Chapter 25: The Oath (10000)
In the void of the multiverse, countless worlds shimmered with different lights, adorning the celestial canopy like stars.
Although from a distant point in the void, the color of most world-lights appeared as the silver representing Steel Force, when observed up close, beneath that silver base, each world possessed a unique and distinct radiance. Of course, these subtle differences could usually only be discerned by professional star-gazers. Generally speaking, for the captain of a void vessel, they only needed to observe a few specific signs to identify over ninety percent of a world's condition.
White signified a nascent world. Such a world might have just emerged from the Genesis Maelstrom, where the power of fire and steel had not yet fully transformed into the world itself. The interior of such a world was dangerous, but there was a small chance of producing extremely rare resources.
Pure silver signified stability, order, and life. The brighter the pure silver radiance, the more intelligent life existed within that world, and the stronger its internal soul-reincarnation cycle, the Steel Serpent. Worlds of this color were rare, and encountering one almost certainly meant it was a habitable world, one that inevitably contained a civilization.
Black signified deathly stillness. Such worlds might have once harbored life, but had now been utterly destroyed for various reasons, destined to slowly sink into the Abyss over time. In such worlds, there might still be demons or races yet to transform into demons, barely surviving, but only a very few lifeforms could adapt to such a dead environment.
Beyond these, there were also red, gold, and purple, respectively representing 'violent internal changes that could pose a danger to the surrounding void,' 'a world with life but no civilization,' and 'a world with a unique internal system of supernatural power'—these were the more common world-radiances in the multiverse.
As for cyan radiance, it was extremely rare, yet it did exist. Even professional star-gazers could rarely discern it from the complex signs. It generally appeared alongside black, making it almost impossible to detect. It signified recovery, rebirth, a fire that had not yet burned but would inevitably reignite one day... In other words, it represented a dead world that could be reformed, a barren land that could be reborn and revived.
Cyan signified hope yet to be born.
And now, endless cyan flames were spreading throughout the entire World Star River.
"Is this... the order of recovery?!"
"Pure Steel Force, pure vitality, but how is this possible?"
"Who is it? Who is spreading these flames? Which world is being so wasteful, casually scattering its own pure 'life force'!?"
In the Lost Star River, within countless dead worlds, one Steel Serpent after another awakened from their long slumber. They looked around at the dense cyan flames surrounding them, each one dumbfounded and incredulous.
These Steel Serpents, who had fallen into slumber due to the mass extinction of civilizations caused by the last Evil God invasion, should have dissipated over the long ages, or become fragmented Abyss Wills. But now, the cyan flames surged like a mighty wave, spreading at a speed and density far beyond their imagination.
In an instant, tens of thousands of Steel Serpents awakened from their slumber. Among them, those with intelligence were few, and of those few, only a small fraction retained normal logic and thinking ability. But it was precisely this small fraction of Steel Serpents with normal intelligence that were all World Wills from the Era of Radiance, thousands or tens of thousands of years ago, who had declined while fighting against the Evil Gods! They were experienced, they had witnessed the final battles, but ultimately, they had not lived to see victory, failing with regret.
And now, they were revived, granted power by another. Yet even so, these Steel Serpents instinctively worried for the one who had granted them this power. Because the pure Steel Force that awakened them was so precious. For a world consciousness, it was essentially something akin to primal source power. To recklessly scatter this power, while it could awaken them, awakening them, these failures, was far less valuable than gathering all this power together to fight the Evil Gods.
—Their minds were still immersed in that brutal battle from thousands or tens of thousands of years ago. But this mindset was not entirely wrong, after all, what awaited them now was an even more brutal final battle.
But soon, these Steel Serpents discovered that the entity awakening all the dormant Steel Serpents intended to do far more than this.
