Soul of Searing Steel

It was like a clap of thunder that blasted the silence apart, embodying infinite might, as the incomparably grand voice echoed throughout worlds, jolting and awakening every person drowning in despair.

Although some of them were still stunned and immersed in excessively profound bewilderment and astonishment, most of the champions were quickly pulled out of their confusion and rapidly recovered their composure.

"…Joshua, do you still have any ideas?"

It was former Pope Igor who spoke first. Having relinquished all of his duties and simply coming forward as a 'Executor of the Holy Light', the old man's face was completely solemn, impassive even against the invincible darkness spreading throughout the infinite Void that could drown the entire cosmos. Even if he was feeling fear, Igor had to made a choice—he had actually been prepared to fall in battle as well, and his moment of blankness was mainly because he had imagined that his own death would be meaningless against enemies of such numbers, and was hence unable to react at once.

But Joshua was right.

What purpose would there be in not going to fight? When it was an enemy that would surely defeat them, would a miraculous victory ever come if they did not stand and fight?

Perhaps it was just like what that warrior always said: summoning your courage and fighting the darkness was in itself the greatest purpose.

Meanwhile, in response to the question from a friend, the Giant God turned and glanced once at Igor from the distance.

The determination gaze never before seen and the eyes that held a composure like no other actually left the former pontiff in such astonishment at once, leaving him speechless.

For some reason, Igor recalled a moment dozens of years ago when he succeeded the title and duty of the Pope of the Seven Gods Church, and the expression of the former pontiff then as they watched the slowly dying Flame of the world of Mycroft together.

That elderly man, who had long since passed away, had the same composed, determined gaze as Joshua did now as he watched the waning fire that could go out very soon. Igor could hardly believe that such a resolve to protect something without regard for cost could be seen from Joshua now.

Be that as it may, the voice of the warrior rang then, interrupting his trail of thought.

"Yes."

 The sonorous voice reached out and left the Void quaking, stirring ripples in the radiance of the Great Mana Tide. Joshua looked around at all the champions hurrying to gather around him, before turning to keep his eyes upon the boundless darkness in the Silent Void. "I have been prepared," the warrior said steadily, "and have expected it."

"Whether it is the arrival of so many enemies that I cannot stop them, whether it is the arrival of such powerful foes that I cannot beat them, whether it is my own inability to restrain Chaos because I have chosen wrongly, or whether it is because a clone of the Mastermind is so powerful an enemy that it is unstoppable—I have thought about every possibility, including the worst and most frightening."

"And though the coming darkness is plenty, it is not beyond my expectations, which is why I am already prepared for it."

"If that is the case, Joshua…"

Throwing off the mental association and the curious déjà vu, Igor asked the man who was still the Joshua he familiar with in puzzlement, "Do you mean to say…that you could become even stronger?"

However, he only received silence in response. Joshua stared out at the distance, seemingly unable to hear Igor.

It was after a long quietness that the Giant God, who kept staring at the darkness without turning his head, calmly said, "Yes, I could become even stronger."

"That being said…Igor, the Seven Gods, and every other champion from other civilizations who have come here, be prepared to set our plan for the worst in motion."

As he spoke, Joshua's words promptly increased in seriousness. "Everyone, please contact your home world as soon as possible and notify your citizens. Activate the shelters which you have built and the last resort that our civilization has set in place, for it is now the moment to use them without delay."

"Move each citizen who cannot fight and other technicians into safer shelter realms, because the battle soon to come would engulf the entire cosmos and no place would be safe. However, as long as they stay inside the shelters, they would still have a chance for survival before the entire cosmos is destroyed."

Everyone could hear and clearly understand Joshua's simple meaning.

In short, it was to move every individual to shelter realms such as the Ether Ring World or the Bloodmoon Abyss Shelter, to hide the majority of most civilizations, conducting a Great Migration that must be done under the worst circumstances.

***

Thanks to the warnings from the Mycroft civilization in the past and preparations they had set in place themselves, every civilization present had basically been prepared and built shelters that corresponded to their own populations. In fact, with the help of the Redemption System, each shelter that the respective civilizations had built perfectly accommodated their entire population and more.

