Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 657, Part 25: Night has fallen, can dawn be far behind? - Bonus Chapter [45]

(Bonus chapter for the brother "Searching for books in the sea of ​​books" [4/5])
After learning of the existence of the High Heavens, Zera had imagined what this holy land of the Holy Light must be like.

It should be sacred and solemn, and also dignified and bright.

Perhaps it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe it with any exaggerated praise in this sea of ​​stars, after all, the close connection between holy light and faith determines that the High Heaven should be the collective embodiment of the most beautiful thing in the hearts of all people of light.

It should rightfully represent the embodiment of all that is true, good, and beautiful in this cosmos.

justice
Each of the six Forces has its own justice, but if we were to discuss which Force's justice is closest to the values ​​of mortals pursuing truth, goodness, and beauty, it would undoubtedly be the Holy Light.

This moral code, closely tied to life, hope, and beauty, originates from the dark ages before the great order of light and darkness, from the eternal war between the sun god Anser and the moon god Musa and the primordial darkness. These two most ancient deities in the cosmos represent the expectation that all things will move towards order and beauty.

No one understands the true meaning of the Holy Light better than the Naaru.

The innate desire for dedication and protection, as well as the exaggeratedly selfless desire for sacrifice, of these mythical beings in the light all stem from Anser's "blessing" of the new era he has created.

As the first life born from the light, Zera should have the highest expectations for the realm of the Holy Light.

The magnificence and solemnity of the long staircase of faith and the gates of the highest heaven greatly amplified her anticipation, making her yearn even more for the scenery beyond the gates of heaven.

After delivering that "Declaration of Holy War of the Sun," and defining the future goals and direction of the Holy Light Legion after her departure, Zera embraced the High Heaven Gate that had been opened for her.

Then she saw the sacred tower hidden in the clouds, the heavenly platform overlooking the mortal world, the mythical statues that recorded the legendary stories of the People of Light, the cloud-borne missions connecting the buildings of varying heights, and the golden and silver domes appearing and disappearing.

She also saw the Temple of Power, which records all the holy light, morality, and mysteries of the path in the starry sea; the Temple of Wisdom, which prays for all beings and connects with believers in the mortal world; and the Temple of Mercy, which is dedicated to the exaltation of the Holy Spirit, enabling them to welcome the glorious moment and step into the highest heaven for guidance.

Everything is wonderful.

Angels with platinum wings carried building materials as they walked through it, and so on!

Did I see something strange?

Zera stands beneath the gates of the Highest Heaven.

She looked again carefully, her gaze passing through the evocative clouds, and then she saw one "unfinished project" after another.

The archangels who were so holy and holy in guiding us on the long staircase of faith are now miserably transformed into "people of holy light and dust," constantly using the power of faith to shape those magnificent places that have not yet fully appeared. They are also cunningly using mysterious clouds to cover up the places under construction.

It highlights the idiom of "burying one's head in the sand."

However, even if all those sacred and beautiful palaces and temples were built, the area of ​​this "city of paradise" in front of me is actually not very large. It is beautiful, but it is not as continuous as I had imagined.

Hmm, a bit petty.
"A bit disappointing, right? The high-level paradise you've been longing for has turned out to be a regrettable, unfinished project."

Diakum's teasing voice rang out beside Zera, and then a not-so-solid projection appeared in this "Supreme Heaven Construction Site".

It's clear that Diakum isn't in good shape inside the Devourer of Worlds' stomach; the torment from Dimensius's devouring has made his voice tremble.

Of course, the Mother of Light can see more.

She realized that Diakum was trying to advance his path of "twins of light and shadow" to the highest good within that black hole-like, devouring stomach, which was the final step in his theological research before the lesser gods.

If this can be accomplished, Diakum can use his own path to combine with Anser's divine body to achieve the most perfect "Holy Sun Rebirth".

He will not have to follow Anser's path all the way forward, but can forge his own path in the realm of lesser gods, which will be the ultimate extension of holy light in the divine realm.

This expansion of the limits of faith and power is a truly good thing for all the people of light in the entire star sea.

"I was a little disappointed, but I had a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on."

Zera, suspended in the clouds high in the sky, watched the breathtaking "River of Holy Light" flow above her as her crystal body swayed and swirled around her.

That is the thread connecting the Holy Light Force with all the People of Light. Even without any magnificent temples or heavenly scenery, the mere existence of this long river of Holy Light is enough to demonstrate the majesty of this sacred place.

she says:

"The Holy Light is closely linked to faith, and the High Heaven was created by Anther, the Father of the Sun. Anther's followers have long been annihilated in the sea of ​​stars. Without their faith to support it, the High Heaven has long since withered into its most desolate form."

It has its own unique characteristics, and its immeasurable grandeur cannot be compared with that of other Force Realms.

