Chapter 28: The Final Flame (1w1, End of Volume, Beg for Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 28: The Final Flame (1w1, End of Volume, Beg for Monthly Tickets)

"What do we do? Is it really impossible to detect Joshua's signal?"
"No, it's too far..."
At the edge of the Bilos Star River, within the core of a hastily erected massive void observation array, facing a gathering of legends and deities, the exhausted Rune Master Baniel shook his head. With a tone of reluctance, he said, "It's really not a technical issue on our part. He... has already left the extreme observation range of the void. Do you understand? It's like how we basically can't see other multiversal star rivers in the void. Even if we set up another super-massive array a hundred times larger than this one, detection would still be impossible."
"At most, we can only judge Joshua's condition indirectly by observing the activity of the evil god cluster—that is, the changes in that patch of void darkness." Beside Baniel, the equally exhausted Psychic Master William rubbed his forehead and smiled bitterly. "If the dark cluster is still active, it proves Joshua is still alive. That's all we can do... Besides, look up there. There's a red star we've never observed before. I guess that's the manifestation of Joshua's divine power."
"Damn it!"

The God of Might and Justice, who had asked the question, wanted to angrily slam the control panel cover, but held back at the last moment. The deity gritted their teeth and said, "When did he start preparing all this?! These powers, these preparations—they couldn't have been made overnight!"
"It was probably after he killed the 'Death Evil God.'"
Yarnamillo, a legendary expert from the Era of Radiance, didn't know what to say at this moment. Finally, all her words condensed into a sigh. "He once came to me alone and asked about the 'Rebirth Plan'... After slaying the Death Evil God, Joshua was always worried that we might one day face an enemy at the 'World Star River' level—what we now know as a Near-Saint."
"'A single World Star River can give birth to a Death Evil God, but a single multiversal star river contains nearly infinite World Star Rivers. If, in places we don't know, many Death Evil Gods have already been born and are heading toward us, what do we do?' That was Joshua's exact words."
"I thought at the time, why does this guy always think about things like this? If there really are that many Near-Saints, we can't beat them anyway. We might as well fight and die. I never expected his worries to be correct."
Recalling the past, Yarnamillo couldn't help but want to cover her face. If Joshua hadn't thought like her but had instead prepared everything thoroughly because of his worries—if he had only fought the endless chaos cluster with the power of an ordinary Near-Saint—the multiversal star river would have long been ignited by the cold calamity flame, just like the homeland of the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate, reduced to non-existent nothingness in the darkness.

"Then what do we do?"
Barbarossa said hoarsely. The Element Master had been fighting on the front lines all along, seeking his own truth on the largest battlefield of the multiversal star river. Now, his strength had indeed reached a new level, but this didn't bring him joy. He waved his staff angrily. "Are we just going to sit here helplessly—no, we can't even see it—and let Joshua fight alone?"
Faced with this statement, which was more of a self-reproach than a question, all the legends and deities present fell silent.
—Undoubtedly, whether they or He, they had all been protected.
The chaos cluster had indeed receded.
The immeasurable dark tendrils, an army of evil gods that could have drowned the entire multiversal star river, had brushed past its edge and left because of Joshua's decisive and swift actions. They had followed the warrior deep into the endless void, never to appear before their eyes again.
What does it feel like to be protected?
Happiness? Peace of mind? Relief? Joy?
No, no.
It's anger, self-blame, hatred of one's own powerlessness, and helpless sorrow and confusion.
Protecting and being protected is the warmest and coldest relationship in the world. Because it's a one-sided sacrifice, the protected side feels lost and uncomfortable.

"This is a situation far more desperate than back then."
The God of Order and Destruction, who had been knocked down from the Path of Light by Joshua and sent back to the multiversal star river, clenched his fist in shame. The blue-haired young man seemed to recall the scene from back then—the scene of the Sage dragging a horde of evil gods and Plenty into the deepest abyss. He said in a suppressed tone, "We... have always... been helpless."
"That's why we need to become stronger."
The God of Life, who had been unusually silent all along, spoke up. Their tone was solemn, filled with resolve. "We must become stronger."
"At any cost."

And at that moment.
The 'God' had never deliberately thought about 'protection.'
It was simply because they could do it, so they did it. Because it needed to be done, so they did it. From beginning to end, He had only encountered problems that only He could solve, so He naturally solved them all. There was no need for exaggeration or praise. It was simply the natural order of things.
In the distant void, amidst the empty ruins formed by the annihilation of countless multiversal star rivers, in this void realm so vast that no direction, angle, or method could see its boundaries, the giant god, who had been leading the evil god army at full speed toward the distance, turned around at this moment.
He looked back at the endless enemies surging toward him, the darkness pressing down like the sky collapsing and the earth splitting. Joshua didn't try to look back at the multiversal star river he had left behind. Instead, he raised his hand and looked at the crimson divine power burning on it.
In this long chase, all the red divine patterns had fully spread. They merged with the Steel Force to form a rotating holy emblem. Divinity and divine power were finally fully controlled by the giant god, becoming His power.
So, it was time to begin.

"I am the 'Opposition' hostile to all things. I am the 'Transcendence' that surpasses everything."
A voice rang out. Facing the infinite darkness, the four-armed giant god spread his arms and solemnly declared his sacred words. He said with utmost seriousness, "Facing good, I am greater good. Facing evil, I am greater evil."
"If the enemy is water, I am fire. If the enemy is darkness, I am light. If the enemy brings destruction, I bring greater destruction to enact salvation."
This voice echoed through the void like a great bell, stirring up violent temporal storms. The deity, who had even abandoned 'the future,' whose soul was stronger than steel, began to burn in this declaration. "I am the judgment of all chaos and evil, the sanction of all darkness and malice—I am the God of Battle, Opposition, and Transcendence!"
"To fight you."
"Therefore, I descend here."

The transformation of the true god was complete. Before, it was just a Near-Saint wielding powerful divine power. Now, the surging divine power had fully merged with the Near-Saint's essence, becoming a part of Him.
The warrior, who fought for no one, harbored a miracle within. The power that was never obtained from 'wanting to protect' was now protecting the entire multiverse!
In the illusory void, the enormous rift phenomenon appeared again. The red rift expanded further, causing endless battle divine power to pour out from the Great Source and infuse the giant god's body!
Boom!
The pursuing chaos, led by the Near-Saint evil god, was forcibly frozen in place by the divine power ripples emanating from the giant god. They struggled like fish in a giant wave but could not move forward even a step. At that same moment, the 'Near-Saint God,' which had never appeared in the entire multiverse, descended.
At the same time, all beings in the surrounding multiversal star rivers, and even farther in the silent void, and even the entire multiverse—all those fighting chaos, still fighting chaos, or about to fight chaos—heard the deity's voice.
And the war gods of other worlds, and even all deities related to concepts like battle, war, duels, challenges, killing, and destruction, completely or partially lost their power. They discovered in terror that the eternally open gate of the Great Source was closing to them—no, to them! In that brief moment, they were no longer deities but mortals. The divinity that had once made them gods was like a flickering flame in a storm, about to go out.
—Something more massive had obscured everything at the source. This didn't completely prevent battle-related deities from using divine power. To use an analogy, deities used to draw divine power like drawing water from the sea. Even if thousands of deities drew at once, it wouldn't lower the infinite sea by a hair. But now, the sea was frozen, dominated by a vast will. For deities to draw divine power, they would have to break through the ice to reach the unfrozen depths... which was nearly impossible.
Because the strongest deity in history, the strongest war god, was right here.

"No."
Raising his greatsword and giant axe, aiming at the evil god horde that was still eager and fearless, the celestial god laughed and shook his head. "I'm not some god of battle—"
"I am battle itself!"
With that, the burning giant sword began to expand wildly under the infusion of divine power—no, it could no longer be called a sword. It was a complete and specialized world, gestating and growing in the deity's hand! Its world barrier radiated brilliant light. Nearly infinite divine power formed its edge, creating billions upon billions of layered, constantly moving, constantly flowing temporal storms, whose momentum was enough to shatter everything!
One could even see that within this world, endless divine power was constructing runes. Like the Starry World, these were world runes used to reinforce, amplify, grant infinite extensibility, and absorb all energy for growth. They radiated unmatched might. Without Joshua even exerting force, they began to operate spontaneously, devouring chaos to grow!
The giant god swung this sword, sweeping majestically across the void. Countless chaos minions disintegrated into nothingness just by sensing the sword's aura. Ordinary evil gods melted like snow under the sun, quickly dissolving and being devoured by the giant sword, becoming its power. Only great evil gods at the Legendary Limit and Near-Saint evil gods could struggle and counterattack without being instantly annihilated. But even so, this single sweep suppressed seventeen Limit evil gods and one Near-Saint evil god. They were like fuel, imprisoned in the sword-world, constantly being worn away.
Without hesitation, since one sword strike worked, he struck again—Joshua raised it high and brought it down. The red divine power mark connected with the previous sword mark, carving a massive cross in the void, sweeping toward the infinite darkness again.
But after such a long chase, the front of the evil god army now had few weak minions or ordinary evil gods. Most were Limit evil gods, Near-Saint evil gods, and their minions. Even, as Joshua unleashed the divine power storm, several terrifying auras of equal measure resonated from within the dark cluster!

