Chapter 80: The Souls of All Beings
As the Evil God's body completely crossed the spatial rift, the outer layer of the world emitted a crisp sound like shattering glass. Fragments of broken space drifted down like snowflakes, and at the edge of the sky, a blinding flash of fire ignited, resembling the rising sun.
The sky was set ablaze. Scorching streams of fire raged across the heavens. A colossal sphere of molten rock, unimaginably vast, appeared where the spatial rift had once been. Descending from above, it caused the entire world to tremble slightly, as if it were the embodiment of fear itself.
This was the true body of the Evil God, the greatest calamity.
**[Heaven-Falling Great Star].**
It was as if the sun had plummeted. The molten sphere ignited the night, parted the clouds, and caused the air along its path to boil and warp. Though the meteor was still over a dozen kilometers from the ground, the overwhelming pressure that filled the entire world was already suffocating.
As the catastrophe that had destroyed the original world of the Apocalypse Array, this meteor had not only annihilated that world, which was already on the brink of destruction due to magical warfare, but had also utterly extinguished the hope of 1.6 billion lives for the future.
Despair and rage, mixed with the wreckage of all things, became the prototype of the current Calamity Evil God. After attempting every other disaster, this meteor was its final, ultimate trump card.
A strike capable of destroying a world.
Looking up at this sight, Loranda remained expressionless, but his heart was shaken beyond measure. In an instant, he realized that the meteor's target was precisely this location—where the Father of Nature stood. Even the most foolish person could see that when this massive meteor, comparable to a mountain range and over a dozen kilometers in diameter, crashed down, it would effortlessly erase the entire Origin Mountain Range, create a crater over two hundred kilometers wide, displace or sink half a continent, and trigger boiling tsunamis that would sweep across most of the world, cleansing all life.
Unstoppable and inescapable, the Paladin couldn't describe his feelings. He felt his palm, gripping the massive shield, sweating. Cold, clammy sweat moistened the handle, nearly causing him to lose his grip. Beside him, the Black Dragon's eyes were filled with disbelief—this was the most shocking sight it had ever witnessed in its life, even within the inherited memories of the Black Erosion Dragon.
But neither the Half-Dragon nor Loranda regretted their decision to stay. Faced with such a grand spectacle, they even managed to force a faint smile at the corners of their mouths.
Turning their heads, they looked at the warrior standing high in the sky on the other side.
"It's all up to you, Joshua."
The warrior, enveloped in crimson divine power, calmly watched the great star hurtling down, intent on destroying the world. In his gaze, there was nothing but the falling red lotus.
A meteor.
A fragment of a star.
A rock mass larger than a mountain range, wrapped in flames, hurtled toward the world of Ilgna, carrying the aura of destruction. The thick atmosphere was easily torn apart, revealing the cosmic starry sky behind it. The momentum was so magnificent and spectacular that it felt as if the entire sky had collapsed.
Under his gaze, the gravitational forces of heaven and earth began to shift. Because an object of immense mass was rapidly approaching the ground, the entire world began to emit a precarious hum. Countless fragments of rock floated in the air as if pulled by a magnet. The air swirled chaotically, forming bizarre vacuum fault lines.
Without a doubt, doomsday was approaching.
Joshua raised his spear. The blade, like a thread, split the world before his eyes. Black-red, burning divine power coiled around the warrior's arm and the spear's shaft like layers of blazing spiral rings. The condensed power caused the surrounding air to ripple violently, even forming wave-like patterns.
"This is not my power."
The crown mark on his forehead flickered. Joshua spoke softly, and this was indeed the truth.
At this moment, he was like a god, but this was ultimately borrowed power. The divine power flowing through his veins came from the Father of Nature. The authority of the Soulflame King was granted by the legacy of the Sage of the previous era and the gift of the World Will of Carlis. Apart from these, as a mere mortal, he could not face the calamity or confront the Evil God. It was the blessings and help given by all people, from the distant past to the present, that had forged this warrior of heaven and earth.
Of course, this came at a cost. A mortal body cannot bear the power of a god. Even though he had awakened the Ultimate Essence of Force and gained the potential for infinite progress, Joshua was still far too distant from that step—so far that merely holding this power for a moment had plunged him into rapid self-destruction.
His body was being gradually destroyed by the immense energy. Even his soul was being burned by the divine power. Every breath, every movement of his arm, brought piercing pain that felt like death itself.
—But who cares?
All I need to do is fight.
Whether it's someone else's power or my own destruction is completely irrelevant. At least now, I have the ability to face the Evil God, even to contend with it!
Gradually, a massive phantom appeared behind Joshua.
It was a blurry humanoid figure clad in black iron armor and crowned with white bone. It held a dragon spear, with a greatsword and a long blade at its waist. Its exposed body was covered in battle scars and patches of dried blood. Its armor was riddled with cobweb-like cracks, and through those cracks, a blazing light could be seen burning within.
Its existence was battle. Its meaning was strife. This was the sovereign of rage, the embodiment of destruction.
This was the form that this person would take if he were a deity.
The Aspect of the War God.
Under the blessing of divine power, Joshua's eyes glowed red. On the surface of the irregular, oval-shaped giant rock, mixed with iron and stone, there were many blurry, distorted areas—fragile parts that chaos had not yet had time to transform. Indeed, the Calamity Evil God present here was merely a fragment of its power. There was still a chance!
If he could pierce the vital points—those distorted, fragile parts—with powerful force, the entire meteor would disintegrate. Even if fragments of a star fell to the earth, they would not harm the world.
