Chapter 7: The Myriad Realms Plan 5500
The First Flame gave energy to the Steel Embers, and the Steel Embers used this to nurture all living beings. Although this was not always the case, in the simple cosmological worldview of the 'Midgardians', this was how they saw it. The last time they summoned the minions of an Evil God from the void, it was because the Midgardians had heeded the whispers of those beings dwelling in the void.
—So this time, I will use the Saint's relic as a coordinate to summon an existence by His side!
The fibrous cortex on the surface of Milhabus's body began to burn and peel away layer by layer, revealing an inner body composed of something like plant roots. The Midgardians were originally a race born from a sentient psionic plant gaining wisdom. They only took human form to simply imitate the 'Saint' who had descended atop the Holy Mountain long ago to guide the development of Midgardian civilization.
"I, with the ancient covenant as my proof, summon the great existence from beyond the Void Veil!"
"Messenger of Flame, Holder of Steel, descendant of the Saint wandering through the void, heed the call of our clan! With the solemn altar as the bond, with the sacred Water Droplet as the pact—"
"From beyond the void, gaze upon us, and then…"
"Descend here!"
And at the very moment the prayer ended, within the center of the psionic light pillar, atop the amber pillar—the Water Droplet that should have been completely frozen in time—a tiny light suddenly flickered to life. This light merged into the vast, atmosphere-piercing radiance of psionic energy, spreading out towards the endless void.
In a corner of the multiverse, a vast and dim world suddenly lit up with a faint glimmer. This light was so minuscule that it was completely overshadowed by the brilliance of the Great Magic Tide. Neither the ancient beings wandering through the temporal currents nor the Chaos Gods advancing with endless resentment paid any attention to this tiny gleam. However, this light contained a peculiar fluctuation. This fluctuation traversed a distance too vast for words or numbers to measure, arriving at a point of space-time distortion orbiting the periphery of a certain world.
The enormous space-time distortion suddenly trembled violently, startling every member of the major factions still processing information within the camp at the edge of the Fairyland. They stared in shock at the scene, then hurriedly contacted the various Legendary experts within the demiplane. But the answer they received was, 'No anomalies.'
On the Death Plains, Joshua was still frowning, pondering the source of that inexplicable summons. But after Nostradamus called out to him, the warrior snapped back to reality. He called over Ying, Lin, and the Light Orb that seemed to be feeling very comfortable, then followed the old mage's footsteps to explore the center of the demiplane.
And at that moment, deep within the demiplane, an ancient will that had slumbered for a long time slowly awakened from its millennium-long rest. Its soul had been severely damaged in a war long ago, and even now it had not fully recovered—in fact, it was still deteriorating. Yet even so, sensing the arrival of its mission, it awakened without hesitation.
"Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground Dominant Will restarting. Soul self-check… 89% damaged, 17% repairable. Dominant Will on the verge of destruction… Detecting void distress signal. Pausing self-repair. Setting as first priority target."
"Searching for first priority task handler: Designation 'Saint'. Search failed. No relevant existence fluctuations detected. Searching for second priority task handler: Designation 'First Saint'. Search failed. Relevant existence fluctuations have perished. Searching for third…"
A long cycle of self-checks and corresponding procedures looped repeatedly. Finally, the ancient will paused slightly, completing its fourteenth cycle.
"Searching for fourteenth priority task handler: Designation 'Inheritor'. Success. Number of existence fluctuations: 3."
"Beginning execution of the [Myriad Realms Plan]."