Defiance of the Fall

A web of cracks spread across Kator's left arm as he advanced on Zac. The reaver might have expended a supreme treasure to avoid backlash from their contract, but he was still under the effect of the [Solidarity Link]. Since Kator hadn't relied on the bond's loophole to destroy Zac's left arm, he faced a similar backlash. The effect wasn't at the level Zac hoped to see, though.

Kator was resisting the effect through the huge amounts of Temporal Energy in his body. The transmitted damage was being slowed down while his recovery was accelerated, drastically mitigating the impact. While the Lost Plane's madness might have sent Kator down the wrong path, he clearly had long-going preparations for his betrayal.

Those preparations undoubtedly included severing the bond. It would stop the damage transmission, allowing Kator to whittle down the transferred and decelerated damage without facing any lethal threat. Even so, the reaver didn't get the chance to follow up on his javelin throw. Hundreds of runes conjured by Zac's Core Formation Arrays lit up the dusky chamber.

The runes matched Zac's Evolutionary and Inexorable Paths, heralding his sudden ascension. In reality, they were the funnels meant to draw on his Cultivation Cave's ambient energy. With no matching energy around, they mostly became an empty ornament, though they did draw in an unexpected catch.

Hidden pockets of Imperial Faith that had survived the Centurion Beacon's activation were drawn into the runes and deposited into Zac's body. That did nothing to bolster the Core Formation Array's barrier, which was what Zac desperately needed with his core about to blow. Luckily, the replacement was ready.

The Remnants usually orbiting his Cosmic Core had been pulled from the Quantum Space the moment Zac came up with his plan, and they readily supplied all the energy they'd stockpiled since the Atavism. The same was true for the other sets spread across his bodies. The energy was only a decent match with his tailored Core Formation Array, which was better than nothing.

Still not satisfied, Zac threw out a pile of Fiend Crystals just as a deep groan came from the depths of his Cosmic Core. The next moment, Zac's mind was overwhelmed by a blinding white as his core exploded. The ignition was so intense that the weight of its force briefly held back the shockwave, and Zac used that small window to crush the Fiend Crystals with a wave of his arm.

A profoundly brutal aura spread across the octagon like a starving beast let loose from its cage. The bloody air shook Kator awake. He'd toppled over from the intense pain that must have been transmitted through the [Solidarity Link]. Zac's foolhardy action appeared to have left him stunned, not knowing whether he should attack or let Zac tear himself apart. Kator chose the former.

"Stop, or I'll trigger the bomb," Kator threatened, taking out his mace to unleash a wave of destruction rushing forward.

Zac had no time to worry whether the threat was real, and he had no way to stop, even if he wanted to. He rallied his Void Emperor bloodline to its limits, becoming a black hole that swallowed the huge amounts of fiendish energy. No small amount of corruption snuck inside, too, but there wasn't much Zac could do about that.

Inexhaustible, primal power coursed through Zac's veins, even suppressing the temporal storm still raging within. He felt as though he'd been forged and tempered in the prehistoric flames of the Era's birth, his body the perfect vessel of slaughter. Not even the Heavens could deny his—

Hundreds of red-hot projectiles filled with the essence of his Cosmic Core woke Zac up to the reality of his situation. They'd escaped the collapsing reality at the heart of his Quantum Space, shooting out with doubled ferocity. Worse, they were just the first wave, with the bulk of his core coming on their heel in the form of an expanding cloud of utter destruction.

The pieces were too fast, too deadly, and Zac had learned his lesson from last time. He didn't attempt to block all of them. In fact, he intentionally let half of them go by creating soft spots in his barrier. Being too greedy in this situation would only backfire and cause greater losses. Better save the diamonds in the rough while sacrificing the most damaged pieces. That way, the loss of spirituality would be kept at a minimum.

While pragmatic, the approach meant hundreds of projectiles emerged from his Quantum Space with the speed and ferocity of shooting stars. Two gory flowers, one red and one black, bloomed, spewing seeds of blinding power. As if by a stroke of luck, only a few targeted the control rooms while most rushed toward Kator.

The reaver was already dealing with the pain of having two midriffs exploding, and he was too slow in reacting to the new threat. The debris tore apart the concussive wave of destruction without it putting up much of a fight before slamming into Kator's Warbones with a deafening clang. The reaver might have been in a better state than Zac, but even he couldn't nullify the incoming force. Kator was pushed halfway across the chamber before coming to a stop, a new set of cracks adorning his alabaster plates.

The sudden turn-around wasn't a coincidence. The force unleashed from the ignition was no different than a Beast King detonating their Beast Core in a final act of defiance. Zac used that to his advantage, turning his core into a weapon by ignoring all pieces flying in Kator's direction. It was a pyrrhic victory.

Zac made for a ghastly sight, where his legs and upper torso were only held together by cracked pieces of spine and strips of mangled flesh. Reinforcing his body with the Fiend Energy had only been enough to avoid being fully bisected, and Zac was given almost no time to recover. The ignition's main shockwave was still advancing toward the edge of his Duplicity Core, holding far more pieces of his Cosmic Core.

