Defiance of the Fall

Zac's previous breakthrough took place shortly before entering the Perennial Vastness. He'd found the answers to Death after walking through the maze of Life inside the hidden level of the Gates of Reincarnation. At that time, he'd based the insights on balance, which helped him harmonize his Life- and Death-attuned branches.

Of course, the breakthrough direction wasn't because of the Limited Trial. It was the natural conclusion to years of studying balance and duality for his blueprint. Since then, he'd spent the better part of a decade fighting and exploring inside the Perennial Vastness. And while normal cultivators couldn't connect with the Dao inside a temporal chamber, that had never been Zac's method of communing with the Heavens.

He'd slowly accumulated, shoring up his understanding of his Daos through battle, where his technique paved the path and his experiences provided context. He'd only missed a spark to turn his years of struggle into truth, and he got it right after returning to Earth. His short encounter with the ill-fated swordsman had shaken his mind awake.

His death had given Zac a deeper understanding of inexorability, and by extension, his Branches of the War Axe and Pale Seal. Zac thought he'd have to continue his search for answers on the battlefield for a while longer, but Eoz had provided what he needed and more.

The aspect of Death Zac was about to incorporate slightly deviated from the original script, but such was cultivation. There was no need to close himself off to the universe just because he'd gained Arcane classes and formulated a path. He was still young, still learning, and you had to adapt upon realizing his understanding was flawed or at least incomplete. That was the only way you'd reach the peak.

Zac's eyes had been opened to a new facet of inexorability upon feeling Eoz's will and conviction while submerged in the pure Abyssal Energy. One that didn't just resonate with his path, but one that helped him better fuse it with his Draugr bloodline. Adamance, Conviction, and Immutability—weren't these all expressions of his Inexorable Path?

Fearlessly advancing, rendering any resistance moot. Take in the Heavens and make them your own, and let your enemies' Fate become nourishment for yours. Death could be either finality or progress, and he was the judge of who would be sent to the Abyss and who'd continue their journey.

Zac only needed a single Dao Treasure to trigger the breakthrough. His Soul Aperture was still overflowing with energy from the pond, to the point the breakthrough would help alleviate the pressure on his Soul Spiral. A river of truth and comprehension poured into his mind, and Zac froze the spiral as he ushered the energy into the Dao Apparition in its center.

It didn't take long before Zac felt a soft pop in his mind like he'd pierced an invisible membrane blocking his connection to the Heavens. A surge of power followed in its wake, and Zac smiled upon realizing how smoothly the waves of Death coursed through his body. The past week had only let him make some preliminary arrangements for restoring his [Thousand Lights Avatar], yet his Dao moved almost as unhindered as when he'd had a fully-formed spiritual body.

It was a long time since he'd been as comfortable as he currently felt, and Zac couldn't help but stretch and move around inside his isolation array. The feeling reminded him of his breakthroughs inside the Orom World, where the Tribulation Lightning had cleansed his body of the immense amounts of toxins he'd accumulated with the [Celestial Clay].

It was at that point he realized something surprising. [Million Faces] had been deactivated by the storm of Abyssal Energy, yet his hair remained the same steely grey he used to hide his human ancestry. His face had reverted from his Arcaz persona, but it didn't quite look like Zachary Atwood either. His basic features were still there, but he'd taken on some of Eoz's appearance upon his bloodline awakening. Altogether, he looked quite a bit better, though he still lacked that touch of Dao that imparted an otherworldly beauty.

Having his appearance improved was nice, but it didn't matter much. There were still far more interesting things brewing inside his body, not to mention his bloodline. But just as Zac was about to open his status screen and inspect his gains, a slight cough made him look over. The whole Draugr retinue was waiting for him outside, and the Monarchs could obviously see through his low-grade isolation array.

Zac felt a pang of worry upon seeing their scrunched-up expressions and the scattered lines on everyone's exposed skin. The runes were clearly the same thing he'd been covered in, but some only had one or two sigils that weren't even connected. It was like they'd been hit by nomological spill-over.

Tavza's pattern was far more exquisite than the others, covering most of her face like a tribal tattoo. However, even if Zac couldn't make heads or tails of the pattern, he could tell it wasn't quite complete.

Zac glanced at the mayhem around him. The Abyssal Water had fully retreated by now, but water from the Deepmist Lake was pouring down from cracks in the ceiling. The cave would probably collapse soon enough unless it was reinforced. Zac took a stabilizing breath before stepping outside, knowing he'd have to be a bit shameless once more.

"Sorry, I felt inspiration coming on," Zac said. "I didn't expect the trial to wrap up in such a destructive way. Thank the Heavens everyone got out in one piece."

He'd hoped to diffuse the palpable tension, but he inwardly groaned when he saw his words had the opposite effect. The young elites suddenly looked like they wanted to eat him alive, while the Monarchs had complex expressions on their faces. Only then did Zac notice a critical detail from the fusion of his two sets of memories.

He had been fully occupied with the impartment while in the Lake, and he'd opted to immediately break through upon exiting. Now that Zac could go through his human body's experiences, he realized that not even a day had passed since he entered the Abyssal Pond. It wasn't that the others had escaped in time, but that they didn't even get the chance to enter before the connection broke—or rather, when he broke it.

