Soul of Searing Steel
chapter-1049-30041322

"…I understand your point of view and I am very sorry in that regard. But I cannot hand over the Children of The Stars to you."

Mara's expression darkened. She was certainly able to tell who the others were—they were the Child of Star whom they did not manage to find, and the other ancient champions she had freed recently. But even as Karlis threatened her from above, the First Steward had also taken to the skies in a flash, glaring at afar with the reincarnated Steel Python with another dozen flashes rising from the Bright Splendor City and hovering behind her.

As an assembly by the many former religious bodies, a realm that stretched across the Radiant Domain and millions of other moving worlds, the fighting force of the Order of the Ashes amongst their trillion population in the Bright Splendor City included dozens of divine heirs and Legendary champions. With their full force, they could fearlessly fight alone against the endless torrents of Chaos pouring from the Lightless Zone—but with their range of influence being so wide, they could not easily assemble their sparsely distributed forces.

Be that as it may, with the power of a trillion citizens, billions of Extraordinary individuals, an entire supermassive moving world, along with the power of eighteen Legendary champions, they could certainly hold their own against those revived Ultimate champions, even if their numbers were half of their adversary's. At the very least, with the distress signal having been sent, they just needed to buy enough time for champions from everywhere across the Three Worlds and Nine Skies to come and encircle them.

"Then, this is war!"

However, their imposing formation did not even cause so much as a twitch on the prehistoric champions' faces. They had already been through something a million times worse, not to mention that each were elites amongst Legends—if a galaxy could nurture no more ten civilizations with Legendary beings, the proportion of those who could break through as Ultimate Legends would be the same as that of mortal breaking through as Legends. And each of these old champions could dominate entire galaxies, carving their name amongst other champions of the cosmos as the most powerful individuals below Demi Saints!

And right after Karlis's brisk declaration of war, a massive swirl appeared at once on top of Bright Splendor City—the huge drill which the former Steel Python held in his hand was churning the cumbersome atmosphere and turning it into streaks of raging twisters. Without hesitation, she hence flung the drill that could crush a star instantly at the barrier of the city!

Hence, the battle began. The ancient awakened ones would duel those from the present, old champions awakening from ruins with the intent of destroying the world, along with champions of today who had toiled to save the world. No quarter would be given, because even if there was mutual understanding or sympathizing, any struggle was inevitable.

Even so, the Order of the Ashes could not imagine that the battle where all they needed to do was to 'buy time' was nothing but a loud 'cover'.

***

Dozens of minutes earlier, a single inconspicuous radiance had tailed a ship, using the cover of its exhaust fumes to infiltrate the colossal mobile city.

Moreover, the single light was enfolding several other beings.

"The battle has begun. We have to accomplish our own task."

In the borderless plantation zone at the edge of the world, Igor narrowed his eyes at the dazzling fireworks that were bursting over the skies—before the Steel Strength drill could punch through more than a few layers of divine spells, the divine heir who wielded the power of gravity and was the current First Steward had deflected it.

It had meant that on one side was a former Steel Python and World Will, and the other a champion who had reached the pinnacle of the same path. However, the latter was coming out on top despite the fact that both of them were accomplished masters, as Karlis's strength had only started to recover over a decade ago and was unable to hold against Mara's ceaseless centuries worth of cultivation. But soon, Mycroft also joined the fray, and though she appeared nonchalant, she was Karlis's superior in both strength and technique.

Apart from that, another eight revived Legendary champions were daring towards different corners of the worlds and fighting other Legendary members of the Order—while the fight appeared fearsome, there was the nagging sensation that some of them were holding back. It would seem that they would rather delay the Order rather than beat them, so that they could keep them preoccupied.

"Grong, we are only here because you've told us that this city is where the Children of the Stars are kept, and the control center of the Shadow Orbit which shifts the stars."

Turning away from the battle going on overhead, Igor looked down at the rather dispirited High Judge. "Don't worry about your brethren—no one fighting here is the kind who would simply take a life. The battle is a cover for our infiltration, and no one would die if you hurry up and point us the way to the Children."

"Now, where are they?"

Beside them, Alpha did not actually hear Igor's interrogation. From the instant he entered the city, the man worried for his family felt a mysterious 'call'—it was so direct that it seemed no different from a voice speaking right beside his ear, guiding him towards a certain place.

