Defiance of the Fall

"What? Young master is really visiting the capital?"

"As soon as I've dealt with a few things," Zac nodded.

"What about young master's condition?"

"Things have changed," Zac said, sharing his prepared excuse.

"Life and Death… Difficult indeed," Triv sighed before perking up. "Perhaps this is for the best? Now young master can visit the Heartlands without worries. Will young master require my—"

"I'm sorry, another time," Zac said, noting that Triv didn't look very disappointed. "I only have so many tokens."

Going to Kavista came with significant risks, even if his identities had been separated. He didn't want to risk Triv's safety just to make his stay slightly more convenient. As for himself, he had some plans to increase his odds of success. If that failed, he had the escape bracelet, though it currently was on his human body. It had long since recovered, and both features were available in case he needed to get out.

While there were risks, Zac felt the benefits were worth it. It wasn't just the Abyssal Pond that attracted him. He finished his breakthrough three months early, and Zac had hoped to use that time to upgrade some of his skills and perhaps gain a couple of levels before the war began. Now, he was thrown into the meatgrinder the second he returned, and every delay meant more deaths.

Zac would be lying if there wasn't a selfish aspect too. While the System was the source of all this suffering, it also provided enormous benefits to those who excelled. The Merit Exchange was just one part of it. There might be titles and unique opportunities waiting for those pushing to the top of their ladders.

The elites from the outside, such as Tavza and Kator, were no doubt already fighting furiously to rack up the merit needed to empower themselves and to better their chances inside the Left Imperial Palace. He needed to catch up, and quickly. Visiting the Kavriel Province was a chance to speed up his transition.

Apart from the Abyssal Pond, they would have top-quality cultivation chambers and skill upgrade arrays. He had already made some arrangements, but his preparations were much better for his human side. Those arrays had been easy enough to buy inside the Perennial Vastness, but his Array Master acquaintance Asta lacked the skills to make death-attuned versions.

Catheya had sourced some from the Undead Alliance, but it wasn't like the undead guests had brought many D-grade cultivation arrays. What was the point—they couldn't use them, and who'd they sell them to?

Of course, Zac wouldn't immediately rush over after being called upon. Zac inscribed a message and sealed it inside Kator's box.

"Please send this back."

"Of course," the ghost agreed. "Is there anything else young master requires?"

"Not right now," Zac said. "I just need to digest everything that has happened while I was gone."

"If young master wants my opinion, I think your citizens are finally coming to realize how lucky they are," Triv said. "News of defeats, slaughter, and suffering reach our world daily. Other factions have used civilians as fodder to protect themselves, leading to disastrous losses. Meanwhile, our people haven't suffered at all under the young master's rule."

"I heard recruitment has sped up lately," Zac commented.

"I'm not too updated on those matters, but I would assume they are related. There will always be heroes who step up to protect their homeland when it's threatened," Triv said. "Of course, I'd venture the Merit Exchange has also changed some minds. I hope young master doesn't mind, but I have been helping the Raun Spectrals."

"You enlisted?" Zac said with surprise, getting a nod in return.

"Only for a non-combat role," Triv explained. "The undead battlefront on the Raun Continent is lacking in experience, even more so than the others."

Zac grimaced, knowing Triv was referring to. The oldest of his undead warriors were only a decade old. His other races weren't much better off in cultivation, but they had some experience to draw upon, especially the Zhix. Meanwhile, the Raun spectrals weren't much better. They had been a tight-knit community without war after they shed their mortal coils. All their focus was on survival. They'd been forced to adapt just like Earth did, but even the Humans had ample experience in killing before the integration.

"I have been relaying what little I learned from following Adriel and helping them set up defensive arrays," the ghost continued.

"How are they doing?"

"Surprisingly good, actually," Triv said. "It turns out spectral cultivators are immune to the Heart Curses, the common curses at least. Those nasty things have become a threat to the Kan'Tanu rather than their enemy when fighting the spectrals. Revenants aren't immune, but the curses don't work quite right when they feed on Miasma. The Undead Empire has already figured out a counter and has graciously provided us with the solution. Of course, the invaders may devise a counter as the war progresses."

"Still, that's not bad," Zac whistled.

