Chapter 21: From Beginning to End (10000)

Chapter 21: From Beginning to End (10000)

The Coalesced Evil God—this was probably the name Joshua had casually given it just a few dozen minutes ago. The name originated from its constant absorption of surrounding energy and matter, its core that was always coalescing something, coupled with the mere fact that its manifestation alone caused all the pioneers in the entire Pioneer Fortress cluster to see a memory illusion, making everyone aware that it originated from a super psionic civilization, a civilization that had failed and perished because it tried to coalesce the power of the entire civilization.

Therefore, Joshua called it the 'Coalesced Evil God.' The name was quite fitting, moderate, and could well express its traits and power.

However, it now seemed that this name might be somewhat biased.

Because Joshua, who was facing the Star River Giant Diamond head-on, discovered that after launching its attack, the 'Coalesced' Evil God began to grow stronger and stronger!

Coalesce! Fuse! Evolve!

The colossal black-and-white spiral churned all the worlds within the entire star river, transforming into a giant diamond capable of piercing through everything. In that brief instant, its power and information disturbance made it the axis of rotation for this dead star river—and this enormous drill was now constantly coalescing matter and energy, constantly fusing everything outside itself, constantly evolving, transforming, growing ever stronger!

If one had to say, whether it was the 'Fusion Evil God' or the 'Evolution Evil God,' both were more suitable names than 'Coalesced Evil God'!

Thought was but a fleeting moment. In the material multiverse, the colossal star river drill, like lightning in the darkness, cut through the endless silence. It sped forward, each rotation making it stronger, larger, and more impactful. The surrounding world star domains were drawn in, light twisted into parabolic arcs, and all things became its fuel.

It was indeed strong, but the existence it targeted was equally formidable!

One could see that in front of the dazzlingly bright giant drill, four arms extended from the darkness, accurately pressing against the drill's side. The spiral force churned spacetime, attempting to turn its rotating surface into something akin to a near-singularity ring. However, those four silver arms with black patterns were incredibly sturdy, stable like an eternal, unchanging rock, an indestructible reef.

Bang! The Silver Giant was pushed back by the drill, dragging a long, bright line through the void. But those four arms forcefully jammed the star river drill, forcing it to stop!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound of joints shattering rang out continuously. How immense was the rotational angular momentum of the Coalesced Evil God? It was a force capable of churning a world star river! The joints of the Silver Giant's arms shattered billions of times in an instant, but they also repaired and strengthened themselves billions of times. The debris of the Giant's shattered body floated in the void, revealing phantom images of worlds—and amidst these billions of shatterings and re-assemblies, amidst the floating phantoms of debris, one could see Joshua's ferocious smile.

"I've got you!"

He roared, erupting with power, forcibly crushing the shell of the star river giant drill. But this also gave the Coalesced Evil God an opportunity. The giant drill erupted simultaneously with Joshua's power burst, accurately piercing into his body, punching a huge hole straight through him!

But this was hardly bad news—since the Gold-rank, a Transcendent Being's body had no so-called vital points, let alone Joshua, who had already reached the Near-Saint realm. The star river drill crashed into his body. The warrior was not alarmed but delighted. He roared again, exerting force, using his own body as an anchor. His four arms lifted sharply, snapping the entire star river drill in two!

Crack!

In the void, there was no medium for sound, but excessively violent energy vibrations could trigger spacetime quakes—and just now, a violent spacetime quake that affected the entire star river had occurred, making all beings and all things prick up their ears!

The star river drill snapped in the middle. Its tip was stuck inside Joshua's body, while the rear half used this opportunity to escape the warrior's grasp, retreating awkwardly to a great distance. For a time, the Giant and the Evil God were both severely wounded, neither having the strength to counterattack!

But Joshua was not at all concerned—everything was under control. Although he, as the defender, seemed to be at a disadvantage, his counterattack could also severely wound a Near-Saint Evil God. At their level, as long as they could recover before the opponent attacked again, it was equivalent to having exploited the opponent's trump cards and attack information for free.

Generally speaking, in a battle of this level and intensity, the one who strikes first and reveals their trump cards is at a greater disadvantage. Joshua knelt on one knee in the void, his two right hands pressed against his abdomen. The tip of the star river drill was still stuck there, the power of the Coalesced Evil God still controlling the drill, eager to rotate again and tear the warrior's body apart—but Joshua's entire body ignited with silver flames. They converged on his abdomen, igniting and melting the drill.

