Chapter 13: Sword and Axe, Fire and Steel
After scanning the surroundings, Joshua found nothing noteworthy except for what appeared to be a newly renovated set of statues of the Seven Gods of Humanity at the front of the hall. This was an ordinary church, with wooden pews, stained glass windows, and intricate murals and statues. Though slightly worn, it was clean and free of dust: "The prayer hall is still the same as before, but it doesn't feel dirty at all. Is someone cleaning it?"
The seven statues at the front of the hall indicated that this place did not specially venerate any single deity but rather worshipped all seven gods of humanity. Joshua could tell this was the most widespread type of general faith temple on the continent—after all, for the common folk, believing in seven gods was certainly better than believing in just one.
"I've been here before…"
After pondering for a moment, Joshua slapped the wooden pew beside him with his right hand and asserted, "When I was young, my father used to bring me here every Sunday for a while."
In the past, Joshua would have simply thought his father was devout, but now it seemed there must be some secret behind it. He furrowed his brow and tried to recall carefully: "Back then, he would always go alone to a room in the side hall, leaving me to play with the knights. There must be a secret in there."
Thinking it, he did it. Joshua walked toward the side hall room he still remembered. Passing by the altar and the confessional, he arrived at the somewhat dark side hall with few windows. Standing at the door of the room to the left of the center, Joshua once again felt a warmth on the back of his hand.
"It seems this is the place."
He tried the door and found it unlocked. Opening it and stepping inside, Joshua noticed at a glance that this enclosed room was surprisingly not dark.
This was a private study. The floor was made of black granite, and the ceiling had some stones emitting a golden light as a light source—those should be fragments of fluorite. The four walls were lined with massive bookshelves, and in the center was a desk made of Flying Cloud Wood. Looking at the furnishings, Joshua couldn't help but click his tongue in admiration: "Fluorite fragments are one thing, but Flying Cloud Wood is a high-grade wood that coexists with Floating Mountain Dragons. Its texture is good enough for making weapons, yet they use it to make a desk…"
Now was not the time to marvel at extravagance. Using the light from the fluorite fragments, he roughly observed his surroundings and soon found a clue.
"There's a crack in the floor."
How sharp were the eyes of a legendary warrior? Even if his strength was no longer what it once was, his observational ability remained formidable. Coupled with the fact that players were naturally skilled at scouring every inch for clues, Joshua expertly spotted the obvious flaw in the floor: "Though it's well concealed, the wear and tear from frequent opening can't be removed."
Reaching out his hand, the warrior prepared to check if there were any switches or traps nearby. However, the moment his hand touched this special piece of granite floor, a magical pattern suddenly flickered on its surface. Just as Joshua thought he had triggered a trap and was about to retreat, a low, mechanical voice rang out.
"Energy detected… frequency band matches. Target: Joshua van Radcliffe, first in line of family succession, highest authority sequence. Door opening."
"Born of fire, forged in steel. Wisdom eternal, order everlasting."
With the ancient chant, the black stone slowly slid open, revealing a narrow passage leading underground before Joshua. But he paused for a moment, not immediately entering. Frowning, Joshua began to recall the origin of this chant.
In the later stages of the third version of the Continent of Strife, in the new map of the Astral Void, there was a very difficult public dungeon. Its full name was the [Ancient Sacrificial Ground Connecting All Realms], which players commonly abbreviated as the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground. At the core of this public dungeon stood a massive obelisk, and at its entrance was a stone tablet inscribed with many ancient texts.
The chant he had just heard came from those inscriptions.
Legend had it that in the primordial era before the world existed, the entire multiverse was a void of nothingness, with only the indescribable chaos writhing in the silence of extinction.
Then, fire was born from nothingness, its light illuminating the void, distinguishing existence from nothingness, order from chaos, light from darkness. This fire was the origin of all things, granting power to all that existed, causing chaos to recede and matter to take form. This was the origin of the world in which all things now lived.
The fire burned away the chaos, and what remained was steel. As order solidified, life gradually emerged. All things received their souls and wisdom from fire, and their bodies and strength from steel. Humanity was one of them.
Relying on fire, humans named all things without names, summarized laws and logic, perfected order, and determined the value and meaning of all things. Humans used the hope, persistence, and passion brought by fire to pioneer this wild world. Steel was the beginning of creation and the source of power. Born of fire, it was purified by humans. Humans used bone, stone, bronze, and steel to forge tools and weapons, confronting all disasters, battles, and conflicts. Humans used the calm, reason, and severity brought by steel to handle all problems and judge all sins that deserved punishment.
Born of fire, forged in steel. Wisdom eternal, order everlasting.
This was the earliest and only creation myth known to players in the Continent of Strife. Even the Seven Gods of Humanity and the gods of other races had never refuted this claim. Back then, Joshua had seen analytical posts on the game forums discussing this myth, but he had never been interested enough to click on them.
Hearing this phrase here genuinely surprised him. After all, the mainstream faith now was the Seven Gods of Humanity, and the worship of the First Flame and the Origin Steel had long since faded, leaving only traces in ancient texts.
"I remember that the mages of the Sky-Piercing White Tower once argued that magic power originates from the remnants of the First Flame in the multiverse, while battle qi is the condensation of the power of the Origin Steel within the body of every living being."
Joshua stared at the passage and then walked straight down.
There was nothing to worry about. No matter what, he had to go down anyway, so there was no need to hesitate.
The passage leading underground was not long. At intervals, glowing fluorite fragments were embedded in the walls to provide light. Before long, Joshua reached the bottom—a spacious hall.
In the center of the hall stood a massive statue: a giant hand gripping a hammer, entwined with a black serpent. The imposing presence it exuded made one feel as if the hand might swing the hammer at any moment, striking the earth.
On the four sides of the hall were many rooms, filled with various tools commonly used by alchemists and mages, including expensive items like crystal forging anvils and elemental furnaces. It gave the illusion of stepping into a grand alchemist's workshop. But only one passage ahead caught Joshua's attention. He had a premonition that at the end of that passage, where faint light flickered, something was calling him.
Joshua strode quickly toward the passage ahead. It was deep and dark, with no light except ahead. But soon, the space before him opened up.
A massive, intact piece of fluorite hung above the room at the end of the passage. The distinct rusty, metallic scent of steel rushed toward him, and even Joshua had to squint slightly. After adjusting, he opened his eyes and carefully observed the room.
"What is this…"
He asked in confusion, then looked around the room again.
In the underground chamber beneath the cemetery church, countless weapons were thrust into the ground. Among them were swords, spears, greatswords, giant axes, and even flails and cross hammers. But one thing was the same: they were all extremely worn, covered in rust and decay.
Standing amidst hundreds of nearly rotted weapons, Joshua felt as if this was a graveyard—a graveyard of weapons. Yet, for some reason, two weapons caught his eye.
A greatsword, and a giant axe.