Soul of Searing Steel

“Ying, Ling. I’m planning to work with the Northern Dwarves to restart the production line for divine armaments.”

Years ago, the divine armament siblings who had crossed the Stargate to reach the Zeta Ram system were enjoying the initial bliss of reunion with their master, before Joshua informed them about the matter determinedly. “I believe that in this age of looming threats, Mycroft should not solely rely on relics of the Glorious Era. Certain otherworld or present technologies must develop—or we would certainly fail as the Glorious Era did.”

“Divine armaments are not some profound technology like the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds, but a clever and elaborate design that provides the best performance, a combination between a burst of wisdom from the Karlis tribes and several aggregated skills of Mycroftian races. I think the ability of most people on Mycroft would advance if widespread production is achieved, just as I did back then.”

Joshua appeared slightly regretful even though he spoke calmly then, having stood in the large bridge of the Dreadnaught and stared at the Void beyond. “I should have done that earlier, but kept running into too many things that I had to see to and was forced to keep delaying the plan… but that’s no longer the case now.”

Ying could vividly remember how she felt when she heard those words then: a surging bitterness in her heart.

Was she jealous? It was not such emotion.

Having an irreplaceable identity claimed? It was not something so shallow either.

At the time, the divine armament was unsure of how she felt. Now, after thinking about it carefully, she realized that the emotion was her own mixed feelings about her master finally realizing how powerful his own weapons were, and the unhappiness of being ignored before—in a nutshell, it was a sigh towards something exceedingly profound.

Ling could vividly remember how he felt then as well.

What. I’m just your weapon…why say all those things?

At the time, the divine armament wanted to spread his hands and make a helpless gesture. He certainly found things well because his master was so powerful, wise, and talented—so what could he have said as a weapon? ‘No’?

I will only agree with you and carry out your will. Even if you become so powerful that you no longer have to regard all life, I will only ever remain in the place which you have forgotten and serve you loyally.

***

A tempest that moved over 200 kilometers per hour whizzed between skies and land, jumbled in hail and blinding lightning that fell from the skies like countless blades and axes. Still, even in the heavens that were laden in dark clouds, luminous runic circles from another world flickered.

At the moment, the fat middle-aged man and his wife had rushed into the control room for the arcane generators before the violent storm reached the embankment of Sea Dragon City. As the entire building was about to fall apart and the tempered glass shook as if about to shatter in the very next second, the man keyed in the password in what was the swiftest speed in his life and checked the situation of the arcane station, and determinedly turned off most functions. The woman who worked there did the same, both combining tacitly like dancing a waltz in their earlier years.

“Phew…finally done!”

With his task accomplished, the middle-aged men exuded a breath and almost collapsed over the control panel, not wanting to even move. “Now, the tide would affect the embankments minimally—we don’t have to worry about it falling apart…as long as the tide is not on a world scale, Sea Dragon City is safe.”

Beside him, the woman was immobile as well. The long run from inside the city beneath wind and rain, avoiding any monsters that might be there, and finally working to her very limit in the control room…tired, she turned towards the still-dark sky….

No.

She could see two sky-blue radiance that had broken the heavy curtains of darkness and illuminated the dark clouds. It was the light of Order clearing away the oppressive atmosphere from before—both the woman and her husband gaped at it, promptly feeling an ease in their breaths and a calm in their hearts.

The streak of azure left a long trail, darting through the air like a falling star.

***

Thoughts wandered to the past once again.

“I’m hopeful that you’ll learn all that I’ve taught and become a person like me… it’s a hope I have, not just for Mycroft but every individual aligned to Order in the Multiverse.”

It was the words their master said before leaving Zeta Ram for Stellaris.

Joshua had stood in the Void in his human form, his back facing his divine armaments as he looked towards the endlessly distant stars and darkness, his slightly proud laugh audible. “Hahaha…I’m really not humble, and I know that it’s asking for a lot—after all, leaving aside having every other person becoming myself, Evil God invasions wouldn’t be a problem if a few thousand Joshuas existed in the Multiverse.”

“It’s a pity there isn’t—only a second choice is available.”

Yes, Master isn’t wrong at all…if a thousand beings resembling Master existed, is there anything in the world that would trouble them?

There definitely would not be if they did not challenge each other.

Rapid velocity of over 3000 meters per second turned air itself into a steel-like barrier, but the two blue rays easily punched through them like a meteor falling from beyond, carrying heat that vaporized the icy sea and splitting a distinct trail over its surface.

