Chapter 15: The Seven Gods and a New Incident
"Almost everything is known."
"Almost everything is known."
What was in his heart became the words on his lips. Although Joshua was still thinking about how to explain things to the Steel Serpent Carlis, he had no intention of hiding his thoughts. Facing the question posed by the Lord of Love and Decay, 'Yue Ai', who had come in the form of an avatar, the warrior stood upon the void. Holding Xiao Guang with one arm, he nodded and spoke in a serious tone: "Need any help?"
"I've seen that seal at the planet's core. Perhaps I can contribute some strength as well."
Joshua's logic was very simple and direct: since the World Will of Mycroft was attempting to be hostile to humanity, he naturally wouldn't show any courtesy or mercy. Although, for various reasons, as a human, he couldn't kill this Mother of All Things, if it meant adding bricks and mortar to the seal that suppressed it, the warrior would have no psychological burden and would even happily move mountains one after another.
As for whether the root of this matter was right or wrong, that was not something for him, a descendant born a thousand years after the Era of Radiance, to consider. That was a question for the ancient Sages and the gods to ponder.
Clearly, the warrior's answer was completely unexpected by the Goddess of Decay. Faced with Joshua's straightforward reply, the divine radiance that constantly swirled around her paused for a moment before returning to normal.
In the thousand years since the Era of Falling Stars, she had never seen a human with such a personality.
"Thank you for your enthusiasm, Joshua, but the gods need no help. We have our own plans."
After quietly scrutinizing the warrior for a long while, the Goddess of Decay finally spoke slowly. As she spoke, the elven avatar she used to communicate with humanoid beings crumbled into countless divine light particles, merging into that massive withered heart. A calm voice emerged from the heart: "The Steel Force you possess is a power unique to the lineage of the Earth Mother Goddess from the previous era... To avoid any unexpected changes, I hope you can temporarily stay away from the Boundless Heaven."
"I understand."
Joshua nodded seriously. He fully understood the mindset of the gods at this moment. This was the most critical juncture for reinforcing the seal on the World Will, and absolutely no accidents could occur. As someone who possessed the Steel Force, he might stimulate the Steel Serpent Mycroft. Whether that stimulation was good or bad, it was something the gods did not wish to see.
Therefore, the Goddess of Decay had specifically split off her power to try and persuade Joshua to temporarily leave the Boundless Heaven.
After the explanation, Joshua didn't say another word. He simply turned around and descended towards the barrier of the Mycroft World. In an instant, he broke through the void and returned to the Mycroft World.
Outside the world barrier, the withered heart pulsed slowly in the void. It stared for a long time in the direction Joshua had left, seemingly lost in thought.
Dozens of seconds later, accompanied by waves of divine power fluctuations, one after another, runes and visages containing vast, surging auras appeared in the void. A black ring, an eye of crossroads... many holy emblems belonging to the Seven Gods surfaced behind the withered heart. They too silently watched the direction Joshua had left.
"He is a singularity." The God of Might spoke: "He quelled the turmoil, nearly ending the strife on the continent."
"An unstable core, with unfathomable thoughts." The God of Order shook his head: "A powerful existence itself will disrupt the original order."
"He brought rebirth and new choices to the world." The God of Choice mused: "No other Legendary could accomplish this."
"But he is not a qualified leader. He is too simple-minded, unable to lead and unite the world's strength." The God of Guardianship sighed: "A great pity."
"Still needs observation. For now, he is not the 'God Awakener' we need." The God of Freedom said calmly: "In terms of personality, Eagle is more suitable, but Eagle lacks the qualifications. He, however, has some potential."
"This is not the time for idle chat. The peak of the Great Magic Tide is approaching, time is short. We must resolve the Mother of All Things' resentment as quickly as possible."
With that, the God of Life ended the discussion: "Let us return to work."
"His heart is full of passion..."
The holy emblems of the gods ceased their observation. They slowly dissipated into the void, letting this power return to the Boundless Heaven to stabilize the fusion process of the planes and worlds. The withered heart, Yue Ai, was the last to disappear. She whispered softly: "He is exactly like 'him' from the past."
"But do we really need a second 'him'?"
