Chapter 1042 - The Final Flame (2/2)

And now, it was not just the dark swarm which was coming at Joshua—every Evil God, every element of Chaos and all of the darkness which had yet to arrive and were still invading other cosmoses had all turned their eyes, ceasing their assault at hand and left raring to go towards that same faraway place.

Because all of them could see a scarlet star hanging at the highest point over the Void, where the most glaring Eternity was—it was alight in a blaze as if to gather all power from present to the end futures into this single moment, while shining with a splendor that illuminated the entire Multiverse!

***

Meanwhile, in that very moment, still caught in the lethal battle against Evil Gods and the terrible melee against the Chaos where death was destined, there was only calmness within Joshua's heart.

[War.

If such is my fate.

I would triumph over it too.]

Even if he had already pushed his power to the limit of Divine Death and was feeling the incessantly growing and expanding 'pull' from the Root and the Initial Flame, Joshua still felt no fear because he had never been afraid of his own death or hesitant about his own ruin. Swinging great sword and giant axe, the Giant God who had set himself in flames mercilessly cut down every Chaos and Evil God coming at him, only feeling a tiny shred of disappointment.

It was disappointment that his own path could not come to fruition. It would have been a path laden in beautiful sights even if difficult, and he had imagined that he would hence become a Wise One with it.

Nonetheless, he had been the one to severe that hope.

”And it was clearly a path that fits my own identity.”

Be that as it may, the faint regret quickly diminished, for the god who was reveling in battle soon no longer had the time to spare for excess thoughts—because more and more unending waves of stronger Evil Gods were assaulting him once again, bent on killing the Flame that was him.

And at that very moment, the divinity which the God of Conservation and Reformation as well as the God of Love and Death left, along with the Steel Pythons hosted in Joshua's body could feel a searing presence extending from every corner of his form. Though those still-existent intelligent minds knew about the path they themselves had chosen, they could not help but be emotional now.

Karlis the Steel Python gazed upon its all, watching as the profound divine power not only destroyed the Evil Gods before their eyes, but even their very essence. He could also see that warm and radiant Flame descending from endless distance, guiding the most powerful god that there was back to its embrace.

But before that, it would be them—the children of Flame and Steel—who returned first.

”Joshua…you are no longer you, just as you are still you.”

Before being led away by the great fiery light, the Steel Python spoke softly as if to itself. ”Ah, Sage…so you had fought like this against the Chaos all those years ago? The extinction of the people of Karlis truly cannot be compared to this at all—it really wasn't your fault…”

”But now, I can finally stand alongside an heir of yours. He is actually a stronger and more determined person…it…it is a pity…just as it is a blessing…Joshua, I don't have to see your final moments, before I…leave…”

Meanwhile, Joshua—or more precisely, the warrior could no longer hear any sound.

Even the armor of Steel Pythons was at its limit.

Still, it was in the endless battle that Joshua suddenly realized something.

The last moment of Divine Death was about to come.

In response, Joshua simply smiled.

It was such a rapid, powerful, and overwhelming force that was fuelling him into the Flame, to go to that place where the gods would slumber in absolute peace and serenity.

”So…that is the Initial Flame?” he said quietly before firmly shaking his head. ”However, I am not going to rest in peace just like that!”

”I am the King of Searing Soul, the Lord of All Armies.”

”The hope of becoming stronger, the expectations of the future, the path of the Wise Ones, the yearning for life. Kinship, bonds, memories, even name—I could give up and sacrifice all of those things.”

The God of War and Slaughter's final solemn declaration echoed throughout the Void.

There was now no longer any other color other than divine scarlet crimson in Joshua's eyes, just like a fire that was reaching its end.

”I shall embrace death and the inferno!” He laughed. ”I shall embrace all miserable Chaos and this dark Multiverse!”

Divine power burst out as the final moments of Divine Death approached.

There was neither sadness nor tears.

The god had relinquished everything, just as he embraced everything.

Around him, even the Demi Saint Evil Gods were being repelled even if it was only his light, unable to advance even an inch. Some had hissed and tried to rush up and drown out the illumination, only to drown in it instead.