It didn't matter much to him personally, already being immune to the Heart Curses. He'd already confirmed his Hidden Nodes existed in both his bodies, and cutting the connection wouldn't impact that. Zac didn't know why things worked that way, but he guessed they were more categorized as a node than a bloodline benefit, letting both bodies enjoy them under any condition.

"Then I shall take my leave," the butler said.

"Actually, there's one thing," Zac said. "My Tool Spirit will break through soon."

"The coffin?" Triv said, looking at the necklace expectantly.

"The coffin," Zac nodded.

"How marvelous."

"It will be met with a tribulation," Zac continued. "Is there any way to hide it?"

"Hiding the Heavens," Triv said. "It is possible to seal off a region to not impact your surroundings, but I am afraid I'm not up to such a task. I think young master would be better off moving to one of your private islands or Elysium."

"Do you know any suitable spots with pure Dao of Death?" Zac asked.

"Certainly," Triv said. "There is a small island with extremely dense energy. It's currently empty but has long since been equipped with a set of arrays and a Teleportation Array. Young master's followers figured you might need it for growing crops or some other activity requiring pure energy."

"Can you prepare anything that might be missing in the environment for a Tool Spirit's breakthrough?" Zac asked. "I'll deal with the preparations for the breakthroughs itself."

"I will arrange things right away. It should take no more than a day unless lord has any special requirements," the butler agreed. "Young master's guardian golems are still at the shipyard for upgrades, though."

"A general setup is fine," Zac said.

The ghost left to prepare things while Zac spent another two hours finishing his work on the section of his pathway leading to [Deathmark]. Ultimately, he chose not to immediately evolve his skill. Instead, he checked the time. After confirming he had a few hours, he stepped onto the teleporter, soon arriving on another sealed-off island.

It wasn't the site for the breakthrough but rather his shipyard. There were a few things he needed to figure out before facing the scrutiny of multiple Monarchs. The first stop was to see if he qualified for the next quest in the chain and what requirements the quest had.

"Welcome, Lord Atwood," Rahm said as Zac entered the office, completely unfazed at Zac visiting in his Draugr form for the first time.

He'd actually never mentioned his unique situation to the Creators, but there was no way they didn't know. Karunthel, especially, seemed to know of everything that happened on Earth, and they'd stayed inside his compound for over a decade before he upgraded the shipyard. They would have to be blind to not realize.

"Hello, it's been a while," Zac nodded. "How are things?"

"All operations are normal," Rahm said. "Our order book is filled for the next twelve years."

"That good?" Zac said with surprise, remembering business was good but not great before.

"I guess people even in these backwater parts know good stuff when they see it," a booming laugh echoed through the room as Karunthel entered. "Your mercantile venture is forwarding new orders at a rate we cannot match, even after increasing prices."

"Nice to see you," Zac nodded.

"Same, kiddo. So what happened? Got split in two?" Karunthel laughed.

"How'd you know?"

"It gets boring overseeing the production of these simple models, so I stay updated with the local events. Especially so now that so many interesting things are happening in your Sector," Karunthel said. "Besides, Rahm and I had a bet going on how you'd deal with Hegemony. I guess none of us won, even if I was closer. That guy had no faith, thinking you'd fail."

"I believed you'd choose one race and discard the other but keep its nature as a subsidiary path," Rahm elaborated when Zac looked over with a raised brow. "It was the scenario with the most likely outcome based on available data."

"I knew you'd do something unexpected," Karunthel grinned. "I just picked the wrong one."

"I'm happy my struggles can provide some amusement to pass the time," Zac wryly said.

"Well, I'm sure you'll figure things out. So, what brings you here?" the foreman grinned. "Ships? Upgrades? Those golems?"

"A little bit of everything," Zac smiled. "Have I qualified for a shipyard upgrade quest yet?"

"You have," Karunthel said. "I'll see if I can get you an easy one. Things are finally getting interesting, and the Iliex can't miss out on all the excitement."

Zac waited for Karunthel to interface with the Shop System, and a screen soon appeared before him.