A string of thunderclaps was an ominous reminder Zac didn't just have his Cosmic Core to worry about. The pressure from above had been skyrocketing from the moment Zac triggered his breakthrough and familiar streaks of angry red crystallized throughout the chamber. Zac staunchly held onto his Void State as he pulled from his waning stockpile of refined insights inside [Purity of the Void].

Zac's drained mind was once more kicked into overdrive, giving the illusion of time slowing down. It gave him the much-needed wriggle room to navigate this deadly tightrope. Blobs of opalescent Creation dislodged from his Core Formation Barrier were repurposed to regrow broken flesh. His stomach was doomed to be destroyed again, but Zac had no choice but to invite another round of suffering.

His core upgrade was already destined to be an almost hopeless uphill battle, and every piece of debris he lost would further worsen his chances of success. He needed to retain as many pieces as possible, even if that meant using his flesh to slow down their escape.

The ceiling collapsed to provide passage to a pillar of dark-red extermination. Zac welcomed it despite having his hands full with the ignition. The temporal backlash made every attempt to exert control exponentially more difficult, and the pain it wrought had reached the point where an overpowered bolt of lightning seemed preferable.

Even so, Zac couldn't help but second-guess his idea when faced with the Heavenly wrath. His mind was still working overtime because of Ultom's wisdom, giving him more time to appreciate just how much force was crammed into the first bolt. While he couldn't sense any hints of the Four Desolates, its raw force far surpassed the final bolt of his previous breakthrough.

Like last time, the Heavens had produced a punishment far exceeding the crime. Zac saw little hope in surviving it, let alone the ones that would follow. Having Kator taking on part of the punishment didn't matter if the churning sky held enough fury to overwhelm them both.

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"Void Road! Balance!" Zac croaked, his voice barely a whisper.

The message was still heard loud and clear, and the silent observer behind the curtain finally stirred. The System didn't overwhelm the Heavens this time. Zac wasn't sure if it could. Its presence seemed distant and hollow, perhaps because of the special environment. The clash between Eternal Guardians and Foreign Gods had caused such extensive dimensional damage that the base may as well have been halfway submerged into the Lost Plane. RΑℕô฿Ë𝘴

It was willing to help in another way. Zac felt a vibration from his pocket where he stored the [Court Cycle Token], which in turn stirred the Imperial Faith absorbed by the Core Formation Arrays. A radiant sigil similar to the control runes he'd lost appeared in his Soul Aperture, and Zac suddenly felt a connection with thousands of fiery rivers.

No, not fire. It was the Imperial Faith spread throughout the Centurion Base, forming a network of lakes and tributaries. Zac could intuit the System's intentions and pulled with all his might, especially targeting the intense Imperial Faith upholding the Ascension Chamber's operations. The whole base darkened to ignite a beacon of providence in its center.

A new sun was born atop the octagon's spire, this one without so much a speck of Stellar Energy. It was all Imperial Faith, radiating an unquestionable authority that could even overturn the Heavens. The Flamebearer seal retreated like it couldn't stand the rays, and the descending tribulation faded significantly as it made its way through the sun's domain. What remained was a calamity, only not an insurmountable one.

The red pillar formed a connection between man and Heaven, a connection where each side fought for dominion. No preparation in the world would allow Zac to perfectly deal with a simultaneous ignition and tribulation. He could only put his faith in his constitution, letting the lightning sweep through his body while focusing on the more immediate threat. Zac held on for everything he was worth, pushing his Soul, Heart, and Body to their limits to take charge over the miniature universe born inside his Quantum Space.

The Core Formation Barrier trembled, and dozens of punctures were ripped open when the ignition's shockwave came crashing down. However, Rava's instructions on the nature of cultivation proved true once more. His body had the resilience to endure the barrage, and his soul possessed the prerequisite strength to suppress the errant Dao.

With a strengthened Heart, Zac also found it far easier to connect with the wayward debris. Last time, he'd imparted order through force. Now, he was spared half the effort by harmonizing with the Quantum Space. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough when a sea of lightning joined the mix.

The tribulation had already swept through his body, leaving a wasteland in its wake. His bodies had instinctively fought back, exhausting nearly half of its force through Dao and Void. What remained gathered in his stomach and poured through the Specialty Core's hatch. The Heavenly Lightning refused to be suppressed by his soul or harmonize with his Heart, and its addition was like throwing gasoline on the flames. The pieces that had begun arranging themselves were destroyed or swept away, and Zac's stomach was ripped open again as a result.

"I knew it!" Kator roared as he clambered to his feet, undeterred by the terrifying punishment transmitted through the link. "You've sold your soul to the fallen Emperor and his zealots."

Zac was almost delirious with agony as he held on for dear life. Between the hasty ignition and facing the tribulation mid-breakthrough, the damage was far worse than he'd hoped. He'd already lost a full ten percent of his Cosmic Core's spirituality, and the Heavens seemed intent on claiming what remained as it ravaged the Quantum Space.