At that very moment, the god, whose entire body was filled with golden cracks from which unending godly flame leaked, threw away the sword and axe in his hand. As the very last moments come, he chose to stride ahead by himself, laughing as he dashed to the infinitely dark Chaos. The blaze that was flowing from his body would ignite Evil Gods just by brushing at them, leaving even Demi Saint Evil Gods terribly hurt—at the same time, the warrior carefreely split upon his own chest, at once destroying his own divine form and letting inexhaustive divine power burst out from it, consuming all that was around him.

The frame of one world after another were overflowing from the ripples resulting from the battle between god and Chaos. Each darted away and imprisoned one Evil God after another similar to how the Evil God of Wither had been bound, converting them into worlds of Order ever so gradually. At the same time, the god, who had completely torn open his own chest, exposed the core silver world at the core. Joshua unleashed the last bit of his power which far surpass ordinary Demi Saints' to pull in every Demi Saint Evil Gods within reach, forcefully binding them and sealing them within his own body.

Infinitely dazzling radiance also began to shine in that single moment.

At the same time, the scarlet rift which had been hovering beside the deity was now turning physical from its previously intangible form, whereas the scarlet radiance from the divinity of war was also becoming thinner and transparent, like a radiance covering everything.

It was the light of the Initial Flame.

***

Transcending the endless dimensions and the entire Multiverse, the light of all origins had hence arrived. It gently shone upon the body of the god, bringing along a pull of abundant, unstoppable power. At the same time, some infinite will that existed in the Initial Flame appeared to have sensed something, but the conflict between the profound was ever so tremendous and unstoppable that there was neither opening nor any power that could do anything about it.

The tender light of the flame instantly extinguished every power around the Silent Void with complete equality, save for divine power. Be that as it may, there was still unending darkness approaching, as if a slit had been cut into the gloomy skies. Even with distant sunlight shining upon the sea's surface, both the darkness in the depths of the sea and the ever present dark clouds were only briefly forced away.

”All that is darkness...”

”I will be your ruin!”

In the end, the god who was still sealing Evil Gods was no longer to be seen. Only a voice that was becoming fainter and indistinct resounded from the light, with a vague silhouette seemingly still brandishing his fist as if to punch out at the endless dark Chaos…or at the Initial Flame which was pulling everything towards it.

It is not as if the Initial Flame can't be fought.

Amidst that tender radiance, the man who would fight until the end was laughing.

Then, the light in his eyes vanished.

The Flame receded, its radiance diminishing.

The consciousness of a divine being had left the Multiverse and returned to the fold of the Initial Flame.

[To continue the good fight in the quest for freedom, the Last Flame was gliding through the darkness.]

[Saving the shuddering stars with eternal and the endless battle.]

The faraway starlight glimmered from a distant place, while the inexhaustive darkness churned and drowned the very edge of dimensions.

***

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Void in the cosmos, the crowd which had been waiting for a long time saw that crimson star hanging aloft in the skies promptly gaining magnificence before abruptly darkening, with countless people hence shedding tears or left mourning.

As if it was the end everything, even if it was all far from over.

Whether man or god, warrior or Joshua, his battle—or indeed His battle—was far from over.

Boom!

Another rumble echoed through the Void.

After the consciousness had departed, after the mind had diminished, after all soul and intelligence had returned to the Initial Flame, the body of the Giant God was still firmly moving. It did not hesitate to lunge at once at the multitude of Evil Gods that were at a loss as they roamed the Void, seemingly to find their next target.

It had already been consumed by Chaos, with its core silver world having been dyed pitch-black by the many Evil Gods it had forcibly sealed—but the man's intended effect was taking root.

As the Giant God body which had now lost all restraint and all control, it continued to fight in accordance to the last command that his mind had entrusted it! It began to absorb the power of all Evil Gods around itself, and hence, in that part of the Void which was unspeakably distant from its home cosmos, a dark world began to uncontrollably devour, convert, and involve!

