Chapter 4: Carlis's Determination (8400)

Chapter 4: Carlis's Determination (8400)

Crystal Obelisk, Resurrection Hall.

Everything within the hall was frozen by a tangible holy light, as if time itself had been stopped. Whether it was the Ash Cult guards trying to draw their thermal swords from their waists, or the Grand Inquisitor Gloin, who was repeatedly surging his battle qi in an attempt to break free from this restraint, all were suppressed by a gentle force. They were unharmed, but completely deprived of the freedom to move.

In mid-air, Eagle, now fully resurrected and having completely cleared all chaos within his sensing range without a single trace left, slowly descended to the ground.

He raised his hand, then slightly furrowed his brow.

"Not quite used to it... This body is way too young, isn't it?"

This body was probably only sixteen... no, at most fifteen years old. Although this age was indeed when the mind and body were relatively most active and reaction times were sharpest, which was perfect for a clergy member—but for a Legendary-rank expert, the physical body was merely an appearance. They were at their peak anytime and anywhere, so there was absolutely no need to make oneself this young.

"But it doesn't matter. After all, I've been resurrected; these are trivial matters."

Putting his hand down, Eagle, in the form of a golden-haired youth, stroked his chin. Unfortunately, there was no familiar white beard there, but he still pondered: "Come to think of it, it's strange. I clearly remember that even my soul was shattered by the attack of a Near-Saint Evil God—the soul fragments were all tainted by chaos. Logically speaking, even the Seven Gods couldn't save me. I'm afraid only the legendary power that the Sage used to resurrect the Seven Gods could forcibly pull me back from that state to the world of the living..."

But even the Sage back then would have had to put in considerable effort to do such a thing.

"This guy Joshua... has he already become this strong?"

Lifting his head, Eagle looked around. The familiar silver crystal, the simple interior structure and decoration, and the familiar, slightly crooked, cute handwriting of the Silver Fairy—he couldn't help but reveal a faint smile: "I'll have to say thank you then—even if it's over one hundred and twenty thousand years late."

Through the information left behind in the Restorative Pillar, Eagle learned that this Crystal Obelisk was the high-level resurrection device that Joshua had once used to revive the heroic spirits of numerous civilizations from within the body of the Death Evil God. At the same time, he also learned that this Crystal Obelisk had spent over a hundred thousand years—to be precise, one hundred and twenty-nine thousand six hundred years—to resurrect him, piecing his soul together from countless fragments, minute to an unimaginable degree, into its current state, completely identical to when he was alive.

This number, even for a Legendary-rank expert like Eagle, was an enormous figure—his total time alive wasn't even a quarter of the smallest fraction of this number. But he wasn't alarmed by this, because the existence of the obelisk and his own resurrection proved that Joshua was still there, and that the Mycroft Civilization—or at least, the inheritors of their civilization, the myriad beings of order—still existed.

As long as order still existed, it was all the same. One hundred and twenty thousand years had passed; he didn't expect everything to be the same as before, with familiar things and people unchanged. He only hoped that the flame of order was still burning, and that humanity could still enjoy its warm radiance and live happily.

"But then, what's the deal with these little ones?"

Organizing his thoughts—the resurrected always had many emotions—Eagle turned to look at the Ash Cult members he had immobilized in place, and also that mixed-blood Silver Fairy who had awakened him with Mycroft language spoken in a Silver Fairy tone... Huh, a mixed-blood Silver Fairy? Why this again? Could it be that intermarriage between humans and fairies had become the norm?

"...What's going on with you all?"

With a thought, Eagle released the holy light that had been restraining everyone—of course, no one dared to make any rash moves. None of the people present were fools. Facing a prehistoric powerhouse who was at least Legendary High-rank, and perhaps even stronger, not to mention that they had hostile intentions before, even Alpha, who had good intentions, didn't dare to breathe heavily now.

"Let me change the question—why are you inside this Crystal Obelisk? Where are the Silver Fairy guards? Where are Joshua's defensive measures? Also, what era is it now, and which civilization or faction do you belong to?"

