Chapter 8: Who Seeks My Help 6400
Just as the Seven Sacred Mountains were cheering over the signal detected from afar, Joshua did not head to the void.
At this moment, he was still on the Mycroft Continent.
If he wanted to go to the void, he could do so from anywhere—as long as he flew upward, rising to an altitude exceeding seven hundred thousand meters, he would reach the edge of the world. Here, the boundaries of time and space were blurred, and with just a slight effort, he could easily venture outside, completely without needing a space-time gate. And with Joshua's strength, he didn't even need to ascend that high; as long as he reached a height where his power wouldn't affect the surface structures, he could distort space at any time and head to the void.
Now, the warrior set the coordinates he had long prepared, strode through the space-time gate, and amidst a series of intense, deep blue flashes of light, he arrived in the hilly region of the Eastern Plains, inside a simple, unremarkable mage tower.
The 'Nameless' Stone Tower was a circular tower structure located at the highest point of the Magner Great Hilly Region. Massive granite and squared ashlar stones formed its outer layer, with countless depressions resembling wind-erosion marks scattered across its surface. Yet, its interior shimmered with magical fluorescence. Many adventurers living around Magner initially thought it was an ancient ruin, but when they approached, preparing to explore, they discovered that this seemingly ordinary mage tower was actually surrounded by powerful defensive arrays. According to some adventurers who had infiltrated the vicinity of the arrays, enormous stone golems stood guard around the Nameless Stone Tower, as if rejecting all outsiders.
Many speculated that the owner of this mage tower might be a powerful mage who often traveled far, leaving behind massive stone golem guardians to protect his seemingly dilapidated tower. In reality, their guess was correct, but they were far too conservative about the owner's strength and numbers.
Joshua stepped out of the teleportation array on the fourth floor of the stone tower, greeted by Baniel and William. The two legendary mages stood before the space-time gate, one reading a hefty grimoire, the other instructing an obsidian golem to prepare coffee. When the space-time rippled and the warrior fully emerged from the fluctuating space-time passage, they both set aside their work and commands, stepping forward to welcome him.
"You're here. The analysis of the spiritual fragments and the magic cocoon has yielded preliminary results, and we've found quite a few interesting things."
Without pleasantries, the three began conversing directly, as if they had already communicated beforehand. After nodding to each other to confirm the situation, they walked together toward the depths of the stone tower.
The Nameless Stone Tower was one of the research bases of the Imperial Royal Mage Association. It was jointly managed by Baniel and William, two legendary mages. Although it appeared simple and crude on the outside, the interior was filled with countless magical creations and experimental devices. As they walked through the corridor, the two legendary mages briefly explained the results of their analysis of the spiritual fragments and the magic cocoon.
"First, the spiritual fragments of the Eye Demon Lord, Haier Mu. We've extracted all of its memories, but they're extremely chaotic, with many gaps. It seems that before its death, it had already been eroded by some kind of power, and its memories were severely damaged."
Baniel shook his head, his tone somewhat regretful. "We can only piece together a few relatively complete memory fragments. The rest are all garbled, making it impossible to discern the truth."
"However, we did discover something interesting."
William took over the conversation, his tone carrying a hint of playfulness. "The Eye Demon Lord's power source is not from the Abyss, but from a distant starry world. Its strength comes from a star that has already collapsed, a star that erupted three hundred and seventy years ago."
"Three hundred and seventy years ago?"
Joshua's brow furrowed slightly. "That's the time when the 'Great Magic Tide' began."
"Exactly."
William nodded. "We suspect that the Eye Demon Lord's power source is closely related to the Great Magic Tide. Perhaps it was precisely because it obtained power from that collapsed star that it was able to break through the limits of the Abyss and become a Demon Lord."
"Interesting."
Joshua fell into thought. The Great Magic Tide was a major event that occurred three hundred and seventy years ago on the Mycroft Continent. It caused a massive surge in magical energy across the entire continent, giving rise to countless powerful beings and also triggering numerous disasters. The cause of the Great Magic Tide has always been a mystery, but now, it seemed to be connected to the Eye Demon Lord.
"Let me take a look at its memories."
Joshua said, stepping forward to a silver-white crystal ball placed on the experimental table. Inside the crystal ball, countless fragmented memories swirled like a chaotic nebula. He reached out and gently touched the surface of the crystal ball.
Instantly, a massive flood of information surged into Joshua's mind. He saw the Eye Demon Lord's life experiences, from its birth in the Abyss to its gradual rise to power, and finally, its encounter with that distant starry world.
In the memories, the Eye Demon Lord, Haier Mu, was originally an ordinary Eye Demon in the Abyss. It survived through constant slaughter and devouring, gradually growing stronger. Until one day, it accidentally touched a strange space-time rift and was transported to a completely unfamiliar starry world.