The misty winds that resembled that of polar regions hence combined with the thunder into ice bolts, shooting at them like a salvo of cannon fire blanketing heaven and earth, just like a rain of ice and lightning.

However, powerful sword aura and axe radiance leapt out of the azure light and cut down all oncoming assault, rendering the seemingly profound offensive harmless.

Meanwhile, memories surfaced.

“That’s where the problem comes in. Oh, divine armaments of mine.”

The humanoid warrior—a shell over advent of something profound unto the mortal realm turned and tousled the sibling’s head, gently saying, “Do you wish to become a being such as I?”

“Sacrificing everything, burning life and soul…even if it’s a little, would you both really want to follow my footsteps?”

Ying stared into her master’s eyes.

I…

Ling, too, stared into his master’s eyes then.

I…

***

Ooom!!!

The booming and long hum echoed from the oceanic depths. The Ultimate Entity’s rage boiled over upon realizing that its attack had been futile. Faraway glaciated islands shattered beneath the raging seas, leaving milelong glaciers bobbing up and down the surface amidst the surging tides, while a wave of magical world that would stir worlds and dimensions and consume both skies and oceans burst from the bottom of the ocean, engulfing the oceanic region of over hundreds of miles.

Even if Sea Dragon City and its immediate region were sub-tropical zones, the warm home of sea dragons, it was freezing and dry just like the northernmost Lost Sea. In fact, one could actually hear the different gases in the air freezing, turning into fluids.

Now, there was a massive swirl at the very heart of the icy oceanic region, emanating icy mist that were 200 degrees below, revealing a cone snail that was almost thirty floors tall at its centermost spot. It split apart the mist as it appeared over sky and sea, azure magical crystals embedded at every corner of its shell as if they were eyes.

All magical forces were dominated by it in the very moment it appeared, with everything aside from frost elements being dispelled completely. The gales, icy tides, and suffocating chill came ever closer, shifting into a arcane wave surpassing a Supreme-tier spell by dozens of times in scale, crashing directly over the two sky-blue figures that were tiny in comparison.

Answer? Of course I do.

I do.

I’ve not fought with you for a long time, Ying had said then.

I was disappointed that I couldn’t fight with you, Ling had said then.

No, I am both disappointed and hopeful, even now.

That’s why we’ve been training and striving…but there’s no use. We’d occasional be dejected and left in despair, but those are momentary—where others would never see, we were ever-diligent, only ever asking that we’re not left behind

Still, perhaps we are really stupid and dull in certain aspects… we could never keep up.

“Master, you only need to think to get an answer, make an effort for a result—that is already the greatest talent in this world. They like to claim that you don’t think, that you’re impulsive…but why think when the outcome has already been decided, instead of making the best choice and act?”

We knew that.

All along.

In the face of the tide of ice, the two streaks of light laughed inaudibly like a wind chime. Veins of silver rays beneath them elegantly danced through the freezing storm as a faint black spot traversed ice and tides, easily avoiding the Ultimate Entity’s offensive before turning into two arcs that combined, hence becoming a tempest called light in the dark world.

Sword and axe crossed while blinding flash sparked tremendous head, creating light that shone all around it. In the moment that the two distinct aspects of ‘vibration’ and ‘cut’ that were fundamentally similar reached each other, a power more profound than themselves was created, tearing apart microscopic particles. Even so, the process that resembled nuclear fission did not trigger a chain reaction but was controlled steadily instead, becoming a white-hot luminous blade that swung towards the tide of ice.

The tide itself was massive, throwing around frozen hills that were over hundreds of meters long and bringing along a shockwave that moved beyond 200 meters per second. Because of its grand scale, it did not break apart when the combined luminous blade of sword and axe pierced it, instead creating a hole of regular geometry. A violent head spread from the cavity itself, instantly vaporizing those hills of ice.

Size and power do not have to be greater than the enemy—it only has to be focused, concentrated, and purer.

Against a powerful foe, the quickest way for one who was neither strong nor weak to quickly triumph was not to grow faster, but to focus their strength and striking the foe where it was most vulnerable.

Instantly, the surging tide was cut apart by the luminous blade as serpentine bolts swirled around it, leaving a burnt odor in the air. It agilely turned around in the air, avoiding the lightning, frost, and purest of magical binding from the Ultimate Cone Snail—escaping everything or cutting them down. The Ultimate Entity, born just a few hours ago and had gone through Death of the New to obtain partial combat memories from its legacy, was left dazed by the elegant battle dance and lost track of the luminous blade.

There was no question that it was the prelude to death, for the shining of sword and axe both reached it together.

***

A final flash of memory.