Eagle could tell that most of the people present couldn't understand the Mycroft language, so for the latter part, he communicated directly using mental communication. To prevent them from being mentally pressured into being unable to think, he even specifically cast an Extreme Iron Will spell on everyone present. But even so, because the questions Eagle asked were too broad and many of the terms were incomprehensible to those present, they had no idea where to start.

The entire hall fell into an awkward silence again.

Breaking this silence was a vigorous, lively female voice.

"Eagle, instead of asking these ignorant youngsters, let me tell you."

Hearing the familiar voice, Alpha instinctively looked up immediately. He looked toward the staircase at the far end of the hall, where two silver-haired, red-eyed women were strolling toward the center of the hall.

Although it was a stroll, with each step they took, they performed a short-distance leap. Soon, the two women arrived at the center of the Resurrection Hall.

"Teacher Carlis!"

Struggling to stand up—but because he had first been impacted by Gloin's aura and then shaken by Eagle's pressure, Alpha, who had wanted to stand, almost knocked his teeth out. However, just as he was about to fall face-first, a gentle force lifted him up. Both Eagle and Carlis acted simultaneously, gently helping Alpha up.

"Sorry, Alpha, for making you suffer so much—but now is not the time for explanations. Later, I will tell you the truth about all this."

Patting Alpha's shoulder from a distance, Carlis turned to look at the other side, where Gloin and the Ash Cult guards were on high alert. She swept her gaze over them, then turned back nonchalantly, looking at Eagle. Carlis shrugged: "Do you still remember me? The Pope of the Mycroft people."

"It's former—now probably who knows how many generations ago."

Correcting Carlis's words, Eagle looked at the two silver-haired women before him. His expression gradually became puzzled: "As for you... your aura... is it... the Steel Serpent that used to be with Joshua all the time back then? And you..."

As he spoke, he shifted his gaze to Mycroft. Eagle's expression turned astonished: "You, you are..."

"Wasn't it you kids who joined forces to seal me back then?"

The former Steel Serpent, now the Royal University Scholar, Mycroft stepped forward, generously opened her arms, and gave Eagle a hug. Then, she skillfully raised her hand and stroked his cheek: "Recognize me now? Hey... your face is so tender! No wonder you always appeared before the public as an old man back then; otherwise, you really wouldn't have any authority... It's hard to imagine that you looked like this when you were young!"

With a thought, the holy light trembled slightly, and Eagle broke free from Mycroft's embrace. His face was now filled with incredible shock: "Mother of All Things—has your chaos corruption been completely removed as well? That makes sense; with such a long time having passed, technological progress is to be expected... But what's going on? How did the Steel Serpent manifest in human form? And back then, weren't you all merged with Joshua..."

Wait, this wasn't strange either. If Joshua could resurrect someone like him, he could naturally resurrect more people. Perhaps it was precisely through this method that he could remove the deep-seated chaos corruption from the Steel Serpent Mycroft's very essence?

But... the changes were too great... Eagle's memory was still immersed in that moment from the past battle when, to protect Joshua and the new world, he was shattered by the attack of a Near-Saint Evil God. His earlier calm in the face of his own resurrection and sleeping for a hundred thousand years was merely the result of a Legendary-rank expert's extraordinary, unwavering will.

But now, all sorts of strange things were appearing one after another—two hostile factions had suddenly appeared in Joshua's obelisk, one of which included Carlis's 'disciple.' The Steel Serpent, which had once merged with Joshua, had now separated and taken human form. And they had all come to the place of his resurrection, obviously with their own purposes.

So many things could no longer be resolved by a firm will alone. No one could remain calm.

"I won't waste words, Eagle. The current situation is probably much worse than you imagine."

Slightly squinting, using her peripheral vision to glance at the Ash Cult members who stood silently in place, she specifically established a mental link with Eagle, but still spoke loudly in the Light-Seeker language: "Joshua van Radcliffe—that is, the creator of this 'Three Realms and Nine Heavens,' the Father of all living beings—has long since, one hundred and twenty-nine thousand six hundred years ago, due to fighting against the endless chaos and using power beyond his limits, fallen into Divine Annihilation and submerged into the Great Source."

