Chapter 798 Exceeding Worlds (1/2)

After struggling to awaken form the dark void of death, the Great Khan swiftly realized that it was in great danger after being simultaneously maimed by Joshua and the Evil God of Wither.

Meanwhile, the river of souls flowing with color formed a ring in the dark, obscure mists of Chaos. The surface of one end burned as if the sun, inside of which was a luminous silver crystal sphere, while the other end was a galaxy filled with dots of souls where darkness swirled.

The Dark Galaxy flowed with the presence of calamity and destruction, the cry of a world after its destruction and the vengeance of a race, or even a civilization. That force was so great that the grudge ignited black flames upon the Void, intent on reducing all Order into ash.

”It's… the Evil God! And that Forerunner champion!”

The Great Khan quickly understood the present situation without a doubt. After he had lost, the Forerunner champion did not destroy its soul, instead turning to fight the Evil God. Now, it appeared that the Evil God had just awakened albeit was maimed badly, but the Forerunner champion was unwell too, and both appeared about to enter one final decisive battle in the plane of souls.

Nonetheless, even as a complicated mood arose in it, the Great Khan noticed that though the soul that was akin to a sun might appear to stand evenly against the Dark Galaxy, he was on the back foot on various details, that he appeared not to be at a disadvantage thanks to his extreme regeneration.

Wither's presence compounded with Chaos as it swept through the Void, and the perished remains of countless spirits from the Soul Pool were directly destroyed. After that, the silver radiance mostly faded, although more silver radiance would be released at the very next instant, keeping appearances so that things did not appear dire.

Their battle was just like a tug of war. One side was powerful and kept pulling the rope to itself, while the other, though weak, could ceaselessly create new rope, preventing its opponent from pulling itself and the rope eternally.

In the realm beyond, the surface of the Steel Strength continent was ablaze.

Soul-Substance Transition was an ultimate skill of Vahina, the Sage of the Oceans. Users could apply it to freely convert between mass, soul, and energy, and the sage whose specialty was in spirit cultivation would mostly convert souls to mass or energy, and other techniques that were close to immortality and infinite energy. As for Joshua, he himself mostly converted mass to energy or soul after learning that skill.

Meanwhile, the Steel Strength continent remained ablaze, just as the soul akin to a sun maintained its form in the spiritual realm despite several defeats as it struggled against the Dark Galaxy to become the host of countless souls.”

”This won't do.”

While they had been enemies and fought out a terrible battle, those were personal and frivolities. The Great Khan would not revel in the delight against something as monumental as an Evil God, something which affected an entire race. It also remembered the Void Behemoths and its subjects wandering the surrounding Void, and could not help but frown.

”The Forerunner's champion is not that great in soul battle techniques.”

While it had fallen to a single blow in the soul battle before, the Great Khan did not believe that itself would lose so easily if it was not for Wither's influence. Apart from that, the Forerunner had also claimed that he had no soul, which made most soul offensive ineffective against him.

It was both an advantage and a disadvantage, with the former being that the Forerunner champion could entirely ignore defending in the aspect of soul in battle while focusing on destroying the opponent's physical battle. On the other hand, the disadvantage existed in that when his soul was required to secure some right of attribution, the soul he converted on a temporary capacity definitely was not as agile as his limbs.

”You're up then, Otherworld champion.”

The just-awakened Great Khan suddenly heard a rich voice. ”You've recovered slower than I thought.”

At present, the Void Crab spirit had been floating behind the Soul Sun, its eight limbs turning rigid subconsciously in a defensive state at the sound of that familiar voice.

Soon, however, the Great Khan realized that the Forerunner champion had no intention to attack it.

”As you can see, I'm fighting the Evil God in the plane of souls—it's the final bout.”

The rich voice resounded in the Void; its tone serene yet earnest. ”I, however, don't have a soul. The soul I forged from Soul mastery was but a tool: I could create it, but it isn't nimble when used. That is why I never did learn how to fight with my soul.”