Undoubtedly, there were differences among Near-Saints. The kind that formed from evil gods—civilizations that hadn't reached the Near-Saint level before their destruction and turned into Near-Saint evil gods afterward—were destined not to be very strong. But what if the civilization that became a Near-Saint evil god had actually had a Near-Saint before its destruction? What if they were among the earliest in this multiverse to deduce the three paths of 'Infinity,' 'Eternity,' and 'Absolute,' and were the remnants of the 'First Civilization' that once neighbored the First Flame?
Then, the strength of these evil gods would likely be incomparable to ordinary Near-Saints.
A dark nebula emerged from the chaos cluster. It was like boiling smoke, a constantly changing, fluctuating, macroscopic, and unobservable electron cloud. This nebula met the world-sword. Not only was it not cut by the sword mark, but it created a 'cataclysm,' twisting the sword's edge, dispersing the temporal storm, and even causing the runes covering it to temporarily lose effect due to extremely bizarre changes, damaging the world barrier.
Seeing this, Joshua became serious. This evil god before him was likely the one that destroyed the homeland multiversal star river of the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate—the [Cataclysm] Evil God, whose mere existence caused the destruction of myriad realms. In the past, the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate couldn't discern the nature of its power and could only describe it as cataclysm. But now, the giant god could see at a glance that the power it held was the essence of 'Chaos Future,' the power to manipulate 'futures and possibilities!'
The [Cataclysm] Evil God, like the [Plenty] Evil God, likely originated from one of the 'First Civilizations' that once bathed in the First Flame's light. Its destruction was probably personally carried out by the 'Mastermind,' using infinite futures to create infinite 'cataclysm possibilities'! This cause of destruction also gave the civilization's remnants, after becoming an evil god, a part of the Mastermind's 'Chaos Future' characteristics.
So-called cataclysm, in simple terms, is creating countless possibilities for the target's destruction. From changing the basic constants of the world to triggering internal conflicts within a civilization—infinite futures mean infinite possibilities, which means infinite kinds of 'cataclysm!'
This was a civilization remnant ancient enough to trace back to the beginning of creation, possibly destroyed by the Mastermind. And now, it was fighting Joshua. The Cataclysm Evil God flew past, dragging a twisted trail in the void.
And not only that—another grayish light stream shot out from the chaos cluster. It was a Near-Saint evil god whose aura could match the Cataclysm. Joshua had no time to analyze its origin. Facing such a continuous onslaught of powerful enemies, He unhesitatingly swung the world-sword to block the Cataclysm's approach while raising the black giant axe high.
The black giant axe was no longer just a weapon formed from Steel Force and divine power. If the silver greatsword was an incredibly sturdy 'World-Sword' modeled after the Starry World, then this axe was the 'Final Axe,' modeled after the 'Extreme Dark Abyss,' devouring endless chaos and world remnants! It was the prototype of a super-massive single world, still gestating, waiting for the day of the 'Big Bang' to be born. And the flesh that nourished its growth was, naturally, the countless evil gods themselves!

Wielding these two weapons—more 'divine realms' than 'divine artifacts'—Joshua fearlessly charged forward into the chaos cluster. In an instant, only infinite light could be seen. Countless evil gods, capable of destroying worlds and terrifying countless civilizations, dissolved. In the depths of the light, a giant god fought with several turbid chaos entities so powerful that even ordinary deities couldn't look at them directly.
If their battle were in a multiversal star river, it would cause large-scale world destruction and even trigger a chain collapse at the multiversal star river level. Only in the deepest part of this silent void, amidst the remnants of countless past multiversal star rivers, could they fight without any effect. But even so, one could see that every swing of the giant sword and axe released light that seemed to birth a radiant cosmos. Every chaos strike on the giant god's body seemed to shatter worlds.
This battle was incredibly long. Countless aftereffects spread, and infinite energy accumulated, even recreating a hazy nebula in this silent void. The corpses of countless evil gods, purified and burned, mixed with the decaying divine power of the deity, almost recreated the scene of the First Flame creating the multiverse in the void. Many world prototypes were born within it, only to be shattered by the battle's aftermath.
For the people in other multiversal star rivers, the red divine light hanging high in the supreme void never went out. This was proof and declaration that the warrior in the distant beyond was still alive.
At this moment, the advantage of the divine power path—'infinite reserves'—showed its might. Even after fighting for so long, Joshua showed no fatigue. His strength remained at its peak, with no decline. It was as if all the divine power of the 'battle' system in the entire multiverse was concentrated in Him.
Flames burned in the deity's eyes. Worlds were born and destroyed in His pupils. The energy within turned into a majestic light stream, infused with divine power, inscribed with runes, and finally turned into a lightning bolt, striking the chaos before Him and driving it back. Seizing the opportunity, Joshua swung the giant axe, paying the price of taking a direct hit from another Near-Saint evil god, and struck the 'Cataclysm.'
In an instant, countless chaos was absorbed by the Final Axe and then spewed out as countless world prototypes—Near-Saint evil gods were nearly indestructible. Those as powerful as the Cataclysm were even hard to ignite with fire. It was like a large enough fire could burn mountains and boil seas, but if a water mass the size of a galaxy existed, its interior could undergo cataclysm, giving birth to a star and creating another extreme transformation.
To destroy them, one had to weaken them step by step. The Final Axe, modeled after the 'Extreme Dark Abyss,' was a sharp tool for weakening evil gods. The power that once tried to condense and transform all the evil gods of a star river into a world was concentrated in this axe. If it hit, the overly dense chaos would be directly converted into a 'world' prototype, breaking free from the Near-Saint evil god's control.
Now, Joshua's strength remained at its peak, while the evil gods he fought were gradually weakened. Without other surprises, the deity's victory was foreseeable.
But how could there be 'no surprises' in this silent void surrounded by infinite chaos?
Even though he had severely wounded the Cataclysm Evil God with one axe blow and driven back another Near-Saint evil god with a sword strike, Joshua showed no joy. Because Limit evil gods and Near-Saint evil gods kept surging toward him like a tide... Divine power was infinite, but was chaos finite? A dozen ordinary Near-Saints couldn't threaten him. Two powerful Near-Saint evil gods couldn't defeat him. But what about dozens of ordinary Near-Saint evil gods, plus several powerful Near-Saint evil gods like the Cataclysm, attacking together? Could he still hold out?
And this was exactly what he would inevitably face if he continued fighting. Trapped by powerful opponents, his speed in the void had greatly decreased. Not only Limit evil gods, but even ordinary evil gods and minions could catch up to him again. Joshua could see that the evil god cluster, enough to overturn the multiversal star river countless times, had caught up and surrounded him.
In the end, even if ordinary evil gods couldn't get close to him, the infinite chaos wrapped around him tightly. He couldn't escape, couldn't leave. He would inevitably fall under the siege of more and more Near-Saint evil gods.
—It seemed this was his limit.

The deity showed no change in expression. His face remained calm.
Steel Force was a power hiding a trap. In this multiverse, where the Steel Sage might have passed away, any being attempting to advance to Near-Saint or Sage through the Steel system would inevitably fall into the Mastermind's trap and be twisted into a Near-Saint evil god—Joshua had already seen several Near-Saint evil gods with such origins. Psionic power was the same.
And the paths of the 'Starry World,' the 'Super-Massive Single World,' and the Ultimate Sublimation Composite were too self-contained. They felt good as weapons, but that was all. They couldn't serve as a power for resistance.
So, with other paths incomplete and inadequate, he could only choose to become a deity, using this primordial transcendence to face the enemy of all living beings.
But even so, the limit of divine power was here. The power of other systems fluctuated—they could have bursts and declines. At their peak, they could easily defeat opponents of the same level. In decline, no matter how hard they tried, they would inevitably be defeated. Divine power was different. It could always remain at its peak, with no fluctuations, and naturally no bursts or declines.
Or rather, a burst meant death. Divine annihilation was the Sword of Damocles hanging over every deity, deterring them from ever using their strongest power.
But that only worked on deities afraid of death.

