Defiance of the Fall

Billions of dark red trickles poured out of the depths of Zac's cells as the Void regurgitated its unpalatable fare. The lightning looked innocuous compared to the tyrannical arcs that had ravaged his body just moments before, yet they held whispers of a far greater terror—morsels of eradication sanctioned by Law.

Whatever they touched seemed to fade away, whether it was flesh or the spiritual elements that made up his path. Even the Abyssal ponds turned into a faded grey after the lightning had passed through. Zac saw how he was being removed from existence. It didn't hurt in the slightest, but Zac would have preferred the agony of the previous posts to this terrifying erasure.

This was different from his experience in the Tribulation Throne. That ancient trial had built-in safeguards, like the earthly aura rising from the throne to keep his state steady. This time, Zac was facing the Four Desolates all alone. Energy and Dao rallied to combat the onslaught, only to becdust in the wind. The Laws were immutable as they gathered on their way to his Cosmic Core.

The only reason Zac wasn't losing his mind with fear was the subtle change to the aura hidden in the lightning's depths. It was clearly still Laws manifest, yet it felt inverted. Intimately close, almost. Zac felt he could move even closer if he added the Void to his body. Perhaps it could even revert the faded state spreading through his body.

But he was plumb out of Void Energy after conjuring the vortex. His backup generator, [Void Heart], was no use either. It was fighting its own war, refining the rest of the tribulation lightning, unable to supply Void Energy. Neither did he have any Void Pills for obvious reasons.

In desperation, Zac could only turn to his Cosmic Core. The first streams of Law-sanctioned lightning had already entered its pathways, and it groaned under duress. Wait, duress? Zac grasped onto the incongruity like a drowning man, pulling with everything he had. And the Void answered.

A soothing nothingness emerged from his core, passing through the walls of his Duplicity Core before spreading through his body. It was pure Void Energy, unmarked by the ancient aura of his bloodline. It seemed to exist in another plane than the lightning, where the two coexisted without any interaction. His body was different, and Zac looked on as sections erased by Law slowly recovered like paint being added to a blank canvas.

The reformation wasn't as quick as the destruction, and his work was constantly undone as new streaks of lightning passed by. It was enough to give him a fighting chance. There was only so much lightning to spit out, and the first wave was already fading after impressing the Laws on his Cosmic Core.

It was all thanks to [Void Engine]. Each piece entering his Cosmic Core had unique features, where the [Void Engine] could continuously produce Void Energy. Similarly, Sendor said that the [Warstone] would let him recover energy in the heat of battle, providing an inherent ability similar to [Fields of Despair].

Those features had been conspicuously absent during the past ten months. He'd worried his unorthodox core formation method had ruined the spirituality, but that wasn't the case. Igniting his core had put its inner workings on full display, and the familiar auras were still there. With the added spirituality and strength from the upgrade, the core was finally able to display at least one of these abilities.

Zac held on for dear life, forgoing any attempts to direct the changes in his Cosmic Core. Whether it was a blessing or a curse, he would have to take what he got. Luckily, Zac was almost certain it was the former, provided he had the strength to last to the end. The small changes taking place throughout his core looked random, but he felt an echo of the realignment he'd undergone.

A sudden and immense energy draw forced Zac's attention away from his core. It was the Duplicity Core coming alive, stealing both refined Tribulation Lightning and what little energy he'd saved from being erased. Worse, it drew on the Void, preventing any from leaving the quantum space.

Zac's thoughts grew hazy as his very existence faded. It would have been easy to curse the Kayar-Elu for stealing his lifeline. However, Zac knew they weren't the perpetrators behind his current plight. He roused his fading consciousness as he glowered at the starry sky.

It was almost as though he could see a set of eyes gazing down at him from far above. Zac's hand shot forth while the illusory Void Mountain reappeared in his Soul Aperture, fueled with what little Void Energy hadn't been siphoned off.

The 'unaffiliated' Void Energy was slow to follow his commands, especially when he tried to use it for a Bloodline Talent. Fear and urgency broke through all restrictions, and a pulse of severed fate spread through the valley with him as the epicenter. The overbearing Karmic thread held at bay by his Duplicity Core had been destroyed by the [Void Mountain]'s unstable infusion.

The last tribulation clouds dispersed the next second, severing the bridge between Zac and the mysterious intruder. The Specialty Core calmed down, and Zac slowly exhaled as Void Energy once more began undoing the desolation. The crackling reformation lasted another ten minutes before the trickle of lightning finally stopped.

The first two bolts had left his Cosmic Core wretched, shrunken, and burnt. The final bolt was even more terrifying. The core currently looked like a hologram, like it didn't exist in either quantum state. But, like Zac, it was slowly coming back to reality.