None of them even thought that things were not so bad that the shelters were unnecessary. In reality, the situation was so hostile that even activating the shelters was no longer effective, and as such, they did not issue the call for evacuation in the first place. That was why most of the champions did not find anything wrong with Joshua's warning, and at once reached out to their own home world, urgently notifying everyone to carry out the Great Migration.

But unlike the others, when the other champions of Mycroft started to called home to have all citizens prepare to evacuate, both Ezerg and Israel frowned at the same time, with Igor himself sensing something unusual as well.

Of the three, one of them had lived since the era of the Sage until now, and was also a god who had witnessed the growth of two Mycroft civilization Demi Saints, with one eventually ascending as a Wise One. The other two were champions most closely acquainted with Joshua, although they had grasped different meanings from Joshua words.

"I understand."

The God of Might and Justice said pensively with a nod. "We will do as you say."

The elderly former pontiff nodded as well, having an inkling of what Joshua's plan would be.

To get every civilization to enter the shelters and make the target smaller, before having every champion assemble and break out of the encirclement while carrying the shelters?

It could not be helped either—not every champion had assumed of the path of a world incarnate like the warrior, and while their power could wreak great devastation, they might not necessarily have the power to move a world. Shelter realms, however, did not fall under that category since most of them were smaller than the standard worlds and much more concealed. They were more convenient, whether carried or protected, and as long as Joshua and the other champions were able to blast a way out of the net of darkness encircling the entire cosmos, they might really have been able to make a break for it.

After all, there was simply no meaning in sitting idly and wait for death to come in the cosmos with such infinite foes. They had to attack deliberately and clear a path! Though it would be regrettable in the case of the other cosmic civilizations that could not leave, there simply was no choice.

"It is definitely an idea Joshua would have," Igor thought to himself.

Ezerg, however, was under a different impression. Even if he had likewise anticipated the breakthrough that Igor had imagined, he had a stronger instinct that it was merely an appearance the warrior wanted to show in order to prevent others from catching on.

There would certainly be another real intention behind his actions.

Be that as it may, Joshua had said no more. He simply remained where he was and unleashed his light before looking out over the Void.

Silently, the warrior calculated the speed, direction, and estimated time of arrival for every dark tentacle, along with various critical data. No one would bother him, because even the craziest and most ignorant were aware that there was no other Demi Saint in the cosmos and thus, the warrior's existence was the only hope for all civilizations.

In no time at all, the orders and instructions from every champion at the frontlines reached their home civilizations.

Whether it was the Mycroft civilization or the other Void civilizations, all of them had moved quickly since the Ultimate Crisis which engulfed the cosmos—even cosmoses a dozen years ago—had basically left no civilization untouched. Each of them had been struck, and as such, even the civilizations without no shelters back then had begun to build them in the next decade to prevent the next calamity, even actually carrying out emergency drills.

With all of them having experience in evacuating, they naturally knew their way around it.

***

The Mycroft Continent, the Lost Galaxy.

Unlike the other civilizations, the citizens of this world were much more experienced.

"Serial number 16801 to serial number 18000, please proceed to the teleportation zone and hold tight to your Spirit Terminals. Scanning spells will examine the state of your body and soul, but there is no need for worry—this is mainly to confirm that your personal details fit the information we have, preventing any impersonations or mind theft."

"Do not move around or touch anything during teleportation, and follow the instructions of the automated machines of your local shelter after teleportation. Proceed to your allocated residence—there would be resource allocation and working arrangements provided in the shelter later, so any panic is unnecessary."

"Friends of foreign civilizations, please head for the Fourth Teleportation Zone—the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds has set up portals connected directly to your home world. Please head towards the front desk service counter for your teleportation ticket, and we will arrange for the teleportation according to the ticket."

The repetitive announcements could be heard over the broadcasting systems in the cities, with various massive blue portals opening in different locations and transporting crowds of citizens one after another.

