Chapter 13: A Flame Belonging to One Alone 7300
The center of the Black Forest was not particularly different from its periphery. If anything, the environment was more oppressive, the miasma thicker, the chaotic mana denser, and the magical beasts dwelling here far stronger.
This was a perfectly normal phenomenon—in other words, one could call it a magical heat island effect. The closer one got to the Black Forest's heart, the more high-magic materials, special magical plants, and all sorts of high-level magical creatures that lingered in such environments gathered together. Their collective presence even created a peculiar mana-concentrating effect, causing eighty percent of the entire Black Forest's mana to converge in this core region, which comprised only about twenty percent of the forest's total area.
And the root cause of all this was that the remains of the Evil God [Plenty] lay within the Black Forest—that is, at the center of the Mycroft Continent, and indeed the entire world.
"How powerful were the Evil Gods, really?"
Flying slowly through the air toward the center of the Black Forest, Joshua gazed at the increasingly alien and perilous surroundings. A question arose in his mind: "Over a thousand years have passed, and its remains can still influence an entire continent, spawn countless monsters, and even affect the ecosystem and mana cycle of a whole world."
But this doubt was immediately answered by Joshua himself.
This was power beyond measurement, beyond description in numbers.
Was the Steel Serpent powerful? Extremely so. Though he had never fought one, Joshua clearly understood just how terrifying a Steel Serpent that held the authority of an entire world could be within its own domain. They commanded everything, dominated all things. If they wished, they could overturn the seas and skies or make continents float—but only within their world.
The Steel Serpent was the will of the world, and the rationality and wisdom of that will came from the orderly civilizations existing within the world. The Steel Serpent held the authority to destroy the world, but it could never unleash its full power, because its order—that is, wisdom itself—originated from the countless races multiplying upon its body. To use a phrase from Joshua's previous life on Earth, the Steel Serpent was not simply Gaia; it was a fusion of Gaia's will and the collective subconscious of humanity—what some called Akashic Records.
An ordinary person could never exert their full strength, because overexertion would damage muscles, overload internal organs, cause bodily harm, and shorten lifespan. The same applied to the Steel Serpent. Their authority existed, but they could not utilize it one hundred percent. Even using it required caution, lest it affect the races living upon their bodies.
It was precisely for this reason that the Steel Serpent Siberia had its authority seized by Fatlervi. This might not have been due to its laziness, but because that Steel Serpent had long realized that doing nothing might be the best course for the civilization within it. This overly passive attitude had led to everything that followed.
Joshua was confident he could withstand the full-force assault of an enraged Steel Serpent of Carlis's caliber. But against a Steel Serpent of Mycroft's or Star Sea's level, he might find himself outmatched. Yet that didn't mean he had no chance—because their weakness was obvious. As a warrior, he believed he could seize those opportunities. He thought that as long as he made no mistakes, even if he couldn't overcome these world wills, they couldn't overcome him either.
But the Evil Gods were different. This fusion of Gaia and racial subconscious, mixed with the remnants of worlds, freed from all constraints, was vastly different from the Steel Serpent.
They had no fear of self-destruction, for they were already destroyed. They had no fear of losing wisdom, for they were already mad and chaotic.
They were already the embodiment of death and finality, bound by no constraints. Their only purpose was to turn all things into nothingness and chaos.
For this reason, the dead were far more powerful than the living.
Thinking this, Joshua's expression darkened slightly. He recalled the polluted Steel Serpent Mycroft—its black-red scales and deep crimson eyes, eroded beyond recognition, were still hard for him to forget. If the Steel Serpent Mycroft had not been sealed, the chaotic power flowing through its body would have been enough to erode the entire world and give birth to a new Evil God.
What would that Evil God be called then? The Sage and the Steel Serpent's [Curiosity] about the transformation of order and chaos? Or a series of [Mistakes] starting from the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground?
Just as the warrior was frowning in thought, a small spatial rift suddenly split open beside him. A platinum vine emerged from it, its voice slightly distorted: "Legendary of the Northern Lands, are you heading to the 'Chaos Spring'?"
"Vine Mother? You mean that boiling center of chaotic mana?"
Hearing this, Joshua nodded and replied calmly, "Indeed. According to adventurer rumors, you live near the Chaos Spring, don't you? I and the other human legends plan to completely uproot this tumor embedded in the Mycroft world. It's part of our agreement."
