# Chapter 33: Walking the Dragon in the Abyss
Imperial Capital Royal Mage Association, President's Office.
"Based on your request, I can roughly guess your purpose."
Behind the desk, the newly promoted Legendary old mage took only a tenth of a second to identify the consistency between the space-time coordinates and the residual fluctuations. He looked up at the young man before him, furrowing his brow. "You want to go to the Abyss?"
"Yeah." Joshua replied bluntly. "I want to."
"There's nothing in this world that can stop you." Nostradamus shook his head slightly, speaking with some resignation. "As long as you want to do it, you can do it. But I still need to make one thing clear."
Saying this, he leaned back in his comfortable chair, extended his right hand, and rubbed his forehead as if recalling something. "The Abyss is extremely dangerous—for anyone. Not just for Legendaries; even deities must tread carefully within it."
Because it was a world that had already died. In such a space-time that was slowly decaying and dissipating, anything unimaginable and extremely dangerous could happen. Even immortal and indestructible experts could easily become trapped, just like the two Five-Colored Dragon Kings who had gone missing many years ago.
"Listen, Joshua. I know both Masters Baniel and William. That space-time fluctuation bears Baniel's handiwork. They went to the Abyss actively and deliberately. Two Legendary mages wouldn't enter another world without any preparation whatsoever."
After thinking for a moment, Nostradamus still intended to try persuading the warrior further. But unsurprisingly, Joshua's expression remained unmoved—so much so that the old mage, who had wanted to educate the younger man with his rich life experience, could only shut his mouth. He shook his head with some regret. "Forget it. I can't stop you either—yes, the aura is the same. The transmission target of that space-time fluctuation is the Sixth Layer of the Abyss."
"Regardless, if you truly must go to the Abyss, be extremely careful. It's different from normal worlds. It's a gathering place for the wreckage of all things, where every danger lurks."
"Thanks." On the other side, facing the old mage's somewhat verbose warnings, Joshua didn't feel impatient at all. He even showed a smile. After expressing brief gratitude to Nostradamus, the warrior lowered his head and spoke in a deep voice to the thing he was carrying: "Let's go. Remember to lead the way when the time comes."
The Flame Demon Syndicate, trapped inside a half-human-tall transparent cylindrical crystal container, looked on in utter despair as the two Legendary experts discussed how to go to the Abyss. Feeling that something terrible was about to happen, but with most of its power sealed, it had no chance of breaking free from this 'prison.' It could only curl up like a ball of slime to escape reality and pray—well, it was a demon. Praying to anyone wouldn't help anyway.
Joshua always acted with swift decisiveness. Under Nostradamus's perception, the Legendary warrior who walked out of the office, along with his Black Dragon mount and the imprisoned Flame Demon, left cleanly and decisively. The old mage couldn't see even a trace of hesitation in this man's actions. It seemed as if he had determined his actions—even the trajectory of his life—long ago, and had been carrying them out without any hesitation ever since.
Slowly rising from the large chair covered with soft cashmere cushions, Nostradamus walked to the window of the Royal Mage Association office. He watched the warrior's retreating figure until the man left the city, left the Imperial Capital's magical array, and his aura also left the old mage's perception range. Then he softly murmured to himself: "Humans always find it hard to understand each other."
The old mage had long known this. Just as the nobles could never understand him, and he could never understand the nobles.
A commoner who becomes a strong expert through various 'accidents' and hard work would naturally join the upper class, become part of the nobility, become the new upper echelon, and then, to maintain his own status and the privileges of his descendants, block the upward channels for other commoners.
How foolish.
In this multiverse filled with darkness and evil, they held inheritances that could make the vast majority of people Transcendents, yet they didn't wholeheartedly think for all the people of the world. Instead, they focused entirely on suppressing their own kind, ignoring the countless threats and horrors in the multiverse, concentrating only on this tiny patch of ground before them, sealing off future possibilities for meaningless, minuscule rights of inheritance. This shortsightedness, this noble logic—the old man couldn't understand it.