Of course, he wasn't about to admit that.

"I guess forcing a connection on the Frontier was harder than we thought," Zac coughed, but it was clear no one bought his excuse.

"Son of Chaos," Tavza muttered while Laz helplessly shook his head.

The next second, a screen appeared in front of him. Zac mutely watched the recording, seeing how the Abyssal Pond exploded, destroying most of the Array Pillars in one go. It was almost like the Abyss had opened its maw, trying to consume everything. Worse, Zac could clearly feel the mark of Eoz within the raging tsunami. There was no way the Monarchs hadn't realized the source of the commotion.

Just when it looked like the Draugr group would be swallowed, two magic circles suddenly appeared above the pond. They stabilized the surging waters, resulting in a small lake that covered most of the broken array. The ambient energy seemed shocking even at its shores, eclipsing what Zac encountered in the shallows of the pond. The problem was that more than ninety percent of it was tuned to the Branch of Eoz, making it unsuitable for these Zi Branch members.

They must have waited for the pond to return to normal, only to see it lose the connection two days early.

"Hey, you can't blame that one on me," Zac said, staunchly sticking to his guns. "I've never seen those magic circles before."

That was only a half-truth. Zac might never have seen those particular arrays before, but he recognized the aura they exuded. They came from Azol and Mez, just like the auras he'd sensed in the depths.

Just like the things still waiting in his body, currently surrounding [Gorehew] and [Abyssal Phase]

The line of deathly starlight surrounding [Gorehew] had an ethereal aura of Fate and Death, marking it as the work of Ur'Mez. The other was almost indistinguishable from the Abyssal Lake, similar to Tavza's bloodline ability. Zac had noticed the odd arrays and the pure Abyssal Energy they kept sealed the moment he emerged from the pond, but he didn't dare act hastily.

After all, these were things likely left by Supremacies. He didn't want to narrowly survive the Abyssal Pond only to blow himself up an hour later.

"I get the feeling you often find yourself in this position," Tavza sighed, glancing at Laz.

"Don't worry. I can tell your awakening was a rousing success. So what if it caused some waves?" Laz smiled, not caring in the slightest about the state of the cave or the Kavriel youngsters. "Master Kavriel, let's talk."

"Let's go," Tavza said, glancing at the young warriors. "The rest of you, stay here. It's not what we hoped for, but the lingering energy in the pond is still quite beneficial for the unawakened. Focus on the patterns. They'll help you find the way."

"I feel bad," Zac muttered as Tavza led him out of the Deepmist Lake.

"I thought it had nothing to do with you?" Tavza said with a raised brow.

Zac could only laugh in response. They both knew the truth.

"You don't need to worry," Tavza continued. "Those half-blood children severely overestimated the benefits they could draw from the Abyssal Pond. There's a reason we only invite the elites of our race to the Abyssal Lake. Being marked by the Ancestral Runes will let them purify their mottled bloodlines more than the original arrangement. It might even provide unexpected long-term benefits."

"Why didn't you mention these things?" Zac asked as he looked down at his hands. "Like you said, they helped quite a bit."

The patterns on his body were still visible, but they were slowly fading. Zac wasn't too worried, though. He'd already memorized every detail of it and could easily redraw them like he did when practicing the [Void Vajra Sublimation].

"I didn't mention it because there was no point. Only someone who's reached the True Abyss Realm can extrapolate a whole circuit. Our most talented warriors can occasionally figure out small sections, but most never have the chance," Tavza said, her pitch-black eyes speaking volumes as she looked at him. "The circuit on your body should be the first complete set of Ancestral Runes since Ter'Ael Zan'Azol was alive."

"Oh," Zac weakly muttered, studiously looking away.

The two traveled in silence as they made their way toward the teleporter, each occupied with their own thoughts. Zac's mind was still a mess. There was so much to untangle, and he began by checking out his Status Screen.

Name Zachary Atwood

Level 155

Class [D-Arcane] Inexorable Apostle

Race [D] Draugr - Void Emperor (Corrupted)

Alignment [Zecia] Atwood Empire – Baron of Conquest

Titles [...] Runic Progenitor, Grand Achievement, Arcane Ascension, Pathbound Core, Peakmender

Limited Titles Tower of Eternity Sector All-Star - 14th, Equanimity, Big Axe Gladiator, The Final Twilight - 1st, Gates of Rebirth

Dao Branch of the War Axe - Middle, Branch of the Kalpataru - Middle, Branch of the Pale Seal - Late

Core [D] Inexorable Core

Strength 68129 [Increase: 204%. Efficiency: 429%]

Dexterity 25902 [Increase: 156%. Efficiency: 285%]

Endurance 56490 [Increase: 185%. Efficiency: 450%]

Vitality 39287 [Increase: 178%. Efficiency: 428%]

Intelligence 7262 [Increase: 135%. Efficiency: 285%]

Wisdom 14237 [Increase: 137%. Efficiency: 300%]

Luck 982 [Increase: 164%. Efficiency: 349%]

Free Points 0

Nexus Coins [D] 7 645 946

Zac looked at the numbers with awe. He'd already made a huge leap in power upon reaching Hegemony, and now his attributes had increased another 25% in one swoop. It was significantly more than he'd expected, especially after confirming he hadn't gained any new titles. Zac began by focusing on the line listing his Daos, and the details of his upgraded Dao Branch came into view.