An ancient Steel Serpent poked its head out from its own world. It had once been the World Will of a high-level void civilization, but had perished in the invasion of the Plenty Evil God and its army. This Steel Serpent had thought it would gradually fade away with the shattering of its world's soul-reincarnation cycle. It never expected to have a chance to revive. It looked around the void, trying to find the spreader of these flames amidst the vast, dazzling cyan sparks, to thank them properly, and to plead with them not to waste their own source power by saving failures like itself, but to gather all their power together to fight the Chaos Evil God.
But then, it saw something far beyond the imagination of all Steel Serpents.
In the Lost Star River, among the countless trillions of worlds, the vast majority were black, lifeless worlds. This Star River, once invaded by a Near-Saint Evil God, had too many worlds whose futures were severed by Chaos—and now, cyan flames danced, reviving one dead Steel Serpent after another... and even far more than that.
They saw cyan flames fly into a dead world. This dead world had never birthed any civilization, nor had it ever held any life. It floated alone in the void, like an inconspicuous pebble. But the cyan flames surged into it, and before long, a newborn Steel Serpent, with a dazed look, as if it didn't understand what was happening, was born from the dead nothingness.
Then came ten, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand—nay, across all the heavens and countless worlds, the same scene appeared everywhere.
These Steel Serpents with self-awareness, watching the other dead worlds where Steel Serpents were, one could say, being forcibly spawned, felt a sense of 'bewilderment.' They hadn't reacted yet, thinking it was some unfamiliar world reviving, and that the other party was unlucky enough not to have preserved its intelligence. But soon, as these forcibly spawned Steel Serpents actively flew out of their worlds, carrying all the usable energy of their world, instinctively following the cyan flames towards the distant void, what they felt was 'a creeping dread.'
They could see that the outer radiance of the worlds left behind by these forcibly spawned Steel Serpents rapidly dimmed, turning into near-complete deathly stillness, with only a little residual cyan light flickering, leaving them a sliver of hope for revival—but that hope could also be extinguished at any moment.
"This, this is wrong!"
A Steel Serpent instinctively shrank back into its world, its scales all pressed together, clearly very nervous: "This is almost a shortcut to squeeze the power of the worlds and us!"
"By forcibly spawning Steel Serpents, it unifies all the most easily usable free energy within a world, and then seizes the power of these Steel Serpents..."
Another Steel Serpent could analyze more. It didn't seem as nervous, instead falling into deep thought: "If the power the entity awakening us and spawning these newborn Steel Serpents needs to expend is 10, then even a small world's Steel Serpent would give back over 100, let alone those from larger worlds."
"And even with this kind of plunder, it's different from the Abyss. The result is merely that the world loses all its supernatural elements and returns to stillness. It left behind seeds of revival, not taking everything, just taking the fruit but leaving the root."
—Could it be that another powerful being is fighting against the endless Chaos? Has the situation reached such a point that even the remaining power of us, the long-failed corpses, and even the scant supernatural elements within dead worlds, cannot be spared?
Even the embers that had long since burned once are being gathered again. The source of this power... is it strength, or is it sorrow?
This Steel Serpent looked around the void. It could see that in this star domain alone, countless trillions of forcibly spawned Steel Serpents were flying towards the center of the World Star River. It watched this scene and fell into contemplation.
Then, it actively detached from its world, joining the vast tide of spawned Steel Serpents without self-awareness, departing together.
—After all, it had nothing left.
Whether it was its children, or the world itself, they were all long broken. Its heart was like ashes, even revived. It could sense the vast Chaos still existing in the distance, and the entity granting this flame belonged at least to Order. It was willing to awaken so many World Wills, even if only to seize their power. But allowing them, these long-dead failures, to return to the world, even for just a single moment, filled it with gratitude.
Therefore, it wanted to go and see what this entity of Order was doing this for... If the other party truly was Order, and this act was a last-ditch stand against the endless Chaos.
Then let this broken body and its remaining power be taken.
The Steel Serpents of the myriad realms converged into a mighty torrent, surging towards the center of the World Star River, gathering towards the Steel Giant God who had become the axis of this World Star River.
And to achieve this step, Joshua had been preparing ever since he entered the Genesis Maelstrom.
