Defiance of the Fall

No wonder your auras are so much stronger , - Zac said with a raised brow . - Were the Life-Death Pearls even the best item your master had the Twilight Lord provide? -

Well , some of the items on the list weren't as plentiful as the pearls , - Catheya shrugged before she looked at him with a small smile as she leaned forward . - And you are ultimately an outsider . Of course , if you chose to join our family… Anything I have would be yours . -

I’m pretty happy with my current situation , - Zac rejected without hesitation , prompting Catheya to humph and lean back into her chair . - More importantly , I have collected some things that I have trouble identifying . Perhaps you can help? -

Why ask me? - Catheya said with a studiously lazy tone . - You said it yourself , I’m just a second-seed talent from a force not worth joining . What insights could I possibly provide the vaunted Arcaz Black , the unfettered snake-charmer and unmatched troublemaker? -

Alright alright , - Zac snorted . - How about this , for every twenty treasures you help me identify , I’ll give you one? Please? -

Every twenty treasures? - Catheya exclaimed . - What’s going on? Just how many items have you snatched up? Did you rob the Twilight Lord’s treasury or something? -

Something like that , - Zac coughed , prompting Catheya’s eyes to widen even further .

One by one Zac started taking out the small mountains of items he had accumulated since they split up last time . The more common items he had found in the middle reaches were all in his information package , but that was about it . He had collected a huge number of herbs and materials in the reef forest , especially from all those spatial items , and there was also the items from the chasm itself .

Unfortunately , he had absorbed most of the treasures he had encountered during his Bloodline Evolution , but there were still over a dozen items from the floating mountains . Furthermore , he had collected a large number of treasures hiding in the expansive cave networks in the wall of the chasm , each one more energy-rich than the other .

Initially , Catheya had exclaimed over Zac’s good luck as he started taking out one box after another , but her demeanor eventually turned from excitement to shock , and then to blank incomprehension as the piles of natural treasures grew . Still , she performed her task almost as expertly as Calrin and his cousins .

It took almost two hours , but the results were eventually tallied up . Catheya had only managed to identify roughly 30% of the items that Zac had taken out , but it wasn’t surprising considering most of the things he had picked up didn’t grow anywhere outside of the Twilight Ocean . However , while Catheya couldn’t name the majority of materials , she still displayed an impressive ability to categorize what was left .

Soon , a large pile of Attribute Fruits had accumulated to his side , and Zac’s eyes gleamed when he looked at the five herbs that would be able to raise his Luck . He seriously imprinted the aura they emitted , so that he would remember the feeling in case he ever ran into something similar in the wild .

The other attributes were just a matter of time for him to fill up thanks to his massive wealth , but Luck-boosting fruits were shockingly rare , and not something that reached auctions very often . Even now , he still hadn’t gained a single point in Luck from fruits during the E-grade .

Apart from that , there majority of the items were not really useful for him in the short run , perhaps except the 30-odd Dao Fruits that he’d save for when he had found some more insight into his Daos . The vast majority of items were mainly useable for crafting . For example , Catheya had identified a black block of metal as Shadesteel] .

Its main use was to be smelted into runes on weapons , which would strengthen its energy conductivity and the weapon’s abilities . There were over a hundred items that would provide these kinds of effects , from leaves that would form a dye that could help clothes hide one’s aura better , to berries that would strengthen the water-based nature in pills .

Finally , there were a total of five treasures that each one was at the level of a uniquely supreme E-grade treasure , which was shocking considering that not a single such item was found in most trials . Unsurprisingly , four of them had been found on the floating mountains , with the last one in the lower parts of the cave system .

Two were affinity-boosting treasures , one boosting life and the other death , and Catheya looked at the death-attuned one like a starving wolf .

Just take it , - Zac smiled .

What? - Catheya said , her eyes wide with confusion . - You don’t want it? Even if it might help you become a cultivator? -

My situation is a bit special , - Zac shrugged . - That thing won’t be of much use to me . -

He wasn’t lying . He sincerely doubted a treasure like that would amount to anything more than some food for his Hidden Nodes . Certainly , many of his followers back home delved into the Dao of Death , but the problem with this trial was that it was somewhat similar to the Tower of Eternity . Some treasures would become useless the moment they were taken outside since they depended on this unique environment .

So anything that could be eaten before leaving should be eaten , and it was better to give Catheya such a treasure than banking on that it would survive until he could hand it to someone back home .

Has my charm finally started to wear you down? - Catheya asked with a wide smile .

Something like that , - Zac snorted .

Alright , thank you . I won’t forget this , - Catheya said . - How about this? I’ll take this and nothing else . Otherwise , I might form a heart demon . -

Suit yourself , - Zac said as he stowed away the other treasures .

Alright , that's it for business , right? - Catheya smiled . - Travelling all alone with that bounty on your head for months can't have been easy . How about you stay a day and recharge your batteries? I have become quite the expert at preparing the various specimen of this ocean , and who knows when you'll get a chance to drink wine from the Heartlands next time? -

Alright , I'm in , - Zac laughed . - I guess one day off couldn't hurt . -

Chapter 757 : Second Set

Zac looked at the receding backs of Catheya and her two companions , sighing before he set out alone again in his submersible . As he looked at the empty chamber of the vessel , his thoughts drifted back to Triv’s list of necessities for cultivation . One of them was companions , and Zac felt that today .

It was easy to get engrossed in your own world when secluded in cultivation . But while that kind of life had its benefits , it lacked the color of pursuing the Dao in the company of others . He had only spent a day with the trio to catch up and plan his next step , and nothing out of the ordinary had happened .

Yet that single day was more memorable than traveling through the Twilight Ocean for the past three months , seeing all kinds of marvels . Certainly , it was hard to stay indifferent when being the constant focus of attention to a great beauty like Catheya . He was even starting to get used to the abyssal eyes that he and she shared , and they no longer simply felt like gates to the underworld .

While the situation was flattering , it was a bit hard to deal with . He knew he was a bit dense , but he wasn't blind . There was a streak of something real mixed in when Catheya teasingly flirted with him , and that truthfully scared him . Certainly , part of it was because he was still raw from what happened to Thea , but there was something else .

It almost felt like he was cursed . Hannah had a mental breakdown and tried to murder him , and she was the one that was the best off among his romantic interests . Alea had been reduced to a Spiritual Tool , and Thea had been straight-up murdered by his own family . The Multiverse was a dangerous place , but part of him couldn't help but wonder if it was the System's machinations at play .

What if the System wanted him focused solely on cultivation so he could keep conjuring chaos patterns for it , and it nudged fate to remove all distractions from his path?

There was , unfortunately , no way to know , and he soon dropped the matter to refocus on the task at hand . The volcano was two weeks away , and it would take another two months to reach the ravine afterward . By then , over two years would have passed in the trial , and only the confident would remain .

After all , people weren’t automatically teleported out from this trial . The final three months were a safe zone when anyone could leave without getting contribution points deducted for not staying the full trial . Those who were too late would be stuck inside , and none had ever survived such an ordeal .

There were only so many exits as well , and most would be guarded by hunters looking for wealth and contribution points . Some warriors were mostly here for wealth , and they’d start looking for a way out before the hunters gathered .

The trip was thankfully not too eventful . The appearance of the City of Ancients had drawn a lot of attention , and the number of cultivators that had flocked in that area was approaching a million according to Varo . That left the other regions of the middle reaches pretty desolate in comparison , which suited Zac’s purposes perfectly . Encountering cultivators in this area would only waste time without bringing any benefits , considering his Ocean Chart] had already been filled in by Catheya .

Zac wasn’t just sitting around during this time . He set his vessel to autopilot the moment he reached a desolate stretch before he took out a pile of boxes . Inside were the Attribute Fruits Catheya had identified .

Wasting no time , Zac immediately bit into the first of the fruits , though it rather looked like a fleshy pinecone . It was one of the fruits that should boost his Luck , and Zac ate it stem and all . There was no stream of energy spreading through his body after eating the thing , but he rather gained an odd sense of interconnectedness with the world around him .

He felt like a Buddhist monk who had become one with the universe , but the feeling only lasted for a moment before the feeling passed . Soon enough he was back to normal , but he still opened his Status Screen to see the results . A smile immediately spread across his face as he saw that his Luck had increased by 12 points in one go , meaning the fruit had provided a full 6 points before his titles boosted the number .

Of course , if the fruit had rather provided something like 50 points like normal Peak E-grade Attribute fruits did , that would have been far preferable , but Luck fruits didn’t scale like that . Perhaps that was for the best , considering that let Zac maintain his advantage even against higher-grade enemies .

The Monarchs already gained enough Luck through their Daos as is . If they could gain thousands of points into the mysterious attribute through simply eating some fruit , then his enemies would simply stumble upon Earth by chance sooner or later .

After having eaten the first , Zac kept going , working his way through the Luck Fruits until moving onto the other stats . It was lucky the Natural Treasures were almost instantly refined to the essence needed to boost his physique , considering he stuffed himself with over 20 kilos of fruits before he was done .

And the result was pretty impressive . He had already set a small foundation with the Technocrat mixtures he looted from the Mystic Realm , but this was his first palpable step forward . Altogether , he had gained over 100 base attributes per stat , a massive step forward that was essentially the attribute equivalent to a High Mastery Dao Fragment .

That might not be enough to make a difference against someone like Uona or Ykrodas , but every little bit counted . The real prize was his boost to Luck though , and the benefits that it brought .

Grand Fate : Reach 500 Luck at E-Grade . Reward : Effect of Luck +6%]

Zac was hadn’t expected to see a title like this , considering it was functionally the same as his old title called - Fated’ . Normally , the first title of a certain type would prevent him from getting a similar one at higher grades , yet he somehow got both .

His best guess was that things worked differently for things related to Luck , or that some title series simply followed their own rules . For example , the given effect of Luck this time around was 1% higher compared to the E-grade , making Zac believe it was a chain where he could get the succeeding one during every grade . Put together , they would provide a tremendous boost to Luck .

That was ultimately just a guess of his , but more Luck was always a welcome sight , and he was now solidly above 1 , 000 Effective Luck . Hopefully , that would mean an even stronger Danger Sense and even greater instincts for opportunities . Who knew , the boost might even allow him to get the two remnants without issue , though Zac didn’t hold much hope for that happening .

He knew that Uona was a disaster waiting to happen , and a couple of Attribute Fruits wasn’t enough to give him any confidence he could withstand her furious revenge . That was mostly why he targeted the Shard of Creation first , apart from it being closer to where Catheya hid . Absorbing the first one had almost allowed him to fight a Technocrat Hegemon in F-grade , and this time his soul was far stronger compared to when he visited the Little Bean .

The Shard would hopefully become the ace that would allow him to complete his mission one way or another .

Catheya’s information package was extremely detailed , with not only dangerous sites clearly marked , but also popular hunting grounds where one was bound to run into other trial takers . It allowed Zac to plot a course with minimal interruptions until he reached his target ; the Ouroboros Loop . It was yet another current , this one running perpendicular along the middle reaches .

It took him along the middle ocean through all kinds of underwater environments , but Zac was more interested in going over various information packages than enjoying the view . He had seen it all by now , and these treasure spots were just a cheap mimicry of the dangers and opportunities he had encountered at the heart of the ocean .

His time was better spent working on his cultivation , but since he was a mortal that wasn’t an option during downtimes like this . The long bouts of uneventful travel over the last three months had even made him seriously consider taking up some sort of side profession . Previously , he had put the matter aside to prioritize shoring up his lacking theoretical foundations , but he was fast catching up with the general level expected of a young E-grade scion .

The problem was that he couldn’t figure out what kind of job to learn . It couldn’t just be a hobby to pass time , but rather something that he could make use of during battle or his cultivation . The most obvious choice was alchemy , which would allow him to refine the mountains of herbs he kept collecting .

Unfortunately , that route was probably impossible . A vast majority of Alchemy Heritages were based around fire , of which he had no Dao . And even if he found a method where he could make us of his Dao of Life or Death , there was still the looming issue of his energy control . You needed extremely precise control over not only your Dao , but also over energy manipulation to extract the valuable parts from herbs and then fuse them into a pill .

Inscriptionists and Array Masters had similar requirements , putting Zac at a loss .

He was only good at using brute force , but what job was that good for? Zac had collected a couple of simple heritages by this point , but none of them seemed to be suited to his toolkit . For now , he just kept deepening his horizons while slowly shoring up the foundations of his insights .

The days passed , and Zac was fast closing in on his destination . He detached the vessel from the current and continued by foot . While doing so , he once more went over the reports that Catheya had written , a thoughtful frown on his face .

She had tried entering both the grounds to make sure they were the places he referred to , though Zac guessed curiosity played a big role in her decision . However , she had not managed to enter the volcano at all . Entering from above was impossible for various reasons . First of all , there were surprisingly powerful avian beasts circling the volcano above the ocean surface , even Beast Kings by the looks of it .

