Chapter 48: The Power to Change Everything 7500

Chapter 48: The Power to Change Everything 7500

Chaos is a strange thing.

As early as thousands of years ago, before the Sage was born, before the Era of Radiance began, before magic and battle qi were created by the ancestors, humanity had already come into contact with chaos.

But strangely enough, at the very beginning, chaos did not exist as an adjective with malicious intent.

It was a neutral term.

‘Order’ and ‘Chaos’ were enemies, ‘Existence’ and ‘Void’ stood opposed. The First Flame burned chaos, filled the void, and produced existence, which then differentiated into the myriad things of order. When they were extinguished, they became the wreckage of chaos.

When the wreckage and the First Flame both dissipated, the myriad things returned to chaos, and the flame would be rekindled from the ashes, recreating all things. This was the world cycle confirmed by the ancestors, the eternal wheel of fire.

Chaos was not evil, not malicious. It did not represent destruction, nor was it a symbol of the end. It was the fuel for the fire, representing the primordial form of all things, the most ancient concept.

Once upon a time.

Within the soul space, Joshua van Radcliffe controlled his soul, which was like a sun, and collided with the starry river-like defensive barrier of the Decay Evil God at five times his usual speed, plain and unadorned.

Simple, direct, a pure collision. No fancy tricks. In the world of the soul, no sound was made, nor was there any shockwave.

But such a simple collision contained infinite power and unimaginable skill. Time was controlled by a single man. This was power that transcended the world.

And so, at the instant the silver sun struck the black starry river.

Everything shattered.

The silver radiance of Steel Force scorched the chaotic mist. The black barrier shell of the Decay Evil God, which could not be analyzed by any method and through which even light could not penetrate, finally shattered completely into countless fragments.

One could see those filthy, incomprehensible things—no one knew what they truly were, but they could erode the heart and corrode all things—the body of the Evil God began to decompose and decay rapidly under the combined power of the warrior and itself.

One could hear the sound of weeping.

“…The sun… shattered?!”

“What’s going on? All the void outposts are wiped out. We can’t get any information from the outside!”

“…It’s meaningless, my people. Our world is isolated by a space-time storm. High-energy radiation from the sun’s destruction fills the world. The microscopic realm is in chaos. Our technology can no longer make any progress.”

“Move underground, live off the heat of the planet’s core? Please, we are a race with wings, soaring through the skies!”

Fragmented voices, accompanied by faint and elusive illusions, emerged from the shattered Evil God’s barrier. Endless whispers came from an unrecognizable void, becoming a distracting background noise. In those illusions that surfaced one after another, one could see scene after scene of unimaginable sights.

Along with countless winged beings raising their hands in shock, a large energy-crystal sun in the sky shattered like glass. Thousands upon thousands of sun fragments turned into falling stars, plummeting from the sky to the earth. At the same time, outside the void, a space-time storm that made all things tremble was approaching. It pounded against the world’s barrier, severing connections between countless realms. Many bright worlds dimmed because of this, and even if a few stubbornly persisted, no one knew how long they could hold on.

“Fifty-seven years… I’m almost forgetting what it feels like to fly…”

“Without the sun, technological progress is blocked. We can’t go out into the void. And now you’re still staging internal strife and power struggles? Isn’t that suicide?!”

“Bang!”

“…From today onward, the Taidel Provisional Military Government will take over the management of seventeen underground shelters, including Bola, Dek, and Alande. Citizens, please obey the government’s orders and surrender all privately held weapons…”

The silver sun felt neither curiosity nor pity. It struck again, shattering all the spiral arms of the Decay Evil God behind the barrier. One could see that the once-massive dark starry river was now reduced to only the central vortex core. Faintly, one could sense something deep and profound churning within the vortex’s center.

“They’ve taken over all the key departments and hidden the technology, implementing a policy of keeping the people ignorant!”

“But what can we do? They are disgustingly generous with food and comfort. No one will follow us in rebellion.”

“Even if one day we can return to the surface, we will no longer be ourselves…”

“Ha… The important thing is, when that day comes, our race will still exist.”

Joshua coldly swept away all the illusions. The silver crystalline stream of light tore through the vortex, plunging deep within.

