Soul of Searing Steel

Panda Novel

“The foreign civilizations’ navies have ceased their advance!”

“Are they scared?”

“Probably not, but they must be hesitating. Haha!”

Yana Milo and the Nature’s Magister smiled aloofly as they sat at the control room behind the Steel Flower. Even Legendary champions would have naturally taken pride in the great success achieved by the Combined Fleet on the initial firing of their superweapon.

“In the Glorious Era, there had only been blueprints made of the Zonal Ether Subjugator… I would never have thought that your—our Starfall Era could complete it and turn it into a real weapon!”

Yana Milo the Avian Legend had been muttering to herself, before turning to the Nature’s Magister during the last sentence, her face clearly filled with awe. “And that is with consideration to the fact that there had not been a Legend who has ascended in the aspect of Ether back on Mycroft!”

“We have your clearance to thank for. If not for your specialized selection, it would have taken us a dozen years to obtain the plans from the Unified Archives.”

The Nature’s Magister was still smiling faintly, stroking the half-organic composition of the control room while her face was filled with delight. The terrible weapon known as the Zonal Ether Subjugator was what instantly wiped out a fleet and blew up part of the Void. Forty percent of its composition was grown slowly by her ‘sowing’ in the core of life-support vessels.

And that was precisely as there had been no Ether-aspect Legend on Mycroft. The Nature’s Magister had therefore, with everyone’s help, cultivated a Ether Lifetree before proceeding to use it as a core to build the superweapon.

***

Many Extrordinary powers existing on this earth have been labeled as ‘spells.’

There were those who used mana, employed elements, manipulated ether or grasped psionic ability. Regardless of the ability being utilised, as long as one of the four supernatural energies were applied, its users came to be known as spellcasters.

Mana was the primitive residue of the Initial Flame’s power from creation. Similar to how Steel Strength residing within early living forms was turned into aura, it was composed of deteriorating pure Creation force. Opaque but omnipresent, it was something difficult to perceive and use, until that one day arrived where the mana of the entire Multiverse was energized, giving control to intelligent beings with strong spirits.

The Six Elements—or perhaps more, given that only the six were most common—consisted of animated energy particles filling the Multiverse. While their essence was mana, they remained detached from that power, instead able to imbue each supernatural ability with an attribute. Everything from combat aura, magic, and psionic power, down to ether, could be combined with psionic power and converted into various atypical aspects. Pure elemental magic was essentially runes drawn with elements, creation and commanding various elemental lifeforms.

Psionic energies were meanwhile possibly the most ancient supernatural force in the Multiverse, originating from wisdom, thoughts, as well as the activity of the mind and spirit—the unusual yet fundamental link between mind and matter. To neglect physical reality and be obsessed with the extraordinary sense of psionic power would have been the wrong application, for psionic power was essentially a spiritual light. Akin to how the Initial Flame burnt Chaos, the light of one’s spirit could bend physical truth, and so, psionic power would be meaningless should the physical cease to exist.

As for ether, the superpower that was ordinary, mundane, but lacked a champion was of a mystical essence. It was the Extraordinary power controlling ‘direction and force’, a direct state of momentum and strength. It assimilated into magic without any attribute of its own, and yet did not mean it did not exist—for in fact, most magical barriers, anti-projectile buffs, wave cannons, Void grasps, and bunker-busting punches were ether spells. Any mage would have actually used a threefold Extraordinary ability cultivation of mana, element, and ether, which explained the high demand for innate talent in mages. Their numbers were rarer than clergies and warriors, and they were especially easily led astray.

Compared to worlds with mana, ether, and psionic, there were in fact numerous worlds of only pure ether. The gap between the skies and earth were atypically small in ether-based worlds, since creatures or humans that could control ether were able to fly easily, even taking flight with the thought should they possess the inborn gifts.

In fact, land could actually be meaningless in etherspheres with sufficient density. The unique environment with strong presence of ether would have developed considerable buoyancy, keeping an entire continent afloat above the nearly-level ether layer, a factor of existence of worlds with floating islands, aerial continents, and ships of sails.

