Soul of Searing Steel

As Joshua search for possible presence of Chaos amidst emotional sighs, the warrior suddenly realized that something was unusual.

“I’m almost done searching the entire world—even the underground depths… but where are the souls of the 2.3 billion Sartreans?”

***

The Sartreans were a mammalian species that reproduced quickly, having no fixed breeding period and showing interest in mating whenever the weather was optimum, with mothers giving birth to three to five each litter. Due to the limited world resources, the Sartrean civilization was placed planned parenthood policy—while it certainly maintained the population, it also brought about countless tragedies.

And unlike most Void civilizations with higher procreating rate, each Sartrean possessed a soul.

It would sound unusual, but the Sartrean world was one with high ether concentration: The special supernatural force that was remarkably similar to mana without attributes could produce great driving force or converted into different powers out of thin air. Many spells of pure movement including Void acceleration or seismic pull were strongly linked to ether, and the Sartrean world itself was enshrouded in it, allowing even the most ordinary of sailed ships to move and fly with mere runic inscription.

Within the environment of concentrated ether, the Sartreans were born with souls, thought of as a spiritual race by the former Glorious Era in Mycroft. In that period, those without natural souls were thought to be inferior or even incomplete, and the Sartrean managed to secure some favor from Mycroft based on that single aspect.

But now, those billions of souls disappeared without a trace after the five days of unrest.

It was no laughing stock.

His brow tightening, Joshua searched the entire Sartrean world once again: 2.3 billion souls of intelligent creatures would be enough for Fattrovi to burn as fuel to switch between hundreds of World Lines, and would directly ascend normal small worlds several tiers into a high-mana world.

In fact, there was no telling if the Soul Ocean that formed the core of the Evil God of Wither had that much souls!

“Steel God…”

Although it was able to tell that something was wrong as well, the Steel Python Sartre was more worried about Joshua’s actions than the vanishing souls, its coils tightened unwittingly. “Wait, please be careful—”

But its pleas were just a little late.

Joshua, who realized that something was awry, controlled his power and stirred a tidal wave over the world of Sartre.

Steel Strength resonated over the entire planet equally like a massive tentacle that stretches over thousands of kilometers, slowly and gently combing through every corner of the world.

That naturally was a perspective from beyond the world. Inside the world, the Steel Strength appendage encircled the entire planet at fifteen times the speed of sound—perhaps even quicker. It would take less than an hour for the world to be combed through like a riverbed by a net, and not even young fish or prawns not spared.

Within the world, space itself trembled like water ripples. Gravity disturbance wreaked by condensed bodies of Steel Strength left the dimensions warped, with the spatial ripples being Joshua’s Legendary-tier method of observing the world, just like the supersonic waves that bats made.

Thus, within an hour, Joshua found the whereabouts of those 2.3 billion souls.

On the ground, Zessel, one of the rare few Sartreans who were not hypnotized by Steel Strength looked up to the skies.

All that happened today was far more eventful and unbelievable than what it had gone through over the past decades and centuries.

It witnessed the civil unrest of the Sartrean civilization, the mutual assault between allied military forces. It witnessed the hellish scenes when the beam cannons struck their home planet, the shattering of the World Barrier, the mighty otherworld being that crushed the sun before restraining the entire world in silver mist as if soothing a nest of ants.

And now, it witnessed another brand-new moment of history.

Silver mist as vast as the galaxy descended from the heavens like a waterfall, before hence gushing towards the Sartrean sun.

The blazing light of noon was covered by an unstoppable shadow, with erratic and corrupted colors faintly showing in the golden sun.

In that very moment, Zessel realized that the weak perhaps never had held their own fate in their hands.

Whether the Sartrean chose to head toward the Void or stayed in their home planet was a frivolous possibility for the Multiverse. Chaos and Order would not care for the rise or fall of an ordinary race, and all their choices only held meaning for themselves.

The sun was shrouded by the silver mist, and the Sartrean world descended towards obscure dusk.

In between, Zessel could faintly hear a voice from the skies, or even the Void, seemingly yelling.

As for Zelma who was right beside Joshua, the warrior’s voice clear and distinct.

“Come out!” The Giant God thus proclaimed, before extending his right hand and clenching it at the Sartrean world.

Thus, a streak of dark veins appeared around the sun of Sartre, encircled heavily by the silver mists.

Then, the Giant God ‘pulled’—and like a cloud of plasma, the seemingly blazing but infinitely sinister, dark gray-black cluster was extracted from the inside of the sun.

It was a massive sphere over dozens of kilometers long, its gray-black corrupting light emanating from its surface and spreading like toxins in the atmosphere. Like a sun, its surface that was incessantly glinting as if a corona has countless bizarre Chaotic runs churning and morphing, leaving all who saw it unsettled.

Inside the cluster of light, there were countless of Sartrean souls wailing and screaming.

“What—what on earth is that?!”

Zessel roared uncontrollably at the sight.

“What, what is that?!”