This was just the simplest part of the logical conflict. In truth, all the conflicts combined would be enough to write another two-million-word thesis. The logical conflicts in various aspects of humanity were endless. For example, the old mage couldn't really understand Israel's methods of raising his descendants either. For example, he had never truly been able to understand Joshua's mode of action.
But the differences between these two men weren't off-putting.
It was precisely because of these differences that humans were interesting.
Unlike the nobles, Nostradamus appreciated them, so he was willing to help them.
Actually, it wasn't entirely for this reason either. Thinking this, the old mage moved his gaze away from the window, smiled, sat back behind his desk, closed his eyes, and let his consciousness sink into the void.
More importantly, he wanted to see what kind of storm this young Legendary warrior would stir up in the Abyss—which had been silent in the multiverse for so long—in the near future.
Meanwhile, accompanied by the piercing wailing of the Abyss Grimoire, on the uninhabited grassland outside the Imperial Capital, Joshua once again used brute force to forcibly open the Book of Ib, compelling it to open a summoned space-time rift leading to the Abyss.
Dead, oppressive, an atmosphere filled with sulfur stench and concentrated radiation toxins instantly surged out from the narrow space-time passage. The relatively higher air pressure of the Abyss continuously sprayed massive amounts of poison gas, causing the surrounding spring green grassland to instantly turn scorched yellow and wither. The Flame Demon trapped inside the container couldn't sense the changes in the outside atmosphere, but it still instinctively writhed its highly toxic radiation body, wanting to crawl back into its 'hometown.'
But both the warrior and the Black Dragon girl standing at his side looked completely unconcerned. This bit of sulfur aura and toxins from the Abyss was nothing to them. Joshua casually waved his hand, and the aura filled with chaos and death immediately dissipated as if encountering its natural enemy, no longer surging. The withered yellow earth also instantly restored its green color.
"Let's go," he said, then lifting the Flame Demon, he stepped into the space-time rift first—midway, Joshua seemed to find the passage a bit too small, so he kicked it, and immediately the space-time rift obediently expanded by more than half.
It doesn't feel much different from being inside a volcano.
After the space-time rift expanded, the Black Dragon girl followed behind the warrior with a delighted expression. She thought excitedly: No wonder Master only brought me out to play this time. When I get back, I'll definitely make Firefly and Lin and the others jealous!
Just as the one human, one dragon, and one demon all disappeared into the space-time rift, this inconspicuous passage quickly closed up, leaving no trace on the Mycroft Continent.
[Bewilderment breeds destruction, unease pours despair.
—Abyss Diary, Volume Three, Chapter Seventeen.]
When Joshua crossed the space-time rift and stepped onto the gray-black earth composed of black gravel and toxic decayed soil mixed together, his whole body couldn't help but tremble slightly. Faint silver arcs flickered all over the warrior's body—that was the 'Steel Force' responding to the existence of certain things. But it wasn't until the Black Dragon girl also crossed the space-time passage and the rift closed that Joshua nodded slightly and closed his eyes.
Time traced back in his brain. Light and shadow interwove in his spirit. Countless illusions, or rather images of the past, flickered in his consciousness.
The world was frozen in a winter seven thousand years ago.
At that time, the black gravel was still fertile soil. The toxic earth was still vibrant jungle and grassland. On a hilltop that Joshua didn't recognize, he looked into the distance at a city—spiral protruding metal spires and spiderweb-like semi-transparent pipelines formed this magnificent city, and six-legged insectoid intelligent life with carapaces had built it. The tops of the metal spires pierced into the clouds. Inside the pipelines, spindle-shaped vehicles shuttled back and forth, up and down. They connected every corner of this city, like blood vessels.
