Defiance of the Fall

Zac walked through the sprawling camp, returning the enthusiastic greetings of his soldiers. The Starflash Vessel had let him and the others off on a fortified planet instead of the floating army bases they first appeared on. The Atwood Empire had been designated a proper garrison on a Middle D-grade world instead of the crude barracks they'd seen, one of the many perks they got to enjoy after his contribution to the cause.

Emily had already brought Galau and Bubbur back to Earth to get oriented. Zac had also asked Galau to bolster the arrays around the Ensolus Ruins until they figured out how to best crack open the temples. Average and the rest were eager to go home, while Ra'Klid rushed off to discuss his Ultom-empowered insights with his tribal council. It left Zac alone with his thoughts, even when surrounded by a sea of his people.

Seeing his subordinates had returned even before he did was a relief. Many sported injuries of varying degrees, but it wasn't much worse than how they usually looked after one of his blitz campaigns through the battlefronts. The Dravorak Captain at the Wolf Teeth Camp assured him they wouldn't be put in a deadly situation before leaving. It looked like he'd kept his word.

The elite soldiers Zac brought to the next world were even better off. Their fighting ended just after he left for the fortress, and Dossin's unit hadn't encountered any new enemies after the bell took care of the Kan'Tanu. According to what he'd heard during his four-day journey back, that whole army and a few others had been put under quarantine while the Alliance investigated how powerful deathsworn and Technocrats could have appeared within their ranks.

Zac eventually reached the garrison's heart, where he spotted a forlorn Werewolf waiting for his arrival. Janos stood by his side, his face inscrutable as ever.

"I'm sorry," a shamefaced Rhuger said before Zac had the chance to greet them. "I just watched as big sister flew into the bell."

"It's not your fault," Zac sighed. "Did she say anything before she left?"

"She only said we all have a destiny we must face," the large werewolf said with a helpless look.

"Destiny," Zac muttered with a stubborn gleam in his eyes. "Well, destiny can be changed. I've already discovered some clues on how to save her. We'll find the bell and bring her out even if we have to turn the whole sector on its head."

"Of course," Rhuger quickly nodded before glancing at the command center to their left. "Until then, what should we do? With big sis gone, I—Elysium is without a leader."

"What are you talking about? Elysium still has you. You haven't realized your greatness because you've walked in Vilari's shadows since the two of you were born. This is an opportunity for you to grow by facing the spotlight. I believe the experience will let the darkness in you grow deeper," Zac said, patting Rhuger's shoulder. "And don't forget, you're never alone."

Zac held a quick meeting with the Acheron Company's leaders to debrief them before excusing himself. Their only orders were to rest up and make use of the amazing environment. The Alliance currently had bigger matters to worry about than their little faction. Zecia had reached a boiling point during his trip home, and the whole frontline was performing an unprecedented push.

The scouts had already confirmed what the [Centurion Spear] accomplished in the Million Gates Territory after blowing up the Worldfort. The weapon shattered an important relay station that acted as a nexus in the Kan'Tanu's teleportation network between the Space Gate and the Allbright Empire's frontlines.

Destroying it wasn't as good as blowing up the Space Gate, but it severely limited the Kan'Tanu logistics and reinforcements. The cultists did have backup routes, but the tower's final blaze of glory had created such a storm that subdimensional ripples spread through the territory, sending spatial storms into the previously stable paths.

The Kan'Tanu in Zecia were stranded, and the Alliance was determined to capitalize on the momentum. World after world was ripped back from Kan'Tanu hands, and Monarchs attacked en masse. The cultists had suffered major setbacks on the frontlines since the push began, but they showcased the advantage of being a unified force.

The Space Gate wasn't the only path to Zecia. The Kan'Tanu countered by launching a brutal sector-wide assault through the graded battlefronts. They spent money and contribution like water to increase their army effectiveness, causing chaos within the fractured Alliance. There were already countless reports of factions collapsing. The pressure on the Alliance was quickly mounting, with Clan leaders and faction heads demanding to recall the men they'd sent to the frontlines.

Zac and the Atwood Empire were mostly isolated from the carnage. Their contribution was more than enough to sit out the frontline push, and the Kan'Tanu had no hopes of conquering Earth's battlefronts with the means at their disposal. Who could compare with the Atwood Empire's almost boundless resources? Zac had his people lock down the battlefronts, stalling as long as possible while relying on their fleet of portable Cosmic Vessels to hold absolute advantage. If the situation worsened, they had a terrifying war chest of over sixty million faction merit to quickly bolster their defenses or reset the battlefront arrays.