The Steel Python Sartre exclaimed in equal shock as well.

Meanwhile, Joshua narrowed his eyes, entering Steel Strength vision to view the gray-black cluster restrained in place even as it struggled fruitlessly. He could feel the despair and negative presence wafting from it, and the insignificant spiritual corruption intent on breaking his own spirit down.

“That’s the souls of the 2.3 billion dead Sartreans.”

He answered the Steel Python quietly, before laughing softly. “Of course, now, it has another name: Evil God Embryo.”

Ignoring the Steel Python’s stunned silence, Joshua took a deep breath—he was turning serious and entering combat mode.

“Looks like it’s worse than we imagined. The presence that stirred the unrest across worlds is not merely an Evil God, but one that could create another… To be specific, creating another Evil God through resonance.”

In the Void, the silver Giant God strode toward Sartre, his approaching causing ripples over the World Barrier while Joshua spoke calmly, “But you don’t have to worry. It’s not an Evil God yet and its power has not been fully converted. Even the remaining energy that could nurture it—in other words, the other ten billion of Sartrean souls is under my protection. It’s nothing but a malformed thing that could not cause much damage.”

As he spoke, Joshua could not help remembering the devastating Abysses and the demons that had destroyed each other. Are there such composites of Chaotic souls in those worlds that could form Evil God embryos as well?

He could not tell. But now, Joshua found a clue he wanted when he came to the Sartrean world, and could not help but show a dangerous smile.

“I’ll have to beat it to death while it’s still young.”

***

At the depths of the Void far away from the Sartrean world, the center of the Lost Galaxy and nearby the world of Mycroft…

A white divine radiance flashed amidst dimensional turbulence, weaving.

However, when the pure-white specks of light that flickered like stardust yet welled with boundless vigor moved through the endless sea of stars, a violet vein of light that was powerful yet dim appeared before it.

[Have you met him?]

[Yes.]

Two wills at once interacted without preamble.

[Have you chosen to invite him as well?] The violet light glinted.

[No.] The white light shrunk. [I simply wished to see what person he was, being alleged to resemble the mentor remarkably—it’s certainly true that he is utterly different from him, but it is just as settling.]

[And unlike the rest of you, I don’t require help.]

[Funny.] The violet light began to whirl in a distinct pattern, flinging away countless specks as if shaking its head. [No Order could be accomplished alone, just as no solitary beast could be described as Order for it is meaningless.]

[Existence itself is meaningless.] The white light flashed peacefully as if a person was speaking flatly. [Such is the crux of life.]

[All of your existences are the proof of my path. It could even be said that everyone enables me.]

The violet light did not flash, and no information was flowing—there was no telling if it was a sneer or a mockery.

Still, the white light kept speaking.

[Listen, friend.]

[As long as one exists]

[Intelligence did not matter]

[neither does civilization.]

[Everything from thought, self-consciousness, emotion, grudges would not matter.]

[To life, existence was the only factor worth caring about.]

[Over the Multiverse, lives that were the most numerous, having the longest history and spread the furthest, are not humans or the tribes of Shelter, nor great Void civilizations or Evil Gods of Chaos, not even Void Behemoths… They may be able to put an end to each other, but would never extinguish life.]

Around the white light, specks of divine power wafted, turning into mirages of butterflies.

Furthermore, as white radiance flash, various insects, multicellular and unicellular creatures were spawned. There were also bacteria, viruses, and near unobservable and nonexistent mesoscopic living energy compositions, playing out along with the divine power mirage.

[Intelligence and civilization are a frivolous change in reproduction. That, change, however, is a gift from superior beings. Even so, many beings would never appreciate that precious gift after gaining it without being prepared.]

Infinite microscopic creatures resembling bacteria, viruses, and insects distinctly formed a massive and primitive ecosystem that was intricately linked—the design of their social structure, life cycle up to their racial genes, DNA and energy designs were all embodied within a circular system of Order. As if unimaginable components of a Holy Light machine, forming a great magic circle which scale is counted in units of world and dimensional regions.

Without intelligence, civilization or emotions, before the living mechanism known as the Insect Swarm of Order, all language became frivolous. Guided by instincts of devouring, destroying and existing for the sake of survival, they carried the Holy Light and the power of Order across worlds, clearing away all darkness and Chaos.

[As expected, you are the craziest amongst us.]

It was after a long silence that the violet radiance flashed once again.

[If our mentor knew how mad you were…]

[He is no longer here, but he would definitely praise me for I was always his most obedient student. My life is given by him, a living machine and a tool for forming that path—unlike you who resist, I cherish that identity.]

The white light was simply unaffected by the violet light’s information. Like starlight in the night, flashing faintly and rhythmically, as if in a faint smile.[Friend, it is only after existing that life has the luxury to discuss intelligence and civilization, but as long as Chaos is not wiped out, all that you and I do are futile.]

[Just wait as we pave the path for you. Intelligence and life would thus blossom over the corpses of the living.]