At this moment, the world was still thriving. Various creatures the warrior had never seen before lived among the vibrant grassland and jungle. The insectoid civilization was integrated with nature. They used the heat of underground magma to drive giant steel machines, building one magnificent structure after another, like beehives. Everything was so stable. Everyone was full of hope for the future.
At the same moment, undercurrents surged within the civilization. Several large insectoid countries, vying for the world's leadership, didn't hesitate to ignite war in every corner of this peaceful continent. They used proxies to wage war against each other while frantically engaging in an arms race. One terrifying war machine after another was manufactured and then loaded onto the most advanced weapons. A world war was on the verge of breaking out.
So time was frozen here. At this moment, civilization had not yet been extinguished. The world still had hope. The soil was fertile. The jungle was green. The air was filled with a refreshing fragrance of plants. Unknown birds were flying in the sky.
This scene of their peaceful life was thus inscribed into the history of this world by the Steel Force, enduring forever.
But Joshua observed this world. His gaze, guided by the resonance of the Steel Force, pierced through the entire paused illusion, looking toward the 'future' that this frozen world would never reach—which was also the 'past' of this land seven thousand years ago.
Howling warheads descended. Huge mushroom clouds rose from one spiral-spired city after another. Sturdy metal buildings melted and collapsed like melting ice cream under the scorching heat. Countless high-strength glass pipelines were blown away by the terrifying shockwaves, turning into crystal fragments flying through the air. Countless insectoids were killed instantly. The survivors also died from the high heat and toxins. The once prosperous cities turned into huge lava crater pits.
Thick black clouds formed out of thin air in mere seconds. Thunderclouds rolled. Lightning storms raged. Thick lightning pillars rained down like rain, killing all living things, destroying all high-precision metal items, and completely wiping out all remnants of civilization. On this earth filled with the burnt smell of ozone, not even a single microbe could survive.
Strange plagues spread. Death propagated in silence. There were no dazzling lights or shadows, no soul-stirring processes. The end of a city was merely a few not-so-crisp coughs. By the second dawn when everyone was bedridden, there were no longer any living things except microbes inside the metal spires. Inside the pipelines that were once busy, there were no longer any spindle-shaped vehicles operating.
Thousands upon thousands of insectoids thus died bewilderedly in the sudden war of mutual destruction. Their civilization and world were thus destroyed by their own hands. The survivors hated, but they were bewildered, not knowing whom to pour out their grievances to. The survivors were uneasy. The destruction called the wasteland silenced them all.
They could only struggle to survive, reproducing painfully generation after generation in their own destroyed world. One thousand years passed. Two thousand years passed. The world continued to degenerate toward the deepest part of the multiverse. They also mutated into forms they had never imagined. And in the third millennium, the Bottomless Abyss gained a new layer. Among the nearly endless categories of demons, a new member also appeared.
All of this happened within a thousandth of a second. This brief moment of time wasn't even enough for anyone to do anything. But for the warrior, he had witnessed the destruction of a civilization from the sidelines.
Joshua opened his eyes. His gaze was still bright, like fire.
He didn't hate these illusions, nor did he like them. He looked up, observing the barren wasteland plain before him. This was the common scene in most worlds within the Abyss. Joshua crossed his arms, silently scanning this world. The scenes from seven thousand years ago overlapped with those from seven thousand years later. He seemed to understand something, but then shook his head.
Joshua von Radcliffe. Legendary warrior. Steel Force Agent. Heir of the Sage.
Soulflame King.
Knowing the past and destruction of a world was precisely the duty of the Soulflame King—the World Bearer. No matter which world he went to, no matter which corner of the multiverse he visited, things wouldn't change. Still thriving worlds would proudly show him the most prosperous side of their civilization. Already destroyed worlds would sigh, recreating the scene of their own destruction to warn all civilizations that still endured.
Joshua suddenly remembered the words of the God of Might.
Do not harbor pity. The words of the unyielding God of Justice, spoken not long ago, replayed in his mind. Do not pity, because this is arrogance. Facing the destruction and doomsday brewed by wisdom itself, no one—not even gods—can casually speak of pity and salvation. Humans who are still alive need only cautiously learn lessons and warn themselves.
