Chapter 15: The Flame Inherited from Ashes
Heroic Profession.
Even with Joshua's extensive experience, he couldn't help but frown, a slight shock stirring within him.
Chaos Warden. As the name implied, it should be a faction profession similar to the Light Order Guardians of the Far Sea Holy Mountain and the Balance Arbiters of the Western Mountain Royal Court. Although it was a niche role, it wasn't something unattainable. At the very least, the paladins of the various gods could be considered half-faction professions, just not as extreme.
The true core of the matter was this Heroic Profession.
Just as characters had templates dividing rank, and items had grades determining value, professions also had distinctions of strength and weakness.
Professions like Farmer or Militiaman were the most common civilian professions. Warriors trained in various skills, Thieves skilled in lock-picking and theft, and Rangers roaming the wilderness were formal professions. However, spellcasters like Mages and Priests were different; due to the relatively high talent requirements, they were naturally Elite Professions.
Every profession could be advanced or transferred. A Militiaman could advance to a Warrior or transfer to a Mercenary. If one was confident in their talent, becoming a Mage was also an option. On the Continent of Strife, people's choices were free; what profession one pursued depended entirely on personal interest. The five ranks of Civilian, Formal, Elite, Excellent, and Transcendent were the advancement process for ordinary professionals.
But just like spellcasters, some special professions could only be obtained through talent and inheritance. Heavenly Talents and Heroic Professions were representatives of this.
A person naturally able to control fire would be unique no matter what profession they advanced to, even capable of sublimating their abilities. This was a Heavenly Talent. Heroic Professions, however, were different; they required not talent, but a certain inherited object that carried power.
Just as a Hero needed to wield the Demon-Slaying Holy Sword, and an Earthshaker needed the Earth Totem Pillar, every Heroic Profession required a similar inherited object and sufficient talent to be undertaken. Clearly, the Chaos Warden, which required an Origin Artifact like the Guardian's Azure Orb to be undertaken, was also such a profession.
Opening his right hand, Joshua looked at the azure orb in his palm and couldn't help but sigh.
In his previous life, he had completed at least ten or more complex quest chains. In the middle of it, he even had time to casually slaughter a dozen Eye Demon Elders to gather materials for the Omniscience Ritual, finally obtaining the opportunity to undertake the Heroic Profession Rune Swordsman, and thereby comprehending the Ultimate Essence.
And now, an opportunity to undertake a Heroic Profession lay right before his eyes.
"System, Identify."
Joshua rarely used the system's abilities, even when facing Gold-rank enemies. It wasn't rejection of something he couldn't control, but simply because his rich experience was enough to handle most situations. Coupled with the fact that he hadn't developed a habit of using the system after becoming a Legendary in his previous life, the warrior often forgot he even had such a thing.
But now, facing this artifact he had never heard of in his previous life, he could only rely on its power.
[Item Identification in progress... Origin Knowledge check successful, Artifact Knowledge check failed, History Knowledge check successful. You have obtained information related to undertaking the profession.]
[Identification Report: Origin Artifact — Guardian's Azure Orb]
[Origin: As the Sage once said, even within the bottomless abyss sunk into eternal chaos, there exists the initial spark. Perhaps it cannot burn, but it can bear the power of order.]
[Artifact: As an unlit flame, the Azure Orb contains...]
[History: A thousand years before the millennium, the Sage found the Azure Orb buried within the mountains in the depths of the bottomless abyss. He bestowed it upon the Third Saint, granting him the mission to calm the tides of chaos and seal the entrance to the abyss. Since the Lost War, the Azure Orb vanished from the sight of the world, but the inheritance of the Chaos Warden continued silently.]
[Summary: The orb contains immense power of order, but it cannot be extracted through conventional means.]
[Undertaking Information: Blood of Chaos, Source of Ignition.]
Joshua turned his head to look at the silent Ying — this Divine Mechanism girl had been in a somewhat dazed state since entering this cemetery. Thinking carefully, the warrior couldn't help but feel he had been too inconsiderate. After all, with so many Divine Mechanism remains here, for Ying, who had only been out of the Seal Blade Room for a little over a month, suddenly seeing so many bodies of her kind was indeed a great shock.
Looking around, he gazed at the surroundings. The pale sky held nothing, seemingly endless and without a dome, while corresponding to it was the black earth dotted with numerous graves and stone tablets.
"A free Heroic Profession, seemingly without any problems. How could I possibly refuse? Whether it's evil or justice, guarding order or watching over chaos, I don't care."