At first, the warrior had no extra thoughts. He just wanted to revive worlds, to allow countless dead worlds to be reborn... So he sent Ying and Lin, forging special armor for them, to send them to every corner of the entire World Star River to scatter the Azure Orbs—that was even before the expedition to the Multiverse Star River. The Divine Mechanism siblings were entrusted with this heavy responsibility. Through the teleportation of the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground, in just under twenty years, they traveled to the most remote corners of the Lost Star River, planting the seeds of hope.
In fact, when Joshua defeated the Death Evil God and was in the Genesis Maelstrom, he had done something similar—at that time, he poured a large number of 'Restorative Pillars,' which were his base points, the silver metal pillars, into the nascent Genesis Maelstrom, letting them naturally spread throughout the entire Star River with the Maelstrom's operation. This was the warrior's preparation against potentially overly powerful enemies, and it proved that such enemies did exist, like the Near-Saint, the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate.
Later, when he entered the Genesis Maelstrom for the second time and deciphered the mystery of the Evil God's eternity, he did something similar again—the warrior created many worlds as base points, and even used his own power to imprint his mark on all worlds born within the Genesis Maelstrom for a period of time.
Starting from these marks, base points, and the Azure Orbs scattered by the Divine Mechanism siblings, Joshua ignited the entire Lost Star River with cyan fire.
—High above, at the central axis of the World Star River, causing the entire World Star River to revolve around him, the four-armed Steel Giant God silently surveyed the heavens.
He could see the mighty torrent of Steel Serpents had arrived. They were like raindrops rushing towards him, like snowflakes blown by the wind, pouring onto his body, draping him in an incredibly dense and sturdy armor.
Each Steel Serpent was a scale on this armor. Each Steel Serpent carried nearly all the supernatural power of a world—the conversion of mass was too cumbersome. Even if Joshua wanted to devour these worlds, the Evil Gods wouldn't give him time. It was better to grant the energy cycles of the myriad realms self-will, letting this energy come to him and converge upon him by itself.
"This power..."
He mused, spreading his four arms. The warrior's body surged with countless twisted rings of light, the formations of the Steel Serpents interlocking and merging. Cyan and silver streams of light converged, dancing gracefully around the Giant God like flames. And in Joshua's eyes, a blazing red divine light pierced the void, causing the distant ends of the myriad realms to tremble.
One could see that on Joshua's arms, wispy, snake-like bands of light rose, coiling around his shoulders and four arms, rising and shifting like a solar corona. One could see that the entire World Star River seemed to fear this change in Joshua; its rotation speed increased slightly, and countless worlds began to tremble faintly, simply because he existed.
"It is accomplished."
Now, at this very moment, countless Steel Serpents had awakened. It was as if the entire World Star River had awakened its own self-will, giving birth to a World Star River-level Steel Serpent—and this enormous Star River Serpent coiled around Joshua, endlessly enhancing his power, becoming his guardian.
A delicate plunder, a spontaneous convergence. Just as a massive nebula cluster would gather the surrounding nebulae to form a star, a massive Steel Force aggregate would spontaneously gather all free-floating Steel Force, becoming an even more colossal entity. This certainly dimmed the flames of the entire World Star River, but it was far better than letting it shine brightly, only to be devoured by the Evil Gods.
A long time passed—most of the forcibly spawned Steel Serpents had, within the blazing light and flames, transformed into an incredibly sturdy armor, enveloping Joshua. This armor was plain and unadorned, with no extra decorations except for densely packed scales. On its surface floated φ-shaped runes, with silver and red light converging and flowing on its surface, like blazing flames, emitting countless sparks.
The sparks danced, illuminating the void. Within each scattered spark burned a phantom like a world, with all things burning within, finally turning to ashes.
Above the head of the four-armed Giant God floated a phantom crown. The essence of this crown was a rune, an acknowledgment. It could draw power from the soul or Chaos, pouring it into the world, and the world would pour its power back into it. This mutually beneficial relationship was called 'Soulflame,' and the supreme being holding this kind of authority was the so-called 'Soulflame King.'