"Now, we are all within his inner world—the place where he once sacrificed himself to seal the Near-Saint Evil Gods."

The words spoken aloud were far slower than the mental communication. By the time Carlis finished those few sentences, she had already conveyed all the information she had obtained in recent years and the memories she had recalled to Eagle. It could be seen that Eagle, who had previously appeared relatively calm on the surface, now had wide eyes and an expression full of disbelief.

"How is that possible—Joshua has already fallen into Divine Annihilation?!"

He instinctively looked up at the top of the crystal hall. Eagle tried to erode this Crystal Obelisk with his holy light, and indeed, he could erode it, but it was quite laborious. The crystal appeared fragile, but in reality, it was an eternal, unchanging wall of immortality—this was enough to prove that the Crystal Obelisk still contained Joshua's power. Otherwise, even the body of another Legendary-rank expert, if it directly took his holy light, which was enough to change the speed of light constant, would inevitably suffer severe damage.

"His power is clearly still there... But,"

Confirming this, Eagle shook his head. He still couldn't believe it: "Although I am shocked in my heart, reason makes me believe your words... Actually, I had already guessed Joshua's crazy plan long ago, but I just held onto a sliver of hope... But if that's the case, then how was I resurrected? And you all."

As he spoke, his tone was puzzled: "According to your words, weren't you also pulled into the Great Source and fell into Divine Annihilation along with Joshua?"

"The reason for your resurrection is actually easier to guess. 'Resurrect all the fallen'—that should have been one of the final commands Joshua left for his body. And you happened to die near Joshua's core world at that time, so your soul fragments were collected quite completely, just a bit shattered. Resurrection should have been relatively convenient, just requiring a bit more time."

Carlis patiently answered the old Pope's questions, but regarding his latter question, she also seemed quite puzzled: "Actually, I'm not sure either. Back then, Mycroft, I, and the other Steel Serpents did indeed enter Divine Annihilation together with Joshua—he held on a bit longer, but not by much. In short, theoretically, we should all have been doomed. But now, we have all appeared in this 'Three Realms and Nine Heavens,' which should be Joshua's inner world."

"Actually, Carlis and I only gradually awakened and regained our memories as Steel Serpents in the last few decades."

At this point, Mycroft took over the conversation. Her tone was somewhat lazy, but seriousness could also be heard: "How should I put it? This feeling is very strange. I feel like the moment before, I was in an incredibly warm, incredibly peaceful place, but the next moment, I became this life's Mycroft, and also remembered my past life memories—this kind of disorienting feeling, unless you've experienced it yourself, you won't understand."

Carlis nodded, indicating agreement with Mycroft's words. She said: "Actually, Eagle, this obelisk you're in was only activated in the last ten or so years—in the distant past, it was always a mountain. It wasn't until seventeen years ago that Mycroft and I detected an unusual burst of Steel Force fluctuations, and then we found this obelisk."

"Then, why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

Eagle listened quietly to the other's narration. Everything happening now was strange and bizarre, but it was the truth, and it wasn't a bad thing. However, he still had some doubts he couldn't figure out: "If I had woken up seventeen years earlier, we could have joined forces long ago."

"No authority."

Carlis said concisely. She turned to look at Alpha, who was completely confused and couldn't understand what his teacher and this prehistoric powerhouse were talking about, and pointed at him: "All the Silver Fairies died in battle against the endless chaos army during the Divine Power Disappearance War fifty thousand years ago in this world. The few that remained voluntarily went to the Heavenly Sword Realm and the Earthly Axe Realm to transform into Divine Mechanisms and help all beings. All obelisks require the presence of a Silver Fairy to change from 'locked' to 'open'—without a Silver Fairy, the obelisk enters 'alert mode,' attacking all who approach without authority. With a Silver Fairy, it enters 'open mode,' becoming a safe public facility."