Of course, he knew that these illusions were the memories of the destroyed world and civilization from before the Decay Evil God became an ‘Evil God.’ When he completely shattered its chaotic structure and blasted out the information hidden within those mists and shells, it proved that he had broken apart a part of the Decay Evil God’s essence.

Pity? Sorrow? Ha! What naive little darling would have such thoughts? Faced with the resentment formed from the destruction of a world, the extinction of a race, and the end of a civilization, no one has the right to hold back.

That was an Evil God.

A World Devourer that roamed the myriad realms, destroying countless civilizations!

Especially since these resentments were likely just weapons created by some even more powerful existence.

Abandoning thought, abandoning listening, abandoning observation. To avoid being affected by the Decay Evil God’s chaotic fluctuations, Joshua gave up all his senses. He sealed himself within the ‘Self-World,’ and then, relying on his pre-set program, he cleanly and decisively crashed into the chaotic vortex.

Accompanied by the vast power of Steel Force silently dissolving the chaos, the warrior completely shattered all structures of the Decay Evil God.

And so, in that instant.

The Decay Evil God shattered.

The dark starry river exploded. The silver sun was repelled by a sudden, immense force. Then, accompanied by a flash of pitch-black light that illuminated the entire soul space where Joshua and the Decay Evil God had fought, a colossal void appeared within the space. A vast and strange river surged out from the void, rapidly forming a sea beneath the entire soul space.

And the repelled silver sun—Joshua’s soul—transformed back into human form amidst confusion and solemnity, staring at the surging sea beneath his feet.

“This sea… is the essence of the shattered Evil God?”

Even though he had already defeated the Evil God, Joshua still did not smile. He frowned and muttered to himself, unable to confirm the truth of this speculation. But after he had shattered all the Evil God’s structures, this was perhaps the only possibility.

The Evil God that had posed a serious threat to the warrior was gone, and this sea was the essence of its wreckage.

What constituted the sea was a strange, spiritual substance. In Joshua’s eyes, its form was like a semi-transparent, yet murky, paste-like liquid. These liquids were undoubtedly alive. One could see countless completely different faces emerging and disappearing, flickering in and out of sight. Some wailed, some laughed, some were solemn, some were sorrowful.

Bang! Bang! Accompanied by a series of sounds, the nine massive soul-light points that had been floating beside Joshua like satellites fell one by one. These were the souls of the nine legends from the Era of Radiance. After Joshua returned to human form, these soul-light points also transformed back into human forms in sequence.

One could see that these nine legends consisted of two humans, one winged human, two elves, two dwarves, one fishman, and one extremely tall centaur, who seemed to have titan blood.

These legendary souls all bore deep, bone-penetrating marks of chaotic erosion. The moment they transformed into human form, they fell into a coma—or rather, a long sleep to resist chaotic erosion.

Long ago, to resist the pervasive erosion of the Decay Evil God, they had sealed their own souls, entrusting themselves to the care of their automatically operating warships. These legendary experts used the power of chaos to fight against chaos, to the point that after thousands of years, even the outer hulls of their warships had grown countless chaotic-like flesh and appendages, transforming into the massive moon floating above the sealed world.

Joshua gathered the souls of these legends of radiance and placed them neatly above the soul of the Great Khan, who was also unconscious. Because their own strength was formidable and the chaotic erosion had not reached an incurable state, simply placing them in an area filled with abundant holy light, order force, or Steel Force would quickly alleviate their condition.

After doing this, he lowered his head again to look at the sea.

The sea of souls.

Joshua narrowed his eyes slightly, gazing at this seemingly boundless sea. Within it were the souls of humans, elves, dwarves, and winged humans—but the most numerous were the souls of a strange creature with two wings and a bird’s head. These souls were mixed together, having lost their individual existence, with only endless information and energy being transmitted and stored deep within the sea.

“It seems that over these thousands of years, all the life souls in this sealed world have been absorbed into the Evil God’s essence… So this is how Evil Gods grow stronger and recover? Devouring souls and all the information within them, then using that as a source to erode the material world… It’s completely another form of existence.”

Joshua murmured, his tone complex: “It seems that if we had been a little later, the souls of those nine legends would have been corroded and sunk into this sea… At that time, the Decay Evil God would have fully awakened, not the half-crippled form it is now.”

All life and souls eroded by chaos—everything they were—had been devoured by the Evil God at the seal point at the planet’s core. In this world without a cycle of souls or a Steel Serpent, this was the only end for all living things.