And now, Joshua poured power into the entire World Star River—and the entire World Star River poured its power into him.
[Soulflame King · World Star River Form]
This was power far greater than when he had merged with the Steel Serpent of the Starry World, and Joshua himself, as the controller, was also far stronger than he was back then. At the moment of achieving the World Star River Form of the Soulflame King, in that instant, he could sense that nearly all the worlds of the entire World Star River were a part of him. Nearly all the forcibly spawned Steel Serpents were integrated into it. They were Joshua's hands, feet, his body, his heart.
He seemed to have truly become the Steel Serpent of the entire World Star River. He could sense the soul-reincarnation cycles of all worlds within him. All these cycles, all these circulations, converged at the Genesis Maelstrom—that was the origin of the World Star River. If the Star River also had a self-will, then that will must have been born within it, just as when the Death Evil God was about to be born, turning the entire Genesis Maelstrom into its Extreme Dark Abyss.
But Joshua would not do that. What he needed was just power, not to truly devour the entire World Star River.
And this was not to say that only the Steel Serpents spawned by Joshua came.
Within that immensely vast tide of steel, there were also World Wills that came voluntarily. During the long journey, they saw the withering World Star River, saw the endless Chaos army in the distance. They saw that the many World Wills had transformed into the warrior's armor, without a single bit of waste. And the Steel God was gazing into the distance, about to set out on an expedition.
—Take us with you!
—Let us go forward together.
—Don't leave me behind!
For the future, for revenge, or simply because they had been left behind once before and didn't want to be left behind a second time, they also voluntarily joined, accompanying this unprecedented powerful being on an unprecedented expedition to a distant Star River beyond.
And within this mighty torrent, there were also familiar presences to Joshua.
—The Steel Serpent of the Carlis World had also come. It was mixed in the torrent of the myriad realms, seemingly trying to hide itself, but Joshua recognized it at a glance, recognizing its familiar aura.
"You didn't have to come."
At the center of the World Star River, the Giant God's voice shook the void, enough to displace worlds. He gazed at the Steel Serpent held in his palm, speaking calmly: "I wouldn't force any Steel Serpent with self-will. They came because their hearts were like ashes, or because they were bent on revenge and battle. But you, Carlis, my friend, you still have life gestating within you, you still have a future."
"The fire of the Carlis World was only just rekindled. You don't have to come. Return quickly."
"No." Since it was discovered, it didn't want to hide. Carlis replied firmly, its tone solemn, its resolve as hard as iron: "I want to fight alongside you."
"Joshua, you know, there are still survivors from the Grandia World living within me. They have already created a new civilization. I am delighted by their development, but I still feel lost, because I know that no matter what, they will never be my children. I wanted to love them, I tried, but in the end, I had to admit that my hatred for the Evil Gods surpassed my love."
"My children have long since perished, killed by the Evil Gods. I once told you that no matter how deep and unforgettable the hatred, it is but an insignificant speck of dust in the multiverse, an insignificant ripple. To be fixated on it is to never truly move forward—but I have made my choice. This is my path forward. I want revenge."
It spoke thus, the Steel Serpent not lowering its head, meeting the gaze of the Steel Giant God. Its eyes were incredibly firm, and it said decisively: "Joshua, don't hesitate. Let me become your power!"
"Whether we live or die in the future, let us go forward together!"
The Giant God could not refuse. So he sighed and tightened his grip.
A brilliant silver radiance shone. The power of Carlis converged upon him. Joshua could sense that the will of Carlis was with him, just like the other intelligent Steel Serpents that had come voluntarily to become his power.
—The Steel Serpent of the Siberia World had also come. It came from the former Void Great Maelstrom, somewhat timid. When it saw Joshua, this Steel Serpent seemed very embarrassed and even apologized in advance.
"I was not a qualified Steel Serpent. I know that."