"Although the power of a Steel Serpent can also have some effect, it's only a 'visitor authority' that allows entry and exit but not control. So we spent a long time searching this world for how many people still had Silver Fairy bloodline, whether it could be purified and atavized, to create new Silver Fairy 'administrative authority'—it wasn't until Alpha's daughter was born that I discovered we actually had one right beside us. Unfortunately, Alpha's bloodline awakening was also a gradual process, and seventeen years ago, Mycroft and I had just awakened and didn't have much power. Coincidentally, we were targeted by the Ash Cult, the organization of those people over there, and could only quickly leave the Shining Region and take refuge in the Twilight Zone."

Meanwhile, compared to Alpha, who only had a partial understanding or even didn't understand what his teacher was talking about because he wasn't familiar with the secrets, the Grand Inquisitor of the Ash Cult, Gloin, felt his heart shake like a magnitude twelve earthquake upon hearing Carlis's words.

The Heavenly Father—had truly passed away due to the war against chaos? And the world we live in now is inside the Heavenly Father's body?

This prehistoric powerhouse was truly a strongman who fought alongside the Heavenly Father against chaos? And he had even died, only to be resurrected by the Heavenly Father?

And the Silver Fairies... in all the cult's ancient texts, there was indeed quite a bit of information about this race... This peculiar race was active deep in the Twilight Zone during the Age of the Gods. They always settled on high mountains—that is, around these hidden obelisks! Because Silver Fairies didn't need to migrate and rarely went to the Shining Region, only guarding their homeland, they weren't famous and had few deeds passed down.

Who would have thought that this mysterious race from the past was actually the controller of these large Crystal Obelisks? And Alpha held the bloodline of this race, possessing the authority to control all of this?

If so, then their purpose...

At this moment, Eagle was still communicating with Carlis and Mycroft. He had roughly learned everything that had happened after his death, as well as most of the customs and history of the world they were in now, the 'Three Realms and Nine Heavens.'

"In short, Joshua's will should still be in the Great Source now. Although we have returned for unknown reasons, there are no signs of his awakening."

Summarizing the meaning of the two Steel Serpents, Eagle said in a grave tone: "And what you want to do is to awaken Joshua as much as possible—of course, before that, first awaken as many other resurrected ones like me as possible, to accumulate enough power to confront the existing world order."

"Exactly as you think. And not just the resurrected ones—the Heavenly Sword Realm and the Earthly Axe Realm in the Three Realms. We guess that those two worlds should be the main bodies of Ying and Lin. They are probably also asleep and haven't awakened yet. If possible, we should definitely awaken them first. As Joshua's weapons and a part of his bloodline, they definitely hold higher authority than the Silver Fairies."

Carlis looked up, staring at the silver crystal dome, her tone carrying a faint trace of sorrow: "Regardless, we have all returned from Divine Annihilation... This might be the effect of a contingency plan Joshua prepared, or it might be that we were accidentally pulled into the Great Source and have only returned after a long time. But I have always firmly believed that that man would not die so simply—he can surely return from the First Flame."

"But ah, based on my understanding of that man... If things become impossible, he might let this world of his give birth to a brand new World Will—one that belongs to this Three Realms and Nine Heavens, but is not Joshua's World Will—and then let this World Will replace him and continue the eternal battle."

This was indeed something Joshua would do. Hearing this, Eagle fell silent, but soon, he heard Carlis's cold words.

"But I won't allow it."

"The Joshua I want—is that Joshua. He can't escape his responsibilities! If he wants to save this multiverse, he has to do it himself! No matter the cost, I must make him return!"

"Even if that cost is destroying everything that exists in this world."

Nothing could be more important than Joshua's resurrection.

This was Carlis's will and determination. It was so firm and clear that even without being spoken, everyone present could understand it.

"Regardless, in the last few decades, ancient ruins have been awakening one after another. I believe that the Steel Serpents who have regained their past life memories are not just us—these are all opportunities."

Mycroft's tone was unhurried. Compared to Carlis, she was more composed: "And these opportunities require the power of this little one, his Silver Fairy authority."

Her gaze shifted to Alpha again. He instinctively trembled for a moment, but soon, Eagle met his eyes. The warm gaze of the Mycroft Pope was like a campfire, making him feel warmth and strength, no longer nervous or afraid.