Even as he spoke, the Dark Galaxy of Chaos burst out with countless black gas tentacles in the lightless Void as if to claim the river of souls. In return, the silver sun also whipped out countless crystalline rays that withstood its erosion, but it was obvious that the silver sun was spending dozen times the energy used by the Dark Galaxy, while the Steel Strength continent beyond shrunk by a distinct chunk.

”You're different.”

The voice continued slowly after having defended against that abrupt and vicious attack from the Evil God. ”Otherworld champion, I could tell that you've mastered this path.”

Of course.

Of course I have.

The octopedal fungi were essentially a race of spirits. Their newborn bodies were mere shells nurturing souls, and they would become a citizen of their race with one, or they would be a void product without soul otherwise, waste that was less than a slave.

Their survival, life, and battle all relied upon on spiritual power and magic, both of which depended on the soul for strength. The fungi's depth of mastery in those paths was long considered sagely.

When the World Eaters destroyed their homeworld all those years ago, the Great Khan, the champion of their race had vanquished the soul of a Void Behemoth through its powerfully cultivated soul, assuming control over its body as it evacuated the masses away raggedly. Thousands of years later, the Void Behemoths grew rapidly and split off thanks to their race's nurturing, even forming the World Fleet that many civilizations feared, while the Great Khan's own soul split along with it to control that number, strengthening and even assuming the form of the first Behemoth.

It was simply assured in the way of fighting with its soul.

Even so.

”I grasp your meaning, but why should I aid you?” The Great Khan asked coldly in return. ”We were still enemies attacking each other before with the intent to kill. Why are you confident that I would help you?”

”Because I would threaten, force, and entice you. I don't need the confidence—you have no choice.”

The deep, rich voice choice spoke its opinion very earnestly. ”You and your subjects would die if you don't help me. I know not why you've come to this galaxy, but I could guess that it's because you were fleeing the Evil Gods, and there's one weakened sample here. Don't you intend to try destroying it and accumulate the experience for the counterattack?”

The appearance of the Great Khan's soul became warped, its pincers and joints twisting so much they flipped. It had never experienced such troubling emotion, just as it was the first time it spoke with a warrior whose words were so choking it kills.

But it made its decision in the end.

”You're right. I certainly have no choice.”

The Great Khan said feebly, just as there was a hint of heartfelt expectation and thrill. ”I would help you destroy the World Eater.”

And with that, the white Void Crab spirit thus swiftly fused into the silver sun.

***

”What help do you require?”

”First, defense.”

The rich and deep voice said. ”The Evil God is using an entire destroyed world to bombard my spiritual defenses to whittle me down, reducing my own control over my own soul and weaken it. I could feel the outer layers of my souls rapidly withering, and everything from endurance and essence were reduced to nothing as if time is being reverted, converted into feed for Chaos. The weaker I am the stronger the Evil God becomes—this must be stopped at once.”

The Great Khan did not reply. Communicating non-verbally, it instructed Joshua in the technique to control soul.

In an instant, the countless crystalline spawned from the silver sun disperse, before reassembling into a much complex and sturdier construct.

”The battle of souls is not too different from physical combat. The most important aspect is to have a more complex soul information and construct that the opponent could not analyze at once—it does not matter if it is functional, even useless information works. One way or the other, keep your opponent confused and unable to attack.”

The translucent silver sun thus became turbid visibly, while boundless maze-like ramparts and metal construct manifested on its surface. The sun itself was rapidly shrinking just as it became sturdier, and any individual specializing in the spiritual aspect could clearly see that the dense metal pipelines and maze walls were actually countless mathematical formulae such as differentiation, integration, and who-knows-what, containing many random and meaningless information.

The black ripple—the Chaotic presence of Wither which had been on a winning streak and could instantly whittle and erode a huge chunk of the silver sun was forced to retreat fruitlessly. It dispersed by itself right after eroding part of the soul's surface, while the thirty-seventh defensive rampart was being constructed in haste.