The situation was worrying, but there was not much Zac could do. Opportunities like the tower, where an Early Hegemon could impact the whole war effort, were vanishingly rare. And truth be told, he was exhausted. He'd constantly fought since returning from the Perennial Vastness while his subordinates rested in shifts. With two bodies, the carnage he'd experienced was doubled.

He didn't get the chance to digest that accumulated stress before he was thrown into the struggle over the fortress. But Zac could feel it all had caught up with him during the journey back. He exhaled as the doors to his private residence closed behind him. The small garden was so silent you could hear a pin drop thanks to the powerful isolation arrays, but he still felt he could sense the presence of his subordinates outside. It was a comfort, yet it failed to stave off the bleakness that had taken hold.

Walking through the garrison was a reminder of the costs that came with the unfathomable gains from his adventure. He still felt like a piece of his soul had been cut off where his connection with Vivi once existed. The warm, gentle presence had been a steady comfort since his days in the Orom World, accompanying him through thick or thin during his journey. The new treasures lining his pocket were nothing compared to that.

She'd been by his side for almost two decades if you counted the Temporal Chambers. It might not be much in the eyes of the Multiverse, but Zac wasn't even sixty yet. He'd accepted her, knowing their time together was limited, but part of him always believed he could turn the situation around. That he'd somehow reforge Vivi's fate as he had the others around him.

Zac hadn't just failed that ambition; he'd hastened her death by decades by bringing her into increasingly dangerous situations. And yet, she sacrificed herself to save his life. Guilt and doubt gnawed at Zac as he recalled escaping the Orom World. When he threw Heda's seed into the Chaos Gate.

The botanist's parting words were, 'Please take care of Vivi.' Vivi might have already broken through to D-grade if she had stayed by Heda's side. What Heda could accomplish inside the Orom World and on the outside were very different. After all, the botanist was an elite among Monarchs to survive inside the Orom for so long, and she'd no longer be restricted by limited resources and the constant need for personal growth to avoid relegation.

Vivi's death made him hesitate about Verun and Alea. He'd never considered swapping them out as he progressed. Their journey was one. As long as he kept going, so would they. But the day could come when Verun shattered under an overwhelmingly powerful attack or when Alea's defenses were broken. The only thing he knew for certain of his future was that it would be a bloody road filled with danger.

Was it a mistake to consider his Tool Spirits close companions, brothers in arms? Would it be better to switch to weapons he didn't have such an important place in his heart?

Some said his providence was like a whirlwind. Some benefitted immensely from being swept up in his wake, but others had paid the ultimate price for having their fates entangled. Vivi and Vilari were only the latest victims, and he was afraid recent events were just a taste of what was to come. There were over two years of intense battle until the trial began, and the battle for the pillar was bound to become an even bloodier struggle.

It wasn't just his closest companions and sealbearers who suffered, either. Thousands of his men had fallen over the past days, including captains he'd gotten to know over months of relentless campaigning. How many of the men who'd greeted him upon his return would be here in a month? A year? Zac wouldn't even know if they'd died. They'd become another number in the reports piling up in his Spatial Rings.

Zac shook his head, snapping himself out of his state. They were at war, and people would die whether he was there or not. He couldn't blame himself for this inescapable reality. And both Verun and Alea had made their desires perfectly clear. They knew the risks of their chosen path, and they didn't back down. So, how could he falter now? Instead, he should keep working on his cultivation to better keep everyone safe.

Like on cue, a surge of energy flooded his body as the gates to the Hidden Node in his heart opened wide. Zac quickly activated [Void Mountain] on himself, hiding [Void Heart]'s refined energy from any prying eyes. Zac's cells greedily clamored for the refined energy, which felt like an amorphous force holding something resembling the Void of Death.

The source was a top-quality Death-attuned treasure he'd bought on credit from the Alliance, as his contribution still hadn't been tallied. The refined energy joined the golden hurricanes in his cells, and they grew a shade darker as motes of Void Energy joined the vibrant life. Soon enough, he was fully topped off.

The shielding ability of his new Bloodline Talent had allowed Zac to continue exploring with impunity during his return journey. The annoyance of being unable to create Void Treasures was long gone, replaced by excitement over the talent's broad scope of use. Between using the talent to infuse other things and infusing himself, Zac felt the latter held greater use.

However, that ability came at a price. The external [Void Mountain] purely ran on the Void Energy stores from [Force of the Void]. Using the sigil on himself also drained the motes of Void that had infused to his cells. It was just like how his Eoz nodes cost Vigor to use. Luckily, replacing what was lost wasn't very difficult.