Whether it had been a trap or an illusion, Alpha looked up and afar in the direction of the industrial zone. He had wanted to say something, but Grong had already pointed at the same course after a moment of silence.

"There is a vast subterranean space beneath the multi-precision nanomachine factory center in Industrial Area Fifty-One. Most of the Children would be inside."

In response, Igor opened his senses to confirm that Grong was telling the truth, before the three continued forward unhesitatingly as imperceptible flashes and headed towards Industrial Area Fifty-One. It was actually quite far from where they had been, with many powerful sentry spells placed along the way that forced Igor to make detours just to avoid detection—but naturally, it was also actually no more than the blink of an eye for both Alpha and Grong before they had arrived at the edge of the industrial era, a process faster than opening a portal and stepping into it.

Industrial Area Fifty-One was a cluster of massive factories and steel buildings with various appearances which stood at the center of the district. Within an area of a normal planet, it was composed of massive structures, metal buildings, as well as flashing energy cores. Its scenery was elegant enough, an unlike the agricultural zones which were plantations and farmsteads, the industrial zone was purely manmade blocks of steels. In addition, with the blessings of the God of Machines, the Order of the Ashes boasted a mass production capacity for animated nanomachines, which in turn limited pollution while providing remarkable efficiency, and not to mention that it did not have a natural ecosystem that required maintaining.

Standing aloft at the center of the district was a massive pyramidal structure that stood fifteen thousand meters tall. It was basically the production base of entire world city, but the exposed part of its structure was merely its entrances and exits: its real bulk was underground, penetrating the entire base of the Bright Splendor City, with Zone Fifty-One build right beside the pyramid and reinforced with heavily monitored perimeters.

If it had been just Grong and Alpha, they would have probably put up a grand infiltration show where they would move stimulatingly to avoid the legions of sentries, avoiding traps of advanced technology and finally reaching inside for their quarry—but with a Legendary champion with them, things were certainly not that troublesome. As Grong sourly pointed to the right entrance to the concentration training area of the Children of the Stars, his earlier enthusiasm no longer existent, Igor sent an encrypted message to the other champions.

Over the skies, the ancient champions twitched inwardly when they received word that Igor had found their target and that they had to draw all attention of the Order now. Hence, as presences several times more horrific extended in no time at all, the floating stars above the Bright Splendor City shifted tracks under the wills of champions, one after another falling visibly without pause. Behind them, hundreds more were aimed true and pulled towards the base of the Order of the Ashes as one colossal artificial downpour of Starfall!

Every single member of the Order therefore withdrew immediately from the battle and their power to counter the impacts—the divine powered barrier of the Bright Splendor City would without a doubt stop the meteor rain, but if the assault of other Legends ensued, the barrier, which was at critical point, would be torn apart. In turn, the trillions living in the city would be reduced to dust in under the monumental force as the stars crashed down, and the champions must hence give nothing less than their best.

"You said that it would be just a feint!"

Staring blankly as the fireballs over the sky became larger and larger to the point that they blocked out entire skies and fields of vision, Grong turned at once and screamed in rage at Igor and Alpha, "How is that a feint!?"

Even if rising and falling stars were part of everyday life, it did not mean that the citizens of the Steel Continent could sit around indifferently as an entire star crashed down on their heads!

"What else should we do, then?"

Nonetheless, Grong was greeted with Igor's unconcerned expression—the battle against the swarms of Evil Gods in the distant past had been one where half of a galaxy had been modified into a chains stronghold, with each having to withstand more Chaos than the now-falling stars. "It's no big deal, really. Let's keep going then—90% of energy supplies has been redirected to reinforce the city barriers. Now would be the best time for us to slip in."

The perimeters which were set up in Area Fifty-One but was now devoid of energy could never have stopped a Legendary champion, but Igor was cautious enough, not wanting anyone to notice anything, and hence asked for a flawless infiltration. Turning into light again with the two Lightchasers, the former Pope of Mycroft darted long the passageways and pipelines beneath Area Fifty-One.