It made this place one of the deathtraps of the middle reaches . There were hundreds of these kinds of places in the trial , spots teeming with danger but no treasure . Sometimes there was simply no reward to go with the risk , and figuring when that was the case was one of the more valuable skills among explorers .

Apart from the occasional risk-taker hoping to discover something everyone else had missed , most people simply ignored places like these .

The beasts were not the only problem . Even if you managed to hide from the powerful birds that made the mountain their home , you still needed to find a way to deal with the terrifying heat . Resilient cultivators such as himself would be able to withstand the furious flames of the volcano for a while , but there was also an extremely powerful natural formation powered by the mountain itself .

Catheya believed you’d get stuck around the mouth and slowly get roasted if you tried to enter that way . Thankfully , there were many cracks in the volcano itself , and Catheya posited at least some of them should provide a path to the inner chamber of the volcano . Unfortunately , those entrances proved to be just as dangerous .

The natural formation didn't extend to those tunnels , but she had been forced to run for her life to avoid a terrifying ripple that she said was 'an antithesis to her very existence' . It didn’t take a lot of guesswork to understand it was a wave of creation that had spread out . The question was how to deal with something like that .

Zac had been constantly inundated with purified motes of Creation for years by now . Would he prove immune to the ripples that Catheya felt would end her life? Or was he just as susceptible? Zac figured there was only one way to find out , and he pushed forward the next two days until he reached the towering mountain .

It pushed up through the surface of the ocean , reaching thousands of meters into the air according to the report . Zac didn’t breach the surface though , but rather swam toward an area roughly 200 meters beneath the surface .

It wasn’t based on fears of the avian beasts or something Catheya had written , but rather his instincts . He could feel it , almost as palpable as he had felt his Mark of Creation hidden in the Egg before it was dragged into the depths of the chasm . There really was a Shard of Creation in the heart of the volcano , and it was neither at the top or far beneath the surface .

It was somewhere in the middle , just at the height Zac was heading for . If he needed any further proof , he didn't need to look far either . The dormant remnants in his mind had woken up , and Zac felt war was brewing as they started vibrating while still locked in each other's embrace . The quicker Zac dealt with this matter , the sooner these troublesome things would calm down again .

The area around the volcano was quite desolate , with very little plant life growing . It was no surprise to Zac considering he saw ample proof of volcanic activity as he swam closer . The ocean bed was almost covered in layers upon layers of lava rivers that had been frozen by the waters . In fact , the water itself was well beyond 100 degrees where Zac swam , and a normal mortal would be scalded to death in an instant if dropped into these waters .

Of course , it wasn’t much of an issue to Zac by this point , and neither did it prove lethal for the crabs and mollusks crawling across the walls of the mountain , seemingly digging into the stone itself . Zac was confused for a moment until he spotted a crab unearthing a clump of a red clay-like substance and swallowed it in one bite .

It looked like this place had created a unique eco-system of its own , with the creatures beneath the surface eating actual mud filled with fire-attuned energies for sustenance . Meanwhile , the birds of prey above the surface most likely fed on the beasts below . The crabs still contained a lot of the Twilight Energy , but it was almost evenly matched with the fire of the mountain that fed them .

Zac eventually reached the mountain proper , and his very presence scared away the critters crawling around in search of food . It wasn’t hard to find one of the cave entrances Catheya had mentioned either - they were practically everywhere . However , Zac did note that not a single one of the crabs entered those burrows , even when the availability of that fiery mud should be greater closer to the magma within .

It wasn’t that hard to figure out the reason , and he posted up right at the edge of a tunnel , patiently waiting with his gaze turned toward the depths . Four minutes passed , and Zac started to wonder if he ultimately was too far out . But suddenly , he felt a shift . A wave of energy swept through the mountain , getting closer until it was almost upon him .

Initially , Zac had planned on withstanding the pulse here at the edge of its effective radius , but he immediately pushed back and created hundreds of meters of distance . It was just in time as well , as a wall of energy shot out through the cave mouth , creating havoc on the area before being dispersed by the Twilight Ocean .

Half a minute later any sign of its appearance was gone , but some of the energy lingered . Zac swam back with a frown on his face , and he felt the remains of the creation pulse burrow into his body along with the Twilight Energy . Thankfully , his Hidden Node found no difficulty gobbling the thing up , but Zac could feel pain all over his body until the wounds were healed .

It was like he had been instantly sunburnt by standing in the leftovers of the pulse . Or perhaps it was more apt to liken it to radiation poisoning . In either case , it spelled trouble . He finally understood what Catheya meant when she said an antithesis of her very existence . It was not just the energy of the Shard of Creation in that wave , it was much more .

First of all , there was fiery energy from the volcano itself , but it took a backseat to the two other powers . The first was unsurprisingly the tainted energy of creation stemming from the shard , but the second part was pure life . It looked like the wave had fused with the Twilight Energy somehow , supercharging and weaponizing the life aspect of the ambient energy .

It would be extremely perilous to take on that wave as a Draugr , even with his hidden nodes slowly absorbing the energy . It almost felt like he was in a video game , and he was one of the undead monsters who could be harmed by players casting healing spells . It wouldn’t help much that Void Heart] could swallow Life-attuned energies if the pulse had already ripped him to pieces .

Thankfully , there was an easy fix to that problem , and a snap echoed out from within his body as Zac broke the seal to his Duplicity Core .

Chapter 758 : Magmatic Core

The seal hiding Zac's Duplicity Core was broken , and he immediately began the transformation process . Soon enough he stood at the cave mouth in his human form , and he closed his eyes to once more sense the remnant energies from the Creation pulse . The supercharged life-attuned energy in the area was still hostile to him , but its effect was not much worse than any other attack at the moment . It was definitely a better idea to enter the volcano in this form .

Zac wasn’t stoked about using his human form and losing the protection of Leandra’s array after finding out that the Eveningtide Asura was lurking in some corner of the Twilight Ascent . But what choice did he have? Not getting the Shard of Creation would lead to his cultivation being crippled , which trumped any unproven concerns over his privacy .

The life-attuned energies were now manageable just like the fiery energies that permeated the area , but that still left the weak motes of diluted Creation . The core force that had carried the pulse was different to the Creation Energy he usually dealt with , in that this energy was raw , wild , and still tainted by the will of the shard itself .

It was much more troublesome to deal with compared to the distilled energy that was extracted from his trapped shard , and it didn't take long for Zac to realize that he wouldn’t be able to simply make the energy his own by absorbing it . However , he had another idea of how to deal with the pulses , and he once more waited at the edge of his chosen tunnel . Soon enough Zac sensed an identical build-up , though this one was slightly weaker .

It would still serve Zac’s purposes , and he readied himself as he sensed the turbulent wave of Life and Creation ripple forward . At the same time , two streams of energy entered his shoulders , and a small shimmering globe appeared between his hands , shuddering with unbridled possibility .

Suddenly , Zac pushed his hands forward , and the mark pushed into the wave of creation heading through him . Zac imparted his will into the Mark of Creation , and the small walnut-sized ball instantly grew into the size of a cantaloupe as it stole the wild creation in the area to power its creation .

Zac could sense how the act had started a chain reaction that would only end in disaster , and he hurriedly threw the Mark of Creation away before he flashed to safety with Earthstrider] . A blinding eruption of light illuminated the whole ocean for a moment before a fifteen-meter wide object wrought from an alloy of stones appeared where the Mark once was .

It was a chaotic mesh of patterns and materials , and it broke apart the moment it hit the rocky ocean bed . Zac looked at it thoughtfully before his gaze turned to the blistering welts that had appeared across his hands .

That bright light had released a wave of chaotic energies that had passed right through him , and while his body was already fast at work repairing itself , it was something both hard to defend against and lethal . Zac looked out across the field of crabs , and he could see how many of them shuddered with pain until they slumped down one after another .

Still , the experiment was a success . He had not been directly impacted by any of the Creation Energy in the wave at all when it passed through him , and even the amount of weaponized Life had been lessened by a good margin . As for the weird rock the bundle of creation turned into , it was the result of Zac’s wish of the thing turning into a harmless boulder .

Why it didn't turn into a simple rock was harder to guess , and it could be anything from the influence of the Twilight Ocean , his lacking understanding of the Dao of Creation , or even the latent consciousness from the Spark of Creation . In either case , the Mark of Creation had turned extremely unstable the moment his purified energies had been joined by the wild energies in the pulse .

Seeing that he had found a method to push through the pulses , Zac sat down and rested for a few hours to restore himself to perfect condition . Using even a walnut-sized Mark of Creation left a small network of fine cracks across his neck , just like the Annihilation Spheres , and he knew he would have to conjure more of them to reach the heart of the volcano .

Those cracks were extremely hard to heal , but they solidified and became invisible after a few hours , lessening the risk of them worsening on their own . In an ideal world , Zac would have wanted to have already cleansed himself before that point , but he still hadn’t found a method to do so . Only his natural healing along with the purified energy of opposing remnants worked , and the cracks generally disappeared after a week or two if it came from a small-sized mark like this .

Zac didn’t have weeks to waste at the moment though , and he set out as soon as he felt his condition stable . He once more waited at the mouth of the volcano until yet another pulse erupted . This time he didn’t interact with the wave of Creation at all , instead opting to slip into the tunnel in its wake .

He knew he had roughly five minutes before the next pulse would arrive , and he pushed his speed as much as he could with Earthstrider] . He turned into a blur , rushing through one tunnel after another , but he swore when he ran into one barrier after another . Eventually , three minutes had passed without him making any real headway , forcing him to escape once more and wait for the next pulse to pass before continuing his scan .

This cycle continued for hours , which later turned to days . There was something odd about those tunnels . It wasn't the fact that they were completely devoid of living things , or that it was wrought from a confusing mesh of a million different materials rather than the rough stone of the exterior mountain .

It wasn't even the fact that the tunnels made no sense from a geological standpoint , though it was a bit related . There was something mysterious about these paths , and Zac almost felt like he was running along the lines of an array rather than paths that were supposed to be the result of heat expansion .

Not only were paths extremely confusing and almost impossible to memorize , but it almost felt like they contained the secrets of the Dao of Creation . Sometimes he was even forced to stop as he felt a surge of inspiration coming on , but the feeling quickly passed . He was missing too much context to understand what was going on .

Thankfully , four days of ceaseless work bore some results . Zac started to gain some sort of inherent understanding , and he managed to make it deeper and deeper between each pulse . He had even managed to find two paths he believed had a good chance of leading into the volcanic core where he felt the Shard of Creation calling for him .

It wasn't only thanks to the fact he Creation-wrought tunnels started to make sense to him . He also had two rambunctious remnants locked in his mind that essentially functioned like compasses for him . They could definitely sense their sibling hidden in the heart of the Volcano , and their energies grew wilder the closer he got .

Those two tunnels he had found elicited a far greater response compared to any other pathway so far , making Zac believe they provided a direct path to the shard .

The problem was that the volcano was simply massive , and he would have to push through at least one pulse to confirm . He had already wasted one Mark of Creation on testing the viability of traversing the tunnels , and he couldn’t keep racking up the damage to his body right before absorbing the second Shard .

If he wanted to go , then he had to go all in . There was some lingering hesitation if he was doing the right thing . After all , he might expend multiple Mark of Creations only to find a dead end . If he kept doing that , he would soon enough either run out of Creation Energy or the cracks would reach an irreparable state .

But what choice did he have? His forte lay in brute force , but that was of little help against the powerful Natural Formation guarding the mouth of the volcano . So Zac grit his teeth and once more set out the moment his opportunity arose , pushing straight toward the path he felt most likely to bear fruit .

The temperatures steadily rose as the tunnel turned to a blur . He almost felt like he was passing through a fever dream . One moment the walls were made from glistening alloys , which then seamlessly turned into a convoluted crystal cave where he was hounded by thousands of his own reflections .

Dark twisted tunnels , jagged paths he barely could squeeze through , even a spot where gravity itself was suspended , forcing him to fly forward with the help of Cosmic Energy . There was no rule or reason , only unfettered creation . Zac constantly used his evolved movement skill to keep maximum pace , occasionally stepping onto the walls or ground to reset it .

Even then , there was no end in sight after rushing for over four minutes , and he could feel the incoming threat .

Two more streams of energy entered the circuits on his shoulders , and he formed a small mark of creation in his hands . Soon enough , the wave of creation came crashing through the tunnel , and Zac pushed his hands forward to intercept . Once more it was a success , and Zac threw the ball behind him , creating a huge eruption of flames this time .

He was currently passing through a submerged patch of tunnel , but not submerged by the Twilight Ocean . It was rather a hard-to-traverse swamplike water , where the liquid seemed to grip him harder the quicker he moved . The inferno incinerated the water that filled the tunnel as it rushed to fill the tunnel in two directions .