They are already demons.
But even so, the warrior couldn't help but think of the Sage.
That kind youth who wanted to save all beings. That young man who grew up to seek peace through forceful means. That Sage who quietly watched over the development of civilization, keeping watch over the world.
The final scene was an old man standing before an endless space-time passage. He stood before the world and all beings, leading the gods to fight against evil that had no end.
He. Joshua couldn't help but think. If it were him, if it were the Sage, if it were this person who also held the power of the Soulflame King, what would he think?
Don't know, so curious.
Joshua had never been so curious about anyone before. So he wanted to try to experience the thoughts of that existence that had long disappeared beyond the multiverse.
The Sage had once gone to the Abyss and obtained the prototype of the Azure Orb.
So, the warrior also had to go to the Abyss once.
"Syndicate, come out."
Casually throwing the crystal container he was carrying, Joshua removed the seal and released the Flame Demon. Syndicate, who had been suffering miserably stuffed inside the container, immediately turned into a red light and shot out. Its originally slime-like black viscous body immediately burst into raging flames, transforming it into a pure flame humanoid.
Logically speaking, the Flame Demon should have tried to escape as quickly as possible, breaking free from the warrior's control. But it not only didn't do this, it also knelt respectfully before Joshua, waiting for his next command.
"This is the Sixth Layer of the Abyss, the Molten Sea Fire Prison." Scanning the surrounding earth, the warrior quickly analyzed which layer of the Abyss he was in. He calmly issued the command: "I came here to find someone. You're more familiar with the Abyss. Lead the way and look for other demon territories."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Even though it knew the other party was actually human and not some Demon Lord, the Flame Demon still addressed Joshua according to Abyss customs. At the same time, its simple mind was stirring with some little schemes, which was why it was willing to obey him completely.
The warrior could naturally see through the thoughts of a mere Flame Demon, but he didn't care at all. After letting the Flame Demon go ahead to scout the path, Joshua turned his head to look at Black, who had already run several hundred meters away and was curiously looking around. He snapped his fingers.
Hearing her master's permission, the Black Dragon girl immediately let out a cheer—accompanied by a shocking surge of magical power and a giant roar that shook one's spirit, a giant Black Dragon, a full ten stories or thirty to forty meters tall, appeared on the gray-black wasteland earth, then let out an excited dragon roar.
"ROOOOOOAR——————"
As the Black Dragon roared, Joshua had somehow already stood atop the Black Dragon's head. The battle armor manifested by the Steel Force materialized around him, instantly covering his entire body. Beneath the dragon-head helmet, two crimson points of light flickered. The warrior stroked the sturdy and sharp dragon horns beside him and chuckled lightly: "Let's go."
—Nostradamus doesn't truly understand the Abyss.
The warrior thought this. His understanding of the Abyss was at most from some documents, or brief communications when summoning demons. This was too superficial.
But he was different. He had been to the Abyss, many times. He knew how to move in the Abyss. He also knew how to find someone in the Abyss, this unfamiliar world.
That was to be as high-profile as possible.
He stood atop the dragon's head. The helmet concealed his smile.
There was no need to be so cautious. Even a dead world was still a world. As long as one was strong enough, there was no difference. Ordinary people could walk their dogs on the Mycroft Continent. As a Legendary expert, he could walk his dragon in the Abyss.
"Follow Syndicate. Other than that, do whatever you want. Run however you want," the warrior said.
Hearing this, the Black Dragon immediately let out an excited dragon roar. Following the roar, a high-heat red storm carrying a massive amount of fire elements materialized before her. It swept across the earth, blowing away large patches of wasteland, forming dust filling the sky. The giant dragon then stepped through the dust and began rapidly running, chasing the conspicuous flame humanoid ahead.
Joshua's journey through the Abyss had officially begun!