Soul of Searing Steel

In the distant past, when the zerg wreaked havoc upon the Far Southern forests and the elves of the continent were yet unified—when the Nature’s Magister was still Aydril Galanoud, she once traveled across the continent, exploring, discovering, adventuring, battling… doing the same things every adventurer did.

Within that era which was sometime away from now, Galanoud had culled evil dragon provocateurs, rejuvenated barren lands devastated in the battle between champions, standing against human nations and creating a grudge against the orcs, not to mention combining with various races to seal lands of Chaos hand-in-hand.

However, Galanoud rarely collaborated or worked with any ally whether she was fighting, adventuring, exploring, or sealing Chaos. She was alone most of the time, completing one laudable achievement after another.

Her solo movement had thus left people of that time in fervent debate over her reasons, dissecting her hubris, ego and the ancient traditions of the elves, lauding that as an excuse when Galanoud’s actions were ever so simple: She could not unleash herself if there were too many people around her occupying most space.

Being one of the most powerful druids in Starfall Era history, the Nature’s Magister was not proficient in the way of ‘transfiguration’ early on. She was instead a master in controlling substantial plants, altering various living parts that would in turn subjugate the enemy—most of which were used entire forests as targets.

When the Nature’s Magister unleashes her full power, the forests would grow and broil as if one collective creature. Both ally and foe in that boundary would be subjugated by profound Nature Power, and given that shockwaves from her battle against the enemy would leave anyone helpless, they could only stay far away.

As time moved on, she became a pronoun for soloist.

***

Now, in the Sealed World at the edge of the galaxy.

Watching as the blast of Chaos that rapidly spread to cover an entire world, the Nature’s Magister could not help recalling distant memories, complicated emotions arising within her.

“A few centuries past, and it’s now my turn to get caught in another’s shockwave, huh.”

But this was not surprising because it was alongside that fellow.

The vines extended from the Nature’s Magister thus curled into a sphere against the oncoming Chaos blast, wrapping around Hub Accrafa. Then, as dark green Nature Power flashed in the basin of roots to form a perfect defensive circle as if reefs beneath seawater, withstanding the incessant blows.

“Kids, I’m going to help Count Radcliffe, can’t spare the power to protect you.”

The dark green fluorescence distinctly and mildly seeped out of the main roots, floating in the air, even igniting the Chaos forces around it. That radiance soon gathered and formed the appearance of a long-haired female elf, although her face was vague as the radiance lit. “All of you just have to stay inside this circle.” The Nature’s Magister’s voice could be heard from within. “Do not leave. As long as the Evil God does not attack you directly, the shockwave from its corruption would not penetrate my defense.”

The withering presence had kept weakening the surface of the root formation, enfeebling and reducing the organic substances into ash although it had been energized and augmented to withstand even star fires. Nonetheless, the roots were regenerating and rebirthing as well, abandoning the affected and weakened part while keeping those parts that incidentally withstood and stayed unaffected by Chaos, incessantly evolving into parts more suitable to handle Chaos erosion.

Such was Nature’s Power.

***

Inside Hub Accrafa, the five members of the Elite Part and the elven girl Sol stared blankly at the trees, trunks, and roots that kept breaking and closing their ranks outside the observation windows, and that fluorescent figure which was quickly leaving.

“…What are Legends?”

Caster muttered to himself at the sight. “I could imagine Gold-advanced or Supreme-tier powers, futures I envision… but the power of Legends escapes my imagination.”

There was silence in the control room. All of them should have been rejoicing in escaping the clutches of death, and yet a sheet of gloom hangs over the room.

Although the Elite Party are helpless against the Black Fog and powerful otherworld beings, their strengths were different—just like the Tyrant Squid they encountered previously, they simply needed one amongst them to ascend into Supreme for an overwhelming victory and dice it into squid balls. Meanwhile, the Black Fog was certainly much more powerful, but it remained in the boundary of their comprehension, even encouraging them to strive in their cultivation so that the day they could avenge themselves would come.

But the battle between Legends and Evil God they witnessed today surpassed that boundary.

If the power of an Evil God which had just awakened after being sealed over millennia was already so horrific, what if it had been in perfect condition? What if stronger Evil Gods had come? Would the fate of Mycroft fare any better than the Sealed World if multiple, stronger Evil Gods invaded their homeworld?

“Is there enough power?”

Priest asked, interrupting the wandering thoughts of the others. By interacting with the Hub through his clearance, he swiftly obtained the data. “Yes… Ah, my mentor had handily charged the hub when he carried us away!”

Having seen the line of text which read ‘Allied Legend energy providence: 47%, Priest’s somber mood turned well considerably. “The Hub itself and Her Eminence’s spell circle would make a double-layer defense. At least our safety is assured.”

Everyone else nodded and sighed in return—having hovered between life and death situations while enduring great horrors at every second, even the Elite Party who had been trained well enough to not fear death felt their legs go soft, the despair of inability reverberating in their hearts.