Like blazing fire in a furnace smelting steel, the once indestructible star river drill gradually began to melt, gradually being devoured by the Giant.

Soon, both the wound and the tip of the giant drill disappeared, as if swallowed into Joshua's stomach. On the other side of the star river, the figure of the Coalesced Evil God trembled violently once. Without a doubt, it had suffered a severe wound that could not be immediately healed.

A part of its very being, along with all the information contained within, had been ignited and devoured by Joshua, fundamentally eroding a portion of its essence!

But just as the Coalesced Evil God was severely wounded, other Evil Gods in the dead star river that it had previously catalyzed began to roar and charge towards Joshua. These Evil Gods, created by the Coalesced Evil God using its coalescing methods to fuse all the power of entire worlds, were completely under its control. In fact, if needed, they were a part of the Coalesced Evil God itself. At this moment, responding to the command of their main body, they launched fearless suicide attacks against Joshua.

One could see light wheels, dark nebulae, and even bizarre flesh monsters and aggregates, streaking across the sky like meteors, crashing towards the Giant who was kneeling in the void recovering. And halfway there, these Evil Gods self-destructed, turning into pure torrents of chaotic power, engulfing Joshua.

This was pure harassment, not even giving Joshua a chance to capture one or two Evil Gods to burn and recover. It seemed that even without intelligence, the Coalesced Evil God had discovered that the enemy could recover power by killing Evil Gods.

The battle was deadlocked. Although the Coalesced Evil God was more severely wounded than Joshua, Joshua's recovery speed was slowed by the other Evil Gods. Comparing the two, Joshua was actually slightly slower.

"Fortunately, I'm not alone either."

Raising his two left arms, he propped up a spacetime-distorting shield, blocking wave after wave of Evil God impacts. Joshua turned his head, looking towards the direction of the Bilos Star River. He could see dozens of light streams flickering, leaping, and advancing towards his location—after Joshua had taken away and eliminated a large number of Evil Gods, the pressure on the Pioneer Fortress cluster had greatly decreased. After many experts had surrounded and eliminated the remaining Evil Gods and Chaos Minions, the strongest among them directly set off towards the location of Joshua and the Coalesced Evil God.

They also understood that the fall of the fortress cluster was insignificant, and could even be said to have been intended to fall from the start, simply a means to buy time—but if Joshua were to lose, then this multiverse star river, which could not produce a second Near-Saint, would likely face the end of an era.

Soon, Joshua didn't have to wait long. The first and fastest light stream arrived by his side. The warrior looked up, intending to thank the other party properly, but when he discovered their identity, he couldn't help but be surprised.

"Goliath? It's you?"

The first to arrive at Joshua's side, guarding him, was actually the former Lord of the Sixth Abyss of the Lost Star River, the Demon King Goliath—a genuine Legendary-rank Greater Demon. This was something no one would have expected: "Thank you! You came really fast!"

"It's me. No need to thank me." Goliath didn't say much. He let out a sharp shout, then his massive demonic body dispersed, turning into a sky-full of shadows, merging into the defensive barrier Joshua had erected. And the moment the other party merged into his barrier, Joshua discovered that his power began to intermingle with the newly born power of shadow in the entire multiverse. The vast majority of the chaotic torrent formed by the self-destruction of numerous Evil Gods was transferred by Goliath's shadow power into the Shadow Sub-Space!

Indeed. The one who benefited most from the transformation brought about by the Shadow Sage was that group of Abyss creatures, the demons who were of the same kind as Him. And the power of shadow was indeed the power system Joshua had the shallowest grasp of. Goliath, relying on the extreme speed of the Shadow Sub-Space, had arrived first, perfectly compensating for Joshua's weakness.

The pitch-black, black-hole-like event horizon shield blocked the attacks of countless Evil Gods, but Goliath himself was not faring well. Although the vast majority of the attacks were diverted into the Shadow Sub-Space, and the remaining small portion was blocked by Joshua, this was still the battlefield of a Near-Saint. An ordinary Legendary Limit could barely hold on for long, let alone Goliath, who was merely a Legendary High-rank. Even if he had made some progress recently, he was definitely not strong enough to face the onslaught of countless Evil Gods head-on.

