Defiance of the Fall

The box in Zac's hands held a golden array flag rippling with Temporal Energy. Just holding it exacerbated his disconnect with the River of Time, and he quickly backed away after placing it some distance away. A powerful suction soon dragged vast amounts of ambient energy toward the Array Flag, and a shimmering sphere five meters wide soon became visible.

It was a Temporal Chamber he'd just bought from the closest Limited Exchange, this one a two-year version costing 35,000 Merit. Since it hadn't been filled with energy like the one Zac got from Reyna, it would need to absorb the ambient energy for half a day before it could be used. Even then, one would have to bring a lot of crystals to ensure you didn't run out of energy and waste your time inside the temporal bubble.

"Are you staying?" Vilari asked after a few minutes had passed.

"I'll be back before it's finished charging," Zac said. "I won't be much company after you enter, but I'll be by your side."

"It will be a comfort just having you here," Vilari smiled.

It hadn't taken much deliberation before Zac picked Vilari to look after his Spirit Tools. He could trust her with his life, and her powerful soul would let her better sense the situation within the two cocoons. Furthermore, she was not yet ready to enter Hegemony, which was actually a good thing. Zac couldn't ask someone busy with their core formation to ensure the cocoons had enough energy. Breaking through was difficult enough without having to focus on side tasks.

Vilari could still benefit a lot from the Time Chamber, considering her focus on Soul Cultivation. Not even her extraordinary bloodline could let her keep the same pace as conventional cultivators. However, two extra years should translate into significant progress with her Soul Cultivation. That way, she'd be able to quickly break through as soon as she found the next piece of the Anima Court Seal.

Zac left the valley, spending the next ten hours making preparations. Eventually, Zac returned to Vilari, using Vivi to carry the two cocoons. He gingerly put them down before taking out yet another box and handing it to Vilari.

"Here."

Vilari curiously opened its lid, and an eruption of immense Mental Energy poured out while the whole valley was lit up with emerald splendor. Vilari's eyes widened in surprise before she looked up at Zac.

"A Moss Crystal? I thought the moon refused to give up more of these?"

"I flew over and made an offer Mossy couldn't refuse," Zac grinned.

Actually, the trade went surprisingly well. Mossy had initially been angry by the 'betrayal' upon realizing Zac had fully absorbed his Moss Crystals without being impacted by the hidden soul sliver within. But Zac had pointed out there shouldn't have been a trap inside anyway. From there, it turned into a straightforward transaction of benefits.

"Be careful, though. I wouldn't be surprised if there's another seed of sentience hidden in this thing," Zac reminded. "And seeing how smart Mossy is getting, it might be trickier to deal with than what I encountered."

"We're lucky Emerald Eye remains in E-grade," Vilari commented. "Such a large soul might be able to reach Earth if it reached the limits of Hegemony."

Zac nodded in agreement. He knew he was making a deal with the devil by providing Mossy with treasures, but he needed the Moss Crystals if he wanted his soul to keep up with his other cultivation. There was also the matter of rebuilding his Thousand Lights Avatar, which required vast amounts of Mental Energy. He had actually gotten another one for himself during his quick trip to the moss-covered moon, though it seemed Mossy wouldn't be able to form any more in the short run.

The two talked a few more minutes before Vilari walked into the bubble, the two cocoons floating behind her. The dense haze of energy filling the Temporal Chamber turned their forms into a blur, and Zac's heart thumped as he felt the Temporal Energies rise over the next minutes. Still, Zac tried to look encouraging rather than worried, remembering Vilari would look at the same expression for two years.

Eventually, a powerful pulse was followed by a rapid-fire series of events. The dense haze inside the Temporal Chamber instantly disappeared as Verun's Pallasite soared toward one side of the valley. The crystal was covered in cracks and releasing extremely powerful fluctuations, and all the Life-attuned energy in the valley was dragged toward it like a comet's tail.

Zac didn't even have time to blink before the obsidian crystal flew in the opposite direction. It was only a fraction of a second later, but Zac guessed that close to a year had passed between Verun and Alea finishing their fusions and being sent out by Vilari. The Mentalist also emerged, but Zac refocused on his Spirit Tools after confirming she was fine.

The Pallasite was the first to shatter, and an earth-shattering roar was followed by a pulse of utter ferocity. Zac felt it cover the whole valley range and continue surrounding the mountain range. His communication crystal was already vibrating, which was no surprise. There was no way this phenomenon couldn't be sensed from Azh'Rodum. Judging by the intensity, they might even feel it back in Port Atwood.

He ignored the messages, looking at the sky with a smile. The toll was not as large as his own, but it did stretch almost 40 kilometers in each direction. As far as Spirit Tools went, that should be considered passing with flying colors. In the heart of it all, Verun floated, its length more than two hundred meters.

The Tool Spirit had undergone yet another transformation inside the Pallasite. In the beginning, Verun had been brown, followed by black with red streaks after absorbing the dragon's blood. Later, it also gained golden patterns after increasing its affinity to Life. Today, Verun's fur was a light steely grey. The red-and-gold patterns remained and had grown even denser than before. Its mane, especially, was filled with thick golden bristles with roots of sanguine red.