"I know. For the past hundred and thirty years, the Platinum Ancient Dragon and I have been sealing the mana in the Chaos Spring, preventing its spread."
Vine Mother answered as if stating something perfectly natural: "If you're truly determined to eradicate the Chaos Spring, the sooner the better. The longer it stays in this world, the more severe the pollution it causes."
From Vine Mother's somewhat fragmented words, Joshua roughly understood the progress of the other legends. Unlike him, who specialized in destruction and could turn over land as easily as sweeping ash, the fastest among them—the Nature Mentor—had only completed half the work. So, for most of the day, Joshua might be the only human legend inside the Black Forest. Vine Mother didn't mind taking this time to discuss the "Chaos Spring" in detail.
"As you know, the Chaos Spring is the source of chaotic energy for the entire Black Forest, and indeed the whole world."
The Platinum Vine Mother's voice came from behind the spatial rift: "In your terms, it's where the Evil God's remains fell. The reason Colorado and I achieved legend status is largely due to our daily struggle against it."
By now, Joshua had reached an area extremely close to the Black Forest's center. He could already see the platinum-white mountain not far away, along with the surging Chaos Spring beside it.
From that platinum-white mountain, Joshua sensed a foreign Steel Force—a life energy that promoted the vigorous growth and division of all natural things, accelerating their reproduction. Beside it, the filthy Chaos Spring pulsed with a strange power—one that also drove life to grow, but without any limit, pushing it to its peak and beyond, until it reached the point of self-destruction: [Plenty].
If ordinary life were exposed to such extreme and terrifying environments, the excessive energy would cause overdevelopment, leading to cancer-like mutations in tissues and organs. Growing extra hands or feet wouldn't be surprising. Magical beasts were even more prone to all sorts of aberrations. The warrior now finally understood why the Black Forest produced an endless stream of new magical beasts every year. He had originally thought it was natural variation driven by the environment, but now it seemed it was merely rapid mutation caused by chaotic mana.
"This is chaos that drives things to their 'peak' and then to their 'destruction.'"
Gazing at the tangible chaotic power aggregate reacting before him, Joshua looked down at it and murmured to himself, "How fitting for the Era of Radiance. And you, Vine Mother, along with the Prison Void Dragon—if you hadn't chosen to cooperate with us humans this time, you would have ended up the same way."
To this, the legendary magical beast neither defended itself nor spoke further. It simply withdrew its tendrils and closed the spatial rift.
Joshua didn't mind. He slowly descended from midair to the ground at the very center of the Black Forest, feeling the chaotic mana saturating the air and the Steel Force left behind by the Platinum Ancient Dragon.
The types of Evil Gods were countless, and the powers they held were never the same.
The Evil God [Famine], born from loneliness and hunger; the Evil God [Calamity], born from unstoppable destruction; the Evil God [Plague], born from civilization's own greed; the Evil God [Doom], born from self-destruction—the powers and origins of these Evil Gods were clear and simple. Famine possessed a terrifying devouring force that gnawed at worlds. Calamity wielded disasters capable of destroying worlds and civilizations. Plague was like out-of-control greed, spreading infection across the entire multiverse. And Doom needed no explanation—it was destruction itself.
But none of these were the most powerful. According to the records of the Mycroft world, the Evil God ranked number one, with the highest danger level, called the strongest Evil God, was named [Plenty].
Everyone who heard this name couldn't help but pause in confusion. Whether it was Famine, Calamity, Plague, or Mana, these names sounded ominous and reflected their tragic fates. But Plenty wasn't a bad thing—how could it become the name of an Evil God?
Joshua stood amidst the completely alien, writhing ink-black forest. Without changing his expression, he extended his right hand. In the center of his palm, a faint spark appeared.
This spark seemed to be born from the void, arising from an imperceptible condensation and burst. In an instant, it rapidly expanded into a fist-sized golden fireball. The fireball burned steadily, releasing immense light and heat. The terrifying temperature even caused the surrounding Black Forest to sizzle as if being scorched, like a tiny star.
Joshua held this sun in his palm as if it were nothing, then slowly pushed it into the distance and withdrew his hand. He stopped controlling the fireball, allowing the surrounding chaotic power to erode it.
And in the next moment, something both expected and chilling occurred.