Xillia, before it became the Bloodmoon Realm, was a world of floating island. A world filled with ether, every object within was supported by a profound ether cycle. In comparison, the Mycroft world had low ether density, albeit with more concentrated mana and element force, which explained the birth of natural elementals such as the fairies there.

Now, the ultimate creation that the Mycroftians felt proud of, one that instantly decimated an entire Void fleet, was the arcane superweapon known as the Zonal Ether Subjugator! Its effect was very simple as well. It completely removed excess force from every object within an area completely—in other words, it could render every object within its range motionless.

“Motionless… If it was in the past, I would have been puzzled as to why being rendered motionless was a weapon, and what form of offensive it was.”

The Nature Magister, who was now laughing softly, had naturally been chosen as the main controller of the superweapon, as the creator of the Zonal Ether Subjugator and the Ether Lifetree, while Yana Milo aided her in calibration. “But it was only until I entered the stars, understood of all things being in rapid motion at any given moment, and comprehended that the stars’ motion was our own as well, that I immediately realized that being still was the most terrible attack.”

Like how Joshua had recently told me about the terrible truth of the Multiverse being in limbo, it was only then that I understood how stillness was true destruction: the endless darkness extending between the Multiverse and the Lost Galaxy made the fact evident with their remains.

Meanwhile, Yana Milo said nothing in return. She looked up slightly towards the screens in front of her, at the fleet of a foreign civilization which had abruptly ‘disappeared’.

Did they actually disappear?

Not quite, for they were simply ‘banished’.

The galaxy, the Multiverse, the Void which tangled every world together in dimensional turbulences—in fact, the ‘energy’ imbued in all things in their moment of creation would have been nullified and prevented from moving forward, like a person who jumped vertically over a moving horse carriage to be subsequently thrown far behind.

In a single instant, they had been expelled into the darkness of eternal stillness into another timeline or pulverized, crushed on the orbiting trail of a galaxy. Their remains were as likely to be found on a faraway world as having long since rotted into dust.

It was a death more horrible than being destroyed.

“They have been banished from our frame of reference. Even if they survived, time would educate them about isolation.”

The Nature’s Magister spoke softly as she slowly closed the petals, charging for the next attack. The great druid looked up at the screens as well to watch the Knowers’ fleet that were prudently standing off against them. “That is the power of the Zonal Ether Subjugator—a might equal to Legends.”

With the organic barriers over the Void Behemoths’ backs and the various semi-intelligent aggressive plants that the Nature’s Magister had grown over time, the Combined Fleet were delaying the Knowers’ advancing fleet despite being outnumbered. Even so, it was also thanks to the Knowers not forcing their way through by taking losses. Both sides remained engaged in a probing phase, and following the Zonal Ether Subjugator’s entrance, the Knowers’ fleet vanguard docked to construct a massive fortress against the unknown attack.

“How are things coming along on Joshua’s side?” La Motte the Sword Saint asked simply, a hand on his scabbard while he stood outside the Zonal Ether Subjugator. “I’m not useful on a naval conflict of this sort—I could go back and help him if need be.”

“No idea, but it should not be an issue.” Vahina glanced at the Void around them, sensing through various means that there were no longer any spies around them—they would be far away, on the other side of the stars even if they were. “You don’t have to leave,” she added, her eyes narrowing. “Our opponents haven’t brought in major firepower, and you’re needed if they dispatch special forces to sabotage the Subjugator. Moreover, that extremely terrible presence on the other side of the Void must be a powerful being that requires our combined strength.”

“Whatever.”

Though a carefree person, the Sword Saint soon frowned again at Vahina. “Wait. Is this your way of charging an attack?”

“No…” Vahina was rather slow to respond, her attention split while she oversaw the fleet with her psionic power. Soon, however, she too realized that something was not right. “No, the frequency of that Void tremor is a psionic warp—Joshua? That’s not him either! It’s that ambushing otherworld champion—he’s here!”