As for how Sol, who never experienced the Northern specialty training could stay conscious while going through the same horrors such as themselves… the only explanation was that the elven girl truly did not fear her own passing.

After all, having profoundly suffered Chaos corruption, she had already accepted her fated death.

“What is it, Sol?”

Priest asked, noticing that the elven girl was looking blankly out of Hub Accrafa’s observation window. “What are you looking at?”

“Ah, um…” Sol was surprised at his question, but she soon relaxed, biting her lip as she stared dumbly at the Void that was now filled with black Chaotic mist. “It’s just that we’re so far away now. I wish to see where the Mother Tree could be…”

To the elves, the Mother Tree was home. Even if Sol did not rely upon the Mother Tree to connect herself with the other elves, she would still subconsciously seek the Mother Tree in times of anxiety or loneliness.

But now, the world was all darkness and Chaos. Nothing could be seen, and there was no distinction.

Therefore, Priest’s expression turned complicated at the question.

‘ Your home… hard to say now.’

Priest was rather aware of his mentor’s capacity for destruction. He was a powerful being who could devastate a continent at a lift of his hand, and fed upon a planet’s crust—and this time, he had crashed onto the planet while fighting someone.

Priest doubted whether there was anything recognizable left on the planet’s surface, or if there was a surface for that matter. The raging Chaos had already consumed everything even before that, and Sol’s home would have long been destroyed.

“It’s by fortune we forcefully evacuated the Overwatch tribe… Or they would all be wiped out.”

Slightly glad at the thought, Priest breathed a sigh. “At least we did something and rescued some people… Though there might have been other elven tribes, we’re no gods—we can’t save everyone.”

It had taken all that they had to just help the ones right in front of them, and accomplish what they were capable of.

“Take a look at the elves,” Alchemist said from a corner. He was still sitting on the floor, his legs that felt like jelly having yet to recover. “We’ve arranged them on gondolas beforehand and they probably would not be affected by the bumpiness, but injuries might prove unavoidable. They might not die by Evil God, but could crash each other to death.

Clergy rose in response. “Will do. I’m going to have a look.”

Priest hurriedly grabbed Sol’s hand and followed Clergy, even though the elven girl still appeared to be in a blur. “We’ll go too.”

***

“Priest, what do you think our future would be like?”

Sol had suddenly asked as they walked over a corridor. Clergy, who was walking ahead, turned so quickly that he could have snapped his own neck, but between his curious expression and the astonished Priest, they quickly caught Sol’s meaning and the other ‘meaning’.

“In the future, you might be relocated to the Far South,” Priest said softly after considering the present state on Mycroft. “That’s the home of Mycroft’s elves, which hosts the Elven Court and the most powerful Mother Lifetree tribe. There’s no need for worry—they are a unified race, and they would view you as their own if your tribe is willing to join their ranks.”

“The powerful Legend who protected us just now is a Legendary champion of the Elven Court, Her Eminence the Nature’s Magister. She is the most powerful druid of Mycroft, and she would definitely be able to resolve the spiritual connection between the Mother Lifetree and your father and the others.”

“Hmm, that’s really good news!”

Sol’s spirit was at once raised at Priest’s confident reply, hence recovering some of her previous vigor. But after another brief silence, seemingly unable to repress her relit curiosity, she asked softly, “Well, Priest, what is Mycroft like?”

Priest naturally began to explain away in detail, something which occasionally prompted Sol’s surprised or awed exclamations, just as Clergy cut a solitary figure ahead of them, pondering.

‘ Why do I have to come along with these two?’

Soon, the trio arrived at the chamber where every Overwatch tribe member was placed. Sol and Priest ceased their exchanges and began to help Clergy conduct his observation and healing task.

It had to be said that Alchemist’s poison—or special sedative was excellent, with no elf showing any sign of coming too. The bumpiness before proved to be no problem since the gondola had been affixed, and the elves had almost bled a little from some mild knock on their heads, with none dying albeit appearing rather pitiful.

“I’ve never seen my father this way before.”

Sol was standing before the tribe’s leader. His crown having been removed early one, he was now simply a tired, old middle-aged elf, his brows closed tightly and his face full of anxiety. “His face never obviously shows whether he was angry, happy or puzzled before,” Sol said softly, “Since everyone’s emotions were shared, any rage or conflict would be a mere spring drizzle after it was shared amongst thousands… he never showed such clear worry before.”

“Heated, pure emotions is one of the things that drives all life to improve… How could there be development if the lines between love and hate are blurred?”

Priest was rather emotional about it all as well: everything from insects to beast, or even creatures with hierarchy would at least have the pure desire to feed and breed. Even monsters that seem callous or artificial beings such as the Black Fog possessed profound impulses in their very essence, as if blazing flames.