The chaotic mana invaded this miniature sun the instant Joshua withdrew his protection. Immediately, the steadily burning star emitted dozens of times its original light and heat—so blinding it was like the final brilliance of a dying person. And indeed, that was the case. After a fleeting burst of intense light, the miniature sun, which could have burned steadily for much longer, rapidly expanded, turned red, and then transformed into a thin, fragile red giant about 1.8 meters in diameter.
Joshua could even see, at the center of this miniature "red giant," traces of white dwarf matter remaining. It was cooling rapidly, its brightness plummeting. Perhaps in a few dozen seconds, the bright "white" dwarf would become a dim, lifeless "black" dwarf—something that, theoretically, shouldn't even exist until the universe's heat death.
This was the final fate of the Steel Force he had used to simulate a star, under the influence of the Plenty Evil God's power.
Plenty, prosperity, and glory—these words shared very similar roots in the Mycroft common tongue. The power embodied by the Plenty Evil God was the barrenness after plenty, the decline after prosperity, the dimness after glory. It represented the moment when a thing reached its "peak" and then "declined." It was the inevitable end of all things that had reached their limit.
And this was merely the residual power of the Plenty Evil God's remains. The true body of this Evil God had been shattered by the Sage and the Steel Serpent Mycroft, its fragments scattered across the multiverse. Even so, just one of its fragments, falling into the Mycroft world, was enough to create the Black Forest. Its "meat" alone could bind together the current Mycroft Continent, and its residual power could still spawn existence like the Black Forest.
It had once been so powerful that even passing by would cause a chain reaction of stellar extinction. But now...
It was nothing more than this.
"In recent years, I've been dealing with Evil God projections and their minions. What you've seen in centuries might not match what I've learned in a year of traveling through other worlds."
Seemingly walking slowly, but in reality moving far faster than a sprinting man, Joshua's feet traced complex runes with each step, resisting the increasingly deep chaotic power that could directly drive things to flourish and decay. Even though Vine Mother had already closed the spatial rift, unwilling to follow his advance, he still murmured to himself, "I know. It's left for me. Unlike you, who have entities, have been born, and have fluctuating power as orderly beings."
As he spoke, Joshua arrived at the edge of the pitch-black Chaos Spring. He opened his eyes wide, observing the endless filth before him with his naked gaze—it was an indescribable, dirty, and gloomy mist. It eroded everything it touched, even punching dense, honeycomb-like holes in space. These holes exhaled a depressing and despairing mist, completely absorbing the evening light of the current Mycroft world.
This was the manifestation of chaotic power outside the world. The liquid chaotic mana, ten thousand times filthier than the mist, surged in black tides that absorbed light. Within it emerged countless indescribable phantoms and illusions—seemingly shadows of countless destroyed worlds, illusions of countless fallen civilizations. Light and shadow interwove as the Plenty Evil God's existence information, accumulated over who knows how many tens of thousands or billions of years, churned. It displayed its achievements to what might be the first being to gaze upon it directly in a thousand years.
Stars expanded, galaxies dimmed, tens of millions of stars extinguished one after another, even pulling a long black domain across the World Star River. It was a darkness that roamed among the stars, named prosperity and destruction. It freely traversed through the multiverse, sowing seeds of despair and chaos. Countless worlds dimmed under its joyful songs, and countless chaos was born in resentment.
Joshua stood before the Chaos Spring. His boots, condensed from Steel Force, were licked by the dark, corrosive mana, but they couldn't scrape off even a speck of dust from this silver-glowing, nearly immortal material. The warrior stared at the chaotic mana aggregate only a step away from him. He knew that beneath this black lake lay his target—the final remains of the Plenty Evil God in the multiverse.
"I am immortal. I am a world not yet born. I am 'my own order.'"
If I can't even handle the power left by an Evil God's remains, how can I slay them one by one in the future, purify their existence, and turn them into my martial achievements and merits?
Thinking this as a matter of course, Joshua leaped into it.
The light of the setting sun rapidly faded from his world. Everything around him instantly returned to darkness. All was swallowed, all was covered. It felt like being alone at the bottom of a ten-thousand-meter abyss in the ocean—no sound, no light, no touch, nothing that the material world possessed, nothing that could be perceived.
It was like the void chaos before anything was born.
And just as everything seemed to remain forever dark, forever silent, suddenly, from the depths of the dark abyss, a faint sound came.
A silver spark ignited in the depths of the abyss.
It was the fire of order, the fire of existence, the fire that distinguished life from death, cold from heat, light from darkness.
It was a flame belonging solely to Joshua.