Chapter 15: The Determination to Leave
It was precisely because the "Lost Star River," like all other abandoned star rivers, had broken away from the First Flame, no longer revolving around the axis of this multiverse, and had gradually fallen into stagnation.
It was precisely because of this that the Lost Star River, which had originally been utterly unreachable, now welcomed the visits of the Star Shepherds, and the Astral Dragon Mother World, which had previously left no trace to be found, now suddenly revealed itself.
All of this had come to be as it was because the Mycroft World was no longer isolated from other world star rivers; they too had come to a halt, existing within the same temporal reference frame!
"And also, what the Sage spoke of, journeying to the axis of the multiverse... that is a long road spanning half the multiverse."
Within the ascension space, facing the simplified model of the multiverse, Joshua murmured to himself, his tone incredibly heavy: "Even back then, I thought, isn't the axis of the multiverse quite obvious? With the Sage's power, there was no need for such a grand display, or even such a laborious effort to forge that path of light. But now it seems... this endless world, this rotation of endless star rivers, bringing different speeds, completely different frames of reference for time... this is fundamentally a 'super time trap' on the scale of the multiverse!"
If one could not completely isolate their own temporal reference frame from the myriad realms, they could never approach the axis of the multiverse. Because along the entire journey to the axis, the ground was littered with twisted time vortices. One misstep, and you would be lost within them, emerging again perhaps a thousand or ten thousand years later.
"For us, who were still revolving around the First Flame before, only twelve hundred years have passed since the final battle. But this seemingly ordinary, not-so-long span of time, for those worlds that have completely stagnated—such as the Astral Dragon Clan's home world—has likely been millions, tens of millions, or even longer periods of time."
The star river group where the Star Shepherds resided probably hadn't completely stopped but continued to operate for a while on residual rotational force. That's why their time difference with the Mycroft World was only a few tens of thousands of years. But the Astral Dragon Clan's home world had met with misfortune back in humanity's barbaric era. If their world star river had completely fallen into stagnation back then... then, with an unknown time differential of tens of thousands of times, a hundred thousand years for that world star river might be a billion or even several billion years.
"A stagnant multiverse... this news truly is... as bone-chillingly cold as winter."
Joshua exhaled. He felt the computational power from the Magic Net Central Server gradually decreasing. It seemed that even with Number Three's multiple evolved powers, combined with the divine inheritance, it couldn't withstand this level of data conversion for too long. So he knew his calculation time was coming to an end.
And at that moment, the warrior couldn't help but recall the final memories of the Plenty Evil God he had witnessed deep within the Central Black Forest.
No, to be precise, it was the scene etched into the memory of the civilization matrix that had birthed the Plenty Evil God, at the very last moment of its own civilization.
The infinitely vast First Flame, releasing immeasurable, boundless light.
And the fact that it was 'contracting.'
Now.
The spiritual space shattered.
Joshua ended his deduction. The simplified multiverse model collapsed, and the warrior's spirit returned to the real world.
In the void, Number Three was panting heavily, her connection to the Magic Net Central Server hanging by a thread. The brief deduction just now had nearly caused Number Three to crash on the spot, and the central server was on the verge of burning out.
But for Joshua, all of this was necessary. A burned-out server could be rebuilt, and a worsened spiritual deviation value could be treated later. But the truth was here; knowing it sooner was better than later.
The warrior looked up at the Metal Dragon God, who was about to speak. He knew he had no reason to stop the deity from seeking its homeland anymore—a star river wreckage that might have been destroyed for hundreds of millions of years. Even the Steel Particles were likely in complete slumber. Such a world held nothing, which naturally included danger.
But this separation, too long by far, was still somewhat sorrowful.
"I've figured out many things, including why your home star river was destroyed. So I won't stop you from going to find your homeland."
Joshua said this, looking directly into the gentle dragon eyes of the Steel Dragon. "But there's one thing I still don't understand, Dragon God. Do world star rivers also have a lifespan?"
"Ah. Naturally."
Hearing Joshua's words, the Metal Dragon God, who had initially thought the warrior would stop him, visibly relaxed. Thinking about the warrior's question, He replied, "Yes, world star rivers have lifespans. In fact, according to the ancient traditions passed down by us Astral Dragons, including the world star river where the Mycroft World resides, every world star river, in its endless self-cycling, will gradually descend into chaotic and scorching stillness, and then completely annihilate."
"Every world star river has a destiny that seems infinitely long from the perspective of mortals, but is ultimately fated."
As the Metal Dragon God spoke, His expression seemed deeply moved. This deity, who had inherited almost all the ancient traditions of the Astral Dragon Clan, said in a tone almost like a sigh: "The Sage's rebirth plan was precisely to break this inevitable fate towards chaos. He wanted to unify all chaos into one, attempting to create eternal order... It was only after this event that I understood His profound meaning, and subsequently grasped many aspects of the Dragon God's inheritance that had previously been obscure to me."
Saying this, the Steel Dragon lowered His head to look at Joshua, speaking calmly: "Lord Radcliffe, you must have noticed it too, haven't you? Our multiverse is extremely abnormal."
To this, Joshua nodded. He replied, "Yes, just now I analyzed the data from the Unified Grand Database, the Astral Dragon worshipper data you transmitted to me earlier, the mixed sacrificial ground data, the Grand Database data, and the multiverse observation data from the Era of Falling Stars. I ultimately reached a conclusion."
