Chapter 24: The Great Migration (5800)
Like a thunderclap exploding in silence, a voice of infinite majesty and immense magnitude resounded across all heavens and myriad realms, jolting everyone immersed in despair awake.
Although some remained dazed, lost in profound bewilderment and shock, the vast majority of powerful beings awoke from their stupor, swiftly and resolutely.
"...Joshua, do you have any other methods?"
The first to speak was the former Pope, Israel. Having set aside all his duties, the old man who came solely as a "practitioner of the Holy Light Path" wore an expression of utmost solemnity. No one could face the darkness that spanned endless void and could drown the Multiverse Star River without flinching, but even in fear, choices must be made. Israel had long been prepared for a desperate battle; his earlier daze stemmed from realizing that fighting such a countless enemy made his own struggle utterly meaningless, leaving him momentarily unable to react.
But Joshua was right.
Without fighting, where does meaning come from? Even against an enemy destined to defeat, if one does not rise and fight, how could a miracle of victory ever descend?
Or, to use that warrior's most common phrase—summoning courage to battle the darkness is itself the greatest meaning.
Hearing the inquiry from someone familiar, the Giant God turned and cast a distant glance at Israel.
The unprecedented resolve, the unwavering determination in those eyes, left the old Pope momentarily stunned and speechless.
For some reason, Israel recalled decades ago, when he assumed the duties of Pope of the Seven Gods and, alongside the former Pope, watched the dying flames of the Mycroft World. The expression of the previous Pope had been the same.
That long-departed old man, and now Joshua, both gazed with that same unyielding, resolute determination at the faint, flickering flame on the verge of extinction. Israel found it hard to imagine that such a willingness to sacrifice everything for protection could be seen in Joshua.
But the warrior's voice rang out, cutting off his thoughts.
"Yes."
The immense voice echoed, vibrating through the void and causing even the light of the Magic Tide to ripple. Joshua surveyed the many powerful beings gathering around him, then turned back to gaze at the endless darkness in the Silent Void. His voice was steady: "I have long been prepared, long had my suspicions."
"If the enemies attacking this time are too numerous for me to hold back; if they are too strong for me to defeat; if my power cannot suppress Chaos as I imagined, and I chose wrongly; or if there is a hidden hand with a clone so powerful that it is impossible to resist—I have considered all possibilities, the worst and most terrifying ones."
"And this darkness, though vast in number, does not exceed my expectations. So I have long been prepared."
"Then, Joshua."
Shaking off the strange sense of déjà vu, it was still Israel, the powerful being familiar with Joshua, who asked, his tone tinged with doubt: "Do you mean... you can become even stronger?"
A long silence followed. Joshua stared into the distance, seemingly not hearing the question.
After an extended stillness, the Giant God, who had been watching the darkness without turning back, nodded. He spoke calmly: "Yes, I can become even stronger."
"But, Israel, the Seven Gods, and the other civilizations, all the powerful beings gathered here—prepare to activate our worst-case contingency plan."
Saying this, Joshua's tone grew heavier: "Everyone present, notify your home worlds, inform your people, activate the sanctuaries you have built, and initiate the final measures we have prepared for our civilizations. Now is the time to use them—do not delay."
"Transfer all non-combatants and technical personnel into safer sanctuary worlds. The coming battle will engulf the entire Multiverse Star River, and no place will be safe. But if they enter the sanctuaries, at least they will have a chance to survive until the entire prototype and everything else is destroyed."
Everyone heard clearly. Joshua's meaning was simple.
It was to directly move everyone into sanctuary worlds like the Aether Ring World or the Bloodmoon Abyss Sanctuary, hiding the main body of most civilizations, executing the "Great Migration" needed in the worst-case scenario.
Essentially, all civilizations present, either prompted by the former Mycroft Civilization or having prepared on their own, had built a considerable number of sanctuaries. With the help of the Exchange System, each civilization's sanctuary could perfectly accommodate its own people, and even more.
No one thought the current situation wasn't dire enough to warrant opening the sanctuaries. In fact, the situation was so perilous that even opening them seemed futile, which was why they hadn't notified everyone immediately. Hearing Joshua's prompt, most found it reasonable and immediately contacted their homelands, urgently ordering everyone to begin the "Great Migration."
But unlike the others, while other Mycroft powerful beings were already notifying their homes to prepare for migration, Yi Zhe and Israel simultaneously frowned, and Israel also sensed something amiss.
Among these three, one was a deity who had lived from the Sage's era to the present, witnessing the growth of two Near-Saints and the Sage of Mycroft Civilization; the other two were the most familiar with Joshua. They all detected a different meaning in the warrior's words.
"I understand."
The God of Might and Justice nodded thoughtfully: "We will do as you say."
The old Pope also nodded slightly, but in his heart, he vaguely guessed Joshua's plan.
—Have all civilizations enter the sanctuaries, reduce their targets, then gather all the powerful beings together and forcefully break out with the sanctuaries?
