Chapter 1030 Go Forth! Conclusion: The Final Prelude (1/2)

Intelligent life would only ever feel fear and distress when that which they were familiar with changed.

However, it is also in the consequent adaptation and adjustment—and the process of change caused therein—that intelligent beings would keep growing and become complete.

The Extraordinary individuals were very much further beyond ordinary beings in that aspect of adaptibility.

They would witness firsthand their own hometown developing from a village in the mountains into the holy city of a profound civilization. They would also witness firsthand the diversion of a river they know, directed by their own or another's power to flow towards a different direction.

The things that they would be able witness were many: from hills that collapsed into plains, to rift valleys raised into great peaks. They could even witness the death and rebirth of stars, the demise and substantiation of the sun…the more powerful the Extraordinary individual, the more difficult it would be to stir emotions in them through such aspects of change. It was similar to how ordinary beings would not be concerned over the furniture in their homes being shifted an inch—it would be nothing important at all.

There was certainly less need to mention beings who had actually surpassed Extraordinary individuals as well: those beings known as the gods. It would be hard to think of any possible changes that could actually prompt fear and distress in them.

And yet, it was nothing but the truth: even the gods would only ever feel fear and distress when that which they were familiar with changed.

***

On the nineteenth of February, Starfall year 862, time unknown.

The Abyss of the Lost Galaxy, outside the Vortex of Creation.

The God of Life walked amidst the Void of the Abyss without a direction, just like how ordinary beings would take a stroll in vast places to improve their moods.

At the moment, she was recalling the distant past, a memory that had to do with herself thousands of years ago.

There was a secret that was not quite one held amidst the leaders of Mycroft—where had the Seven Gods actually originated from? It was a question that did not have to concern the general population, but for the champions or deities who were close to surpassing the divine, knowledge of the origins of the divine would be a great advantage to their own ability.

At first, not even the Seven Gods were sure about the answer to that question, but in that war against the Evil God of Death Embryo, the truth which had long since been buried beneath dust was at long last unraveled in the expedition down to the depths of the Abyss. Everyone was then aware of the origins of the Seven Gods, just as they had themselves learned about that.

They were remains awakened, ashes revived to answer the call of the Holy One.

They were once humans as well—a part of the diverse beings and the frontier barrier that repelled the Chaos in the last era.

The many champions finally realized with a start then, and understood why the Seven Gods would protect the Mycroft civilization for no particular reason at all, and why such powerful beings would focus their gaze upon the beings of the world. All of them had been born for that purpose, guardians who died for their cause and a protection that stretched across two eras.

Their doubts were hence answered, but when the Seven Gods had found the memory of their human days, they were all left greatly bewildered.

There was simply too much change.

Be it the newly founded era of the Starfall civilization, how it differed from the Glorious Era, or themselves who were once Glorious Era champions and now the Seven Gods of the present Starfall Era…the sights of home had long since vanished, with only one out of the former seven continents left—there were no similarities between the Mycroft of today and the Mycroft of the past at all.

Everything had changed and profoundly so, to the point that even the gods were left in a daze. In fact, there were horrific, radical thoughts that arose from the furthest reaches beneath their minds.

Should I still be protecting all of this?

All that I have loved and all that I remember are all gone with the wind. The turnings are spanning across the world, with any old familiar faces gradually lost across the thousands of years. Apart from its name alone, is the Mycroft of the present still the same as the one I have once sworn to protect with all that I am—including body and soul?

There had been no answer to that, but…

”The only thing that has not changed is the Chaos.”

The God of Life looked up from the depths of a galaxy to the distant cosmos. It was like a person positioned on the bottom of a deep-reaching dimensional well looking out towards the sun and the blue sky from the mouth of the well.

She could see a darkness lingering upon the borders of the endless cosmos, where it was spreading and invading.

Everything, save for the enemy, was now different, be it guardian or the world to be protected. As time flew, the turning of the world and the whirling wheel of civilization—even the memories of the gods—blurred and began to dissipate, but it was only the grudge and the striving heart that never once lost color from start to finish.

That was why the gods had all managed to leave that sense of bewilderment, advancing in determination once more to protect everything in the present—but it was her, the one addressed with the title of the most powerful god, who also never once left her own little circle. She was still reminiscing blankly, searching for a difference between the past and the present.

Be that as it may, with the flames of war in the Piroth Galaxy blazing even more violently combined with the escalating conflict against the spawns of the Evil Gods, the Mycroft civilization certainly had to show by example as the leader of the alliance. Hence, there was not much time left for the God of Life to reminisce—all of the Seven Gods would soon head for the frontlines together and reinforce the violent battlefield. And today, even if she was about to leave, the god would allocate a little time for herself to remember.

”Mentor, this is really different…”

Pausing by the border between the Vortex of Creation and the Abyss, the God of Life lowered her head. Even though her veil was completed covering every part of her face, endless pain and bewilderment was overflowing from her voice. ”I can go forth to fight the Evil Gods, and even die once again with honor. Though it is only for all the beings who worship me and the children who praise my name, I am willing to once again take an oath to protect all life.”

”But this Mycroft civilization…a Mycroft civilization that is without you…has simply changed too much.”

”Even so…”

For some reason, the god recalled a moment long ago when she was still in slumber and when her memories were yet to be sealed. She had been in the bottom of the Lost Galaxy then too, speaking to that person.

She still remembered what that being had said even after he had already become unfamiliar to her, and began to leave the Darkest Abyss for the Fountainhead of the Initial Flame.