To be honest, Alpha couldn't understand most of what Teacher Carlis and University Scholar Mycroft said. At most, he could understand that his teacher and superior's true identities were probably the reincarnations of some deities from ancient times, and they all knew the 'Heavenly Father'—and now, at the time when many stars in the Three Realms and Nine Heavens were gradually extinguishing, they wanted to revive the 'Heavenly Father' and save this multiverse.

But... what was the multiverse? Another name for the Three Realms and Nine Heavens?

"What should we do with these Ash Cult people?"

Turning around, Mycroft looked at the silent cult members beside them. She frowned slightly: "Kill them?"

"No need."

Carlis answered quickly. Although her gaze was indifferent and she knew that the other side had been pursuing them for the last ten or so years, she still didn't intend to do so: "No need to kill them. We still need them to lead the way to the Great Divine Mountain and the locations of other obelisks. Using the 'Star Saint's' Steel Serpent authority, they should have already utilized the power of some strongmen who haven't fully awakened and are waiting for resurrection, turning them into living batteries used to move stars... Don't stroke your chin, Eagle. If we hadn't been here this time, you would have almost been turned into a holy light battery too."

"What should this be called? Holy light solar energy?" Mycroft followed up with a joke.

And while these ancient powerhouses from the Era of Falling Stars were joking with each other, the Grand Inquisitor of the Ash Cult, Gloin, could no longer bear it.

—He knew that he was hostile to Carlis and the others. The Ash Cult had been pursuing them all along.

He knew that the other side had been hesitating about whether to kill them.

He knew that these people, who should be from the same era as the Heavenly Father, ancient beyond their imagination, probably didn't care about them, ordinary Light-Seekers of the Three Realms and Nine Heavens.

He knew all this—but Gloin still had to speak. This was about saving this world, so he had to step forward. This was his responsibility as a member of the Ash Cult.

"You... what era of powerhouses are you from? I really find it hard to imagine such things, but it must be that your origins are even older than the history of the Light-Seekers."

Walking forward slowly, even under the pressure of several Legendary-rank experts, Gloin gritted his teeth and refused to retreat half a step. He hoarsely whispered, then roared in a low voice: "But regardless of whether you knew each other before or not, whether you are acquaintances—now, you are all part of this world, aren't you?" You are all within this 'Three Realms and Nine Heavens'... You all know the current state of this world, right?!"

"It... it is about to be destroyed..."

Eagle did not release his aura to suppress Gloin, but Carlis and Mycroft had no intention of letting him approach. So when Gloin had walked forward for over ten meters, he could no longer get close to the four people not far away. This white-haired old man, who was robust, usually spoke with vigor, and seemed spirited despite his age, began to choke up: "Aren't you also living in this world? Whatever your views on the cult, whatever your views on me—think whatever you want—but if you have any other way to save this world, can you tell us?"

"Really, no matter what method, we will do it..."

"We beg you!"

The other cult guards also knelt down at this moment, roaring in unison: "We will definitely do it—no matter the cost!"

Even as opposing sides, they could hear the sincerity and determination in each other's words.

Looking at Gloin, who knelt in place, tears streaming down his face, only begging that she could tell them a 'way to save the world,' and the guards behind him, all kneeling prostrate, Carlis was silent for a moment, then couldn't help but sigh.

"That's why I didn't want to kill you... But honestly, it's a bit cruel to say."

At this moment, the former Steel Serpent did not use the Light-Seeker language. She closed her eyes and spoke softly in the Mycroft language: "Although you can't understand, Gloin, what your Ash Cult did at the beginning was indeed correct. Fifty thousand years ago, when many Steel Serpents had not yet awakened, and many waiting to be resurrected were still being repaired, when Joshua's return was still far off and we had not yet returned from the Great Source, it was you who continued the flame, maintained the center of this Three Realms and Nine Heavens, the residual warmth of Joshua's 'Core Engine,' that allowed this world to continue existing—you truly saved this world and laid the foundation for today."

"But now, it's different. We have all returned, and although the possibility of Joshua's awakening is slim, it is not impossible. And our purpose, in essence, is not to save this soon-to-be-extinguished 'Three Realms and Nine Heavens,' to save this world... Rather, what I want to do is to destroy it, to extinguish all its flames."

