Chapter 6: The Four Rings of Emotion 5600
This is the moment of the birth of the soul.
Using the modified blank primordial divine power as a tool, rewriting the constants within the world, creating 'matter and energy' that were absolutely impossible in the original world, and then using that matter as a source to further transform the entire world.
This process is irreversible. The moment the soul appeared, it meant that the entire Starry World had already become heterogeneous, completely different from other worlds in the multiverse. From then on, within the Starry World, the imagination and thought processes of intelligent life would generate tangible power, which is 'Psionic Energy'. And this power also has its own tangible support, which is the 'Soul'.
The relationship between the soul and psionic energy is precisely like this. They were created by the original divine power, but they are not derivatives of divine power. Instead, they stand on the shoulders of giants while simultaneously helping the giants build a better and more complete foundation.
[Transmission of the Psionic Energy Primordial Structure complete.] Joshua accepted this information.
It must be said that the Gatherers, later known as the 'Founders', racked their brains to create the soul and psionic energy. To allow self-will to exist independently of the physical body, they forcibly endowed 'imagination' and 'thought' with power. In this way, for beings possessing a soul, the foundation of self-awareness was no longer the physical body, but thought and imagination itself. The vessel carrying this consciousness could be a physical body, a machine, or even the soul itself.
They completely changed and solved a philosophical problem.
Joshua absorbed this information, starting from the earliest experimental data of the Gatherers, all the way to the end, when the genius scientist who truly completed the 'Spiritual Substance Existence' successfully created the soul. He could keenly notice that the name of this genius scientist was also '——————', a complete blank. This could only prove one thing: the one who later became the Sage of Demons was likely this person.
He was not the first to study psionic energy, nor was he the only genius to break through pioneering difficulties. Before him, there were countless scholars and researchers who gave everything for this cause. Before him, there was the Gatherers' long-term use and exploration of divine power, their endless thirst for the soul. He was truly an unprecedented genius, but without several other geniuses who sacrificed their self-awareness to inhabit mechanical bodies to study the essence of divine power, without the pioneers who paid the price of blood generation after generation, then hope would not have descended upon him either.
Therefore, Joshua could faintly hear a passage at the end of the Psionic Energy Primordial Structure information stream.
[No achievement belongs to a single person... nor does any achievement belong to a single race. The soul and psionic energy are destined to belong to the multiverse. Rather than staying in a corner admiring oneself, I would rather let the places I see be covered in flowers.]
"He is a benevolent and generous ancient sage."
Joshua said this, having memorized every detail of the Psionic Energy Primordial Structure... The psionic energy of that era was indeed somewhat different from the psionic energy of today. For example, people of that era used psionic energy in combat, generally using their own souls directly, manipulating special psionic energy through a method of phantom avatars. This is vastly different from the commonly used telekinesis and materialization of imagination series today.
[Agreed: The Founders were indeed generous and benevolent. It's just a pity that later on, they increasingly hid important information from us. Although we have now guessed that they did this to prevent our world from being discovered by the Evil Gods too early, and then gradually moved away, we were still abandoned.]
[Whisper: But we don't care.]
Joshua simply nodded at the words of the Eternal Lighthouse. Clearly, when the Founder civilization explored the void, they also encountered the Evil Gods. The Sage of Demons likely grew gradually in battles against the Evil Gods.
Moreover, this makes one thing quite interesting. Originally, Joshua believed that creating a brand new transcendent power would allow an individual to become a 'Sage'. But now, it seems things are not so. The Founder civilization collectively created the soul and psionic energy. The first Gatherer individual to possess the soul and psionic energy did indeed later become a Sage. But at that time, he did not suddenly become so powerful; instead, he was still curious like an ordinary person who had just obtained transcendent power.
This proves one thing: he might have reversed the cause and effect.
It is not that a new transcendent power covering the multiverse makes a person a powerful Sage, but rather that a powerful Sage-level existence can spread their power across the entire multiverse.