”It would be fine, Eve. You might not understand it now, but in the future—perhaps hundreds, or even thousands of years later, you will finally understand in the endless existence as a god.”

He said thus, the voice of the Holy One echoing until this day, immeasurably clear even in memory. ”It is all the same.”

”As long as humans…no, as long as civilizations stands…”

”It is all the same.”

***

The Holy One who once loved humankind had changed so exceedingly and profoundly that those who were once close and familiar to him were left at a loss. He had become an infinite being whose consciousness enfolded the Multiverse, invoking a change known as the Holy Light, which touched every being in existence.

The individuals, friends, and family whom he had once loved were gone with the course of eras. Only those called the Apostles who walked the same path still followed him—though the infinite existence as a powerful Extraordinary individual granted him many things, it had also worn away much that belonged to him. It was not emotion, and yet his heart was still in heat, even becoming stronger as time moved on.

His love was still there—the God of Life was absolutely certain of that. But in the moment that he left, that love was shared with the boundless Multiverse.

It is all the same.

But how could it actually be the same?

For the beings and the civilization that had once basked alone in his love, it had been such an unsettling change.

The God of Life breathed a sigh before she looked up towards the faraway Void once more, her gaze regaining its firmness.

Her moment of weakness should only be shown once in a place where no one would know, because what would come next was the time when the gods would do battle. She was far from being so weak or so pretentious, because she was the lauded God of Life and a protector of all life. Compared to that duty, the sadness and bewilderment of the young girl was now a memory of no concern, and could be given up however she would.

All in all, compared to worlds and civilization, what changed the most was the gods themselves.

It was just that there was still such a sight that the God of Life did not throw away, keeping it instead in the depths of her heart:

The courtyard had been pure white. It was a sacred citadel that hung high above the skies, and beside a tower of light that was burning with sacred flame, a young girl sat on the bench of a courtyard, a book in hand.

A gentle old man stood by her, explaining the secrets of the text.

A cool breeze blew through the courtyard from a distance place, stirring the leaves and whispering beside the ears of the young girl. The yellowing pages of the thick tome were flipping, the laughter of the elder ever distinct.

”Not bad, Eve.”

At the time, he was still a being who belonged only to the Mycroft civilization, to them and to her.

”You are indeed my best student!”

***

The laughter dissipated.

A streak of pure-white radiance, just like the one that shone all those years ago, transcended half of the galaxy.

Six other divine radiances also shone from other different places at the same time, converging to a single location.

The darkness was spreading as the distant Chaos invaded. This very moment was another cycle of eras—the nemesis of old had appeared once more, with the calamity striking once more. But compared to before, the Mycroft civilization was not fighting alone this time.

”It is time for battle.”

With the tremendous dimensional quake caused by the activation of the Multiverse Sacrificial Grounds, the gods spoke those words, glancing and then laughing.

”It is also time for revenge.”

And thus, they went forth.

***

On the nineteenth of February, Starfall year 862, at 24 minutes past 11 at night on Mycroft Standard Time.

The Piroth Galaxy, the cosmos, the frontlines of the Forerunner Fortress Chain.

The blurred, uncertain skies were mixing with the splendor of the Great Mana Tide as well as the radiance of planetary realms to form a rather dull belt of luminous shroud. The powerful flashes discharged from the main batteries of one of the fortresses were also bursting like supernovas, illuminating the battlefield again and again and piercing the belt, obliterating the ever-approaching tides of darkness.

That place was not the stable and peaceful rear of the cosmos, but the frontier between the gradual invasion of the Evil God hordes. In other words, the Piroth Fortress Chain where two long years of war was waged was also the very fore of the battlefield.

The fortresses that were as hard as steel—or whatever material was tougher than steel was—entrenched in the Void like nails, with the countless fortifications building up a single massive spell formation that became a source of disturbance for the entire galaxy. Anything that was an ally would not be able to warp or even move as they wanted, which in other words meant that unless the fortress chain was completely destroyed, there was basically no enemy that could cross the perimeter.

But now, at the forefront of the massive fortress chain, there were already thousands of fortresses fallen, shattered, or completely losing all function.

A steel fortress that was clearly built in human styles stood aloft in the Void, with endless runes encircling it like rings. In the dark dimensional turbulences in the Void, wrecks of warships were scattered all around the fortress as well, along with the corpses of the various species of Evil God minions, not to mention fragments of other fortresses that were burning with fluorescence of energy, pushed towards the distance by the surging Mana Tide.

The design of the warships was mostly Mycroft, while the minions of the Evil Gods came in all forms and sizes. There were those that resembled enlarged insects, grotesque demonic monsters, or even simple geometrical forms including rectangular, cubic, or even pyramidic. One could even see, amongst the disintegrating remains, a single luminous wheel that was darkening—its appearance alone appeared not to be the abominable spawns of Evil Gods, but even as it became duller, it was still releasing unusual energy, stirring ripples at everything around it.

”Mother—, why are the reinforcements not coming?”

A fleet that was still in almost perfect condition advanced rapidly in the Void filled with wrecks and corpses, continuously firing barrages of artillery to their rear and bombarding the scattered spawns of Evil Gods that were in pursuit, reducing them to nothingness. The ship in the lead was clearly not built in human-style design. It resembled a biological warship—having translucent surface armor and resembled a streamline rhombus, flailing with hundreds of hovering, transparent tentacles that conjured an invisible bounded field, tearing an entire horde of Evil God spawns into pieces in the Void.

To be precise, it was a biological warship.