Taking a deep breath, Joshua, who had prepared everything, let out a roar. Crimson blood flames ignited on his body again. Boiling divine power poured down from the Great Source, as if commanded by the deity, adding to his form—without hesitation, without any delay, Joshua pushed his power to 'Transcend the Limit,' reaching the realm of 'Divine Annihilation!'
Boom! The already severely wounded Cataclysm Evil God was directly shattered into several pieces. With a sword strike, the sword's spine swept across, carrying terrifying power to send these fragments flying, causing them to continuously decompose and break apart in the void. Another Near-Saint evil god, like a dark vortex, also faced the giant god's direct attack—two giant hands glowing with divine light became the heaven and earth above and below. These heaven and earth struck together, creating a primordial explosion that hammered it from a 'dark vortex' into a 'vortex pattern on black paper,' then ignited it into ashes.
The Final Flame burned fiercely! This too-brilliant, too-dazzling crimson divine power light completely illuminated the surrounding darkness!
Now, it wasn't just the dark cluster here.
The entire multiverse, all evil gods, all chaos—those that hadn't come and were still invading other multiversal star rivers—all turned their heads, stopped their attacks, and stirred in the distance.
They saw a red star hanging high in the void. It was eternal, incomparably dazzling and eternal—it burned fiercely, as if gathering all power from now to the end of time into the present, releasing light enough to illuminate the entire multiverse!

And at this moment, in this life-and-death struggle with the evil gods, in this brutal exchange with chaos, in this battle destined for death, Joshua's heart was filled with peace.
[—Battle.
If this is my fate.
I will overcome this fate as well.]
Even as he pushed his power to divine annihilation, feeling the terrifying 'attraction' from the Great Source, from the ever-growing, ever-expanding First Flame, Joshua showed no fear. He never feared his own death, never feared his own destruction. Swinging the giant sword and axe, mercilessly killing all incoming chaos and evil gods, the burning deity only felt a slight regret.
Just a slight regret that he couldn't walk his true path. It was a path that, though arduous, had beautiful scenery. He had thought he could become a Sage through it, but this hope was cut off by his own hand.
"Clearly, it was a path fitting my identity."
A trace of sorrow quickly dissipated. Immersed in battle, the deity soon had no room for thought—because more, stronger, and endlessly more evil god tides began to surge again, trying to extinguish this flame.

And at this very moment, the God of Protection and Progress, the God of Love and Decay's residual divinity on Joshua, and the Steel Serpents residing within Joshua's body all felt the scorching heat coming from every part of the deity's body. The still-existing intelligent minds had long known the outcome of their choice, but now they couldn't help but sigh.
The Steel Serpent of Carlis watched all this. It watched as the overly vast divine power not only destroyed the evil gods before it but also destroyed the deity's essence. It could see the warm flame light descending from infinite distance, guiding the 'Strongest God' back to its embrace.
But before that, the first to return were they, the children of fire and steel.
"Joshua... you are no longer you, but you are still you."
Before being guided away by the vast flame light, the Steel Serpent whispered to itself, "Sage... so this is it. Back then, you fought against such chaos? The destruction of the Carlis people truly cannot compare to this at all. It really wasn't your fault..."
"But now, I can finally stand shoulder to shoulder with your successor. He is stronger and more determined than you... but... it's a pity... also, fortunate... Joshua, I don't have to see your end. I can leave first... one step..."

And Joshua.
No.
The warrior could no longer hear any sound.
Even the Steel Serpent's armor had its limits.
In the endless battle, Joshua suddenly had an epiphany.
The final divine annihilation was coming.
To this, Joshua smiled.
—So swift, so fierce, so vast a force, pulling him into the flame, into that infinitely peaceful, infinitely tranquil land of the gods' eternal rest.
"So this is... the First Flame?"
He whispered to himself, then firmly shook his head. "But I won't rest like this!"
"I am the Soulflame King, the Lord of Ten Thousand Armies."
"The hope of becoming stronger, the expectation of the future; the path of the Sage, the desire for life—family, emotions, memories, even my name—I have abandoned all, sacrificed all."
The deity of battle and slaughter finally declared solemnly, his voice echoing in the silent void. Joshua's eyes no longer held any other color, only a divine crimson, like a flame burning to the end. He laughed loudly, "I embrace death, embrace the blazing flame!"
"I embrace all sorrowful chaos, embrace this dark multiverse!"
Divine power surged.
The final step of divine annihilation had arrived.
No sorrow, no tears. The deity had abandoned everything, yet embraced everything. Nearby, even the Near-Saint evil gods were forced back by the light alone, unable to approach even half a step. They roared, trying to charge forward and drown the light, but were instead burned by it.

At this moment, the deity's body was covered in golden cracks, with infinite divine flames spilling out. He threw away the sword and axe in his hands. In the end, he chose to charge forward alone, laughing as he rushed into the endless dark chaos. One could see that the flames spilling from his body could burn evil gods and severely wound Near-Saints just by touching them. He didn't care as he tore open his own chest, annihilating his celestial body while letting the boundless divine power explode from within, engulfing everything around.
One by one, world prototypes spilled out from the aftermath of this battle between god and chaos. They shot out, imprisoning evil gods one by one, just like imprisoning the Decay Evil God, slowly transforming them into orderly worlds. The deity himself tore open his chest completely, revealing the silver core world at the very center. Joshua used his final power, far surpassing ordinary Near-Saints, to drag all the Near-Saint evil gods he could control, forcibly binding them and sealing them within his body.
Infinite, dazzling radiance lit up at that moment.
The enormous red rift phenomenon hanging behind the deity was now turning from virtual to real. The crimson battle divine power light began to fade, becoming transparent, like a radiance that embraced everything.
It was the light of the First Flame.
Crossing infinite time and space, crossing the entire multiverse, the light of the origin of all things descended. It shone gently on the deity, pulling with an irresistible, infinite force. At the same time, at the source of the First Flame, it seemed as if some infinite will sensed something. But the conflict between them was so fierce and prolonged that it was powerless and had no opportunity to do anything.
This gentle flame light instantly blew out all power in the surrounding silent void, except for divine power, equally. But even so, infinite darkness was still approaching, like a crack in a sky covered with dark clouds, with distant sunlight shining on the sea. But whether it was the darkness in the deep sea or the dark clouds in the sky, they only temporarily retreated.

"Dark beings."
"I am your destruction!"
Until the end, the deity's figure, still sealing evil gods, could no longer be seen. In that mass of light, only a gradually blurring, increasingly unclear voice could be heard. But one could still faintly see a figure swinging a fist, as if punching at the endless dark chaos, and also at the guiding First Flame.
—Even the First Flame was not something that couldn't be fought.
And in this gentle radiance, the man who fought until the end smiled. Then, the light in his eyes faded.
The flame receded. The radiance dissipated. A deity's will left this multiverse and returned to the First Flame.

[To seek freedom, he continued the strife. The final flame raced through the darkness.]
[Trembling stars, with eternal endless battle, he eternally endlessly saved.]
Distant starlight flickered in the far-off realm. Endless darkness surged, drowning the end of time and space.
And at the distant end of the void, in the multiversal star river, the people who had waited for a long time saw the red star hanging high in the sky suddenly flare up, then suddenly dim. Countless people wept, countless people darkened.
It seemed like the end of everything.
But this was far from the end.
Whether man or deity, warrior or Joshua, his, or His, battle was far from over.
Boom! A rumble came from the void again.
After the will had departed, after the wisdom had dissipated, after all soul and mind had returned to the First Flame, the giant god's body still moved steadfastly. Without hesitation, it charged toward the many evil gods that, having lost their target, were wandering aimlessly in the void, seemingly searching for the next target.
It had been eroded by chaos. Even the silver core world had been stained black by the forced sealing of many evil gods—but this was exactly the effect the man wanted. One could see that the giant god's body, having lost its constraints and all control, began to follow the final command left by its mind, still 'fighting'! It began to absorb, absorbing the power of all surrounding evil gods. At the distant end of the void, unknown how far from the multiversal star river, a black world began to 'devour,' 'transform,' and 'evolve' without any control!
Vast mass began to pull everything around it. Endless gravity spread to infinite distances. Countless world prototypes orbited around this black world, which was constantly devouring evil gods, spinning, gestating, waiting.
And was this the end?
Far from it.

