Chapter 8: Dragon-Sleeping Abyss
Unlike the Divine Mechanism siblings, who were cheerfully guessing who the third legendary expert might be, Joshua knew from the very beginning that there was no other candidate for the Empire's third legend besides Master Nostradamus.
Since the full-scale war with the Orc Empire decades ago, Nostradamus, who had risen from obscurity, had always been the one with the highest acclaim to achieve legendary status. As a commoner, he grew through blood and fire in the war, leading armies to repeatedly thwart the surprise attacks of the Orc Shaman legions. Whether as a scholar, mage, soldier, or general, Nostradamus had done it all, and had done it to perfection.
It was precisely because of this that Israel, then an Imperial prince, set aside all objections and chose this commoner mage with no background or connections as his teacher. For His Majesty the Emperor, he had indeed found the best guide in the world. And for Nostradamus, it was a ladder to rise to prominence and realize his grand ambitions.
What followed was well known—how Israel and Nostradamus joined forces to resist the Orcs was recorded in both historical texts and folk biographies. But after the Emperor advanced to legendary rank, news of the old mage gradually faded from public view. When he reappeared in everyone's sight, he had become the President of the Imperial Royal Mage Association and the Dean of the Imperial Capital Mage Academy. Yet his strength remained at the Ultimate Peak, with no sign of wanting to break through.
Although it sounded like a story of an Emperor suppressing his subjects and former teacher to maintain absolute authority, preventing them from breaking through, Joshua could say that was not the case.
First of all, Israel was not the kind of person who couldn't bear to see his subordinates grow strong. Based on the interactions between the warrior and the old mage in recent years, he hadn't detected any desire on the other's part to break through either. Apart from handling Imperial capital affairs, Nostradamus spent most of his time on the academy's students. As for his own strength, his original words were that it was sufficient.
"Breaking through to legendary is a very risky endeavor. Reorganizing one's own life form means completely transforming and sublimating one's past self. Failure almost certainly means death. Even if successful, there will be an extremely long period of transformation and recovery."
Murmuring softly to himself, the warrior clenched his fist. He was currently in this long recovery period. By contemplating and understanding the Steel Force in the Grandia World, combined with the sublimation from his battle with Akhal, Joshua had successfully broken through the limits of his own life, and the power of the First Flame had stabilized this realm. But from then until now, he still hadn't fully transformed his body into 'Steel'.
Decades ago, the Imperial Emperor and the first heir had both died on the battlefield. Many great nobles harbored ulterior motives, not only failing to contribute on the front lines but also amassing power in the rear, attempting to rebel. If Israel hadn't displayed extraordinary talent and strength in the war and advanced to legendary afterward, the vast Northern Empire would undoubtedly have split into countless small states. At that time, if Israel hadn't broken through, it would have meant his death and the nation's destruction—he had only that one choice. But Nostradamus was different. After Israel's breakthrough, he had no great need for power. Instead, what he needed more was time.
To enable ordinary people to learn magic and comprehend the mysteries of the world's truths, to give commoners opportunities for advancement without wasting their years due to innate birth—this was Nostradamus's wish. It didn't require great strength, but it did require long-term reform.
Advancing to legendary might be the highest pursuit for ordinary people, but for that old man, it was probably just an unnecessary choice with certain risks. After all, if he failed, it would mean his lifelong struggle had been meaningless.
—But why had he suddenly changed his mind and wanted to break through now?
A flicker of doubt crossed his mind, but Joshua didn't dwell on it. After all, by next spring, all questions would be answered.
"Alright."
The warrior clapped his hands, then stood up. He started walking toward the study, with Ying, Lin, and the quickly following Hei close behind. Joshua muttered to himself, "The miscellaneous matters are settled. The autumn harvest is done, and the proliferating corrupted beasts have been mostly wiped out."
"Starting tomorrow, gather the Knight Order and begin preparations to assault the Divine Calamity Mist."
And just as the warrior made his decision, far away, in another world.
As all beings know, everything that exists has an end. People die, iron rusts, burning flames go out, evergreen pines decay. Even the sea will one day dry up, and mountains will one day collapse. The seemingly eternal and indestructible world will, on its destined day in the distant future, meet its end.
But how vast is a 'world'? A centipede dies but never stiffens. Such an existence, even in death, will persist for several thousand years. During these millennia, the dying world will deviate from its original trajectory, disappearing from the 'stars' of the multiverse and falling to the lowest level of all realms.
That is, the 'Abyss', feared and reviled by countless civilizations and worlds.
Abyss Layer 162, Sea of Venom.
As the name suggests, this was a world tainted by poison. Wars of annihilation had shattered the continent, filling the plane with toxic waters and oceans left in the aftermath of destruction. Countless aberrant venomous insects and giant serpents swam through the sea of negative energy, which was potent enough to corrode space itself.
These venomous insects and giant serpents, living in poison and negative energy, were mindless chaotic beings—remnants surviving from the wreckage of a once-great civilization. Due to the extremely harsh environment, even Abyss Lords who ruled over multiple abyssal layers were unwilling to set foot here. Thus, this world had maintained its independence for over two thousand years since falling into the Abyss. However, legend had it that this was also because a giant serpent with strength comparable to a deity lurked deep within the sea of negative energy.