It was unavoidable. Not all Transcendent Beings walked the path of embodying a world like the warrior; their power might cause immense destruction but might not be able to propel a world forward. But sanctuaries were different—most were smaller than ordinary worlds and more concealed, easier to carry and protect. If Joshua and the other powerful beings could blast a path through the dark net surrounding the entire Multiverse Star River, then perhaps they could truly break out.
After all, facing an endless enemy, staying put in the Multiverse Star River was useless. They had to take the initiative and carve a path! Though it was unfortunate for civilizations that couldn't leave the Multiverse Star River, there was truly no other choice.
"This is indeed something Joshua would think of," Israel mused internally.
But Yi Zhe was different. Though He also thought of the "breakout" that Israel had considered, a deeper instinct told this deity that this was merely the surface Joshua showed, a thought meant for others to guess. Behind his actions, there must be some real purpose.
But Joshua didn't say more. He remained where he was, shining with light, gazing up at the void.
The warrior silently calculated the speed, angle, and arrival time of all the dark tendrils, along with other crucial data. No one disturbed him, for even the most arrogant and ignorant knew that in this Multiverse Star River without a second Near-Saint, the warrior's existence was the sole hope for all civilizations.
Soon, the commands and instructions from all the powerful beings on the front lines were swiftly transmitted to their home civilizations.
Whether the Mycroft Civilization or other void civilizations, their actions were very fast. After all, the "Extreme Crisis" over a decade ago had affected the Multiverse Star River and even multiple Multiverse Star Rivers, sparing no civilization. Most had been hit. So even civilizations without sanctuaries back then had built them in the last ten years to avoid the next disaster's destruction, and had conducted crisis drills.
They all had relevant transfer experience, so this time it was familiar territory.
Lost Star River, Mycroft Continent.
Unlike other civilizations, the people living in this world were especially experienced.
"Numbers 16801 to 18000, enter the teleportation area. Hold your Psychic Terminals tightly—the scanning magic will check your body and soul conditions, but don't worry. This is mainly to confirm your personal information matches the records, ensuring no impersonation or mental possession."
"Don't move or touch anything during the teleportation. After teleportation, follow the automated intelligent machines of the local sanctuary to your assigned areas for settlement. Resource allocation and work arrangements will follow shortly—no need to panic."
"Friends from other civilizations, please proceed to the fourth teleportation area. The Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground has arranged direct teleportation gates to your home worlds. Please go to the front desk service area to collect teleportation tickets for your respective worlds. We will arrange teleportation according to the tickets."
Repeated announcements echoed from the city center's broadcast stations. Massive, azure spacetime gates opened in different sectors, teleporting large numbers of people in batches.
Using Psychic Terminals for digital sorting, while other civilizations were still preparing, the Mycroft people had already completed all preparations. Citizens brought their families' most precious possessions and resources, entering the sanctuary worlds in batches with their families and neighbors. Adults, unaware of the darkness's true depth, showed worry but not fear, while children treated it as a novel adventure, excitedly watching the teleportation gates in the city center.
Behind the gates lay a new world. Entering meant saying goodbye to all existing peace. But so what? For survival, ancient humans had migrated for years or decades to avoid dangerous beasts and climate changes, spanning entire continents, spreading the life called humanity from the initial plains across the world.
Now, it was just on a larger scale—from one world to another. Beyond that, nothing was different.
Of course, while most Mycroft people would go to the sanctuary worlds, this didn't mean the Mycroft World was abandoned.
Some were told they didn't need to leave their homes for the sanctuary. This clearly selected group stayed at their posts, waiting with slight tension and excitement as time passed, watching others head to the other side of spacetime.
Sibert Plateau, Void Warship Production Base.
The current Emperor of the Helgamos Empire, Di Mo Er·Diamond, stood on his private airship platform ten thousand meters above the ground, overlooking his nation. He watched Void Warships rise and fall along the "Babel Tower," shuttling between void and world, transporting vast amounts of supplies and people.
The teleportation gates in major cities alone couldn't handle rapid transfer. Only the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground in the void demiplane could perform a national-scale super-mass teleportation. Most people from remote areas were teleported to void bases, then boarded warships to the void, and finally teleported to the sanctuary via the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground.
The Emperor watched all this. In today's Mycroft Continent, the title "Emperor" was merely a formality. In a world where nobles were mostly just titles and couldn't be superior, the Emperor was simply a leader by convention, equivalent to the leader of the human northern civilization circle.
But Di Mo Er didn't mind. The people lived happily, without noble oppression or criminal harassment. Everyone could live peacefully through their work... So why need emperors and nobles?
So he was happy too. Di Mo Er was glad he didn't have to exhaust himself for the entire empire like his father, who only gained some freedom after becoming a god but still had to pour his heart into the Mycroft Civilization.
Even so, the current Emperor couldn't help but feel some emotion as he witnessed the Great Migration of all his nation's people.
"Time to depart."
After confirming that all transport ships had taken off and no more batches of people were being teleported, and after multiple checks that no citizens needing transfer remained within the empire's borders, Di Mo Er calmly spoke into his communication array: "Begin. Activate. Let us head to the void."