[Branch of the Pale Seal (Late): All attributes +50, Strength +1750, Endurance +9000, Vitality +2750, Wisdom +1150. Effectiveness of Endurance +25%]

There weren't any real surprises to the evolved branch. The only thing of note was that his Strength and Wisdom had slightly more than doubled at the cost of Endurance and Vitality. The +50 to Intelligence had also been removed, leaving him a bit stronger but also dumber. Just like how he liked it.

Altogether, the branch provided 15,000 Raw Attributes, a significant amount in the Early D-grade. Still, Zac only stayed on the Dao Screen for a second as he was much more eager to see the more exciting change.

Bloodline [E - Corrupted] Void Emperor, [D] Children of Draug - Eoz

Talent Force of the Void - 19%, Void Zone

Bloodline Nodes [E]Void Heart, [E] Spiritual Void, [E] Purity of the Void

Nodes [D] Adamance of Eoz, [D] Conviction of Eoz, [D] Immutability of Eoz, [D] Alpha Link, [D] Omega Link

Constitution [Death] Branch of Eoz (Early Shallows): Base Attributes +250, Strength +1250, Endurance +2,250, Luck +25, All Attributes +10%, Strength +5%, Endurance +10%. Effect of Strength +5%, Effect of Endurance +10%.

Zac looked blankly at the screen for a few seconds, repeatedly reading the long string of boosts to ensure he didn't see things wrong. He'd already been able to tell he should have passed the Return stage entirely, but he was shocked to find he'd also skipped the Shore. Early Shallows was the first step of the third awakening, and enough to make you a core member of the Draugr race, according to Laz.

The benefits didn't disappoint either. Zac thought forming a Late Branch would be the biggest attribute boost, but it paled compared to his Draugr bloodline boost. Having an Early Shallows Bloodline provided more flat attributes than a Middle Dao Branch. It even provided 25 Luck and 10% to all attributes, making it one of his largest individual sources of Luck.

Not to mention, this wasn't even the real benefit of awakening your bloodline. Each stage you unlocked would normally increase your Dao Affinities, with the major threshold providing a significant boost. The reason any Draugr reaching Shallows became a core member wasn't because of a few extra Attribute Points. It was because their inborn advantage gave them a decent chance of reaching Monarchy and possibly beyond.

All from staying in some lake water for a day—a poignant reminder that not all races were born equal in the Multiverse.

It was only a few seconds later that Zac realized the huge attribute bomb wasn't the only thing new on his Bloodline Screen. His awakened bloodline wasn't visible on the main Status Screen, but it had been added next to this Void Emperor Bloodline here. It was an interesting tidbit, but the big news was that all three of his Draugr Hidden Nodes had been upgraded to D-grade in one swoop. Even his Force of the Void had recovered to 19%.

Zac was slightly surprised he hadn't gained a single level after being drowned in such immense amounts of energy, but he soon found the reason why. The pathways in his Cosmic Core had suddenly become quite lopsided. The paths holding Death and Void of Death had been greatly filled in, and those made for Conflict had seen a noticeable improvement.

However, the parts with Life hadn't gained an inch, which wasn't surprising considering the energy source. No wonder he'd felt so lopsided when upgrading his Dao. Zac felt he could have evolved his Branch of the Pale Seal once more if he wanted, but he'd held himself back.

For one, he needed to digest and stabilize his foundations before breaking through again. Secondly, he'd felt a sense of imbalance between his two halves. It wasn't just his Daos and core, either. It was like every aspect of Death suddenly eclipsed his attainments into Life. Zac could tell it would become a problem if he exacerbated this disparity, especially his core, which depended on balance.

His human body was already cramming Life Attuned Core-awakening Pills into his mouth to remedy the situation. Zac estimated he'd be able to gain at least 6 or 7 levels by the time he'd returned to equilibrium. Not even the top-tier pills he'd prepared would be able to take him that far, but he could accumulate the rest on the battlefield.

Soon, Tavza had escorted him through the gauntlet of relays and returned to his Cultivation Tree. She didn't say anything, but Zac knew what Tavza was waiting for. He only hesitated a moment before he chose to come clean.

"I felt him," Zac said. "I felt Eoz in the Abyss. It was almost like he reached through the River of Time to help me. I think your ancestor helped out somehow. Do you think—"

"I don't have the answers you're looking for," Tavza sighed. "The Abyss sometimes shows us things when we delve too far, but what you said might have happened. I sensed the mark of Eoz within the pond, far beyond what you'd expect in this era. This all is far beyond what I expected.

"However, I do know this. Not even our Supremacies can freely stretch through the Abyss like we saw today. You should fully understand our relationship with the Abyss by now, and the incredible dangers that lurk in its depths. Be it Lord Eoz himself or our guardians; they've all paid a heavy price to assist you today. I hope you won't do anything to betray that trust."