# Chapter 28: Will Never Be Disappointed
"Civil strife?"
Nostradamus did not know what Joshua was talking about. He repeated the words but still could not understand: "What are you saying?"
"Perhaps it is the truth of the three hundred years of loss."
Joshua did not know where to begin.
Because this was a very, very long story.
The time traces back to the previous era, before this continent named Mycroft had taken shape.
At that time, all things were in ruin, the oceans were chaotic, the war between order and chaos shattered the sky, and energy radiation from beyond the void irradiated the earth. Dozens of races, tens of millions of refugees, struggled to survive in the cracks between radiation, earthquakes, storms, and acid rain.
At that time, the sun and moon gradually dimmed, the sky darkened, darkness filled the entire world. Seven continents were submerged by semi-boiling seawater, leaving only scattered fragments. The vast majority of marine intelligent races were exterminated, with only a few lucky survivors remaining.
The gods had won, but what They faced was a problem even more troublesome than the evil gods. Facing Their own devastated homeland, these beings wielding divine power did not know what to do, because what They faced was not a powerful enemy rampaging through the void, but a shattered world.
Of the original seven continents, only a few small fragments remained. After judging the traitors, all gods and humans had to face such a question: Is this world still worth Their staying?
In the south, there were the elven survivors and their highland sacred lake, but the Father of Nature had already left. This former sacred land had lost its deity and no longer held any value. The remaining elves drifted in confusion, urgently needing a leader to guide them.
In the northern continent, there remained a broken mountain range, which was originally the main battlefield where the saint gods fought against the many evil gods that invaded the world. Unhealed spatial rifts still released lightning and energy storms above the mountains. Except for the dwarves hiding underground, no life could survive in such a place.
The eastern continent had been almost beaten into fragments. Over a thousand scattered islands were distributed across the surging waves. If the fragments of other continents could still show their original form, then the fragments of the eastern continent were completely unrecognizable. Tsunamis and hurricanes could swallow these small islands at any time.
To the west was the original central continent of the world. The strongest World Spine Mountain Range had been preserved. The remnants of dwarves, winged humans, and other races clung to survival relying on the sturdy central mountain range... The other continents to the west of this original world center had completely turned to ash, or been sunk underground. The homeland of the gnomes, the sacred land of the lizardmen, the great grasslands of the centaurs all disappeared completely. The ancestral lands of many races were destroyed in the war, and their gods, having lost the support of faith, could barely hold on against the increasingly turbulent backlash of divinity, gasping for breath.
"Leave this place. Let us find another new world. The glory of Mycroft civilization will not end here."
A god spoke thus. The fishman race under Its protection was one of the few surviving marine intelligent lifeforms, and Its friend, the mermaid god, had already perished in the war, leaving no trace in the world. It had no attachment to the oceans of the current Mycroft world and only wished to leave this broken world as soon as possible.
"We cannot abandon this place."
A god spoke thus, Its tone resolute and powerful, like the forging of a hammer. The Dwarf God rejected this proposal: "Mycroft is our homeland. The Great Mother and the Earth Mother Goddess fought on the front lines. Countless gods, countless lives fell here. Abandoning Mycroft means abandoning everything we sacrificed for!"
"For the sake of the races under our protection, we should leave as soon as possible. We can wait to gradually repair the Mycroft world in the future, but now, my people can no longer survive!"
"Even if the world is already broken, there are still too many things that cannot be abandoned..."
The remaining gods began to argue. They were not originally companions, having only united out of necessity for the final battle. Now that the war was over, conflicts erupted, and the opposition between the gods' views became increasingly sharp. One side believed that the already shattered Mycroft world was no longer worth Their continued salvation and that They must leave as soon as possible. The other side believed that although the world was damaged, whether from an emotional or practical standpoint, it was worth attempting to repair. The devices buried among the ruins, if excavated, could quickly rebuild several sanctuary ecosystems. Moreover, They could not find a new world that perfectly met Their requirements in a short time.