That psionic warp was so quick that the Combined Fleet had barely dispersed when a purple-green ring of light appeared upon the Void behind the fleet, with a humanoid form of energy flashing with boundless psionic thunder leaping away. Still, the cautious Mycroftians realized in shock that the powerful Extraordinary champion did not pay heed to the Combined Fleet right beside him, instead dragging a trail of light, rushing rapidly towards the distant Void.

“That bearing… isn’t it the direction of the champion that’s rapidly approaching from the distance?”

Having understood that, La Motte sheathed the sword he had pulled halfway out of its scabbard for a backstab, blinking as he was left puzzled. “There’s no reason for such a rush to rendezvous with allies… he had suddenly jumped into our headquarters, and this time he could strike at our ships from the rear as well… and why all that rage? It’s like there’s a grudge.”

The Sword Saint did not imagine that he would get it in one.

Soon, with a greater mass signature, a bright crimson ring appeared at the position of the purple-green ring. Joshua had streaked through to arrive whilst standing upon the small silver planet, chasing tightly after the Grand Patriarch as he was unable to react at once and greet the Combined Fleet.

And before he left, the warrior left a message.

“Those two are pinnacle champions with power equal to my true form, but their civilizations appear to be ancient nemesis and are now beginning to fight on sight, a good thing for us.”

“But for the sake of taking precaution, I have to block the shockwaves of their blows so their battle would not embroil this side of the battlefield into the chaos… remember, do not let any foreign civilization obstruct us from building the Dimensional Hub! As long as it is built, our reinforcements would come no matter how difficult it may be!”

“You don’t have to tell us.” Both Sword Saint and sage shook their heads in response—it was unacceptable for them to have Joshua remind them about that. Then, the pair looked up at the Knowers’ armada before them, which appeared to be shuffling around recklessly, and raised their hands to spread massive psionic force that shrouded the entire fleet. This created an ‘Eldar Circle’, a special technical formation that belonged to the Eldars.

Still, before the silver planet truly left their communication range, Vahina called out and reminded Joshua, “Be careful, Joshua. It could be a trap.”

“That psionic user might be thinking about using your considerable to—”

“I’ve already thought as much—but so what?”

Should I not go?

“…Fine, ignore that.”

Sonorous laughter sounded, leaving the other Legendary champions and especially Vahina at a pause. Still, they were not too surprised since it was how Joshua usually functioned, which was why the sage simply sighed and, after the warrior had completely left their part of the Void, turned to keep buffing their own fleet.

“After all, our battle is here.”

***

In the Void, Joshua kept pursuit of Galgur’s psionic trail while standing on his planet form, his expression blank as he folded both hands before his chest.

The speed at which champions of their caliber moved was more than ten times than an entire fleet. Soon, the distant but horrific presence rapidly closed in, their relative distance of a thousand worlds reduced in an instant.

Still, the chase lasted until Joshua could ran into that fleet.

Galgur promptly stopped when he reached his own destination. Without a word, the rune ‘falsehood’ shone upon the twelve-starred ring over his head and he vanished. Yet, both Joshua and the Imperator Amos he had been screaming at were aware that he was hiding, waiting for them to fight while he watched.

It was a shady trick so simple even a six-year old child could easily see through, but yet remarkably effective at this very moment. Both Joshua and Amos were so powerful that their mere presence were a threat to each other.

Joshua stared at the vast fleet that was smaller in scale than the Knowers’—but he thought nothing of the, despite the unusual but intimidating appearance of the warships, or more precisely, the powerful morphing of champions.

Instead, he could only see the massive creature encircled at the center of that great armada, a creature that resembled a star… or indeed a lifeform that was a star.

It was a nebula crystal that could nearly enshroud a small world, with endless thunder sparks revolving in its center. A massive, cloud-shaped stellar form, its inner constitution resembled an ordinary nebula, but was in truth filled with skeletal frames of silver and white, with leafy forms swirling as it moved. On its surface was huge storm swirls, at once forming powerful momentum and consuming the energies around them.

