# Chapter 53: [Shadow] Approaches (End of Volume)
"...Attack?"
Joshua's shattered will reformed through the desire to fight, but when he awakened from the cold void, what he saw was the magic tide torrent beginning to calm.
Scattered white light particles fluttered through the dark void, converging into a stardust-like torrent, while the enormous Starry World was embedded within this torrent—hard, stubborn, like an eternal reef. Against this backdrop, the residual waves of the previous battle were still spreading into the distance, like a silver halo.
"...No..."
The Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate had been defeated; no enemy existed—when he realized this, Joshua's will, already close to slumber, began to dissipate again.
But soon, he noticed that on one side of the torrent, there was a familiar yet unfamiliar light and shadow. Its aura was so intense that it was impossible to ignore.
It was a humanoid form, burning with psionic energy and divine power far hotter than a supernova. Twelve overlapping domains spiraled in alternating forward and reverse helices, forming twelve fang-like dominating spaces that chewed through everything. This humanoid had no remaining identifying features anywhere on its body, except for the faintly discernible single eye atop its head, which confirmed its identity.
It was a Takur person.
The Takur High Patriarch, Georg Takur.
"...Danger!"
Such intensity of power could erase his mind while he was weakened—sensing this 'potential' danger, Joshua finally rebuilt his complete self-will through this instinctive hostility.
Like a star's condensation process accelerated countless times, starting from a core—no, there was no such thing as a core—in any case, in some place within the void, a force began to surge, and more Steel Force was born from it, then began to converge and expand.
But while he was re-condensing his will, Georg did nothing. This being, who could originally be considered an 'enemy', had shown no trace of malice from the very beginning. He simply used his single radiant eye, which could no longer close, to gaze at the nebula giant before him that was constantly condensing and pulling its shattered limbs back into place.
Otherwise, just that malice alone would have been enough to make Joshua reawaken.
"...Not good, the Takur Patriarch."
When Joshua's mind returned to normal, his first words were a blunt statement of fact: "You are dissipating."
"Being told that by someone who almost dissipated just now is really annoying."
The divine-energy humanoid opened its mouth, wanting to say something, but what came out was a twisted noise, like billions upon billions of people speaking simultaneously, a jumble of sounds. The High Patriarch paused, then shook his head with a bitter laugh: "...Can't even communicate? This final ending is too lonely."
"It's not as exaggerated as you think."
Joshua calmly replied to his sigh. The nebula-like giant began to compress itself, pulling back its scattered body that had nearly covered half the Starry World, reconstructing its form. Soon, within just a dozen seconds, the endless Steel Force compressed into crystals again, expanding with a roar into a brand new world—the warrior once again constructed a world as a vessel to carry his main will.
"Surprised?"
His form restored to a four-armed world giant about the size of a star, Joshua turned his gaze to the High Patriarch, whose single eye was wide open, and said calmly: "I can understand even the calls of worlds and evil gods, let alone your voice. Anyway, thank you for the cooperation earlier."
"..."
The High Patriarch remained silent, not responding, but Joshua never cared about such things. Being able to defeat the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate, the Takur High Patriarch's power was absolutely a crucial factor.
Earlier, after Joshua's clone escaped the pursuit of the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate, it had been accumulating energy in the downstream torrent of the Great Magic Tide. It had split into tens of millions of Restorative Pillars, drifting along the magic tide toward the multiverse to absorb energy, preparing to find an opportunity to attack the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate from behind while the main combat body was locked in stalemate with it.
But midway, it discovered unique Takur psionic spacetime fluctuations in the surrounding space-time. When the fluctuations reached their maximum value, Joshua saw the High Patriarch leading a soul army like phantoms, carrying vast, nearly infinite divine energy, charging straight toward the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate.
Seeing this, although he didn't know why, Joshua's clone, which could roughly guess the reason, immediately changed its plan, condensed all the energy it had collected in the magic tide, and charged simultaneously with the High Patriarch.
Coincidentally, just as they arrived, the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate had been severely wounded and was preparing to escape the Starry World. They pushed their power to the limit and drove it back.
That strike was the combined power of all Joshua's clones spread across the multiverse, the power of devouring star worlds, plus the power of the Steel Serpent 'Star' representing the soul reincarnation of the Starry World, the power of the Triple Veil, plus the power of the Takur people, and the power of Joshua's clone intercepting the Great Magic Tide torrent.
In addition, the warrior had stuffed a black hole bomb with sixty billion times the mass of a star into the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate's body—this attack wasn't fatal for it at full strength and could have been handled, but under the combined force of internal and external pressures, attacks from above and below, and the joint strength of countless civilization elites, it was finally struck down and completely annihilated.
"...Even just a little less, and we couldn't have killed it."
Absorbing the information exchanged between his clone and the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate's clone in spacetime fragments, Joshua couldn't help but sigh: "We're all beings fighting against the same chaotic darkness, so why can't we understand cooperation and communication?"
But if it could cooperate and communicate, it wouldn't be called a self-centered beast. The Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate probably couldn't have become so powerful, reaching near-saint level.
When Joshua had repaired this body to about seventy or eighty percent, roughly restoring eighty percent of his normal combat power, the High Patriarch finally spoke, his voice soft: "I'm going to die."
"I know."