But the Demon King did not utter a single cry of pain. Even though his shadow-form flesh was dissolving, and his already fragmented body was being annihilated by chaotic power, the Greater Demon's gaze remained unwavering, without a trace of fear.

Soon, Joshua felt that he had recovered enough to handle these attacks on his own without hindering his continued recovery, while Goliath was nearly at the end of his strength. So the Giant raised his hand, causing the black shadow to converge in his palm. After the severely wounded Demon King had fully coalesced, he hurled him away, sending him out of the battlefield.

And before leaving, the two exchanged glances. No words were needed; they simply nodded slightly to each other. Then the warrior turned his head and continued the fight.

At this moment, the Coalesced Evil God had also recovered somewhat. The two sides once again faced off across half a star river. Their terrifying auras shook the myriad heavens and countless worlds. Among the many experts rushing over, those who hadn't been performing a Psionic Leap were fine, but those who were in the middle of one were struck as if by a heavy blow. Regardless of the method they used, they were all shaken out of spacetime, severely wounded. Seeing this, everyone knew that at this moment, there was no need, nor was it their turn, to continue rushing to help.

Thanks to Goliath's timely arrival, Joshua recovered faster than the Coalesced Evil God. Catching his breath, he shook his body and exhaled.

His body had just been pierced by the star river drill. Although it seemed to have recovered immediately and had even devoured the tip of the drill, internally it was still a tangled mess. The tip had only been melted, not fully digested.

But now, he had largely recovered. The tip of the drill, which housed a part of the Coalesced Evil God's main body, had been completely absorbed and analyzed. Having obtained valuable information about the enemy, the Giant spread his four arms. One could see that armor scales, comparable to a super world barrier, were vibrating around his body. The thick armor rapidly changed its form, then erupted with dazzling, brilliant silver light that swirled around him.

In that instant, half of the dead star river was covered in silver radiance. Even the distant Bilos Star River could see flashes, like supernovae, coming from the other side of spacetime.

This was a concentration of Steel Force so dense it could drown numerous star domains!

But this was far from the end. In the next instant, this silver radiance transformed into a blood-red divine light, which then turned into a dim Chaos. The three-colored halos continuously shifted and changed. Steel Force, Divinity, and Chaos, the three in one, constantly coalescing, constantly generating.

For a moment, even the Legendary-rank experts surrounding the area found it difficult to distinguish which side was the Evil God. In terms of imposing aura and fearsome characteristics, the two were practically identical.

But in reality, in terms of spirit and power, Joshua was completely dominant—not to mention that he had now grasped the key to the Coalesced Evil God and had found a way to slay it!

The former Death Evil God was itself a coalescence of countless Evil Gods, which was then transformed and derived into a super single world by the Sage using the power of the Decay Evil God. This time, the Coalesced Evil God was naturally adept at coalescing, saving a lot of effort. All Evil Gods would die, and the Coalesced Evil God needed a little help. Joshua happened to be able to convert Evil Gods into normal power. He could certainly lend it a hand.

The three-colored light flickered violently, and Joshua began to stride forward.

One could see that in this excessively dazzling light, the image of the four-armed Giant became blurred. Only a colossal silhouette could be seen, leaving behind burning footprints as it advanced rapidly through the flames.

On the head of that colossal silhouette, there were two points of even brighter light. The light in Joshua's eyes blazed intensely. Crimson divine light illuminated the void, and a thick aura of destruction and battle intent spread from it, piercing and terrifying. In the next instant, the two points of crimson divine light drew a straight line through the void. Joshua charged towards the Coalesced Evil God like this, crashing with it directly into the cluster of world star groups, other Evil Gods, and Minions.

The Coalesced Evil God was still resisting. It twisted and struggled, trying to do as before, to exchange heavy blows with Joshua and create distance—but this time, the warrior, who had already experienced the same tactic, would not let it work. The moment the Coalesced Evil God began to coalesce its power, Joshua grabbed its core with one hand, sacrificing this arm if necessary, and forcibly twisted the direction of the core's launch to the other side.