In the end, with the silent support of the Sage, the migration faction was suppressed, and the staying faction gained the right to speak. Countless gods used Their own divine power as a foundation to create demiplane pocket worlds for Their people to live in. This could be sustained in the short term, but over time, all the gods would fall into eternal slumber as Their divine power was depleted.
But how to repair this broken world? Even the Sage had no idea where to start—for Him, creating a new world might be easier than this. At this time, Mycroft was like a rag doll torn to pieces, a river surface full of cracks but barely intact ice. The World Will and the Earth Mother Goddess were both gasping for breath. Too drastic a transformation would only completely destroy it.
While the gods argued, the World Will had already fallen into a near-death slumber. As the Mycroft world itself, it had endured too many attacks from evil gods and abyssal evils. During the war, it was supported by the faith of all living beings, but after the war, the condensed spiritual energy dissipated, and even it could not continue to maintain itself.
However, although the World Will had fallen silent, the Earth Mother Goddess was still awake. Although most of Her main body, the original seven continents of the Mycroft world, were broken, they were still sufficient to maintain Her will.
Seeing the conflict among the gods, the Goddess seemed unable to tolerate it. So She stepped forward and said to the Sage and the gods: I will do it.
Her voice was gentle and powerful, overpowering all the noisy arguments. The gods turned their gazes to the Goddess, but She did not hesitate at all.
She said: Now is not the time for arguments. Look, we are falling into the abyss... Mycroft is gradually separating from the center of the multiverse. We are sinking. If this continues, we will sink into the abyss and become part of our former enemies. So.
I will glue the continents together.
I will recondense the remnants of the seven realms.
I was born from the continent, the first spirit in the world. Although I later elevated to godhood, my very existence symbolizes the complete continent.
With me as the sacrifice, the continent can be reunited into one... Even if this reunited one is much smaller than before, it will be enough to bear all the remaining races in the world.
The Earth Mother Goddess was willing to use Herself as a sacrifice to glue the shattered world together. From a rational perspective, this might be a good choice. But if the gods only acted according to pure rationality, They would have long had Their wills taken by divinity and merged with the Great Source of the universe. How could They possibly agree to this?
"You are a contributor. You have already sacrificed much. The 'Earth Dragon' race under your protection is nearly extinct."
Even the gods of the migration faction shook their heads and said: "No matter how much sacrifice is needed, it should not be your turn to sacrifice."
"I will do it."
A god was willing to replace the Earth Mother Goddess, voluntarily offering everything: "I am the God of Mountains and Swamps, also part of the earth."
"I will do it."
Short and firm words, another god stepped forward. It was the God of Rivers and Lakes.
"I will." "I will." "I will."
All the remaining gods of the former Earth Pantheon stepped forward, and many other powerful gods also stepped forward—for gods, death is but an eternal dream, and if their sacrifice could truly save the world, their names would be with civilization forever, immortal. This was the supreme glory.
"There is no need."
At this time, the Sage spoke. He shook His head and said: "No one needs to sacrifice."
"Look at the void, the remains of our enemies. They are numerous and contain infinite power... Burn the chaos with the remaining First Flame, and we will reshape the world."
The Sage's words turned the gods' attention to something They had never considered before—the remains of the evil gods. Before this, no being had ever thought They could use the remains of the evil gods. The power overflowing with resentment and chaos would erode the soul upon touch. Only the most powerful gods, the strong, and the Sage could resist such power.
Using it to reshape the world—if the one saying this were not the Sage, anyone would scoff.
But the one saying this was the Sage, so the gods were willing to believe in this crazy idea.
"What happened next, Joshua?"
Above the underground lake, Nostradamus was frowning, recording everything Joshua had said in his grimoire, corresponding it with the scattered clues he had found in ancient texts. He quickly realized that although what Joshua said sounded somewhat absurd, it unexpectedly perfectly explained all the records of the past.
"Next... is the illusion I saw when I first went to the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground."
At this time, Joshua sighed. He recalled the illusion he had seen when he first went to the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground—it was countless scattered memory fragments and historical replays. The Sage, the saints, and many gods, many voices of unknown beings crisscrossed. And in that complex information, Joshua clearly remembered the questioning that seemed to represent the wrath of the entire world and the Sage's helpless reply.