...
Another long time passed.
In the super-massive detection array set up at the edge of the multiversal star river, 3 and Xiao Guang, who had been stationed here, tried every day to observe the depths of the silent void in the infinite distance. Of course, they saw nothing. Since that red star had gone out, the depths of the silent void seemed completely covered by chaos. Only some massive dark shadows could be seen writhing, advancing, and retreating. But even so, they had no intention of giving up.
No one wanted to stop them. Even if it was just to detect whether the evil god cluster would return, this super-massive detection array was valuable. And 3 and Xiao Guang, plus a world will, were willing to take turns stationed here, which was naturally not a bad thing. After all, everything was in ruins, and many strong people had many things to do. Whether it was reviving worlds, cultivating the next generation of strong people, or contacting other multiversal star rivers, all required time and energy.
Thus, day after day, year after year, time and space changed colors, and the stars of the cosmos turned their trajectories.
Black, who had become a legendary ancient dragon, once again arrived at the core hub of the super-massive detection array.
She still held hope, but she didn't hold expectation. Rather than relying on this man-made artifact to observe from afar, the dragon girl wanted to rely on her own power to travel to the distant void and explore the place where her master's star had finally gone out.
Crying? Sorrow? Confusion? These emotions, as her master once said, were meaningless emotions, meaningless fluctuations. The once lazy her had long abandoned them, only moving forward steadfastly, as that man had always expected.
Sitting in her familiar seat, Black skillfully scanned the waterfall of data streams flashing across the light screen. She looked carefully. Most of the information was exactly the same as before, completely worthless. But even so, the dragon girl memorized every bit of it, comparing it with past information and the information passed on by 3 from the previous shift.
"Eh?"
Suddenly, Black let out a soft exclamation. She touched her horns in confusion and looked at a panel. "Here... why is it blank?"
Black frowned deeply. She immediately pressed her hand on the main control seat's formation, using her authority to control the detection array to move, turn, and gather energy—scanning toward the area where that man had once left, taking the endless chaos evil gods with him, to detect any anomaly.
But no matter how many times, that area was still blank. Originally, some shadow movements or subtle temporal fluctuations could be detected. But now, it was as if there was nothing there, completely becoming a data void.
"No." Black murmured to herself. "Impossible... How can there be nothing?!"
Then, she thought of an extremely bizarre but only possible guess.

"What's wrong, Black? What did you find?!"
Soon, accompanied by a powerful magical fluctuation, 3's incarnation condensed here. At the same time, Xiao Guang, the God of Might, Nostradamus, and a group of Mycroft and non-Mycroft deities and legends arrived. They all learned that Black had suddenly gone crazy controlling the detection array, starting to scan the depths of the void. They weren't worried that Black had lost control. After all, so much time had passed. Even if sorrow still remained in their hearts, the living still had to move forward. Otherwise, they would be betraying all the sacrifices.
But what they saw was a black dragon girl lying on the control panel, silently sobbing. She had long stopped controlling the detection array. And on the central light screen was displayed that blank, empty void.
"He hasn't left..."
One could hear Black's sobbing, unclear whisper. "Master is still there... He is still fighting, still protecting us..."
Clenching her hands, 3 walked forward with a serious expression. She carefully scanned all the data on the light screen, comparing it with her own observations over this long time. She calculated, guessed, and then her clenched hands loosened and began to tremble slightly.
Her eyes also began to mist up.
Soon, all the strong people present let out exclamations. They stared at that void in shock. No one could suppress their surprise, emotion, and shock. No one was an exception.
The truth was simple.
Because the largest 'time trap' in the history of the multiverse, one that had nearly caught all the attacking dark clusters and completely covered the entire former battlefield, had formed right before their eyes.
—Eternal endless battle. Even death is not the end.
In this exceptionally cruel but also very gentle multiverse, as long as one was strong enough.
Death was just the beginning of a new battle.

—Volume 19, The Final Flame·End

EX The Never-Forgotten Ten Thousand Years (13600, Beg for Monthly Tickets)

[For those cowardly forgetful ones, all heroic stories and legends are nothing but lies. They will call the sacrifices of the past 'stupidity' or 'madness' and sneer at the great courage hidden behind them. I understand. Children born in light, living in too comfortable circumstances, cannot understand the cruel darkness about to descend. They will only treat it as a cruel joke—they will cast aside the warnings stained with the blood of martyrs, focusing on enjoying the flowers and pleasures before them, to the point of being unable to see the mist that has already arrived before them.
But truth is always truth. History will not be lost. Sacrifice will not be forgotten. I firmly believe that this record will be preserved as a turning point. We will recall the suffering sunk in darkness, endure hardships, and be reborn from the fire. We will regain glory and splendor, rising again from nothingness. I firmly believe that fate must be decided by us, and the future will eventually be grasped by us. As long as we endure this long, clouded forgetfulness and loss, we will surely find the beacon of hope and truth again.]
[—An anonymous recorder, at the beginning of the Great Schism Era, recorded in Chapter 1, Preface of the 'Book of Hope']
[—One hundred and fifty years after the 'Lone Expedition']

After a long period of silence caused by the dimming of the World Star River, many races finally slowly recovered from the overly huge trauma.
In the past, tens of thousands of legendary experts had died heroically in that 'Lone Expedition,' their remains not even existing. Those who remained had no energy to explore, barely maintaining their crumbling civilizations, not retreating into the abyss of ignorance.
But now, everything was improving. The changes brought by Holy Light and Shadow finally showed their positive side: the radiance of all worlds, the flames of all worlds, naturally possessed the nature of Holy Light. Countless dead or chaos-polluted worlds slowly recovered in the purifying and restoring Holy Light, mending the huge wounds in their essence. And the Shadow that connected the myriad worlds of the multiverse also brought magical tides and transcendent elements from other multiversal star rivers. Like clean water flowing into low-lying areas, they restored the vitality of this multiversal star river.

Among the many void civilizations slowly recovering from trauma, the civilization called 'Mycroft Starfall Union' stood out. This was a huge nation spanning multiple multiversal star rivers. Its center was located in the remote Lost Star River, which had also suffered the heaviest damage in that past battle. But it still rose first, like a stubborn spring: the deeper it was pressed, the higher it bounced. While many other civilizations were still trying to find their past borders and activate long-lost survey beacons and outposts, the 'Starfall Union' had already organized a huge fleet and began visiting the nearest civilizations one by one.
The Mycroft World, the core of the Starfall Union, the location of the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground, the origin of the ancient Radiant Civilization, the homeland of a Sage and a Near-Saint. It had been on the verge of destruction several times but always rose again. Perhaps thanks to this experience, Mycroft people were always indomitable and could stand up faster than other races. Even though they were severely weakened by the great battle named the 'Lone Expedition' one hundred and fifty years ago, it still didn't damage their strong position.
Led by more than seventeen new and old legends, nine deities, and twenty-two void fleets equipped with 'Dreadnought-class battleships,' they once again came to the grand stage of the multiversal star river and attempted to form a huge order federation. Some gladly joined, and some firmly refused. Some questioned the Starfall Union's power, intending to challenge their dominant position. Some doubted whether the Starfall Union, having lost that Near-Saint, still had the ability to maintain order in the multiversal star river.
"Since you want to fight, then fight."
The former God of Might and Justice, as the representative of the Starfall Union, coldly declared war. "We will destroy all your lucky doubts and let you witness the power of true 'Order' and 'Righteousness.'"
War, war was always inevitable. Those civilizations knocked down by past pain, no longer daring to look up at the void or even face the darkness, were not worth worrying about. But those civilizations that wanted to challenge were big troubles—challenge meant confrontation, confrontation meant victory or defeat, and victory or defeat without absolute power always created 'reluctance' and 'hatred.' Under the brewing of these two emotions, the original disputes would turn into war.
Soon, in this era when chaos had not yet left for long, war between orders broke out again. Blood and flames erupted in the void. Fragments of steel and remnants of worlds drifted in temporal currents. Those were unbearable memories, filling a century of bloodshed, cruelty, and indifference. Among them, there were not only wars launched to unify order but also conflicts between many civilizations and races that had been suppressed by that former warrior. They had been suppressed by chaos and disaster for a long time and only now fully erupted.
But even the flames of hatred had their burning end. After a long era of chaos, as the 'Starfall Union' conquered most of the civilizations in the multiversal star river with overwhelming power, a huge order federation finally truly took shape. It had to be said that the order watered by the blood of many strong people and races was as stable as iron. And only at this moment did the countless civilizations and races of the entire multiversal star river truly get to rest and recover.
After establishing a foothold and unifying the forces of the entire multiversal star river, the high-level members of the Starfall Union did not stop. They looked up, gazing into the depths of the distant void. There, there were countless shadow networks. They had once allowed the endless dark clusters to cross infinite distances to reach this star river. But they could also carry order's messengers to distant places.
Thus, once again, after countless deaths and sacrifices, on top of numerous corpses and ruins, a new, magnificent era of great exploration, belonging to all civilizations and life, began.