The spirit containing a trace amount of information flow dissipated into fragments speeding through the void amidst a sigh. The God of Decay, like her companions, returned this dispersed power to the Boundless Heaven to continue her work.
Meanwhile, Joshua, unaware that he was being evaluated by the Seven Gods, was now high in the sky over Moldavia in the Northern Lands. Through the light in his arms, he continued his conversation with the previously silent Steel Serpent Carlis.
The moment the Lord of Love and Decay, Yue Ai, appeared, the previously active Steel Serpent Carlis had fallen silent. Throughout the entire exchange between the warrior and the goddess, Carlis had not made a single sound. Joshua knew this was absolutely not out of fear or a desire to avoid detection. Carlis was the will of another world; a millennium of invasion by Evil Gods couldn't kill it. Unless there were special methods, the Seven Gods naturally couldn't do anything to it either. This made its silence quite intriguing.
—Could it be that it guessed the howling sound was actually the resentment of the World Will, and that we Mycroftians are sealing it?
Joshua thought this, sighing helplessly in his heart... To be honest, for him, explaining this kind of thing was much harder than beating a Demon Lord.
Joshua couldn't help but miss his trips to the Chronos World and the Starry World — in those worlds, solving problems only required eliminating the enemy. Whether the enemy was a Void Behemoth, Black Mist, or even four or five other Legendary beings, no matter how difficult the process, it never forced him to rack his brains like this. After all, he wasn't skilled in rhetoric.
Might as well just say it directly.
Unwilling to lie, Joshua simply couldn't hide the truth of this matter from Carlis. However, just as Joshua was about to speak and explain in detail the conflict between the Mycroft World Will and intelligent life, the previously silent Carlis suddenly spoke up.
"Joshua."
Carlis's tone now carried a hint of obvious disbelief. This was the first time Joshua had heard this usually gentle and calm Steel Serpent speak in such a tone. It said, with a voice full of extreme self-doubt: "You might not believe it, but I just sensed a trace of an incredibly familiar aura."
"Since you've already discovered it, I have no choice but to tell you."
Hearing Carlis's words, although Joshua sighed outwardly, he felt relieved inwardly — since the other party had already sensed the aura of the Steel Serpent Mycroft, he no longer had to be so conflicted. So, before Carlis could speak again, Joshua directly transmitted everything he knew about the Earth Mother Goddess and the World Will through their spiritual link.
"What?!"
Before he could finish his sentence, Carlis was shocked by this bombshell news from Joshua. The Steel Serpent was clearly stunned for a moment. After a long pause, it shook its head rather pityingly: "To openly oppose the Sage... What was Mycroft thinking? Was it truly mad?"
Carlis's evaluation was quite objective. After all, for the Sage, even a World Will was not more noble than any other existence. If Mycroft had been content to be a proper Steel Serpent, the Sage would have shown it great respect out of consideration for it being the Mother of All Things. But since it was madly trying to reshape the ecosystem... being suppressed was inevitable.
But conversely, it was now Joshua's turn to be shocked: "You're not angry?"
"Why would I be angry?"
Carlis was quite puzzled. After being confused for a moment, it suddenly understood: "Do you think I would have some emotional reaction because I am a Steel Serpent? Don't overthink it, Joshua. The differences between worlds are greater than the differences between any living beings... Although we are all called Steel Serpents, our essences are completely different existences."
At the other end of the spiritual link, Carlis amusingly shook its head: "Although I don't know the details of the matter, since Mycroft planned to destroy civilization, it being sealed by civilization is only a natural outcome."
To this, Joshua could only marvel that the relationship between Steel Serpents was stranger than he had imagined. But thinking about it carefully, it made sense. Compared to the differences between different lifeforms, the differences between worlds were greater. Whether in size, energy density, the presence of civilization, the number and density of races, and the level of civilization... these data, like human genes and body types, distinguished each world.
"It's best for you Mycroftians to resolve the conflict with your own world yourselves. Although I am indeed somewhat displeased, it's only because I fear this power that dares to act against a world."
Carlis did not dwell on this issue. Mid-sentence, it changed the subject: "So, that so-called omen of world destruction was just the disturbance caused by your re-sealing of Mycroft... Then, continuing what I was interrupted about earlier — Joshua, I sensed a familiar aura from those gods just now."