But Joshua noticed that among this sea, the faces of elf souls were surprisingly few, even considering their long lifespans. This suggested that the elves might have used some means to avoid chaotic erosion and preserve their souls. But the others—dwarves, humans, winged humans, and probably the elf souls that hadn’t managed to avoid it—were all here.

They had all been eroded by chaos, completely dead, and their remains were used as a power source for the Evil God, exploited by chaos. Although some souls still had a brilliant luster, likely belonging to those who had died and been devoured recently, their souls were being rapidly eroded. Coupled with their insufficient strength, not having reached the Soul’s Ultimate Essence, they were basically beyond saving. Joshua might be able to save one or two, but he couldn’t possibly fish them all out.

One could hear, from this vast spiritual sea, the endless whispers of souls.

Wailing, pain, despair.

Curses, boredom, decadence.

Rage, confusion, resentment.

Everything, all evil things, converged in this murky and churning sea of souls. A desperate, decaying aura spread from within, as if it could erode everything, destroy everything—just like the Evil God.

But everything ends here.

The warrior clenched his fists. Even if he was only a soul now, he was still full of power.

He knew that if he completely destroyed and purified this sea of souls, the ‘Decay Evil God’ would be utterly annihilated, leaving not a trace, just like the several Evil Gods killed by the Radiant Civilization. Of course, in return, all the souls in this sea that had been eroded and assimilated by the Evil God would also be completely destroyed and purified.

But just as Joshua was gathering his power, about to act—

Accompanied by two large light points and five small ones descending and transforming into human forms, the Nature Mentor, her legendary magical beast companion, and the five-member Elite Squad all appeared in the ‘soul space.’

“…Why are you here?”

Joshua frowned, looking at the group on one side, and couldn’t help but stop his action. “And you—this is not a place for Gold-ranks like you to enter casually. If you had come a little earlier, your souls would have ended up like that too.” The latter part was addressed sternly to the five members of the Elite Squad, but one could hear clear concern in his tone.

“The Decay Evil God’s material form just collapsed. Now, the entire interior of the sealed world is filled with an indescribable, strange existence… It’s very similar to chaos, but unexpectedly gentle. Just by touching it, one enters this space.”

The Nature Mentor naturally shifted her gaze downward, looking at this murky sea of souls. She immediately frowned, just like Joshua. “I want to say congratulations on defeating an Evil God… but it seems it’s not over yet?”

“Of course not.”

Joshua’s gaze dropped, staring at the churning waves before him that seemed to be trying to reform. “There’s just one last step.”

Even though it had been completely scattered and its essence had turned into a sea of souls, a powerful chaotic existence like an Evil God was, in essence, immortal and indestructible. One could see that because it hadn’t been attacked for a while, the originally scattered sea began to writhe, as if trying to coalesce into a whole and once again condense into the core of the Decay Evil God.

The warrior naturally would not allow this to happen. So he raised his right fist again and began to gather power.

“Te… Teacher!”

A weak, but very resolute voice sounded, as if it had mustered all its courage.

Joshua turned his head to look at the person who had spoken—the captain of the Elite Squad, his own student, Priest.

Joshua had many students and disciples, some registered, some unregistered, some with formally established relationships, some still under observation… Besides the four-member First Squad from Winterfell Academy who were about to graduate, only the dragon-girl Lisa and Priest from the southern province had successfully become his formal disciples.

Compared to those disciples taken in out of guilt for the Dragon Calamity or out of care for the dragon race of the Chronos World, Priest, an ordinary person with only a bit of talent, becoming his student had surprised many. Whether in terms of talent or background, many were stronger and more competitive than Priest. Why Joshua had chosen this unremarkable person as his disciple had indeed puzzled many.

But in reality, the answer was simple.

Because Priest was the only one who, during the assessment, dared to tell him what he really thought.

It might sound like a clever trick, but in reality, facing a legendary expert releasing their pressure, doing this required true courage and determination.

Just like now. Joshua silently stared at Priest, waiting for his student to give a reason for interrupting his action.

“There are still many souls down there… that haven’t been eroded by chaos!”

