Soul of Searing Steel
chapter-1046-30041322

"…Whatever. Your Honor, why are you telling me so many things?"

Alpha had been silent for a moment after High Judge Grong's rather goading words, before eventually sneering and shaking his head at the old man from the Order of the Ashes. "The reality of it is that I am such a foolish person that I could not even see through your trap, and I am still within your clutches. You could tell me anything you want, but I would never be able to say no… isn't that so?"

Alpha sighed inwardly after his own words—the Order of the Ashes did not try to capture him previously as they needed him to come here so they could locate the crystal obelisk. And now, after their objective had been achieved, did he even need to be kept alive? Did his family's safety still matter? To tell the truth, there was no assurances to be had. While the Order of Ashes was an organization of orthodox religion, they were certainly not on the side of the angels.

"Do you believe that you serve so little?"

Still, Grong studied him with an expression that was not quite a smile. "Scholar Alpha, do not underestimate your own value. What kind of a person could have so easily crossed the entire vastness of the Nightfall Zone to come here to the Lightless zone as if guided by fate, arriving at a destination without coming across any aberrations of Chaos? And finally, bypassing every safety measure inside the crystal obelisk without being threatened at all, and arrive in the depths of this prehistoric ruin?"

"Do you believe that mortals could give birth to such prodigious talents such as your own daughter and son?"

Alpha promptly looked up at those words, his terrifying glare tunneling straight into the old man's own. However, Grong appeared unconcerned, and instead turned to shake his head at the escort around them, gesturing that they did not have to be on standby and allowed them to explore every corner of the hall. Then, as they all left, the white-haired Judge gestured for Alpha to follow him, striding towards the center of the hall.

Even if he could not wait to cut Grong and all his cronies into pieces, Alpha really wanted to know about his family, and as such could only keep up with the High Judge—Grong seemingly knew that very well too, and as such, he continued without turning back to glance at Alpha, "Relax, Scholar Alpha. Your daughter, your son and your wife are well. As a matter of fact, the Order of the Ashes are providing them much better living conditions than what they get in Academy City. After all, we do need your daughter's power to move the stars."

"Move…the stars!"

All kinds of thoughts flashed through Alpha's mind upon hearing that, such as the phenomenon where many stars were disappearing from the Nightfall Zone, the ever-expanding Lightless zone, the objective of the Order of the Ashes, along with the objective of his own mentor and the others on her side.

However, all of those things ended up being summed into a single question, "What have you done to my daughter?! And what is with moving stars? Simboa is…

"Simboa Falster is just an ordinary young girl—is that what you mean to say? But you would be gravely mistaken on that notion.

While Grong appeared to be advanced in adage, it remained that he was a Supreme-tier champion. Alpha would never be able to defeat him even if he should go into a fit of violent rage. Still, the High Judge did not continue to provoke Alpha either, and instead said forthrightly, "Relax. Simboa has been bestowed with a position akin to a Sacred Child, so no one would dare lay a finger on her. On the other hand, while your sun is less of a prodigy, he is still a divine providence. There is certainly no need to speak for your wife either—she only knows that you may have journeyed afar, but does not know where you had gone either. In fact, she is happily caring for the children and reveling in the delight of their talent."

"But, that hand…"

"We had already come to possess perfect cloning technology forty thousand years ago…but you did not even attempt to check if the hand was your child's. To be honest, for you to so easily buy into it has really been a waste of our technician's effort."

Even if he could not tell if Grong was lying, it was the truth that the High Judge has not caused any harm upon Alpha himself. Coupled with the exceeding nonchalance in his tone which did not at all resemble a lie, the surging hatred within Alpha cracked…he was certainly aware that the High Judge could have been using words to incite, then diminish his wrath and hatred and wire down his intent to resist so he would loosen up if they wanted him to talk later, but in comparison, he wanted to know more about his family's situation.

But regrettably, Grong said nothing more about that subject, and instead continued to stride towards he centers of the hall while switching to another subject.

"Did you know, Scholar Alpha, that there were once gods existing in this world?"