Copious mass began to drag against everything around it, the inexhaustive gravity spreading towards the endless distance. Uncountable shapes of worlds hence encircled the dark world that would not stop devouring Evil Gods, orbiting, growing, and waiting.

Was that the end?

Far from it.

***

Another long period had passed.

In the large observation array built at the edge of the Cosmos, Zero Three, Black, and Light had been keeping their eyes on the depths of the endlessly distant Silent Void day after day. They certainly saw nothing, since that sector seemed to have been completely covered in Chaos after the scarlet star was gone. There were only the squirming motions of certain monumental darkness leaving or advancing.

Even so, they had no intention on giving up.

None of the others would stop them, because the observation array was valuable, even if only to check if those hordes of Evil Gods were returning. Moreover, there was certainly nothing sinister about Zero Three, Black, and one World Will voluntarily stationing themselves there—all in all, the champions had many things to do, since whether it was to restore worlds, groom the next generation of champions, or make contact with the other cosmoses, everything required time and effort.

Hence, day after day and year after year, the dimensions began to change color while the stars changed their orbits.

Black, now a Legendary Ancient Dragon, had once again arrived upon the core hub of the observation array.

She still had hope but she was not expectant. Compared to using the instrument and gazing into the distance, the dragon girl would prefer to head out to the distant Void with her own power and see for herself the last resting place of his master.

Shedding tears? Be miserable? Be at a loss? Such emotions were meaningless, as her master had told her a long time ago. She had abandoned such things as well as her own laziness, only ever determinedly going forward just like what that man expected of her.

Sitting down at a familiar place, Black handily scanned through the volumes of data over the screen. She read everything seriously, but most information was identical to those before and had no value—but even so, the dragon girl still carefully noted everything without fail into her mind, comparing it to the information that Zero Three had sent to her after taking the last shift.

”Eh?”

Black suddenly murmured softly, puzzledly stroking her own horns and turning to another panel. ”Why…why is it all empty?”

Her brow tightening, Black quickly moved to the main controller seat and shifted the direction of the observation array with her own clearance, charging, to examine the anomaly at the place where that man had left, bringing along endless Evil Gods of Chaos.

Even so, that sector was simply empty no matter how many times she checked—at first, there were still some shadows shifting or miniscule dimensional ripples.

Now, however, there was simply nothing, with a naught recorded in the data.

”No, that's not right.” Black mumbled. ”That's impossible…why is it empty?”

Then, she thought of an unthinkable possibility.

But it was also the only possibility.

***

”What is it, Black? What have you found?!”

Soon, with a powerful ripple of magical energy, Zero Three's clone had appeared along with Light, The God of Might, Nostradamus, as well as every other god and champion, both from Mycroft or foreign.

Everyone learned that Black had suddenly moved the observation array wildly to scan the depths of the Void, but they were not concerned with Black going berserk. After all, with such a long time having passed, the living had to move forward even if there was sadness in their hearts, or they would be letting down those who sacrificed themselves.

However, what they found was the black dragon girl sobbing silently as she was sprawled over the control panel. She had already stopped moving the array, with the center screen displaying a blank Void.

”He did not leave us…”

Black's words were muffled as she sobbed. ”Master is still with us…fighting and protecting us…”

Clenching her hands, Zero Three gravely stepped forward, carefully scanning all data and crosschecking it with the data she had gathered after such a long time, counting, theorizing.

Eventually, her hands relaxed, and she began to tremble.

And her eyes were becoming misty too.

It did not take long for everyone present to gasp in surprise. All of them, without exception, were watching that part of the Void but hardly able to hold back their shock, emotion and astonishment.

The truth was very simple.

Because almost all of the greatest assaulting swarms of darkness in the history of the Multiverse had been destroyed in one fell swoop, with the temporal trap that completed shrouded the former fields of battle having assumed form before the eyes of all.

In this Multiverse that was at once too cruel and very tender, as long as one was powerful enough…

…even death was nothing other than the beginning of a new battle.

Volume Nineteen, The Last Flame. End.