It was another large factory within which many production carts and control rooms were tidily arranged. It appeared to be a former production place for large, delicate machinery for mobile cities, such as world barrier generators or anti-gravity cores. Igor also noticed that the Order's technology shared the same origins as Mycroft technology—or indeed, the Lightchasers used a mix of old Mycroft technology along with the technology of other civilizations.

That was not surprising, as Igor knew that Joshua was creating heroic spirits, and his world was, in the first place, basically an oversized laboratory built to revive various civilizations. Even after he had become so powerful, the fundamental truth would never change: the Lightchasers were civilizations extracted from the Evil God of Death and brought back to life inside his body. After being revived, those civilizations which had once fallen and became Evil Gods would fight once against the Chaos, and that was the method with which Joshua would slowly reduce the remnant Chaos in his own body after he had fallen to Divine Death himself.

Nonetheless, the deeper Alpha ventured, the more suspicious he became.

The call he heard was becoming louder, but there were simply no residential areas along the way. Still, there was no doubt that Grong was telling the truth: the Children of the Stars were there but somewhere deeper, yet they were also inside a real factory without any equipment for life support. Most of the production manufacturing machines there were automated and required little human maintenance, not to mention that most technicians were working above ground, presenting the appearance they saw on the surface.

He felt a growing sense of uneasiness.

Only when they had moved seventeen kilometers below the Bright Splendor City and reached the bowels where endless strict sentries stood guard that the uneasiness reached its peak.

There lay an unusually massive lake of steel, a pool of mithril alloy which had a strong affinity for energies. From a three-dimensional perspective, it was a massive cylindrical crater with a four-kilometer radius and was eight kilometers deep, filled with a glimmering, enchanting potion like stardust. Being a scholar, Alpha could easily tell that it was a spirit elixir brewed from Crangrass and other ingredients, boosting spiritual prowess and accelerating training—a luxury potion for cultivation. If sold outside, even a thumb-sized bottle of that potion would be enough to sustain a silver spellcaster for a month.

And now, there was a vertical cylinder eight kilometers wide and eight kilometers tall filled with the precious potion. The surface of the lake was crystalline as if something was moving randomly at its depths—in reality, the lake was also the center of a large spell, with circuits of energy flickering in vague radiance connected to countless running machines above, illuminating the entire underground factory. 

"…Alpha."

Igor had suddenly spoken out with a quiet voice. There was no change in his expression, but his eyes were lowered—the young form of the former pontiff pressed a hand over Alpha as his senses went into overdrive and was so stimulated that he would go straight ahead. "It's a little dangerous and it would be better if you don't go since you're weaker."

But as Igor turned to glance at Grong, he noticed that the High Judge, who had been melancholic since his capture, was now spirited once again. He was even staring straight into Igor's own eyes without backing down, which left the Legendary champions frowning slightly.

"No, Steward."

Having learnt that Igor was the pontiff of the Seven Gods Church, Alpha had addressed him along the journey with the Lightchaser term—and now, there was an earnest beseeching in the middle-aged man's voice. "Allow me to go with you. I don't fear danger, and I can feel my daughter calling for me… she is greeting me happily, I can feel it…"

"…happy, huh?

With a faint, imperceptible sigh, Igor did not stop Alpha and hence led the two into the lake of potion. There were also many runes around the lake drawn with purple crystals, each dense and making up the structure of a very complex integrated spell formation: with purple crystals being a material with affinity to spiritual energy and soul, combining it with mithril would forge various equipment and machines to boost spellcasting abilities. And now, those precious materials were all being extravagantly piled together into a complex, tangled, and very powerful network.

Meanwhile, the lake was suddenly stirring even more strongly. Whatever lying beneath was becoming more excited, with faint-blue stardust potion kicking ripples, as beautiful as a dream.

What was the Order of the Ashes actually doing? Where were the Children of the Stars? All kinds of possibilities were hinting towards a single truth, but Alpha would neither believe nor think about what it meant.

Now, beside the lake, they could clearly see a massive circulate silhouette hovering at the depths of the potion and churning the light. As Igor, Grong and Alpha approached, the silhouette seemed to become excited and wanted to float out of the potion, but it would also draw back in fear each time it tried to reach out to them, sinking back into the lake.

That process was repeated quite a few times.

"Come out. Don't be afraid."

