Soul of Searing Steel

If the Embryo of the Evil God of Death that had encircled the Sage’s seal was a massive composite of Chaos, surpassing most Evil Gods even before awakening and possessing power levels over ‘millions’, the present scattered sea of Chaos that spread after the seal was broken, combining with Chaos in the Abyss yet to awaken and surging towards the galaxy, that same Chaotic energy that gathered in the depths of the Abyss was approximately a hundred thousand in power level.

In fact, it was now dilapidated, spread across every spot of the Abyssal Paradise. Now, the power of the Evil God of Death was attempting reassembly and rebirth, through Joshua’s very body.

But even as the great composite of Chaos turned into a surge, that power remained as formidable as the Evil God of Wither even when scattered. Indeed, the condensed fragments of Chaos were even far powerful than that entity, spreading the gospel of despair as it poured forth and crashed towards the Giant God as if it was a falling star.

Even the weakest of those oncoming Chaos were the vengeful wills from dozens of worlds combined. Though it was far less than a genuine Evil God in terms of power and combat capacity, no entity presently in this galaxy could compare to their sheer quantity.

Their intent was quite simple too: they would assimilate Joshua’s consciousness, destroy the warrior’s ability to resist so that they would become a corpse like they were.

But Joshua was no corpse.

No warrior alive would allow an enemy to do as they wished!

Facing innumerable oncoming Chaos composite, Joshua neither moved nor evaded—every single direction and visible space were dark foes!

Boom!

Tremendous Steel Strength ruptured around the warrior, unleashing electrons trails of warp radiance and repelling the approaching dark Chaos. Joshua’s silver body then began to redden as he clenched the two luminous lances which he drew out from his two poles of ultra-dense mass, grasping the armaments composed of gamma rays as if they were solid!

Thus, veins of silver and red light abruptly appeared in the gamma ray burst that had no distinct color. Endless runes, with electromagnetic waves they carried were inscribed into the flow of light, fusing, splitting, refracting before uniting as one!

Ooom—!

In the very next second, as if a supernova tore the dark night apart, incandescent divine light shot out with a hum, turning into a blinding meteor that sunk into the first Chaos composite!

Within that single instant, the lunging composite that seemed driven to consume the world paused at once. Its outer layer and form were clearly unscathed, just as the pure gamma ray lance thrown by Joshua would not have damaged the compound that was more than several worlds worth of Chaos given form… and yet it simply froze where it was as if it had died.

But that was the first piece—there were still inexhaustible ranks, or indeed limitless darkness following behind.

Joshua simply met it head on.

The black mass behind the Giant God of Steel whirled, the shiny accretion disk moving as if clock hands or perhaps turning gears, drawing a path of warped gravity that made space itself scream. The warrior worked his lance and iron fist, punching a trail of light in the dark Abyss, crushing any smaller pieces of Chaos composite and throwing his mysterious luminous lance to render the bigger pieces dormant.

Drawing more luminous lances from the poles, Joshua advanced quietly but swiftly, pulling a distorted path that neglects any form of instincts as if seeking the single solution from a complex maze. The warrior hence darted past Chaos composites that were at least a dozen times more powerful than Wither, and before they could turn to continue their pursuit, he would quickly accelerate, and in burst of flashes, the Giant God would crash into the embrace of a single colossal composite. In that split second, the formless electromagnetic lance would penetrate its shell and pierce deep inside!

Metallic clanging would echo clearly, and the lance that should be colorless but turned into a silver crimson by the warrior abruptly dimmed. Endless runes would flicker in the surging of waves, transferring great Steel Strength as if a tidal wave of data.

“Argh!!”

It was clearly the composite that was being attacked, but for the very first time, Joshua let out a muffled cry of pain. As the Giant God of Steel’s shell abruptly turned red before quickly cooling again, that single instant of redness resembled an astonishing blood color!

