Soul of Searing Steel

It was hence a pity that the luminous orb did not have a mouth and could not 'spit it out.' Even when it was lifted by Joshua and shaken like a sack, it did not react much—instead it contracted and expanded as if it was rather comfortable, and emitting a soft chime.

"It's my mistake."

Sensing that there was no physical method to retrieve that Steel Shard from the luminous orb, Joshua could only grasp the orb, return to his chair and hold it in front of his eyes. The warrior stared at the core of the orb where its silver vortex-shaped core was gradually becoming radiant.

If not for the System suddenly going haywire just now, he thought with a slight headache, how could I have let the orb get its way…

At the moment, Joshua's speed and motion vision could catch even the trail of lightning, not to mention the luminous orb that was so slow as it dove toward him. He had been distracted by the System that suddenly appeared, in addition to the fact that he was not too alert inside his own house, which allowed the luminous orb to unexpectedly get its way.

"Well, I'll take a look at the System first."

It was fine since it was already a fact. Joshua shook his head—he initially was not too interested in the Steel Shard gifted by Karlis anyway. He would allow the orb to simply swallow it since he could cook it up later, since the mysterious System that reappeared was more important.

"Identify."

[… Identifying object… Origin knowledge assessment successful, Mystical Item knowledge assessment successful, World knowledge assessment successful]

[Result of Identification: Great success]

[Identification Report: Debris of Condensed Steel—Mystical Item of Authority]

[Origin: The condensation and dispersion of Steel is nirvana and rebirth of the world. A world had approached destruction but gained rebirth through external power. It was in that period where steel collapsed and condensed to the very brink—the Debris of Condensed Steel was part of it.]

[Mystical Item: Steel Strength is both corporeal and incorporeal. It exists if it was observed, and does not exist if unobserved. It is a universal origin and also part of nothingness. The Debris of Condensed Steel is the same—it is an object created when a world was about to die and virtually symbolizes the world, which was why it possessed unique power. If the bearer is willing to pay the price, the owner could recreate any natural phenomenon in the world of Karlis.]

[World: As one of the primitive religions, Shamanism claims that all things possessed a spirit. That opinion was once rebuked as foolish but it was actually correct—the world certainly possessed a profound will that gently watches over its children. It would not interfere with the children's actions most of the time, but when danger was at hand, the mother of all would bless the chosen with the authority to recreate the power of heaven and earth.]

[Great Success: The Steel of Origin spawned the world. Though the Debris of Condensed Steel does not have such authority, under special circumstances and by paying the price, any object that once existed in the world of Karlis could be recreated.]

[Composite: The world of Karlis watches over you, therefore it gave part of its perished body to you. Remember, bearer, that the flame never dies alone, just as destruction never travels by itself.]

"An actual great success? The authority to recreate any natural phenomenon, huh… Even recreating objects, it's virtually Void Creation."

Joshua nodded slightly after he scanned through the description provided by the System while recalling other similar items he had acquired in the past. "The Fragment of Searing Steel, the Shard of Steel Residue and now, this Debris of Condensed Steel… each representing the power of Order, the power of Life and the power of Nature…"

If a normal person had these three Authorities, he might become a champion who could match Supreme-tiers overnight—the power of Order would stabilize his soul, the power of Life would grant his flesh longevity while the power of Nature is the finest offensive method.

Karlis was right for it was unquestionably the finest of rewards. He would have been interested in those things too if not for his development into Legendary, but since he already did, those objects were but gilding lilies—irrelevant frivolities.

"But that thing was actually part of the world of Karlis. Wouldn't there be unforeseen things happening if you swallow it? And did you get that power?"

Joshua looked towards the luminous orb, rubbing his head. He knew that the Condensed Steel was definitely beneficial since the usually lazy orb would deliberately devour the fragment, just as the main body of the orb itself deliberately collected Nuclear Star fragments within the Bloodmoon Abyss to nurture itself. The process was assuredly not dangerous, but Joshua did not know what the result would be—what should be done if the orb turned into a fireball, a ball of lightning or a sphere of water? There was no summoner here, and if it enlarged like Unit Zero One, the house would not hold it.

"Ding-ring-ding-ring!"

The orb quickly issued a series of reaction at Joshua's words. With his permission, it slightly contracted as if storing power, and in the very next instant it ejected a stream of water with a puffing sound that shot towards the warrior's face.

It definitely had no way of hitting him, and with a single thought, the stream that was only as thick as a thumb dropped aside. Unlike the black dragon, artificial intelligence, and the rest who watched as the show unfolded before them without understanding a thing, Joshua's heart sank. "It actually could perform Void Creation? What is the principle—just paying the price of energy? Or perhaps the orb has a special status?"

Unlike the others who did not quite understand the action that appeared plain, Joshua clearly understood what incredible power Void Creation was. If it was a simple stream right now, when the orb's power increased in days to come, it might be able to recreate the moving fortress that used to exist in the world of Karlis!

Joshua was not too surprised as to why the luminous orb could use the Void Creation ability that would only activate under 'special circumstances' either. After all, the luminous being of the Bloodmoon Abyss was a newborn flame of that destroyed world and perhaps the prototype of its World Will in the future, which not be surprising if its clone, the luminous orb, had some special ability. Still, it was all Joshua's guess that could not be proven at the moment—so, he could only temporarily place the questions deep within his heart.

Come to think of it, the luminous orb that already possessed healing beam could now perform Void Creation—if, in the days to come, more data vaults and Steel Shards that blesses others with the authority to manipulate Nature Power were acquired, then it was something Joshua was very familiar with both in form or ability.