In the end, Igor spoke out, soothing the huge thing beneath the lake and alleviating their fears—with a most genuine pontiff whose soul was elderly and friendly, the massive thing beneath the light was no longer troubled or kept hovering when it sensed his warmth and friendliness, but instead rose slowly out of the lake.

Grong was silent and did not make a sound, while Alpha agitatedly tried to approach it—only to freeze where he had been.

Because a massive sphere had appeared before the trio: three kilometers long, a luminous grey with substantial flashes of silver flickering within…a sphere of psionic matter.

In other words, a massive physical composite of countless souls combined in one.

***

The soul realm of everyone around it rumbled and stirred in the instant that the massive soul floated out of the lake: it was no different from a soul with the present star—explosive and filled with endless power, and could not wait to unleash its radiance and heat to illuminate everything around itself.

In that split second, all beings below Legendary-tier—including the other member of the Order of the Ashes standing guard—were caught in a mirage, a warm dreamworld where they were basking and enfolded in eternal light.

Likewise, Alpha was caught in the illusion when he sensed it. In that precise second, he could hear his daughter, Simboa Falster, seemingly trying to tell him something. However, he could not hear it clearly or understand it, while both his mouth and nose began to overflow with blood.

Noticing that, the massive soul sphere cried out in sadness and quickly dived into the lake again, keeping just a little part of itself exposed on the surface.

Most of the unstoppable soul presence diminished after it was covered in the spirit potion once again—it appears that the lake was able to block the powerful soul ripples, even as it kept the soul sphere alive.

It was only then that Alpha, who had been a little dazed since a while ago, clearly heard the many voices.

"Daddy, you're finally here…it's been years since they've said you would come…you're very late."

"Sorry, daddy. Didn't notice that for a moment…are you still hurting?"

Recovering with a start at his daughter's voice, Alpha's gaze focused once again as he felt a faint touch on his face: it was the physical spiritual force carefully stroking him. Smiling bitterly, Alpha wiped the still-flowing blood on his face with his sleeve, standing up and walking towards the nearby lake in trembling but determined steps towards the massive physical soul.

Igor did not stop him, but instead turned and leveled his harshest stare yet at Grong. Even so, the High Judge appeared unconcerned—he, too, was watching the massive soul sphere, with a look that could have been either misery or pride in his eyes which eventually became serene composure.

And now, things were very clear.

The massive sphere of physical souls was an assembly of the many souls belonging to the Children of the Stars and each flash of silver represented a soul that was still alive. They were all connected by the grey soul medium, simultaneously nurturing a horrific soul power so frightening and far eclipsing any other living being, which was in turn absorbed by the lake of spirit potion and transferred to the various spell formations around them.

It was a huge manmade soul composite belonging to the children, embodying unending authority which commanded the stars and all that lived, a living controller of stellar bodies.

And one could certainly imagine what the Order of the Ashes had done to achieve their feat of moving the stars.

"Daughter…my daughter…"

Kneeling before the lake, Alpha felt an impulse to dive inside the lake and touch the huge body of souls—but he did not dare to do so.

What if he sullied the lake with his own relatively turbid body?

At first, he began to scream hoarsely, before tears overflowed as extreme self-blame and misery left him speechless. Physical spiritual energy reached out as if to wipe away his tears, but was unable to clear all of them.

Soon, however, there were no more tears. Alpha was no mortal, and losing control over emotions briefly would not destroy an Extraordinary individual's mind. He stood up once again, and then wrathfully rushed towards Grong.

"You knew, didn't you?!"

"You knew from the very start, and that's why you did not tell me anything!"

Mustering Gold-tier strength that could punch into a massive mountain and shatter solid ramparts, the sheer force landed heavily on Grong's face. With a dull thud of flesh and bone bursting apart, his skull and jaw were partially obliterated while his cheeks were left hollowed as blood spurted away.

Alpha froze in spite of his rage at the sight—his Gold-tier power would have resulted in nothing more than an itch from a mosquito bite, and the punch should have at most pushed him a few steps back with the High Priest's circulating energy within his body. This could only mean that Grong had completely given up on defending himself, even pausing his body's energy flow.

However, that could certainly not calm Alpha's rage. Gritting his teeth, he punched out at Grong again, this time aiming his fist at his chest. "Are you sorry now?! Feeling regret for doing such a thing?! Do you think that you could atone for it when I beat you up?!"