Otherwise, it looked similar to before, a primordial hyena with an oversized maw. Each tooth was now the size of a building, yet sharp enough to make space groan in protest. One interesting addition was that Verun actually had a rune on its forehead, a complex pattern of steel and gold. It resembled some of the evolutionary blueprints he'd created while searching for answers, but it held more meaning than that. Zac couldn't be certain, but it seemed to generate some sort of domain.

A second apparition followed on the heels of Verun's appearance, this one even more familiar. It was Alea, looking almost exactly like she did when resisting her tribulation. Her aura was significantly more condensed, though, even with her size almost a match to Verun's.

A second toll spread far and wide, but it didn't clash with the other one. They superimposed as they covered almost the same area, and the storms inside the valley calmed down rather than grew agitated. Zac savored the atmosphere, his smile growing wider as he saw his two companions showing off. The two Tool Spirits looked back at him, and he could feel their spiritual links grow stronger.

It felt like pure water finally returning to dried-out riverbeds, and he was whole once more.

The apparitions only stayed for a while longer before they shrunk into two lights, one gold and one black. The lights shot toward him, and Zac soon held a necklace in one hand and an axe in the other. Zac could tell both Verun and Alea were in good form, and he turned his head down at the axe.

[Verun's Bite] hadn't changed as much as the apparition. It still had a wooden handle, though its weathered brown color had shifted toward a golden-red hue. The axehead was still made from bone, and the teeth for counterbalance remained. As expected, the golden patterns had grown more exquisite, and Zac felt like he was looking at small divine rivers running toward the gleaming edge.

Surprisingly, the five sanguine runes on the handle were all gone, replaced by two golden runes, one of which was the original one that let Verun fight by his side. Going from five to two runes gave Zac pause, and he briefly wondered if his pre-evolution adjustments had damaged its core. However, he understood he was worrying for nothing after wordlessly communicating with Verun.

The old abilities, if you could call them that, had simply been integrated to become standard features of the Spirit Tool. Instead, the weapon had gained a true skill, something closer to the earth-shattering abilities [Love's Bond] had possessed since he first got it.

This, unfortunately, wasn't the time or place to try it out. Zac turned to the necklace, a sense of premonition filling him upon seeing that the miniature coffin was replaced by a round pendant. Its motif was a mix of Alea and her flowing hair and an axe. He gingerly put it on, ignoring the cold Death radiating from its black metal. Zac was about to try to question Alea about her choices, but he sighed and shook his head when he felt her consciousness brush against his.

'I'm glad you're okay.'

'I didn't expect the Heavens to get quite that angry, but it worked out nicely," Alea giggled. 'Come on, activate me.'

Zac wryly smiled and infused some energy into the pendant, which turned into a wave of darkness that ran down his right arm. Zac's mind was filled with the roar of thousands of chains rattling, like a convoy of bound dead ambling forward in the underworld. The impression only lasted a moment before Zac felt solid metal and a comfortable weight in his hand.

[Black Death] had retained most of its appearance, just like [Verun's Bite], except for a few small details. It had been utterly black before but was now a charcoal grey with pitch-black markings to mirror verun's gold. A singular rune was also at the top of the handle, clearly a skill like those on [Verun's Bite].

'Can't call me [Black Death] anymore. How about [Alea's Kiss]?' Alea suggested.

'No way,' Zac rejected without hesitation.

'No, I guess that's no good. It would make me seem like a frivolous woman if I went around kissing everything that came your way. [Death's Duality]?'

'Fine,' Zac absentmindedly agreed, but his attention was mostly on the other changes to [Love's Bond].

Upon seeing the necklace's new appearance, he'd already suspected Alea would surprise him. And as it indicated, the Coffin form of [Love's Bond] was gone entirely. Like that, both of the Spirit Tool's original configurations were gone.

Replacing the coffin was a plate armor made from the same material as the axe. The same pitch-black markings holding the Death and even a hint of Oblivion formed a mysterious pattern moving toward runes of distilled truth. The only part that was different was a black engraving of Alea that covered his heart. It looked just like her, but it was clearly not just decorative. Zac could tell it was a skill like the rune on the handle.

The armor only covered part of his body. A sturdy breastplate protected his heart and lungs, and the armor continued down his right arm. Zac's midsection, left shoulder, and neck were left fully exposed, but not even a blade of grass could get through the covered sections. Thankfully, Zac didn't even notice the armor, and he felt no resistance or restriction when twisting his torso or swinging his arm around. The plates were perfectly adapted to his physique, and there had to be some magic at play since Zac couldn't even hear a creak when moving around.

The coffin was gone, but Alea had saved the chains. They now emerged from six vortices on his backplate, three running down his shoulders along his spine. A seventh chain emerged just below his elbow, forming an additional layer of protection for his right arm before attaching to the bottom of [Death's Duality].

Zac held one of the chains, a small frown marring his face. The new form was powerful and full of potential, yet it left Zac with a sour feeling. Carrying the coffin on his back had been a reminder and a promise. And with the coffin gone, it felt like he'd broken the oath he'd sworn at this exact location years ago.

