Chapter 90: The Fork in the Road of Fate (Asking for Monthly Votes)
"Actually, Master Nostradamus, the Steel Serpent of the Carlis World accompanied me in an experiment not long ago—and the experimental results proved that the Steel Serpent indeed possesses some traits of a memetic entity. Thus, ordinary lifeforms cannot even see it; only legendary experts who have transcended the level of ordinary life can behold its true form."
In reality, the essence of divine power is also unobservable to ordinary people. Even the information contained within the derivative 'divine radiance' is not something an ordinary person can gaze upon directly.
"...But why?"
Hearing this, Nostradamus was already somewhat startled by the thoughts lurking behind Joshua's tone. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, exhaled, and asked in confusion: "Alright, even if you can artificially create a Steel Serpent—what's the point? Although the Steel Serpent is powerful and its essence is unique, compared to you now, the gap is probably incalculable, isn't it?"
—Given that you just casually forged a star with your bare hands, an ordinary Steel Serpent would probably just coil up obediently and act as your cute little pet!
"You're right, it really doesn't mean much."
Joshua didn't argue, but he replied in a low voice: "But understanding the birth of the Steel Serpent might help uncover the initial clues to memeticization. Sometimes, the most important progress is hidden in the most inconspicuous things."
"Moreover."
At this point, the warrior's tone paused, and only then did he slowly continue: "The whole story behind this is far from simple... which is precisely why I'm telling you about it now."
At this very moment.
While Joshua and Nostradamus were flying through the silent void, discussing topics involving the most cutting-edge realms of transcendent power.
While at the joint assembly site, ambassadors from all civilizations were shocked by the news of an impending invasion by a cluster of evil gods, looking around the venue in an attempt to find someone to deny it.
While at the edge of the star river, in a hidden star domain, the Seven Gods were diligently moving worlds, adjusting parameters, working day and night with full dedication for the future of civilizations and races centuries later.
While numerous civilizations across the Multiverse Star River were each pursuing their own plans—expanding borders, sealing territories, adjusting internal affairs, or developing technology—while countless intelligent beings across the Multiverse Star River remained ignorant, utterly unable to detect that the future of their minds and hearts was hanging by a thread.
—At the other end of the multiverse, in an unknown Multiverse Star River, an unknown star domain, within the super-large single world, the 'Starry World.'
In the boundless vacuum of space, a Midgardian pilot, whose fighter had just been struck by a stray bullet, causing his entire craft to shake, spin, and plummet toward a nearby planet's continent, was now praying.
"Mother Tree, All Spirits, O God of the Inferno who governs fire and strife, your believer's life is about to end. I do not beg for your merciful salvation, nor for a gentle end, for I know well my own incompetence and weakness. Facing death, I harbor fear and reluctance."
The fighter streaked like a meteor, trailing a bright blaze across the planet's atmosphere. Even the most skilled pilot could do nothing to change the outcome. Through the cockpit window, sky and earth spun rapidly, like a dying person's life flashing before their eyes. Yet the unnamed pilot was not as fearful as he claimed; he merely gazed reluctantly at the scenery outside the window and prayed softly: "I do not seek redemption or pity. I only beg that after my death, my soul may still fight, battling against all evil and wicked spirits, until..."
Boom!
The fighter crashed into the earth, producing a faint spark invisible even from space.
No one paid attention to this scene.
Because across the vast star domain, thousands of warships and a hundred times that many fighters were engaged in battle with enemies ten or a hundred times their number. The vacuum was filled with dense beams of psionic energy crisscrossing back and forth. Ships lost power in explosions, disintegrated, or drifted through the void, while some, like the fighter before, trailed thick black smoke and flames, reluctantly and helplessly plunging toward the planet's surface they were supposed to protect.
Boom.
A relatively bright flame flared on the planet's surface. The detonation of a psionic core, with an explosion cloud over sixty-two kilometers high, would inflict nearly irreparable psionic radiation on the entire world.
Yet it was still insignificant.
Looking up at the starry sky, one could see that the once bright and brilliant stars had become mottled and incomplete. The constellations familiar to the Midgardians were mostly broken—some had vanished, some dimmed, some obscured, some hidden. If someone familiar with the stars gazed upon the sea of stars, they would notice that among the remaining stars, some were emitting an excessively bright light, far more dazzling than their original radiance.
Boom!
Light exploded, bringing a light of annihilation visible across half the galaxy. Another star met its end.
This was the kind of 'sound' in the universe that could be 'heard' and noticed.
In the star domain, this fleet was retreating step by step. The large federal fleet, clearly formed by multiple races, showed signs of gradual collapse. In fact, many ships had already secretly turned tail and fled at full power, leaving the battlefield. They knew this battle was lost. Facing chaos minions a hundred times their number, the surrounded federal fleet had no choice but to flee or die fighting.
Yet, among this federal fleet, a sub-fleet made of organic tissue, resembling plants and trees, still held its position, entangled with the enemy, fighting to the last moment.
No despair, no resentment, no anger. The Midgardians were a psionic civilization akin to plants. Even in the face of calamity and death, despair and doom, they could still face them calmly, fight them calmly, and then face death calmly.
—But even so, no matter how brave or resolute a Midgardian was, when facing death, they always couldn't help it.
They couldn't help but pray.
...
Multiverse Star River, Origin Star River, Jetram Star Domain, joint assembly meeting site. Legendary expert Faina and legendary mage Barbarossa sat at the top of the high platform, calmly surveying the entire meeting hall, observing every ambassador from the void civilizations present.
They could clearly hear and see everyone's expressions, mental fluctuations, electromagnetic waves, psionic tremors, even the faint hums of mana and elements, and the agitation of life energy. The reactions of everyone present were within their expectations, completely unsurprising.