Joshua nodded and replied calmly: "I can guarantee that as long as the Takur people no longer oppose us, the Mycroft people will not oppose the Takur people."
"Good..."
Hearing this powerful guarantee, the High Patriarch, who had been worried ever since seeing this otherworldly strongman from the Lost Star River display power far exceeding what he had shown in previous battles, couldn't help but relax. As his tense mind loosened, divine power fluctuations began to burn on his body, turning into blazing flames, as if about to consume Georg.
—This was a form of divine descent.
At this moment, Joshua could finally see what state the High Patriarch was in.
Devout believers could, through their own 'thoughts'—that is, similarity and consensus with 'doctrine' and 'divine logic'—summon divine power to themselves, unleashing power far beyond their own strength.
Of course, fanaticism didn't represent similarity; rather, it was far from 'identification'. That wasn't true faith, just blind worship. Generally speaking, clergy who performed divine descent could mostly be called saints. They were nearly one with their gods in words and deeds, completely worthy of being called divine reserve. If a deity fell, these saints could even directly inherit the legacy from the Divine Calamity Mist and become new deities.
But the Takur High Patriarch's current state was like simultaneously performing 'divine descent' for billions upon billions of deities!
Although the power of each descending deity was very weak, negligible, and it was unclear why such weak gods existed, the terrifying multiplication of their numbers manifested power that could barely contend with near-saints for a short time. Joshua couldn't immediately discern what 'consensus' the Takur High Patriarch was using to perform divine descent for so many deities, but as the creator of the Four Emotion Gods, he could vaguely sense that what connected the High Patriarch to his power was an extremely profound emotion.
"...It's love."
Finally, Joshua recognized the nature of that emotion. He was silent for a moment, then stopped speaking and met Georg's gaze.
"In a sense, you are bearing billions of divine powers with a single body. Even with your soul and will, and this divine power that perfectly matches you, you will soon be consumed by this excessive Great Source power, entering 'Divine Annihilation'. This is also the root cause of your dissipation."
The warrior calmly explained his understanding of the Takur High Patriarch's current state: "If you end the divine descent state now, without divine power to support you, your body and mind will be overloaded, and you will burn out and die."
"But if you don't abandon it, you will face Divine Annihilation."
"Almost certain death."
This divine descent secret technique of the Takur people allowed the High Patriarch, whose strength was far from that level, to forcibly possess power that could contend with near-saints... Perhaps it was precisely because of such trump cards that the Takur people could confront the Amos Royal Court, which had Emperor Amos, for so many years.
—If the Amos civilization was a game of individuals, then the Takur civilization was a true collective.
—If the former's motivation for fighting was hatred of outsiders, the latter's motivation was love for their kin.
"Regardless, this battle is over."
Joshua turned his head to look at the Starry World. The Steel God's gaze was faint, and he said softly: "The source of the evil god's minions in the Starry World has been eradicated, and the source of the Extreme Plague was just struck down by us. Even if the plague is still spreading, it won't be an endless, wave-after-wave expansion. The multiverse is much safer because of our battle."
"Although I don't know if it's possible, Georg, I have a divine position here that seems tailor-made for you. It could allow you to survive after ending this divine descent by relying on new divine power."
Georg, who had been standing still since Joshua promised reconciliation between the Mycroft people and the Takur people, letting divine power flames burn on his body while thinking about something unknown, raised his head. His single eye stared intently at the Steel God's back.
—He's serious.
For some reason, this thought flashed through the High Patriarch's mind.
"...Let's try?"
...
This was a bitter victory.
The galaxy was shattered. Due to the clash of many powerful beings, the galaxy that had existed for billions upon billions of years was torn into fragmented light clusters by expanding energy and gravitational tides. Countless stars were drained of energy, ground to dust. Innumerable lives were erased. The evil god's minions and their sources were like grass and wood in fire, turning to ash in the blazing flames and vanishing. But this was still not enough, because the call of a near-saint could shake the entire universe. To eliminate this greatest enemy, countless guardians rushed forward one after another, each for their own reasons.
This was a great sacrifice.
The ancient life preservation program reached its end in battle. Half of the original Triple Veil was lost. The Observer Hall perished in the most intense confrontation with the enemy, and the Immortal Lighthouse suffered massive program errors as a result. Restoring it to its original state would require not only time but also a long accumulation of power. The Steel Serpent 'Star' had its self-will shattered, and re-condensing it would take at least tens of thousands of years—it could almost be said to be 'dead'. It was precisely because of their full commitment and self-sacrifice that the battle achieved final victory.
The otherworldly strongman was severely wounded. The Takur Patriarch was on the verge of death. Downstream of the magic tide, those civilizations that were surprised to notice that the magic tide's light seemed brighter than before did not know that this denser energy came from a beast nearing sagehood.
This extreme crisis caused the deaths of nearly countless lives across the multiverse, creating a terrifying number of extreme beings that couldn't be counted. These individuals, born from original races but no longer considering themselves kin, caused even greater harm than the virus itself.
Countless civilizations perished because of this. Countless worlds were destroyed.
But at least, for the Starry World.
The era of suffering and despair here came to an end.
[Summary: At least we removed all toxins from the world.]
Starry World, Steel Serpent's Dwelling, World Interior.