Don't make me laugh!

Striking out at Grong's heart, Alpha's fist would also keep up the momentum and strike upwards to blow up the High Judge's brains, while a surge of energy would completely interrupt his body's energy circulation. It would have been a lethal strike if Grong was truly defenseless, and physical disability would be quite serious unless he had assumed the path of Soul Mastery.

Grong was assuredly defenseless, but Igor also reacted.

Faint Holy Light glimmered and intercepted Alpha's fist. Igor glanced at him calmly once, before saying, "Let us listen to what he has to say. Killing him won't change a thing, and it would better to ask for a solution."

It was a rational opinion, and Alpha did not resist Igor's restraining either. He simply lowered his fist dejectedly and turned to look at the massive soul still floating in the lake.

On the other hand, Grong's face remained impassive as he placed a hand over the wound on his mouth—and soon enough, flesh regenerated and his face was mostly recovered. He said nothing to Alpha, who was still glaring at him viciously, but instead flatly muttered, "All of them are still alive."

"All of them, from the earliest to the most recent, every Child of the Stars is alive…at least, their souls are living."

"Don't lie."

Grong's words left a deep frown on Igor, with the Legendary champion shaking his head and scolding him, "So many soul and psionic substance sticking together as one—keeping the soul of the children fused together alive and without rejection? Where could such a soul medium have come from? And you would claim that the Children of the Stars are still alive? That's not how you tell a lie."

"Well, who else is there to create it?"

Grong was staring at the silver flashes of radiant souls within the grey soul medium. The souls were so beautiful and dazzling that they were a stark contrast from the dullness of the soul medium, but as Grong looked at it, he also seemed to be seeing rows of tombstones and graves.

After another moment of silence, the High Judge declared aloud with a prideful voice, "It was us."

"It was all us."

***

At different moments, the word 'us' would have many different usage or meanings.

However, at that very moment, the 'us' whom High Judge Grong was referring to was no other than the entire group called the Order of the Ashes.

"The selection is difficult, and too few souls actually match in resonance. However, the Order has many volunteers, and most of them had willingly sacrificed their own souls after learning about our purpose and troubles. They would hence become the raw materials and fuel for the composite of Children of the Stars—the Celestial Synth Souls—and it's not suffering, but an honor."

Turning towards the impassive Igor who appeared to be thinking and the stunned, bewildered Alpha, Grong smiled and continued calmly, "We have dissolved the physical form of the children with a secret recipe, allowing their souls to combine as one and be drawn into a dream state which we induced, hence granting control of the stars. The Children of the Stars are the power that saves our world and perpetuates the existence of the Flame, and the only object of worship for the Order after we had lost our gods."

Meanwhile, the grey soul medium was slowly but inevitability evaporating. Even if shrouded within layers of spells and covered in the spirit potion, not to mention that the living silver souls inside would definitely lose their protection without the soul medium, and finally decay into the grey soul medium as well.

That was why replenishments were needed. Grong looked up at the main pipe directly above the lake—when activated, it would descend and inject finished soul medium directly into the Celestial Synth Souls and keep it together. In turn, the raw materials that the soul medium used were the souls from the members of the Order, each of which resonated with the children's souls and could regulate their power the control the stars.

"What do you think lives are? Tools, parts, or firewood?!"

Despite his rage, Alpha lost his voice even as he lifted an accusing finger at Grong, wanting to yell at the Order's attitude of treating human lives as commodity, even using the souls of sentient beings for spare parts and fuel.

However, he did not know what he was so frustrated about.

Just now, he could not have waited to burn every member of the Order into ashes and killing every single one he could reach. And yet, after learning about what could mostly be the truth, his rage and sadness turned into abundant doubt and misery.

Was that really the only way?

Absolutely.

"Life is to be used as such."

Grong tidied his clothes coated in blood as he answered quietly. "Life is like tinder—it does not differ whether it ends in the fight against the Chaos or if it would be used a part of a large mechanism moving the stars. I would have thrown myself into the medium if it wasn't for my maladjusted soul resonance, not to mention that I am too old to be sent out to fight, and that I could never seem to reach Legend. I had hoped to contribute one last time as a soul for this world, but regrettably, I am denied even that."