That world was vast and boundless, filled with countless stars and planets. The Eye Demon Lord was captivated by the power there, and it began to crazily absorb the energy of that world. However, this world was already on the brink of destruction. A star was about to collapse, triggering a terrifying gamma-ray burst.
The Eye Demon Lord sensed the danger and tried to escape, but it was too late. The gamma-ray burst swept through, instantly annihilating everything. The Eye Demon Lord's body was destroyed, but its spiritual fragments managed to escape through the space-time rift, returning to the Abyss.
However, its spiritual fragments were severely damaged, and its memories became fragmented. It could only rely on instinct to continue surviving, until it was eventually killed by Joshua.
"Interesting."
Joshua withdrew his hand, a thoughtful expression on his face. "So that's how it is. The Eye Demon Lord's power source is indeed from that collapsed star. But what exactly caused that star to collapse?"
"We don't know."
Baniel shook his head. "The Eye Demon Lord's memories are too fragmented, and we can't find the key information. However, we did discover one thing—the Eye Demon Lord's spiritual fragments contain a strange mark. This mark seems to come from an even more powerful being."
"Mark?"
Joshua's brow furrowed. "Let me see."
He reached out and touched the crystal ball again, this time focusing his perception on the mark within the spiritual fragments. Soon, he sensed a faint, almost imperceptible aura. This aura was ancient and vast, carrying a sense of indescribable terror.
"This is..."
Joshua's expression turned serious. "This is the aura of a 'God of Calamity'."
"God of Calamity?"
Baniel and William exchanged glances, both seeing shock in each other's eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Very sure."
Joshua nodded. "I've encountered this aura before. It's the aura of a 'God of Calamity'—a being that exists beyond the multiverse, capable of destroying entire worlds."
"God of Calamity..."
Baniel took a deep breath. "That's not good news. If the Eye Demon Lord's power source is related to a God of Calamity, then the Great Magic Tide might also be connected to it."
"Perhaps."
Joshua fell into thought. The God of Calamity was an extremely dangerous existence. They were beings that transcended the multiverse, capable of destroying entire worlds at will. If the Great Magic Tide was indeed related to a God of Calamity, then the Mycroft World might be facing a tremendous threat.
"Let's not jump to conclusions for now."
Joshua said, shaking his head. "We still lack sufficient evidence. Let's continue analyzing the spiritual fragments and the magic cocoon to see if we can find more clues."
"Alright."
Baniel and William nodded, then continued their work.
Joshua stood before the experimental table, gazing at the silver-white crystal ball, lost in thought. The Eye Demon Lord's memories had revealed many things, but they had also brought up even more questions. What exactly was the God of Calamity? Why had it left a mark on the Eye Demon Lord's spiritual fragments? And what was its connection to the Great Magic Tide?
These questions swirled in Joshua's mind, but he knew that finding answers wouldn't be easy. He needed more information, more clues.
"Looks like I'll have to make a trip to that starry world."
Joshua muttered to himself. "Only by going there can I find the truth."
"Are you sure?"
Baniel asked, somewhat worried. "That world has already been destroyed by a gamma-ray burst. It's extremely dangerous there."
"Don't worry."
Joshua smiled slightly. "I have my ways."
With that, he turned and walked toward the space-time gate. Before leaving, he turned back and said to Baniel and William, "Continue the analysis. If you find anything, contact me immediately."
"Understood."
Baniel and William nodded.
Joshua stepped through the space-time gate and returned to the Mycroft Continent. He stood on the Magner Hilly Region, looking up at the sky. After a moment of thought, he transformed into a faint silver light and shot straight into the sky.
During his straight-line flight, many thoughts raced through Joshua's mind... Demons, the Abyss, Evil Gods, gamma-ray bursts from other worlds, the gods' inquiries about order, and the distant Sage... It all sounded complicated, but the warrior was a simple man. To him, no matter how many doubts there were, they couldn't stop him; they only gave him more motivation to move forward.
"So many interesting questions."
This way, the coming days wouldn't be boring.
Thinking this, Joshua arrived at the void beyond Mycroft. Bathed in the silver glow of the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground, he stood amidst the space-time turbulence. The warrior looked around, seeming to sense something, and then he spoke seriously to the void beside him: "Sorry to keep you waiting, Carlis."
"To me, it's but an instant."
With Joshua's words, the space-time turbulence slowly vibrated, and a great will crossed time and space, directly communicating with Joshua's spirit. Its voice was gentle and deep, carrying a reassuring tone: "So, are you ready, Joshua?"
"Of course."
The resolute answer came from within the space-time turbulence. Joshua calmly looked at the chaotic void and said softly, "Let's begin now."
"Let me see which world is seeking my help."