Having the ball of creation turn into a storm of flames was a bit risky , but it was easy to imagine considering he was beset with fiery energies all-around . Zac would have preferred to create nothing , but that was simply impossible from what he had learned over the past years . Creation was the opposite of Oblivion , and nothingness was the one thing that could not be brought forth .

Zac was thrown forward by the enormous force , and he barely managed to avoid getting gored by a stalagmite that had appeared out of nowhere . In fact , the whole area ahead had transformed , going from a cubic hall full of engraved disks to a chamber filled with thousands of sharp spikes .

Thankfully , Zac could still sense that the path to the Shard of Creation was intact , so he kept running forward while diverting some of his attention to dealing with the alien energies that had entered his body in the wake of the pulse . The minutes passed as Zac continued his mad dash , and he forced his way through three more pulses before he reached a massive pool of magma that felt different compared to the endless biodomes he had just passed .

At least Zac hoped that was the case , considering the bubbling pool of lava was the endpoint of the tunnel . If that pool didn't leave into the heart of the volcano , he had just wasted weeks , perhaps months . After all , he was beset by a searing pain in by now , and he didn't need a mirror to know that his upper body was covered in a dense pattern of cracks .

There was no time to lose , and Zac rushed straight toward the pond , withstanding the searing heat . It wasn’t to the point the combination of his Fragment of the Bodhi and a massive pool of Endurance was overwhelmed , but he still took out a talisman and infused some Cosmic Energy into it .

A blue film instantly covered his body , and the oppressive heat was lessened by a decent degree . He had hundreds of similar talismans neatly stacked in his ring after his visit to the volcanic trial back in the Zecia sector , but he knew that the heat was the least of his issues .

The rational part of his mind screamed that he was insane , but he still took a deep breath and jumped inside , using Cosmic Energy to burrow deeper and deeper into the magma . The heat was far greater compared to the volcano he had swum around in to get his Heart of Fire-title , but the more pressing issue was that its fire-attuned energies were infused with Creation .

It felt like he was being beset by a series of hallucinations as his surroundings kept twisting while he sunk deeper into the magma , but he knew the reality was much more dangerous than he was dealing with some simple illusion arrays . Every second , more foreign Creation energy entered his body , pushing his Void Heart] to the limit .

But his hidden node was ultimately limited , and it was also dealing with the Twilight Energy and fire-attuned energy of the volcano . Soon enough wild Creation would start accumulating in his body , and who knew what trouble that would cause . Zac hesitated a second , but he still conjured another Mark of Creation even if no pulse was incoming .

The ambient Creation was gradually being siphoned into the sphere rather than entering his body , and Zac hurried to make the most of the limited time he could keep it going . The Shard was further toward the center of the volcano , submerged a bit deeper , but Zac felt himself rapidly drawing closer now that there was no confusing pattern of tunnels keeping him at bay .

A sudden burst of light made him stop in his tracks , and he was shocked to find the lava simply ending . He threw the Mark of Creation far away before pushing his head through the final layer of magma , and he realized that the whole heart of the volcano was a massive but slow-moving whirlpool .

In the heart of the whirlpool , there was no lava , but there was something else .

The shard silently hovered in the heart of the swirl , the magma turning as the remnant did . With each turn , Zac saw a world of possibilities . In each refraction , he could sense the vastness of the cosmos . This was creation , true creation , not diminished or boxed in by his limited imagination .

Last time he hadn’t been able to properly observe the remnant because of the force fields that the Technocrats had erected around it , but he was shocked at the beauty of it , and he almost felt like he was about to be dragged into an illusion . It was nothing like the shard in his cage . Certainly , he could still vaguely see a small crystal in the center , but the true value was the boundless insight it exuded .

If it had been him in the F-grade , Zac would probably already have jumped over to grasp the treasure in a daze . However , his soul was far stronger this time around , and he was able to dispel the desire burning in his heart . Of course , he was still going to snatch it , but at least it was his decision this time around .

At least he believed it was . Or was this yet another time he had been manipulated by the System? Ultimately , Zac guessed it didn’t matter , and he made one final survey of the situation .

It was clear that the Shard of Creation wasn’t in a passive state . It was constantly drawing fiery energies from the depths below , and Twilight Energy from the mouth of the volcano . Enormous amounts of energy entered the mysterious object every second , and Zac could feel how its aura was steadily growing . It had already been over four minutes since the last burst , and Zac sensed that another one would be unleashed any moment now .

The question was , wait for the pulse to pass , or go before he had to withstand another one?

Zac ultimately chose the former , and he ignored the painful maze of golden cracks . Just one more . It was either that or risk one of those terrifying pulses erupting from within his body .

The momentum grew , and Zac could sense that even the escaped motes of creation were being dragged back into the shard , like the water level sinking just before a tsunami . Then suddenly , it felt like the universe stopped for a moment , and Zac felt his mind drift as the remnant lit up with a terrifying splendor . It was too much , and Zac desperately closed his eyes as he pushed his mark of creation forward .

His final mark accomplished its task as well , but it instantly destabilized from the massive overload of energy . Zac barely had time to swim back into the magma before a terrifying explosion rocked the whole area as a gout of flames shot toward the sky . He felt a wave of unbearable heat turning his skin to charcoal , but that was the least of Zac's worries .

The final point-blank pulse was the straw that broke the camel's back , and the two remnants that had been locked in a hate-filled embrace for four years suddenly detached from each other . The two immediately entered a pitched struggle , but Zac immediately saw that it was different from normal .

The Shard of Creation railed against the cage with even greater vigor than the Splinter of Oblivion ever did before it got company . However , the splinter actually fought against the shard rather than the cage , over and over blocking the shard’s attempts to break out .

And Zac could sense it - fear .

The Splinter of Oblivion was no longer concerned about victory or escape , it was fighting for survival . Zac's eyes lit up , feeling he had gained an unwilling ally in this task , and he shot forward before any more variables had time to crop up . There were no barriers barring his path , and he effortlessly reached the shard .

First , he took out a box wrought from treasure jade , but it started to mutate and fall apart before he even had a chance to close the lid . He had somewhat expected this to happen , but it was still a disappointment that he couldn’t store the thing . He would have to absorb it right now , and he instead grasped it with his left hand .

The crystal was cool to the touch , but Zac was still beset by terrifying agony as his arm started to rapidly mutate and take a series of grotesque shapes . Zac knew there was no stopping now though , so he pushed the small crystal straight toward his chest . A shudder spread out from his body as the crystal slipped inside without issue , the pulse pushing the swirling wall of magma over fifty meters away .

Zac had no time to worry about his surroundings though as he prepared to enter the fight of his life - it was now to eat or to be eaten .

Chapter 759 : When Fates Align

Another ripple was released by the shard , and Zac felt like a universe was growing within his body as a storm of Creation spread out from head to toe . His body was rapidly transforming from the wild impulses it emitted , and he knew that anyone watching him right now would be beyond horrified by what they saw .

He desperately hold on to his image of reality to make sure the changes didn't spiral out of control , but reality suddenly felt malleable , open to reinterpretation . Alluring whispers beckoned for him to take the chance , to transcend from his lowly form , and he felt an echo of agreement from within the cage . Wasn’t he disappointed that his human form was so inferior to his Draugr side , be it in energy circulation to storage capabilities?

Why not change it? It only required a single thought .

It was a trap . Zac could feel it even in his mudded state . The remnants only dealt in backhanded gifts , and until it had been locked down and firmly controlled , he had to be careful with his desires . But that was easier said than done . The rampaging remnants scurried back and forth with blinding speed , leaving a trail of destructive creation in its wake .

Try as he might , it seemed almost impossible to curtail its rampage . Why was it so different from the last time? Was it because the shard in the volcano had enjoyed almost unlimited access to vast quantities of energy? Back in the Technocrat vessel , he hadn’t turned into a rapidly transforming monstrosity the moment he took on the shard .

Or had he?

Back then , he had been instantly knocked unconscious before getting whisked away by a vision , and who knew how long he had stayed unconscious . This time he had managed to stay awake , for better or worse . Part of him wanted to embrace that sweet darkness to avoid the horrifying agony of having your body reformed into one wretched state after another , but he didn’t dare to give in .

There was a good chance this was something new . It didn't seem like the shard’s actions were just its natural state of creative exuberance . Rather , it felt like the shard had already sensed its sibling , and it was shooting back and forth in an attempt to locate it . Zac couldn't let the thing continue unchecked , but he didn't even have a chance to figure something out before he felt reality slow down to a crawl .

The seed was suddenly locked in place just below Zac’s neck , and his limbs were no longer undergoing wild transformations between a series of ghoulish creations . Even the enormous whirlpool of magma around him had ground to a standstill , and it seemed to Zac that the only thing that moved were his thoughts .

Unfortunately , even they were starting to become hazy as his vision closed in on him . He felt his mind being dragged far away , and he desperately tried to tether at least a remnant piece of consciousness to his body before it all went dark .

A crackling sound full of ebullience echoed out into the void , each snap exuding the primordial Dao . For untold ages the Spark of Creation] left its mark on the universe , its conceptions inching ever closer to that impossible threshold .

Worlds were born with a single breath , marvels beyond compare conjured with a thought . Its desire was the Heavens and its will the Earth . But as the spark grew more powerful , so did its hunger . Not even Creation could overcome the ancient Law of Balance , and every spark of inspiration had its price .

Worlds were born with a single breath , and stars dimmed to never shine again . The spark didn't mind . After all , change was a form of Creation as well , and it moved through the cosmos in search of more sustenance to fuel its blessings .

Hunger . Growth . Desire . The spark flashed , its tendrils stretching toward every corner of myriad planes . Creation was never over .

With a wave of his arm , the Spring Saint brought life to the desolate fields , his desire for life bending the harsh elements to his will . Of course , nothing came without a price , and his murky eyes turned to his followers whose backs were already bent over with premature age . Two years and they were already like this . He inwardly sighed as his eyes turned back to the seemingly lush grass that was springing up all around them .

Self-hatred burned in his heart , but he couldn’t stop now . He couldn’t tell his ardent supporters that it was a lie , that the bountiful gardens he wrought were a calamity waiting to happen . It was all a charade , his desire to create something greater supplanted by an older and undying will .

Soon , it would all turn to dust .

Hopefully , he and his followers would be dead before then . That way they wouldn’t have to witness the evil they had brought to their world . Even the purest intentions could be corrupted , even the most benevolent of deeds could be harmful . Life without soul was just corruption , and the world he had created was hollow .

The whispers had grown so loud , to the point that they almost drowned out the calls of the wild . Regret gnawed at her as she kept running , desperately trying to create some distance from the site of her outburst . A whole settlement turned to a monument of her folly , her people turned to sacrificial offerings to that insatiable desire .

It was never enough . It always wanted more . More energy , more impressions , more yearning . It could never be satiated , that ancient madness that had permeated her very being . Silence was oppression , stillness was death .

She was so hungry . She had denied herself for fifty years , wanting nothing , doing nothing , wasting her potential and future in an effort to stem the inevitable . Even then , the clamors had grown louder , and her attempts to impose order now seemed so laughable . Four quick jumps took her to the top of the mountain , far from any settlements or reflection pools .

The moons were so beautiful today .

She had been renamed after Sarda’Lavain , the Shepherd , the moment her talent was discovered . The council had hoped she would be a shepherd , keeping the flock safe from the darkness of the Ymrid Expanse . The moons had looked just like they did now during the ceremony .

Tears streamed down her cheeks , and she finally let herself remember . The whole mountain rumbled as one statue after another appeared , memories given form in one final salute . Ten , fifty , a thousand scenes appeared , wrought with loving detail in stone and wood . They were alive in a sense , as they lived in her desire .

Nature screamed with pain as the Sarda'Lavain led her flock into the one place the curse couldn't follow - nothingness .

Zac's soul was taken on a journey through one horrid fate after another as the world stood still around him . Not one of the visions was a scene of triumph . They all depicted the inevitable doom waiting at the end of absorbing a Shard of Creation , to the point that Zac felt something was amiss . Did the new shard in his body sense that he had already locked away its siblings , and was now trying to wear down his confidence?

If so , it would take more than this . He was just a child in multiverse terms , but his will wouldn’t be broken by something like this . He had goals that keep him on the path . He would get there even if he had to extinguish that ancient will that had tainted Creation itself .

And even if he didn't believe in himself , he believed in the System and its greed for more chaos patterns . This wasn't the place where he would fall . He simply let the scenes wash over him , each one of them a lesson to engrave in his heart .

But suddenly , the scenes stopped , like they had two times before . His consciousness once found itself on that lofty mountain , staring at the being sitting on the peak as the sky danced in a thousand colors , each ray containing a facet of truth that far surpassed anything Zac knew .