"That is, from the time the Astral Dragons arrived at the Mycroft World and began observing the stars anew, there hasn't been a single 'newly born' world star river in the entire multiverse."
Saying this, Joshua emphasized heavily: "Strictly speaking, from the time the Astral Dragons flourished and declined at the far end of the world star river, all the way until humanity rose and reached its peak in the Mycroft World, within the entire observable multiverse, there has not existed any 'newly born' world star river!"
"In the past, the Mycroft World was at the center of the multiverse. There probably wasn't any other major reason. It was simply because our world star river was the youngest, the last one to be born!"
After speaking, Joshua couldn't help but let out a self-deprecating laugh.
By changing his mindset and thinking from a different angle, he immediately analyzed a large amount of valuable information from many small details he had previously overlooked.
For example, the reason for the existence of Void Behemoths and Ancient Dragons.
Before the destruction of the Plenty Evil God's parent civilization, the First Flame was still burning vigorously, not contracting, constantly erupting with endless energy and creating infinite worlds. But at the end of that memory, the warrior saw the First Flame contract, and new world star rivers ceased to be born.
And after that, Void Behemoths, Ancient Dragons, and 'Evil Gods' were born into the world, roaming the multiverse.
"Setting aside Evil Gods, the Void Behemoths' mode of action—devouring worlds, absorbing Steel Force and world wreckage from the void, and then birthing new worlds—along with the Ancient Dragons' constant rekindling of flames, creating ecosystems, and nurturing new worlds and civilizations... If viewed from this perspective, it's almost like a part of a 'cycle maintenance system' naturally conceived by the world star rivers of the multiverse for their own survival."
In the void, Joshua murmured to himself: "Whether it's Void Behemoths or Ancient Dragons, their essence is a crystallization of Steel Force. And the Soulflame King is also a power to restart worlds... Using souls, chaos, and other orders as energy sources to forcibly restore and regenerate a world... This kind of authority is fundamentally a 'corrective immune system' conceived by the 'world star rivers' that have lost their eternal lifespan due to the contraction of the First Flame, in order to prolong their own existence!"
No wonder he felt that Void Behemoths, Ancient Dragons, and his own path were so similar. No wonder the Metal Dragon God had specifically sought him out, the Soulflame King, to convey this information. Because in essence, they were nearly one and the same.
So, was he, burdened with the authority of the Soulflame King, involuntarily walking this path of 'Steel Force'?
Asking himself this, Joshua shook his head solemnly.
No.
It wasn't because of any inheritance from others, nor any powerful authority.
The warrior was certain that he walked this path simply because he chose to walk this path. It just so happened that this path was the one that could help more people.
But don't get it wrong. He didn't choose this path to help others. It was just that walking this path conveniently allowed him to help some people along the way.
"Perhaps I shouldn't have told you all this so early."
Sensing Joshua's thoughts and murmurs, the Metal Dragon God, who was about to leave, shook his head with some guilt. He said softly, "A lot of this information is speculation from me and the previous Dragon God. Telling you so abruptly will indeed cause great distress... But I don't know if I can return safely from this journey home. So, the ancient knowledge and traditions of the Astral Dragon civilization need someone to know and preserve them, lest this precious information be lost. You are the most suitable one."
"No, there's no need for guilt."
Hearing this, the warrior looked up. Facing the Metal Dragon God's guilt, Joshua turned his head and said with extreme seriousness: "In fact, I should thank you."
"Metal Dragon God, I want to thank you for giving me, for giving all beings in the Mycroft World, a good reason to step out."
Saying this, Joshua no longer looked at the Steel Dragon. He raised his head, gazing into the distant, hazy darkness of the void. The warrior said in a low voice: "If they were still hesitating before, now there is nothing to hesitate about. Because we must go to other world star rivers, we must leave this homeland."
Unlike the Astral Dragons, who were forced to leave their homeland and yearned to return even in death, humans would, by their own will, leave their homeland and venture into broader heavens and star rivers.
"This is our future!"
Joshua's words were resolute and forceful. Even in the void, the surging Steel Force transmitted the torrential stream of information: "Facing the possibility that the entire multiverse has fallen into 'stagnation,' facing the fact that the First Flame may no longer be rotating, we must leave this Lost Star River and go out to see."
"Otherwise, we will forever be those ignorant fools who sit in a well and look at the sky, unwilling to understand the truth behind all things."
After speaking, having confirmed all the information, the warrior turned his head firmly, no longer conversing with the Metal Dragon God. The Metal Dragon God, after a moment of stunned silence, flew with a hint of a smile towards the end of the world star river.
Without passing through the darkness of night, one can never see the bright day. Without trying to escape a predicament, one can only be forever trapped at the bottom of a dirty well.
"Number Three."
In the void, Joshua flew rapidly towards the teleportation zone designated by the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground. The warrior wanted to inform everyone of the news he had received and the results of his analysis as quickly as possible. And during the flight, he whispered to Number Three on his shoulder: "The reason for the birth of Evil Gods, the sorrowful cycle of order and chaos... I can feel it. I am getting closer to the origin of all this."
"..."
To this, Number Three did not reply. The Artificial Intelligence Girl just smiled softly.
Because the warrior's determination needed no one's approval.