thousand times per second, tearing at all objects with substance around it.

The ‘Evil God Embryo’—a grotesque body energy condensed out of 2.3 billion Sartrean souls and resembled a plasma nebula was unleashing all its power. With a tremor, 759 pale-green spindle-shaped crystals materialized, bursting in the very next second with powerful electromagnetism that could warp form and indiscriminately disintegrate every existence around it. The massive magnetic field throbbed, peeling even part of the surface of the crystal sun into golden flowing fire that descended upon the world.

But it was all fruitless.

Over the sky, another gap appeared upon the world.

A giant silver hand steadily reached inside the world and caught the cluster of souls that were wildly unleashing thunder—the instant it was caught, the sparks on its surface vanished entirely, seemingly absorbed by all energy.

Then, as if a little animal held by its name, it struggled futilely, before the giant hand clenched and it shattered with a clear cracking sound.

Joshua nonchalantly crushed the Embryo, and his movement was so relaxed that he had the excess effort to count how many orifices it unleashed the sparks with. Sartre the Steel Python simply stared at it in shock, as if gazing upon some being more terrible than Chaos.

It was also likely left in awe of the warrior’s might and unwittingly blanking out, a duality of worship and fear.

Still, it was easy to understand how the Evil God Embryo was so easily removed—after all, it really was an embryo.

Joshua was able to subjugate the ten billion population of a world, along with their fleet, forts and Steel Python. The mere composite of 2.3 billion souls, even with their mysteriously obtained combat capacity and atypical mental faculty was hence not that strong toward the warrior, and given that it had just assumed a form, its very constitution was loose and could be easily beaten apart.

Truth be told, the soul composite was not actually that weak. Joshua believed that the other Legends would not so easily destroy it, and it was only perhaps the Sage of the Oceans who could face it in direct battle—her vast powers that could turn a frozen world into a magma realm could blast it apart, while the others might only be able to slowly damage its composition, and it would take a long time before the victor was made clear.

“This sensation…”

After crushing the soul composite, Joshua studied its composition, and frowned as he muttered, “Right, it is Evil God… but there’s no Chaos, just as it lacks hate and despair.”

Of the many Evil Gods Joshua had encountered before, even Air, the weakest one had extremely concentrated Chaos energies and domain of despair. It symbolized the utter devastation of their former world, the decimation of the civilization they belonged to—but this time, perhaps because the Sartreans were yet to be wiped out and the world still intact, not only did the Embryo have no Chaos aura that protected itself, its corrupting domain of despair was also very weak.

Be that as it may, it was definitely the distinct form of an Evil God.

“The destruction of a Void civilization leading to the birth of an Evil God is nothing unusual.”

Joshua had freed 2.3 billion Sartrean souls that were gathered by an abnormal force into the Evil God Embryo, they were yet to be corrupted by Chaos and had a short duration for conversation. They could hence be saved, which was why the warrior cared for them for a while before returning them to the Soul Cycle of the Sartrean world.

Myriad-colored rain descended alongside the sun’s fragments. The skies of Sartre that were once again blue was now a beautiful, dreamlike sight, but only a few had the chance to witness that miraculous scene since most of the Sartreans were in slumber.

They probably would not forget that as long as they lived.

With that done, the Steel Giant began to ponder outside the world.

“Whatever the case might be, things are getting complicated after being connected with what I know.”

According to what Joshua was presently aware of, an Evil God could be present in their galaxy. It was able to stir civil conflict and confrontations, animating the despair and anguish within, not to mention that its power surpassed typical Evil Gods—its presence alone affected the entire galaxy.

Because of that unknown Evil God’s movements, a dozen Abysses and several worlds including Mycroft had seen the rise of violent strife. Those were essentially underlying issues in society that was hidden by various matters and briefly inconsequential, but could cause a world-destroying tide once they implode.

Like the Sartrean world and its people that had been cornered, the smallest of sparks had set self-immolating flames ablaze.