Oh? - the Aetherlord said as he opened his eyes , his word rife with the Dao . - You again? -

The last time Zac had been sent to this mountain top he had been in the F-grade and still clueless about a lot of things . He had been a frog in the bottom of a well so to speak , but years of hardship and experiences had greatly broadened his horizons . Only now could he fully appreciate what kind of monster appeared before him .

The cosmos itself bent to his will as Creation had taken physical form by his aura . It danced across the horizon , for as long as his eyes could see in every direction . This was not a Dao Field or condensed intent , this was pure Dao fit to be considered Heavenly Law . This man was simply too powerful , even more so than his Technocrat mother .

His presence put pressure on Zac's very existence , like his soul couldn’t fathom that something so grand could be crammed into a single body . Then again , it was perhaps not only his perception that was different this time compared to last . Zac felt more tangible this time , more than just a wisp of consciousness .

Just a blink of an eye has passed yet you have once more drunk from the poisonous waters of false Creation . I warned you when we parted ways , that the hunger for the boundless will leave you a withered husk , - he said with disdain . - Yet you once more run the errands of the Villainous Heavens . -

Aren’t you the same? - Zac muttered , and he immediately regretted it .

Or perhaps the Aetherlord hadn't heard him? It was hard to tell in Zac's current form , whether his words were real or just stray thoughts . However , the sneer on the Aetherlord's face quickly gave him an answer , and Zac immediately tried to leave . This man was terrifyingly powerful , but he was a bit of a bastard judging by their last encounter , and who knew what he would do this time .

He only needed to speak with Be'Zi anyway , and seeing this guy was proof enough that the plan was feasible . The world shuddered as Zac tried to drag himself back through his spiritual anchor , but it suddenly stabilized as the connection was cut .

Don't be so hasty to leave , human , - the Aetherlord said . - And don't get your facts mixed up . It is not the shards that bring us together , it is the Cursed Heavens . I took no shortcut to reach my current height , unlike you who invited that madness into your heart . -

Zac was shocked to hear that the Aetherlord hadn’t actually meddled with the Shards of Creation . Zac had always considered him and Be’Zi as some sort of safety net . Those two had made it to the middle or later stages of Autarchy with these things in their bodies , which should be more than enough to achieve his own goals of finding and saving Kenzie .

But now it turned out it was all a lie? They had simply cultivated Oblivion and Creation without the interference with the shards?

Well , it looks like you handled the first one surprisingly well , - the Aetherlord continued with a ruminating look . - I can barely sense its mark on you . The System stepped in when I would not? Interesting . You might be able to amuse us a while longer . -

Could you tell me how to fuse the shards? - Zac ventured , seeing as the Aetherlord seemed to be in a good mood .

You still bear the stench of the Cursed Heavens , even more now than last time . Not destroying you is already testing the limits of my patience , - the Aetherlord said . - However , there is a saying . One is an eternal curse , two is a calamity . Five is . . . Heh , well perhaps you will find out? In fact , how about a wager? -

Zac didn’t immediately answer , afraid he’d be caught in a similar scheme like with the Eveningtide Asura . However , it didn’t look like the Aetherlord Autarch planned on doling out a quest . Zac suddenly realized it might not be possible , seeing as how this man seemed to have completely broken from the System .

Arrive in front of me with five shards within 100 years , in person or a vision like this , and I will impart you with a Creation of my own , - he said with a small smile . - It will be immensely beneficial for your path . -

What if I fail? - Zac hesitated . - And what did you mean by calamity? -

If you fail , then you will simply be another one who failed to satiate the boundless greed of the Villainous Heavens . Make no mistake . Now that you've set out on this path , there is no return , - he said as his smile widened . - As for what calamity means , you will find out soon enough . Now , off you go . -

Alvod's eyes shot open and he looked at the Twilight Tapestry with anticipation . It fluctuated precariously for a few seconds as a foreign intrusion made its presence known . However , the unwelcome visitor was soon gone , and the Tapestry returned to normal , even stronger than before .

That brat actually followed through , - Alvod smiled as he rose into the air from his prayer mat .

As expected , that little Draugr hadn't taken his mission to heart , only making a symbolic effort before setting off to look for his own fortunes .

Was his reputation really so bad that someone would distrust him eons after his attack on the entrenched powers? Alvod didn't really care that the world didn't know the truth of the matters back then . He had followed his heart to right a wrong , not just for himself , but for Zecia's very future . But his infamy did make his life a bit harder .

And now , this Arcaz Black had taken one of those cursed objects , the remnant from the Spark by the looks of it . Who knew what kind of trouble the brat would create with that thing kicking around in his body . Being able to impact one's surroundings with such meager strength was a talent worth admiration .

Alvod still remembered how one of the purifiers had washed up on his shores along with the scorched remains of the distillation array powering it . He hadn't believed his eyes when he saw how his tapestry had been tampered with in an attempt to force a system of Life , Death , and War .

You think my path a lie , a defeat? - Alvod snorted as his gaze turned to another spot on the tapestry a few hundred meters away . - Foolish . There are as many paths to the peak as there are stars to the sky . Just because they have been hidden , doesn't mean they're inferior . -

Space bent and he soon hovered in front of the spot he had marked before . Even now , Alvod hesitated a bit , but he soon steeled his resolve . He knew that he would encounter all kinds of roadblocks on the road to Autarchy . As long as he could follow his heart , he could live and die without regret . And his heart told him this needed to be done . Otherwise , it would be like having a fly buzzing around in the back of his head .

You want to abscond with the treasures while everyone else suffers? The Council , the undead factions , even the Havarok bastards . They risk everything for the advancement of their path . You think yourself above it? - Alvod muttered as a ten-thousand-meter tall wave materialized behind his back . - You think yourself safe after the System's warnings? Naive . -

The wave crashed forward , powered by the weight of a supreme world on the precipice of forming its Dao . The tapestry flickered as an ancient will pushed back , but it was too weak . The crashing eveningtide turned into nine streams of monstrous power , and the tapestry was forced to give way .

Alvod pushed his hand inside , ignoring the deep clap of thunder above . Searing pain assaulted him , but he crushed the resistance and paved a path .

Go now , child , - Alvod muttered with a distorted voice as the pathway shrunk . - Hurry . -

Alvod's pained grimace turned into a smile when he sensed his command being heeded . He sunk back toward his prayer mats as his singed hand gradually was healed by a couple of nurturing streams .

And thus our fates align , - Alvod grinned as his gaze turned back to the original spot . - There is no escaping what's to come . Let's see how you enjoy riding this tiger . -

Chapter 760 : Golden Canopy

The towering mountain and the mindbending sky of pure Dao shattered , and it was like someone had started up time again as Zac found himself back in his body . He felt like days had passed as he had been taken through one vision after another , while in reality , it had only taken an instant . The swirling whirlpool of magma once more started spinning , but Zac saw that it was starting to collapse now that there was no shard to maintain balance .

However , Zac didn't have time to worry about something like that as a tremendous force built up inside his body , a storm of creation . Not only did it forcibly pull in shocking amounts of energy from the surroundings , but it robbed Zac as well . Mental energy , Cosmic Energy , even his life force went into the mix , joining the madness the Shard of Creation was concocting .

The absorption of the shard was quickly getting out of hand , but Zac did have one advantage this time around that he lacked the last time . First of all , he was almost a whole grade stronger compared to when he fled through the technocrat vessel . But more importantly , he now had a properly awakened bloodline to help out .

His pores had once more turned into small vortices that siphoned off some of the endless energy radiating from the Shard of Creation . Void Heart] was hard at work as well , swallowing a decent chunk with every bite . And it quickly became evident that the more Creation Energy his body drew away , the less energy and life-force did the storm draw from its surroundings .

Purity of the Void] helped as well , though it didn’t actually expel the Creation Energy , but rather stripped some of the shard’s latent will from it . Some even entered his Soul Aperture , some getting swallowed by Spiritual Void] , and some getting infused into the golden ocean . The very system that helped him deal with the Twilight Energy had come through and protected him once again .

But most surprising was a new addition , an unusually powerful vortex that had appeared almost right where the Shard of Creation had been frozen while he was shown the vision - at the top of his sternum , just below his neck . Its suction was not as powerful as Void Heart] , but exponentially greater than the small passive draw from his cells .

However , Zac couldn't see where it went . It just disappeared , like it was drawn to another dimension . There was one very exciting possibility for this , but there was no way he had time to investigate the situation . Not even his Void Emperor-bloodline could contain the vast energies that the rampaging shard exuded . It needed release , and Zac desperately struggled to expel it from his body before he burst at the seams .

A thousand streams that fluctuated between opalescence and gold shot out in every direction , each one of them filled with the majestic force of Creation and Zac's very essence . Anything they touched , changed . Most notably , the ocean of magma in the supersized volcanic chamber immediately started to undergo tumultuous changes , and thousand chaotic scenes played out at once .

And in the middle of it , Zac found himself a conduit of energies he couldn't understand or control . Why was this so different? Pain muddled Zac's thoughts , but he struggled to stay sane as he tried to figure out a solution . But the voices were so loud , almost drowning out his thoughts . It was just a deep buzz in the depths of his brain , but it was rife with meaning .

It was a constant flood of suggestions , thousands of them crashing into his mind every second . Form wings and fly out of here . Create a tunnel of unmeltable steel and walk out . Turn fire to ice . Become an elemental and embrace the heat . The whispers were endless and without reprieve , to the point that Zac started to lose sight of what was him and what was the shard .

He had thought it would be different with his first set of remnants being behind lock and key , but the calamity the Aetherlord mentioned had come just the same . Was this the reason for the fall of the Eastern Trigram Sect? One was an eternal curse , two was a calamity where the user became a walking disaster .

Zac despaired as he felt a second wave of unfettered creation coming on again . What was the use of his bloodline improving or a new Hidden Node being born , if he wasn't alive to enjoy it? But he suddenly remembered his talk with the Autarch . He had talked like the effect of collecting five shards was something well-known , meaning that two was just a threshold .

A bottleneck that needed to be conquered , no different from the other difficulties he had managed to conquer thus far . Others had passed this step before him , so why couldn't he?

Magma beneath his feet turned into a stable plateau of stone , but Zac didn't move away even as magma fell toward him like crashing tidal waves . He needed to somehow force the shard until submission and pass the calamity before he could worry about anything else . Even rapidly transforming lava that had submerged him had to take a backseat .

With his Endurance , Vitality , and Gear , he would survive at least half an hour like this , but the same couldn't be said about the remnant . His body was already overflowing with energy again , and Zac knew that he couldn’t simply make it disappear . The wheels had already been set in motion , and a price needed to be paid .

But did it really have to be his own life force? Zac was reluctant , but he still took out a small box containing what looked like a milky-white diamond , the third of the five supreme items he had picked up at the depths of the Chasm . Inside , an almost heaven-defying energy was trapped – longevity . This thing was just like the Longevity Pearls he found back in the Tower of Eternity , but it was on another level completely .

This thing was enough to create over ten peak-quality longevity pills according to Catheya , far more external life-force than anyone could absorb on their own . After all , these kinds of treasures were all limited , just like Attribute Fruits . Some cultivators could take in more longevity than others , but it would normally not surpass 10-20% of your original lifespan .

For Zac , whose current lifespan was around 5 , 000 years , it meant a couple of centuries . Unfortunately , it wasn’t enough , going by the rate the shard was going . But as long as he could continuously draw the energy from the gemstone and use it to power the forced creation rather than supplant his own life , he would hopefully not emerge from this as an old man .

The energy kept building , but Zac breathed out in relief when feeling a warm stream of what best could be described as time entering the fleshy blob his arm had turned into . It worked . Instead of losing decades of his lifespan , he had only lost a couple of months , with the rest coming from the longevity treasure . It was a shame using one of his five supreme treasures like this , but it was far preferable to dying .

But dealing with the cost of the shard's outbursts was just the first step . Zac immediately cursed when a deep rumble spread through the area as if prompted by his wayward thoughts . Something was brewing , and it wasn’t hard to guess what considering he stood in the heart of a volcano .

The magma around him suddenly transformed from molten rock to water , which in turn was instantly vaporized by the searing heat . It resulted in a tremendous eruption , where magma and Zac were both pushed away to make room for the heat expansion . Zac groaned as he felt a few bones snap , but they instantly fused back together thanks to another thought .

He had to stay calm . An errant wish for the hard-to-traverse magma to be more like water had almost knocked him unconscious . Getting out that way was certainly possible , but Zac refused to lean on the shard unless he absolutely had to . He had seen the result of indulging desire over and over in the visions .

It was a poison , like the Cosmic Water that seemingly quenched your thirst while burning out your pathways . He needed to seal the remnant somehow , but there was simply no time . In fact , Zac realized there wasn’t time for anything at all as he sensed a terrifying force build beneath him .