One of the remaining Triple Veils, the only rational First Veil 'Possibility Engine', was the most optimistic. Knowing all possibilities, it understood that worry and sorrow could change nothing. Only by facing everything positively could one change both oneself and the world.
[Elaboration: There are infinite possibilities in the multiverse. Perhaps there was a way to sacrifice fewer lives, but at least now, we have done our utmost.]
[Report: Rebuilding the logic program for the Third Veil will take 47.831 years—not long. Rebuilding the Second Veil will take an unknown but roughly estimated time of over 300 years. The main issue is re-accumulating its psionic aggregate, which will take tens of thousands of years... But at least, there is no longer an evil enemy from the void wantonly infringing on the right of ordinary life to exist.]
"Yes."
Returning to the interior of the Starry World, Joshua sent the Takur High Patriarch to the psionic realm where the Four God Rings were located, letting this expert in psionics and divine power think for himself about what to do. Having done what he could, the warrior said softly: "I wonder how things are back home... but I don't think there should be major problems."
After all, not only had there been no request for reinforcements from there, but they had actually given him great assistance. That meant the situation was still under control, with no unexpected incidents.
"If that's the case, then it's more appropriate to recover fully here in the Starry World first."
Thinking this, Joshua slowly closed his eyes in the world interior.
He began to repair.
One by one, he repaired the damage caused by his overly violent seizure of power from his clones during the battle.
Everywhere the Restorative Pillars were located in the multiverse.
Silver light shone again—but this time, not for plunder, but for return.
[Starry World, Galactic Guardian Alliance, Leader Life Preservation Program - Triple Veil suffered severe damage. Although most of the main fleet evacuated safely, due to the spacetime quake caused by the Dark Galaxy's destruction, the vast majority of fleets were teleported to wrong locations due to chaotic jumps. Because the upper processing center was destroyed, related dispatch commands were abnormally slow, causing many soldiers to be unable to return home for a long time, forced to establish bases on unfamiliar planets while awaiting rescue.
Among them, the Emotional Fleet, Blazing Courage Heaven Leader, Zanya Clan Marshal Kedar, died heroically while confronting the evil god (information about the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate was not disclosed). His name was inscribed on the Hero Monument, standing alongside many heroes who died in the war on the Alliance's central capital planet.
The gravitational waves and energy shockwaves that destroyed the entire Dark Galaxy, according to calculations by relevant scholars, had most of their power directed outside the world into the void. But even this small remnant would spread millions of light-years, affecting dozens of galactic clusters. However, that would be at least a million years from now, and by then, the residual energy wouldn't cause much damage.
Mycroft World, aside from the destruction of the Jetram Star Domain void base caused by the sudden appearance of extreme beings at the beginning, did not suffer major losses. Reasonable emergency response measures and very perfect shelter guidance minimized losses. Under the point-to-point capture by various legendary experts and true gods, the vast majority of extreme beings were captured and imprisoned in the prison world that originally held the 'Black Mist Mother Body'. From this point on, the Mycroft people began gradually sending captured dangerous void beings into the prison world as preserved samples.
After receiving news from a relevant party confirming that the plague source had indeed disappeared, the vast majority of Mycroft citizens left their temporary shelters and returned to their hometowns—though a small number remained in the shelter world as fixed-point experimental survival subjects.
Because of the destruction caused by fighting extreme beings, a large number of cities suffered severe damage. However, this just happened to be an opportunity, the united government began a large-scale movement to build new types of cities. Using the mobile fortresses of the Carlis World as prototypes, the Mycroft World also began preparing to build large mobile cities capable of moving through the void, similar to the Star Shepherds' dwellings on the backs of void behemoths.
But unlike the relatively stable Lost Star River, in the multiverse star river, the vast majority of civilizations within the star river were in dire straits—the extreme crisis caused large-scale, high-intensity transcendent plagues. A single civilization could lose hundreds or thousands of billions of lives. Across countless star rivers and countless civilizations, the number of dead could be described as incalculable.
In a short time, endless resentment and unwillingness accumulated in the multiverse star river. Even the prototypes of many evil gods were catalyzed. Numerous powerful beings not only had to deal with the extreme beings born from their own civilizations but also guard against new evil gods born from the corpses of other civilizations. The situation was grim and not optimistic.
Apart from this news, there was also a strange phenomenon: the explosive reproduction of psionic insects. Many witnesses reported that psionic insects, which had previously been common, were now everywhere. To describe it, it was like spiders occasionally seen in winter at home turning into clouds of insects flying overhead by the lake! Some void merchants even saw on their routes a large group of psionic insects gathered together, migrating and jumping like a nebula, their numbers probably exceeding trillions—a spectacle not seen in tens of thousands of years.
And in a sense, the source of plague transmission in the multiverse star river, the Bloody Star River.
The Takur Annihilation Order almost completely disappeared in a very short time. As warriors of the Amos Royal Court at the border cautiously probed, they were shocked to discover that the originally heavily fortified border fortress world now only had automatic psionic equipment defenses. When a small elite force broke through, the Royal Court had to admit that, at some unknown time, all Takur individuals, along with their most essential central sacred star domain and all its worlds, had vanished without a trace.