"…It is a fact that everyone knows. The Age of the Gods has stood for a long fifty thousand years—from a hundred thousand years ago to fifty thousand years ago."

Nonetheless, Grong ignored Alpha's tone of 'what nonsense are you on about', and simply continued, "But fifty thousand years ago, the Age of the Gods suddenly ended: every god had lost their divine power, and naturally, all them died out."

"The first was the God of War, and then the God of Duels and the God of Assassinations—every divine being whose title had to do with killing had lost their divine power, before it was the turn of various regional deities and creator deities…but in the end, every single god would lose their divine power. The Order of the Ashes was still a religious organization of different gods and the Father himself, which was why we recorded in detail the time and chronological order in which each deity had lost their divine power. It was also in that period when the many floating cities had crashed down from the skies and been reduced to ruins.

"Do you understand? In a brief time of less than five years, ever single divine being had lost their divine power one after another, while our own gods was not afforded the time to prepare themselves—the shrines atop the Godly Summit were all left to waste, just as the teleportation network which was built at its center all disappeared. Our nation was hence divided by elongated distances, our cities also falling one after another, as the era of brightness that we once controlled ended completely because of the passing of the gods and their divine might.

At those words, Grong's tone seemed to thicken with regret, but it appeared that he was not feeling such emotions over the passing of the gods.

Instead, he was feeling sorry about the frailty of the Lightchasers' civilization.

"Our civilization had hence completely withdrawn from vast and borderless Nightfall Zone to return to the Radiant Domain…but could you guess what he had discovered?"

"The Radiant Domain is shrinking too."

In that very moment, the pair had arrived at the center of the hall, with the crystal pillar holding the slumbering blonde youth hanging right over their heads—Grong then turned to look into Alpha's own eyes, hardly concealing the dismay in his expression while Alpha himself appeared to have suddenly understood something.

"Yes," the High Judge said flatly, "In just two hundred years, the surface of the Radiant Domain has shrunken an entire five percent, and the rate of shrinking is ever increasing. If this continues, it would merely be less than ten thousand years before every Lightchaser would have to live in eternal Nightfall, or even perpetual darkness." 

And yet, the Radiant Domain was still existing even after fifty thousand years had passed.

Once he thought about that reality along with the 'star moving' which Grong himself had mentioned, a horrifying possibility welled into his head. Leveling his eyes at Grong, he slowly said, "And that is why all of you have been moving the stars…into the Radiant Domain? So it is to keep the fire going within…"

"To be precise, it won't be us—but the many Sacred Children of the Stars."

The white-haired High Judge appeared calm, quietly murmuring a praise to the Father before continuing, "In that moment of despair, the various founders of the Order of the Ashes had eventually discovered a type of children possessing remarkable attributes within this world that would soon fall."

"They…all of those children are all essentially girls, although that does not matter with a race such as the Lightchasers, since some of us can reproduce asexually or even change between the sexes. But whatever the case may be, all these children would have the power to produce progeny…and along with their power to control the orbits of stars, they also have the power to control the ground of Steel to a certain extent, or accelerate the rate at which the stars form!"

"Unusual, isn't it? Don't make that face of disbelief because it is reality. We are not sure how the founders had discovered that back then…anyway, we were calling those children Starherders at first, or the reincarnation of every powerful divine being, because the world changes under their command and drives those stars in motion. Still, it was only later when we had realized that rather than driving, those children were actually 'guiding', or 'hoping' that the stars would move in the directions they wanted instead of command and control. That is why we now call them the Sacred Children of the Stars."

Although Grong appeared to be downplaying the situation, Alpha could still understand the sheer despair of the time: the Lightchasers had lost the gods, then the Chaos invaded, just as they would discover that the Radiant Domain was rapidly shrinking. On the other hand, they would naturally be so delighted upon discovering the Children of the Stars—it was the thrill of encountering hope in the face of despair, something which successors such as them could never experience.

And that was also when Grong's voice also apparently became sincere.

"That is why the Order of Ashes is doing everything possible to find and groom more Children of the Stars…that is why our civilization is still continuing after fifty thousand years have passed. We had not fall to the age of darkness where the fire dies, still burning strongly as the last embers."