This wasn’t something like the attack of a Hegemon , this was the fury of nature itself . There was no time to push through the sea of lava and run through the endless tunnels . His mind frantically spun , and he reluctantly infused his will into the third burgeoning pulse building inside him . A wave of opalescent gold shot out , and the whole area around him turned into a 50-meter diamond with him securely ensconced in a small chamber in its heart .

Zac's arm turned into a blur as he threw out array after array , talisman after talisman , heedless of the cost to enhance his lifeline . It was just in time as well as an apocalyptic explosion erupted beneath his feet , and an unbearable kinetic force pushed him down on his knees as he , along with millions of tonnes of magma , shot toward the sky . A deafening bang caught up with him a moment later , just as a shocking wall of heat passed straight through his diamond and breaking his arrays , setting his whole world on fire .

The stench of seared flesh assaulted his nose , but it only lasted for a moment before his body reformed again . The one good thing about this process was that his body was nigh-indestructible , though the same couldn't be said of his other creations . The diamond , famed for its hardness , couldn't withstand the volcanic eruption and cracks rapidly spread through it until it shattered into a million pieces .

Luckily , it had absorbed most of the initial force from getting shot up thousands of meters in the air , and Zac suddenly felt a sense of weightlessness . A dozen eyes appeared on his body as he looked around , and he was met with the scene of an endless ocean stretching in every direction . Above him , an impossibly large plume of ash from the eruption , and an unfathomable amount of lava cascading down toward the ocean below him .

Zac knew he had been flung thousands of meters into the air . Falling from this height would normally not be that much of an issue , especially now that he could use his movement skill in the air . The more troubling issue was the hundreds of thousands of boulders , each one of them teeming with fire-attuned energies , that had been dragged from the depths of the earth . If just one of them smashed into him , even he would get wounded .

But the more pressing energy was once more the shard . Another eruption was brewing . This one was far worse than anything the shard had released so far , and Zac prayed it would be its final gambit in imposing its will on him . A storm of life-forced was drawn out from the gemstone as the voices in his mind reached a crescendo .

A hundred-meter-wide whirlpool instantly formed around him , and the red-hot magma inside the storm instantly turned into cold , cracked stone as all energy was siphoned off . Zac did what he could , but it was too much . He released a roar coming from the very depths of his soul , containing the full force of his mental energy and his conviction .

A huge shockwave pushed the closest lava and boulders away as it dispersed the hurricane that had formed around him , but it was nothing compared to what came next .

It looked like a sun had been born in the middle of the chaos , a radiant sphere of gold over five hundred meters across . For a moment , it seemed like it was kept afloat by the enormous gout of lava , but the scene only lasted for a second before it started to change , the gold spreading in every direction like a mushroom cloud .

Zac could sense it all through his connection with the cloud as he plunged toward the surface , propelled forward by both the outburst and his Cosmic Energy . The shard was exhausted for the moment , and Zac took the opportunity to form a sturdy shield of Mental Energy around it . It still exuded creation energy as it struggled to break free , but it was nowhere near as bad as before .

The final explosion had weakened it enough to provide Zac a reprieve and focus on survival . He had become yet another falling meteor , jointing the tens of thousands of the others around him . The sound was deafening , with thousands of birds screeching in pain as their bones broke and their feathers burned , and the falling projectiles created sharp whistling sounds that felt like daggers in Zac's brain .

As bad as it was , it was still nothing compared to what was going on above him , at the epicenter of the final outburst . The golden cloud had spread out and fused the ash , and a storm of Creation had erupted within , fueled by the still-ejecting lava . Thousands of sounds wrought from god-knows-what kind of creations had turned into a deafening cacophony .

As Zac plummeted toward the relative safety of the ocean , occasionally using falling boulders to reset Earthstrider] , he looked back at the chaos he had caused . And while the sound was enough to turn a man deaf , the scene was simply breathtaking . Zac’s eyes widened as he froze in place , even forgetting to breathe .

It was a tree . A tree of Creation .

The thousand-meter pillar of lava created a red-hot trunk , and the golden cloud and ash had turned into an enormous crown . Within the crown , Creation ran rampant , where every branch held a thousand possibilities . No matter where you looked , there was something new , and it almost looked like it was decorated with magical Christmas lights as new colors joined the gold before being changed into something else .

Zac woke up from the stupor after a few seconds and started to flee further away again , but he felt that scene would stay with him for a long time . That - tree’ he had accidentally formed almost felt as impactful as the grandeur of the Lifebringer Tree he had seen in his Dao Vision so long ago . In a sense , this magical apparition behind him was more of a Tree of Life , holding not only the key to life itself , but to all creation .

Unfortunately , Zac's lapse in concentration had given the shard the opportunity it needed to escape , and it broke apart the chains that bound it with a burst of energy . However , it didn't start charging another burst . Instead , it started undulating at a weird frequency , and Zac's heart beat an extra time when he felt a matching vibration coming from the cage in his mind .

He tried to trap the shard again , but the remnant burned through the barriers even the action made it dim even further . The shard pushed straight into his Soul Aperture before Zac had a chance to reform his cage , completely ignoring the defenses of Soul Guardian] . The shard seemed exhausted , but it was still was like a second sun had entered the area , and the golden ocean especially practically frothed as it was drenched in Creation .

Zac got a bad feeling seeing the shard’s course of action , and his fears were immediately realized as it slammed into a seemingly empty spot in his aperture . Of course , it wasn’t simply a random spot , but rather the hidden gate connecting Zac’s Soul Aperture with the cage holding the other two remnants . The trapped shard frantically struggled in turn , while the Splinter was fighting for its life to prevent itself from getting overrun .

Another slam rocked his Soul Aperture , and Zac felt that the tunnel would be forced open soon enough if he let things proceed .

But the shard had entered his soul , and that was Zac's turf . It looked like a shimmering haze rose from the glistening core in his soul as he released way more Mental Energy than most Peak E-grade cultivators could muster at the threat of death . It turned into a new cage around the shard , this one so dense that it almost looked corporeal .

The shard fought hard to break out and resume its siege of the prison , but it was to no avail . Cracks formed on Zac's makeshift prison , but they were quickly healed as he kept instilling more and more energy into it . After half a minute the shard stopped , and Zac was filled with a surge of victory as he landed on the ocean surface .

This was why he had worked so hard for close to five years , never forgetting to cultivate his soul . The Shard was sealed by his mind , and he had plenty of energy to keep it going until he found a permanent solution . He turned back and took one last look at the scene he had created before he dove into the ocean .

A golden canopy shimmering with a million lights , a trunk created with the heart of a world , and ten thousand red meteors falling like leaves in autumn .

Chapter 761 : Eruptions

Zac dove into the Twilight Ocean and the scenery above was immediately replaced by a subaquatic hellscape . He had already been somewhat prepared considering the spectacle he had caused , but the pandemonium that met him was even beyond what he expected .

The whole ocean was a bubbling cauldron as tens of thousands of superheated boulders dropped into the waters from above . The falling debris was filled with fiery energy , and the rapid cooling by the ocean caused them to crack one by one , causing cataclysmic explosions that spread in deadly chain reactions .

Meanwhile , gouts of lava shot out from the hundreds of cracks in the volcano itself , turning into giant spears that decimated anything in their path . Zac could only keep going , desperately avoiding the mayhem best as he could . Even then , he was constantly wounded by flying shrapnel or boulders slamming into the waters from above .

If not for the abundant creation energy coursing through his body , he would be covered in wounds after just a minute .

Zac really missed Profane Exponents] at this moment , his three loyal followers whose defensive properties were leagues beyond Innate Ward] which he had gotten from his Dao Repository . He really needed to find a way to upgrade Hatchetman’s Spirit] soon , and it seemed like focusing on its defensive capabilities would be the smartest course of action .

The visibility was all but null from the soot and the fact that the ocean was boiling , so Zac was shocked to suddenly find himself in front of a squad of almost 20 undead warriors who had formed a protective circle . Most of them were Revenants , with five of them being Corpselords . It looked like they had decided to investigate the area but had gotten caught up by the chaos .

They had sacrificed speed to maintain a defensive shield as they moved further away from the volcano . Zac wanted nothing to do with them , but the opportunity to slip away had already passed since he almost entered their formation by accident , placing him just a few meters away from the undead warriors .

You! What happened here? We hear- - one of the Revenants exclaimed , but his eyes widened after a second . - That bounty! Arcaz Black! -

He’s human?! - one of the Corpselords blurted , and the whole group stared in confusion , seemingly even forgetting the chaos that raged around them .

The confusion only lasted a moment though , with some of them charging attacks while others turned to run for their lives , not wanting to test their mettle against the first-place holder on the ladder . But they were too slow . An enormous wooden hand appeared through the boiling waters , the axe in its hand axe slamming down in their midst . Its edge radiated a blinding sharpness , but there was something different about Arcadia's Judgement] this time .

Thick golden veins covered the wooden hand , adding a second set of inscriptions on top of those that seemingly naturally formed in the bark . The golden tendrils didn’t stop at the hands either , but they covered the enormous axe as well , imbuing it with a unique power – the power of Creation .

Zac was normally unable to infuse his skills with the energy from his remnants , except for his newly created Pillar of Desolation] , but this time it had happened without him even trying . Perhaps it was unavoidable , with his Soul Aperture being filled with Creation Energy .

Adding the Branch of the Axe would probably have been enough to deal with this group of bog-common trial-takers , and more than ten streams of energy entered Zac as their bodies were turned to shreds from the initial swing . A few had almost managed to activate escape talismans by that point , but the second stage of the skill would soon take care of them .

Or that was what would normally happen .

Instead , a dense maze of golden scars shot out from the axe and covered the area , passing right through everything from boulders to corpses , and through the unlucky few who had survived the initial swing . Zac grimaced as he knew what would happen next , and a group of pained wails echoed out as the cultivators started to suffer horrifying transformations .

A few turned into grotesque clumps of uncoordinated flesh , others turned into base materials . Creation had entered their bodies , and there was no turning back for them . A series of fractal leaves flashed through the crowd as Zac ended the lives of the rest of the members , as much to ease their suffering as to protect his secrets .

Still , Zac wasn’t very happy , either with being forced to slaughter a bunch of people or upon learning that there were cultivators in the area . He immediately swam away , afraid that the commotion would attract more people . As he fled , he looked inward to get a better understanding of the situation .

As expected , some Creation Energy had slipped through his Mental Energy cage when activating Arcadia's Judgement] . He had tried to maintain a solid barrier around the still-hostile shard , but his ability to focus on multiple things at once was still just awful . His control had been loosened a bit when infusing his Dao into the attack , and a stream of Creation Energy had slipped through the cracks even if the shard was still held in place .

Some of it entered his skill , while some entered the golden ocean in his mind . However , most of it escaped his Soul Aperture , much to the delight of the various vortices in his body . It was a bit of a pain in the ass , but Zac believed it was unavoidable . He could see how the shard was already recuperating .

The two other remnants were able to conjure energy out of nowhere while locked away by both the System and Be’Zi , so it was no surprise that his newly-acquired remnant could do the same . He would probably have to occasionally release the valves , so to speak , and expel some energy . Otherwise , his Soul Aperture was bound to blow up .

Luckily , the initial eruptions had only exhausted half of the life force locked inside the gemstone , meaning he wouldn’t have to waste his own lifespan in the short run . Furthermore , he would only have to do this for a few months until he got his hands on the splinter . At that point , he would drain both remnants with a Glimpse of Chaos , and then shove them into the cage to join their siblings if all went according to plan .

Zac kept going for another fifteen minutes , utilizing Earthstrider] to put more distance between himself and the volcano . Thankfully , it didn't seem his skills would get infected with creation unless he tried infusing it with his Dao , allowing him to use the movement skill without worry . Soon enough he had left the direct danger zone of the volcano , and he immediately took out his submersible .

The large spiraled shell appeared next to him , and he quickly jumped into it and sped off before anyone else could spot him and his human form . He hadn't encountered anyone after that group of unlucky explorers , but the area was bound to be swarming with people soon enough . A lot of trial takers were gathering in the vicinity to the City of Ancients , but even more cherished their lives and stayed far away .

These people instead put their efforts into collecting the various herbs and treasures strewn across the ocean , and they might come this way to investigate . Zac's ears were still ringing from the eruption , and it could probably both be felt and heard across huge distances . A mortal might try to get as far away from an active volcano as possible , but cultivators were the opposite .

Who knew what kind of valuable metals and other treasures would be dragged from the depths when a volcano this massive erupted? Zac wouldn't be surprised if those explosive stones that had fallen into the ocean contained all kinds of nice things . Of course , it wasn't enough to pique Zac's interest . Instead , he immediately set course for the ravine marked on his Ocean Chart] .

The vessel was essentially put on autopilot , with Zac splitting his attention between monitoring the shard and keeping watch for an ambush . After some consideration , Zac decided to stay in his human form for the time being . He would probably have to use his Draugr form to enter the ravine if that place was anything like the volcano , but for now , it felt like an unnecessary risk to rock the boat by entering a weakened state .