Still, it was even more shocking that the luminous lance that was pure light and electromagnetism also apparently had neither mass nor impact. However, after Joshua exclaimed in pain, the larger composite that was equal to three Evil God of Wither disappeared.

***

“I can’t accept this… I can’t accept that our civilization can’t even reach beyond the skies!”

In a narrow continental world, the pilots of a plane bellowed but were unable to bypass the threshold of the World Barrier whatever they did to the boundless skies beyond. There never had been the chance to even soar in that small world that had no atmosphere.

***

“That’s probably the only outcome after we forced Nature itself to a corner. We may not accept this, but it is seeking our own deaths…”

Reaching the end of their reign due to excessive development and overpopulation, a race of cave dwellers that lived in a high-gravity world had caused the fragile ground to collapse due to the powerful gravity of the planet itself, with toxic air streaming into every passageway and killing every person. The cave-dwellers, left with no other choice were unaware that their decimation was an absolute necessity.

***

As endless information cascaded and instantly erupted out of the large Chaos composite that vanished, the tales of twelve fallen civilization erupted out of the Chaotic force as little halos in the dark Abyss formed—condensed countless memories of perished worlds and hosted the most extreme and miserable of memories.

Joshua exhaled. He silently watched those memories as two luminous lances appeared in his hands, before turning to face the unending dark Chao again.

Meanwhile, crystal obelisks molded out of infinite souls in the world within Joshua body was shining in silver and crimson.

The billions of souls that were lurking and growing in the Giant God’s body belonged to the homeworld of the Evil God of Wither, the civilizations that entity destroyed as well as the living beings from Glorious Era Mycroft and generations of peoples that lived in the sealed world.

Those souls were absorbing Joshua’s power—they were a part of that world’s natural cycle, and would naturally be reborn through Joshua’s Steel Strength in years, decades or maybe centuries as spawns of the warrior, just like the Silver Fairies. They would thus become Joshua’s own power, his unbreakable shield.

Now, however, twelve of those crystal obelisks were uprooted, emanating silver light as spiritual luminescence flickered at its depth. In that single moment, twelve crimson beams that carried silver specks shot out from the center of the world, descending upon the obelisk!

In no time at all, multitudinous information cascaded while endless memories and history were being inscribed. Brave ones who yearned to cross the sky, leaders with the ambition to build greater civilizations, unyielding survivors of an apocalypse, researchers who could not succeed despite unrelenting effort—clear images, lamentations, everything was hence marked, chiseled by Steel Strength into incscription.

[I know.]

[In the dark Abyss where tears of anguish wafted, seeking the beautiful sight of hope was certainly asking for trouble.]

Roaring, Joshua crushed the darkness before him. His luminous lances stabbed into one massive Chaos composite after another, crying out in muffled but great anguish as if each stabbing was akin to himself being struck as well.

[Still, it is arrogance—I don’t understand everything about any of you, your past and how you suffered.]

The dark Abyssal seas torrented as the Chaos composite that surrounded Joshua gathered their ranks. Every Chaotic force that did not cascade beyond were now assembled, and like a rain of hail they icily rushed the warrior. Covered by never-ending darkness, the Giant God’s light was a dark shade, a sun shrouded by clouds of gloom.

[I could not grant you future and happiness for I know not where my own future lies, or what shape happiness takes.]

Dead center of the Chaos, the eyes of the Giant God of Steel shone in the purest of crimson fiery light: those were the colors of [Battle], [Destruction] and [Decimation] —the warrior, obsessed with all three, never knew nor concerned himself with where his future lay, nor what direction he could take to find happiness. All he had ever done was venturing forward, and triumph over any obstacles in front of him.

That was precisely why everything gathered upon his palm.

Spreading his arms, Joshua’s luminous lances floated over nothing before combining into a single pale-silver greatsword. Clenching its hilt, Joshua’s hands brushed over the edges of the blade—the weapon that was entirely light and gravity was so illusory, and yet, the silver specks of Steel Strength that flickered within and the crimson runes were so real that It resembled the blazing St. Elmo’s fire, illuminating the sky and the sea.