Of course, one arm, under zero defense at close range, was turned to nothing by the Coalesced Evil God's attack. But Joshua still had three arms—if necessary, he could grow six, eight, or even a thousand later. And the Coalesced Evil God's full-power attack could not be released again immediately in a short time. So one could see that of Joshua's three remaining arms, two firmly grasped the light wheel, preventing it from escaping, while the remaining left arm clenched into a fist, wreathed in blazing silver flames, and smashed into the core of the Coalesced Evil God!

Boom! Flames splattered, sparks flew everywhere. In an instant, all the Evil Gods and Minions that the Coalesced Evil God had previously catalyzed, all that chaotic darkness, boiled over. The ocean formed by countless Minions was instantly ignited into a sea of fire, turning to ash. The Evil Gods and areas with less residual impact were also sent flying by the full-force blow of Joshua's attack, spreading outwards in all directions like surging waves.

Then, even more intense flames blazed, enveloping the area where Joshua and the Coalesced Evil God were fighting. For a time, no one, not even a Legendary Limit expert, could cross that light to see what was happening inside.

"What path is he taking?"

One of the Seven Gods, the God of Wisdom and Choice, frowned slightly. The divine robe of this god, who appeared as an old man, was somewhat damaged, and the staff in his hand was pitch black, seemingly heavily eroded by Chaos. But his voice was still clear: "Is there any way we can help him?"

No one could answer this question, for this was indeed not the time for them to interfere or presumptuously offer help.

At this moment, the former Pope, Israel, also arrived at the front line. Those who dared to come to the vicinity of a Near-Saint battlefield were mostly the old, or those who felt they had reached their limit and, valuing the chance for a breakthrough more than their lives, were a group of 'old immortals.' Or they were avengers who simply did not fear death and only wanted to fight Chaos, even if they could only cause the slightest bit of damage.

The Seven Gods were the latter. They had come for revenge and had already entrusted their legacies, so they naturally did not fear life or death. The old Pope was in the middle. He felt his life had no regrets. If his death could add to the chances of victory, he would not hesitate to pay it. But if he could go a step further, that would naturally be even better.

And at this moment, he, who had gone even further on the path of Holy Light than the gods themselves, saw more than the God of Wisdom and Choice. Israel instinctively gripped his staff tightly and said in a deep voice, "I see Chaos... burning... flames! It's the power of the Soulflame King!"

"But since when has the power of the Soulflame King been so effective against Evil Gods?!"

The old Pope's tone was shocked, and his doubt was not without basis.

The so-called Soulflame King was merely an existence capable of burning souls and Chaos, restoring the world to wholeness. In other words, it was a favored one of the world, a natural envoy of Steel Force. This authority, while valuable, was not a big deal. In the past, after Joshua achieved the Divine Steel Body, he rarely used this authority, because everything this authority could do, he could do himself with Steel Force.

He himself was a world, even a Giant surpassing worlds.

But now, this power was vastly different from before. The flames blazed fiercely, and even Evil Gods writhed in pain when touched, desperately trying to extinguish them.

Amidst the conversation and contemplation, a strange fluctuation began to spread, centered on the area where Joshua and the Coalesced Evil God were fighting. The vast majority of people were completely unaware of this fluctuation, unable to perceive it at all. But the experts from Mycroft, especially the Seven Gods, those who had grown up with the Sage and witnessed his ascent to the pinnacle, their divine bodies trembled slightly, as if evoking ancient memories!

"The foundation of the power to convert Chaos into Order is becoming solid... I can feel that the essence of the 'Soulflame King' is strengthening!"

The God of Protection and Progress, Yize, suppressed his impulse to rush forward and help Joshua. This Dwarf god stared wide-eyed, panting heavily, and said in a low voice, "In the past, that Sage guy only used ordinary Aether spells and Life Energy. Aether manipulation was for restoration, and Life Energy revived matter. The two combined could attract souls to repair bodies, thereby achieving resurrection!"

"The prototype of so-called Holy Light was, in the end, that simple. It could heal, it could kill, and naturally, it could purify... But later, at some point, that ordinary power was strengthened, transformed into three completely different types of Holy Light: 'Celestial Blaze,' 'Healing,' and 'Judgment.' The power that guy used grew stronger as he grew stronger!"

And now, Joshua seemed to be showing a similar trend! In the aspect of the Soulflame King, a strengthening trend identical to that of the Sage in the past had appeared!