However, the Amos people, who had suffered heavy casualties, did not expand outward. If not for an individual named 'Elma' who cultivated a related blocking vaccine with her own body, giving most Amos people a buffer period against the extreme plague, the Amos Royal Court, which had made almost no epidemic preparations from start to finish, would have been the first disaster civilization completely destroyed by the extreme plague. But Elma, thanked and worshipped by all Amos people for this, was infected due to excessive research on the extreme virus and fell into frozen slumber.
The Great Emperor watched everything, calmly observing, neither helping nor hindering.
The multiverse star river where the Lost Star River was located could be considered relatively fortunate among multiverse star rivers. Because the plague didn't spread deeply, the blocking vaccine data was made public, and the plague source was quickly cut off, although the death toll was high, the majority survived. Although many civilizations were severely weakened, they preserved their complete overall structure.
In other multiverse star rivers, there were even ruins where entire multiverse star rivers were completely annihilated, leaving only extreme beings killing each other—these were areas where the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate had directly walked. There, huge infectious sources still hadn't dissipated, infecting all surrounding life and turning them into its offspring.
—The beast's howl still continues—
—Absolutely selfish life, from the beginning of the multiverse's birth to the moment of eternal end, will never be lacking.
—Darkness retreats for a time.
—But in the distant future beyond, thick mist still lingers.]
Long after, in the Starry World, world interior.
Joshua, still recuperating, suddenly opened his eyes.
He raised his head, looking into the void. The warrior's gaze was filled with shock—because a huge, no, indescribable, unimaginably vast fluctuation was backtracking from downstream of the magic tide, heading straight toward this place!
Thump—thump—thump—
Like footsteps that could shake even the entire multiverse, approaching from far to near.
In an instant, the warrior left the world interior and arrived in the void. The Steel God fully activated his Steel Vision, gazing into the infinite distance.
—Actually, there was no need to gaze.
Because, from downstream of the magic tide, from the myriad worlds abandoned by the First Flame, 'infinite' things were fluctuating, flowing backward. No matter who, even beings who couldn't see, hear, or touch, could see, hear, and feel it.
All living things with blood and breath could know that at the approaching other side.
[Shadow] was spreading.
Recommended: Urban Godly Master's New Book
# For the Existence of Tomorrow
Not a mistake, not an illusion.
Joshua's perception could never be wrong.
As one who had fought and defeated the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate, Joshua had gained a great deal from that intense battle. Whether in the application of various transcendent powers or in the deduction of timing and future possibilities, everything had been honed to perfection through high-intensity confrontation.
Now, no matter what power—psionics, magic, life energy, elements, aether, holy light, or shadow—any existing transcendent power was mastered by the warrior. His most commonly used power was Steel Force, derived from life energy—that was true—but it didn't mean he could only use Steel Force. The current Joshua could be called a master of all systems, whether spellcasting or holy light, he could use them with ease.
Even divine power was the same. Shadow power was naturally included. His sensitivity to these powers ranked among the top ten in the entire multiverse.
As the individual who benefited most from the battle with the near-saint, Joshua had gained control over the Steel Serpent 'Star's power in that battle, received absolute data support from the Triple Veil, obtained assistance from numerous lives and civilizations across the multiverse star river, and even received the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate's own gift of information at the end. If there really was such a thing as 'experience' in this world, then this battle in the Starry World was undoubtedly one of the biggest experience packages in the entire multiverse, probably second only to the Plenty Evil God.
With so much training and assistance, anyone would improve. Even a bacterium would have become a prototype Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate by now. Joshua was naturally no exception. He felt that compared to before coming to the Starry World, he had taken another big step forward on the path of legendary limits. Although he hadn't yet reached the level of a near-saint, at least he had cleared away quite a bit of mist.
Especially since he had spread his self-created emotional power system in the Starry World. By collecting data on this kind of action similar to a sage creating a brand new transcendent power, the previously hazy path of advancement had become much clearer, to the point where he could even touch the threshold of sagehood.
"A near-saint—I can achieve that too."
This was a fact. What Joshua lacked now was just accumulation and time. He could be one hundred percent certain that in the near future, he would quickly catch up to the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate's level and become a new generation of near-saint.
"And beings like the Silver Fairy and Chu Hao are similar to the relationship between extreme life and the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate, except the transcendent power they correspond to is 'Steel Force'. What the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate uniquely possessed was probably that power of creating an absolutely self-centered world by simulating the First Flame..."
To be honest, the help the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate brought to Joshua was as great as the threat it posed. Not to mention other things, just this brand new path to sagehood was a huge gain. And as a 'world life form' very similar to it, Joshua could naturally continue along the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate's path—as long as he could condense something similar to the First Flame within himself, he could immediately become a near-saint.
This path was completely opposite to the 'sage' path of creating memes and concepts, covering the multiverse with brand new transcendent powers and constants... Just from this perspective, these were two completely different sage-level systems.
Joshua's recent period of stillness had been spent deducing related information, extracting useful knowledge and data from it.
But now, this thinking would have to pause for a while.
Because in the distance, that endless shadow power, with unimaginably vast momentum, was flowing backward against the torrent of the multiverse's Great Magic Tide, heading upstream.
In just a moment of thought, without time to hesitate, analyze, deduce, or consider, It had already arrived.
[Shadow] had come.
The Starry World, along with the endless void around it, was instantly enveloped by deep shadow. The entire Starry World silently detached from the void, immersed in another strange spacetime region. In an instant, Joshua found that everything around him had disappeared, leaving only deep black phantoms dancing with the light emitted from his body.
