Defiance of the Fall

A gentle chime indicated it was about time, and Zac slowly opened his eyes. The medicinal haze around him was incredibly dense, having found nothing to fix since yesterday and left accumulating inside the sacred tree.

He was ready.

The work on his Pathways finished two days ago. The general circuit was fully upgraded already, both as Human and Draugr. Most cultivators wouldn't believe their ears upon hearing a Mortal finishing everything in under a week. Then again, Zac wasn't a Mortal in the conventional sense.

The only parts that didn't quite match his Classes were a few small sections surrounding some of his skills and empty skill slots. He hadn't figured out all the details yet on how he wanted to move forward with his skills, so he had left those snippets in an open-ended state to easier adapt later on. Those small sections wouldn't affect his fighting ability, at least not while the skills remained E-grade.

Zac had accrued dozens of skills between his classes, and not all were as straightforward to deal with as [Deathmark]. First, there were his ancillary skills, such as [Cosmic Gaze] and [Spiritual Anchor]. Both were useful, but neither was tuned to his path. After matching his pathways to his classes, they barely worked anymore. He had similar issues with some of his active skills, such as [Innate Ward], [Undying Mark], and [Abyssal Phase].

Then, there were the ones he no longer used. For example, there were [Conformation of Supremacy] and [Gorehew]. Over the years, he'd picked up many of these skills to shore up his weaknesses, but it was high time he did something about it.

Having outdated and unsuitable skills wasn't a huge problem in the lower grades since the energy levels or Daos involved weren't enough to cause a disturbance. But the problem would become increasingly noticeable as time passed.

A chain was only as strong as its weakest link, and these unsuitable Skill Fractals were currently weaknesses in his pathways. They were like cholesterol clogging up his spiritual arteries, lowering his already unimpressive energy transmission. It slowed down activation times and weakened persistent skills such as [Primal Edict] since the fractal didn't get as much energy as it should.

The Skill Fractals even created disharmony within your body, like a few instruments playing out of tune in an orchestra. For cultivators, it was like having a fly buzzing in their ears while trying to meditate on their Daos. That wasn't really a problem for Zac, who didn't meditate, but that didn't mean he could ignore the skills.

The whole point of a Class was that it attuned your body to your path—the System handing out Skills was just an added bonus. The real magic was the pathways themselves and how they transformed normal energy into something uniquely suited to activating your skills. Before the System, cultivators had to manually refine their energy before launching spells, which was obviously way harder.

Unrelated skills were based on concepts that had nothing to do with your path, yet they were connected to your pathways. In other words, they distorted the signal, which became increasingly noticeable as you progressed through the grades. The added detail to fractals at each grade was a consequence of higher-grade skills requiring more specific energy, and having an Arcane Class magnified that.

That was why cultivators generally avoided filling their skill slots with random abilities even after reaching a bottleneck—some even closed their empty skill slots permanently to improve their energy flow. Zac had always followed this way of doing things, though he only found out why later.

Right now, the downside wasn't too bad. The power he'd gained from entering Hegemony more than made up for the reduced efficiency, and the disharmony they created wasn't to the point they'd make skills randomly fail. Still, it was a problem that needed to be solved, and the sooner, the better. Some skills would be upgraded and altered to suit his path, while others would be replaced or discarded entirely.

Luckily, not all his skills were this troublesome to deal with. For example, he still didn't know how to evolve [Pillar of Desolation], but the skill was perfectly attuned to him. The only downside of letting it stay in E-grade was that his ultimate skill wouldn't be strong enough to deal with troublesome enemies. With other skills, he had already come up with a solution, and he'd taken the opportunity to upgrade a few more while waiting for the Abyssal Pond to be readied.

[D] Evolutionary Edge - Proficiency: Early. The struggle of the wild hones the sharpest edge. Upgradeable.

[D] Indomitable - Proficiency: Early. The will of the underworld is intractable, undeterred by the screams of the bound. Upgradeable.

The Soul Defense skill on his Undead side barely required any adjustment. He'd simply made some alterations that would let him bolster its effect with both Daos of his Inexorable Path. Before, it only gained durability from his Branch of the Pale Seal. Now, it would also push back with the help of the Branch of the War Axe, which would strengthen the defenses further while having the chance of eliciting a backlash on spiritual attacks.

[Nature's Edge] had seen a larger overhaul, even more so than [Deathmark]. Over the past years, Zac had thought long and hard about what role his old staple skill should have. [Chop] had added lethality, reach, and durability during a time when his equipment was low-quality, and he dealt with enemies a few at a time. Today, he barely used [Nature's Edge] to empower his weapon, mostly because of the huge strides he'd made with his technique.

There was no point in forming a fractal blade when infighting any longer. If anything, a meter-long blade placed in front of your weapon made infighting more cumbersome. Not only that, but [Verun's Bite] was already so sharp and durable it was better to let the axe itself strike the enemies than to use an intangible blade. That was doubly true now that Verun had become a D-grade Spirit Tool.