There was great potential in the future of the luminous orb!

But the future remains the future, while the present the present. The luminous orb that had swallowed the Steel Shard did not change drastically. It floated across the hall after Joshua let it go and started to chime incessantly, only to get caught by Zero-Three who was levitating in the air too. Unexpectedly, they could touch despite having no physical body.

"What happened just now?" Zero-Three asked doubtfully even as she enjoyed the soft touch that was extremely hard for magical projections to experience. "And wasn't everyone talking about giving it a name? What should it be called now?"

"It's just eating anything it likes—a small matter."

Rising from his seat, Joshua walked to the French window by the edge of the hall and stared at the stony path and plants in the front garden shone underneath the sun. "How about 'Little Light'?" He suggested noncommittally. "If not, Ball would be—"

"No! Just 'Light'!" Zero-Three interjected, shaking her head forcefully along with the luminous orb in her hand. She had wanted to critique the warrior's naming sense, but she furrowed her brow when she remembered the names of everyone in the liege's residence and promptly dropped the thought.

Ying, Ling, Black, Zero-Three. All were names that were too simple, and would it not be fine if it was just one 'Light'? Having a long name might make them uncomfortable instead.

Having received the acknowledgment of the luminous orb itself as well as that of the other members of liege's residence, the name 'Light' was thus set with relative ease. Afterward, the divine armament siblings, black dragon girl, Zero-Three as well as the newly christened 'Light', now having no business here, returned to their posts and left Joshua alone in the hall.

"Such easygoing days… Nothing to be alert about, peaceful and serene."

Watching as the others left and vanished from the corridor, Joshua turned and stood before the window for some time. He closed his eyes as if meditating, and looked up, exhaling.

"Nope," he mumbled to himself, the origin of the System still can't be found."

Since acquiring information regarding the Debris of Condensed Steel, Joshua had searched distractedly for the source of information. It was also precisely because Zero-Three and the divine armament siblings could see that he was absent-minded that they deliberately left, bringing the luminous orb and Black in tow.

And yet, the warrior who could focus all his attention searched his soul entirely, but came up with nothing.

The System had been a mysterious existence that always accompanied himself since he traversed. It seemed omniscient—knowing intricately even when it came to information regarding World Will, the most profound hypostasis in this world while providing abundant valuable information. Joshua believed that if he could acquire the information vault of the System, many questions that pestered him might be solved.

However, he had no way of grasping any part of the System no matter how he searched, and could only allow that mysterious existence hide within his own body.

"It's fine, having the System is nothing bad."

Joshua turned, not bothered by the issue for long and settling down on his armchair again. He closed his eyes to rest with a nap—naturally, it was not simply lazing around. His trip to the Abyss and his battle against Helm had made Joshua aware of the deficiencies of his combat form, and so the warrior used his rest period to construct a dreamworld in his mind and reevaluate the mistakes he had committed then.

As for the System…

Just like how an orbiting planet that could not be shaken by a satellite, no matter how mysterious the System was it was an error that easily appeared under his influence, an existence that was forced to hide. The more Joshua could not find it, it proved that it was hiding deeper and turning more fearful of the warrior's ability.

Uninteresting and foolish things that did not even dare to reveal its true form never had been worth too much of Joshua's attention. He would assuredly find the truth in the future.

Nevertheless, the peaceful and serene days did not last long. After the mages and Gold-tier warriors who were stationed at the Great Ajax Mountains relayed his message, the Imperial Family swiftly reacted.

In the afternoon of the 23rd of May, Starfall Year 835—a middle-aged mage had arrived at the liege's residence in the main city of Moldavia and requested an audience with Count Radcliffe. However, he was silent when the guards inquired his identity, claiming that he must meet the count before revealing his true identity.

The guards naturally refused. As a Legendary champion, the Northern Count had innumerable visitors everyday—how could he possibly inform the liege of every random person? But just as the guard prepared to act and chase him away, the order from Joshua came.

"Let him meet me."

Having received orders, the guard courteously made way. Soon, the mysterious middle-aged mage appeared within the guest hall of the liege's residence, and Joshua stared blankly for a while the moment he saw him.

"Is it you?" He asked in curiosity. "Master Nostradamus?"

"It's me."

Shrugging, the elderly mage—now having a middle-aged appearance—who seemed rather disappointed for being unable to fool Joshua. His facial features were no longer the traditional mage appearance of white hair and beard, and changed radically from before. Now, Nostradamus resembled a middle-aged officer who had rushed about across the battlefield for a dozen years, each word and action now having compelling vigor.

Even so, that presence was utterly ruined the moment he spoke.

"And here I was thinking if I could surprise you a little. Never thought I would be recognized so easily."

"You're…" Joshua studied his appearance, which was clearly an image of the old mage in the battlefield against the orcs a dozen years ago. He could not help frowning at it, and soon guessed the reason for Nostradamus's change.

"Did it happen not long after the travel through the dimensional distortion point? To guarantee that body and spirit is in perfect condition, you have especially recovered your youthful appearance!"

The warrior nodded, happy that Nostradamus had such resolve. It was only by completing all preparations through all efforts that guaranteed the chance was not allowed to slip by, and with the elderly mage also changing so greatly, the entire Empire must be doing their best.

"Well, you and Israel are the same—both are those types that could not understand humor and divert everything to combat…"

Shaking his head disinterestedly, the younger Nostradamus did not make any polite greeting, not that his relationship with Joshua needed any chatter. "Israel is waiting for you in the Void Star-Observatory. We'll depart now if you want."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go." Joshua replied.