[You want to merge my daughter with that filthy and chaotic existence? I will never allow it, never recognize it!]
[This is the only way to save you and your daughter. I'm sorry, but I can only do this.]
[Ahhhhhhh! I curse you! Curse you! Humans, elves, dwarves, all... living in... I curse...]
That was the furious questioning of a great existence, and a tired, helpless voice. It was the conversation between the World Will, the Steel Serpent Mycroft, and the Sage inside the world.
The process of using the evil gods' bodies to reshape the world went wrong. The gods had originally planned to use the remaining First Flame of the Mycroft world to burn the chaos, then gradually regenerate the world. In this way, the newborn continent might even be larger than the original seven continents combined, and the nearly extinguished flame could burn brightly again. This way, the backup plan of reigniting the flame would not be needed—but They overestimated the remaining flame radiance of the Mycroft world... After continuously burning for several years, on a day no one expected, the flame went out.
That day, the Sage went to the distant Grandia world to inspect the land of exile for sinners. By the time He returned, everything was already too late.
Chaos spread again, and this time, the gods themselves had placed chaos inside the world.
Feeling an existence it extremely detested spreading within its body, the long-slumbering Steel Serpent awoke in fury. The first thing it saw was the Earth Mother Goddess, who had forcibly suppressed all chaos within herself using herself as the core. Her body was invaded by chaos, and Her daughter, who had accompanied Her the longest, was also eroded by chaos. Driven mad by chaos, the Steel Serpent furiously wanted to destroy everything in the world, but was stopped by the gods and the Sage.
"Both the gods and the Sage believed that there must be a conspiracy behind this. Some existence dared not confront the gods directly, so it struck from behind to extinguish the flame. But this argument had no evidence to support it. Moreover, the priority at that time was to calm the World Will's anger, or suppress it, so it was not investigated deeply... And after that, there was no opportunity to investigate deeply."
Joshua slowly descended beside the underground lake. He walked along the shore, looking down at the ancient temple at the bottom of the lake. The warrior's gaze was calm.
"I do not regret this choice. It's just possible that I cannot see this world regain its vitality... Ha, after all, I am also a vain being who wants to see my name praised."
For Her choice, the Earth Mother Goddess did not regret it. She had already prepared for sacrifice. It was just that seeing Her mother eroded by the remains of the evil gods and driven mad, She still felt some sadness: "One day, it will awaken."
Then, She fell into complete slumber, entering the nearly eternal sleep of the gods.
But outside, after paying a great price and jointly suppressing the World Will, the gods fell into a terrifying civil strife.
Because They felt the world was gradually improving, many gods moved the races under Their protection from the demiplanes to the new Mycroft continent. But because of the Steel Serpent's fury, fewer than one in ten of these races survived. Dozens of races perished, or only scattered remnants remained. In an instant, the gods who had lost everything furiously sought any existence that might have extinguished the flame. They first targeted the Dwarf God responsible for guarding the world core, then turned to the Fire Element God who deeply understood the flame. These two powerful gods naturally were unwilling to be bound and interrogated by a group of madmen blinded by rage. They also had their own friends and supporters... A inexplicable battle thus began.
The accumulated contradictions since ancient times, the dissatisfaction piled up in daily life, the fundamentally divergent philosophies and paths, the natural enemies and rivals... The gods were never a monolithic bloc, especially since some had already gone mad. The Sage wanted to stop this meaningless melee, but He stopped the first, and there was a second. Since the flame of mutual hatred had been ignited, it would never be extinguished.
"This meaningless civil war lasted for three hundred years. Other races living on the continent trembled under the wrath of the gods. Only some gods who had not yet been blinded by rage established sanctuaries for the races, allowing them to continue."
After saying this last sentence, arriving at the edge of the underground lake, Joshua and Nostradamus walked toward the bottom of the underground lake while both fell into silence.
This was too unreasonable—the old mage wanted to say. How could the gods start a war among themselves over such trivial matters? They had joined forces to defeat the evil gods, suppressed the mad World Will. They were even willing to sacrifice for this world!