Meanwhile, releasing fractal blades at ranged targets was only somewhat effective. It was easier for Zac to just flash into melee range and unleash [Nature's Edge]'s area blast instead. As a result, his staple skill had been reduced to an omnidirectional burst attack he used to deal with weaker targets, while occasionally becoming the activation vehicle for [Rapturous Divide].

Zac had cross-referenced his old skills, multiple skill crystals, and books on patterns to find a solution. He wanted the skill to regain its usefulness as a repeatable attack he could use to empower his combat style. Hopefully, the alterations had let him accomplish just that.

There were a few more skills that Zac was ready to fix right away, but there was no way he'd split his attention when entering the Abyssal Pond. He even let his human side enter a Void State as his Draugr half exited the Cultivation Chamber. A graceful woman already waited outside, and Zac was surprised to see she was a Late-stage Hegemon.

"Young master, I'm Selesa Kavriel. I'm here to lead you to the Abyssal Pond," Selesa said with a graceful curtsy. "If you please."

"Thank you," Zac said, and the two made their way to the closest teleporter.

Zac had expected the Abyssal Pond to be nearby, but Selesa led him through a relay of almost a dozen arrays before they reached their destination. Judging by the closed-off chambers and the mounting pressure, Zac guessed they were moving underground. Far underground, toward the source of the immense energies that fueled Kavista and the Kavriel Clan's ancestral home. Even he found it slightly difficult to bear the pressure, and he realized why they hadn't sent someone from the younger generation to guide him this time.

The depth of C-grade continents was innumerable times greater than planets, but that didn't necessarily mean they held sprawling underworlds like the one on Earth. Certainly, there were undoubtedly subterranean biotopes the size of whole worlds and cave systems you could spend decades traversing. However, the deeper regions of continents were rarely visited because of how dangerous it was in the depths.

For one, the pressure would mount until even Monarchs found it difficult to endure. But long before that, there were incredibly dangerous energy pulses that could rip cultivators to shreds. These currents moved too fast to dodge, and they contained such vast amounts of energy that it was impossible to set up man-made protections. They were the source of the rich environment above, but also what kept cultivators from searching the rich depths.

Certainly, there would always be people willing to take the risk when there were benefits involved. There was a type of daring explorer who made a living striking at the deeper regions, hoping to find pockets where the pulses never passed for one reason or another. Those spots had a chance of hidden Holy Lands and could hold Natural Treasures that had been growing in secret for millennia.

Zac once asked why people simply didn't dig into the continents from below since that's where the treasures hid, only to find out it was impossible. True continents weren't like the world disks of the Twilight Ocean, where you could see both the surface and underside. In reality, C-grade continents and above didn't actually have an underbelly, which was something Zac still had a hard time wrapping his head around.

"This way, my lord," Selesa said when they'd finished their jumps.

The previous rooms had been without exits, but this one held a singular door guarded by two peak Hegemons. They slightly bowed at Zac and opened the door as he approached. Behind was a short corridor leading into a surprisingly luxurious lounge area. Zac felt like he'd arrived at a five-star spa, a feeling that was only reinforced as he walked up to a large window close by. There was a shimmering lake just below, along with an actual beach.

Had the Kavriel Clan built a resort in the depths of the continent?

"Is this it?" Zac hesitated, looking at the shimmering waters with suspicion.

The lake was clearly special, but it resembled a watered-down version of Be'Zi's cultivation ground more than the Abyssal Lake of his vision. The waters were a radiant Aquamarine rather than the oppressive black that swallowed all light. Besides, the lake was immense, to the point Zac couldn't see its end. There was simply no way this was the Abyssal Pond.

"No," Selesa smiled. "This is the Deepmist Lake, a private cultivation ground of the Kavriel Clan. The Abyssal Pond is further down, but I do not have the qualifications to go there. I've been told Mistress An'Azol will lead the rest of the way."

"Even further down?" Zac muttered. "Aren't you worried the pond will get dragged into a—"

Zac's words got caught in his throat, his eyes widening with realization. Energy pulses, beasts, and unbearable pressure were not the only dangers of delving into the depths of the continents. The further you went, the greater the pressure, until not even space could endure. After reaching a certain point, the underground would make the spatial turbulence inside the Research Base seem mild.

Most of the fractures were just that—spatial rifts that were only good for ripping you apart. However, a few led to Mystic Realms attracted by the immense gravitational forces of the C-grade Continent. Those pathways were highly sought-after resources that factions like the Kavriel Clan could spend a fortune stabilizing and moving to a safer location.

Supposedly, a few tears could even lead to the mysterious lower planes, though those were supposed to be incredibly rare and very unstable.