Sartre the Steel Python listened as Joshua muttered to himself. Being a Steel Python that survived the Glorious Era and presiding over an advanced Void civilization, it was naturally aware of what the warrior spoke of. Having learned that there was an unimaginably powerful but yet undiscovered Evil God in their galaxy, it shook its head somberly, assuming an expression of despair. “The awakening of an unknown Evil God and a Chaos Chain over the entire galaxy… How could this be!”

“Our fate is sealed.”

Joshua turned to the Steel Python at its words. Having found the 2.3 billion missing souls, he returned the world’s Authority to it, something that restored slight vigor to the World Will.

It was then that Joshua asked in curiosity, “What is the Chaos Chain?”

Their brief contact and exchange made Joshua realize that Sartre the Steel Python was much more outspoken. In comparison, Karlis was mild, Illgner was irritable while Simboa scattered-brain—Sartre itself was not repulsed by communication, even muttering to itself when none were around, conveying heightened desires to interact.

Chaos Chain. When Joshua was made aware of the term, he imagined that Sartre would know what special circumstances revolved around it.

And Sartre naturally heard his question: if the warrior was simply was an ordinary wielder of Authority and see it solely because of the fact, it naturally would not have the patience or mood to explain the profound meaning behind such a great incident. Still, Joshua’s overwhelming people left Sartre pondering for words in a while before speaking forthrightly, “The Chain of Chaos is actually rather difficult to explain… Steel God of Mycroft, are you aware of the phenomenon that occurs during ‘World Birth’ and ‘Order Resonance’?”

“‘Joshua’ would do.”

Joshua nodded, showing that he understood. “I’ve seen many worlds born around the Void Vortex… As for Order Resonance, do you mean to say that Order Resonance is a similar phenomenon to Chaos Chain?”

The warrior remembered what happened when he left Simboa. Billions of souls wandered away with Fattrovi’s death, his thousands of Soul Stars dying as boundless spirits returned to the Simboan Soul Cycle, granting the world ascension.

The ascension led to the gathering of the Steel Strength in the Void Vortex, creating thousands of primordial nebulas. The frame of a thousand worlds hence gained form in the stirring vortex of energy, awaiting their birth a hundred thousand years later.

“The so-called Chaos Chain is indeed a phenomenon remarkably similar to Order Resonance… that theory was actually thought of by the Mycroft civilization and then taught to the world.

The Steel Python was not curious about why Joshua, one from Mycroft would be unaware of the Chaos Chain—it was a jargon from a rather unique field. Furthermore, it thought that the warrior must be one learned in combat and was no research, which is why it was not unusual for him to be ignorant of Chaos Chain.

“When an Evil God is gestating and was about to be born, should any world or civilization come to ruin within its effective area, the devastation was likely to birth an Evil God.”

Sartre the Steel Python patiently explained to Joshua. “Thousands of years ago, when the entire galaxy was invaded by Evil Gods, the Evil God ‘Misery’ was born upon the ruins of the Himmer. That was when the Xenland, their neighbors were destroyed too—that was the first observed case of Chaos Chain, leading to the simultaneous birth of another unnamed Evil God.”

“Naturally, both newborn Evil Gods were quickly destroyed, and the Evil God that was born from the ruins of Xenland was utterly crushed before it displayed any nameable attributes.”

At that, the Steel Python remembered the Evil God Embryo that did not show much attributes as well when Joshua crushed it at once, before quickly continuing, “And now… if you so claim that the entire galaxy is within an unknown Evil God’s area of disturbance, any civilization or world that was thus destroyed could well give birth to new Evil Gods!”

The Steel Python felt earnest misery at the thought.

Although it was not clear on how the Chaos Chain phenomenon worked and what its actual symptoms were, things appeared dire solely from what it knew. All of the galaxy was within the boundary of Chaos riots which could revive the Chain or even dozens of Evil Gods, and even if some civilizations and worlds were too weak to birth an Evil God, it was a galactic scale anomaly of destruction.

