Chapter 12: Descent
Retrieve his body?
Joshua blinked. He first glanced at the nearby Siberia World, then turned his head to look at the Steel Serpent. After pondering for a moment, Joshua said, "Do you mean to say that you cannot return to the inner side of the world?"
"Yes."
The Steel Serpent Siberia replied, "We are the will and soul of the world; the world is our body. A thousand years ago, while I was sleeping, I was suddenly ejected from the world by a force. Since then, I have been wandering in the void, unable to return."
"Fortunately, the void at the center of the maelstrom is exceptionally calm, so my consciousness can maintain its original form and not be scattered by the temporal and spatial currents."
Tsk, isn't this just a soul leaving the body? After hearing this, Joshua clicked his tongue inwardly and thought: Reanimating a world? That's not quite right... I'm not good at this kind of thing.
How should one help a world's consciousness return to its own body? According to Joshua's idea, it would be to smash a hole in the world barrier and let it in. That wouldn't be a problem for him. But doing so would be somewhat similar to the rhythm of demons opening an Abyss Gate to invade, and even if it did get in, Siberia might be kicked out again, making it a loss outweighing the gain.
No. Joshua dismissed the first solution that popped into his mind. He thought calmly for a moment, then turned to Carlis, who had been with him all along, and asked, "Carlis, have you ever heard of this situation?"
"No."
Carlis replied succinctly, "I've never experienced this. Your Mycroft World's Steel Serpent took so much effort to seal... If it could be easily driven out, why wouldn't they do it?"
Carlis didn't know about the chaos corruption in Mycroft; it thought it was just a simple conflict between world consciousness and civilization. To this, Joshua nodded, indicating he understood.
"A world consciousness kicked out of its home, forced to seek help from its own kind—it seems it really has no other choice."
After thinking it over, the warrior could only say this to Siberia: "In that case, there's only one solution: I descend into this world and see from the inside what exactly caused you and the world to separate."
"That is precisely my intention."
The massive phantom of the Steel Serpent nodded slightly in the void, then turned formless, leaving only its spirit to communicate with Joshua: "Since I was kicked out of my body during a deep sleep, I can't provide much information... But, Descendant of Another World, do you know what's going on with this void around us?"
Siberia's tone was still calm, but what it said made Joshua and Carlis exchange glances in their spirits: "Before I fell asleep, there were still many worlds around me, but when I woke up, it had all turned into this great maelstrom."
"Do you know what's going on?"
Neither the warrior nor the Steel Serpent could answer Siberia's question. After a long silence, the two beings slowly asked, "...You don't know when this great maelstrom formed?"
"You don't even know why you're at the center of the maelstrom?"
"No... I just woke up and found myself kicked out of the world, and everything around me had become like this... I still haven't figured out what's happening."
Siberia's tone remained calm, but both Joshua and Carlis understood that this Steel Serpent was nothing like its wise and knowledgeable kin—it was a slow, several-beats-behind creature! Its calmness was just indifference and a lack of understanding of the situation!
But maybe a foolish world really does have foolish luck... Joshua frowned and looked around at the Void Great Maelstrom. If, over a thousand years ago, there were many worlds here, then now, this entire temporal and spatial domain probably only had this clueless Siberia World left, along with the numerous Steel Shards.
To be honest, Joshua strongly suspected that this incredibly vast energy vortex and the Steel Shards might very well be the remains of those worlds from a thousand years ago. The domain they had seen and passed through was not a natural void trap, but a graveyard of countless worlds! Before the Great Magic Tide, it just spun calmly. After the Great Magic Tide, due to its unique structure, it gathered more energy, forming the current great maelstrom! Only the sole surviving Siberia World lingered at the vortex's eye, barely holding on.
This was a highly plausible guess, and it also indirectly confirmed the speculations Joshua had discussed with Barbarossa and the others. But the warrior didn't plan to tell Siberia about it now... It didn't seem to care anyway.
"So, how do I descend?"
Joshua said, "Do we open a hole ourselves? I must warn you, that kind of behavior is quite crud—"
"No, it's not necessary."
Siberia's calmness—now seeming more like a simple mind devoid of emotional fluctuation—interrupted the warrior. It slowly said, "Although I was kicked out of my body, I still have enough power to send you in... But, Descendant, your power is too strong."
As it spoke, Siberia seemed to be appraising Joshua: "I don't know what's happening inside my body, but a thousand years ago, I was just a small world. A being as powerful as you descending abruptly could very well trigger a series of chain reactions."
"Energy balance shifts, seasonal disorders—your mass combined with your energy could generate massive tidal waves on the oceans... The fragile balance inside me might not be able to withstand even a single full-power strike from you."