It was like being immersed in the deep sea, wrapped in a strange medium completely different from the void.
"Strange, you are not a member of that world, so why are you standing before it... as if wanting to protect it?"
From the endless shadow came pure information. When it manifested in others' minds, it became sound, smell, waves—anything that could be perceived. The feeling was like communicating from all angles: touch could see, vision was conversing, and every transcendent power had a different method of perception and understanding.
The information carried a strange tone, impossible to tell if it was curiosity or indifference.
"Facing this surging endless shadow, you are not afraid? You even appear willingly, standing here."
Joshua looked around at the shadow surrounding him. He did not answer. Because this wasn't a question of why or why not—in the Starry World, the Triple Veil had suffered severe damage, the Steel Serpent 'Star' would sleep for ten thousand years, the High Patriarch was in the Four God Rings studying how to extend his existence, and other beings didn't even know of the shadow's arrival.
At this moment, only he could act.
So he was here.
It was that simple.
The source of the information didn't continue asking. It seemed to examine Joshua with some method, then said with some surprise: "Wait, you have so many information entanglements on you?"
"What do I see? Psionic creations (Triple Veil), magical inheritance (Knowledge Seizer), and you yourself are the representative of life energy, a world life form surpassing ancient dragons and void behemoths—elements and aether are absent, but holy light (Sage's inheritance) and shadow (Shadow Demon King) are also present! You've even been recognized by an abyss world, signed a contract with it, and contacted new shadow demons?"
The expression of information was very complex. It seemed to directly interpret all information records carried by Joshua. The same piece of information could express two nearly identical meanings, but this didn't affect the surprised tone: "And even the beast's aura from before, you have it too—so that's it. The ones who eliminated it were this world's guardian and you?"
The source of information, which should have been just passing by, stopping only because it saw a huge world reef and a special life form on a road that had always been empty, was now truly attracted. It began to concentrate its 'gaze', staring at Joshua.
"What kind of existence are you? To be entangled with so much information and causality—as if the entire multiverse and all sages are focusing their attention on you."
And during the transmission of information, an observable image began to manifest in the shadow.
"This scent—"
At that moment, Joshua frowned, because he smelled a unique aura from the abyss, unlike anything else in the entire multiverse. It was born from long-dead worlds, belonging to ashes—a scent of having 'died' before being born.
It was the scent of 'demons'.
And just as Joshua was pondering what this aura represented, the image from the shadow fully manifested.
—Like a silhouette.
How to describe it? It was a very strange image. To put it in words, it was like a bizarre shadow play—light from an unknown source illuminated a demon with curved long horns, huge wings, and a thorny long tail. The light was eternal and unmoving, but the demon's silhouette shifted, revealing various postures.
This unusual form was an indescribable transformation. The depth and intensity of the shadow constantly changed, as if the infinite variation itself contained some mystery.
At the demon silhouette's eyes were two deep black dots, leading to infinite distances. It gazed at Joshua, and seemed to look past him, directly at the Starry World. The information fluctuated: "So this is the hometown of the Psionic Sage, the prototype of countless world wills... Ah, and the prototype of psionic insects, I see it, such a design full of goodwill..."
The fluctuating information might not represent the usual meaning of 'sage', but Joshua knew that this was what the demon silhouette intended to express—beings beyond near-saints, capable of affecting the multiverse.
"You are the [Shadow] Sage."
Joshua met the demon silhouette's gaze and murmured: "A true sage... so powerful, so..."
Originally, the warrior thought that if one day he could truly meet a sage, a 'sage-level' existence, he might lose his composure, become excited, curious, or even boldly want to challenge them—but now, truly facing them, Joshua found himself unprecedentedly calm, as if everything was meant to be.
It was here.
This infinite existence.
This will and power that seemed to envelop the entire multiverse, where time and space were meaningless, and everything finite was a creation.
If It wanted, It could cross the Starry World in an instant. The reason It stopped was probably only because the Starry World was the Psionic Sage's hometown, and because of my existence.
But even such an existence, generation after generation of sages, had been struggling against the darkness behind the scenes, continuing for endless ages until now.
Understanding all this, Joshua instead took a step forward. He met the gaze of the demon silhouette, which exuded an abyssal aura as if proud of it, and said in the clearest tone: "Sage, are you also going there?"
No need for details; everyone knew that 'there' referred to only one place—the source of the magic tide, the direction of the First Flame.
"There is the origin of all things, and also the end of all things."
And It answered thus: "Later one, one day, you will also walk this path."
"Why is that? What has this multiverse encountered? I have doubts in my heart, Sage. I hope to receive answers."
Without any fear, even though he didn't know whether It was good or evil, or what kind of existence It was, even though the other party carried the aura of the abyss and demons, the warrior still asked, seeking answers to the doubts in his heart.
The shadow continued to spread toward the infinite distance, but the silhouette stopped in place. The ancient demon gazed at the human before it—It had seen beings unafraid of the abyss and demonic auras, and had seen beings who wanted to help the abyss and demons. It had once been blessed by a ray of light. In fact, all beings, everything that existed, had been blessed, generation after generation, time and again. It was precisely because of this that It existed at this moment.
And the life before It was the legacy of that light, an individual also advancing toward the distant other side.