"Only then can the 'Core Engine' of the 'Joshua World,' which had long since stopped operating, undergo a 'restart' after a complete shutdown—and only at that moment, in the instant when the warrior's body regains activity, will we have the slightest chance to awaken him."

This was a very helpless thing.

The core of the entire Three Realms and Nine Heavens, the Steel Continent, was essentially Joshua's stopped 'Core Engine'—one hundred and twenty thousand years after the warrior's Divine Annihilation, all sufficiently powerful chaos had been eliminated, and the Core Engine had long since stopped operating due to the loss of its target. This led to the rapid cooling of the entire Steel Continent, with countless stars extinguishing one after another.

To maintain the world's existence, the Ash Cult used the Star Saints, that is, the power of the Steel Serpents and some strongmen waiting for resurrection in the obelisks, amplified by the obelisks, to move countless stars, maintaining the light of the Shining Region, while also maintaining the residual warmth of the Core Engine—the Black Giant Star. This allowed the world to continue existing, but also prevented the Core Engine from ever fully cooling down for a 'restart.'

As a Steel Serpent who had once merged with Joshua and fought alongside him, Carlis was very clear about Joshua's internal structure and operating principles, and this was the method she had come up with.

"Only when the old flame is completely extinguished can a new and vigorous fire be ignited again... We are not strong enough, far from being able to have it both ways. And if I have to choose, I will always choose Joshua."

Carlis's tone was firm. If it was for Joshua's resurrection, she would not hesitate even to sacrifice herself.

Mycroft's expression was indifferent—she was very clear that compared to just one Three Realms and Nine Heavens, a race bred from Joshua's inner world, the entire multiverse needed the warrior's power more.

And Eagle remained silent. He was the Pope of the Mycroft people, a friend of Joshua. He had sacrificed himself for Joshua, and Joshua had resurrected him—did this choice even need thinking? But after all, they were all civilizations of order. If possible, the old Pope would do his utmost to protect the Light-Seekers when the flame was extinguished.

For a moment, the entire hall was dead silent.

And Alpha, on the side, felt that the teacher he knew had changed—she was still that resolute and decisive teacher who dared to make choices, but her essence was no longer that University Scholar and great explorer of the Shining Region. She was a powerhouse from an ancient era, a 'foreigner' who did not belong to this world.

—Was his own choice really correct?

Alpha didn't know, but he did know that only by following his teacher could he possibly save his wife and children from the Ash Cult. As for the other people in this world... sigh.

In the end, he was also a selfish person...

After a long silence came a resolute departure.

"Alright, let's act immediately—first go to the other coordinates on the star map and let Alpha revive the other strongmen waiting for resurrection."

Turning around and walking toward the staircase of the crystal hall, Carlis clearly didn't intend to waste any more time: "Then, we go to the Shining Region to rescue the reincarnations of those Steel Serpents, the many Star Saints. There are quite a few powerhouses in the Three Realms and Nine Heavens. The Heavenly Sword Empress and the Demon-Slaying Grand Lord have probably obtained a part of the power of Ying and Lin, Joshua's weapons. They both have Legendary-rank strength. The Ash Cult controls nearly all Divine Artifacts, and there must be many powerhouses. If we don't have enough people, we might not be able to attack their headquarters."

"And then?" Following closely behind Carlis, Eagle sighed: "After extinguishing the flame, what else do we need to do?"

"Finally, we go to the end of this Steel Continent, the 'World Frontier.'"

Staring straight ahead, Carlis's words carried no hesitation: "The Steel Continent is boundless and vast, but the 'World Frontier' is different—that is a wound Joshua tore open himself. It should be a passage he opened back then to seal the many Near-Saint Evil Gods. And now, this passage has become, in a sense, the end of this boundless world. The world barrier, which should have been absolutely impossible to cross or break, should, at the most vulnerable moment when the flame is extinguished, produce a 'gap' that allows us to connect with the multiverse outside."

[The author is unwell and has taken some medicine.]

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