Although they still couldn't figure out what path Joshua was taking, there was no doubt that he was indeed walking the Sage's path!

One could see that within the blazing fire, Steel Force was devouring Chaos. In the hazy outline, one could see the three-armed Giant tearing at something, his movements ferocious and full of destructive aura. He swung his fist down, his five fingers clawing and tearing. The warrior even opened his mouth wide, directly biting something, then chewing it up in the flames and swallowing it whole.

Such madness, such decisiveness, no one else could express so naturally and clearly.

The aura of the Coalesced Evil God was gradually weakening. In the flames, its power was completely unable to be exerted, as if it were completely suppressed.

—Never before had any power been so effective against Chaos... Even Order, and later Holy Light and Shadow, could only indirectly suppress the spread of Chaos, causing it to become inactive. In general, it was even a matter of mutual restraint.

After all, Chaos was the power of possibility, and Order was merely one type of possibility. All Transcendent powers were created almost without knowing its existence. If a civilization encountered Chaos in its early stages, the vast majority would be destroyed, let alone survive long enough to nurture a Sage. So one side overwhelming the other depended on the quantity of each. At the same magnitude, no power could restrain it.

But now, it seemed that such a power existed in this multiverse.

A power that restrained Chaos, restrained Evil Gods, restrained so-called 'futures' and 'possibilities,' was being born.

"What exactly is that power?!"

The God of Love and Decay was utterly perplexed. Through Joshua's personality and the fragments left by the Shadow Sage, He guessed that the path Joshua was taking might be 'War' or 'Destruction.' After all, whether it was 'fighting against everything' or 'destroying everything,' it might achieve a similar effect.

But as a god, His instinct told Him otherwise.

—Destruction and fighting themselves were merely one type of possibility. Joshua himself knew very well that relying solely on fighting and destruction to defeat Evil Gods could only rely on 'quantity' to suppress the opponent.

But regardless of whether the gods understood or not, whether they knew what that power was, there was only one thing to do.

"Whatever that power is, it's time to go."

At this moment, the flames that had enveloped both Joshua and the Coalesced Evil God, supported by both sides, began to weaken. It seemed that one of the two was starting to weaken and was about to be defeated—and this time, everyone knew who was about to be defeated. So all the Evil Gods and Minions in the entire dead star river that had not yet died or dissipated charged madly, without hesitation, towards Joshua's location.

Even if it was just a little, they had to interrupt Joshua's offensive, to save—or rather, to prevent the Coalesced Evil God from being burned and eliminated like this.

And everyone present had come precisely to prevent them from succeeding.

"We cannot let you disturb him."

A god stepped forward first. Steel Force, almost identical to Joshua's, spread out. The Metal Dragon God, the Steel Dragon, revealed its true form in the void—a massive, slender silver dragon whose slightest movement could churn spacetime. It let out a long, resonant dragon roar, then stirred up a storm in the void, churning up boundless waves, blocking the front of the charging Evil Gods.

Acting almost simultaneously with the Metal Dragon God was an expert from a different civilization. He appeared to be an ordinary black iron ball, but in reality, he came from a mechanical civilization, and he was the only and strongest war total unit of that civilization. This time, to fight the Evil Gods, he had brought the entire civilization, along with the high-end arsenals of many other civilizations. At this moment, his smooth spherical shell split open, and countless huge cannons, crystallized condensers, guiding antennas, and a multitude of ultimate weapons of unknown purpose all deployed, turning him into the most terrifying 'hedgehog' in this multiverse.

In the next instant, the expert opened fire. The sound of worlds shattering came. Countless cannon blasts, countless beams of light, and even tangible and intangible psionic strikes and Aether blasts were all released. They mixed with the spacetime storm churned up by the Steel Dragon, instantly scattering and repelling the front wave of the Evil God cluster.

But the number of Evil Gods was immense. Whether created during the previous battle between the Coalesced Evil God and Joshua, or those that had arrived from the Silent Void since then, the number of Evil Gods and their Minions always exceeded all imagination. The momentum of the first wave of the dark tide was indeed broken, but there was a second wave, a third wave, seemingly endless.

But similarly, although there were not many Order experts present, it was not difficult for them to join forces and block the aimless, uncohesive charges of the Evil Gods and their Minions. The former Pope Israel raised his pure white staff. An endless, blazing light was released, enveloping a patch of darkness. In that domain, seven-colored bubbles floated and disappeared, merged and dissipated.