His Human body needed to feed [Void Heart] Death-attuned treasures to stock up on Void Vigor. The Hidden Node returned something similar to Void of Death, which harmoniously joined the golden swirls. The phenomenon perfectly matched the situation with his core and the path he'd envisioned after realizing [Spiritual Void]'s new ability.

It all meshed together so perfectly that Zac almost felt he was being led by the nose. His bloodline had been corrupted, and his second body becoming a Draugr was supposedly an accident. He had to invent an unprecedented core to step into Hegemony. His path was defined by struggle and setbacks.

Now, everything suddenly fit like a glove. It didn't feel right, but Zac couldn't tell whether these feelings were warranted or the result of being schemed against multiple times already. Had he become so addicted to suffering that he couldn't accept something working without a hitch?

No, there was more at play. Zac thought back to his experience in the Tribulation Throne. It increasingly looked like the realignment to his personal 'Void Path' was the key to his current situation. The wisp of Laondio Evrodok's will saw through his path and made the necessary adjustments. As for why, Zac had no idea and no way to find out. The question was added to the ever-growing pile of multiversal mysteries in the back of his head.

For now, he had a constitution to evolve. The golden swirls in his cells had never been so full of energy. His body had been drained after evolving his bloodline, but that didn't take away the amazing transformation brought by the cactus spine, Fiend Energy, and the Tribulation Throne. After four days of recovery and stabilization, his Life-attuned constitution had fully recovered and stabilized at a point that had transcended the supposed limit of the [Void Vajra Sublimation]'s fourth layer.

Zac walked further into his residence, finding the stairs leading him to the cellar. There was only a small hallway and three reinforced gates belowground. One led to a small smithy, the other a customized Cultivation Chamber matching his element. Zac was curious how well his forwarded requests had been met, yet he passed them both, heading into the room the furthest inside.

Vibrant, fiery energy rushed out of the inner chamber as its gates slid open. Zac nodded in satisfaction as he walked inside, completely unfazed by the sweltering heat. The leaders of the Alliance had their hands full, but his unique status within the Twenty-Sixth had its advantages. The supply department had been more than happy to refit his residence based on his requests, and they had seasoned Artisans and Array Masters who could create miracles in no time.

Zac was already leaning toward staying with the Twenty-Sixth instead of joining his other army, and this kind of VIP treatment was definitely a point in favor. There was also value in separating Earth's two strongest armies in case disaster struck. The battle for the ancient fortress had turned out well for them this time, but there was no telling what kind of struggles the Field Armies would see over the next years.

The inner chamber was a dual-purpose chamber designed to help with his Soul- and Body Tempering. Four great braziers were placed at the chamber's corners, and an array drew their flames toward a central cultivation platform five meters across. The flames had a clear touch of Life attunement, making them a perfect supplement for tempering his body. In addition, gathering arrays were infusing significant amounts of Divine Energy into the chamber, further elevating the environment.

Zac took off his clothes as he walked to the central array. The pure flames weren't quite at the level of his previous breakthrough, but it was enough to lend a helping hand. And it wasn't the only thing he'd prepared for today. A set of crystals teeming with fiendish energy appeared from his spatial ring, and Zac absorbed the ancient Killing Intent until [Void Heart] reached capacity.

The next forty minutes were spent in silent meditation, where Zac calibrated his mental state. He'd already measured the time it took [Void Heart] to refine the Fiend Crystals. With this delay, the fiendish energy would be returned at the end of the process. It would help fuse the large amounts of Life with his body and dig into its potential.

The final step was drawing the runes on his body with life-attuned paste. This time, both the paste and pattern were switched up. The Natural Treasures that had gone into the dense mix he'd prepared aboard the Cosmic Vessel possessed far greater spirituality and energy than what he normally used. Similarly, the patterns he drew across his body were much more detailed to facilitate his breakthrough.

With everything in place, Zac walked over to a cubby in a corner to place his Spatial Rings for safekeeping. He also took out four pieces of Middle D-grade Life-attuned wood and threw them into the braziers to bolster their flames on his way back. Zac stopped in the middle of the platform, taking a few steadying breaths as he let the flames lick his body.

It was impossible not to recall the desperation he'd felt during his previous breakthrough inside the Perennial Vastness. His body failed to contain the massive amounts of energy and exploded into a golden haze. He quickly realized it was part of the process and drew himself together, but the experience still left a shadow on his heart.

All distracting thoughts were set aside, and Zac's heart was calm as he took the opening step of the fourth layer of his Body Tempering Method. The many matters weighing on his mind faded as he became the Void surrounded by Life. It had begun.