It murmured to the Giant God, as if recalling its few remaining memories. Siberia's voice was low, carrying a hint of regret: "I failed too many lives. I should have atoned... I know that the power of a single world like me means nothing to you, but I also saw that darkness spreading across the sky... Joshua, I know that if you cannot succeed, then this World Star River, this Multiverse Star River, will face destruction... I just want to tell you, if you don't mind, I can help you, even if it's just a little."
"Siberia, at least now you have a sense of responsibility."
Joshua sighed, trying to dissuade it: "The Superhumans and Soul Puppets need your guidance. The Siberia World has also been upgraded once. Your future is bright. I believe you can change yourself and become a qualified World Will... There's no need for this."
"Yes, I hesitated too."
Siberia readily admitted this, but its tone finally returned to calm: "But my children, the Siberia people, were destroyed because of my inaction. The Superhumans and Soul Puppets have already begun to develop steadily. They no longer need a Steel Serpent's support. I am no longer worthy to lead them—now is the time for atonement. I have already left behind the seed of a new Steel Serpent, one that will belong to the new Siberia people themselves."
"I entrust the duty of guiding their destiny to them. As for myself, I will burn the rest of my life to illuminate a little darkness for their future."
It also returned to Joshua, joining the warrior.
And at a distant point in spacetime, in a corner of the Lost Star River, a sealed world that looked like a dead world suddenly unlocked its outer seal, revealing light.
—The Father of Nature unsealed the seal that had closed the world. The old tree, within the world, looked up at the endless void, tears streaming down its face.
"I am just a cowardly god."
Once, it had fought the Evil Gods, and the brutal destruction had overturned the continents of Mycroft. A deity should have fought to the death, but perhaps out of cowardice, perhaps to protect the Elf Clan, it chose to flee, taking the remaining elves of that continent away from the battlefield, to a distant, remote world, and then self-sealed, intending to escape the great calamity.
It knew it was very cowardly, very irresponsible. It had abandoned a part of its people, trying to save another part... It knew how heavy its sin was, but fate never gave it a chance to make amends—the Radiant Civilization had passed, and the visitors from the Falling Star Civilization even helped it repel the invading Evil Gods. It hadn't helped at all.
To prevent the Evil Gods from following the spacetime passage back to its homeland, it sealed the Ilgena World, hoping the calamity would not spread... But now, the Evil God army, enough to cover the Multiverse Star River, was coming. Against these World Devourers, capable of gnawing the entire Multiverse Star River to nothing, what use was escape?
"Ah... I finally understand."
The great World Tree sighed and slowly pulled up its roots. The immensely lush God of Nature began to transform into a hazy stream of light, heading towards the void outside the world—under the stunned gazes of all the elves, amidst the indifferent but unconsciously sighing voice of the World Will, the True God abandoned all illusions, and finally understood something, something it should have understood thousands of years ago.
"Faced with this darkness, this calamity of the end, that exhausts even the Star River, the Multiverse Star River cannot resist. Faced with this endless enemy."
—The cowardly will always have nowhere to hide.
Prayer, escape, can never bring peace. Waiting, turning a blind eye, can never solve any problem. Just closing your eyes, plugging your ears, saying nothing—then peace and tranquility can never come.
—Only the brave can survive.
To want to live, safely and stably, just to live an ordinary life, is so difficult in this dark multiverse... So, one must muster the courage.
It's time to set out!
And so, accompanied by a brilliant divine light, accompanied by a mighty torrent, the deity set out. It wanted to return to the ranks it had once abandoned... Not to atone for sins, it was unworthy of that word. The deity did this only to fulfill its duty as a god, now and for the present.
This time, it would never cowardly flee again.
—In the long-abandoned Mycroft World, even the continents had been cut and partially taken away. This broken world, with the departure of the Seven Gods and all Legendary experts, with the departure of all intelligent life, even the Boundless Heaven had detached, becoming a separate demi-plane, flying into the Silent Void.