Mercantile Empire (Unique, Limited.): Sell 2,000 D-grade Cosmic Vessels. Have your products destroy 4,000 vessels. Turn the Atwood Empire into a Middle D-grade force. Reward: Upgrade Iliex Shipyard to Middle D-grade. 1 Custom-designed Vessel upgrade. (1392/2000) ( 133/4,000 ) (0/1).

Zac scanned the task, nodding in satisfaction. As far as he was concerned, this one was much easier to deal with than the previous one, to the point it almost felt too easy. Sure, the upgrade was only for a minor stage rather than improving a full grade, and it would have been almost impossible without the ongoing war.

However, it was essentially a quest that would finish itself. The first part could be completed in roughly a year if he had the shipyard focus on only building the simplest models rather than the drone hangars or command ships. And Atwood Empire was a Middle D-grade force in all but name considering its strength and resources. The lacking component was likely the lack of either a Middle D-grade region or a Middle Stage Hegemon.The former was hard to deal with on short notice, but the latter should be resolved even before Ultom. In fact, Zac's goal was to only spend eighteen months in Early D-grade, forcing his way to the limit of the stage through carnage and burning money.

This was only possible thanks to the 15 years he'd spent working on his blueprint and collecting resources, erecting a foundation that would let him sprint through the first stage of Hegemony. Most mortals wouldn't be able to gain levels at all after breaking through. They'd first have to spend centuries, millennia even, refining their crude cores into something that could be taken further.

Zac had bypassed all that with his almost perfect creation, putting him at an advantage over even most cultivators. The only downside was the vast amounts of energy his Cosmic Core required for every level, but that was the smallest of all the problems a Hegemon faced when progressing through the ranks.

The second task was the trickiest requirement for the shipyard quest, which had barely progressed over the past years. Luckily, it said nothing about who had to destroy the vessels. He only needed to keep selling his wares to the Allbright Empire, and progress would quickly ramp up when the Kan'Tanu reached the frontlines with their physical army.

"Is that really it? That's all I need to get a Middle D-grade shipyard?" Zac asked to make sure.

"That's it," the spidergolem confirmed, though Zac saw the golem looked quite surprised too. "I guess I underestimated my pull with the System?"

"I would assume it's due to the Kan'Tanu invaders," Rahm interjected.

"How so?"

"I think that's it. The System is bound by the Law of Balance when managing this war, but the opposing force is an unorthodox cult with immense fell Karma," Karunthel grunted. "You should know how that affects things."

Zac's eyes lit up upon realizing what was going on. Just like his massive providence helped him in all kinds of ways, so did fell Karma hamper the path of cultivators. It was for this reason most High-grade cultivators avoided killing mortals or low-grade cultivators en masse. In this case, the System appeared to indirectly help the Kan'Tanu's enemies by providing easier tasks.

"Can I use the upgrade on any vessel?" Zac asked.

"Only vessels created by this shipyard," Rahm calmly rejected.

"Including the Yphelion?"

Rahm didn't answer, instead turning to the foreman, who froze for a few seconds.

"Even the Yphelion," Karunthel confirmed. "However, its grade exceeds the shipyard's because of our previous deal, so you would have to provide certain key materials and money if you want it to reach Late D-grade. Otherwise, it'll just get a bit stronger while staying in Middle-D grade."

"That's not a problem," Zac agreed.

"You should understand this is a huge opportunity," Karunthel added. "I've heard of similar-level tasks that took millennia to finish and others so difficult they remained unresolved until the license was revoked. Try to complete this one without delay. We might be able to ride this wave of providence even further."

Karunthel was absolutely right, and Zac got increasingly excited the more he thought about it. If the next mission was as easy as the first, it might even be possible to upgrade the shipyard a second time within a decade. A Late D-grade Iliex Shipyard wasn't just an insanely lucrative moneymaker; it was a strategic resource that could impact the whole war.

The kind of ships such a shipyard could produce would be close to the absolute limit of what you saw in a frontier sector like Zecia. There were undoubtedly a few C-grade Cosmic Vessels among the ancient forces like the Dravorak Dynasty, but even most Monarchs would have a Peak D-grade vessel at most. If Zac could flood the market with ships at that level, he would drastically strengthen Zecia as a whole.