Was that how Tavza and Laz Tem'Zul had connected this remote corner of the Multiverse with the Abyssal Lake? If so, what exactly was the Abyssal Lake? Could the Abyss be a lower plane in the depths of reality, while the shores were simply a gateway to the prime realities? Almost like how a crack had led the Ra'Lashar Goblins to the 'Lost Plane,' which was actually the inner dimension of an Eternal Heritage?

Selesa didn't answer his question, but her smile indicated he was on the right track. The attendant led him to the shores, where they waited silently for a few minutes until the waters rippled.

"You're here," Tavza said as she emerged from the waters. "Your energy is flowing naturally. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I can be," Zac nodded.

"Follow me, then."

Tavza turned back into the waters, and Zac followed. The Deepmist Lake was cool to the touch and filled with immense accumulations of Death. Zac wasn't even sure it was made from water. It seemed more like the liquified energy of the Twilight Ocean, though this one wasn't sullied by Life.

Zac had no trouble piercing through the waters with his power of flight, but his speed was clearly not up to Tavza's standard. She waved her hand, and Zac was pulled over before a pitch-black creature surrounded them. Zac couldn't exactly tell what it looked like from within, but it seemed to be either an eel or an aquatic dragon. Either case, it was incredibly fast, transporting them dozens of times faster than Zac's peak swimming speed.

"Most who live by the Abyssal Lake have similar abilities," Tavza explained when Zac looked at her curiously. "It wouldn't be inaccurate to call us an aquatic race, and high affinity to Ice and Water is quite common among our kin."

"I guess," Zac said as he looked around. "I didn't expect the pond to be down here. Can you explain what's going on?"

"I overheard your exchange," Tavza said. "It's as you believe. The Abyssal Lake is more than a special region. It's most likely a unique plane."

"Most likely?" Zac said, looking at Tavza with confusion. "You don't know?"

"Reality sometimes resists the clear-cut definitions we create to rationalize our understanding of the cosmos," Tavza said. "The Abyssal Lake shares some characteristics with the lower planes but also differs in a few critical aspects.

"For example, we can temporarily connect with the Abyssal Lake by seizing and retuning a spatial bridge. This indicates the true lake is located somewhere down there. However, neither Draugr nor anyone else has ever found it when scouring the planes. The only way to get there is the Abyssal Lakes, or these pathways opened by using a beacon connected to the lake.

"The Abyssal Lake seems to lack any connection to the Earthly Peak, and neither does our race show any particular talent for this Dao. It's also impossible to form contracts of summoning or exchange with the creatures living in the lake, like how summoners and warlocks connect with other planes. So your guess is as good as mine."

Zac thoughtfully nodded as he looked at the increasingly dark depths of the lake. He should have expected the lake wasn't as simple as a physical object. But to think it was hidden so well that not even the Supremacies had figured out where it was.

"You're happy?" Tavza suddenly said with a raised brow.

"Ah?" Zac said, only then realizing he had a smile on his face. "Well, it's kind of interesting, isn't it? The Multiverse is so old, and there are beings who have been around for billions of years. You'd expect every nook and cranny to have been explored by now, yet the cosmos is still filled with mysteries we can't make heads or tails of. Who knows how many more places like the Abyssal Lake there are?"

"It's true," Tavza said. "Most of our reality remains uncharted, and word of new discoveries in the Eternal Storm reach our ears every year. There are even things within integrated space that have baffled people for eons. Take the Omnilord's Trial, for example."

"The what?"

"Throughout recorded history, since before the System even, there have been sightings of an ancient castle appearing out of nowhere. Sometimes it's in the middle of the Multiverse Heartlands. Sometimes it's in the depths of the Eternal Storm. There are even records of it appearing in the Lower Planes.

"It appears for exactly 37 days before disappearing. During that time, its gates are open for anyone below the C-grade. However, not even Supremacies can force their way inside. Once, a Throne tried and was rebuffed."

"So it's an Eternal Heritage," Zac surmised.

"No," Tavza said with a shake of her head. "It's Dao is odd, but it should be something of this Era. The problem is, no one knows who this Omnilord is. We only know what the plaque outside tells us. The Omnilord has left 'The Key to the Future' for his fated inheritor, and it's waiting in the heart of the castle."

"What's the key to the future?"

"Who knows?" Tavza shrugged. "And that's my point; there is usually a reason why mysteries remain a mystery to this day. Out of the billions of geniuses who have entered the Omnilord's trial, not one was ever seen again."

"What a party pooper," Zac muttered, but his spirits soon lifted as he saw a barrier ahead.

Tavza's creature flew through the barrier, and Zac felt a powerful spatial ripple pass through his body before his senses were overwhelmed. Death, darkness, stillness. Home.

"We're here," Tavza said as they stepped out of a spatial portal, her words entirely superfluous.

Zac could feel it with every fiber of his being, and his eyes instinctively honed in on the source of the feeling; the gateway to the Abyss.