Our Holy Land and our Heaven need to be shaped little by little by the People of Light with their faith. It is still small and impoverished now, but as long as the legacy of the People of Light remains in the sea of ​​stars, and as long as the doctrine of the Holy Light flourishes, then one day our High Heaven will be able to rival other realms.

Most importantly, while other realms of the Force are inherently vast and difficult to expand significantly and beyond their limits, the High Heaven's growth and expansion are limitless as long as faith is present!

At this point, Zera sang a hymn of praise, saying with deep emotion:
“I am honored to be able to participate in such a sacred and fulfilling construction at the end of my less-than-successful life. I have come to understand the rules here. I need to use my understanding of ‘truth, goodness, and beauty’ to shape the paradise I imagine here, right?”

"Yes, as the first 'owner' of the Supreme Heaven, you certainly have your own privileges."

Diakum stretched out his hand and traced it around the buildings in front of him, saying:
"These are the only buildings I have designated for the angels and Kazzak. They are to complement the Gates of the High Heaven and the Long Stairway of Faith, forming the main body of the High Heaven. You may use the remaining areas as you see fit."

Kazak told me that as the Lord of the High Heaven, I should not be so domineering as to arbitrarily define what is good in the hearts of others, therefore, I give this power to you.

When we have more guests here in the future, we might even hold a 'Most Beautiful Paradise Contest', haha. *cough cough* Uh…

The Lord of the High Heavens laughed loudly, but before he could finish laughing, he began to cough violently.

His faith projection flickered on and off, and Zera immediately unleashed her holy light in an attempt to heal him, but the light was "swallowed" as soon as it touched Diakum's body.

Its terrifying devouring power represents Dimensius's absolute madness at this moment.

The Devourer of All Realms was truly going mad, urging its gluttonous beast to devour everything. It wanted to "digest" Diakum in the shortest possible time, eliminating a competitor on its path of gluttony and allowing itself to control the power of the solar eclipse that extinguishes and devours all things.

Dimensius also had an ambitious heart.

It has reached this level, and even the blind and foolish yearn to go further. It no longer wants to accept the desperate situation of being instantly killed by Sargeras every time.

Shouldn't we at least be able to put up some resistance?

"You will cast your soul into the realm of death and leave your body in Dimensius's stomach, but can you really hold out until you return from the Shadowlands?"

Zera asked worriedly:
"Dimensius's skill in the path of devouring is almost enough to digest everything. It has already devoured the Star Soul. Given enough time, it might even be able to devour a True God."

"It should be able to hold up."

Dick, however, was quite optimistic about it.

He glanced at the projection, so faint it was like a soap bubble, and said softly:

"Dimensius's madness at this moment stemmed from his encounter with Anser's eclipse pain when he tried to seize the power of eclipse. This power to extinguish all things is not so easy to obtain."

Even the Devourer of All Realms must first swallow the Sun God's suffering before it can control the majesty of the eclipse.

It hurts!
It won't adapt to this pain; it will continue to hurt like this.

Until its body could not bear it or I collapsed first, perhaps Dimensius also had such a will, but I do not think its desire to devour could allow it to shoulder the heavy burden of the sun god.

This devouring hunger imposed upon my body was like a forging hammer. It applied enough pressure from the outside to allow my light and shadow to reach perfection in this forging process.
I suddenly realized that perhaps my current situation also subtly echoed the 'symbol of dawn'.

The vigilant paused, and said in a gentle tone:

"Before dawn, there must be, and it must be, night!"

Only after enduring this darkest night can I return to the sea of ​​stars bathed in the morning light.

It is said that those who achieve great things must undergo painful trials, and this may be the final link in my path of holy light to reach perfection.

My body and my soul will be subjected to immense pressure; the dual trials from the void and death will forge the final ladder for me to ascend to the Throne of Light.
"Well, I have to go now."

He waved his hand and said:

"You should get used to life in the High Heavens for a while. Using the power of faith to create the paradise in your heart is a skill in itself. If you don't understand something, you can consult my little angels. Also, I might send back a batch of 'angel prototypes' soon."

The task of reshaping and guiding them is now in your hands.

As the founder and leader of the Legion of Holy Light, I believe you can forge an invincible army of the Sun for the High Heavens.

“I have one last question, Your Excellency Diakum.”

As Dick was about to leave, Zera pressed him for an answer:
"I can no longer interfere with the material world, right? After stepping through the gates of that supreme heaven, all the suffering and happiness in the starry sea will be irrelevant to me?"

"No! The realm of the Holy Light is not meant to turn every liberated Holy Spirit into a heartless stone. That is not neutrality; that is the cold and evil way."

Diakum vanished without looking back, waving his hand and saying:
"You can continue to connect with your followers through faith, but now that kind of reminder is called 'oracle,' and the wisdom and enlightenment from you will be the limit of your and the entire High Heaven's interference in the material world."

