Defiance of the Fall

The surroundings exploded in a chaotic mix of Faith and Space. Zac was unscathed, finding himself standing in the middle of a shallow crater fifty meters across. Beyond was a sea of orange complemented by nine pillars grasping for infinity. The new environment came with the influx of memories he'd hoped for. The shared state with Terea Wendimar had ended, replaced by his normal twinned existence.

Even so, the grief of parting with his 'father' lingered. It even intensified after the memories were transferred to his Draugr side to experience. It was impossible not to be touched by the love and concern Kristvan Wendimar had shown. It made Zac think of his real father—Robert Atwood, not the biological father that Leandra mentioned.

A small book appeared in Zac's left hand. Being made from mortal materials, it didn't emit a speck of spirituality. It was the diary he'd found in Greenworth, journaling Robert's final days. Its edges were worn by now, and it was only a matter of time before the pages would start to yellow. Staying inside a Spatial Ring couldn't completely halt the passage of time.

Zac sighed and put away the diary. It was hard to believe decades had passed since he last saw his father. His image was still fresh in Zac's mind, but how long would that last? Most of his memories from his life before the integration had grown hazy, like a dream before he awakened. Would Robert Atwood fade like his book, severing another link to mortality?

He turned his attention to the item in his other hand. It was the Wendimar Clan Seal, and its existence presented hard-to-answer questions. It was real to the touch, and it exuded a deep, unmistakable aura. It was Imperial Fate. Zac could picture generation after generation of Wendimar Clan leaders carrying the seal, each successor adding to its spirituality through conviction and service.

The seal resonated with something within Zac's body. It was a radiant ball of light that emerged from his chest, growing into the face of a stalwart woman sharing more than a few traits with Kristvan Wendimar. At the same time, she was slightly different from the Terea Wendimar of Zac’s memories.

There was antiquity in her gaze, one you wouldn't expect to see in a Hegemon or even Monarch. Without the light emitting any aura, Zac suspected this Terea was one who lived after the scene he'd witnessed. Someone who had survived the calamity and risen to transcendent heights. Zac smiled. It looked like Kristvan Wendimar's wish had come true.

'Thank you…' Terea said, her ethereal voice seemingly coming from a distant past.

"I'm glad I could help," Zac said, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

The strain from sharing identity with Terea had drastically increased by the end of the vision. The largest reason was her intense emotions from seeing her father impaled, but it wasn't the only one. It was like the timeline had split in two the moment the cultivation chamber was breached. Originally, Terea hadn't emerged to slaughter the enemies before making her escape.

Terea was breaking through to Peak Hegemony, and she didn't have the luxury of two bodies simultaneously working on her core. Adding the deterioration of her mental state from seeing her father sacrifice his Inner World, it was no surprise she hadn't been finished when time ran out. The root had crashed into the tower while she was still rebuilding her core, causing her to lose control over her breakthrough.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Kristvan had somehow managed to suppress her rampaging energies before it was too late, though it pushed his soul over the edge. Out of time, Kristvan detonated the terrifying weapon inside the chest. With his dying breath, Kristvan placed the clan seal in Terea's hand and threw her into a spatial tear. There had been no time to say goodbye or use the escape rune. Throughout, Terea hadn't been able to so much as open her eyes.

In contrast, Zac had already finished his breakthrough when the attack came. He could have emerged from the tower half a day earlier, only choosing not to. No matter how infuriating the scene playing out was, Zac wouldn't waste his breakthrough on protecting an illusion. One's core would only stay malleable for so long, providing a final opportunity to remedy some of the setbacks he'd faced.

Stepping out at the eleventh hour still allowed Zac to rewrite the ending. He had given Terea the chance to say goodbye. That was the cause of the gratitude in the spirit's eyes. Even if it wasn't real, Zac had helped the memory lantern resolve Terea's regret. The spiritual avatar made from faith sublimated, and Zac's brows rose upon feeling the Imperial Fate on her and the Wendimar token growing stronger.