So It spoke, just as in the ancient past, when another departed existence had told It.
"To answer this question, we need to start from the most ancient history of this multiverse."
The two-horned silhouette danced, and calm information flowed out: "Later one, do you know the meaning of 'transcendent power'?"
"I know."
Joshua replied. He stood in the center of endless shadow, emitting his own light, reflecting the surrounding shadows. His voice was firm: "It is inheritance, continuation, existence. It is precisely because of these numerous transcendent powers that the current multiverse and its beings exist."
"Yes, that's right."
Almost sighing information pulsed in the firmament: "Sage—you call us that. You also know that the existence of sages brings change to the multiverse. That is our inheritance and continuation. But do you know that not only does the existence of sages bring change, but the passing of sages also brings change?"
"..." Joshua opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the words reached his throat and he fell silent. He couldn't confirm this. For the first time, the warrior didn't want to voice his speculation.
But the shadow calmly answered him.
"Psionics, the earliest known transcendent power in history, the power of the mind. The change brought by its existence created the myriad worlds of the multiverse, all world wills, the prototype of the Steel Serpent. And the change caused by the 'Psionic Sage's' passing led to the appearance of endless psionic insects. They are the sage's legacy, feeding on the unwillingness and evil thoughts in beings' minds, especially the sadness and despair of civilization's destruction. The huge psionic insects you saw on your way here grew to that size by feeding on the unwilling resentment of the powerful beings who died on that backtracking path."
"Without psionics, the power of the mind couldn't manifest, and the gestation of life in worlds would be more difficult without world wills. The existence of psionic insects even curbs the proliferation of evil gods, turning the 'one hundred percent guaranteed birth' of evil gods when civilizations perish into the rare anomaly it is now, where thousands upon thousands of worlds are destroyed and evil gods rarely appear. It even curbs the side effects of the duality of the mind, the madness hidden in psionics."
Revealing information enough to shock countless civilizations, the huge demon silhouette still fluctuated: "All things benefit from It, you and I alike—then comes magic."
"It is the power of creation, popularizing the transcendent, significantly increasing the number of transcendent beings and creatures in the multiverse. Because of the soul-nourishing brought by magic, beasts can gain wisdom and advance to civilization, and the transcendent utility brought by magic greatly accelerates the development of civilizations. And the passing of the 'Magic Sage' led to the appearance of the Great Magic Tide. It sweeps through all worlds, spreading transcendent power faster than before, seeking to catalyze more civilizations and more powerful beings. It is even a bridge, guiding willing beings to the place of origin."
"Without magic, the number of intelligent life forms in the multiverse would decrease by ninety percent. Any beings with souls as their main body would disappear. The fluctuations caused by the Great Magic Tide have created countless brilliant individuals. Subsequent sages, and even other near-saints and powerful beings, have benefited immensely. Even you, later one, didn't you reach your current level in this current magic tide?"
Indeed. Joshua nodded silently. He had indeed grown in this current magic tide. Even the entire Era of Falling Stars had risen because of it. It was easy to imagine how many civilizations and individuals in the multiverse had grown because of it.
The shadow continued: "Next is life energy."
"Its existence makes the change of matter simple. Human will begins to be linked to matter. Creation becomes simple. Even inorganic matter can give birth to life, without needing a soul, only requiring a suitable structure. And the Life Sage—even I am not clear about this. It might exist, but Its name has dissipated from the current multiverse. Its birth might be even earlier than our known history. But it can be confirmed that changes similar to a sage's passing appeared—that is, ancient dragons and void behemoths. They constitute the multiverse, the internal self-circulation system within many multiverse star rivers, helping many star rivers continue life."
"Without life energy, the possibilities for intelligent life would be fewer. The multiverse's cycle would have ended much earlier. The material world would be harder to change. All environments would be tens of thousands of times harsher than now."
"They have passed away, in the ancient past, but we still receive their blessings, surviving in their residual warmth."
Even the Shadow Sage's information carried respect. The demon silhouette's depth shifted, making a gesture similar to a salute. It said softly: "The sages of elements and aether seem to still exist. At least, I haven't observed similar changes appearing."
"Elements differentiated the world and created balance between elements. You surely know their utility, and I will only speak of change. If in the past, after a world was destroyed, it was completely destroyed, but because of the existence of elements, the elements in the void would enter a world that had fallen into silence, slowly nurturing it."
"And aether is gentler. As the manifestation of direction and force, it can create and support all kinds of strange, irrational worlds, such as round sky and square earth, flat, concave, or hollow worlds. It allows small worlds to exist, allowing greatness to be nurtured in the smallest places. It even works with elements to divide the abyss from normal worlds, and even creates cycles like the 'Genesis Maelstrom'."
Speaking up to here, the information began to soften, carrying emotion, and Joshua, listening attentively, heard a familiar term.
"Holy light." The Shadow Sage said thus: "Holy light created me."
"Holy light... created you?"
Joshua was slightly stunned. He met the Shadow Sage's gaze, staring into the infinitely deep silhouette eyes, then exhaled: "The abyss, demons... ah, I understand!"
Without paying attention to the warrior who seemed to recall something, the ancient shadow demon said calmly: "As you can see, I am a demon struggling to survive in the abyss of a world star river that has fallen into silence. This hasn't changed even now, and I don't want to change."