—They doubted, were shocked, pondered, tried to deny, were confused, pained, angry, and suddenly enlightened.
After informing these civilization ambassadors about the 'evil gods,' the 'great extinction of civilizations,' the possible truth behind the formation of the 'Multiverse Star River,' and even the speculation that 'the origin of the Great Magic Tide is the final remnants of those destroyed star rivers and even Multiverse Star Rivers in the multiverse,' the reactions of all ambassadors were the same.
Faina and Barbarossa understood this confusion and pain and did not look down on them for it, because they had once gone through the same process, spending immense faith to overcome despair and fear, choosing not to retreat.
There are two ways to make people better: one is to influence them with love, making them involuntarily imitate goodness and walk the righteous path; the other is to intimidate them with fear, making them endure trials, witness countless things, and ultimately be reborn from the flames, finding their own righteous path.
Now was the time for the many civilizations to choose their own future path.
"The time is almost up."
The hands of the clock had turned dozens of times, ticking like music, imbued with mysterious rhythm. Faina smiled as she watched the ambassadors use various means to contact their civilizations—even if they had no means, the Mycroft Civilization would lend them some—and then interjected without being abrupt: "The first joint assembly is hereby declared concluded—but dear ambassadors, you clearly understand that we are not exaggerating or threatening you. What we have said is the genuine truth, the reality we discovered while observing the multiverse in the Lost Star River."
"So." At this point, Barbarossa took over the conversation. The middle-aged mage, expressionless, surveyed the entire hall and said in a low voice: "You have three days to consider whether to sign a contract with us—to jointly resist this destructive cluster, to join this group guarding order and the future. As you can see, we will not demand any territorial or sovereign rights. On the contrary, we will spread technology as much as possible and guide you onto the right path. We only ask one thing: when facing chaos, never give up hope, never give up resistance."
The meeting hall fell into absolute silence, with only the 'buzzing' of the electromagnetic vibrations from the Lund people's bodies audible.
"Aha."
Finally, Sage Faina checked the time and spoke her last words: "And seventy-one hours, fifty-nine minutes, and fifty-eight seconds remain, dear ambassadors."
The lady with an indistinct face smiled, lifted her chin, and shrugged: "The pen to sign the contract is right in front of you."
"Choose."
...
At the edge of the Jetram Star Domain, the God of Steel, who had been traveling at high speed, suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong, Joshua?"
Nostradamus, traveling alongside the warrior, could naturally detect his friend's anomaly. Seeing Joshua frown slightly, he knew something must have happened and asked nervously: "Could it be that an evil god has appeared?!"
"Yes... No. Yes and no."
At this moment, Joshua closed his eyes, began to block out all noise, and started listening to the voices from the distant beyond... He could hear chaotic communications, intense exchanges of fire, the hum of psionic vibrations, and the roars of crew members as warships fell through the atmosphere.
He could hear. Joshua could hear. The warrior, relying on his own power, crossing infinite distances, clearly heard the prayers directed at him—or rather, at the future and hope—from the far end of the star river.
Listening to each prayer, the warrior's expression gradually turned serious, heavy, and then returned to impassiveness, which made Nostradamus, watching from the side, feel quite tense.
"Joshua?"
Afraid of disturbing him, Nostradamus asked in a low voice: "What exactly happened?"
"...Someone is praying to me."
Standing in the void, Joshua replied calmly: "They didn't beg for salvation or help, only hoping to continue fighting... But that's not up to them. Since they prayed, being helped is only natural. It's not something they can refuse just by 'not saying it.'"
Saying this, Joshua had already made a decision in his heart, but soon he frowned again, recalling another matter.
The abnormal situation at the Amos Royal Court had persisted for a long time, and the same was true for the Takur Annihilation Order. These two civilizations, both possessing fifth-level civilization strength but never expanding outward due to their mutual slaughter, appeared to be only fourth-level advanced civilizations. Now, their conditions were very strange. The Seven Gods had long mentioned wanting him to go check on the situation.
This matter was equally important. After all, an anomaly capable of causing two super civilizations to simultaneously experience such chaos could only be an evil god. Based on the strength of the evil gods the Mycroft Civilization had encountered, only the 'Death Evil God' could fit the description, creating such a major incident that left both super civilizations at their wits' end.
But without a doubt, in the Starry World, the Midgardians who revered him as a god were fighting and at a disadvantage. The large-scale cleansing operation against chaos, organized by the Steel Serpent 'Star,' was likely at a stalemate. The battle between order and chaos had reached a fever pitch, with both sides lacking a decisive force to tip the scales.
If he didn't go now, and chaos reinforcements arrived, the vast Starry World might fall into the hands of the evil gods.
Compared to these two major events, the Ether Ring World seemed less important. He could leave behind a large-scale architectural projection and corresponding material mass for the Seven Gods to control, which would still complete the material filling task, albeit at the cost of making the Seven Gods work harder.
Thus, the choice arrived.
—Should he investigate the anomalies of the Amos Royal Court and the Takur Annihilation Order in this very star river, the Bloody Star River?
—Or should he go to the extremely distant Starry World, respond to the Midgardians' prayers, and crush the chaos and its minions?
For a moment, even someone as decisive as Joshua couldn't make a decision... In fact, for some reason, an incredibly clear premonition arose in his heart, telling him only one thing.
That behind these two choices lay a series of enormous 'events'—one capable of causing two top-tier star river civilizations to go awry, the other capable of endangering the entire Starry World universe. Both were extremely important.
Without a doubt, 'all things, even the future of the multiverse,' the fate of all existence, would diverge into two completely different paths because of his choice.
It was time to choose.
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