Breathing the dry, stagnant air, Joshua stared at the epitaph before him, suddenly let out a laugh, and spoke softly: "Whether it's killing orcs or magical beasts, as long as I can fight, fight against stronger enemies... that's enough."
Since this is the path you have chosen, it seems it's not a bad choice.
And so, a voice rang out.
"Hereby I swear — I, Joshua Radcliffe, shall guard all evil creations until the eternal kalpa of sinking."
His right hand closed, and he gripped the azure orb tightly.
"Undertaking, Chaos Warden."
— *Sigh*
Like a sigh, the sound of wind came from this world without wind.
Colorless, without any hue, a simple light emanated from Joshua's right hand. It had no temperature, no lethality, gentle and mild, as if it didn't exist, yet it truly illuminated this world.
With the warrior as the origin, this light spread like a hemispherical dome, covering all the graves in an instant, reaching the end of the space-time corridor. The forces of chaos and order confronted each other at the edge, yet no ripples were stirred.
The wind rose.
Along with the flow of air, faint blue-white specks of light slowly emerged from beneath all the gray tombstones, then floated up, surging with the wind towards the warrior's right hand, converging into his clenched palm.
Joshua seemed to see the memories of all these people — men and women with black hair and red eyes. They were born on this land, grew up, learned to fight, engaged in battle, fulfilled their duties, protected their people, and then faced the Wild Gods or the Black Tide, dying calmly or reluctantly.
The secrets of the Evil Gods could not be told to everyone, but the seals needed guarding. Those who chose to bear this responsibility were undoubtedly heroes worthy of the name.
The light ring spun, expanded to its limit, the colorless radiance surged, then suddenly contracted. The entire space-time corridor immediately dimmed. This brilliance merged all the blue-white specks of light into the orb, then enveloped Joshua's body.
Power surged in endlessly, while red text refreshed before his eyes, finally settling into a dense block of subtitles.
[You have successfully undertaken the Heroic Profession - Chaos Warden]
[Your Profession Level +5]
[Warning: Unlocking conditions not met!]
[Professional Talent: Order Aura, Alignment Detection, (Locked), (Locked)]
[Professional Trait: Unlit Flame, (Locked), (Locked)]
[Professional Skill Tree: Purification, Order, Guardian (Assimilated into Ultimate Essence)]
[You need to complete a Professional Quest to unlock level rewards and professional talents and traits.]
[Quest: Purification Sacrifice]
[Use blood steeped in chaos to ignite the initial flame. The Azure Orb craves a sacrifice.]
[Quest Objective: Kill a Silver-rank or above Chaotic Alignment target. 0/1]
Paying no attention to the unlocking quest, Joshua simply closed his eyes, quietly experiencing the power surging within his body.
This power, suddenly appearing and transmitted from the Azure Orb, perfectly matched his bloodline, as if it were originally one, with no sense of dissonance. It had already merged into his body, becoming part of the warrior's original strength.
"So this was the resonance I felt back then. The power of order accumulated by the ancestors of the Radcliffe Family, returning to the Azure Orb after the holder's death, then inherited by the next generation through bloodline... I see. If I were to die, this power would also return to the Azure Orb, then be inherited by my descendants."
Like a campfire passed down through generations, even if the firewood burned to ashes, there would still be embers remaining within, to be handed over to the next generation.
Joshua opened his eyes, his crimson pupils bright like flames. Now, all the light had disappeared, and the space-time corridor returned to its original state. He held the Azure Orb, which had stopped emitting light, in silence.
Turning his head to look at the cemetery, his gaze lingered for over ten seconds. The warrior expressionlessly turned back, then, without a word, strode towards the door behind him and left the place. The silver-haired Divine Mechanism girl followed closely. As she stepped through the space-time door, she looked back at those tombstones, then also vanished into the azure light.
Faced with the worthy dead, what should a warrior do?
No need for memorials, because practicing their ideals is the best offering. No need for remembrance, because their mission is one with him.
Black earth, pale sky, gray tombstones.
The azure door vanished, and the wind stirred by the Azure Orb also ceased. The cemetery in this space-time corridor returned to its original silence.
Fire brings light and heat.
The beginning of human civilization started with fire.
In that era when darkness shrouded the earth, the ancestors of humanity raised burning torches, using light to dispel the darkness.
Father passed to son, son passed to grandson. This fire has been passed down through the succession of civilizations from beginning to end. Even death cannot extinguish it. Among the burned black ashes, there are always hidden sparks. And these sparks will always be rekindled.
Descendants of humanity, ensure the light continues.