Seeing so much work undone pushed Zac's fury to new heights. The fact that more than half of the temporal backlash had been purged did nothing to improve his mood. He wouldn't have a backlash to deal with if not for Kator's betrayal anyhow. And yet, there was nothing he could do to his enemy. If Zac didn't get control over his Cosmic Core before the second tribulation descended, there would be nothing left to salvage.

He submerged his will into his Quantum Space, enduring the electrocution to resume his work. He became the lighthouse in the night, leading his broken core to safer waters. Gradually, the pieces began resisting the sea of lightning, once more lining up to form rotating asteroid belts. Zac was exhilarated to discover that with each piece joining the network, it became easier to resist the heavenly lightning. From the beginning, the pieces were part of something greater.

Kator wouldn't give him the time he needed to complete the arrangement. Smoke rose from the joints of his Warbones, and he emitted such intense Killing Intent that Zac wasn't sure if he'd finally snapped. This time, there was no debris to block Kator's advance, and Zac had his hands full. The clouds above were already signaling that the second bolt wasn't far off.

Suddenly, a curtain of darkness swept through the room, forming a thick barrier separating the two opponents. Meanwhile, hundreds of tendrils rose from the ground to grab onto Kator. Zac exhaled and turned his attention inward, ignoring the shadow wall being torn apart by a Dao-empowered swing with Kator's mace.

Hiding within was another form of darkness—purple mist so condensed it was almost black. The fog turned into four misshapen goblin heads that released a wordless screech in Kator's direction. The reaver froze as a cavalcade of discordant impressions was transmitted into Zac's mind, almost undoing his work.

Kator's Killing Intent kicked up a storm that scattered the goblins, and the mist was pulled into his hulking frame. He'd countered madness with savagery, which was now trained right at Zac. It was at that moment a weak crackle barely audible above the roaring storm made Zac's Danger Sense scream.

Ogras dragged his spear from the Temporal Treasure in Kator's now empty hand, returning to the shadows just before a mace tore him apart. An explosion of darkness threw Kator into the distance with enough force to cause a dent in the octagon's wall. Something like that would have been inconceivable before, proving just how far gone the structure was.

Meanwhile, a bloodied Ogras appeared by Zac's side. He'd narrowly outrun the unsealed temporal storm, but it was clear that Kator's strike hadn't completely missed its mark. Zac was unable to spare any attention to the commotion. He was still fighting the battle within, furiously imposing order on the debris. Ogras understood as much.

'I've already dismantled the bomb aboard the ship.' The message entered Zac's mind as he vaguely sensed the Core Formation Arrays being lifted into the air and moved away from the approaching storm.

The demon was gone the next moment, wisely extricating himself before he became entangled with the tribulation.

A deep, cruel growl shook the crumbling chamber as Kator's mace tore through the shadows left in the demon's wake. An axe teeming with barely contained power rose to block. The devastating clash swept away the darkness, and even the winds of time were forced into a retreat.

Zac had no choice but to allocate part of his attention to Kator during his ignition. Ogras's timely appearance had allowed him to tune out the noise and fully focus on his core. His efficiency had skyrocketed. The remnant lightning couldn't disrupt the complex network of interlocked asteroid belts that kept his growing Quantum Space stable.

The price had been steep, but he'd passed the first hurdle already. With his foundations set and half the temporal paradox gone, the next waves of the tribulation would come easier. He hadn't even used [Void Mountain] yet, and it looked like [Void Heart] would be able to consume at least a small amount of lightning despite its damage. He was no longer a sitting duck who had to take whatever Kator threw his way.

He could finally mount a counteroffensive.

Kator's overhead swing narrowly won out in raw force, but the sudden introduction of a third party stopped Kator from seizing an advantage. Verun barreled into Kator like a wrecking ball, its furious bites and swipes conveying its master's desire for death and destruction. A savage melee erupted, lacking all the finesse of their previous duel.

Neither side was in any state to properly fight according to their technique with wounds and Heavenly lightning disrupting the circulation of Dao. Refinement was replaced with brutality, where each side was willing to sacrifice flesh and bone to eke out an advantage. The furious exchange ended with new sets of wounds but no victor when the Heavens heaved.

This time, the very air trembled, and Zac was filled with a familiar sense of doom. The desolates had already joined in on Heaven's inquest. Verun urgently retreated into its home, but Zac wouldn't let Kator disengage.

"What have you done, Draugr?" Kator growled as Zac stuck to him like glue with his Draugr half, clearly shocked at the brewing judgment.

Zac felt the [Solidarity Link] tremble before he could answer. Kator was trying to sever the link since it had become a hindrance to his goals. Even if he had more Temporal Treasures like the one before, it would just be washed away by the next bolt. There was no point for him to face the tribulation, especially not when it held the Four Laws.

Kator wasn't fated to get his way this time. The grains of sand inside Esmeralda's hourglass changed direction, and the link stabilized like nothing had happened.

"You—"

A bloody grin spread across Zac's face as the world grew blindingly bright. "No going back now."

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