[—'Multiverse Exploration Era,' five hundred years after the 'Lone Expedition']

It should have been an ordinary morning. In the countless exploration bases at the edge of the multiversal star river, billions of professional explorers would set sail on such a hopeful morning. They would carry resources subsidized by the Union government, semi-new special void exploration ships, and professional artificial intelligence assistants to venture into the shadow subspace of the void, embarking on a long voyage that could only be called a gamble. Most people would only find the ashes of many annihilated star rivers and return disappointed. But there were also lucky ones who could drift along the shadow space and find a few world clusters isolated in the silent void.
These successful explorers became overnight millionaires, heroes promoted by the Union government. The isolated world clusters they found would be transformed by the Union government's professional exploration fleets into exploration springboards in the silent void, providing resources for many explorers wanting to explore deeper and serving as bases.
During these hundreds of years, full of dreams, hopes, and passion, countless naturally restless individuals became the vanguard of exploration or became void pirates drifting in the void. The strongest and luckiest among them found several extremely hidden worlds in the vast silent void, which became their strongholds. The complex shadow subspace provided them shelter, and the specially modified pirate ships were even more elusive, giving the Union fleets sent to suppress them a big headache.
However, rather than calling these people robbers who plundered explorers, it was better to say they were a collection of anarchists wanting to break free from all constraints, descendants of civilizations or races that had been severely damaged when the multiversal star river order federation was established. To maintain this independent 'freedom,' the pirates would plunder any ship they could see without hesitation, but they rarely killed explorers. Some explorers even secretly made contracts with the pirates, searching for new isolated worlds for these guys.
In return, the pirates were not stingy with the richest rewards. There were even rumors that an explorer, because he found a small isolated world cluster for the pirates, became a true 'World Lord.' This was a reward impossible to get from working for the Federation.
To deal with the increasingly powerful free pirate groups, the Union government set up numerous high bounties. Those who could capture or kill a pirate leader would not only gain the autonomy of a world but also obtain the highest-level information browsing authority of the 'Unified Grand Database.' Among it, there was even the experience and path left by that Near-Saint to achieve 'Supremacy.'
Thus, overnight, tens of millions of bounty hunters prepared to set sail and lead their teams to attack—the struggle between hunters and pirates lasted for hundreds of years. And explorers, under this magnificent backdrop, set out toward the most distant end of the void.

But on an ordinary morning, a morning exactly like any other, an unprecedented big news spread throughout the entire multiversal star river!
[Legendary Explorer], [Indestructible Holy Shield], Near-Saint inheritor, 'Priest·Omni' led the 'Voyager Exploration Fleet's' flagship, the ark giant ship 'Spark,' returning from the distant end of another multiversal star river!
Loaded with unique resources and information from other multiversal star rivers, these descendants of the earliest explorers received the most glorious reception from the multiversal star river order federation government. And everyone learned of a legend that happened in another multiversal star river.
The 'Voyager Exploration Fleet,' which had set out before the 'Lone Expedition' even began, entered the subspace channel shown in the prophecy. The unpredictable shadow space was impossible for the civilizations of that time to predict. Even with the power of a Near-Saint to observe and prophesy, one hundred percent accuracy could not be guaranteed. The Voyager fleet indeed experienced hardships. They were lost in the void several times, nearly crashed into the remnants of destroyed worlds, and collectively perished in the traps left by some lost civilization's ruins. But in the end, they still reached the border of another multiversal star river and took root in a marginal star river.
Now, under the leadership of several legendary experts, the Voyager fleet had established a local force in another multiversal star river. Their name began to spread among the many powerful void civilizations in the area. For self-protection and feeling it was time, the Voyager fleet, having accumulated strength, set sail again. But this time, it was not for exploration but for guidance.
Thus, under the guidance of the ark giant ship 'Spark' and with the support of the entire multiversal star river order federation government, billions upon billions of explorers, countless fleets, and even many pirates converged into a tide called 'Advance,' charging without hesitation toward another multiversal star river.

And in this grand advancing tide, an exploration team, whether lucky or unlucky, was swept into a vortex of shadow space and arrived at an unfamiliar silent void, unknown where. With their engines destroyed, they thought they would wait for death in despair in the void. But then they saw an ancient fleet with a strangely familiar design.
Summoned by some unknown force, the entire exploration team, along with their ship, was instantly teleported to the flagship of this fleet, an ark giant ship named 'Glimmer.' There, they were received by a seemingly young strong person. They honestly told their origin and predicament, asking this strong person for help.
"Is that so? You're from the homeland."
But this strong person smiled and revealed a fact that shocked them—this legend named Alva·Diamond was also a strong person from the Mycroft World. Before the 'Lone Expedition,' he had been ordered by the predecessor of the Starfall Union to carry a copy of the Grand Database to the deepest part of the silent void. Now, the battle was over, and the darkness had receded. Moved by Alva's sacrifice and dedication, and for their own glory, the middle-aged man of the exploration team hoped Alva and his fleet would return to the multiversal star river to receive the praise and honor that belonged to him.
But this strong person calmly refused the invitation.
"'The Wanderer Drifting Fleet' will not turn back, will not stop. I and everyone on the fleet will keep sailing, forever sailing... How much did my teacher sacrifice to protect us? I am only bearing this insignificant loneliness to maintain the spark of civilization... Please go back. Thank you for telling me the news of the homeland. If possible, please help me pass on a message: say 'Alva is still advancing.' Just these seven words will do."
After repairing the engines, the explorers were about to return along the path they had drifted from. But some people were unwilling to leave. They voluntarily joined this lonely fleet, willing to accompany them on this eternal expedition.

The stories of this vast era, if told, would be endless. But just as all eras have an end and all stories have a conclusion, the end of the Great Exploration Era came from a war—not a war between the multiversal star river order and another multiversal star river order, but a war between many orders and many chaos. Just as the official fleet of the Starfall Union government arrived at this new multiversal star river, a messenger from another multiversal star river also arrived at this multiversal star river.
And what they brought was a plea for help, a letter of despair—the tentacles of the evil god army had invaded their homeland, destroying countless civilizations and worlds. They were fighting hard but were about to hold on no longer. This messenger, seeking help from any order existence that might exist in the distant void, was the last struggle of the beings of that multiversal star river.
An order needed help—so another order would extend a helping hand. The era of exploration had not yet ended. The spark of expedition had already begun to burn on the curtain. In this millennium that had not yet forgotten the suffering brought by chaos, all the brave people in the two multiversal star rivers were gathering. Soon, a heroic volunteer expeditionary force was formed. Loaded with anger and heroism, order and hope, they sailed toward the distant stars.

[—'Expedition Era,' one thousand five hundred years after 'Rebirth Year One']

For long-lived transcendent beings, the order expedition a thousand years ago seemed to have happened yesterday. Whether it was sacrifice and struggle or the final triumph, it was firmly engraved in their memories, unforgettable for a long time.
But for ordinary people, a thousand years meant dozens of generations. Ordinary people couldn't even remember their great-grandfather's name, let alone such distant history. Moreover, those hard and difficult histories were not worth remembering. When they were born, the 'Grand Multiverse Order Federation' had already developed to its peak. This super-massive order federation, uniting all order civilizations from more than eight multiversal star rivers, was now at its zenith. Except for fleets still sweeping the void at the federation's edge and hunting chaos, the many civilizations in the federation's heartland had long forgotten what war and chaos were, let alone the terror of evil gods.
They were born among flowers, bathed in brilliant sunshine. It seemed eternal light shone on them, making them happy, joyful, and grow without worry. This was not a bad thing. Rather, it was exactly what the many warriors and strong people who had sacrificed and struggled for it wanted to see.
In this era, the culture of civilizations truly developed to its peak. In the multiversal star river, the boundaries between many civilizations, races, and countries began to disappear. With the Union Coordination Government working hard to smooth out all rejection and instill the concept that 'all beings, all orders, are originally one,' finally, the 'Union' of many civilizations and countries became a true 'Federation.' And the first Federation Chairman was a strong person from the 'Starfall Union Multiversal Star River,' 'Mycroft World,' [Saint Loranda].
This practitioner of the Holy Light path was not the strongest in the entire 'Grand Multiverse Federation,' but he was the most just, the most popular, and the most acceptable to all parties. An impartial, absolutely just Holy Light chairman was indeed the leader this newborn federation needed most.
Soon, with the creation of the 'Grand Multiverse Federation,' new laws and new calendars began to unify. Under the will of many strong people and civilizations, they wanted to forge the beings of multiple multiversal star rivers into a single piece of iron, a 'fist' that could truly 'clench,' an iron fist capable of destroying all 'chaos!'
But strangely, the Federation's new calendar did not use the day of the federation's birth as the first year. The high-level leaders of the first federation, originating from the Starfall Multiversal Star River, solemnly declared that this was the 'one thousand five hundredth year' that they and all beings of the entire multiverse should remember—and people from other multiversal star rivers always found this hard to understand.
At this time, people from the Starfall Multiversal Star River were always happy to explain the reason. They were always willing to speak, telling a legend of sacrifice, salvation, protection, and battle, the story of a man, a deity, a true warrior.
And this year was exactly the one thousand five hundredth year after Joshua·van·Radcliffe sealed the endless evil god cluster.