Of course, this is not necessarily the case, but the Sage of Demons is undoubtedly an example of this. He clearly became a Sage in battles against the Evil Gods... Think about it, the Saint is also like this. He created Holy Light long before becoming a Saint, but only achieved Sagehood after fighting the Plenty Evil God.
Although, in the end, it might not have led to a good outcome, they indeed bought time for later civilizations.
Things are gradually becoming clear. Regarding how to become a Sage and create a brand new transcendent power, Joshua gradually developed some ideas. For this, he was very grateful to the Eternal Lighthouse for its selfless disclosure. Without it, as an individual, Joshua knew very well that he would not be able to bypass this barrier of knowledge and perception, unless he planned to spend thousands of years slowly grinding away at this painstaking task.
"You have completely answered my doubts, Eternal Lighthouse. Next, I should fulfill my responsibility and assist you in clearing all chaos within this world."
In the dark vacuum, the radiance on Joshua's surface began to vibrate. It could be seen that golden-red patterns were spreading across the silver world. This was the prelude of the warrior beginning to warm up, preparing for a full-scale battle. "But before that, I have a small matter... How do you know about the 'destruction of the Founders'?"
[Answer: Actually, it was an instant. I could sense a tremendous wave shaking the multiverse coming from the distant void. Moreover, at that time, there were still some Founders living in the Starry World who were unaware of the chaos.]
[Confusion: But in that instant, all Founders disintegrated—completely and utterly disintegrated.]
Joshua knew that the prototype of the Founders was the Gatherers. Even after they created souls and inhabited mechanical bodies, their physical structure and even soul structure remained the same as the Gatherers... That is to say, a 'giant isopod' formed by the combination of individual units.
Therefore, as soon as the warrior heard 'disintegration', an image formed in his mind. And the Eternal Lighthouse's next words perfectly confirmed his guess.
[Mourning: The 'brain individuals' of the Founders were completely eliminated.]
Transmitting this information, within the crystal shell of the Eternal Lighthouse, a silver-blue phantom like a galaxy began to condense, finally forming a small phantom of an insect, like a cockroach.
[Sigh: All the thinking individuals of the Founders were completely eliminated and could no longer be born. Only the 'motor individuals' that originally constituted their bodies remained... The Founders have indeed been destroyed.]
"Psionic Energy Insects..."
Even Joshua's surrounding light dimmed for a moment. He could certainly confirm that this small insect phantom was precisely the strange psionic lifeform 'Psionic Energy Insect' that scurried throughout the entire Multiverse Star River... This strange lifeform with memetic effects was a key observation target for Joshua. And now, the Eternal Lighthouse was telling him that they were the remnants of the Founder race that created psionic energy.
Another doubt was answered.
After calming down for a moment, Joshua chuckled lightly: "As expected... We live on the ruins of war, born in the gaps of the aftermath of the conflict between pioneers and chaos. The star river we live in is a ruin, and the life and natural phenomena we see everywhere are also aftermath and corpses."
"What a crazy multiverse..."
How interesting.
Without continuing to mutter to himself, Joshua looked up. The spherical silver world began to trigger a frenzy, distorting space-time. With the spherical world as the origin, silver veins appeared in the vacuum, then transformed into the image of a four-armed steel giant.
Then, Joshua raised his right hand. A ball of pure white light, but with rainbow-colored arcs spilling from it, appeared in his palm.
Without too many words, he directly pushed this ball of light towards the Eternal Lighthouse.
And the Eternal Lighthouse received it.
[Shock: This is... a mixture of psionic energy and a new transcendent power?]
[Identification: Yes, it's a wonderful application... Using emotion to drive psionic energy, using psionic energy to drive the power to change matter. Although it seems several times more complex, the efficiency is unexpectedly high...]
[Analysis: Psionic energy mixed with life energy, driven by the 'emotions' of intelligent life. This is similar to the psionic energy activated by 'imagination' and 'thought'... I see, so that's it.]