“Being stupid is simply being slow and not incapable. Ying, Ling, both of you are manmade intelligence forged from my bone and flash, and the purpose of your creation is to be a stabilizer of my power in my brain and soul, ensuring I can withstand the excess power that divine armaments brings—therefore, if my soul, brain, or even my body could finally withstand that power, your purpose would be lesser.”

Both divine armaments fell silence at those words, their heads lowered and afraid of facing their master’s gaze.

Even so, hands that could have been warm or cold grasped their hand. They could feel a great power being delivered from those hands—not a forced ascension but the gifting of a certain essence: a design, an image…a system that reached to the future.

“But so what?”

Joshua’s laughter could be heard. “You are my family.”

“With me around, no one could ever force you to fight if you don’t want to. However, if you wish to fight, I would do all I can to instruct you without holding anything back.”

“Listen, Ying, Ling.”

“It’s not a problem to be stupid or being unable to fight alone. I am a champion with 10,000 measures at my disposal to rid the things that bother you.”

Densely packed data appeared in their eyes, creating pages and tables like a storm that was eventually embedded into the depths of their soul…System—a real System and not the test version that had to be ingested so that the physical composite would trigger its functions, but a mature, even complete System.

“This thing is not strong at all, but it is the net that teaches one to fish, so don’t use it simply as a fish that increases your strength. It could provide answers if you think and yield results for your efforts, and when you suffer, you would see that the progress bar is slowly yet steadily moving along—the System is that simple, and could be external or a tool that records growth.”

“Hold on to it and become me…no.”

The hands separated and the voice became distant, but those last words remained in the hearts of the divine armaments.

“Become what you want to be.”

***

Crack—

The shell broke, resounding over the world. The icy tempest that once engulfed the oceans paused instantly, the raging sea was no longer driven, and the lightning amidst the dark clouds instantly diminished.

One could see a single flash—a straight, distinct line in the night sky striking their adversary’s weakest spot with the greatest force. A blast that went beyond fifty times the speed of sound was aimed true at a part of the Ultimate Cone Snail which was not covered in shell, and along with the luminous blade’s own horrific power, part of the Ultimate Entity’s weaker shell was shattered.

Then came the explosion.

Ka-boom— the blazing shockwave vaporized the sea, causing the bowl-shaped vapors expanding to almost 1000 meters tall to burst out in the very next instant. As the sky was dyed in purple blood, a mushroom cloud of the same color gently arose 4000 meters above!

Boom!!

A second explosion erupted in the mushroom cloud. Two spiraling rays of silver and black were chasing after an ice-blue core, violently attacking it from two sides.

In the troposphere, two dazzling rings of eruption extended, tearing the dark clouds and returning sunlight to the world—in the center of those rings and the top of the mushroom cloud, the two divine armaments clad in azure armor hovered in the skies.

The silver-haired girl dispelled her great sword into particles of energy, while the black-haired youth turned his giant axe into a faint shadow as both of them looked up towards the skies.

There were many deep gashes on their steel armor—the extended activation of explosive techniques and the combination of sword and were was slightly too dangerous with their Supreme-tier forms that was reinforced by their armors. However, they would probably have had a more precise grasp of their path after this battle and gradually strengthened in their own paths.

“Mortals—or indeed the mundane—would probably end up ragged like you and I if they pursued prodigies.”

Ying could not help sighing and quietly muttered as she withdrew her weapon. “But can we give up? Even if the distance extends despite our pursuit while we keep advancing, it is still a pursuit. However, giving up even for a brief moment would mean being left behind.”

“Ling!”

Her melancholy lasting for a brief second, Ying soon recovered her determined demeanor of a divine armament girl who had no common sense before, but was an outstanding warrior now. “Our mission is accomplished,” she said quietly. “How’s Black?”

“It’s fine. The simple viral forms on her side are all destroyed. She’s now patrolling the West Mountains and will call for support from other champions…we don’t have to worry.”

Ling, who was maintaining constant communication with their allied units, only continued after a brief pause. “Things are going fine here in Mycroft, with all portals stabilized with support of the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds’s Commanding Will and Nostradamus. 90% of women and children have been moved to the shelter realm, leaving just combatants and personnel who wish to stay behind.”

“Relax. Light’s main body would take care of our Moldavian friends.”

Ying sighed in relief at that. “Alright… that’s good.”

Even as she spoke, she could not help looking up towards the skies.

Towards somewhere in the distant space.

Now, even if you are not here, we can do our duty—to fight for ourselves and the world.

Even if just a little…we will keep up with your footsteps.

That is our reason to fight.