"I was born in a world that had already died, experiencing 'death' before 'life'—the multiverse time trap, later one, you should know about this. What I want to say is that the time speed of my world star river is hundreds of thousands of times faster than ordinary world star rivers, or even faster. It was the most marginal place of extinction of the multiverse. In a decaying abyss world that was nearly shattered, my group and I survived on the radiation energy of black holes. Because all stars had gone out, white dwarfs had turned black, the universe was left with only the final entropy increase, the thin particle mist of embers."
Everything was approaching extinction, a dying universe.
"To exist, just to live—this is the most insignificant, most humble wish of life. I painstakingly studied all transcendent powers. I wanted to summon power from nothingness, or wanted to lead my group to other star rivers with light... But that was too far. Whether due to differences in time systems or because of being at the most marginal place of the multiverse, nothing was possible. I couldn't see anything."
—Until that day, a dazzling light connected the multiverse.
"You cannot imagine my shock at that time."
Gazing at the stunned Joshua, the demon silhouette said seriously: "Later one, far more shocking than you are now. I sensed that something was calling me, calling all 'abysses' within the multiverse—of course, this call was too weak. Probably only abysses relatively close to the source could truly respond. But I was different. My strength was great. I saw light. As long as there was light, no matter how weak the coordinate, I could sense it."
"So I came out, from the eternal solitude, from the star river abandoned by the First Flame. I achieved this. Just as divine power exists, so psionics is born. With the creation of magic, life energy changes. With the differentiation of elements, aether maintains. It is precisely because of the illumination of holy light that shadow continues. It is precisely because of that pure goodwill, wanting to help everything in the world, to redeem all suffering, that I can be here."
"But later one, inheritor of the Holy Light Sage, everything I have said is not the earliest change in the multiverse—that was not me, nor other preceding sages."
"...It is the behind-the-scenes hand." Gazing at the shadow, Joshua said solemnly: "'Chaos' and 'Evil Gods'—they are the earliest 'changes' in the multiverse."
"Yes." The Shadow Sage said: "That is the reason we embarked on this backtracking path, the truth of what this multiverse has encountered—because the earliest changer, [It], influenced the First Flame.
—The First Flame is the origin of our existing multiverse, the initial source of all existence.
Infinite worlds were created by It, exist because of It.
Only where the light of the First Flame shines can existence be spoken of. The concepts of finite and infinite are divided by this.
But the First Flame's creation of the multiverse had a process—I don't know what steps this process involved, but without a doubt, the multiverse we are in should still be in a very primary stage."
After thinking for a moment, the demon silhouette continued: "Like an infant in swaddling clothes."
"Originally, if the multiverse had developed naturally, then now, all worlds would probably still be in the primordial period of the universe, with no life born at all.
But due to some accident, or perhaps the special mechanism of our multiverse, because of the First Flame's natural 'movement', the earliest time traps appeared. In those first few worlds abandoned by the First Flame, where relative time accelerated, numerous 'initial civilizations' were born, along with the existence of [It].
What exactly is [It]? What is Its purpose? I know nothing about this. It could even be said that precisely because of this ignorance, I have no choice but to go to the location of the First Flame... That place might be a trap, a prison fully prepared by [It], but it is a place I must go.
But even so, some things can still be analyzed."
Pausing, the Shadow Sage said: "First, the growth of the multiverse has actually been accelerated by us sages—our power has enriched the multiverse's possibilities, making countless lives colorful. But all of this contradicts [It]'s purpose.
[It] seems unable to directly influence the First Flame, but has cut off the connection between the multiverse and the First Flame, causing the star river where I once lived, along with many other world star rivers, to perish and fall into silence.
[It] also doesn't want any civilization to develop and grow. Any civilization with the potential for eternal existence will be eliminated by the cluster of evil gods. Such a cycle is an entire 'civilization era'.
The one we are in now is the final stage of such a cycle."
Speaking thus, the information flowing from the Shadow Sage carried an unprecedented seriousness: "I speculate that [It]'s purpose is to cleanse everything outside the First Flame, then let the multiverse be reborn—in [It]'s way. Only this can explain it."
"And evil gods, as solidified eternity, might be [It]'s way of preserving the multiverse's many civilizations... After all, without the struggles of successive sages, the final outcome of all civilizations that ever existed would probably be evil gods."
Joshua listened attentively. All of this was similar to his own speculations and the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate's thoughts, but more detailed. However, hearing the end, he couldn't help but feel absurd: "So, [It] isn't completely evil? It even intends to use this method to preserve samples of civilization?"
"You said 'samples' yourself—can't you feel the malice in that?"
The demon silhouette shook its head, its tone heavy: "Arbitrarily deciding the future of the multiverse, treating us as nothing, viewing civilizations and lives as samples—we could have lived peacefully, developed peacefully. If everything were still as it was when the First Flame was normal, countless multiverse star rivers that have perished, and countless worlds that are now abysses, would probably still be bathed in warm light."
"[It] did all this. How can It be considered 'not completely evil'? [It] simply doesn't treat us as life. Since that's the case, we naturally must resist. No matter what [It] wants to do, It won't get its wish!"
This was the most primitive will to resist, from the unknown whether long or short past of the multiverse, continuing until now, like a burning will.