"What familiar aura?"
Joshua was currently flying towards the main city of Moldavia. Below him was the night scene of the brightly lit city, but sensing the seriousness in Carlis's tone, he slowed his flight speed.
"Do you really not feel anything, Joshua?" The Steel Serpent seemed even more puzzled than the warrior: "You are the Sage's successor. Can you not sense the extremely obvious aura of the Sage on those gods?"
"The essence of their power originates from the same source as the Sage!"
Isn't this normal? After all, they are beings that use Holy Light Power... Wait.
Joshua initially thought Carlis was making a fuss. It was just Holy Light; how could it be called an obvious Sage aura, let alone originating from the same source? According to this logic, wouldn't everyone in the Church of the Seven Gods, from top to bottom, be disciples of the Sage?
But after shaking his head dismissively, the warrior suddenly stopped his movement. His brow furrowed deeply: "No... Holy Light is indeed a power unique to the Sage's lineage. Calling them disciples is indeed correct."
The more Joshua thought, the clearer it became: "It's not magic or Battle Qi. It's not something the Starfall Civilization developed on its own... It was directly passed down by the Seven Gods, a heritage from the Era of Radiance. The current prevalence of Holy Light is entirely the result of the Seven Gods' subtle influence!"
If the Seven Gods hadn't passed down Holy Light, the Mycroft Continent wouldn't have this special power. And he wouldn't have lost his sensitivity to the Sage's aura on the Seven Gods due to the proliferation of Holy Light... After all, this aura was almost everywhere in the world, having become a part of life. Even Joshua found it difficult to detect the special nature of Holy Light.
Only Carlis, an existence that had been dormant for a millennium and only recently reappeared, could discover this.
Carlis did not continue this topic. It had only mentioned it because it sensed a familiar aura. Joshua, for his part, had no reliable guesses at the moment. After all, when he last communicated with Xing Zheng, the other party had stated that they did not know their own origin and lamented that they seemed like tools awakened at a predetermined time to guard civilization.
The Seven Gods might be existences jointly created by the Sage and the surviving gods of the Era of Radiance. Joshua could only come up with this one guess. As for the prototypes of the Seven Gods, they might be the Saints under the Sage's command.
By now, the night scene of New Moldavia, lit by lamps, was visible. Joshua scanned this city belonging to him, watching the warm and pleasant nightlife of its citizens. He slowed down slightly, making his flight almost imperceptible. As he descended towards the Lord's Manor, he said to Carlis: "Thank you for coming to warn me today. Having you keep watch outside can indeed provide us with information we couldn't observe ourselves."
"It's a small matter. Mainly, the destruction of a world could very well be the condition for the Evil God 'Doom' to descend. I just wanted to remind you of this."
At the other end of spacetime, the Steel Serpent nodded slightly: "After all, our two worlds are so close. If you are destroyed, I will soon be destroyed as well."
"Oh, right."
Just as Joshua was about to land on the top floor of the Lord's Manor, Carlis suddenly spoke: "Joshua, I have a commission from another world for you. We discussed it last time."
Hearing this, Joshua stopped.
"It says that the civilization it nurtures always self-destructs for unknown reasons, never able to develop to a higher level... It senses the interference of an external force and suspects it is Chaos. It hopes someone can help it perform a self-check and cleanse the Chaos within its body."
Carlis said this, but just as it finished speaking, the Steel Serpent noticed that Joshua, who had seemed rather unenthusiastic about everything except the initial shock of world destruction, suddenly perked up. He clenched his fists, and his aura began to rise steadily.
"You should have said this earlier."
Letting out a long breath, Joshua couldn't help but smile: "Tell me, Carlis. Give me the specific details."
Maybe he was truly born with a hardworking fate. After speaking, he thought so. The warrior felt he was indeed unsuited for rest, for an overly leisurely life. This kind of peaceful daily life, while it could bring happiness and joy, was not what Joshua wanted. He always needed to do something big to feel satisfied...
But what did it matter? This was his way of life.
"Where to? Who is the enemy? How many to kill?"
"When do I set off?"