In that domain, the colors of the spectrum, like an unstable pointer, rapidly darted between numerous extremes. Hit by this attack, even Evil Gods twisted slightly, cracks appearing on their surfaces, as if wounded. Evil God Minions were completely annihilated in the first instant, their altered laws dissipating into ash.

But this domain was not large. Although its power was terrifying, the area it blocked was too small. Evil Gods always slipped through. And at such times, a god would act. The God of Life raised His hand. A pure white-winged butterfly took flight from His fingertip. It danced gracefully in the void, scattering countless scales. And all Chaos Minions and even Evil Gods covered by these scales began to howl in pain. Before long, large numbers of worms burrowed out from within the bodies of those Chaos Minions, gnawing at the pitch-black flesh.

Soon, these worms grew and formed cocoons. Although many cocoons were shattered by the residual waves of the battle, and many failed to successfully gestate, being completely corroded by Chaos, a portion of the cocoons successfully hatched into butterflies, becoming new Life Butterflies dancing in the void, scattering their scaled offspring.

"Be careful. Don't let your little darlings get out of control."

The Dwarf god picked up his iron-bound thick book and walked forward unhurriedly. Hearing Yize's words, the God of Life nodded solemnly. The Life Butterflies He created were Transcendent beings far more terrifying than ordinary Void Behemoths, or even Chaos Minions. They could even be said to be an extension of His own being. They were not prone to losing control, but when facing Chaos, especially when facing large-scale Chaos erosion, they could potentially lose control, even causing the Life Butterflies to turn against their creator.

But with other experts watching over them, such a backlash was nearly impossible. And the God of Protection and Change, known as the strongest among the Seven Gods, now formally made his move.

He raised his book. Immeasurably thick Divine Power resided upon it. Yize seemed to be muttering some incantation, but probably only He knew that it was merely the rambling of an old man.

"What a waste."

He said this, then shook his arms and hurled this seemingly extremely heavy book, like a meteor or shooting star. It was so swift, and the Divine Power residing on it was so thick. An Evil God, which appeared like an aurora, composed of colored halos, seemed to want to intercept the book. It leaped up and collided with it, but was directly sent flying. A huge, continuously shattering hole appeared in its light-formed torso, severely wounding it.

Finally, the book landed in the center of the cluster of Evil Gods and Minions. It seemed to have a life of its own, automatically opening. On the seemingly blank pages, thousands upon thousands of images and patterns condensed from Divine Power suddenly appeared. The pages flipped and scattered in the dazzling divine light, like leaves in the wind. But when they landed, that is, the moment they touched other Evil Gods or Minions, the pages instantly expanded, transforming into small worlds simulated by Divine Power, enveloping everything around them.

Protecting oneself was protection; imprisoning the enemy was also protection. In an instant, all the pages in the thick, iron-bound holy scripture dissipated, meaning that Yize's millennium-long accumulation was completely exhausted. But in return, thousands of simulated divine power worlds rose in the center of the enemy cluster. Numerous Evil Gods were thus imprisoned within them, becoming targets for other experts and gods, easily eliminated.

In the Silent Void, new Evil Gods and new Evil God Minions continued to arrive, drawn by the light Joshua had previously displayed. But similarly, on the Bilos Star River side, because the center of the Evil God army had shifted, their pressure plummeted. More and more experts were also arriving continuously. The dead star river quickly became another battlefield, where countless experts and Chaos clashed, inflicting destruction upon each other.

But everyone knew that the true core of this battle was not here.

In the center of the battle between Joshua and the Coalesced Evil God, where the flames were most intense, as the hazy outline of the Giant ceased its actions—it was no longer striking, biting, or tearing at the Evil God's body. One could see that the Giant's fourth arm began to re-coalesce and regenerate. Silver light in the void converged into the shape of an iron wrist. Noticing this, all the experts on the side of Order civilizations held their breath.

Having the spare energy to regenerate wounds, to actively stop attacking... what this meant needed no further explanation.

"The Coalesced Evil God has been suppressed by me!"