"So, do you understand now, Scholar Alpha?"

"We are the Order of the Ashes, a group of people who have been trying the save the whole world all along! Both your mentor nor your superior were Children of the Stars whom were not discovered until recently. They possess the ability to control the stars as well, and yet they were unwilling to contribute with their power to keep our entire civilization going, even scheming to sabotage our operations in finding new children! It is an act of hostility against all Lightchasers, a path that is almost on the brink of Chaos!"

"Join us. Your mentor had been reluctant to contribute her strength to civilization, and though we could understand such selfish desire, it is still our hope that you can abandon your prejudices and become a part of us."

***

Aside from being utterly stunned, Alpha also managed to connect every clue…such as why Professor Karlis had been especially doting over his own daughter, and why something so important as vanishing stars did not stir ripples over the Alliance? It truly had not been simple—and with them being residents of the Radiant Domain, every leader would definitely not hesitate to plunder the stars from the Nightfall Zone!

With that, everyone else's actions now basically made sense. The reason the Order of the Ashes had threatened him so viciously previously and were treating him with such kindness now was entirely because they knew that Alpha would not be so easily turned against his own mentor. As such, they had stayed on the lookout for an opportunity to reach out to him in a place not known to anyone else, where they would then try to convince him to become a double-agent, or track him until he eventually arrived at his mentor's hiding place, and in turn rein in more Children of the Stars and away from their grasp.

Everything was indeed explainable…except for one thing.

"All that you have said is right, Your Honor, and I can't think of any retort—to maintain the Radiant Domain where the true core of our civilization exists, it doesn't actually matter if the stars of the Nightfall Zone are taken away or if countless colonies would be in ruins. After all, the people I know and are close to are all living in the Radiant Domain. Everything would be beneficial to me."

"Even so…what is this crystal obelisk actually for? Why would all of you follow me here as if you have been looking for it all along, not to mention the being slumbering here…"

As he spoke, Alpha looked up at the dense engravings and runes over the crystal pillar, along with the glinting and converging radiance, his tone deepening to a growl. "Moreover, how do the Children of the Stars actually control so many stellar bodies? And you haven't told me anything about Simboa, but simply that she is a Child and is valued…is she living well? Is she happy? Why won't you tell me any of that? I just want to know those things, as a father!"

"…You are asking too many questions."

Grong breathed a sigh. "About this crystal obelisk…I can only tell you that it is a tower that strengthen signals, and there is another one in the Godly Summit. As for the being that sleeps here…didn't the mural you see along the way made it clear? He is a clergy serving the Seven Gods in the age of Creation, a great hero who had fought the Chaos alongside the father."

"…and you want to awaken him?" Alpha asked rather drily. "To have this slumbering hero serve you?"

"Of course not—or as I should say, he isn't the one we want to awaken. Still, we need his power now, otherwise how would the Children of the Stars who were mortals, even little girls just a while ago, control the flow of the millions of stars?

Then, Grong saw Alpha's impassive expression and hence could not help but sigh. "It appears that you still would not help us, am I right? And to think that I have been so patient and gentle…why can't any of you just understand? Every measure that could be taken must be taken in this dark age when the Flame is about to die. The fire which we have kept alive over dozens of thousands of years by putting everything on the line had been thanks the sacrifices of generation after generation of brothers and sisters serving the Order…we have assuredly committed much vileness in the name of civilizations, but we don't regret that.

"Of course, I really wish that I could have been in their place instead."

With those words, Grong waved his right palm which ignited with sparks before a blazing longsword materialized instantly over his hand. As he slowly approached Alpha, the High Judge affirmed for the last time, "Scholar Alpha, I will not kill you because you are a Lightchaser, but we will brainwash you—all your knowledge and your identity would serve our purpose. Do your best not to resist, and I will be gentle.

"Well, I do believe that your Order had certainly sacrificed everything to save the Lightchasers, but as compared to you lot, I am more willing to trust my mentor and my own instincts! Thank you for your explanation—I now understand a great many things."

