Chapter 53: Sever with the Axe, This Tangled Web of Causality
Joshua broke through a layer of Chaos Aggregate encirclement, intending to turn back and fight his way through again, because he was now, in a practical sense, the center of the Abyss. All the chaotic forces chased after him, and the vast majority of enemies followed the warrior's trail, seeking to devour him.
But then, something beyond Joshua's expectations occurred. From the direction of the Black Hole trap, an incredibly violent mass fluctuation suddenly erupted. The Steel Giant turned his head in shock, wanting to see what was happening.
And then, he saw it. An aggregate far surpassing what had been called 'giant' before—a dark star formed from the condensed memories of at least several hundred destroyed worlds—suddenly broke through the hazy chaos like a falling meteor, appearing at his flank!
Perhaps it was a mass of chaos that hadn't been swept away by the tide, a super-giant aggregate returning from the edge of the Extreme Dark Abyss after sensing the instinct of the Death Evil God. If the Decay Evil God was taken as a base unit of 100, then this one was at least several thousand!
And then, it rolled towards Joshua with overwhelming force, carrying the wails of countless sorrows and despairs!
"Uwaaaaah!!!!"
For a moment, unable to dodge at all, Joshua could only raise his four arms to block in front of him. The silver giant's four arms pressed against the giant chaotic star body, like an ant trying to push a fist-sized iron ball. But miraculously, he held firm. As the core mass behind him continuously annihilated its own mass, converting it into a terrifying energy jet for propulsion, the giant chaotic star body actually began to retreat slightly!
But at the same time, one could see shadowy tendrils, like roots, creeping along the point of contact, wrapping around the warrior's arms, seemingly trying to envelop him completely. In that instant, a torrent of memories, vast beyond comprehension, flooded into Joshua's mental sea.
A thick, overwhelming aura of death began to surround the silver giant.
The six realms of death are: the dissipation of will, the loss of spirit, the death of the flesh, the withering of the soul, the forgetting of memory, and the passing of existence.
When sorrow reaches its limit, death sings its song.
Once again, boundless sorrow drowned Joshua. It sought to shatter the warrior's will, crush his spirit, kill his flesh, destroy his soul. It wanted to erase his memories, to merge his existence with itself.
But what met it was an erupting torrent of crimson light.
The bonds of dark chaos shattered instantly. Joshua, his entire form transformed into a blazing crimson, slowly walked out from the broken chaotic tendrils. He opened his mouth, and crimson light particles drifted out like mist. The warrior's eyes, burning like flames, revealed a calm rationality as cold as forged steel.
Vaguely, one could see a sacred emblem of crossed sword and axe beginning to form behind the Steel Giant, gradually overlapping with the Φ-shaped mass point and its accretion disk.
But in the end, a silver light re-emerged, shattering this emblem that was nearly formed, and nearly out of control.
In the empty Abyss, Joshua slowly drew endless light from the two poles of the mass point. This light was far longer and brighter than the previous spear of light. Colorless, pure light swirled around the silver-crimson giant, and then, at the center of his four palms facing each other, coalesced into a surging vortex of light.
*We, the arrogant, have already paid the price. We too were once nearly destroyed like this, turning into wreckage in the Abyss alongside you who have died.*
*But this is not a reason to stop. We can face this multiverse with caution and humility, but civilization cannot advance without arrogance.*
Light converged. Joshua reached out and drew the forged weapon from the vortex. The weapon's handle was very long, incredibly long. Within the nearly materialized torrent of light, countless runes flowed and spread. Crimson vein-like patterns made the weapon seem like a part of the Steel Giant's own body, an extension of his flesh and blood.
"Facts have proven that you could not escape this predicament of civilization."
In the silent Extreme Dark Abyss, facing the dark chaotic star body still lingering in place, Joshua spoke calmly. His voice was low, hoarse, carrying heavy breaths. "You are already dead. Your race, along with your civilization, have fallen into the Abyss. The greatest path of progress in the multiverse would never have appeared in your civilization."
"However."
"Every step you failed in has carved out a wrong path. Every mistake you made will eliminate a worthless choice for us. Your sacrifice is lamentable, truly self-inflicted, but it has contributed to other civilizations in the multiverse finding the correct path."
Letting out a long breath, Joshua finally drew the weapon forged from all the gathered light from the vortex. It was a gigantic long-handled mountain-splitting axe. Even a single blade face was larger than a world. Only pure light could forge such a massive weapon without it collapsing in on itself, and only light could shine in the Extreme Dark Abyss. With a heavy tone, he said calmly, "This is the meaning of your existence. This is your glory, your mission, your redemption."