A grand and deep voice rang out, instantly spreading across the star river. Everyone present heard it. All the Evil Gods and Minions also heard it. They did not understand what these words meant, but they could sense that a vast, unimaginably immense power, like a tsunami, was emanating from the Giant who had just extinguished the flames and was holding something in his hand.

Joshua looked up, scanning the star river before him. His eyes burned with dazzling silver radiance, and beneath the silver light, a crimson divine light shimmered. With just a glance, countless Chaos Minions burst into flames and turned to nothing. Ordinary Evil Gods, those that had not reached the Legendary Limit, were also completely suppressed by his gaze, allowing other Order experts to rush forward, tear them apart, suppress them, and ultimately eliminate them completely.

At this moment, Joshua was also covered in wounds. His chest and arms were full of wounds eroded by Chaos, still unhealed... Even though he possessed a power that could restrain Evil Gods, and had even analyzed the weaknesses and power essence of the Coalesced Evil God, facing a Near-Saint Evil God that 'grows stronger the more it coalesces and fuses, the more it evolves and becomes powerful,' he still could not achieve the imagined one-hit kill. No matter how weak it became, the Coalesced Evil God could always coalesce an attack capable of wounding, even severely wounding him, even if the price was burning its own essence.

But no matter how difficult the process, or how thrilling and dangerous, everything was now coming to an end. The black-and-white core of the Coalesced Evil God, which was eternally rotating, coalescing, and releasing, was now held in the Giant's hand. Joshua raised it high, showing it to everyone.

All the gods and experts stared intently at the pulsating core. A dark light swirled around it, releasing a terrifying aura. Some of the weaker beings, merely by witnessing it, felt the terrifying information intrusion and erosion of the Near-Saint Evil God, temporarily losing their combat ability, and even beginning to fear the 'possibility' that the Coalesced Evil God would break free from the Giant's control and slaughter them all. But more powerful beings could see that the core was firmly controlled by Joshua, with no possibility of escape.

The entire star river fell silent, due to shock, due to emotion. No one knew what words to use to evaluate everything Joshua had done.

Having just advanced to Near-Saint, he had slain a Near-Saint Evil God—this feat was unprecedented. Even counting the Sage, even counting all the pioneers throughout history, this had never been accomplished. Even the Sage of the past had probably been a Near-Saint for hundreds or thousands of years before his battle with the Plenty Evil God, which nearly caused the Lost Star River to collapse and reduced the Abyss to ruins.

Among this, there was certainly the fact that Joshua had absorbed the experiences of all the pioneers and received help from everyone, but it was naturally also due to his own strength. After all, the Sage of the past could at most be called the Supreme Sage and First Teacher, an educator. The Psionic Sage was initially just a scientist. The Sage of Demons didn't seem to have a combat-oriented background. They were undoubtedly brilliant, even capable of creating new paths, but in terms of mindset, they were probably not as pure as Joshua.

Because only he, from beginning to end, had no other superfluous thoughts, no other superfluous identities.

Joshua van Radcliffe had always been a warrior. Past, present, and future, forever.

"The Coalesced Evil God will fall here."

Joshua looked around the silent void. The sky was still flickering with distorted light. In the distance, countless Evil Gods were still approaching, but near the direction of the multiverse star river, there were no longer any Evil Gods or Minions. He smiled and nodded, then raised the core of the Coalesced Evil God high with his upper right hand. On his arm, the Φ-shaped rune lit up, black patterns spread, and dazzling silver flames ignited, directly burning onto the black-and-white, constantly spiraling core.

In the next instant, Joshua closed his five fingers. A sound, like something shattering, echoed across the star river, the myriad heavens, and all the worlds.

Nearly infinite flames ignited from this center, spreading outwards. The dead star river was illuminated. The worlds that had been destroyed, the broken Steel Particles, began to re-coalesce. All the experts who had been wounded, or even suffered near-fatal injuries, were bathed in this light and regained their vitality.

The light was bright. It even crossed the edge of the star river, racing towards the boundary of the Silent Void. The fortress cluster of the Bilos Star River, all the warriors who had fought bitterly for so long, were bathed in the light. This light was warm and gentle. The beauty felt while being bathed in it was beyond words.

The Evil God that destroyed all things was destroyed, its corpse becoming fuel for the flames. All things revived because of this. All worlds were reborn because of this.

Just like the dawn of a new world.

Burning Steel Soul