At this point, Siberia seemed to shake its head: "Most importantly, unlike those high-energy worlds, I don't have enough surplus energy inside for you to use. A single cycle of your breathing might strip away the free arcane power of half a continent. That kind of destruction is unimaginable."
"Then how do you want me to help you?" Joshua had already mentally prepared himself. Small worlds are indeed fragile, like the Fairyland demiplane. If it weren't for the four Fairy Empresses working together to maintain balance, a single Ultimate-rank being could throw the entire plane's energy balance into chaos.
The conditions for the birth and survival of a Super Lifeform are very harsh. A world or plane lacking sufficient arcane power can never give birth to a Super Lifeform, because a single breath or a single gesture from them might absorb energy equivalent to what hundreds of thousands or millions of ordinary people need to survive.
"I will give you a fragment of myself, as an advance payment."
Perhaps it was indeed a bit slow, but Siberia handled things it had already decided on quite quickly. As it spoke these words, a piece of Steel Shard, shimmering with purple and cyan, materialized out of thin air before Joshua. The warrior reached out and grasped the shard. He heard the Steel Serpent's calm voice: "I will send your soul into my body, to descend upon a life form that meets the conditions. Then, through this Steel Shard, you will gain enough power... I think that should be enough to solve all the problems."
"If it really doesn't work, you can call upon your true body to descend. As long as you don't cause destruction on the level of world annihilation, I can accept it."
"Possession? I don't have much soul to spare..."
Gripping the large piece of Steel Shard in his hand, Joshua felt its power. It was a million times stronger than the Steel Particles in the maelstrom: Life, Shaping, Soul, Will. The one who held this shard would gain nearly eternal life and a body, telepathic psionic energy, a will immune to illusions and hallucinations, and the authority to communicate directly with the Steel Serpent.
Without a doubt, Siberia had really gone all out. Even the Steel Shards given by Carlis, Ilgna, and the Starry World back then were far less capable than this one. The holder of this shard would become a superhuman in both body and soul.
But somewhat awkwardly, due to the unique path Joshua had chosen, most of his soul was bound to his own body. He could only separate a part of his soul to merge with the Steel Shard and implant it into this world.
"Is the possession target random?"
He asked.
"Yes."
Siberia replied, "But it doesn't matter. Any life form that obtains this Steel Shard can gain power. There's no difference."
"I see."
Joshua nodded, frowning slightly. "In that case, the situation is a bit complicated."
He wasn't considering the moral issues of possession. According to Siberia's explanation, the bodies that fit the conditions were either the corpses of intelligent life without souls or mindless beasts. And after he descended, although the Steel Shard would be retrieved, the incredibly robust body would remain. If it were a dead person, they might even be revived. All in all, the possessed one would actually come out ahead.
But the problem was that the warrior was more accustomed to using a male humanoid body. With such a body, he could fully utilize his various techniques and combat power. But since it was a random descent, it was all down to luck. Directly possessing the body of a male intelligent life form probably wouldn't be that fortunate.
"If it's a female body, then my martial skills would be somewhat compromised." Joshua pondered the possible scenarios. "I wonder if the intelligent life in the Siberia World has a gender division of labor similar to humans and large mammals, or if the females are stronger, like some beasts or insects."
Intelligent life was more troublesome, but beasts had fewer complications. As long as the foundation was good enough, Joshua believed his power would be sufficient to exert enough combat strength. In fact, whether it was intelligent life or a beast, as long as the warrior was willing, he could forcibly modify it into a form that could maximize combat effectiveness.
"Are you ready, Descendant?"
Siberia's calm voice came.
At this moment, before Joshua, faint purple patterns were spreading through the void. Mixed with cyan and blue, the purple light followed runes that materialized out of thin air, forming an enormous, nearly kilometer-wide array. As the array gradually took shape, it moved closer and closer to the outer wall of the Siberia World.
With a crack, as if a fitting sound, the massive array firmly embedded itself into the world's outer wall.
At the same time, at the center of the array, a silver, dragon-pupil-shaped crack slowly opened. Looking inward from the outside, one could only see a gray, hazy mist, unable to see what the inner side of the world was like.
"Of course."
Joshua nodded. His pondering was just analysis. In reality, no matter what he descended upon, he believed his power and skill were enough to solve any problem, even if it were an insignificant insect or mouse.
The temporal and spatial passage leading to the world that had driven out the Steel Serpent was wide open. Without hesitation, Joshua separated a part of his soul, merged it with the Steel Shard, and cast it inside.
The passage closed.
The warrior also closed his eyes.
He felt himself falling, falling.
As if plunging into an abyss.