The moment he finished speaking.
The sky roared, the earth shook.
Amid the violent rumbling of crustal plates breaking, rainbow light of mana illuminated the high heavens. The moment the ultra-high energy source beyond the Ultimate-rank activated, the surface of the Sibert Plateau cracked everywhere. Layers of seemingly indestructible steel structures rose from underground, centered on the Babel Tower! Within minutes, the entire surface of the Sibert Plateau peeled away, transforming into a colossal hybrid structure of magically reinforced rock and steel!
The next moment, around this trapezoidal pyramid-like giant artificial structure, a bright azure halo lit up. Massive artificial mana crystals, each as large as a plaza, were infused with energy and shone brightly. The legendary-grade super-levitation arrays inscribed within them activated—the immense thrust generated instantly shattered all crustal structures around the entire Sibert Plateau. Then, amid a super-earthquake, the entire steelified Sibert Plateau became a steel continent, rapidly ascending into the sky!
Di Mo Er's airship followed a guiding beam and smoothly embedded into a storage compartment that opened for it as the floating continent took off. But Di Mo Er himself didn't enter this steel continent. He remained in midair, gazing into the distance.
He could see the same rainbow light, the same tremors, emanating from every corner of the empire and the entire world. In major cities like the Three Mountains Holy City in the Imperial Capital, Moldavia in the Northern Lands, and the southern fortress clusters, areas with many important equipment that couldn't be easily moved, they all transformed into floating fortresses and flying cities. Under the influence of Transcendent power, they broke free from the solid earth and soared into the distant sky.
Vast plains, towering mountains, scorching islands, freezing Northern Lands—Western Mountain, Far South, Eastern Plains, overseas archipelagoes. The central hubs of every powerful faction, the capitals of every large nation, the situation at the Sibert Plateau repeated across every corner of the Mycroft World.
Cities rose, even small coastal continents took flight. In that instant, an incalculable mass left the surface, causing seawater to pour in and the sea level to drop slightly.
All intelligent life, all valuable biological and plant samples, everything that could be carried—all were taken, leaving nothing behind.
—Since we must leave our homeland for a strange world, let us take our most important things—
[We are forced to migrate, taking the entire world with us. We cannot bear to part with our homeland, so we pack up the continent itself]
This desire, named "greed," was the force driving everyone forward.
—Rumble—
One by one, massive floating cities and floating continents broke free from the world into the void amid violent mana roars. They flew toward the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground. The Dominant Will, already prepared, cast a world-class super-teleportation spell, directly sending these cherished homelands to specially vacated areas in the Aether Ring World, perfectly embedding them into the corresponding land.
Honestly, this spell wasn't difficult for the Dominant Will of the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground—at least much simpler than teleporting a certain warrior.
The Mycroft people's migration packed up the world's most essential parts, leaving nothing behind... In the void, a magnificent, multicolored light orb circled the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground—that was the Fairyland of the fairies.
With the help of other elemental races in the multiverse, the Fairyland had long become a complete elemental world, controlled freely by the Fairy Queens, capable of rapid movement, far more convenient and agile than any sanctuary.
Were they ready? Of course. Everyone had long prepared for this day. It was precisely the persistent preparation over the past decade that made all this so simple now.
During Joshua's decade-long seclusion, others hadn't been idle.
"Teleportation complete!"
"Starting sequence matching... All sequences matched, all sequences safely transferred!"
"Perfect! No injuries, no teleportation errors!"
In the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground, the staff responsible for planning this Great Migration nervously performed repeated confirmations. They input commands clearly, observed feedback carefully. Finally, after the last floating continent was teleported away by the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground and received the "safe teleportation complete" feedback, a silence lasting several minutes fell over the entire main control room.
Then, a relieved voice came.
"Mission accomplished. Mycroft World migration plan fully successful. Total: 7,194,830,076 people. Zero casualties."
Applause thundered like thunder.
And at that very moment, at the edge of the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground, a staff member responsible for material conversion suddenly felt an inexplicable fear. His body trembled, for an extremely powerful pressure was rushing from distant spacetime.
He looked up, instinctively gazing toward the direction of the pressure... and then he saw it.
A Giant God of Steel, far larger than a world, carrying endless, brilliant divine light, headed straight for the center of the Lost Star River. He brushed past the Mycroft World without pausing even for an instant. After the Giant God passed, one could see azure light filling the entire void, flowing and dancing with the Magic Tide!
The Giant God was like a brush, sweeping across the canvas called the World Star River. The azure ink he left behind began to spread rapidly, extending to every corner of the entire star river.
One could see azure flames burning, illuminating the star river and all heavens. Myriad worlds bathed in its light, as if immersed in warm, jade-like liquid.
Soon.
Countless worlds began to tremble.
Countless slumbering World Wills awakened. The Steel Serpents, dormant since the ancient Great Destruction of the previous era, began to revive. They looked around in confusion or bewilderment. Then, all World Wills instinctively turned their heads toward one direction.
That was the axis and center of the entire World Star River.
That is, the direction where Joshua was.