'I never liked having you carry around that coffin,' Alea muttered as the chains wound around him in an embrace. 'It made you sad, and it served no purpose anyway. My old body was gone by the time I became [Love's Bond], so it became nothing but a container of guilt. I like this form much better. This way, no one will be closer to your heart than me.'

'Why didn't you tell me?' Zac sighed. 'I could—'

"You could have what?" Alea snorted as her projection emerged from the engraving on his breastplate.

"Talked me out of it? Tried to prepare a body in secret when I don't want one? No, you're too stubborn, so I took matters into my own hands. If you want to help me, help me finish my transition. That way, I won't have to suffer such painful tribulations while following you."

"...Fine," Zac sighed. "But if you ever change your mind, just tell me."

"I know, and I love you for that," Alea winked before turning to Vilari. "Thank you for your help in there. Those Spiritual Fluctuations were actually very useful for us."

"You're welcome," Vilari smiled.

"You know, you're not bad," Alea thoughtfully said. "Good looks, good talent, good temperament. You'd make a virtuous wife. How about snatching this guy up before it's too late?"

Vilari's eyes widened in shock, her trademark calm cracking. "I—"

"She's just messing around," Zac sighed.

"Am I?" Alea said with a raised brow. "Catheya's not bad, but she's all caught up in the politics. How can she manage your house like that?"

"I don't need you to act matchmaker," Zac said with a roll of his eyes. "Believe it or not, I'm doing quite well on my own. Since you have so much energy, explain your new form. Are you able to stay like this longer now?"

"I guess, but there's not much point," Alea hummed as she floated around. "It's still a drain on my spirit, and I don't have any combat ability like Verun. Besides, this is not really my true form any longer. It's like if you turned into a cloud of dust. It might work, but it's not natural. As for my new form, isn't it self-explanatory? You could barely consider me a War Regalia right now, even if I'm still missing most of the features. But try it out—infuse some energy into me."

Zac followed Alea's instructions, and the black patterns immediately released a dark gas that trickled down over his body like a slow-moving waterfall. The smoke was decently corrosive, but more importantly, it seemed to have a defensive effect. He curiously picked up a nearby stone with telekinesis and hurled it toward himself.

With the stone's speed, it would punch right through a Middle E-grade cultivator, yet Zac didn't feel a thing when it met the dark shroud. The mist temporarily hardened at the collision spot, turning into an impassable wall. The stone shattered, and the mist returned to its original form, only slightly weakened.

Zac whistled as he looked down at the shroud. The feature was surprisingly durable, and it barely cost him any Miasma. Its shifting nature even acted as a form of distraction. Veteran warriors could use the slightest movement or shift in weight to predict their opponent's next move. The haze around his right arm, in particular, would make those predictions much harder.

The feature wasn't without its problems, though. The shroud was densest over his armored parts and the sections right below. However, his legs were only partially covered, while his head and left arm remained fully exposed. Compared to the [Ossuary Bulkwark], the barrier wasn't as comprehensive or reliable.

"Each upgrade should cover a bit more and hopefully add new features. By the time I reach Late D-grade, I'll be wrapped all around you," Alea said with a mischievous grin.

"And at peak?" Zac curiously asked.

"I'm not sure," Alea said. "I guess we'll find out together. Well, that's it for me."

"Your soul's wounded?" Zac frowned. "Do you need to enter seclusion?"

"Stopping that bolt did a number on me," Alea wryly smiled. "But no, I'm mostly fine. Though I wouldn't say no if you fed me some tasty spiritual materials."

"Actually, I have something right now," Zac said, taking out a small vial.

It was the [Wreathstar Nectar] Iz gave him. He had initially planned on using the remaining drops after entering Hegemony, but he'd realized he didn't need them. Zac didn't know if it was his month of unconsciousness, the effect of the Perennial Vastness, or something related to his Technocrat Origin. Either way, he felt his body and foundations as stable as bedrock upon waking up. It was even part of the reason he could make such rapid progress on his pathways.

Zac released one drop on [Black Death] and another on [Verun's Bite]. The mysterious liquid entered the weapons without issue, and even Zac could feel the mysterious energies wash over Alea and Verun. Alea returned to her necklace form, but when Zac tried to stow [Verun's Bite], it actually resisted. Instead, it turned into a simple bone ring on his right thumb.

"You wanted to hang around like Alea?" Zac asked and laughed upon hearing an affirmative roar in his mind. "That's fine."

Zac then turned to Vilari. "Thank you for your help. How did things go on your end?"

"I'm the one who should thank you," Vilari smiled, having already overcome the embarrassment from before. "I saved decades of work on my soul, and two years of seclusion gave me the time to explore some ideas I've had for skills and my blueprint. I'll be ready to evolve as soon as I get the next piece."

"Good," Zac said. "I'll talk to you later."

Zac returned to his Cultivation Cave after sending Alea to Kavista. The environment there was much better for stabilizing her foundation, and he wanted to bring her to the Abyssal Pond. Who knew? It might provide her with an opportunity as well. Having dealt with all short-term matters, Zac shut out the outside world.

The next time he emerged from seclusion, it would finally be time to stare into the Abyss.