So, without hesitation, he thrust his spear into the void. The massive humanoid behind him made the same motion.
On the ground, the flames caused by the meteor's descent suddenly dissipated. The destructive energy was rapidly converging. Layers of black-red rings appeared, contracted, and formed a dim yet oppressive sphere of light. It was like a blazing black sun. Its mere existence caused the surrounding earth to burn and the mountains to melt.
Then, this sun rose straight up, like a star flowing against the current, transforming into a pillar of black light that connected heaven and earth.
A tree is truly not adept at combat. Compared to beings of equal rank, its destructive power was far too weak.
But now, the potential Joshua displayed could not help but make it cheer. With this momentum, aided by the destructive divine power, he might actually be able to confront the Calamity Evil God head-on and resolve the disaster!
The black pillar of light and the meteor stalemated. The chaotic giant rock descended bit by bit, while the pillar of light gradually destroyed and dissolved it.
But it was clear that the pillar of light was dissolving the meteor faster than it was descending. Because of the chaotic gaps spread across its surface, the meteor was more fragile than imagined. If they could hold out for just a few more minutes, it would break apart into countless harmless ordinary rocks.
However, just as everyone was watching this with excitement, the black pillar of light suddenly wavered and then shrank abruptly.
The meteor immediately dropped a great distance. It was now very close to the ground. Its massive body had covered most of the sky, leaving only a sliver of normal sky visible at the edge of the horizon. The oppressive feeling of heaven and earth merging made people instinctively step back, curl up, as if trying to find a place to hide from this devastating blow.
But how could they avoid it? If this star descended, the world itself would be reshaped. No amount of dodging would be of any use.
Loranda, Black, and the Father of Nature immediately looked at Joshua, their eyes filled with confusion and unease.
Ying and Lin also anxiously called out the warrior's name in the spiritual world, but there was no response.
Because the man maintaining the massive pillar of light had no energy left to pay attention to these things.
His body was being destroyed.
The organs and nerves that sensed external actions had been burned away by the overloaded energy. His flesh was being scorched by the powerful divine power. The authority of the Soulflame King was burning the warrior's own soul to sustain this power.
The reason the pillar of light supporting the meteor had shrunk was not because Joshua's will could no longer hold out, but because the part of his body capable of bearing the power no longer existed.
The scorching divine power had burned away his flesh and blood. What now held the Dragon-Hunting Sword Lance was merely a mass of solidified Battle Qi and white bones. No matter how tenacious the warrior's will, he could not exert his full strength with such a body.
The meteor drew closer and closer. The immense heat and wind swept across the ground from thousands of meters away. Countless rocks, soil, and dust were blown away and dried up. Any remaining water evaporated, turning into white mist.
—Was it all going to be in vain again?
A roar of unwillingness echoed in his fading consciousness.
—It was the same for the world of Carlis, and now for the world of Ilgna. My power is far too weak. Even with all the gifts and legacies from those before me, can I not change this destined outcome?
Of course not.
A voice, as if spoken by countless people in unison, sounded in the warrior's ear. A mass of pale golden, flickering light appeared on Joshua's chest. Within it, countless figures emerged, like a pure soul-light formed from the convergence of countless souls.
**[Souls of the Fearless]**
**[Passive Effect: When held, allies gain an Aura of Courage.]**
**[Active Use: Rapidly obtain a large amount of soul points, increasing the user's soul limit and willpower limit. Can also be processed by someone with Legendary-level soul-shaping magic in exchange for 'Indestructible Crystals,' 'Fragments of Soulflame King's Fuel,' or 'Rune: Indestructible.']**
This voice was so firm that it briefly restored the warrior's consciousness. He heard the will emanating from this soul aggregate, like an echo from the distant past.
—The power of the living is not enough. Then add the dead.
—Warrior, do not walk alone.
For behind you stands an entire world.
Like adding fuel to a dying flame, the shrinking black pillar of light suddenly expanded again, firmly holding the meteor in place and even blasting off another large fragment.
But it was still not enough.
Souls were too few. Although the Souls of the Fearless had taken on some of the pressure for Joshua, controlling divine power was not so simple. At most, it would only be a short while before the pillar of light shrank again, until Joshua and they all burned to ashes.
But as if responding to the call of the Souls of the Fearless, the Father of Nature suddenly stiffened for a moment. Its expression was conflicted, as if struggling.
"No—if that's the case, it would be meaningless!"
The giant tree growled lowly, its branches shaking. But the other side was even more insistent. After a moment, with a long sigh, the Father of Nature seemed to release some kind of restraint and looked at Joshua in midair with a complex gaze.
"This is their choice... Warrior, do not betray their trust."
With that, countless colorful rays of light shot out from the canopy of the giant tree. They were fragile souls, now able to move freely under the blessing of divine power.
These were the souls of countless elves who had died in the calamity.
Amidst the light filling the sky, there were figures of countless people: wise mages, brave warriors, rough farmers, and greedy merchants.
Loving mothers, strict fathers, innocent children, thieves on the streets, pirates roaming the seas, and even heinous fugitives.
Countless souls, regardless of good or evil, completely different, emerged from the canopy of the giant tree. They flickered in midair like stars, then converged into a vast river of light, pouring into Joshua's body.
Countless soul-lights shone, as if nurturing infinite power.
Gods exist because of faith.
And the convergence of the souls of all beings is enough to recreate miracles.