Seeing that the situation had calmed down , he opened the ladder with some curiosity . He had only gained 30 , 000 contribution points for destroying that mysterious valley back in the Twilight Chasm , a pittance compared to what he thought he should have gained . That place held so many insights into Twilight , but he still only got what looked like a bounty by the System .

This time around , the result was thankfully a lot better .

Arcaz Black – Contribution : 1 , 754 , 274 Rank : 1 . Value : 175 , 000 (Bounty)]

He had gained over 180 , 000 Contribution Points in one go , once more pushing past Uona to reclaim the first position . The vampire had passed him just one month ago , after steadily collecting Contribution Points while he was in secluded cultivation or traveling the vast distances of the ocean .

Ykrodas had been closing on him as well , though he had still lacked around 100 , 000 points . But now , Zac had claimed the crown once more . Honestly , he wasn't too excited about it . The boost was too small to matter in the long run . That Eternal Clan scion seemed a bit haughty , and he was afraid that him passing her on the ladder would make Uona redouble her efforts at capturing him .

Hopefully , it wouldn't result in Catheya getting in trouble again while she scouted ahead for him around the ravine and the City of Ancients .

Still , Zac was a bit confused . The energy eruption he had unleashed this time around was at least ten times that compared to when he felled the mothertree back on Cork Island . Not only that , but he had released massive quantities of Creation into the trial , and Creation should hold a lot of insights into Twilight .

So , 180 , 000 points felt a bit stingy , even if it was a huge chunk all things considered .

His best guess was that he hadn't gained a single point from the shard itself , and the reward rather came from the volcano and all that its eruption destroyed . Zac had known that was a possibility going in , considering that the remnants weren't part of the trial . They had found their way into this Mystic Realm some way , but they weren't actually related to Twilight .

They were on a different path altogether judging by what he had seen in the valley . In the Twilight Tapestry , Life was not Life , and Death was not Death . These two concepts had been fused into some other path , moving away from the peak leading toward the Daos of Oblivion and Creation .

Zac might have deduced a logical reason , but he was still quite disappointed with the result . Getting the first position in a trial like this would probably result in an amazing title , and perhaps even Title Permanence . But the remnants had been his last hope to cinch the position . There was no way he would stick around to the end of the trial , meaning his Contribution Points would get halved upon leaving .

For him to maintain the lead , he would have needed to get a crazy amount of Contribution Points from snatching the two remnants . That way he would have been able to maintain the lead even after getting points deducted . Now , he would be lucky if he could maintain a top-ten position by the time the trial ended .

There was one silver lining though . That magnificent scene of creation and destruction might not have contributed much to the Path of Twilight , but it did feel relevant to his own cultivation . He still hadn't pieced together exactly how , but Zac felt his experience would be useful for his Fragment of the Bodhi .

He was still far from forming a branch the normal way , but he still felt there were some clues hidden in the vision of the volcano tree . He just needed to ponder on it for a while to figure out exactly what inspiration to draw from the experience . Unfortunately , a certain stowaway in his mind refused to give him the peace and quiet to ponder on the Dao .

The remnant was relentless , like a trapped beast that refused to give in .

The weird humming whispers were a constant annoyance in the back of Zac's mind as the days passed , and the shard kept exuding energy without stopping . Mostly , it was manageable , with Zac slightly opening the cage now and then to absorb the energy . His body was thankfully insatiable , never saying no to more of the high-grade energy .

That was another reason he didn't want to swap to his Draugr form prematurely . The odd node just below his throat was still absorbing energy , and Zac was afraid to do anything that might interrupt the process . There was still no information in his bloodline screen , and he couldn't tell if this node was connected to his Void Emperor bloodline , or if it was something that was actually being created by the shard .

With so little information impossible , he preferred to maintain the status quo .

Meanwhile , the struggle inside the cage abated after a couple of days . The Splinter of Oblivion had essentially taken up a position as a goalie in front of the crack where energy was being siphoned out . However , Zac could feel that the two were just as hostile as before . They were just waiting for an opportunity to turn the tables on the other .

His body was mostly in a good state thanks to the Creation energy healing him every time he got hurt during the mad escape . He did however feel a bit hollow , for a lack of a better word . It was most likely due to the constant transformations his body was put through . It couldn't possibly be good for you to be turned into a hundred different miscreations in a short span .

Meanwhile , there was also the issue of the numerous golden cracks between his head and shoulders . They had faded after a few days , but he could feel them more than ever before . It didn't seem like they were healing at all , with the constant waves of Creation being released by the shard . The situation wasn't ideal , but he did have some surprising gains from the ordeal .

Putting aside the matters of the new Hidden Node and his Contribution Points , he had also pushed Force of the Void] another 4% . Not only that , but Zac actually felt like his bloodline had benefitted in general . His Hidden Nodes had all gobbled up some of the energy , and it seemed like they kept some for themselves .

And more energy kept pouring into his bloodline as time passed . However , his silent cultivation was suddenly interrupted as the two Shards of Creation suddenly went haywire at the same time . The one trapped inside the fractal prison unleashed a ferocious offense at the splinter while the one in his Soul Aperture started to rail against the Mental Energy cage as it spewed massive amounts of energy .

The constant droning in the back of his head had once more turned into a deafening chorus of insidious suggestions , and he felt his mind overcome by endless possibilities . Zac barely had time to jump out of his vessel before he erupted , causing a wave of chaotic creation to rip through the area .

Thousands of pillars wrought from everything between granite and gold were conjured out of nowhere , and they shot out in every direction like a cluster bomb . Only then did the chaotic voices subside , but not before the newly-acquired shard had managed to break out of its cage and slam into the pathway to the prison once more .

Zac hurriedly captured the remnant once more before he jumped into his submersible and sped off . The situation returned to normal soon enough , except for the murmurs that had grown a bit louder compared to before . He couldn't figure out what led to the outburst even after observing for a few days . It was like the two shards were linked , and suddenly decided to launch an ambush at him .

Yet , Zac soon came to find that it wasn't a one-off thing . Another eruption occurred just four days later , though Zac was better prepared this time . Then came a third , and a fourth as the shards refused to settle down .

It caused a massive commotion every time , but there wasn't anything Zac could do about it except make sure he traveled the more desolate parts of the ocean . The whispering murmurs kept growing louder as well , and Zac could almost feel a frustration building within the shards after a month had passed .

Zac forced the remnants down over and over , using his massive stores of Mental Energy to his advantage . If he hadn't started cultivating his soul when he did , he might have been in trouble from the whispers . But thanks to his hard work , it was now more of a constant annoyance than something that affected his mind . He doubted he would go on a rampage like a splinter had tricked him into , at least not in the short run .

Eventually , the journey reached its end . He was just a few days away from the ravine , and he had slowed down the submersible to a crawl by that point . Finally , he stopped altogether and stowed away the vessel with a frown . The surroundings looked exactly like Catheya had described , but that wasn't the point .

He was supposed to have made contact with Catheya two days ago , but his communication crystal was still unable to form a connection . Not only that , but the tracker was inert as well . Zac took out a blue talisman , and he swore when it turned black after infusing some Cosmic Energy into it .

The whole area was jammed .

Chapter 762 : Changes in the Ravine

Zac looked down at the pitch-black talisman with a frown for a few seconds before he steered the submersible in another direction . The fact that someone had placed jammers in this area was extremely suspicious , and there was a high chance that it was related to him . Why else would someone bother with a place like the ravine? According to Catheya’s missive , bursts of utter destruction made the area impassable .

Not being able to communicate with the others was a problem , but luckily not one without a solution . Zac continued sailing for another two hours before he stopped at a secluded spot hidden by enormous stalks of seaweed , each one of them as large as a skyscraper . He donned a cloak to hide his appearance before stowed away the vessel .

For the next hour , Zac swam back and forth in the area , observing one leaf after another until he found one that had a small freeze-burn close to the root . He immediately swam down and started digging until he found a Cosmos Sack hidden within the soil .

This was one of the contingencies he had set up with Catheya during their last meeting . They both figured the area around the ravine could be dangerous , with Uona already having been spotted here once before . So they decided on a couple of drop-off locations for Catheya to leave a communication crystal in case she had to leave the area .

They hadn’t expected the place to get locked down by jammers , but their preparation luckily worked for this situation as well . More importantly , the fact that Catheya had managed to leave the Cosmos Sack here meant that she had left voluntarily , rather than something had happened to her .

The Cosmos Sack only contained two things ; an Ocean Chart] and a communication crystal . Zac threw out a few arrays to hide his presence before he took out the communication crystal and infused it with some energy . A recording of Catheya immediately started playing , and Zac listened on with rapt attention .

Two months ago , something happened in this area . We sensed a terrifying presence in the distance , right at the location of the ravine . It felt like a Monarch had descended , someone even stronger than my master . Shortly after we sensed the aura , the Heavens moved to intercept , and the presence disappeared after just a few seconds .

An hour later , we spotted hints of Uona’s blood river heading in the direction of the City of Ancients . She came from the direction of the ravine , and the powerful aura was most likely related to her . I believe she somehow had her ancestor break into the Mystic Realm and assist her .

A few minutes later , a terrifying explosion reached us from somewhere far in the distance… in the direction of the volcano . Knowing you , something shocking has probably taken place over there . We observed the ravine for another three weeks , but the place seems abandoned . It is still impassable for me , but it seems the danger is gradually declining .

Varo managed to discover the origin of the jamming arrays , but we decided to leave them as to not alert anyone about our presence . By the time you’re reading this , we have moved toward the City of Ancients to search for more information . My intuition tells me you’ll be coming our way soon . -

The message ended there , and Zac took a deep breath to calm down after the communication crystal stopped playing . He infused some mental energy into the Ocean Chart] Catheya had left behind , and it only added three spots , the jammers that had been buried to prevent communication .

Zac put away the Cosmos Sack before he turned in the direction of the ravine . He didn’t want to believe it to be true , but his instincts told him that Catheya’s intuition was right on the money . For some reason , Uona had stolen the splinter with the help of her ancestor . Perhaps it simply was to mess with him , or perhaps she needed it for something else .

He had to check out the ravine to make sure , but he couldn’t set off immediately . Something was definitely up , and he didn’t want to meet whatever challenges lay ahead in his human form . Besides , he would have to change to his Draugr form to pick up the Splinter in either case .

The problem was that changing his race was a risk both to the Hidden Node still growing in his chest . Furthermore , who knew how the Shard of Creation would react if he suddenly entered a weakened state . Zac couldn’t do much about the latter , but he did have a plan for the former . Over the past two months of travel , the node had slowly transformed thanks to being constantly fed energy .

The Creation Energy was no longer entering an invisible vortex when reaching his sternum . Rather , a small bead had formed , and it didn’t just swallow Creation Energy . Almost all of the energy that was periodically spat out by his Void Heart] was swallowed by the bead , and it even took on raw Twilight Energy . This turn of events was different from how his previous nodes had formed , but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing .

If anything , it felt like a relief that his cultivation for once worked as it did for others . This embryotic stage was how Hidden Nodes looked for most cultivators , after they had located their nodes and forced them to the surface . Zac had simply never seen it before because he had opened his Hidden Nodes using treasures and unconventional methods .

It was a bit weird that it swallowed all kinds of energy on its own though . Most Hidden Nodes needed a cultivator to slowly infuse the node with their Cultivation Manuals . Then again , Zac guessed he shouldn’t be surprised . Nothing worked the way it was supposed to with his body , it looked like . The problem of not knowing was unfortunately a weight upon his shoulder that stopped him from activating the Duplicity Core .

If the node had still been hidden , like it was in the beginning , Zac would probably just have rolled the dice and hoped that he didn’t ruin the node by transforming into a Draugr . But now that the embryo had formed , there was another path available to him – to burst open the Hidden Node before transforming . That way he should guarantee he didn't ruin the Hidden Node's formation by changing race in the middle .

Seeing how energy-starved the node was , it might be possible to force it open just by cramming a bunch of random treasures down his throat . But thankfully , Zac didn’t need to resort to such a crude method . He had something much better .

Two of the supreme items he had gotten his hands on were related to affinity-boosting . Another was a supreme death-attuned wood that could raise the quality of an E-grade Spirit Tool upon evolution , and something he hoped to be able to use for Alea in the future . The fourth was a life-saving herb , something that could turn the situation around even if he had a foot in the grave . It contained Time Energy , literally turning back the clock on lethal wounds .

According to Catheya , there would almost be no wound it wouldn’t be able to mend , be it physical or spiritual , and it would work in either of his forms . The only caveat was the risk of the wound being caused by someone too powerful , like a late Hegemon or Monarch . Their Daos would most likely be powerful enough to resist being erased like that , nullifying the herb’s efficacy to a large degree .