Terea faded, her Faith and Fate melding with the world. Only a sliver returned to Zac, turning into a streak of light that went into his left hand. Looking down, Zac briefly saw four sets of lines appear, together forming a rudimentary version of the Seal of the Left Imperial Palace. Zac recognized the lines well. They were the lights he'd seen when absorbing pieces of his seal, except they held none of the insights.

Terea's soul light filled in one of the sets, turning it into a permanent brand while the others faded. The same marking appeared on Zac's other body, but he wasn't given the chance to inspect it. A scream of danger was accompanied by a deep rumble as the ground began to heave. Meanwhile, the ancient trees surrounding the pit leaned toward Zac like predators eyeing prey. Their orange leaves darkened to a deep ochre that thrummed with malevolence.

The rustling leaves whispered ancient secrets, generating an immense pressure that made Zac's bones creak and his soul tremble. It was a powerful domain, and it was only the extension of something even scarier stirring underground. Zac activated [Skystriker], turning into a razor-sharp blade of life that cut through the restrictions as he shot out of the crater. [Verun's Bite] flashed, and one of the trees was cleanly severed.

Vision swimming, Zac used the window he'd opened to squeeze out of the trap. He kept his movement skill going, rushing through the forest at top speed for over ten minutes. All the while, the aura behind him grew more powerful, even eclipsing that of an Early Monarch. At that point, Zac deactivated his movement skill and covered himself in [Void Zone].

A desolate scream from an invisible wind subdued the whole forest. Zac was no exception, doing his utmost to blend with the surroundings. A scan reeking of ill intent swept by, feeling like a torchlight made from pure hatred. It roved the area over and over until it reluctantly gave up. Zac exhaled, yet kept his aura hidden as he carefully resumed his escape. Far behind him, an arm over five hundred meters long had risen from the ground.

Its hand had over a hundred fingers that bent at impossible angles, each looking at the ground below. The fingers were already turning away from the ground to face the sky. The arm sunk back into the ground, allowing the forest to release a collective breath. The songs of birds and roars of beasts gradually returned.

Zac had no idea what kind of creature he'd accidentally disturbed, or whether it was attracted to him or the fluctuations his entry had caused. Judging by the intense hatred, Zac suspected it had sensed the Imperial Faith—the unmistakable mark of its arch-enemy. Not taking anything for granted, Zac set course for a mountain range in the distance.

While doing so, Zac sorted through the memories he'd gained from his Draugr half to avoid any further pitfalls. Only his human side had entered a vision. Esmeralda had dragged his frozen Draugr body directly to this realm, where she'd set up a temporary cultivation cave for him to finish his breakthrough.

What little Zac's Draugr side had seen of his surroundings differed greatly from what his human side currently experienced. It was a domain cursed by perpetual acidic rain and unyielding thunderstorms, a place as hostile as could be. Meanwhile, Zac was certain he was currently escaping the same forest he'd seen in the vision, the Pangonian Wilds.

It was impossible to mistake the distinct orange leaves. Even the general ambiance was the same, though joined by a new sense of disconnect that made Zac think of the Centurion Lighthouse. It was the sense of standing in a place that had been kept in a time capsule for a long, long time. Even so, the forest by no means emitted a sense of death or decay. Zac was amazed by the thick pulse of chaotic spirituality he felt from the trees.

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Any random tree in the Pangonian Wilds would be considered a treasure to most of Zecia's D-grade factions, and they stretched as far as the eye could see. He'd already sensed as much from his shared memories, but the ambient energies were simply shocking. They weren't necessarily much denser than what he'd experienced in Kavista. The difference came from a fullness and clarity of meaning.

Even Zac could tell how close and attainable the Dao was. It also exuded a rough and primordial aura, like it still held the mark of ancient times. Zac wouldn't be surprised if some trial takers broke through on the spot after arriving, especially the Zecia locals who'd ever only felt the hollow Dao of the frontier. After all, Zac could tell the trial wasn't being held in a temporal chamber.