With the numerical order arranged by the Spirit Terminals, the people of Mycroft were fully prepared even when the other civilizations have merely started the evacuations. The citizens would bring along their most precious properties and resources as they moved with family and neighbors in groups into the shelter worlds. While the adults appeared worried because they simply did not know how profound the darkness was, they were not fearful, whereas the children thought of it as a new and interesting adventure, excitedly staring at the portals in the center of town.

Behind the portals were a brand-new world, but entry would mean parting ways with the present peace.

Still, what was there to it? To continue surviving, avoid dangerous beasts, and the changing climate, ancient humans had been migrating over years or decades, their reach spanning the entire continents and in turn spreading the lifeform called humankind from virgin plains to the entire world.

As for the case at the present, the migration was merely on a greater scale that basically did not differ at all, save for the fact that it was conducted between one world to another.

Naturally, even if most Mycrotians had journeyed forward to the shelter world, it was not to say that the world of Mycroft would be left behind.

There were still some people who were told that they did not have to leave home for the shelter worlds. Those citizens who had clearly been handpicked simply remained in their own posts, slightly nervous and agitated as they waited for time to pass, watching as the others headed for the other side of dimensions.

The West Barnett Highlands, the production installation for Void warships.

Dimore Diamond, Emperor of the Helgamoth Empire, stood upon the deck of his private airship hovering ten thousand meters in the sky, looking down upon his own nation. He watched as various Void warships ascended and descended over the Babel Void Tower, navigating back and forth across Void and world, delivering flocks of resources as well as citizens.

The transporting capacity of the portals in various main cities alone were not enough for rapid ferrying, and it was only the Void demiplane in the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds that could carry out a major teleportation delivering an entire country. Most of the citizens in rather remote sectors had actually been teleported to various Void installations, where they would board warships and head for the Void, before finally going through the final teleportation inside the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds to the shelter.

Meanwhile, the Emperor looked upon the different scenes.

As a matter of fact, the title of Emperor was all but a title in the present Mycroft civilization, which was also the case for most nobility. In a world where no person actually stood above another, the Emperor was merely a leader of customary convention, the purpose of which was equivalent to the leader of the civilizations over the northern hemisphere.

Still, Dimore was not concerned because the citizens were living in happiness, free of oppression from nobility or harassment from criminal elements. Everyone was living in peace and working in bliss, able to live in stability just from their own jobs…and if that was the case, was there even a need for emperors and nobles?

That was why he was very happy. Dimore also felt fortunate that he did not have to pay such great effort for the entire Empire like his own father, only to gain slight freedom after ascending as a god and as such, still had to work hard for all of the Mycroft civilization.

Be that as it may, the present emperor still felt emotional as he watched every citizen of his nation join the Great Migration.

"It's time to go."

After confirming thrice that almost all other logistics airships had taken to the skies and there were no citizens being teleported there, Dimore was now certain that there were no longer any citizens needing teleportation within Imperial borders. Hence, he calmly spoke into his own communication circle. "Commence activation. Take us to the Void."

And with those words, the world rumbled and moved.

With a violent reverberation echoing from the shattering of tectonic plates, rainbow radiance shone over the skies. In the split second that a Supreme-tier energy source came to life, the surface of the West Barnett Highlands cracked, with chunks of and layers of immeasurably sturdy steel constructs rising from the ground at the heart of the Babel Void Tower! Then, in less than a few minutes, the surface of the entire West Barnett Highlands had peeled away, turning into a titanic artificial structure covered in a mix of arcane stone and steel!

Then, at the very next instant, a bright sky-blue halation began to shine beside the titanic artificial structure, which appeared in a stair-shaped pyramidic structure. Massive pieces of man-made mana crystals as huge as city squares were being injected with energy to shine, while Legendary-tier levitation circles inscribed within were energized—colossal momentum was generated instantly, breaking apart the lithosphere of the entire Barnett Highlands. Thus, with one super earthquake, the entire Barnett Highlands was now a continent of steel which rapidly rose towards the skies!

As the floating continent took to the air, Dimore's airship followed a single streak of guiding light to steadily insert itself within an open storage vault. However, Dimore himself did not enter the continent of steel, but remained in the skies instead and looked out at everything afar.