The final supreme treasure was something every E-grade cultivator wanted , a type of treasure Catheya called a gatecrasher – an item that could help open Hidden Nodes . These kinds of treasures were commonly called gatecrashers because of the - three gates - – the most common Hidden Nodes in the multiverse .

The treasure still wasn’t as valuable as the Eye of Har’Theriam] he had gotten from Yrial though , and for a simple reason . His unnamed gatecrasher couldn’t locate and excavate unearthed Hidden Nodes . That wasn’t a problem now though that the node had already been dragged to the surface .

Zac wasn't too enthused about the treasure before since hadn’t encountered any indication that he had more Hidden Nodes than the three he had already opened . But the Shard of Creation had either found a node hidden extremely deep , or perhaps even created one out of thin air .

He took a deep breath and shoved the small pill-like bead into his mouth , simultaneously redoubling his efforts to keep the Shard trapped . A surge of extremely condensed power slid down his throat , and it stopped by the point it reached his sternum . Zac breathed out in relief that the mote of energy stopped by itself , saving him the effort of actually guiding it .

That way he could keep the remnant under lock and key the treasure did its thing . The energy ball reached the small bead , and it looked like the Hidden Node was a black hole swallowing a sun . A stream of supremely condensed energy was continuously dragged from the gatecrasher , entering the depths of the node .

At first , Zac didn’t see any change , but soon enough his mouth curved upward as the node started to grow . At first , the node grew from a dot to a large circle . That didn't seem too odd , but Zac's brows rose in surprise when the Hidden Node suddenly turned into a small triangle . The node was completely different compared to the others , or any node he had read about before .

It almost looked like a triangular well , with a white frame and black waters in its depths . Zac wasn't actually sure why he felt that way though . The node was pretty small , yet it felt like the hole inside the frame was almost infinitely deep . More and more energy kept entering the node , and a few minutes passed until the node shuddered and changed again , this time turning into a cube .

At the same time , a set of scripts appeared on the frame , and they didn’t look like anything he had seen before . It wasn't a script like those based on the work of the Apostate of Order , and neither was it the primal engravings he had seen on items like the Stele of Conflict . It was something else entirely , seemingly detached from the System .

Four corners turned to five , and then six and seven . With every transformation , the script grew denser , more esoteric . But oddly enough , the depth of the 'waters' actually decreased as it gained more edges . In the beginning , it had almost seemed endless , but by the point it had turned into a heptagon , it rather felt like a shallow pond .

The shard was unusually quiet during the whole process , but he still frowned as he saw the process gradually slow down after an eight corner being added . There was still a decent amount of energy left from the gatecrasher , but the amount that entered the Hidden Node had turned from a stream to a trickle .

Normally that wouldn’t have been a problem , since that would usually mean the process was complete . However , Zac could feel that something was missing . There were only eight edges , and his instincts told him that there should be nine for the node to be complete .

Zac saw how the energy of the supreme treasure started to dissipate after not being able to enter the Hidden Node , and he desperately crammed one natural treasure after another into his mouth in hopes that the burst of energy would kick-start the process again . But it was useless . The Hidden Node seemed completely different to the various chaotic energies that entered his body .

Dao Treasures , crystals , energy-packed herbs meant for alchemy . Zac tried everything without any results . The only thing that happened was that his Void Heart] got a feast , and Purity of the Void] got busy cleaning up all the gunk . Soon enough , the node had stopped absorbing energy altogether , just as it felt like it was on the cusp of forming its ninth and final corner .

Unfortunately , nothing Zac did work , and he could only give up after an hour of testing everything . Zac felt a sense of defeat as he cut a deep gash on his arm . Having released a chunk of the accumulated toxins , Zac swallowed a healing pill before opening his Bloodline Screen just in case .

Bloodline

E - Corrupted] Void Emperor

Talent

Force of the Void - 42% , Void Zone

Bloodline Nodes

E]Void Heart , E] Spiritual Void , E] Purity of the Void

Nodes

E - Incomplete] Quantum Gate

Zac looked at the screen with a mix of elation and confusion . His fourth node had actually appeared on the screen , but it raised as many questions as it did answers . The easiest takeaway was that it wasn’t related to his bloodline – as expected . But what it actually did , was still a mystery .

He checked his Quantum Gate] over and over , but there was nothing . The node almost looked like a mirror by this point , with the pond so shallow it might as well be a windowpane . But there was nothing on the other side , just darkness . It didn’t accept energy either , and no matter what he tested , it didn’t seem to improve any aspect of his cultivation .

The name itself made Zac think of teleportation , but it didn't emit the slightest amount of spatial fluctuations or energies , and neither did it emit the aura of the void . No matter how he scoured his memory , he hadn’t heard of anything like it before either , no matter if you talked appearance or name . In fact , he didn’t think - Quantum - was a word the System or cultivators used .

But there were some people who probably did – the Technocrats .

Together with the odd scripts , I seemed more and more likely that this was an inborn node that the burst of Creation had managed to force open , rather than something it conjured out of nothing . Was this perhaps a node Leandra’s family passed on? Or was it rather something he had been implanted with , just like the Duplicity Core?

Of course , the node’s origin wasn’t as important as figuring out how to fix it . The fact that it said Incomplete rather than Corrupted hopefully meant it simply missed that final ingredient to form the ninth edge and properly activate . And did he even dare activate it? It was called a Quantum Gate .

What if the gate connected him to Leandra , or even some sort of doomsday device , through quantum entanglement? Or what if the node was completely useless , considering that he wasn’t swapping out any body parts for machines?

It was impossible to know for the time being . At least the node was stabilized to the point it had appeared on his status screen , which had to be enough for him to not worry about losing or ruining it when swapping race . Zac spent another hour ridding his body of all the excess energy he had accumulated from his feeding frenzy , before sending a command into his Specialty Core .

A wave of weakness hit him as death spread from his core to every inch of his body , but he barely noticed it as he kept the shard in check with everything he had . However , the remnant sensed an opening , and it expelled a wave of creation that forced its way out of the Mental Energy cage . Zac felt his body morph and change , but he held on while his class-changing process finished .

Only then did he release a wave of creation that reshaped the seaweed forest into a world of ice . Thankfully , that was the extent of his problems . The creation energy still coursed through his body , but it wasn’t any more lethal to him in his Draugr form compared to when he was human . Zac still didn’t know why , but Creation simply wasn’t deadly to his Draugr side , just like Oblivion wasn’t any more dangerous when he was human .

It was only when it fused with the Twilight Energy that it had become a problem .

However , Zac’s eyes widened in shock when he saw that his new hidden node was missing . He hesitated for a bit , but he decided to delay his mission by a few hours to get to the bottom of the situation . An hour passed , and Zac swapped into his human form once more , and he breathed out in relief that the node had reappeared .

Soon enough , Zac was once more sailing toward the ravine in his Draugr form . It turned out that Quantum Gate] only existed on his human side , in contrast to the bloodline nodes that existed in both . It lent credence to the theory that it was related to his Technocrat heritage , which Zac had some mixed feelings about .

It did at least open up for the possibility that he might be able to discover Draugr Hidden Nodes in the future , now that it was proven both his sides could have unique Hidden Nodes . The Void Emperor bloodline was extremely overbearing , to the point that it might have made his other nodes extremely hard to find .

Another day passed , and Zac finally reached the edge of the ravine . It looked like a scar in the earth , reaching thousands of meters into the ground . It was like the whole place was shrouded by impenetrable darkness , and Zac felt his hair stand on end as he tried to glean what waited inside . He also strained his eyes to expose the slightest hint of sanguine energy in the vicinity .

His desire was made into reality , and he felt new eyes growing across his face as they looked for any signs of danger . Zac took a deep breath and got his impulses back under control , and the additional eyes closed before disappearing altogether . The brief lapse of control had at least confirmed a few things for him .

There was both good news and bad news . The good news was that Uona really wasn’t in the area , and it didn’t look like she had left any traps either . The bad news was that the amount of Oblivion Zac sensed in the depths of the ravine was less than a third of what he had encountered in the volcano .

Chapter 763 : The Price Paid

Something was definitely wrong . Zac was still a pretty decent distance from where he guessed the Splinter of Oblivion was located , but he didn't feel his remnants react at all , like they had when he closed in on the volcano . Neither could he pinpoint the splinter's location as he had been able to with the shard .

Even then , Zac pushed off from the edge of the ravine and swam into the darkness . He needed to confirm the situation before he set off to start a blood feud at the City of Ancients . Besides , he might be able to find some clues in the depths of just what was going on .

The light from the ocean surface was quickly subdued by pervasive darkness . It wasn’t a problem for him though , and the chains of Love’s Bond] suddenly slapped away a shark trying to gobble him up . Zac barely registered the attack as he continued further down , following his senses to swim toward where the energy of Oblivion was the densest . Because that was the thing ; the energy was not gone , it was simply reduced .

Hopefully , the splinter had simply been sealed somehow by the vampire , and Uona had hopefully underestimated his ability to break things .

The shark was both the first and last creature he encountered , with the area soon becoming a domain of almost pure death . Just like in the volcano , the death-attuned energies were different from both Miasma and Twilight Energy . It was rather reminiscent of the sphere of darkness that sat at the top of his Pillar of Desolation] .

It burrowed into his body as he swam deeper , seeking to destroy all that it touched . But the energy wasn't nearly as condensed as the weaponized Life in the Creation Pulses . Besides , he was Draugr , born from Death far more majestic than this . The ambient energies could barely harm him , and Zac felt he could stay here for days without succumbing .

However , some real dangers were lurking in the darkness as well .

Zac suddenly flashed out of the way , narrowly avoiding a tendril of nothingness that had appeared out of nowhere . Inside it , the power of Oblivion hid , destroying everything that the tendril touched . The Shard of Creation in his mind shuddered , perhaps eager to clash with the tendril , but Zac simply swam away after having dodged it .

But that attack was just the first of many , and Zac soon found himself in a confusing sea of destruction . Water kept disappearing as tendrils swayed back and forth , causing the waters to turn extremely chaotic . Even Zac didn’t dare risk touching those tendrils without an Annihilation Sphere of his own , and he carefully dodged back and forth as he followed the intensity of energy .

A few minutes passed and the tendrils grew denser , but there weren't actually any signs of any pulses or the like . This was different from the missive , and Catheya had mentioned she had felt bursts of power much like the ones the Shard of Creation had released . Zac ultimately chose to take a risk and activated Abyssal Phase] .

The world slowed down as his perception of time changed , and his vision turned the monochrome . Zac didn't waste any time and he immediately shot forward , effortlessly avoiding hundreds of tendrils that now moved almost in slow-motion . They were easy enough to spot in his current form , having a far darker shade of black than anything else . Another minute passed , and Zac reached his destination - a pitch-black mountain that seemed to be the source of all the destruction that raged across the area .

The mountain almost looked like a beehive after having been the home of the Splinter of Oblivion for thousands of years , and Zac stopped in his tracks for a second , looking at the patterns in the stone with interest . It was just like the volcanic tunnels , marked by hidden meaning . The scars in the mountain formed a mysterious pattern , a pattern that Zac felt held clues to the truth of Oblivion .

He still had ample reserves of Miasma remaining , so he took advantage of the low danger of the ravine to swim one circle around the mountain , memorizing all the patterns that the remnant had left on the place . Only when he was done did he shoot forward , heading straight toward one of the thousands of entrances .

However , his mind suddenly screamed of danger , prompting him to stop in his tracks and return to his corporeal form . Just inside the mountain , a shield with a hair-raising aura was erected . His first instinct was that this was a roadblock left by Uona , but on second thought , Zac realized that couldn't be true . It rather looked like a thick wall of Oblivion had swallowed so much Twilight Energy and ocean water that a solid wall of death had been formed .

This nigh-physical wall , in turn , blocked any more water from getting through . Zac hesitated for a second before he started forming an Annihilation Sphere , even with the risks it brought . It would certainly be easier to expel some of his overflowing Creation into the barrier and hope it worked , but Zac could sense more than some Oblivion lurking inside the wall of death .

He had no idea what would happen if he attacked Oblivion with a bunch of Creation , which was why he had countered Creation with Creation back in the volcano . The two Daos were each other's opposites , but that didn't mean they canceled each other out . Worst case scenario , a mote of chaos would be formed , and that couldn't lead to anything good .

More likely , a completely uncontrollable eruption of energy would blast both Zac and everything around him into smithereens .

The Shard of Creation was clearly incensed upon sensing the purified energy of Oblivion being drawn out from Zac's Soul Core , but it actually restrained itself for some reason . Zac would have thought it would rail against the cage in front of this much energy , but it was like it behaved better the deeper he delved into this place .

Zac didn't know why it was helping him out , but he wouldn't waste the opportunity as he quickly pushed the Annihilation Sphere into the wall . His sphere was like a black hole , greedily gobbling up more and more energy from the barrier until it had become over a meter across . Zac figured that was enough and threw the sphere away .