Facing his teacher’s direct gaze, and the onlooking Nature Mentor and legendary magical beast, Priest, this tall young man, felt his legs, his very soul, betraying him, beginning to tremble and shake violently. He knew that this was not the time for teaching techniques or imparting knowledge. This was a battlefield against chaos, a decisive ground against an Evil God. He, a mere Gold-rank warrior, had no right to speak.

But even so, he had to say what he wanted to say. Even if he would be punished, scolded, or even die for it. Priest knew he could never, because of ‘fear,’ ‘terror,’ or ‘cowardice,’ give up his own thoughts, make no effort, and allow an unwanted future to come to pass.

The chaotic sea of souls was churning with waves. Countless murky souls, mixed with scattered, colorful lights, let out piercing, desperate wails.

Joshua heard what his disciple said, and a subtle expression appeared on his face.

“I roughly understand what you mean… You want to save these souls that haven’t been eroded yet—or rather, save one of them, right?”

The subtle expression on Joshua’s face gradually turned cold. He said calmly, “Do you know what kind of occasion this is, and what you yourself are saying? Priest.”

“I know.”

At this point, Priest’s speech became smoother instead. He seemed to realize there was no turning back, so he answered bluntly: “Teacher, you’re right. That’s exactly it. I want to save them. If that’s not possible, saving just one is fine.”

It doesn’t have to be Su Er.

It doesn’t have to be an elf.

Anyone will do.

But I just can’t stand by and do nothing.

Priest knew that his initial impulse might have been solely out of fear and terror—fear that Su Er’s vanished soul might be in this murky sea of souls.

But soon, he understood that in this vast sea of souls, not even his teacher could accurately find a specific person’s soul, let alone him.

So, just give up like that? Not even knowing if Su Er’s soul was in there… So he could give up with a sense of luck, faced with so many souls in need of help?

Of course not.

Priest might not have cultivated the Path of Gravity that Joshua taught to its ultimate level, nor truly become his teacher’s successor, but he had learned Joshua’s bad temper—that is, never give up, never look back.

He wanted to save people, wanted to help, so he would save people, so he would help. No matter who it was. It was that simple.

“Alright.”

But Priest, who had expected to be scolded or even punished, heard Joshua’s calm reply. And just as he was wondering if he had misheard, he heard the next sentence.

“I’ll give you ten minutes. Go in and find them yourself.”

The warrior’s voice carried no emotional fluctuation. He said flatly, “Don’t rely on others’ pity… Since it’s your wish, since you want to save them, then go in yourself.”

If you can do it.

With that, Joshua stomped his foot toward the surging sea of souls. In an instant, accompanied by the spread of silver ripples, the writhing, coalescing waves immediately calmed down completely, with no further sign of churning.

“Yes, teacher!”

As expected, it was the teacher’s style. Make your own choice, bear your own consequences.

But that’s how it should be.

Calming down, Priest let out a huge sigh of relief instead. After answering gratefully, he, who had been protected by the Nature Mentor from contact with the sea of souls, immediately leaped up and plunged into the now somewhat calm sea of souls.

A Gold-rank soul was undoubtedly beyond the mortal realm. Even chaos would find it difficult to erode immediately. But that kind of chaos was merely the chaos leaked by an Evil God’s minions. Facing the power of an Evil God’s essence, even if it had been shattered by Joshua, it was not something one could enter easily. One could see that after Priest’s soul delved deep into the sea of souls, it immediately began to emit corrosive-like green smoke, and countless tiny soul fragments peeled off from the surface of his body.

“Ca… Captain… Has the captain gone mad?!”

Seeing this, the Alchemist was dumbfounded and couldn’t help but mutter softly. Although they had long known that Priest would probably do this, they hadn’t expected him to be so resolute, without any nonsense.

“It’s over… It looks like we’re going to need a new captain.” The Spellcaster said pessimistically. “Love truly makes people blind.”

Love?

Hearing the low discussion among the Elite Squad, Joshua couldn’t help but shake his head. Although he didn’t know why Priest was doing this or where he had mustered such determination, he could be sure that what burned deep in the other’s heart was not love.

If anything, it was an arrogant, yet admirable, ‘sympathy’ and ‘compassion.’

Meanwhile, deep within the murky sea, swimming toward one scattered soul-light point after another and gathering them in his arms, Priest’s thoughts were very simple.

“You… all of you… should see the outside world.”