The accretion disk behind the Giant God’s body split into manifold beams, gathering upon the blade and enlarging it.

[But since I’m here, I have to do something.]

[—O Sorrow and Death.]

Standing at the center of the Darkest Abyss, Joshua four hands tightened over the great sword that was far larger than an ordinary and his own size. Blinding luster flashed on both edges while the warrior brandished it in the Void, forming a cross as he moved it up and down, left to right.

Thus, the cross tore across the gloom and returning the sun’s brilliance into the world.

Many smaller Chaos composites that embodied single digit or double-digit value in power levels were hence vaporized by the greatsword’s trail into spherical specks. Those with three or four-digit values would freeze, rendered dormant like the others that were pierced by the luminous lances.

[—I have heard your call]

[You are weeping, and pursuing destruction]

Joshua panted for a while as he floated at the center of the cross before flying rapidly, using his full strength to turn silver greatsword into lances that pierced the Chaos composite that had paused. Crimson runes glinted like a cascading waterfall, moving Steel Strength that carried information while millions of beams shot out from the core of the world in Joshua’s body, descending on one crystal obelisk after another.

At the bottom of the obelisk, the formless souls that waited for rebirth naturally shifted. As inscriptions were carved and information streamed within, those souls grew quickly before slowly changing into the images that appeared in those memories.

Like vivid sculptures and living gravestones.

[This is all I could give you, your final consolation and salvation!]

Roaring and charging through the dark Void and dragging a long explosive trail behind him, uncountable Chaos composites were reduced into ash, while the warrior’s eyes turned crimson.

Joshua’s silver form began to change slowly into a stark blood-red. Divine light was extending without stopping as exceedingly radical principles were driven by their master into a singular will, one that could suppress all despair, sorrow and memories of the past.

It was a conundrum: Joshua’s power would make it easy to break the Chaos composites, and how mere natural phenomenon could be mentioned in the same breath with a Giant God that could move heaven and earth? But as long as the memories of countless perished worlds were not purged, they would be eternal Evil Gods.

To clear those despair and torment most swiftly and directly, one must subjugate them all with the most radical will.

[Divinity]

His consciousness almost fully invaded by divinity, Joshua, who was now state nearing divine death obtained unlimited godly power despite being unconnected to the Root. That excessive spiritual force could influence even reality, with even the pure silver Steel Strength being dyed a vein-color.

Be that as it may, the warrior’s mind was calm, his fighting style artistically and simplistically sweeping through the horde of Chaos: the weak were pulverized with fist, the powerful stabbed with luminous lances and the multitudinous wiped out with his greatsword. As he pivoted and dance, the Giant God of silver and crimson tunneled an avenue of light in the darkness like a drill!

The tears of many beings had eroded a vale of tears in that vast galaxy—deep and surging with a vast flow that was the Nether River. As the latter gathered without end, it formed the great ocean known as the Vortex of Creation.

Nonetheless, darkness was inescapable for the Void of Creation despite it granting all sorrow, despair and death was rebirth, new hopes, and futures. The poison that was the Evil Gods of Chaos had polluted the very roots of the galaxy, killing stars and dulling planets, turning the once dazzling Abyssal Paradise into a dark night without stars. Inestimable world fragments hence revolved in that night without dawn, slowly forgetting even their own name as they wept mournfully.

The Sage had wanted to save everything. He loved the galaxy, even the Multiverse itself dearly. He prepared Project Rebirth and left his homeland, searching for the origin point of all Evil God and sorrows, to extinguish the darkness that engulfs the Multiverse from its very foundations.

But Project Rebirth failed. The last vein of light hence died even in the Darkest Abyss, and not even dreams survived.

Until now.

A faint but immeasurably steady light reappeared.