Whether it was intentional or accidental, deep within the world, a great seal was slowly being undone.
Soon, the Steel Serpent of the Mycroft World, the black serpent polluted by Chaos, reappeared in the world.
The so-called Chaos Erosion was a reverse flow of possibilities from the future. The possibilities eroded by malicious Chaos contained infinite information from parallel worlds and futures. Bombarded by this information, madness was normal, sanity was the exception. Except for the mastermind behind the scenes, basically no entity could use this chaotic sea of futures. Any self-will would be swallowed by this overly vast sea of possibilities, becoming part of Chaos.
Unless it was burned, shattering the chaotic future into a true unknown, rather than a foundation controlled by others. The Sage and Mycroft had once wanted to accomplish this, but time was too short. The Sage had to set out quickly to stop the source of it all. Compared to the terrifying calamity threatening the multiverse, the survival of a single world was not something to be overly concerned about, because even a single second's delay could allow the mastermind to develop for another second, piling up even greater power.
But now, cyan flames swept through. The seal was undone. As the Steel Serpent revived, it felt its erosion was greatly alleviated. It looked around in surprise, then saw its own broken world, and then looked towards the distant void.
"So fast... has this day come?"
The Mother of All Things had thought she would have to wait a very long time for power sufficient to save her, or power sufficient to destroy her. She never expected this day to come so quickly... The broken and deserted state of the Mycroft World puzzled her somewhat, but she was not surprised.
Because she sensed it: the vast tide of Chaos had come again.
"My children... why have you undone my seal? Do you want me to flee? Or do you want to grant me freedom before the final moment?"
But this is meaningless, my children. My friends have long passed. My descendants are few. The ancient gods have all turned into broken marks. The strong of the past have all withered. My best friend has gone to the distant reaches of the multiverse, chasing the light of the First Flame. In this lonely multiverse, what meaning is there in granting me freedom?
So the Steel Serpent laughed and sighed. It laughed at the progress of the age, even if imperfect, the flame that could burn Chaos was something the Sage had never accomplished. It sighed because Chaos was coming, and the end was near.
Then, it flicked its pitch-black tail, and flew naturally towards the void, towards the center of the World Star River.
"Do not refuse, child."
It flew past the stars, through the endless void. It saw that familiar figure. The colossal Steel God was raising his right hand, igniting a radiance that illuminated the Multiverse Star River. It noticed the expression of the Giant God, and so it laughed: "Last time it was the Sage. This time it is you. My proud and glorious descendants, let me fight alongside you once more."
And so, whether it was a sigh or a desolate howl, accompanied by a holy cry that shook the myriad realms, at that moment when the light blazed, all power was with the warrior.
"It's time to set out."
He spoke thus, his voice resounding through the heavens. And around the Giant God, the many powerful beings from many worlds and many civilizations also echoed: "It's time to set out!"
The Giant God, who supported the Star River and seemed to be the axis of the myriad realms, was not alone. Many gods, many people surrounded him, like comets orbiting a star, like planets orbiting a galaxy. They had followed the Giant God's steps to this place, and then resolutely accepted the promise.
The promise to protect this Multiverse Star River.
What exactly were they going to do? Ordinary people didn't really know. Even ordinary Transcendents who hadn't reached the Legendary rank didn't know—they couldn't even see the overly murky and dim darkness beyond the void. They knew nothing, understood nothing, let alone the goals of these powerful beings.
But in truth, even the many powerful beings surrounding Joshua didn't fully know their own purpose.
Were they going to the Silent Void to repel all the invading Evil Gods? Or were they just opening a path for others to take the sanctuaries of countless civilizations away?
None of them knew, but they still resolutely prepared to go together, with the conviction of certain death, with a sacrificial heart.
And just as the Giant God rose, ready to set out, suddenly, two points of light appeared in the void. One silver point of light, one black-gold point of light.
Seeing this, Joshua silently stopped. He gazed at these two points of light approaching him, then stopping by his hand.