Su Er. You were right. People are not fish; they shouldn’t live in a tank… The world is so big. We should go and see it.

And at the same time, above the sea.

“He didn’t hesitate… He’s really decisive.”

Watching Priest’s retreating figure as he continued to dive deeper, the Nature Mentor murmured to herself, “He didn’t think at all.”

“Of course.”

Joshua replied without any hesitation, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “He’s my student.”

Then, he made a gesture, silencing the Nature Mentor, who was about to speak. “Alright. My foolish disciple thinks I’m going to destroy this sea of souls… You don’t think so too, do you?”

Otherwise?

Hearing this, Galannod widened her eyes and looked at Joshua. Although she had to admit that this human man’s strength was indeed beyond her expectations, being able to actually defeat an Evil God—even one that had just awakened from its seal was still an Evil God—even so, the Nature Mentor didn’t think for a moment that he had any other way to deal with this sea of chaos.

And besides, you had already raised your hand and started gathering power earlier!

Joshua didn’t mind the Nature Mentor’s skeptical look. He just turned his head and gazed at the end of this endless chaotic sea.

An Evil God… is it essentially a weapon formed from countless souls filled with resentment, mixed with chaos, and combined with some currently unanalyzable supernatural power?

A tool of destruction, made from the wreckage of worlds, races, and civilizations?

Perhaps so. For now, this can be inferred. But regardless, all of Joshua’s unknowns, confusions, and worries about the Evil God had vanished completely, because the facts proved that they were not invincible or indestructible.

In the end… it was just that.

The warrior raised his right hand.

He clenched his right fist. Infinite power gathered within it. Misty silver fog and thousands upon thousands of semi-transparent light points appeared out of thin air, then, as if pulled by a black hole, converged into his palm.

“Perhaps my application of Steel Force has led you to misunderstand, but in reality, ‘Primordial Steel’ is the source of all things in the world, the origin of all matter.”

He said softly, seemingly explaining to the astonished Nature Mentor and Elite Squad, or perhaps talking to himself. “But in essence, it is the power of creation, the force that creates all things.”

The next moment, he lowered his right hand and unclenched his fist.

One could see a sky-blue, magnificent gem appear in the palm of Joshua’s right hand.

“The Azure Orb… the Unlit Flame.”

Joshua stared at the sky-blue gem in his palm, a look of nostalgia appearing on his face. “The origin of the Radcliffe Family’s resistance against chaos.”

“Among the four holy relics left by the Sage, the Order Twin Blades are weapons, to counter the coming chaos. The Pure White Scepter is the authority of holy light and the First Flame, maintaining the then-feeble flame of the Mycroft Continent. The Order Robe is the core of the world, the key to activating the great formation of the Grandia World. And the Azure Orb is the source for rekindling the spark.”

The original Azure Orb had already dissipated in the Grandia World when the great formation was activated to rekindle the flame of the Mycroft World, leaving only the Soulflame King’s authority crown on Joshua.

“You… you can actually create an Azure Orb?!”

It was only then that the puzzled Nature Mentor, who had been standing by, gasped, understanding what Joshua planned to do. Galannod subconsciously clenched her hand, and a faint tree root bulged on the back of her fair hand. “Your creation technique has reached this level!”

“Of course, I can create it.”

Joshua smiled and closed his eyes, beginning to communicate with this ‘Azure Orb’ he had created from nothing.

I am not an Evil God who only knows destruction and annihilation.

I am a legendary expert who can create Restorative Pillars, forge Soul Abyss Orbs, and achieve true resurrection using simple tools!

The Azure Orb created by Joshua did not contain the profound Order Force left by the Sage in the original. But while the Sage’s Order Force was absent, the warrior’s Steel Force was abundant. Endless Steel Force was rapidly pouring into this Joshua-version Azure Orb.

“I once told Lisa that the power of the strong is enough to reverse the future and fate, enough to turn tragedy into comedy, and death into rebirth.”

Joshua opened his eyes, and the Azure Orb in his hand was now emitting a brilliant, glorious silver light, like a supernova.

“Priest, this is the power to change everything.”

So, hold onto that determination and grow stronger.

His palm opened. The light descended.

The silver orb fell toward the chaotic sea.

The radiance shone, devouring the chaos.

And all that was filled with resentment would return to rest.