He could see the same rainbow radiance and the same tremor emanating from every corner of the Empire and even the world of Mycroft itself. In various important cities such as the Triple Mountain City, Moldavia in the north, and the fortress chains of the south, various regions where vital facilities too difficult to be moved were located had all turned into floating fortresses or flying cities—as Extraordinary powers exerted their functions, they departed from the hardened ground and headed for the distant Void.

Vast highlands, lofty peaks, broiling islands, or the bleak, cold North—the West Mountains, the Far South, the Eastern Plains, or even the islands over the seas, every core region of each faction and every capital of major nations over every corner of Mycroft were seeing the same scenes as the Barnett Highlands.

Cities were taking to the air, while coastal continents were rising. At that single moment, inestimably large mass detached from the surface of the world, leaving cavities where seawater poured in, with the sea levels decreasing slightly.

Every intelligent being and samples of each valuable animal and plant had been transported away with everything else which could be carried, with not a single thing left behind.

If we have to leave our home and head for an unfamiliar realm, we shall bring along our most precious things.

Since we are forced to move, we shall take the entire world away. It is hard for us to part with the soil of our home, and so we shall package the continent.

The desire called greed was the exact power that drove everyone forward.

Boooom!

Floating cities and flying continents hence left the world amidst tremendous arcane rumbling, entering the Void. They were rising towards the direction of the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds, with the prepared Commanding Will hence casting super teleportation spells of world class, directly moving the home world which no one could bear to part with to a place deliberately vacated for the Ether Ring World, allowing them to perfectly embed themselves into corresponding ground.

Truth be told, the spell was not difficult to the Commanding Will of the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds—at least, it was much simpler than transporting a certain warrior.

The migration of Mycroftians was to package and carry off the most important parts of their world and leave nothing behind.

There was also a distinctly colorful cluster of light in the Void that encircled the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds. It was Fairyland, which had long since developed into a complete elemental realm with the help of other elemental races across the Multiverse, a world freely controlled by the Fairy Queens that could move rapidly and was far more convenient or agile than any other shelter.

Were they ready? Most certainly. Everyone had been prepared for this day over a dozen years, and as such very simply accomplished everything they were doing now.

While Joshua had stayed in seclusion over a decade, the others were not doing the same.

"Teleportation completed!"

"Commencing sequence verification…everything checks out, everything has been safely transferred!"

"Perfect! No one is hurt and no teleportation error!"

In the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds, the workers responsible for the planning of the Great Migration had been anxiously performing repetitive checks, conveying instructions with clarity and seriously observing feedback before the final piece of floating continent was teleported away by the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds. Then, with the notifications that a safe teleportation was completed, minutes of silence came over the main control room. 

Then, a relieved voice echoed.

"Zero disappointments. The Mycroftian evacuation plan is a total success, with no casualties amongst the 7,194,830,076 people moved."

There was a thunderous applause.

However, a worker in charge of Soul-Substance Transition by the edge of the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds suddenly felt a mysterious fear then. His body trembled, because a great presence was darting towards him from the distance on the other side of dimensions.

As he looked up subconsciously towards the direction where that presence was cascading, he saw it.

A God of Steel far larger than worlds was bringing along infinitely bright divine light and heading towards the center of the Lost Galaxy. He brushed past the world of Mycroft, but did not pause even for a single moment—but after darting past, there was an ever-present azure splendor surging and dancing alongside the Great Mana Tide!

Just like a pen, the Giant God wrote a stroke over the great canvas that was the galaxy, with the azure ink that he left rapidly spreading towards every corner of the galaxy.

One could see the azure blaze burning and brightening the skies of all the stars, bathing the worlds in its light as if being washed in a gentle bathwater.

And soon enough, countless worlds began to quake.

Countless World Wills that were in slumber and the Steel Pythons that were in hibernation after that ancient devastation in the last area were reviving. They looked out in suspicion or blankly around themselves, before each of those World Wills instinctively turned to look towards a single direction.

It was the very heart and axis of the entire cosmos.

It was also Joshua's present location.