[—Federation Calendar, three thousand years.]

"Finally, we are close."
In the deepest part of the distant silent void, a team was driving the latest exploration ship, speeding through the darkness.
This was not a strange sight. Even though the Grand Multiverse Federation was at its peak and flourishing, the number of explorers sent into the silent void had never decreased. Whether it was the first, second, or even the current fifteenth Federation government, they all took it as their duty to unite more multiversal star river civilizations. In any void they could reach, Federation exploration fleets could be seen.
But if someone could carefully observe the true identities of this team's members, they would be shocked enough to bite off their own tongue or mouthparts—in that small exploration ship, there were actually seven legends, three deities, a total of ten supreme-level existences!
And at this moment, this exploration team, with an unprecedented luxurious lineup, abruptly stopped—and what appeared before them was a pitch-black, silent, impenetrable, and uncrossable, infinite and still expanding darkness.
Endless blackness, like a wall spanning the void, its top and bottom unseeable, its left and right unseeable. It was like a barrier solid enough to isolate the multiverse, silently standing here, slowly but unceasingly 'expanding.'
"Here is the location of the 'time trap.' After three thousand years, we have finally caught up with his past footsteps and arrived at the place where he left."
The first to speak was a legendary strong person with a weathered gaze. The former first Federation chairman, Saint Loranda, said with an extremely rare, trembling tone, "If we pass through this barrier, can we find his remains? Or is he still alive, just sleeping within?"
"No."
Briefly uttering a single word. The Legendary Limit Space-Time Master Nostradamus stared at the dark barrier before him. He, who was responsible for building the space-time network connecting multiple multiversal star rivers, was silent for a long time before slowly speaking, "Unlike ordinary time traps caused by 'relative speed,' this so-called 'time trap' is fundamentally an artificially enlarged 'event horizon.'"
"This is a box, a seal, a... seal beyond our imagination after three thousand years... All chaos, all darkness, are sealed within this box. We cannot enter, and they cannot come out."
"Event horizon... meaning, in the end, he transformed his body into a super-massive 'world'?"
Although the words were in a questioning tone, the tone was a definite statement. With a sharp aura, more like a queen, the former seventh Federation chairman, 3, said with a somewhat uncontrollable excitement, "That means time inside this event horizon might be passing very slowly!"
"Even, at the very center... it might still be preserving the scene of the last moment of that great battle!"
"That's not necessarily true."
Calmly shaking her head, dressed in military uniform, the commander of the Federation government's one hundred and four heavy fleets, Western Region Grand Marshal Lisa·Chronos, said calmly, "I know my teacher's power well. Even before he became a Near-Saint, when he hadn't even reached the Legendary Limit, he could already control time and space to a certain extent. Even if it was to destroy evil gods, he wouldn't let time inside his event horizon pass so slowly. I even have reason to suspect that teacher might accelerate time inside to destroy the many evil gods he sealed as quickly as possible."
This was indeed very possible. Lisa's words brought a moment of silence. Everyone, every deity, was deep in thought.
But no matter how they thought, facing this black event horizon, this wall of time and space, they were helpless and had no solution. Everyone could only guess and then sigh.
"The power of a Near-Saint, we still haven't touched it. Even Emperor Amos probably needs several thousand years to devour the abyss of the Bloody Star River and then forcefully become a Near-Saint through power... That's too far away. This path is not easy to walk. It could even be said that only Emperor Amos can walk it."
The speaker was the God of Life. This deity came to the void, condensed a divine power hand, wanting to touch the black event horizon—and the moment it touched, the deity's expression changed. He found that his divine power was instantly devoured by this black barrier, no longer under his control.
Retreating back to the exploration ship, the God of Life shook his head. "The Legendary Limit and True God realm is a threshold. Many Legendary High-rank strong people, even at the cost of self-destruction, find it hard to cross this line. And for the strongest at the Legendary Limit, the Near-Saint is another unimaginably huge threshold. Now, except for Emperor Amos and a few special individuals who can exert a certain level of Near-Saint power under limited conditions, we haven't grasped a true Near-Saint path."
"Although there are countless beings in the multiversal star river, it's basically impossible for someone similar to that man to appear." The God of Might and Justice, facing this endless darkness, this endless protection, couldn't help but let out a long sigh. He looked down at his hand and whispered, "How lucky we are to have lived in the same era as him."
"And how unlucky we are to have witnessed the end of this era."
"Regardless, this place cannot be allowed to be approached by other explorers or strong people from other civilizations."
Finally, the former 'Nature Mentor,' now 'Lord of All Things,' the new God of Nature, Galannod, made the conclusion. "We need to seal off this area. It's for their own good—casually contacting this event horizon, even a true god might fall in an instant."
"Then, let me do it."
Silent until now, the black-haired dragon girl stepped forward. The legendary ancient dragon·Black smiled and looked around at the people around her. She said frankly, "I am willing to voluntarily stay here and watch over this void."
This was something no one could refuse. Not even 3 and Xiao Guang. As one of the lives closest to that man in the past, the black ancient dragon transformed into her massive original form and stationed herself in this void. For this, the Federation government even secretly dragged several worlds here to build huge world fortresses and void fortresses.
Silent and peaceful time flowed rapidly. With countless people's oral warnings and cautions, a legend of a huge 'Forbidden Zone of All Things' spread among all Federation explorers.
Unconsciously, another few thousand years passed.

[—Federation Calendar, 'Stable Era,' five thousand years.]

If the boring and tasteless daily life of peacetime could also be counted as a story, then the occasional ripples in the long river of time might be enough to spread as 'big news.'
In these two thousand years of extreme stability, with no war, not even a bit of chaos or internal strife, perhaps only a few things were worth mentioning—one of them was the de facto dissolution of the Mycroft Starfall Union.
As the Grand Multiverse Federation continued to expand, even a powerful civilization like the Starfall Union found it hard to maintain its cohesion. With the 'Ether Star' disappearing into the void under the leadership of several deities, many new-generation Mycroft legends and new-generation gods spread to every corner of the multiverse. They brought their followers and subordinates, infiltrating the entire Grand Multiverse Federation.
From then on, 'Humanity' was no longer a race mainly living in the Starfall Multiversal Star River but a 'pan-multiverse race' spread across almost the entire multiverse, covering at least thirty-seven multiversal star rivers. Their figures spread with the footsteps of the Grand Multiverse Federation, and each branch took almost completely different paths.
Some humans assimilated with the bloodlines of other local races, becoming countless special demi-humans. Some, even when going to the corners of the multiverse, always kept their bloodline pure and took pride in it. But there were also those who transformed themselves into geometric bodies of many magical beast bloodlines, simply monsters with human forms. Some even completely mechanized, psionicized, or elementalized their bodies and then reproduced into a brand new race.
Besides, there were also 'information' beings who uploaded their consciousness to the multiverse magic net, only controlling alchemical mana puppets to act in the material world. This way of existence consumed almost no material world resources and could even go to various extreme worlds to live, so it was quite popular. Many humans chose to merge their spirits into the magic net, living in virtual worlds, and only using biological or mechanical puppet bodies when necessary to act in the material world.
But no matter what transformation, what 'evolution,' or what bloodline they carried, they all called themselves human. Because, for the Mycroft people at this time, whether human, elf, dwarf, or any other race, the so-called name was not a word describing bloodline but a cultural aggregation, a symbol of civilization, an extremely firm belief, and a most sincere conviction.

