Defiance of the Fall

"It's time," a voice echoed through the peak. "You've arrived."

"Thank you for your help," Arcaz said as he stood up.

Sendor had left soon after the first body was sent away, but he was clearly still keeping watch. A second cocoon enclosed his body, and he was soon shuttling through the Void. Three hours' worth of memories were exchanged as the connection was restored. The merge kept his mind occupied for almost two minutes, which was an important lesson on its own.

Arcaz began his return journey while Zac checked on his compound. It looked exactly as he'd left it, which produced an unsettling sense of disconnect rather than comfort. He'd spent over seven years inside the Perennial Vastness, yet only a few months had passed on the outside. It almost made his experience seem like a dream.

Not only that, but he finally felt the ramifications of spending such a long time in Temporal Dilation. First, three years inside an absolute Temporal Chamber while time outside stood still, then another seven inside the Perennial Vastness. Cheating the river of time came at a price, where Zac's body was assaulted by Temporal Energy that seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

It felt like his surroundings were in flux, with leaves swaying so quickly they turned to a blur for a fraction of a second, only for them to freeze the next. Channeling his Daos helped a bit, but Zac knew it would be a while before the feeling gave in completely. At least it didn't affect his spirit or his Dao, which meant he was better off than most cultivators.

The temporal invasion left cultivators in an annoying state of imbalance where the Dao was not quite as distorted as when Temporally Dilated, but fluctuating in a way that made cultivation and meditation dangerous. Zac didn't feel any of that, and he soon found a way to enjoy himself and combat the backlash.

A powerful current of Cosmic Energy coursed through his body, and Zac's feet lifted from the ground. Then, he was floating a few meters into the air, unfettered by gravity's constraints. Well, mostly unfettered. Flying was akin to turning yourself into a Cosmic Energy magnet, generating a repulsing force to the ambient energy.

In reality, it was slightly more complicated, where you used your Dao to connect with the environment and weaken your earthly shackles. But it was fundamentally impossible without a core and the ability to channel those levels of energy.

It was similar to the method most low-grade vessels used to fly and only really worked in environments with enough ambient energy. Of course, Hegemons had enough raw firepower to switch from being magnets to rockets, expelling large quantities of energy to fly even in energy-starved regions.

Zac was curious about the situation back home, but he didn't make his return known yet. There would have been messages waiting for him if the situation was dire and required his immediate attention. Instead, Zac waited, observing his other body close in on his location. There was no sense of distance conveyed through his link, and he couldn't sense it actually getting closer.

The experience got boring after a while, and Zac began swinging his axe to get used to his influx of attributes. The transition wouldn't be difficult. His Strength had taken a massive leap forward, but so had his Dexterity. Balance was maintained, letting him quickly adapt to the change and enter his Evolutionary Stance.

The roars of [Verun's Bite] sang in the courtyard, where Zac was a blur moving back and forth. One moment, he stood on the ground. The other, he floated ten meters in the air. The technique would need to be expanded now that he could fly, but it was still in working order. Arcaz appeared next to him three hours later, and the energy drain resumed.

Having thought things over, Zac strongly suspected the drain resulted from forcibly disentangling Karma between his bodies rather than maintaining the link. It was easy to avoid Karmic entanglement with people on the other side of the Multiverse, but another matter entirely when you stood next to each other. It also explained why the cores extracted such a huge amount of energy when Sendor had him use that cursed piece of hide.

Sendor had thought him immune to Karma, but Zac knew that was only part of the picture. It was more correct to say that the Specialty Cores provided shielding, but doing so cost energy. Judging by the drain from slapping himself with a tainted object, he still needed to be careful when dealing with people above his grade. What if some old Arhat forcibly tried to link up their fate? Would his cores be drained until his Draugr body died from energy starvation?

Still, retaining some secrets when faced with the inquisitive Realm Spiritit filled Zac with a small sense of victory. However, the feeling quickly passed and was replaced with a torrent of confusing emotions as he sensed familiar ripples from within his bedroom. He flashed over and found the source in a hidden compartment.

Within was a Spatial Ring holding a solitary object; the Technocrat insignia.

Zac hadn't dared to bring such an item into the Perennial Vastness, so he left it back on Earth. Now that he'd returned, it immediately started acting out—it definitely wasn't a coincidence. Zac would probably have ignored the call if his breakthrough had gone according to plan. Now, Zac slowly reached toward the ring, even if he were filled with reluctance.

He'd thought his connection to his mother severed when she left with Kenzie, but there was no way he could ignore his Technocrat origin with his body being installed with hidden features. His Draugr body hid inside one of his isolated cultivation chambers before Zac took out the insignia.