Unless we reach a crisis point where the gates of heaven must stand in the earth, you and I must both uphold the justice of the Holy Light.

Of course, you can start preparing now.
I assure you that in the 'war of light and darkness' that ignites the sun, the gates of the highest heavens will open in the sea of ​​darkness!
Yes.

You and I both have the opportunity to personally ignite the flame of dawn.

------

"Well"

When Diakum opened his eyes again inside Dimensius's stomach, the cutting pains emanating from all parts of his body caused him to let out a mournful cry.

This Devourer of All Realms is truly risking its life.

It probably didn't devour anything else in this starry sea with such "force," clearly it was severely stimulated when it devoured the "pain of the solar eclipse."

If something can cause pain even to a true solar will like Diakum, requiring the power of an entire void form to withstand, then such a thing could also inflict fatal pain on a powerful void lord like Dimensius.

The pain of a solar eclipse is not simply a matter of void energy.
It was a mixture of despair, sorrow, and helplessness that a true god felt when falling into darkness; it was far beyond the definition of "energy," a symbol of "sorrow."

Understanding and mastering this kind of "sadness" is not so simple.

"Now you can understand the pain I felt carrying the eclipse forward. I wish you a long life, you glutton, but you asked for it!"

Diakum sat cross-legged on the rock and made a sarcastic remark with a cold laugh.

He then picked up Zera's dimmed Heart of Light, which was obviously not allowed to be brought into the Shadowlands, but that did not prevent Diakum from "collecting" it.

The core crystal of the primordial Naaru, if placed in the material world and processed by any blacksmith, could easily be crafted into a divine weapon like Ashbringer.

"It's time for you to go!"

He said to Xaratas, who was hovering silently beside him:

“Zera sacrificed himself to ignite you. As the first ray of the eclipse to usher in the dawn, you should fulfill your duties and mission after returning to the light.”

"But what should I do?"

Saratas was confused.

She has never done a single good deed since she was born.

Now, she has suddenly transformed from a pioneer of evil into a partner of justice. The drastic change in her stance left her momentarily at a loss. She instinctively sought advice from the saintly figure before her, asking how she should begin her "life as a good person".
"You are a 'shard of the sun'."

Diakum said softly:
"And I just slammed several Void Lords to death with the sun of Draenor, extinguishing their suns, so I want to give them a sun back."

Shin your light on them for me until I return.

Dispel the bone-chilling darkness, illuminate their path forward, and then, do whatever you want.

Your tragic and dark life is over, but because of the evil you have done, I cannot allow you to enter the highest heavens. However, as long as the sun shines on the stars, you have countless hours to squander.

Treat this as an exile from the scorching sun.

Go forth and bless me and the entire cosmos.

After saying that, he embraced the Heart of Holy Light and walked into the depths of the black hole's stomach.

The dim light and cold shadows struggled to form an initial cycle within Dick's body. It was still very rough, like a poorly integrated system, and occasionally it would burst into energy collisions. But under the heavy pressure brought by Dimensius, it barely managed to operate.

Just as Diakum originally envisioned.

When the light is insufficient, the shadows burn like fuel. When the shadows dissipate, some of the light also extinguishes and becomes new shadows, like an imperfect but already nascent cycle of light and darkness.

They appear and exist simultaneously, together forming a unified concept.

The operation of this small system of "coexistence of light and shadow" helps Diakum fight against the devouring frenzy from Dimensius. It seems to be an endogenous system that is not affected by external factors and can produce new life power belonging to Diakum.

The energy it generates now is far from sufficient, but as long as this system continues to cycle, one day, even if it is isolated from all the infusion and blessing of holy light and the void, Diakum's power will not be weakened in the slightest.

The power will truly belong to itself, and will no longer depend on external support.

That is the ultimate form of the vigilant, who will become a "source of light" like the sun, rather than a "node" that uses the sun's light to illuminate the darkness.

Even if they still belong to the realm of the Holy Light or the Void, the Vigilant will become a "truly independent" individual. He will become the master of the extension of the Force concept, rather than a power walker bound by the Force.

Xalatas could see that as Diakum stepped into the night, his soul and will detached from his still-walking body, as if crossing the boundary between life and death, being "captured" by the power of death in an open embrace, and being swept into the rift of the Shadowlands in the explosion of that will.

His body is still moving.

With an unyielding belief, I stepped into the lightless night. The light was so dim, much like a few fireflies that a traveler in the darkness could only glimpse in a fleeting moment. It was not even enough to illuminate the way forward, but could only proclaim the existence of light in the curtain of darkness.

However, night had already fallen like a curtain, like a solemn stage that had been prepared.

So, is it far off that Dawn will take the stage to sing?

(End of this chapter)