And in this stable era, some people were still unwilling to be stable. They were always acting, searching, living in their own way.
"I want to find a power."
In the distant void, in the fortress before the 'Life Forbidden Zone,' the 'Dark Event Horizon,' 3 was preparing to leave. Her gaze was firm. Hope always existed in her heart. Having long become a true god and also achieved legend through the path of magic, He said to the huge black ancient dragon before her, "It is the power to awaken something. Now, with the remaining 'seed,' I can clearly feel that he is not dead. Although I have never been able to awaken this seed, I still firmly believe in that man's toughness. I believe that even the First Flame cannot kill him, only make him sleep—no, maybe it's not even sleep. He might still be fighting somewhere I don't know."
Only facing this ancient dragon, who had steadfastly watched for two thousand years, could 3, who was about to leave this multiversal star river and even the entire Grand Multiverse Federation, fully pour out her thoughts. "I heard a message. At the distant end of a multiversal star river not yet merged into the Grand Federation, there is a huge void empire emperor. He is a powerful celestial god. Legend says their god once died but revived from divine annihilation. He calls himself the Child of Miracles, using a certain power to return from eternal slumber. I want to go see if this is true or false."
"Most likely false. But if it's true, what do you plan to do?"
After a long silence, the ancient dragon, who hadn't spoken for who knows how many years, shook its head. Black stared at the friend before her and asked doubtfully, "They won't tell you. 3, I also believe in your determination, but sometimes, determination can't do much."
"Then I will try to communicate, negotiate, trade. If that still doesn't work, I will destroy, interrogate, and seize."
Showing a gentle smile, 3 flapped her wings. This deity, this legend, this powerful being chasing someone's shadow, said in a clear and bright tone, "I will do anything—by any means, I will achieve my goal."
"Then goodbye, my friend. I hope you succeed. I hope you go smoothly."
Feeling the other's determination and resolve, the watching dragon sincerely blessed the other. "Although he might not like this approach, we don't live to make him happy, do we?"
"You're right. In the end, this is the way of life we chose. I am very willing."
Turning around, 3 resolutely left. She raised her hand, waving back at the ancient dragon, indicating her departure.
"Then goodbye, Black."
In the silence, under the steady passage of time, another friend left, heading to the infinite distance. The dragon watching all this was used to it. She turned her head, looked at the still slowly expanding event horizon, and then showed a smile.
"Everyone can't wait any longer, master."
"But I will continue to wait, until the end of time."

[Federation Calendar, Chaos Era, the seventh millennium]

This was an extremely chaotic era.
After thousands of years, the evil gods of chaos descended again. The dark cluster attacking from the other end of the multiverse did not directly attack the strongest front of order but infiltrated every part of it, corroding its joints and core, causing it to lose control and collapse.
Whether it was the power of evil gods or the restlessness originating from the blood of civilization and all beings, the huge federation began to gradually drift apart in spirit—this was actually not a strange thing. In the entire observable multiverse, the largest evil god cluster had been destroyed and sealed thousands of years ago. The surrounding multiversal star rivers had not experienced large-scale chaos invasion for thousands of years.
Even for transcendent beings, thousands of years were not a small number. Even for those theoretically immortal at the Ultimate level, thousands of years of memory could wash away all emotion, fear, despair, and the shock they swore to remember. Not to mention weaker transcendent beings and the endless mortals.
Long-term peace had hollowed out the foundation of the federation's existence. Without external enemy pressure, a huge alliance was inherently impossible to exist—even though the Federation government had tirelessly tried to erase the traces of all countries, the differences between all races, and the characteristics of all civilizations for thousands of years, it was impossible. It could even be said that even if the Federation government succeeded, as long as there were differences between life forms—beauty and ugliness, good and evil, radical and stable, active and calm—as long as there were differences among beings, eternal 'peace' was an impossible task.
Under the erosion of chaos, endless pleasure, and the corrosion of desire, weakened by thousands of years of peace across the stars and worlds, the order federation was slowly and unstoppably decaying. The dark clusters suddenly appearing around many multiversal star rivers, the long-forgotten evil god attacks, were the final straw to destroy it. Without enemies, without training, the army collapsed at the first touch of the evil gods' impact. The destruction and isolation of many production bases and transportation hubs led to the loss of resource supply in the federation's central zone. Many core worlds were on the verge of destruction, even staging scenes of cannibalism.
Even, compared to the chilling darkness, wars between orders broke out earlier—to fight for the few still-functioning production worlds and void bases, the federation's internal armies and races began to slaughter each other. Even, to block the erosion of chaos, one side would unhesitatingly issue an extermination order against another, destroying an entire world, regardless of how many innocent, wailing people were inside.
Even if the evil gods were eliminated, the infinite hatred, pain, and the oppression and despair brought by the mutual slaughter of many lives settling in this chaotic era would completely shatter all the federation's efforts over thousands of years, even giving birth to new evil gods.
—They forgot what they should most remember, so the seed of self-destruction grew at the root of the federation.

In this wandering millennium, order could only tremble behind their fortresses and worlds. Other orders full of hostility and malice and chaos surrounded them. Everything returned to the original state of seven thousand years ago, even worse—even if many strong people gathered to expel the chaos from a region, they could not unify that region again. Because it was very likely that in that region, the number of people killed by chaos evil gods and minions was not as high as the number killed by invasions and plunders from other worlds.
Of course, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Even if the federation was so weak, the many legends and deities cultivated over thousands of years were not as fragile as mortals. They went through untold hardships and finally eliminated all the attacking evil gods—but the federation, due to the complete elimination of the enemy, formally disintegrated. The extreme order gave rise to extreme chaos, raging through the infinite star rivers.
With the end of the chaos invasion came the Great Schism Era. The huge federation split into millions of civilization unions. They fought each other, guarded against each other, turning multiple multiversal star rivers into a huge battlefield of warring states. At this moment, humanity had long become a race distributed throughout the multiverse. The main body of the Mycroft civilization had long disappeared with the departure of the Star Ring Realm thousands of years ago. They seemed to have foreseen this and did not truly fall into this chaos.

[My memory of this era is limited to this—we fell from glory, fell into complete confusion. We wandered ignorantly in the darkness, fantasizing about the stable happiness of the past. But memories and fantasy are useless. The past has passed and will never return. We are in a dark era, full of suspicion and brutality.
In the past, we lived in peace. It seemed life was only about pleasure. But this was wrong. In fact, war had never left us. They were called desire, called degeneration, called cowardice. They erupted around us, but we preferred to play the ostrich, burying our heads in the ground and turning a blind eye—and the stupidest thing was that we knew it was wrong but still continued with relief. Each of us thought, 'Even if disaster strikes, it won't be my turn.' Each of us tried to stay safe in this disaster that no one could escape. And facts proved, this was the root of destruction. Because no one dared to stand up and face the truth and darkness.
In the distant past, in the ancient myths and legends, some strong people would rather sacrifice themselves to protect all beings. They hoped that one day, other strong people would stand shoulder to shoulder with them and guard this multiverse together. They hoped that those who wanted peace could live in peace, and those crazy and stupid people who wanted war could accompany them in battle—but we must have disappointed him. If he could see this, he would surely be disappointed. Because everything he sacrificed for was met with shameful degeneration and disregard.
So I call for us to regain courage, regain determination and fire, anger and wind. We must remember all this suffering and chew it over and over—because only under the grinding of pain can the flower of hope bloom in the determination of people.]
[—An anonymous recorder, in the middle of the Great Schism Era, recorded in Chapter 8 of the 'Book of Hope' - Declaration, paragraph 34]

And finally.
[—Rebirth Era, the tenth millennium]

In the distant tenth millennium, in the depths of the dark silent void, the forgotten ancient land welcomed the first visitors of the Rebirth Era.
In that great war of division and unification, countless civilizations and races were destroyed. Several star rivers were annihilated. Even the clouds of Steel Force no longer existed. All this was too brutal, too painful. The pain brought by war to beings surpassed their mutual hatred. So, in the trembling pain, in the shuddering agony, a new federation was reborn on the corpse of the old federation. Although its territory was far less than one percent of its former peak, this time, they knew what despair was.
Only then could they understand what hope was.
But even so, recovering those lost homelands was not a matter of a short time. Even, on the bodies of those destroyed civilizations, new native civilizations were born. The long war and isolation had long made them forget what order union and federation glory were.
And this time, it was a newborn civilization, in its reckless exploration, coming to this absolute forbidden zone that no civilization, no fleet, had dared to approach when the old federation still existed.
Legend said it was a pioneer ruin sealed in mist, a life death ground lurking with endless traps. There, there were chaos toxins, deadly killing opportunities, and the remnants of countless shattered worlds. It was undoubtedly the forbidden land feared by all civilizations in the multiverse. It was wrapped in scorching flames, and there was even a terrifying void dragon guarding it.
In a sense, all these descriptions were correct. Some people even had the fortune to see the legendary guardian, an incredibly ancient, incredibly huge black dragon, as massive as a world. He wandered aimlessly in the ashes of countless shattered world remnants, wandering at the edge of the 'Wall of All Worlds,' preventing any approach or exploration.
He seemed to be guarding something, but no one ever knew what he was guarding. After all, this was an ancient ruin, a place where historical remnants accumulated. In the Chaos Era and the Great Schism Era, countless worlds and fleet corpses had piled up here, covering it in mist. Some even said that the dragon himself had forgotten his mission, only eternally wandering, never leaving this place half a step.
But these terrifying legends meant nothing to this newborn civilization that knew nothing of all this. At most, they knew it was dangerous, there was a huge void dragon, and it was full of unknown ancient ruins and remnants, full of the knowledge they craved.
So, they gathered their courage and advanced, approaching the black dragon, who was closing his eyes and meditating in the void, like a world.