There was strong self-mockery despite Grong's calm tone. "The Order of the Ashes once discovered the curious power of the King of Searing Souls from an ancient divine ruin. It burns souls to restore light and Order to the world, and we were certainly willing become fuel for the Flame that would reduce us to ashes, in turn reclaiming a future and hope for this world. It was our original intention, but we were incompatible—no existence across the Three Worlds and Nine Skies could burn souls and restore the world as described."

"A greater suffering than death is not being able to die even when you would offer your life. I suffer as everyone does, because there is only despair no matter how we try to live in this realm surrounded by boundless darkness, while we watch as the Flame wane. It is only in sacrifice that we would feel the faintest joy, for it is a realistic contribution to our world's future."

"Death is release and the ultimate refinement, and that is how life is to be used: to dash ahead towards death, bounding into its embrace without any regret. Such is the moment of the burning, and the purpose of existence."

***

Igor was very certain that Grong was not lying. He had indeed told the truth.

Even when supported by buffing spells and the strength of the champions slumbering in crystal obelisks, the power of a single Child of the Star would never be enough to move the millions of stars. Therefore, it is only by consolidating the powers of many children and using the combined boosting resonance that the synergistic effect could come to be, their converging power easily swapping the very skies above.

But how should the Order go about fusing and assimilating the souls, not to mention boosting and keeping them resonating? No human had actually achieved such a thing before, and the Order would therefore have to conduct experiments since they did not have the technology.

Eventually, the experiment worked and the technology was invented, all thanks to countless members of the Order willingly offering their own lives.

It was their sacrifice which gave form to the Celestial Synth Souls.

The Children of the Stars are simply too important. Without full preparations, we would never dare to harm even a hair over their heads. That was why we burnt out our own lives beforehand, paving the way for that required technology and the Sacred Children. 

The Order of the Ashes had genuinely, single-mindedly, desired the salvation of their world.

If any of them could have done it, they would never allow another to do it.

If the sacrifice of another individual was not necessary, they would never allow them to step up to the battlefield.

It was just that the weak were never afforded the perfect choice.

The power of the Children of the Stars was simply irreplaceable. No individual—Grong, Mara, mortal, or Legendary champion—could even imitate a fraction of it. It was as if their power was a part of this word's natural authority which ruled over all things.

To the revived champions, it was easy to understand: the armor of Steel Pythons, which had become one with Joshua, was basically a part of himself. Leaving aside the fact that Steel Pythons were offspring of Flame and Steel that commanded great Steel Strength, the power they wielded inside worlds was basically equal to power over Joshua's own body.

All at once, not even Igor was sure what to say—but that was when a sharp alarm resounded.

Finally realizing that something was out of place, the members of the Order who were on the surface had detected the invaders, with power presences splitting away from the battle above Bright Splendor City, fully intent on providing reinforcements even at the cost of being maimed.

"What's the ultimate objective?"

Igor, however, was not nervous, even continuing his questioning of Grong. "It's not unusual that the Children of the Star—the reborn forms of Steel Python—have the power to control the Steel Continent and the motion of the stars. That being said, are all of you doing all that just to move the stars here and keep the Lightchasers alive? That would not save the world because it is no different from a life support system. Your Order must have another goal in mind."

"We just wanted to gather the power of every Sacred Child and call out to the world."

Knowing everything and revealing everything, Grong simply revealed the ultimate objective of the Order of the Ashes. "We believe that the Children of the Stars are each a fragment of the Father or at least a shard of Creation itself, which in turn is why they are all born females regardless of race. Other aspects of the Father, including his great might which commands the world and destroys Chaos, are still dormant. As such, we are intending to use the Celestial Synth Souls to awaken those dormant aspects of the Father, to awaken our Creator once again so that he would save this world."

"But if push comes to shove…we shall combine the power of every Lightchaser and hence promote the Children of the Stars as the sentient consciousness of this world. In other words, we will create another Mother for this world—a World Will."

***

Grong was stammering by the time they moved on to the last part of the Order's plan, but he was assuredly not at the level where he would be privy to the details. Even so, everything Igor had learned so far was actually a viable plan. Although filled with flaws and with barely any chance of succeeding for people such as himself who were clearly aware of the actual truth, for the Lightchasers who had lived only in the Three Worlds and Nine Skies and never once saw the world out there, that was the only chance that they had.