Zac glanced at the starry sky with lingering fear. Was the last-minute addition of Law Runes really a response to using [Void Mountain] to combat the second bolt? The wrath had felt so palpable and targeted, almost making Zac forget the Heavens wasn't a conscious entity like the System.

Cultivating Void shouldn't go against the Laws any more than cultivating Dao. They were cardinal rules governing both sides of the coin. It made more sense if it related to the Void Road, his rejection of Cosmic Destiny.

Zac had tried to get a better understanding of the Laws and Destiny since returning from the Centurion Lighthouse. Remaining ignorant was too dangerous when Laws had remolded his core, and he had stepped onto an unprecedented path of forming his own fate.

Unfortunately, Zecia didn't have the answers he sought. Most considered the 'One Destiny' as the natural order and not something that related to cultivation. That was more or less true for a place like Zecia, but it obviously wasn't the full picture. The Limitless Empire had formed an independent Imperial Destiny, and wasn't the struggle between the Thrones and Seals an attempt to shift the natural order?

Zecia's understanding of the Four Laws was not much deeper, and the few available insights were hoarded as core secrets by the peak faction's Dao Reserves. However, Zac had discovered that Four Desolate Tribulations was even rarer than he'd thought, thanks to Tavza. Most Monarchs would never encounter one, instead facing Grand Minor Tribulations and two-cycle tribulations like Saeward.

This was cause for both relief and regret among C-grade Cultivators. In fact, Zac had only recently realized just how big the opportunity presented by the Tribulation Throne was.

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The problem all Monarchs faced, whether Cultivator or Mortal, Boundless or Heavenly, was the constant energy drain. Inner Worlds could draw energy from the cosmos, but no C-grade cultivator could form a perfect dimension. Accordingly, what leaked through the imperfections was more than what they received.

Just staying afloat required diligent cultivation to supplement the natural influx. Even that wasn't enough for Monarchs on the frontier, where heritages were shallow and the energy thin. They also had to supplement their Inner Worlds with mountains of treasure.

Mortals such as himself would feel this uphill battle far more since they had no Cultivation Manuals to combat the drain. In addition, their Inner Worlds were unstable and filled with imperfections. Zac hadn't found a single example of a Mortal going beyond Early C-grade to this day, proving just how hopeless the situation was.

Zac still had no plan on how to deal with that problem. Any Inner World formed with his heavy foundations was bound to require terrifying amounts of energy, especially if you accounted for how voracious his bloodline was. His only idea was to rely on the Void the sway he did with [Void Vajra Sublimation]. He would take what he needed from the Cosmos while giving nothing back. Zac didn't have the faintest how that was supposed to be accomplished in practice, though.

Technically, crossing each threshold of Monarchy was an opportunity to alleviate the drain by improving your Inner World. In reality, the deficit usually got much worse. A breakthrough drastically expanded the Inner World, increasing its power and energy requirements alike. You would have a harder tkeeping up even if the world quality remained the same.

Just surviving the bottleneck was difficult enough, so most Monarchs saw their Inner Worlds deteriorate rather than improve. Only the utmost geniuses throughout the Multiverse had the luxury of improving their foundations while expanding their world.

However, there was one circumstance that could significantly stem the drain—the Four Desolates Tribulation.

There seemed to be no rhor reason for who got picked to be tested by Laws. It affected both cultivators walking the Boundless and Heavenly paths. Sonly got picked once; others faced it at every step. It did target Heaven's Chosen and Eonic seeds to a higher degree, but there were records of second-rate Monarchs being targeted by the Four Desolates.

It even seemed random who survived and who perished, though the vast majority died. Zac wasn't surprised after having just a taste of the real thing. You weren't getting through that experience without something unique to fall back on.

The few who didn't get erased would see benefits similar to Zac in the Tribulation Throne. Their Inner Worlds would be realigned, improving their ability to pull energy from the Cosmos. This surplus often snowballed into great momentum that let the chosen Monarchs progress through the grade.

No one had ever found a method to call down the Four Desolates, and not for lack of trying. Consequently, it was considered a matter of fate. In fact, the term 'Heaven's Chosen' originally cfrom this phenomenon, though its meaning had long since shifted to include any talent with the potential to rise above their generation.

After today, Zac understood how correct this notion was. Those who faced the Four Desolates probably had the potential to influence Destiny and the Era's direction, no matter how small. Perhaps the reason he was targeted so early was that he'd picked an entirely new road to follow. Perhaps each minor bottleneck would add a bit more of the Laws.

What kind of core would he have after annealing it in two more rounds of Law-empowered lightning? Any C-grade Cultivator would go insane with envy if they learned he got to align his core with the Laws three times before assaulting Monarchy. It would make for the perfect foundation for his Inner World.