Irrepressible shudders extended over Alpha's entire body as Grong, a champion who was a full tier above his own, closed in on him. Even so, he firmly stood his ground—his ears had now became pointed and his entire body shrouded in a thin silver light, and the middle-aged man suddenly looked up and yelled at the endless radiance hovering at the top of the hall.

"Praise the Ruler! Pause the slumber nourishment sequence! Restoration Beam, energize! Commencing awakening procedure!" (Mycroftian Basic spoken in Silver Fairy accent)

"Pope whose name I know not, hero before time— that group of people in red-black robes are about to use you as a battery!" (Mycroftian Basic spoken in Silver Fairy accent)

"…what are you saying?" (Lightchaser language)

The old white-haired man was left bewildered for an instant, faintly sensing a familiarity with Alpha's words as if he had heard something similar elsewhere…but he soon realized that something was not right.

A powerful and abundant might which surpassed most gods and reached 'Ultimate' was reviving above the heads of everyone else, awakening as his frightening presence overflowed.

Ooom—

A dull rumble echoed as if the entire obelisk and the whole world was shaking.

"What—what is going on?!

Although the cause for it was unclear, there was no doubt that everything happening had to do with Alpha and the unknown language which he had suddenly spoken in! A veteran of a hundred battles, Grong moved decisively and rushed at the top of his speed towards Alpha—but because he never had the intent to kill even to the very end and only wanted to persuade or brainwash Alpha, the fates were sealed.

Therefore, amidst clear cracking sounds as if glass was shattering and the silver crystal pillar itself turned into a luminous obelisk which extended throughout the entire hall, the youth with flaxen hair who was slumbering in the pillar gently opened his eyes. The resounding thumps of a beating heart resounded and gained rapidness, and as that sound grew in vigor, the youth clenched both his fists, momentarily at a loss before coming to a realization with a start!

Ah—so it has been so long?

However, it did not matter at all. After all, he had awakened from a slumber which was no different from death, and started from a distant past, before lasting so long that everything could have been forgotten.

As he lowered his head, one could see a gentleness in the eyes of the blonde youth, which was as intimate and warm as the first light of summer. Blinking, the youth then laughed once as he studied the people in the hall.

Then, all light and the movements of every person stagnated.

"So, the cycle of strife between Order continues?"

***

It was only then that Grong, who had been left frozen halfway through his dash at Alpha, remembered where he had actually heard the language before: it was an ancient divine language which was said to be used by some of the divine beings when the world came to be…moreover, compared to the other divine tongues which had been passed down, the words of the youth before them sounded more ancient and even more tender.

"I understand the reason for your conflict… even when both are right, the differences between must be sorted out when both are pitted against each other. As long as the individual isn't a champion, the dilemma has to be confronted."

"However, the fact that the Chaos must be destroyed is the single similarity every Order shares."

In an instant, the myriad-colored luminous bubbles which had been swirling over the roof of the hall gathered behind the youth, and as the radiance stiffened, it turned into a pure-white robe that covered the youth's body. He strode a step forward, and copious Holy Light overflowed across every direction like tidal waves, bounding across the crystal obelisk!

Amidst the Lightless Zone beyond the crystal obelisk, a rift resembling a scar began to split over the corpse mountain which buried the entire obelisk. Streaks of sacred rays hence shot out of the rift, each a keen edge and a sign—as the entire bulk of the mountain was shattered by the great Holy Light, the colossal and majestic mountain which was twenty-four light-minutes in height crumbled resoundingly. At the same time, a bright Holy Light fired out from the sharp edge of the obelisk, boosted and strengthened before turning into a beam that permeated the endless darkness of the Lightless Zone, pillaring heaven and earth!

As the great earthquake slowly spread out towards the endless distance and dust billowed without limit, a profound silver obelisk hence detached from ancient stone layers and history itself to stand aloft over the ground. Dazzling Holy Light then shone over millions of miles away, reducing the countless Chaos aberrations into ashes just by brushing over them!

At that very moment, inside the obelisk, Alpha who had been stagnated as well leveled his gaze at Grong's shocked and enraged face, his eyes filled with delight.

"Never expected that, huh?"