Until the very end, whether the invoking would be successful, whether a Mother could be created, the fate of Lightchasers and everything in this realm was out of their hands.

Still, at the very least, the Order of the Ashes had done whatever they could.

"Tragic yet respectable sacrifices…"

Breathing in a deep sigh, Igor shook his head, whereas Alpha also leveled a trouble gaze at the colossal soul under the lake—it appeared that most of the Children of the Stars were not suffering and were at worst only a little bored. Apart from moving the stars, they could easily enter or leave a dreamworld which had been set in place for them, enjoying a life that was no different from reality. Even if it was a little hard to accept and they would occasionally miss their loved ones, most of them would simply get used to it as time passed by.

They were Sacred Children to the Order of the ashes, and their very own princesses. Even if they had locked them up in the high tower of a castle, they had treated them as best as they could in every single other way possible.

"I truly hoped that there is path where sacrifices aren't needed."

There was no time for words either. Sensing that the Legendary champions of the Order were almost arriving, Igor breathed a sight before shifting his entire body into light. His form hence spread itself to cover the entire lake, the spell formations, and even a part of the underground factory—and then carried everything with him. Now an incarnation of pure and mild Holy Light, his colossal luminous human form appeared upon the surface of Bright Splendor City.

Igor knocked out one of the Order's Legendary champions—a reinforcement who was rushing at him—with a single punch. A sudden strike, coupled with the mental confusion caused by a distorted speed of light, was not anything an ordinary Legend could withstand. Still, the former pontiff did not dally, and immediately darted out of Bright Splendor City while bringing everyone else with him.

"Stop him!"

Noticing that the Children of the Stars—the Celestial Synth Souls—were being whisked away, Mara Monica, who had been engaged in a melee with both Steel Pythons Karlis and Mycroft stared blankly for a moment before erupting in rage. Circles of warped radiance so dark that it consumed even light began to solidify and shot towards the light around Igor—the First Steward had promptly driven her exertion to the point of self-demolition, all in the name of stopping the former pontiff.

Still, had anyone who had fought with Joshua not seen such a move? Before the two Steel Pythons could react, Igor had actually reacted by being not even bothered to avoid it at all. At the same time, a champion who resembled a jellyfish brandished its tentacles, transmitting a series of intricate dimensional tremors that easily dismantled Mara's gravity well.

It was probably that moment when they finally show their true powers.

Soon, moving ahead at the speed of light, Igor had escaped the Order of the Ashes' range of attack and warped away. Then, when the other champions of Order had turned to try to detain the other champions of prehistoric times, they had all already casted their different skies to leave as well.

In less than a single hour, the entire group had achieved their objective to rescue the Children of the Stars. In return, they left nothing for the Order of the Ashes, save for the fact that no one was killed, not to mention that their group was left in a pitiful state and they would have to soon weather a storm of falling stars. They simply could not keep up the chase, which was one of the objectives of the plan from the very beginning.

But even if the plan proved to be a success, no one—not even Karlis herself—was showing any kind of gladness.

They watched the Three Worlds and Nine Skies as if recalling the cosmos where they once lived—the gloomy Multiverse that had not had much light. They remembered the endless darkness and Chaos, while also reminiscing the Final Flame that was alight within that same darkness, bringing hope to all life.

"What are we going to do next?"

A steel sphere was humming with electromagnetic waves. It was one of the prehistoric champions as well, which just shrugged off the reminiscing—for them, it was the recent past, events that had just happened right in front of their eyes. "We have stopped the native artificial World Wills from replacing Joshua, but what is the next step of our plan? To awaken Joshua in their place?"

"No," Karlis replied, mustering her spirit and growling. "Would having only the Lightchasers be enough to awaken Joshua? To a certain extent, them and us are a part of Joshua in the first place—to use an analogy, it would be impossible for any person to pull their own hair as a way to lift themselves above ground. To awaken him, we must use a power from beyond during the split second of activation."

"Next, we are heading to the edge of the world—the great rift connecting this world to the Multiverse beyond."

"That is the most important part of our plan."