And yet, Zac found it hard to get excited over the subtle alterations within the Cosmic Core. Was he overestimating himself? Three times now, he'd required assistance to survive these high-grade tribulations. First, it was his Duplicity Core protecting him atop Mount Illumination. Then it was Laonwho saved his life and forced open the Void Road. This time, he only got to reap such a big harvest because the System restrained most of Heaven's power.

What if he broke through inside the Eternal Storm the next time? Or spart of Ultom where the System couldn't reach? Who was supposed to save him then? He needed to figure out a way to deal with the problem himself. But how? Dealing with that intractable erasure head-on seemed impossible, especially if it would keep coming at the beginning of his breakthroughs.

Not to mention, his actions were obviously drawing unwanted attention. The presence gazing in his direction across the river of fate was neither the System nor Heavens. It was a cultivator, a very powerful one. His Duplicity Core's anti-karma protections had almost been overwhelmed despite the immense distance between them. Zac was almost certain he'd prevented his identity from being exposed, but that didn't mean they caway empty-handed.

Were they looking for him, or had they noticed something unusual happening and tried to find out what? Zac frowned, opening his Quest Screen. Nothing had changed except for the [First Step of Destiny]-quest being gone. He'd been worried he'd somehow dragged the trial closer yet again.

Zac shook his head and got back to his feet. He had no way to investigate that spying presence. The Sangha was an obvious suspect, considering they tried to bind him with Karma. However, it could be any old faction who kept watch for changes in the river of fate. Zac could only be careful and keep his ears to the ground. Which changed nothing, considering he'd been on full alert since getting his hands on the first seal of the Left Imperial Palace.

Zac turned to Joanna, who stalwartly stood guard with spear in hand. He left her at the frontlines, so she must have returned to act as a Dao Guardian during his pre-breakthrough meditation. Deathly Miasma seeped out of the ground, seemingly drawn by her immovable figure. It was no surprise, considering the amount of carnage that spear had caused over the past month.

"Congratulations," Joanna said as she walked over.

There was not a hint of surprise or confusion on her face. The fact that he'd successfully stepped into Middle Hegemony was a matter of course, and an unplanned tribulation wasn't enough to shake her unwavering belief in him. Zac inwardly grimaced upon seeing the latest scar on her face. This one had almost taken her left eye.

He didn't know what to think of the transformation that began after she emerged victorious from her Sealbearer quest. The differences weren't too noticeable at first. It felt like she was simply getting used to her newfound power and the frontlines. Yet with each battle she led, the baleful air around her grew more intense while new wounds were added to the tally.

Passing the trial and Seizing the Indomitable Seal showed her a path forward and pushed her strength to the next tier. However, she intentionally suppressed her breakthrough and kept honing herself by treading the edge between life and death. Thankfully, it was soon over. Her baleful aura had begun transforming into something else.

Faith Energy, where he was the target. Joanna had chosen to fully embrace the path that allowed the Limitless Empire to lord over all creation, and her path was already spreading among the Valkyries. He'd already seen hints of the terrifying power brought by her beliefs. Her Endurance was nowhere near his, yet she'd almost seemed harder to kill as she tore apart one Kan'Tanu Hegemon after another in bloody melees.

"Thank you," Zac said, once more swallowing his misgivings. "Has your domain grown stronger?"

"When the Emperor prospers, so will his subjects," Joanna said, a small smile finally appearing on her face. "I'm breaking through as soon as we've confirmed the situation is stable."

"Good," Zac nodded. "How's the situation?"

"The Atwood Empire was upgraded to a Middle E-grade Faction in the War System twelve minutes ago," Joanna said. "The twenty-four hours have started."

The twenty-four hours referred to the Battlefront Arrays. After that short window, they would match his armies with enemies one stage higher, whether you were in the middle of a campaign or not.

"Any new Battlefronts opening?"

"Not as of right now."

"Good. Order the full reset and the upgrade," Zac said.

"Wait, there's something else," Joanna said, taking out a Cosmos Sack. "I received a package just before returning, along with a note to not drop this on your head? I had the Warfort quartermaster scan it for danger to make sure. It should be safe."

"Not drop on my—" Zac muttered as he took the sack, eyes suddenly widening with realization.

Ventus Kalavan. Their duel in the Twilight Ocean ended with the Numerologist's abacus dropping on his head. Was this about their agreement? Wasn't Ventus supposed to perform a divination only right before they entered the Inheritance? Something must have changed. Zac wanted to investigate before upgrading Earth, but Joanna's next words made his mind cto a complete stop.

"Furthermore, Mr. Trang left his post three hours ago, handing over command of his beast to his grandson. He's entered terminal seclusion."