"I must go, later one. The Holy Light Sage still needs me. The sages of elements and aether might still exist, waiting for my arrival."
The demon silhouette gradually began to revert to surging shadow. Pure information flowed: "This time, perhaps for the first time in history, two sage-level beings have emerged nearly simultaneously on the multiverse's timescale—and two sages before have not shown changes of passing. They are either locked in stalemate with [It], or waiting for us."
"My participation, along with the Holy Light Sage, might break the deadlock."
"Leaving already?" Joshua knew this moment would come. Everything was much better than the worst-case scenario. Although he was an abyss demon, the Shadow Sage harbored goodwill, answering his questions in detail—perhaps because his identity as the Sage's inheritor had worked again. He had stood before the shadow with the will to die, but now not only was he alive, he had also learned much information.
But the warrior still felt a sense of loss—because at this moment, he couldn't keep up with the sage's pace. Added to what the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate had said earlier about this era being the last hope, he didn't know if he could catch the last train in the future.
Joshua voiced his doubts, asking the departing Shadow Sage when the last opportunity would disappear, when the end of the era would come.
But he received an unexpected answer.
"Don't worry about that."
The infinite shadow, both departing into the distance and existing here, had disturbed information coming from the shadows swaying around the Steel God: "The essence of the Great Magic Tide is to forcibly reconnect the First Flame with the disconnected multiverse through infinite energy, allowing later ones, just like you and me, to backtrack upstream through this surging tide, heading to the origin of all things.
Although the connection brought by the Great Magic Tide is indeed about to be severed, I will add to it.
Not only me, but the Holy Light Sage—the Sage in your heart—also did this. Holy light can also serve as a coordinate. Look—in the multiverse, all natural light sources are changing. They will all possess certain holy light characteristics. The magic tide light will also be like this. As long as one studies holy light, even if the path of magic is severed, one can still advance along the path of holy light.
And I, the Shadow Sage, have created 'shadow space'. Even if the multiverse falls into silence, it can still exist through the existence of the void itself. As long as the First Flame still exists, no matter how far It has gone, no matter how dark this multiverse becomes, that shadow space will always be Its shadow, the extension of Its power.
This era has indeed ended, but you still have a future, because I have created this future and given it to you."
The infinite [Shadow] was gradually disappearing.
No, not disappearing, but transforming into another form, another peculiar 'space'!
Joshua's eyes widened. With his observation methods approaching near-saint level, he could see a hyperspace network composed of shadow space emerging throughout the entire multiverse!
It was like a spider web, connecting one star river to another, one multiverse star river to another. It connected all shadows, just as all light was being connected through holy light. A brand new path to the source of the magic tide and the First Flame appeared on the inner side of the blazing white Great Magic Tide torrent.
This shadow subspace that connected all worlds was the manifestation of the Shadow Sage's 'wish', the embodiment of Its power. It reconnected the nearly severed path of the magic tide and connected all multiverse star rivers through the most direct means.
"Predecessors left paths for later ones. We received their blessings, so we exist."
"Later ones leave paths for those who come after. I give you the future, but no thanks are needed."
"Because I believe that you, later one, will do the same—all this blessing, giving, and continuation, back and forth, again and again, is the manifestation of eternal order and civilization!"
Finally, as the Shadow Sage truly departed, heading toward the place of origin, Joshua could hear Its voice, full of goodwill, just like all the goodwill It had experienced back then, gentle and warm.
"You already possess power surpassing nearly all civilizations and lives, yet until now, you still pursue battle, pursue the truth... Is it because you cannot tolerate standing still? Then continue. There are many enemies. Your path is still long. Advance as far as you can—and I, along with other sages, will wait for you ahead, at the eternal end, waiting for 'battle' (you) to arrive."
"Remember, later one, we lives and civilizations do not exist for the sake of the world! On the contrary, the world, and even the multiverse's future, extends before us because of our existence!"
[Shadow] departed, disappearing into the seemingly endless path of the magic tide, leaving only the equally endless shadow path extending within the torrent.
From beginning to end, It never asked Joshua's name, and Joshua never knew Its name.
But that didn't matter, because their identities were predecessor and successor, the former looking forward to the latter, and the latter catching up to the former.
The normal void, along with the Starry World, once again appeared behind the warrior.
But Joshua's heart could not calm for a long time. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"...Wisdom is immortal, order is eternal, inheritance repeats, until now."
So this was the true meaning contained in that ancient inscription.
One sage after another stepped forward. Even when passing away, they made changes, fighting for even a glimmer of hope for this multiverse's future.
But this was far from enough—even the passing of several sages could only forcibly delay the inevitable end by a little.
But there was nothing to fear.
Because from yesterday to today, from today to tomorrow, from tomorrow to the next tomorrow, generation after generation, one predecessor after another had done this. They gave everything to fight for more possibilities for later ones, to add to the ethereal chance of victory in the future.
"Even if tomorrow is an abyss, an endless naraka, I will not stop."
Opening his eyes, Joshua calmly raised his hand, gazing at the source of the magic tide, looking into the distant spacetime beyond, just like the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate that had perished not long ago.
He clenched his fist, as if trying to grasp that illusory light.
—Because countless people's yesterdays created my today.
—And my today must exist for countless people's tomorrows.
—Volume 18, Abyss of Tomorrow·End