[Doubt: However, wouldn't this be somewhat unstable? Although I am an artificial intelligence, I also have emotions. It is a power that slows down thinking speed but can unleash determination and persistence. I do not lack calmness, as it is my nature. But if ordinary intelligent beings ignite their emotions, will they truly not 'fall'? This does not align with the order we require... Although, now that we face chaos, we can unite against a common enemy, but in the future...]
"Don't think about the future."
Joshua interrupted the Eternal Lighthouse's words for the first time. He had roughly guessed the Eternal Lighthouse's reaction when he sent his insights on the power of emotion. And the facts were indeed so. While shocked and excited, the Eternal Lighthouse also felt doubt and unease, because intense emotions are definitely not orderly, nor are they chaotic, but rather tend towards 'disorder'—a thousand faces for a thousand people, unpredictable.
A firm heart can bring firm order, but a restless heart can also bring restless chaos.
But is this the time to think about such things?
"When I entered the Starry World, I noticed this point—Eternal Lighthouse, haven't you seen it?"
Facing the silently rotating psionic crystal, the four-armed giant raised his hand, pointing to the surrounding starry sky, to the psionic network that ran through the entire world. Joshua pointed to the massive psionic vortices rotating and accumulating within the network, to the 'emotions' stirring in silence. He said in a deep voice: "The entire galaxy is angry because of the power of chaos. The entire galaxy is grieving, wailing, bearing a deep-seated hatred for chaos. Trillions upon trillions of intelligent beings, countless souls that have already died, all want to destroy chaos, and their psionic energy and life converge here."
"You are the life preservation program left by the Founders. You and your companions should be the strongest psionic users in the multiverse after the Sage of Demons, at least among the strongest. Even if I hadn't given you the knowledge of 'emotional' power, you should have been able to see that those psionic vortices are so unstable. Forcibly suppressing them will only destroy yourselves."
"This galaxy is praying—praying for pain, hatred, and sorrow to quickly fade away. All beings are praying, praying for destruction, death, and annihilation to descend upon the enemy."
And I have come in response to this prayer.
Saying this, Joshua posed a question.
"Eternal Lighthouse—Third Veil—Incarnation of the Psionic Network, why don't you use this power? Why haven't your other two companions, the Second and First Veils, appeared until now?"
The Eternal Lighthouse did not remain silent.
[Answer: The First and Second Veils cannot leave. They are responsible for the circulation of the Psionic Network.]
[Answer: The psionic vortices are too unstable. If used improperly, we might destroy ourselves before chaos destroys us.]
[Answer: The core principle of the Life Preservation Program is to preserve the continuation of life. We will not risk self-destruction by using power that may not destroy the enemy to attack the enemy.]
[Determination: We cannot do this now.]
Joshua nodded slightly. The giant was not puzzled by the Eternal Lighthouse's reply.
Because its handling was correct. Without a better method of utilization, rashly detonating a bomb-like power is unwise. Moreover, most of the enemies that have appeared so far are minions, not worth going all out. If an Evil God were to descend, the Triple Veil would likely use this power without hesitation.
But now, the situation is different.
He has arrived.
So everything has a new choice.
"Don't worry, Eternal Lighthouse. Tell your companions not to suppress those powers anymore—they will have a better use."
—The meaning of a strong existence is to forcibly add a correct answer D to a multiple-choice question where the original three options A, B, and C are all wrong in the real world.
—The meaning of a strong existence is to drive a steamroller and flatten everything when people are troubled about how to navigate a complex maze.
In short, why bother thinking about the 'rules' set by others? The methods to solve problems are as numerous as the stars in the sky; there is absolutely no principle of 'only this way'.
In the center of Joshua's four palms, four flames appeared.
The blood-red light representing [Courage], [Anger], [Hatred], and [Destruction].
The golden light representing [Calmness], [Adaptability], [Greed], and [Wisdom].
The blue-green light representing [Endurance], [Perseverance], [Tolerance], and [Passion].
The blue-purple light representing [Love], [Determination], [Possession], and [Indulgence].
Four blazing flames, burning with two sides of emotion. One side is order, one side is chaos. One side is protection, one side is destruction.
"Emotion is never one-sided. Just as conflict requires two opposing sides, so too does emotion."