The Sartreans would have been one of them but were unexpectedly saved, but so what, then? If the surrounding worlds see the birth of a few Evil Gods, the weakest of them would be able to completely destroy them.

However, Joshua was nodding thoughtfully at present.

“Chaos Chain, huh.” He muttered.

The Giant God stirred the Void, causing worlds around shifting slightly. The birth of worlds and their destruction—the two signs definitely correspond. If Chaos Chain and Order Resonance are indeed part of a motion…”

“Well, it explains many things.”

If Joshua was only theorizing that Evil God’s existence before, he was a hundred percent sure of it now.

And that Evil God was currently in the Abyssal Paradise!

There was a simple reason for that as well: just like how the world of Simboa had ascended in the Void Vortex and to Order Resonance along with the birth of countless worlds, only the Bottom of the Abyss—the graveyard of the galaxy where there are also countless Steel Shards and world fragments that provides the same environment and condition to create Chaos Chain!

“Wait, Sartre.”

Suddenly remembering something, Joshua turned to the Steel Python and asked somberly, “Did you mean to say that only gestating Evil Gods could cause Chaos Chain?”

“…Yes.”

The Steel Python nodded feebly, showing an expression as if feeling its days were numbered—it simply wanted to return to its world and shrink there. Unlike civilizations, the Steel Pythons were rooted to their worlds and unable to escape as a world will, even if the Sartreans would now migrate to other worlds.

It could only sit and wait as the tides of Chaos descended.

***

Meanwhile, Joshua had lifted his hand and looked at his palm.

His very right hand had just crushed the Sartrean moon, and an Evil God Embryo into its initial spirit form.

2.3 billion—in other words, hundred upon hundred million of Sartrean souls had combined into an Evil God. If they managed to create spawns, and utterly mature with the ruin of their world as their body, even Joshua would not boldly claim that he could win… or at least, his present clone would not do, and his true form must come to defeat that opponent.

Still, because it was yet to be born, its methods of defense and combat were all infinitely crude. It had yet to become conscious of what kind of an existence it was, its very constitution loose and hence easily extinguished by Joshua.

Still, Joshua was very aware of Sartre the Steel Python’s worries.

An Evil God so powerful that its mere birth affected an entire galaxy would probably only be second to the Evil God of Fertility at its peak form. It was absolute a tier one force that would probably destroy the present day Starfall Era of Mycroft if it attacked.

But what if that Chaotic presence that spread far and wide over the entire galaxy had been a specific phenomenon caused by its position—the Abyssal Paradise?

Things would be much simpler if that was the case. As long as it really was not a galactic class and wield such magnitude of power—that is, Joshua’s own self established measure, present-day Mycroft just might get rid of it.

Even if it was not a specific phenomenon and was assuredly that powerful—was it not yet to be born?

Joshua believed that things were far from ‘our fate is sealed’.

Things could still be changed. He had obtained the most important piece of the puzzled albeit still lacking another, before he would obtain the information and know the truth behind the sudden riots.

“Why would the unknown Evil God suddenly start growing? The Seven Gods clearly know some secret in the Abyssal Paradise, although it seems that they did not expect that an Evil God was gestating within.”

The warrior muttered. “It’s now only Starfall Year 840… if the reason that the Seven Gods disappeared in my past life was to subjugate that Evil God, I should really think about what I actually changed in the present timeline would bring forward something that should only be happening on a dozen years later.”

The effect could only be discovered after the cause had been uncovered. Solely by uncovering the reason why the unknown Evil God would suddenly be born and awakened that the method to destroy or delay its awakening could be found.

In the Void, the Giant Steel God closed his eyes.

After a few minutes, Joshua opened his eyes, having calculated all matters through supernatural processing.

“I get it now.”

“It’s the Evil God of Wither!”