Soul of Searing Steel

Chapter 348: Black and the Dragon Eggs

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Abyss was a world formed from the combination of countless shattered or distorted plane. All of the innumerable legends and myths viewed it as the place where the evil and the twisted congregated, the root of all suffering and despair.

There were many different conjectures regarding its origins, among those was a bold one made by a demonologist who had traveled within the embrace of the Abyss itself and carried out decades worth of research. He believed that the Abyss was, in fact, the graveyard of the multiverse, and that those small, misshapen planes were the shards left behind after the death of infinite worlds.

And the door to the Abyss is the passage that connects it with other worlds.

During the first Abyssal invasion in the Glorious Era, what was perhaps the largest Door to the Abyss known since the birth of the multiverse opened in the outer reaches of space over the world of Mycroft.

It was an unprecedented phenomenon, a colossal dimensional passageway linked to every plane in the Abyss. Although most pathways would self-destruct automatically the moment they activated, there were hundreds of large-scale paths that stayed intact.

From those paths, the endless multitude of demonic forces swarmed out, almost wiping out the entire world of Mycroft.

Nevertheless, the dimensional passageways opened in the second Abyssal Invasion during the Starfall Era was every bit as terrifying as the first. About tens of those channels—most of their scale being rather modest—were scattered across the entire continent.

That, in turn, allowed the diverse races to counter-attack under the leadership of the humans. After years of toiling battles, most of the smaller doors were destroyed by the multiracial Alliance—leaving three larger ones that stuck firmly on the Mycroft Continent like toxic spikes.

Amongst them were the [Burning Eye] that resided within the Ancient Dungeon of the Ashen, as well as the [Crevice of the Icy Hell] in the Frozen Wastelands. In the preexisting game, both had been severely challenging Apocalypse-class dungeon levels. In that period, Joshua and his own band had been stationed within Naya Fortress within Ancient Dungeon of the Ashen, fighting against the demons that spilled out of the Burning Eye.

On the other hand, the [Vortex of the Abyssal Sea] at the distant seas of the South did not have much of a presence. The danger that lurks within, however, was much more significant, for it was connected to Abyssal planes where a multitude of deep-sea behemoths lived. As those abominations prowled the corrupted local marine life of Mycroft, it became far riskier to fight these monsters than the demons.

Joshua had gathered with a hundred percent certainty from what Roland had said that the Anos Abyss was the early form of the Vortex of the Abyssal Sea.

At present, it was a little Abyssal fissure and largely anonymous. But in years to come, it would expand gradually into a huge whirlpool that eventually allows behemoths of the thousand-meter class to pass through with ease.

Although the Church of Seven Gods had discovered it earlier, they were unable to locate the crack. Furthermore, the assault from the draconic plague had forced the Church to divert knight regiments stationed around the area, which in turn gave it a chance to grow.

“… What? That’s it?” Joshua asked.

He had been waiting for Roland to continue shedding light on the state of affairs regarding the Anos Abyss, only to notice that the holy knight had suddenly stopped speaking. Looking up doubtfully to see what was going on, the warrior noticed that the blonde man’s interest seemed to be waning.

“That’s about it,” Roland smiled bitterly, sighed and straightened his hair. His gaze was hesitant, as if uncertain what to say. “Joshua, you are definitely a fine comrade, but this matter definitely has nothing to do with you. Just think of it as my rant, and thanks for telling about it.”

Joshua’s eyebrows twitched. Since the other person did not intend to continue, he had no reason to press him after being flashed with the good-guy card.

“… It’s fine if that’s what you think,” the warrior simply replied. “Either way, I have to thank you for helping me interrogate those cultists.”

Joshua did not find it unusual that the holy knight would suddenly stop himself.