The Dao wasn't the only thing that held the mark of antiquity. The energy wasn't actually pure. For one, streaks of Ultom's corrupted Dao spread through the region, though at much lower quantities than Zac had expected. It was unable to gain a foothold in such a spiritually blessed environment. Surprisingly, there were also small amounts of Earthly Taint in the Cosmic Energy.

The System had changed the nature of cultivation in more ways than one. Most had an idea of the challenges ancient cultivators faced, but few from Zac's generation were aware of one of the System's greatest accomplishments—the complete and absolute removal of impurities in Cosmic Energy. Before, even the best environments augmented by formations would carry some taint, and dealing with that fact was part of every cultivator's struggle.

Zac still remembered his second bloodline vision, where Karz had joined the Blue Spring Sect. The courtyard he'd picked for himself had stood empty for centuries because it was located on a spot with extremely impure energy. Any normal cultivator who practiced there would be harming themselves, like someone who propped up their cultivation with pills. Impurities would accumulate until they formed an impassable bottleneck.

Thankfully, the System wasn't planning on having the trial takers experience all the hardships of the ancient cultivators. A small amount of impurities were constantly invading Zac's body, only to fade away like they never existed.

The whole trial ground was a time capsule from the Limitless Empire's age, just like the memory he'd just experienced. Seeing how his surroundings perfectly matched the illusion, Zac wondered if the rest of the trial was the same. It was a shame the memories he'd shared were extremely scattered and didn't include a map. Then again, his destination was impossible to miss.

Far ahead, a huge pillar of light stretched into the sky. It exceeded Zac's senses, preventing him from properly taking in its dimensions. Halos of glowing runes surrounded the pillar, and Zac could spot the sigil of the Indomitable Court. There were eight more pillars just like it, spread out evenly in every direction. It wasn't difficult to guess they acted as beacons for his fellow trial takers.

There was no sign of a tenth and final pillar to mark the Left Imperial Palace. Neither were there any prompts to explain the rules like during the Eastern Trigram Hunt or Twilight Ascent. Zac's intuition told him that the requirements to unearth the Left Imperial Palace had yet to be met. Stepping into Terea Wendimar's shoes and the brand on his hands were his first clues on how System had arranged the trial.

As luck would have it, his companion had just returned to their hideout on the other side of the trial.

"Aren't you worried you'll trigger a deviation hovering like that?" Zac scoffed, pushing back Esmeralda's huge head. She'd been lurking right by his side, observing the new brand on his hand.

"I'm not stupid. Your aura stabilized a while ago. I stayed put since I figured you were busy with something," Esmeralda scoffed. "But what's this? It smells the same as those wretched lights."

"I'm guessing you didn't find it?"

Zac hadn't seen much of the toad since the trial began. She'd left in search of the memory lantern the moment Zac was settled, only returning once every day or two. Her extremely annoyed expression told all Zac needed to know about how the hunt was going.

"Nothing!" Esmeralda stomped her feet with annoyance. "Not that it would matter. There are lights all over, but I still can't touch the things. It looks like you've figured something out?"

"I think so," Zac said, sharing his human body's experiences.

"You stepped into the life of the memory lantern's originator?" Esmeralda mused as she looked at the brand. "You and your Luck. Imagine if your frozen body got dropped off directly into the forest. You'd have to finish your breakthrough inside a Beast Emperor's stomach."

"Lucky, huh?" Zac muttered.

It was a fair assumption. Zac would also have chalked everything up to his extraordinary Luck, if not for the clear indicator the memory lantern had been sent his way. Zac had absolutely no idea how Leyara knew about his situation or how she'd managed to send him such a suitable illusion. However, there was no mistaking the mark she'd left on the mote.

Zac was aware something weird had happened to Leyara. He hadn't heard from her since meeting the mysterious nun hiding aboard the Everfast Monarch's ship, and the Void Monastery's attitude to him had completely changed after the events in the Centurion Lighthouse. It didn't matter if it was part of some bigger plan or a genuine attempt to help him.