"I understand the engravings!"

***

Ever since he had entered the obelisk, Alpha had the nagging feeling that a kind of instinct was being awakened in his bloodline. When he was studying the murals, he had the vaguest feeling that he seemed to understand the complex engravings, and as time passed, the memories and knowledge grew increasingly vivisd—it was really thanks to Grong's persistence for convincing him to join the Order of the Ashes, or he would otherwise not have had enough time to understand the words carved beside the crystal pillar that was hanging beneath the top of the hall.

[Remember to clear the dust once every three days.]

[Do not neglect checking the slumber nourishment sequence.]

[Remember to energize the Restoration Beam before commencing awakening procedure, or the one asleep would have difficulty coming out.]

[Do not forget to praise the Ruler loudly (very important).]

[ ] (The Silver Fairies had not come up with anything worth making a reminder of yet)

It would have been fine to not know what it was saying when it came to that cluster of engravings but when he did, Alpha realized that the words were written with a terrible scrawl, not to mention that the letters varied in sizes. One could tell that the being who had written those text did not consider the matter of esthetics at all…

But who cares!

Awakening the unknown, slumbering being just might have been what his mentor had sent him here to do. In turn, there was also no doubt that being able to understand the horribly written engravings was something only he could do!

***

At the same time, in the depths of the Lightless Zone outside the obelisk, atop the peak of another mountain.

"It appears that the little fellow has done very well. Another old friend of us has been awakened, but unlike us who had been revived halfway through and left powerless, he has the power to transform the current turn of events!

Wearing a brown, hardened adventurer outfit, famed scholar Baroness Karlis, with her silver hair, red eyes and alabaster skin would certainly be considered a beauty—if not for the bizarre eye mask she was wearing, which turned out to be a pair of binoculars. She was watching the rising pure-white beam out in the distance, and muttered to herself emotionally, "That being said…well, I really can't understand why there always are those unusual specimens amongst humans who develop bizarre desires for fairies."

"You're wrong on one count. Based on what I know, this particular case is of the fairy professing love to the ancestor of the little fellow."

Beside Karlis, royal scholar Mycroft was wagging a finger and tutting away. She had the same red eyes and silver-hair, but her skin was a healthy brown. "The races over at your end are purer, while the mixed-ancestry is plenty over at my end—should I provide a description about how mermaids were mingling with centaurs and breeding offspring resembling seahorses?"

"…Spare me."

Left simply astonished as her friend mentioned something that could leave all human common sense in tatters, Karlis paused for a moment before turning back to the crystal obelisk. "It looks like I am definitely right on the money," she said emotionally. "Amongst the multitude of beings over the Steel Continent, he is definitely the one fellow to have fully awakened his silver fairy blood, and holds the right to govern the interior of this Silver World."

"Ever since the Silver Fairies had sacrificed themselves in the war against the Chaos fifty thousand years ago while the few that remained had volunteered themselves to be adapted as divine armaments, he is probably the last remaining person who inherits that person's bloodline."

"Any person who can draw Steel Pythons to reincarnate is certainly no ordinary person. But as compared to all that, he is still caught beside those people from the Order of the Ashes. Is that going to be alright?"

Shrugging and moving away about the secret tales regarding mermaid, centaur, and seahorse bloodlines, Mycroft appeared to lack any interest in the present subject. "If Igor moves carelessly and lets them kill your student, the last Authority of Silver Fairies will be gone."

"Leaving aside whether Igor would be so dull, we can simply resurrect him if he dies. Moreover, the Order of the Ashes is not going to do that—even if their actions are underhanded, disgusting, and devoid of humanity, they have really been working hard to save the world. In that respect, they are the same as we are.

With those words, both Mycroft and Karlis slowly took to the air, their bodies covered in silver radiance. A warping radiance was glimmering at direction of the distant Holy Light beacon, but before she left for the obelisk, Karlis's last words could be heard.

"Still, if their intention is to pass on the flame, our intention is to extinguish it."

***

Cometh the tinder's drying, cometh the Inferno's rekindling.

And day would only ever and certainly come. In fact, it was about to come.

They believed that.