“I hope everyone could still smile after all this—”

A jolt in the heart of Priest and the others flashed even as Sol spoke, the minuscule throb having emerged from every corner of Hub Accrafa just as every elf in the chamber began to struggle violently in paint.

“Waaaargh!”

“Urgh…”

“It hurts! Ah, what’s… this?!”

Every elf who should remain unconscious from the alchemical concoction had all suddenly awakened from the entire hall, startling Clergy even as he healed one of the elves. The Holy Light he cast to restore a wound was thereby suddenly disjointed, manifesting as anomalies on another unscathed part on the elf’s body. Even so, that elf did not feel it as he sat up suddenly, scratching his own thin body as it burst with immense power, drawing bloody scars over it within moments.

“It’s inside! It’s inside! Take it out!”

He yelled in anguish; his voice conveying terror. “No! Don’t come near me!”

But soon, as Clergy and Priest intended to call out urgently for their three other remaining teammates and summon Hub Accrafa to suppress the mysterious uproar, all the elves at once ceased their havoc and abruptly fell back where they had laid.

“What’s going on?”

Clergy hurriedly half-knelt to examine the elf who scratched himself, frowning as Holy Light swept over his body. “Nothing unusual—all of them are alive and spiritually stable, as if asleep.”

But there was nothing normal about what happened at all! Suddenly awakened from the alchemical potion, going berserk, collapsing again even as their spirits stabilized… How could such a thing happen?

“Wait a minute. Sol?”

Priest made the same findings as Clergy—that ‘normal’ was the greatest of anomalies, but even as he pondered, he quickly remembered the quiet elf and hurriedly ran to her as he panicked.

That was when Sol, who had stood blankly at a corner from the start suddenly fell as her body swayed.

“Sol, what’s going on?!”

Holding her up, Priest looked into her distinctly murky eyes in bewilderment. “What happened? Why all of you…”

“Some—something… is…”

Perhaps having stayed conscious before, Sol’s resistance was much stronger than her own kind. Though unable to stand, the young girl managed to utter a soft reply, “Back… hurts very much… spirit, flowing away… swirl… soul’s… swirl…”

Her words soon grew scattered just as her gaze entered a trance, with no effect seen even as Priest imbued aura into her body or Clergy used Holy Light healing on her.

Soon, Priest sensed the spirit of the elf in his embrace flatlining, while the luster in her eyes turned turbid—then, in no time at all, all light vanished from Sol’s eyes, just like the other elves.

She had fallen to utter slumber.

***

Meanwhile, the fluorescent figure that was the Nature Magister arrived where Joshua stood.

Thus, she saw an unbelievable sight.

A spherical metal frame that could cover a planet’s core floated in the deathly and dark emptiness. Boundless Chaos presence was spreading out of the frame, cascading toward surrounding worlds.

It was the world seal that imprisoned the Evil God of Wither, left behind by the Glorious Era. Nine legends had created a planet to seal that entity by using the metal frame as a core, and now, after a great battle, the planet had shattered, leaving pieces of the seal’s base.

But that was not what left the Nature’s Magister astonished and bewildered.

Inside the metal frame was a distinct, black swirl that whirled rapidly while unleashing turbid radiances. Like a galaxy, it flickered with countless bright dots of souls, the radiances of spirits that have lived on that world over millennia. It was a bizarre Dark Galaxy, burning itself to release infinite Chaos presence to corrupt everything in every world around it.

Should that Dark Galaxy succeed in releasing substantial Chaos presence to corrupt surrounding worlds, it could directly and utterly awaken even with its main body remaining imprisoned—for afterward, the sealing circle would instead become part of its core instead of its cage.

Its idea was good just as its execution was successful. The great explosion of Chaos had assuredly covered all worlds around them with the presence of Chaos that made even the Nature’s Magister uncomfortable as if she had delved deep into the former Sealed Lands on Mycroft.

Still, there were unexpected things beyond the Evil God’s control.

Silver radiance could be seen extending along the metal frame of the seal—dazzling Steel Strength light, as if a rampart unpassable by all Chaos or a sheet that covered planetary bodies was rapidly spreading over the frame of the seal, isolating the Dark Galaxy from worlds beyond!

That silver radiance quickly covered seventy percent of the sphere’s surface. Chaos power could be seen wildly colliding against the Steel Strength fortress, but the silver radiance showed no sign of caving, maintaining its progressing imposingly and unstoppably, covering the entire Dark Galaxy.

The Nature’s Magister understood at a single glance that the silver Steel Strength rampart was unquestionably Joshua’s planetary form. “Count Radcliffe,” she could not help asking even as she looked on in astonishment, “You’re…”

“Engulfing, isolating.”

A murky voice could be heard from the distant silver fortress. “I would use my own body, a ‘world’ as a seal to utterly sever the Evil God of Wither from everything beyond, converting substance and stop its final rampage…”

“And then… Eat it.”