He'd chosen to trust Leyara, and it was absolutely the right decision. Zac would try to return the favor if given the chance.

"What you experienced is definitely not as simple as a dreamscape or illusion. Did you sense any hints of Temporal Energy?"

"Nothing," Zac said. "However, I did notice something toward the end. The further my actions diverged from the original script, the more faded the world felt. It was like the illusion was drained by having its timeline altered."

"Drained of what?"Esmeralda asked, her expression solemn.

Zac thought a moment. "Faith, I guess? I think the whole vision was held together by Imperial Faith, even if I don't understand how."

"Past and present diverging…" Esmeralda's eyes widened in realization. "So that's why we're right on top of the River of Time. Change the future by altering the past… That madman!"

"What are you talking about?"

Zac gaped upon hearing Esmeralda describe the continent sitting atop the River of Time, and how she'd seen it become an altar with nine candles. The candles had to be the huge pillars of light, representing the Lower Courts. Which meant the chalice was the Left Imperial Palace or Ultom. Could it be the one he saw when being chosen as a Holy Son of the Empyrean Chalice?

"Light the candles and fill the chalice with power." Zac started to get a bad feeling. The feeling of trouble knocking on his door. "Is it a ritual? What will happen if it's completed?"

"I think… this trial is a contingency. The memory lanterns are more than immortalized memories. They might be beacons linked to the past, using Imperial Faith and the River of Time as the bridge. Emperor Limitless is messing with causality."

"The memory lanterns can actually change the past? That's impossible," Zac said.

Certainly, impossible wasn't the right word. Zac had experienced Leviala Cartava using her Temporal Eyes to send back memories to her former self, allowing her to change events. He also remembered the terrifying backlash she suffered as a result, and that was from going back a few seconds.

A more recent example was Eoz reaching through time to help him during his bloodline awakening. Eoz was an extraordinarily powerful Supremacy, yet he barely managed to overcome Heaven's suppression when pressing his hand onto the Abyssal Lake. Zac didn't even dare imagine the kind of cosmic backlash countless temporal paradoxes would create.

"If there's someone who can do it, it's Emperor Limitless," Esmeralda said with a mix of reverence and fear. "Of course, I don't think you actually changed the past. If my theory is correct, then it's more accurate to say you're changing the memory of the past."

"Changing the memory? Whose memory, and to what end?" Zac asked.

"The Multiverse's memory, of course! And you've already seen why. Didn't you say that the Imperial Fate coming from that baroness grew stronger after you helped her out? Your actions created a theoretical timeline where she avoided mental demons and a botched breakthrough. Accordingly, her destiny would grow stronger."

"And something on this continent is able to harness this theoretical Imperial Fate, making it real."

As farfetched as it sounded, Zac suspected Esmeralda was onto something. Changing the Multiverse's memory? Didn't that sound a lot like Laondio's uncanny abilities that only Karz seemed to notice? Or how Karz's identity had been removed from the River of Destiny, rendering it taboo? Zac's heart thumped harder and harder as he considered the ramifications.

Was this all a plot by Laondio to rekindle the fading flames of Imperial Fate?

"Look at you. Why are you getting all jittery for?" Esmeralda scoffed, rolling her eyes upon seeing how tense Zac looked. "What? We always knew this trial was connected with the Era's direction. Isn't it expected that the biggest boss would want a say? More importantly, what does it have to do with us? Do you want to enter those murky waters, or do you want to ransack this place and make off like a bandit?"

Zac blinked a few seconds before laughing. "You're right. I guess it doesn't matter. We only need to figure out the rest of the rules so we can get our hands on the loot. It's not our problem what happens after, even if the Emperor himself comes jumping out of the woodwork."

"That's the spirit," Esmeralda grinned. "What can go wrong with Esmeralda leading the way? In fact, I've already found the perfect place to gather information."

"You did?" Zac exclaimed. "Ruins of the Limitless Empire?"

"Even better. I found a city full of ancient cultivators."