Zac infused a wisp of energy, and the familiar form of his mother appeared in front of him. Seeing her stoked the flames simmering in the depths of his heart, where the most recent setback only added more fuel to the fire. Leandra, in turn, looked neither like the vengeful maniac in his Heart Tribulation nor like the doting mother she'd presented herself as in her previous recording.

This time, she appeared just as when they met in person; cold, callous, and infuriatingly calm when faced with Zac's wrath.

"You survived," Leandra said, her cadence like that of someone commenting on a new haircut. "I wasn't sure whether you'd find a path through the synchronization with your ill-fated choice of secondary body. Our inheritance has served you well."

"Not like I asked for any of this," Zac said, unable and unwilling to hide the anger and disgust from his voice.

"Railing against reality will change nothing," Leandra said. "For better or worse, our gift is a central part of your identity."

"What do you want?" Zac growled. "Why did you make contact now? What about severing fate?"

"I believe I made the right choice back then, especially after seeing your progress. Severing Karma and letting you walk your own path let you reach a point I didn't expect you would. Some things can only be nurtured in the wild," Leandra said, ignoring Zac's eyes veritably spitting fire at the remark. "And now, an opportunity to repay your family has arrived."

"Repay you? Repay you?!" Zac almost screamed. "Why would I ever help you? I hope your plans fail and the Kayar-Elu are finally removed from the universe."

"Then, what of your sister?" Leandra countered. "She is not yet strong enough to survive on her own. Without my protection, she'll eventually be discovered and killed. Besides, taking on this particular task is in your best interest."

Zac didn't answer, but his expression spoke volumes.

"You are suspicious. That is fine," Leandra nodded, her gaze shifting toward the chamber where his Draugr body hid.

Zac grimaced; she knew.

"You should be filled with questions, confusion. What else is hidden in your body? What were our goals, and how does it pertain to you? I'm sure you can appreciate that Class-3 isn't the end of the road we prepared for you. You can choose to maintain your ignorance and pray you will somehow survive the next transition. Or you can take charge of your fate."

Zac held onto a belly full of anger, but he knew she'd pinpointed his weakness. He really was afraid of his Specialty Core holding more secrets that would mess with his path.

"Only by taking control over your body will you be able to avoid disaster. Only that way do you have a chance to become something more than a tool," Leandra said. "You may despise the Kayar-Elu, but you're still nothing but a failed experiment in your current state."

Zac took a calming breath as he stared at the projection. A normal patent would readily provide the information he needed to avoid getting himself killed, but he knew he wouldn't be so lucky. Leandra was a full-fledged zealot hoping to overturn the Heavens to avenge her family. As she said before, she wasn't contacting him to help; she was using his situation as bait for him to further her goals.

"What do you want?" Zac squeezed out.

"It's simple. Our family prepared for our grand undertaking for eons, which included setting up several contingencies. I need you to activate one of them for me."

"Contingencies?" Zac frowned.

If Leandra was telling the truth about wanting to keep him at a distance and avoid Karma, then the contingency wasn't for him. That meant it was for the other half of their experiment.

"What have you done to Kenzie?"

"Your sister is doing fine for now, but lacking the unique features of your bloodline has proven problematic," Leandra said. "Unless you help activate a safeguard we created, the Digital Nexus will eventually be discovered by the Cursed Heavens. Your sister will attract a second calamity like the one that brought our demise. Your time is limited."

Zac's heart shuddered at the thought of Kenzie being forced to deal with a tribulation powerful enough to eradicate a clan like the Kayar-Elu. However, he quickly calmed down and looked at the projection suspiciously. That 'contingency' might be what brought Kenzie's demise rather than what saved her. It might even allow Leandra to take over Kenzie's body.

"You're lying."

"I find the truth a powerful enough motivator in this situation," Leandra calmly said. "And even if you have doubts of the veracity of my claims, are you willing to bet Kenzie's life on it?"

"If it's so important to you and your schemes, why don't you activate it yourself?"

"It cannot be accessed remotely, and I cannot tread where it's hidden," Leandra said.

"Let me guess. It's back where you lunatics got blasted by the System?"

"No," Leandra said. "It's inside Sanctuary, the Holy land of the Technocracy. In a sense, it's Sanctuary itself."

"What!"

"What place is better to hide a secret repository of our family from the Heavens?" Leandra said. "What thing is better suited to hide the miracle inside your sister's body than Sanctuary's protective shroud?"

"If it's there, then it's probably been discovered by your enemies already," Zac said.

"Impossible."