But this abyssal world, once called the 'Sea of Venom', now hosted nearly ten thousand dragons.
As space-time rippled, waves began to spread outward from the center of the spatial distortion. Then, dozens of portals opened, and thousands upon thousands of weary five-colored dragons filed in, entering this ocean world filled with radiation and toxic dust.
For some reason, the venomous insects and giant serpents, which were extremely xenophobic and would even fiercely attack the demon armies of the Scorching Hell, showed no reaction to the dragons' arrival. They continued to swim and reproduce in the toxic sea of negative energy, watching as the dragons built floating islands in the sky to rest and recuperate.
In the sky, three vast consciousnesses watched the dragons extract materials from the deep sea crust and quickly construct floating islands. They remained silent for a long time before slowly beginning to converse.
"The Great Magic Tide has arrived, yet we have been driven out of the Mycroft World."
This voice belonged to the White Dragon Patriarch, Frostlord Bonar. The nearly tangible will of the legendary dragon was filled with deep reluctance. "The Abyss is the lowest level of the multiverse. Even the radiance that benefits all beings is weakened here. Coupled with our clan's lack of connection to the 'opportunities' in the Mycroft World, our losses are severe."
"After all, we failed." The one who replied was the Black Dragon Patriarch, Nethersea Dragon Keano. As a manipulator of negative energy, the legendary black dragon was very well adapted to the environment of the Sea of Venom—in fact, quite satisfied—so its reluctance was less intense. "Just Eagle alone, even if we surrounded him, we might not have secured victory. Add in the Sky Dragon Rider and the Nature Mentor, and our clan was lucky to escape with mere defeat rather than annihilation. We can't ask for more."
But the Blue Dragon Patriarch, the legendary blue dragon Endless Wind Rytia, did not join the other two legendary dragons in conversation. Its gem-like dragon eyes shimmered with a hazy light, sweeping across countless seas in an instant. Naturally, it found nothing—aside from countless foolish sea serpents, it saw no trace of the legendary giant serpent said to rival a deity.
Having confirmed this, Rytia felt slightly reassured. Only after the other two dragons finished complaining did it speak. "It's not necessarily hopeless."
The Blue Dragon Patriarch's will was as swift as lightning. If the ones communicating with it were not also legendary dragons, they might have been injured by this too-sharp intent. "Although we have withdrawn the vast majority of five-colored dragons from the Mycroft World, that doesn't mean we can't obtain those 'opportunities.' Both you and I have surely left some elite hidden agents on the continent."
Bonar and Keano stopped talking and listened to Rytia's idea. As long-standing 'partners' who had jointly ruled the five-colored dragons, they maintained this surface-level tacit understanding. Rytia continued, "The first wave of the Great Magic Tide has arrived. Most of the subordinate god imprints in the Boundless Heaven will be shaken loose. This was originally an opportunity for all races to inherit the legacies of the ancient era's gods. But how can those inferior races compare to us dragons in terms of memory inheritance? The continuous wars have long deprived them of such records. I dare assert that most factions still don't know the nature of those mists, let alone their significance!"
Saying this, the legendary blue dragon seemed full of confidence. "It's only been about half a year since the Starfall. Even the mages of the Eastern Plains might not have figured out much. We just need to send some dragonmen, or have dragons disguise themselves as humanoids and enter the mists for trials ahead of time. As long as they avoid the notice of those inferior races, with the power of dragons, they will surely obtain the inheritances and divinity. Our clan's strength can continue to grow, unaffected by our current adverse circumstances!"
The Blue Dragon's plan was simple enough for a child to think of, but it had high feasibility. After all, although five-colored dragons had vanished from the Mycroft Continent, metal dragons still roamed. As long as they disguised themselves well and didn't reveal their inherently evil nature, few could distinguish whether a dragon in human form was a five-colored or metal dragon.
And indeed, that was the case. Among the many factions on the Mycroft Continent, there were those who recognized that the falling stars were actually divine imprints. But they didn't know how to break through the instinctive blockade of divine power to obtain the deepest inheritances. The mists formed from the memories and power of deceased gods were like a vast mental maze. All who entered would face one difficult challenge after another. Only those who completed the challenges could inherit part of that god's power. Rytia's idea was not wrong—they still had a chance.
"Abandon targets deep within major powers. Those imprints are beyond our reach. As much as possible, choose targets on the continent's edges—those inconspicuous imprints."
The legendary dragon set the tone.
Thus, not long after, on the Mycroft Continent, countless hidden agents stirred. One by one, 'merchants,' 'scholars,' and 'adventurers' boarded various means of transportation, heading toward the regions where stars had fallen. And inadvertently, one could see a faint vertical pupil flickering in their eyes.
All plans were complete. The three legendary dragons continued to silently watch their clan slowly rebuild their home in this abyssal world. Abyss Layer 162 would henceforth be renamed.
[Dragon-Sleeping Abyss]—that would be its name in the abyssal realms from now on.