"You are already dead, dead from your own mistakes, from the hands of your own calamities. Your civilization is worthless. However, your mistakes and calamities themselves are not without value. Even the most insignificant error will be remembered by us. We will never walk your old path."
"Your actions will hasten the arrival of that moment—the moment that can redeem the entire multiverse. You will be recorded in our history, to exist eternally alongside us."
"Thus, whether it is sorrow or despair, calamity or pain, it will all eventually become a footnote to the eternal glory of the future."
Saying this, Joshua von Radcliffe raised his head. Tears flowed from him, streams of silver light spilling from his eyes, tracing paths down his chiseled face like strange patterns. The warrior's tears scattered into the Abyss, dissolving into nothingness.
*You are crying...*
In that instant, the entire Extreme Dark Abyss seemed to boil. Countless chaos aggregates that had been silent and stagnant restarted. The dark sea, as if struck by a storm, raised towering waves. Infinite chaos surged, emitting countless sorrowful responses.
*Are you shedding tears for us?*
*Are you also feeling sorrow?*
*Are you going to... become one of us?*
Countless voices, in that split second, surged through the entire Abyss, like a mountain roar or a tidal wave, a resonance of heaven and earth.
In response, the warrior tightened his grip on the axe handle. At this moment, the mass point behind him began to shatter bit by bit. Countless tiny fragments flew off from the main body, decomposing into pure energy, pure light.
"No."
Of course not.
If it were a hero, they would surely weep for you. Not because of sorrow for your death, but tears for the hope you once possessed, mourning for the future you yourselves buried.
But I weep from joy.
"Death Evil God, not yet awakened... I do not know what the future holds." As he spoke, the shadow of Fatlervi flashed through Joshua's mind, making his tone even more resolute. "I do not know where the path of civilization lies."
"But as a strong one, it is my duty to forge the future, to blaze the trail!"
Even if you don't know the way, even if you don't know if it's right, at the very least, you must show the attitude of 'moving forward'!
If you're not strong enough, get stronger! If you don't understand, go learn! If you have the power, act! If you have the thoughts, write them down! Do what you can, just like the stars in the sky—even if clouds cover them, they still shine!
Life is not just about fighting the unknown, but also fighting against self-satisfaction, against one's own arrogance and laziness! It's not just about being swept along by the currents of history, not just about changing for the sake of change, but about leading the masses, about carving a path!
A change based on the original is just following the riverbed. But a brand new future requires a brand new path. It's like using human strength to carve a brand new canal on dry land, to forge a completely new future!
"No need to weep."
Aiming at the dark star body before him, Joshua raised the giant axe in his hand. He whispered to himself in a voice only he could hear, "No need to despair."
*Because the light has arrived.*
*I am your torch.*
At this moment, the rejected chaos transformed into a raging fury. Infinite despair, accompanied by the song of death, propelled the dark star body to roll. With a mass that could distort all things, it silently fell towards the warrior. The surrounding chaos was pushed aside, even beginning to twist and boil, like clouds parted by a falling meteor.
The entire Extreme Dark Abyss was churned by the movement of this star body. It pulled a long black trail behind it, causing chaos to surge. The momentum was so magnificent, like the sky collapsing, hundreds of worlds falling together, unstoppable. Though the distance was still far, the overwhelming sense of oppression was enough to suffocate.
The stars lamented, space-time twisted. The final chaos was approaching.
Joshua raised the giant axe of light high. And in the next instant, as the mass point behind him continuously shattered and dissipated, transforming into a nearly infinite blaze of light, the giant axe began to expand rapidly, growing longer and longer. It grew at the speed of thought, finally transforming into the single streak of light that split the darkness!
On either side of the light streak, the Abyss was cleaved in two. Silver radiance shone, illuminating the depths. One could see, in this deepest part of the Abyss where the Plenty Evil God and the Sage had once fought, infinite chaos swirling on the dark sea like a maelstrom, like the tangled causality of countless worlds over these thousands of years.
So, sever with the axe, this tangled web of causality!
Decide your resolve anew, rise up and fight!
Even a Steel Giant, facing the Extreme Dark Abyss, was as insignificant as a speck of starlight.
But the giant axe in his hand extended infinitely, like the fighting spirit burning in the warrior's heart.
Joshua let out a furious roar. In that moment when sound, light, electricity, and heat—all things—were devoured by the endless, boundless white light.
The giant axe, spanning the Abyss, fell decisively.
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