Standing majestically amidst the star river, Joshua crossed his four arms over his chest. The four different flames revolved around the giant god, rippling layers of vortices around him that distorted even space-time.
"And I can master them. A wise mind should control its own emotions, not the other way around. I believe that through training, everyone can do this."
"But I need your help—the help of the current strongest psionic user in this world, the existence that can control the Psionic Network."
The warrior showed the Eternal Lighthouse another possibility.
—Why suppress it?
Let it burn fiercely!
Let the vortex of emotions burn freely in this galaxy of hatred, igniting a great fire, a fire sufficient to burn away chaos!
If you are unwilling to burn yourself, how can you burn the enemy! If you are stingy with even a bit of madness, how can you open up an unprecedented era!
[Shock: Joshua van Radcliffe, you truly are a madman... You do have the mind to control emotions, but that doesn't mean you can guarantee one hundred percent safety, let alone guarantee that everyone can do this...]
[Transition: However, you have convinced us, because you have shown the possibility.]
[—True intelligent beings never need one hundred percent certainty to act. This is what the Founders said—]
"Good!"
Without further words, Joshua laughed heartily. It could be seen that as the warrior extended his four arms and then clenched his four fists, the four rotating, multi-colored flames instantly condensed into four bright lamps. And in the center of these lamps, four shining rings were rising and falling within the flames.
The blood-red [Ring of Courage], the golden [Ring of Wisdom], the blue-green [Ring of Perseverance], and the purple [Ring of Determination].
The four rings burning in the flames echoed the endless emotions within this star river, shining with unprecedented brilliance.
"It's time to change the world." He said so.
...
...
Outside the void.
This was a star domain of nothingness. In the silent, dark void, there was no light from any world, nor could the radiance of any other star river be seen... The entire star domain was shrouded in the dark wreckage of worlds, like a ball enveloped by black dust clouds.
Everything had passed. Everything was tending towards extinction.
But still, one world rotated in this dark silence... It was incomparably vast, vaster than many could imagine. The wreckage of numerous worlds was absorbed by this world, becoming the outermost solid barrier of its shell.
It should have continued rotating in the wreckage of this extinguished multiverse star river until the end of time, when all things returned to final annihilation.
But in this dark void, a scorching, radiant light mass was approaching it.
It was impossible to see its true form, only a mass of blazing white light. It emitted light, dispelling all the wreckage and ashes of worlds. Its power stirred the void, generating rolling space-time turbulence.
It gradually approached that vast and ancient world, finally stopping at the edge of the world's barrier.
Then, it reached out a hand, as if to knock on the barrier.
It was an incomparably huge tentacle, large enough to coil around a world—no, this tentacle was indeed coiling around a world! Enslaving a star domain!
It could be seen that within this light tentacle was wrapped a semi-transparent world barrier. And within this world barrier was wrapped a chaotic, constantly rotating dark star river. This dark star river exuded the power of 'Corrosive Poison' and 'Infection'. Endless chaos, like a plague, tried to penetrate that layer of world barrier and enter the void.
But these powers were completely unable to disperse the light of the tentacle. Chaos was imprisoned within the world... However, even such a tentacle could not open a hole in the barrier of the giant world. Upon touching the world barrier, the light tentacle encountered an unprecedented rebound force, causing it to retract the tentacle as if in pain.
But faster, it extended more tentacles.
And each tentacle imprisoned a world, imprisoned a dark star river.
'Famine', 'Stagnation', 'Transformation'... The auras of various, distinct but all belonging to chaos, came forth. They struggled, rotated, attacked, eroded—but all actions were meaningless.
As the tentacles appeared one by one, the light gradually diverged. The brilliant light that imprisoned chaos slowly revealed its true form.
Then, it could be seen that the existence, covered by dazzling light and appearing like 'tentacles', was actually not tentacles. In reality, they were 'threads' twisted together, a 'woven net' like silk.
And the source of all threads, the origin of the giant net enveloping the world...
Was a pure white, gigantic cocoon, far larger than the world itself.