But immediately, all his doubts turned into a sigh: Although it seemed crazy, examples of this were all too common in reality. Comrades who joined forces to defeat the enemy turning around to slaughter their own kind—this was hardly something worth marveling at.
"Where do these memories come from? Was the Sage's departure because He was disappointed in the gods?" The old mage asked somewhat tiredly.
"The Earth Mother Goddess—or rather, this land itself."
Joshua answered thus: "As for the Sage... He was not disappointed in anyone, nor did He think anyone did anything wrong. As long as there are minds with self-will, conflicts among them are inevitable. He just didn't know it would erupt on that day."
"He was just puzzled, puzzled about the nature of the multiverse."
"Why are there evil gods? Why is there the abyss? Order and chaos cycle endlessly. Why must they manifest in the world in this form?"
Arriving beside the temple at the bottom of the lake, Joshua reached out and touched the temple that was slightly vibrating, releasing divine power fluctuations. He said softly: "So after setting up some contingency measures, He went alone to the deepest part of the multiverse. He wanted to find this ultimate answer. Otherwise, even if He cultivated one civilization after another, it would only be destruction after destruction."
Speaking of this, Joshua couldn't help but laugh: "It's funny to say. This temple mistook me for some pure-blood Titan and sent most of its memories to me. It passed the ancient memories through the blood of steel to all beings with the Mother Goddess's bloodline, but probably only I could see everything clearly."
"As for the purpose, Nostradamus, this is what I said before, something beyond our previous imagination... This temple has two functions. One of them is an early warning device."
Turning around, Joshua looked at Nostradamus. He met the old mage's gaze: "The seal of the World Will is about to be reinforced again. And before that, it sent a message throughout the entire multiverse—it decided to use its identity as the World Will as a bargaining chip, calling on all existences that could hear its voice to destroy us."
"The identity of the World Will?!"
Nostradamus was shocked by Joshua's calmly spoken words, but soon, he reacted on his own: "Yes, that's not strange... Behind those Abyss Lords is actually a remnant World Will, itself equivalent to an abyss... This is probably what is called a bargaining chip."
Although it sounded unbelievable, it was actually not a particularly rare example. Apart from the Abyss Will and Abyss Lords, the most powerful elemental lords of certain elemental planes were likely the will of that plane itself. For mages, this was not incomprehensible, even common sense.
"As for the other function, it is the contingency measure the Earth Mother Goddess left for Herself."
Speaking of this, Joshua looked up at the sky. His gaze penetrated a kilometer of rock layers, able to see the crisscrossing divine power light waves above the sky. They encircled the entire world, and in the warrior's eyes, gradually formed a huge female deity phantom. Joshua silently watched as it slowly reassembled in the sky.
Just like in all myths and legends, gods also had personal preferences and desires. The Goddess wanted to know the result of Her sacrifice, whether it could truly save this world. So before falling into complete silence, She used Her own flesh and blood to forge thousands of temples like this one, suppressing them underground.
"These temples contain part of the Earth Mother Goddess's former divine blood as a source of divine power. When the flame is completely reignited, or when the world shakes, these temples will be gradually activated, then reassemble into the last trace of the Goddess's will from the past... to watch over this world."
Nostradamus blinked. He also looked up at the high sky. The old mage asked somewhat doubtfully: "Was She satisfied?"
"That I don't know."
Joshua said slowly, word by word, his speech clear and powerful: "But rest assured."
Before them was an ancient temple. On the temple, ancient murals depicted the entire history of all races from the time they ignited the spark and wielded stone tools. There was peace, there was war, there were great wonders, and there were ordinary farmlands. The earth watched over all this, bearing all this.
Outside, the light of divine power condensed in the high sky, forming a female deity image with an unclear face. She looked down upon the world, slowly nodded, and then turned into fragments in the wind, scattering throughout the entire world.
Perhaps it would be a year of bountiful harvest.
The earth trembled, the rock layers shook. Joshua gazed at the temple, as if gazing at the Goddess from a thousand years ago.
It was glowing.
"She will never be disappointed."