"Are you really coming, Ying, Lin?"
The Giant God asked seriously, speaking slowly: "This is a battle with no room for retreat, a resistance that is almost certain death. Have you thought it through, my weapons?"
This question needed no answer. The Divine Mechanism siblings said nothing. They only revealed their aura—the aura of the Legendary rank—with this power honed for so long, proving their resolve and their will.
—Is this not enough, my master?
—Is this still not enough to follow you, my master?
No more words were needed.
So the Giant God shook his head. He sighed, and also laughed, and then spoke thus: "Since that is the case, then come together."
"Fire of Ying, Light of Lin—return to my bones."
He reached out and grasped the two points of light. Then, in the next instant, accompanied by a dazzling silver light and a blinding holy radiance, a silver greatsword and a black giant axe were firmly gripped in the hands of the four-armed Giant God. Their connection was so precise, as if they were a part of his body.
No, they were always a part of his body.
Everything was complete. All preparations were ready. The Giant God was about to depart. The Giant God had already departed.
Countless powerful beings followed the Giant God's steps. They transformed into a mighty torrent of light and began to set out. If anyone could watch this scene from the Silent Void, they would see, on one side of the dimming Star River, countless tiny points of light. These points of light dragged long, comet-like trails of light, resolutely heading into the dark void, towards the endless, incoming dark tendrils.
—Silent Void, within the Aether Ring World.
Number 3, who had become the core processing area of the Magic Net and the central control hub of the Aether Ring World, gazed at this scene. She saw countless Steel Serpents, countless familiar beings, familiar powerful ones, all following the familiar person as they departed... She saw the Divine Mechanism siblings finally get their wish, able to follow their master into a battle, a final Armageddon.
She stirred restlessly... Number 3 also wanted to go. She also had power, power surpassing the Divine Mechanism siblings—the inheritance of the gods, the power of the Magic Net, and what she had gained through her own hard training. Her power was not inferior to any powerful being.
But a grand voice came from the deepest part of the Artificial Intelligence Girl's heart.
"Don't go, Number 3."
It was that man's voice, calm in tone, carrying a note of admonition: "Anyone else can go, but not you."
"If everything returns to darkness, if everything returns to silence, if our final resistance also fails, if we finally turn into scattered dust in the void."
"Then you are me, you are our final hope."
That grand voice, after resounding, gradually faded away. Number 3 listened to this voice coming from the depths of her heart, sensing the hidden 'seed' within the Magic Net server, within the Aether Ring World. She clenched her fists unwillingly, bit her lip, but finally slumped and let go.
"You are right..."
The girl whispered to herself, her tone melancholy: "You have always been right..."
"But... isn't it said that intelligent beings don't have to do the 'right' thing... I also have the right to choose foolishness. I also want to have the right to make mistakes, to do the wrong thing, to be willful..."
But no. Not now, at least. Number 3 knew that indeed, she was the only one who couldn't go. She was the only one who had to protect herself, to ensure her own safety.
This was clearly not a big deal. Everyone had their own duty.
But Number 3, for some reason, shed tears.
"Joshua... Joshua..."
At the core of the Magic Net, the data-manifested girl curled up, hugging her knees, her wings wrapping around her sides, hiding her tear-streaked face from others. She whispered to herself, murmuring softly: "My friend, my hero..."
"Don't abandon us, please... please... you must come back..."
But the warrior could not hear this voice.
When the silent warrior resolutely rushed to the battlefield, they could no longer hear any sound. The moment the weapon, infused with resolve, was drawn, it marked the boundary between life and death.
The flames burned, surged forward. The towering flames ignited the Silent Void, causing the myriad realms to tremble.
The power of the myriad realms converged upon him. The hope of the myriad realms converged upon him. So Joshua van Radcliffe swore an oath. He would not fail, he would not give up. The Soulflame King would bear everything, save everything, punish everything.
This was the oath that the man had always followed, always kept, ever since he achieved the Legendary rank...
The Oath.