"Guardian—do you still remember what you are guarding?"
This newborn civilization was in the period of exploring the stars, so they came here curiously. These beings, who looked a bit like humans but had different pairs of animal ears, were very bold and full of action. Their greedy, restless, and unstoppable curiosity even made them dare to ask the supreme being, "Have you forgotten?"
Forgotten, huh?
Hearing this language, somewhat similar to the old Mycroft common tongue, and feeling the familiar bloodline remnants within them, the meditating dragon opened his eyes. Golden, sun-like pupils turned to gaze at those little people. His heart was full of emotion.
—Memory was dead, only legends remained. History was forgotten, only the wind of suffering howled among the ruins.
Looking at the stars, every place was a tomb of civilization. Unwilling cries came from within, longing for revenge, to fight again, to regain their glory—but they had passed. Ashes were all that remained.
And now, a new generation of civilization was growing again. They were surrounded by the embers of pioneers. They grew in the warm residual warmth of the previous civilization. The bodies that composed them were the star dust left over from the fierce battles of countless enemy races. Even the steel fragments that nurtured their worlds and suns were the ashes left over from the battles and sacrifices of many strong people in the past.
Look! This lucky and brave, reckless and curious civilization was exploring the lost history, exploring what had happened in this vast multiverse in the thousands of years before their civilization was born. They were walking again on the path of glory, seeking the guidance of pioneers and strong people!
And the strong people were willing to guide them.

The watching dragon stared at these little people, seeming to see his own past shadow. He raised his head, looking up at the dark void, and let out a long dragon roar—the dragon's own light could illuminate all things, making the stars shine. He had watched for one millennium, then another millennium, until now, ten thousand years had passed. Finally, something similar and moving appeared before his eyes. Only, the roles of guide and guided were reversed. The little dragon once taught had now become the supreme guardian.
"You say I have forgotten my mission? No."
Of course not.
The dragon lowered his head, meeting the eyes of those trembling but still stubborn people in the ship who wanted to know the answer. He said gently, "I remember."
Forever remember.
"But before I tell you my mission, let me first tell you the story of the one I watch over, my master, the deity who once protected the multiverse in the distant past... No."
"A human, a warrior's story."

[—The stars are still shining, the flames are still burning.
In this multiverse, repeating loss and recovery, forgetfulness and remembrance, civilization is still thriving.
The darkness in the sky has not yet left, but it is already much brighter than before. Some take it for granted, while others remember who it all came from.
New stories and legends are being born, but the old epics and myths have not yet been forgotten. In this generation where anger still burns, in this century where battle has not stopped, some advance, some stop, some firmly walk toward the distant origin and end, some watch over the silent ruins, waiting for the hope in their hearts to appear again.]

"—The darkness will return eventually, but can we witness that light again?"
After listening to the dragon finish telling all the stories, someone tremblingly asked the ancient one. They were frightened by the darkness behind this history. Chaos lingered in their minds, making them tremble with doubt or even disbelief—but even so, someone still asked. Because whether it was legend or myth, story or lesson, someone always remembered it and passed it on.
"I'm afraid not, children. In the next ten thousand years, or even dozens of ten thousand years, it probably won't happen. But we can still remember that light, that spark of flame. And this is the ember of hope. We can expect something to be reborn within it."
The ancient black dragon flapped his great wings, stirring up the wind of time and space, sending these brave and tiny people away from this dangerous forbidden zone. But even so, the watcher of hope left a final message.
"This is my story. I was right where your homeland is now. When the myriad realms were illuminated by divine light, when the void was ignited by flames, I saw the distant chaos and darkness torn apart by the deity's anger and roar. On that day, a true hero and deity, a true warrior, passed away, and hell was buried with him."
"There were no wails, no tears then. We united as one, vowing to fight the darkness to the death. In an era of nothingness, we only had courage."
—I remember. I guard this memory, this legend, this epic. I remember this story.
"So, you must not forget either."
—Do not forget courage, do not forget determination, do not forget to always be as brave as you are now, to explore and fight toward the endless distance.
—And this.
Was the first ten thousand years since Joshua·van·Radcliffe departed.

Complete Summary of Volume 19, and a Day Off to Think About the Outline

Burning Steel Soul has been written for 3 years, 19 volumes, 4.5 million words. Before writing the final volume, half for the ending and half out of reluctance, I looked back at all the changes and progress I and this book have made over such a long time. It really makes me emotional.

Starting from the first volume [Northern Wind] with the theme of 'bright, simple, easy revenge killing, invincible amber style,' what I essentially wanted to write was just a game-like otherworld story with an outline of about 2.5 million words, fighting all over the world. I wanted to change the protagonist's few regrets, let a simple warrior live happily in another world, fight strong enough opponents, kill those who should be killed, and then finish simply and neatly.
The volume introduction for this volume, which client readers might not see, is [Fight if you want to fight, crush if you want to crush]. It's also a simple and direct footnote. The theme is simple: [Battle with the Enemy]. And I decided that each volume of this book would be a battle with enemies of different themes.

The second volume [Black Forest Tide] had a similar idea, still a simple and clear hacking theme. However, the enemies became magical beasts and the natural world itself. I like this kind of struggle and battle against heaven and earth. So the theme of this volume is [Battle with everything outside of humans]. The volume introduction is [Mountains tremble, beasts surge from the boundless forest like the angry tide of the Black Sea]. It uses natural elements like mountains, beasts, forests, and sea, but the element of 'heaven' couldn't be added, which is a bit regrettable.
At this time, because this book was essentially a product I wrote for self-amusement based on an old book's outline, neither the chapter names nor the content were very serious. There were many game and comic references, which some people said were distracting. So later, when I found the results were good and started writing seriously, the book gradually became more serious. Naturally, the parts I didn't put much effort into earlier have become points of criticism for this book. This was really a lack of consideration.

But because the results were unexpectedly good, I was too nervous. To get on the paid chapter list at the right time, I actually dragged out a long plot before and after the paid chapter list, which caused a lot of negative reviews—that was the three battles with the Chaos Black Dragon. Sigh, looking back now, it was indeed a mistake made when I was too young. If I hadn't dragged the plot like that and written normally, the first-day subscription might have been higher, and the reviews would have been better.
The first-day subscription for Burning Steel Soul was 2150. For the game category on Qidian three years ago, this should still be considered a decent result. For someone whose previous book had a first-day subscription of 35 or 55, this was a leap. Not only that, the average subscription for Burning Steel Soul rose to 2800 in the first week of paid chapters, seeming like it would soon reach the elite level.

But at this time, in the third volume [World Without Fire], I made a big mistake. Because I was too nervous after going paid, and I was a novice who had only written short fanfictions before, I didn't know how to develop a long story. So the prelude to entering the other world was written long and boring. Going to the dwarf territory took two or three chapters... I seriously designed a lot of dwarf city structures at the time, but in the end, I found it was all useless. Readers couldn't see it, and I was just padding the word count.
Then, after entering the other world, the exploration plot was evaluated by others as 'very boring.' I personally quite like writing this kind of puzzle-solving, ruin-exploring plot. But thinking carefully, I like ruin exploration games. Seriously writing the process really kills enthusiasm. So after this plot ended, my follow-up subscriptions dropped sharply from 2600 to 700.
Fortunately, I was a failure before, so 700 was still a lot. My mentality didn't collapse. I finished the ending of World Without Fire according to the outline, revealing the world setting, the protagonist's inheritance, the Steel Serpent, the secrets behind the world, and some information about evil gods... Not to brag, I think I was probably stimulated during that time and performed beyond my level (at the time). The follow-up subscriptions also rose back to over 2000, and the average subscription, which had dropped to 2300, began to slowly recover.
The main theme of this volume was [First Battle with Chaos].
This was also the first time to reveal the thematic enemy of this book, revealing the cycle of order and chaos. The plot of entering the other world could also pave the way for the protagonist to go to other worlds later. But it was also in this volume that I vaguely found a conflict between the outline and writing. The original outline of this book was set mainly in the Mycroft Continent. But as I wrote according to the outline, I found that this was not a story that could be fully told in one world. Mycroft was the origin, but it was not enough to carry the process of the struggle between