Veins of tendrils could be seen protruding away from the edges of the swirl, presenting the supermassive nebula creature as some colossal luminous jellyfish, although that was merely its form. Though the nebula appeared vulnerable, it was actually materialized ether crystallizations, kept aloft with ether invisible to the naked eye while acting as one of the sturdiest shields in the observable Multiverse.

The colossal creature was three million kilometers wide in diameter alone, its inner core shrouded with thick leaves and white nebula crystals. Joshua could, however, clearly see that those were actually stars: three stellar forms had been stuffed into the colossal creature’s body, withering at a quickened, distinct pace as well.

“Planet Eater, the way of Void Behemoths… no, there is no telling how much stronger this one is.”

The warrior muttered to himself, “This is probably a single part of his body, and his true form must resemble a small galaxy, a compound of many stars—a supermassive nebula! A path of ascension I had once envisioned!”

That path, however, only held absolute advantage in strength. It was lacking in everything else from detail, constitution and subsequent evolution, and that was not even the most important factor. Joshua’s own path of advancing with a world as his form and assuming a neutron star state to fight with had its flaws, but he refused that path due to excessive destruction—irreversible destruction—to other worlds in the galaxy as time extended.

The only effect for Joshua’s world was that the hospitable world in his body would enlarge after absorbing the mass of other worlds. If he were to absorb a dead world, he would have actually converted unrecyclable resources into something useful, which would have been beneficial for a galaxy. On the other hand, while the supermassive nebula was powerful, each portion of strength it gained would have caused destruction upon other worlds as they were completely converted to its own power. Unless that lifeform died, the mass plundered could never be returned.

The supermassive nebula being known as Imperator Amos stared at the being before him with his energy perception.

It was an inconspicuous star which was less then ten thousand kilometers wide, one that was pathetically small to him. Still, as one of the most powerful champions amongst these stars, the Imperator knew well that it was denser than a white dwarf, despite its small size,

“Hiding, huh… or reducing drainage of strength.”

Imperator Amos had already seen the Combined Fleet advancing in the Void, clearly aware that the silver planet was at most a dozen kilometers in size, far dense than the remains of the star he had completely absorbed. It was a fearsome form that reached neutron star density, and size did not matter with the sheer defensive capacity of that density, and the power that could control such mass.

“Leave. This isn’t your battlefield.”

Massive flow of messages followed the flickers over the star’s spots, commanding the ships of unusual form around itself to leave. Each craft had the power to fight ten other ships at once in a confrontation between fleets, but it remained better to not take on meaningless damage at the moment.

“You knew well that he had simply lured a champion such as you here to drain me.”

The energy blast from the flickering star contained a striking message.

“And you knew well that I’m here simply to stop you, so that you bastards would not trouble our plans.”

Silver radiance flickered, carrying the warrior’s serene will.

The warships of the Amos Court were retreating, their imperator silent. Joshua did not stop them, for both had achieved their objective in repelling the armada of foreign civilization while preserving the ability of their own fleet. Indeed, both leaders did not even introduce themselves or communicate in any way, but the light in the planetary systems around them were brightening, illuminating even dark and still worlds.

Their paths both converged and diverged, but there was no question that both stretched unto greatness. Galgur had certainly seen through that, which explained his attempt to fight fire with fire. Still, he knew that to be merely a delusion since both Extraordinary individuals were not idiots and things would not unfold as he imagined.

Therefore, in the single instant that the light shone to its brightest, both Joshua and Imperator Amos grunted coldly and turned at once. Violent dimensional ripples shot towards a dark corner of the Void—in that moment, the lurking Grand Patriarch which was bidding its time was forced out of its fabricated state and back into the Void.

In the very next instant, he was struck true by two profound powers consecutively: one being an energy tide that resembled a dimensional storm, and the other being a raging gravity wave!