”The most vital aspect on assault of the soul is to dissolve the opponent's soul. Be it by brute force or technique, it's all to better destroy the enemy's constitution—you are considerably accomplished in that, but unable to extend the effect of your battle. I'll teach you a little trick.”

The crystal ray that had been tanging against the tentacles of Chaos promptly shrunk and bended with agility, escaping the bind of the tentacles as its tip became a bladed drill that whirled rapidly, dicing chunks of tentacles into powder. In an instant, as the powdered tentacles squirmed wildly and were about to reform as new tentacles, the countless drill tips detached and shot out like missiles, detonating majestically where the tentacles clustered and reduced the countless Chaos forces to nothingness.

”Ah, I know that.”

The rich voice interjected. ”Very well.”

In the beyond, the burning of the Steel Strength continent slowed visibly to the point that both Nature's Magister and Legendary beast could feel the pressure on their bodies lighten at once. They certainly knew that it was a result of Joshua's battle turning around, leaving them thrilled at once.

Meanwhile, in the spiritual space, the river of souls that was being pulled towards the Dark Galaxy began to flow toward the silver sun.

The souls inside the nine massive warships that were shuddering incessantly gradually calmed, while the powerful souls awakened. However, they were the most profoundly eroded by Chaos, and were unsure of what they could or had to do.

Millennia ago, the nine Legendary champions had chased the Evil God of Wither here.

They established the seal, molded the planet and imprisoned Wither, using its ability to convert Chaos and Order to create a perfect world.

However, a long time passed and the reinforcements they waited for never came. Distorted dimension compounded with time, leaving the hopeful expeditionary force uncomfortable and enfeeble.

And the Chaotic powers of Wither seized the chance and crept into the depths of their hearts, making them forget their skills and lose their technology, thinning their desire to struggle and reduce them to walking dead who knew to live but without purpose.

The nine Legends discovered that, but they were already severely corrupted. In order to not become accomplices of an Evil God, they sealed themselves within their warships, using automated programming to control Chaos power and resist the Evil God of Wither.

They had certainly been corrupted by Chaos, and yet were not its Wither's teeth and claws.

Joshua had swiftly learned the technique taught by the Great Khan and did not apply unaccustomed or rigid when applying it. Although it was not yielding exponential results, he always managed to catch the Chaotic Evil God's vulnerabilities and effectively break its hold over the river of souls. While Wither's presence emanated could still force the warrior into defense, it could at least be considered a two-way battle.

Looking on, the Great Khan felt that Joshua had a steady grasp of the stage. As long as he could maintain the spiritual supply, he could attempt retaliation even as he guarded his own soul in this long attritional battle.

But just when the Great Khan thought that it was time to prepare a counterattack and truly lay waste to the Evil God's constitution, it suddenly heard Joshua's voice.

”Alright.”

A clear voice spoke from within the core of the silver sun. ”I understand now.”

What? The Great Khan thought, at a loss. What did you understand? Isn't this moment just the beginning?

There was still much to cover in the battle of spirits, and according to its calculations, it would drag out to a dozen thousand peta (six months) at minimum.

But clearly, it did not have Joshua's understanding of Chaos.

”Evil Gods of Famine, Pestilence, Calamity, Air, and now Wither… I have personally experienced five different powers of five different Evil Gods, and repelled them.”

”I now understand the essence of the Evil Gods' power.”

Joshua voice sounded as if everything was in his grasp, while the silver sun released an even brighter light.

”The decay of substance, the reversal of growth; becoming strong to weak, turning from prime to infantile. This is not a simple reversal of time, but a pure reduction of power and decay from perfect. The reason the power would not age individuals is simply because Extraordinary individuals would not necessarily be weaker when they are older, which is why it simply they were retrogressed to their past forms… it was an unreasonable power.”

The Great Khan was aware that the power of World Eaters never was reasonable. Therefore, it promptly focused, listening attentively to Joshua's analysis.

”But no matter how illogical it could be, one principle must be obeyed—higher power levels meant greater priority.”