Chapter 93: The Vast Cosmos

“Marnmae, what are you doing down here? It’s dangerous!” Zane-Shawndrew said in an ingratiating tone.

“Sister Chianyen sent me to keep an eye on you, so you wouldn’t cheat on us while you were out here.” Peng-Marnmae cast a wary glance at Olivia.

It was Olivia’s first time meeting a canine beastwoman transformed from a hound. When the strange creature looked her way, Olivia grew frightened and shrank behind Finn again.

“How would I dare cheat on you out here?” Zane-Shawndrew declared solemnly. “I’m as loyal to you and Chianyen as I am to the human race!”

“Hmph. I thought you knew better.” Peng-Marnmae smiled brightly, and her steel-like fangs glittered between her lips.

Zane-Shawndrew shuddered faintly and swallowed before turning to Finn. “Can you give me the alien you’re holding? We need a live specimen for research.”

Finn nodded and tossed over the alien, still sealed inside its spacesuit.

A white-jade bottle appeared in Zane-Shawndrew’s hand. White light flashed, and the alien was sucked inside.

“What are you going to do about this alien civilization?” Finn asked.

Zane-Shawndrew’s expression darkened. “A race that dares attack humanity must of course be wiped out completely. We can’t leave any future threat behind!”

Finn nodded slightly. He knew that a massive interstellar war was about to begin. But as someone merely passing through this world, it naturally had nothing whatsoever to do with him.

“Will you help the humans on this planet?” Finn asked casually.

“Their aptitude is too weak. We only recruit elites, not cannon fodder.” Zane-Shawndrew shook his head. “Every civilization follows its own course of development. It’s better not to interfere without good reason.”

He smiled at Finn. “Why don’t you come visit our main base?”

“No, thanks. I still have to wait for Su-Jin.” Finn waved him off.

“Oh... that veteran driver...” Zane-Shawndrew seemed to recall something.

When he noticed Peng-Marnmae staring at him, he quickly coughed, said goodbye to Finn, and rode clouds and mist into the mech. Peng-Marnmae followed him inside, and the two of them left together.

The towering steel giant flew into the sky and disappeared from sight. On the charred ruins of the battlefield, only Finn and Olivia remained.

“Master, who were they?” Olivia asked curiously, gazing up at the sky.

“The Iron-Blooded Human Supremacy Guard. It’s an interworld military organization. Most of its members are cultivators, and they’re all soldiers who like piloting mechs.”

Olivia realized she hadn’t understood a single word Finn said. After thinking it over for a while, she helplessly gave up trying to understand.

Her eyes were full of earnest admiration. “Master, I thought you came from the other side of the sea. I never imagined you came from the other side of the sky.”

“No.” Finn shook his head gently. “I’m from another world.”

“Another world?” Olivia asked in astonishment.

“Let’s take a walk along the beach. I’ll explain it to you.”

The Alderon Sea lay in the far north, a barren and freezing place without a trace of life. Even the sand along the shore was a dull, dark gray.

Several gray-white icebergs floated on the still sea, while fractured glaciers drifted across its surface. The filthy tide lapped softly against the beach, leaving behind delicate white foam.

Finn and Olivia strolled along the shore, leaving two long trails of footprints behind them. The cold wind, carrying traces of radioactive fallout, swept past, bringing a faint chill that seeped deep within them.

“The Endless Worlds are vast beyond measure. Apart from the universe we live in, there are countless other worlds.”

Finn bent down and picked up a grain of sand. Balancing it on a fingertip, he said to Olivia, “Look at this tiny grain of sand. What does it make you think of?”

Olivia was indeed very clever. She understood immediately, though she hesitated before nodding. “The place we live in is a grain of sand? And the Endless Worlds are the beach?”

“No. The planet we stand on is merely a tiny atom inside this grain of sand. The Endless Worlds are a boundless, endless beach.”

“Just an atom? Then we’re living on an atom...”

Olivia sucked in a breath. She pressed a hand lightly against her chest and looked up at the sky, utterly shaken.

A sense of unimaginable vastness seemed to unfold within her, swelling until it filled her chest. For a moment, Olivia could hardly breathe.

“The world is so big...” she murmured, staring up at the sky. “And we’re so small...”

Her sapphire eyes seemed to reflect the entire universe.

“Yes. It’s far too vast. Even the gods would have to concede defeat before the endless expanse of space and time.” Finn smiled. “But that’s what makes a world like this interesting!”

...

One month later.

Finn rode a mountain bike that blatantly violated the law of conservation of energy, carrying Olivia back to Black Mountain to pick up Jimmy.

What he hadn’t expected was that Jimmy had already become the archbishop of the Devil Church. Every day, he taught the faithful how to dance and was having the time of his life.

What he had expected even less was that this newly founded religion, the Devil Church, actually worshiped Finn.

According to the teachings of the Radiant Path, nuclear power was the power of the devil. Only the inhabitants of hell would use nuclear energy.

Finn had previously announced over the radio that he would settle the Radiant Path’s sins. Afterward, several of the Radiant Path’s Refuge Cities were nuked, making it seem no different from divine punishment.

Even the much-heralded descent of Holy Radiance vanished without a trace.

Some people claimed that wherever Holy Radiance descended, a gigantic steel demon god streaked across the sky, accompanied by the white light of nuclear explosions that could be seen from dozens of kilometers away.

A terrifying legend began circulating among the followers of the Radiant Path. The devil had returned from hell and defeated Holy Radiance with the power of nuclear energy. From that day onward, the earth would be shrouded in endless darkness.

And Finn, who wielded the power of nuclear explosions, was the devil’s spokesman.

Faced with something so terrifying, what were they waiting for? They should abandon the light, embrace the darkness, and submit to the devil!

A large number of Radiant Path followers immediately changed their faith and founded the Devil Church, worshiping Finn.

Many ordinary people also grew frightened and uneasy after learning that the Radiant Path’s Refuge Cities had been destroyed by nuclear blasts. Who cared whether it was true? Better believe first and worry about it later.

As a result, the Devil Church gained a huge number of followers in a very short time.

Since they couldn’t find Finn, they elevated his sidekick, Jimmy, to the position of bishop.

Jimmy’s first reaction had basically been, What the hell? But he soon adapted to his new life of pretending to be a big shot.

He began teaching the followers street dance, grandly proclaiming it to be the Dance of the Devils of Hell. Those who danced well would be spared the suffering of nuclear explosions.

After learning the whole story, Finn pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed, at a loss for words.

...

Finn stood on a balcony, looking down at the Devil Church’s followers as they put on a veritable dance of demons below, performing a horribly clumsy ballet.

A thought struck him, and he took out the greatest acquisition from this trip—the World Nucleus.

Even just holding the World Nucleus in his palm, he could sense the surging energy within it. It contained the bound power of thousands of stars.

Unable to resist, Finn took a tiny sip from the World Nucleus.

“Ah!”

That single little sip nearly cost Finn his life!

Vast energy surged into his body, nearly bursting his meridians. His eyes bulged and turned bloodshot, while his chest and abdomen ballooned outward as if they were about to explode.

He had thought he was sipping water through a straw.

He hadn’t expected to open his mouth straight into Niagara Falls!