Not only that, but it was the key to another troubling matter; the task Leandra had levied on him. If he could upgrade the Yphelion to Peak D-grade, and then possibly use [Cosmic Forge] to make some improvements of his own, he might actually be able to set into the Endless Storm in search of answers to his Specialty Cores a lot earlier than he'd previously thought.

He definitely needed to make this mission a priority.

"I'll see what I can do to speed up the progress," Zac assured. "How's the situation with the Golems?"

"Those soulless things," Karunthel sighed. "Well, puppets aren't our specialty, but it won't take more than a week before we finish the upgrades."

"Perfect, thank you," Zac said. "I'd love to stay a bit longer, but the situation outside…"

"Go, deal with your matters," Karunthel waved. "But be careful out there. I don't know if you've heard, but those people you're fighting… They're an off-shoot of a very scary faction. Don't think of them as some weaklings from the frontier. Stronger people will soon appear on the battlefields."

"Thank you," Zac nodded. "I'll be careful."

Zac had already learned of the Black Heart Cult from Iz and the Undead Empire but still appreciated the warning. With the Left Imperial Palace at stake, there were likely true disciples from the main branch looking for seals. These people would soon appear on the battlefronts if they hadn't already, and their underlings would be far more skilled than the warslaves they'd fought so far.

Zac sent out a message before stepping onto the Teleportation Array. A minute later, Zac was greeted by a refreshing gust of death as he appeared inside a private chamber on Elysium. The floor was spotless thanks to the cleaning arrays, but he knew this particular teleporter hadn't seen any use in years. Even then, it activated just seconds later.

Vilari smiled upon seeing Zac, but her brows soon furrowed with confusion. "What's going on? Triv said you were back, but reports from the eighth army... I figured it was a clone, but your soul is complete."

"I—" Zac said, but the words caught in his throat upon seeing the worry and confusion in Vilari's eyes.

He couldn't.

It had already killed him hiding or lying about so many aspects of his life with Catheya, even if both agreed that was for the best. The subterfuge reminded him of Thea, where his secrets had played a major role in her death. Keeping his twinned existence hidden from outsiders was required to protect himself, especially so after learning it was a known inheritance of the Kayar-Elu. But did he really need to keep the truth from everyone?

Vilari wasn't saddled with the compulsions of the Undead Empire, and the thought of lying to someone who could be considered his daughter didn't sit right with him.

"Let's talk," Zac sighed, and the two sealed off the room.

A few minutes later, Vilari looked at Zac with marvel.

"To think such a thing was possible," Vilari said. "I understand why you want to keep it secret. If nothing else, it'll give you an incredible advantage inside the inheritance. If you can sneak your human body inside while using this one to work with the Undead Empire…"

"I could get away with all kinds of benefits while none being the wiser," Zac smiled.

"Thank you for trusting me," Vilari said, and a binding contract soon appeared in front of Zac.

"There's no need—"

"It's for both of us. I don't wish to be the reason something happens to you," Vilari interjected. "An added protection in case I'm captured or something similar. Now that you're a Hegemon, it'll be difficult to break these against my will."

"Fine," Zac agreed, accepting the contract before reactivating the teleporter. "Let's go. We'll stay undercover for now."

Zac donned his cloak while Vilari shrouded the two with a spiritual domain as they emerged near Elysium's sole battlefront, though there was one in the Underworld too. Between Port Atwood's strength and Pangea's population, the rest could be found on the life-attuned sections of Earth.

They were functionally invisible in their current state, and the few who could notice Vilari's domain would quickly avert their gaze upon realizing who they were spying on. A word from the Mentalist was enough to empty the recruitment center, not that it was crowded like on the Mavai Continent. Zac entered and placed his hand on the crystal, and the familiar process began anew.

[Use Alias?]

"Arcaz Umbri'Zi," Zac said, a wide smile appearing on his face.

A row of screens popped up the next second, all identical to his first enlistment. His designation was the same, but no second quest had been added to his Status Screen. He opened the local ladder with a thought, confirming there was no need to hide his identity anymore. If anything, he wanted as many people as possible to see him now.

1st – 125,585. Zachary Atwood.

2nd – 125,000 Arcaz Umbri'Zi.

It worked.

His cover story had suddenly gotten incredibly difficult to refute. After all, was there a stronger alibi than one from the System itself?