There was utmost certainty in Leandra's words, which made Zac recall a piece of Sendor's earlier explanation. The Kayar-Elu was one of the factions that participated in building the Technocrat's Holy Land. They must have installed some backdoors and secret features during that time. It might really be safe if that were the case.

Zac felt defeated as he looked into his mother's eyes. She had planned everything to a tee, preparing both carrot and stick to force him into action.

"Why me?" Zac sighed. "Why couldn't you just leave me alone?"

"My options are limited. Only a clan member can enter that place without triggering certain safeguards," Leandra said. "I've been marked, so I cannot go, and bringing the Digital Nexus there is not safe. That leaves you, who are fully free from anything marked by the Dao of Technology. You have the bloodline to enter, and your unique body will make you invisible to the eyes of my pursuers."

Zac knew what she was getting at. If upgrading his Duplicity Core had made him resistant to Karma, he likely enjoyed similar protections against various other methods, just like what the Concealment Array provided. It was possible he was uniquely suited to avoid the gaze of the Living AIs and ancient Technocrats inside Sanctuary.

"This is an opportunity for you," Leandra continued. "The safeguard is placed inside a hidden laboratory managed by my father, the leader of our family. There, you can find the answers to the questions burning in your heart. You can also confirm the truth of my claim before activating the safeguard.

"A simple task with a straightforward reward. As such, balance is maintained. The details have been added to the token."

"Wait!" Zac before Leandra's projection dissipated. "How long do I have?"

"We still have time before your sister is exposed, but that's contingent on nothing changing," Leandra said. "The sooner you finish your task, we can all return to our destinies."

Zac gritted his teeth as Leandra was about to disappear. "You say our Karma is severed, but that's not up to you. Sooner or later, I'll track you down. You'll pay for what you did back then."

Leandra only smiled at the threat.

"If you can accomplish such a thing, I will be content. That would mean the Zero Affinity Container would already be well on the way toward the Terminus. You would become an element of uncertainty that would break the status quo. That's all I can hope for, considering our recent setbacks."

"I won't go along with your twisted plans," Zac growled.

"Some things cannot be avoided whether we like it or not. The course was set long before either of us was born."

The projection disappeared, leaving Zac alone in his room. Only after a few minutes did he infuse a wisp of his will into the token to receive a brief information packet, if you could call it that. According to the insignia, there were two steps to the plan. First, he needed to pick up a key inside a hidden laboratory and activate some sort of protocol.

Both these things were required to access the hidden domain inside Sanctuary. The external lab was not among the hidden strongholds Sendor listed, but it was somewhat close to one of the Spatial Tunnels he knew of. And that was lucky as well, considering Leandra hadn't bothered providing him a route to Sanctuary. The missive said that the Eternal Storm was everchanging and that the roads she knew were likely compromised.

Sendor's Information Crystal had suddenly shot up in value, saving him the headache of infiltrating some Technocrat force to get his hands on a route. Still, that didn't mean the task was easy should he decide to follow Leandra's instructions. The first step of the plan needed to be finished within three centuries, at which point he had another two to reach Sanctuary and activate the safeguard. Five Centuries was an incredibly long time considering his age, but it didn't feel that way after comparing notes.

He wouldn't make it in time, even if he set out today. How the hell did his mother expect him to accomplish such a mission?

Zac put away the token as he tried to quell the storm raging in his heart, where anger, worry, and helplessness fought for dominion. There was no point in heading for the Sanctuary right now, even if he could technically send one of his bodies while the other stayed in Zecia. The Yphelion simply wasn't equipped for that kind of journey, no matter if you looked at its max speed or defensive capabilities.

The Yphelion was meant to be his ace while traversing the Million Gates Territory, though he ended up not going before Hegemony. However, no matter how dangerous the chaotic region at Zecia's edge was, it paled compared to the unintegrated regions he'd have to cross to reach the hidden base, let alone Sanctuary.

He'd either have to upgrade his ship by multiple stages or get a better one before setting off. Worse, according to the information packet, the safeguard only needed to be activated and not be taken to wherever Kenzie and Leandra were. As such, the path to the Six Profundity Empire wasn't marked.

The feasibility of the mission was one thing. The task itself was also an issue. He had already considered heading into the Eternal Storm to investigate his Specialty Cores. This mission would let him accomplish that goal, and he would even be able to visit a few of the other hidden strongholds on Sendor's map on the way. However, he'd have to be crazy if he took Leandra at her words.

It was not just possible, but likely there were some key aspects she wasn't sharing about the mission. It could very well be a trap. Zac thoughtfully looked down at the emblem, a plan slowly forming in his mind. Could he do it?

Could he achieve his goals, save Kenzie, and foil Leandra's schemes, all in one go?