The Annihilation Sphere ripped through the waters , searing space itself until it imploded , taking tens of thousands of liters with it into nothingness . Zac didn't care about that though and was rather busy squeezing into the breach in case it would close again . The insides of the mountain were mostly hollowed out , through some weird twisted pillars remained .

Zac carefully started moving toward the core of the mountain , but he stopped after just a minute as he heard a shuffling sound .

You came after all , - a cackling voice said .

Zac looked over with shock as his axe appeared in his hand , ready to unleash a wave of unfettered carnage on whoever had spoken .

However , Zac could quickly confirm that it wouldn’t be much of a fight . The one who had hidden in the mountain was on the verge of dying . He seemed to be a revenant , but his skin was covered in protruding veins that had an angry red glare . His eyes were glowing red as well , and he emitted a strong smell of blood . Zac hadn’t seen one before , but he was pretty certain that it was a turned Blood Thrall he had encountered .

Blood Thralls were essentially slaves to cultivators of the Eternal Clan , but many still entered the contract willingly from what Zac was told . They gave up their freedom , but they gained power in return . Their bodies were filled with - the holy blood’ , which functioned as a second source of strength for these warriors .

As long as they properly integrated with the blood , they would become Blood Servants , who were considered commoners rather than slaves in the domains of the Eternal Clan . In both cases , they could be just as strong as any other elite , but the reason Zac didn’t see a battle coming , was the fact that the Blood Thrall had lost most of his body already .

Both his legs were gone , as was his stomach . He had one of his arms intact , but the other ended just below his shoulder . Zac could sense that it was fading , and fading fast . The thrall had probably sealed itself somehow to prolong its life , and now that it had woken up , it would not last very long .

As for the source of his wretched state , Zac could understand it all-too-well . The thrall had been hit by Oblivion .

You have a message for me? - Zac sighed .

Indeed , - the thrall coughed . - Mistress Uona cordially invites Master Black to the City of Ancients to reconcile their differences . The item you are looking for is waiting for you there . -

City of Ancients? How is your master related to that place? - Zac frowned .

Unfortunately , the thrall only snickered in response , and he turned into a bloody goop a second later . Zac swore as he looked back and forth through the cave , but neither the splinter nor any more thralls hid in the darkness . He even found the spot where the Splinter of Oblivion once had rested , but the only thing remaining was an engraved line signed by Uona herself .

I took it . You can’t have it . Come fight me if you have a problem with that . '

Zac guessed it was a precaution in case the thrall wouldn’t make it until he appeared , but it at least allayed any confusion from the thrall’s flowery way of speaking . The only way he would get his hands on the Splinter of Oblivion was if he ripped it from Uona’s cold dead hands .

He closed his eyes with exhaustion for a few seconds , taking a few deep breaths to stop his tired and aggravated mind from conjuring some new type of horrors at the cost of his life force . Only then did he open them again , and he wordlessly turned around and left . He was curious how the hell Uona managed to summon her ancestor to reach the heart of this place , but it ultimately didn’t matter .

She had decided to cut off his lifeline when the System was holding his cultivation hostage . This was the second time she targeted him while he was minding his business , and it would be the last . She had told him to come fight her if he had a problem , and Zac swore that she soon would come to regret those words .

Ventus took a deep breath as he looked up at the sky . The stars had shifted , and fate had become obscured . No calculations would be able to foretell the result any longer . But his mouth still curved upward , as this was exactly what he had hoped for .

You have sensed something , - a calm voice said from the side .

Ventus turned to his captor , and his smile widened when looking at the staid face of Ykrodas Havarok . A storm was brewing , and not even this princeling would be able to come out of it unscathed .

That smile of yours makes me a bit unsettled , templar . I’m starting to feel I would be better off simply killing you to save myself from the trouble , - Ykrodas snorted .

Fate will come knocking no matter whether I am alive or dead , - Ventus grinned . - So why not keep me alive? That way you’ll at least have an inkling of what might happen going forward . Besides , you know the price of killing me . Do you really want to turn the conflict into a blood feud with how the winds are blowing? -

You are right . A storm is brewing , - Ykrodas nodded . - Who knows if your token is still of any use? If you want to stick around , make yourself useful . What did you see? -

Ventus' smile didn't fade , but a pang of fear still rippled through his heart . Ykrodas was right . If this was like normal times , a Token of Exchange would be honored , and a ransom would be paid in return for release . But these were not normal times . He couldn't show fear though . He had calculated everything . The path was narrow , but it was there .

Especially now .

Fate is gathering over the City of Ancients , - Ventus said as he turned to look at the sprawling city in the distance , the movement prompting his fetters to rattle .

You don’t need to be a numerologist to figure that out , - Ykrodas commented . - There is something else . -

He is coming , - Ventus said , not bothering to hide the truth . - And he brings a storm in his wake . -

Arcaz Black? - Ykrodas said with a frown as his aura rose . - Before you said he wouldn’t become a thorn in my side , and that he was even aiming at leaving early . Now , you’re saying he’s coming here? Are you toying with me? -

Uona has forced his hand somehow , - Ventus hurriedly said . - I warned you of this probability , that their conflict wasn't resolved . The details I cannot calculate , I lack information . -

So , he is coming here after all , - Ykrodas muttered thoughtfully as his aura receded . - I guess his ploy turned out to be prophetic . -

He should have known better than to tempt the Heavens like that , - Ventus smiled .

Is his arrival good or bad for the Havarok? - Ykrodas asked as he calmly looked at Ventus's face for clues .

It can be good , - Ventus slowly said . - It can be bad . -

Playing games with us , - the princeling’s advisor said from the side , his eyes cold with murderous intent . - Have you not learned your lesson yet? -

An involuntary shudder went through Ventus's body , but he immediately stabilized his mind again . He had known torture would wait down the path he had chosen . Such was the price of trying to siphon Heavenly Fate .

Hopefully , it would all be worth it .

You should not see Arcaz Black as an agent of the Undead Empire , - Ventus eventually said . - My calculations indicate he has no real interest in the fate of the Realm Spirit or the ascension of Alvod Jondir . He is a lone agent , a messenger of Chaos . -

Chaos? You think he’s here to make trouble for the other imperials? - Ykrodas ventured . - To prevent one of the other factions of their empire from stealing the opportunity? Is that why the Umbri'Zi is so conspicuously absent? -

Not figurative chaos , - Ventus smiled . - Literal Chaos . He is related to that unreachable peak . A storm of fate is dancing around him , causing havoc on everything it touches . My calculations are becoming less tenable by the second . Therein lies your opportunity , but also the risk to your plans . To everyone’s plans . -

An E-grade warrior shouldn’t be able to carry such fate , - Ykrodas frowned . - The accumulated providence of those outside should largely negate it . -

Well , you don’t need to trust me . Soon enough , your Sandsayers will find the shifting dunes unreadable as well , - Ventus muttered . - One month . You better prepare yourself . Your seals will fail , of that I am sure . -

Impossible , - Ykrodas said with a shake of his head . - The Eidolon has tried to break the restriction for half a year without any result , and every day our restriction grows stronger . -

I’m only relaying what I’ve calculated , - Ventus smiled . - I’ve told you already , your plan would have failed in either case . The stars tell me that Uona and the Eidolon are walking in parallel , though both sides hide a dagger behind their backs . -

So , vaunted Starseeker , - Ykrodas snorted , - what is your suggestion for me? Give up and let your temple claim another Autarch? -

That is beyond what I can see . I can only tell you one thing . When the Heavens descend and all reality cries , give in to his demand . That is your path for survival , - Ventus said as bleeding cracks started to form across his skin . - Don’t forget the price he has paid by that point . -

The price he has paid? - Ykrodas muttered as gave Ventus an inscrutable look . - The Havarok is not unreasonable , but there are some bottom lines that cannot be crossed . It's up to this mysterious Draugr from here on out . -

My lord? - the advisor asked .

Prepare our backup plan . Start inscribing the heart-sealing brands on our elites . We’re entering the City of Ancients in a month , - Ykrodas sighed . - Also , prepare the array . I need to send a message outside . -

It'll be ready in three days , - the advisor nodded .

Ventus only smiled in return as he slumped down on the ground . He had done everything that he could . From here on out , he simply needed to stay alive . Of course , that would be easier said than done .

Chapter 764 : Blood and Soul

There was nothing else of interest in the hollowed-out mountain , so Zac immediately set out the same way he came . Besides , the invitation might be a misdirect , and it was possible that an insane bloodsucker was bearing in on his position at this very moment . If so , he would rather fight somewhere else , than in this restrictive place .

Zac emerged at the top of the ravine a few minutes later , and he immediately crushed an escape talisman to move away . The moment he reappeared he turned into his wraith form and flashed away with Abyssal Phase] , not forgetting to make use of the slowed-down environment to look for threats .

However , there was no blood tide crashing toward him , and no other signs of a trap waiting to be sprung . It really looked like she wanted him to head to that city . Zac was just about to return to his normal form , but an odd flickering of light far in the distance caught his attention . He immediately changed course and rushed over to the small hill he had spotted .

Normally , Zac wouldn’t have cared about some random glimmer , since there was an endless number of herbs and materials that gave off some light after gaining spirituality . The expansive reef back by the Twilight Chasm had almost looked like a rave , for example , without any of the corals being anything much of value .

However , this was different , since he actually recognized the energy – it was not Twilight , but rather the power of stars .

Zac turned back into his corporeal form and swam over until he was in front of the source of the anomaly . It looked like a couple of fireflies were dancing upon a random rock on top of a hill , but it was rather small stars that winked in and out of existence . He scanned it over and over , and there was no doubt .

He had been sitting at first row when Ventus had formed his Dao Branch , how could he possibly mistake his Dao for something else?

The question was why there was a small mote of his Dao on this desolate stretch of land in the middle of nowhere . Ventus was a numerologist from a B-grade faction , making Zac believe there was a deeper purpose for it . Most likely , the elf had somehow managed to calculate that Zac would pass by this area , and left this marker here to be found .

But whether Ventus left this thing for - Zac Piker’ or - Arcaz Black’ , he had no way of knowing . Could he have calculated that the two were one and the same? Zac doubted it . He didn’t have any proof , but he was somewhat certain that his mother’s array contained anti-divination capabilities . Otherwise , it would be useless in preventing others from finding out his secret .

Whichever of his identities this mark was left for , Zac’s instincts told him it wasn’t a trap . Even then , he summoned the three pygmy skeletons of Profane Exponents] and even started charging up Pillar of Desolation] as he moved his hand toward the shimmering starlight .

It was almost like a mirror cracked as a small area on top the stone shifted , and the starlight was suddenly replaced by a small box . Zac opened it , which prompted a recording to immediately start playing as a hologram of the annoyingly handsome elf was conjured by shimmering starlight .

Greetings Mr . Black . You do not know me , but I hope you’ll trust me when I say our fate is connected . I am Ventus Kalavan , Starseeker of the Radiant Temple . By the time you see this , I will have been captured by Ykrodas Havarok in his efforts to enforce his will on this trial .

I am not asking for you to save me . I am simply bringing a word of warning in hopes you will reciprocate in the future . I spent a decade of my lifespan to calculate some major events in this trial , and if you’re seeing this particular message , you have failed in whatever mission that brought you to the Twilight Ocean .

Do not worry , calculating the details of your mission is far beyond my abilities . It is related to Chaos , making any divination unreliable at best . But I do believe that you are heading toward the City of Ancients in hopes of resolving your matters .

My gift to you is divulging the true nature of the City of Ancients . As you probably know , this realm is not a natural formation of nature . It is the result of realms of opposing elements colliding , resulting in this odd ocean . What you might not know , is that these two ancient worlds both had a spiritual will , and these wills survive to this day . One of them is hiding in the heart of the City of Ancients .

The Realm Spirits are weak and susceptible to sabotage by this point . The faction that manages to decide the fate of this spirit , will have a leg up on the events that follow . The Eidolon is planning to either turn it into a soul slave or replace it with a spirit of their own , and the Eternal Clan should have a similar goal .

The Havarok wants the spirit to live on for a while longer , and I think you can figure out the goal of the Radiant Temple yourself . I do not know exactly what will await within the gates of the City of Ancients , but the stars warn me of a cage of soul and blood . This is the limit of what I can calculate at this juncture . I hope we will meet again . -

Zac thoughtfully looked at the small box for a moment before he crushed it and flashed away . The moment he reappeared he applied another round of karma-breaking powder across his body . The message left by the Numerologist was extremely helpful , but it was still extremely discomforting that he had been read to the point that Ventus had managed to place down a communication crystal like that .

Soon enough he set off in his vessel again , heading straight for the City of Ancients . The information that Ventus had shared didn’t change his goal , but it had given him a better idea of the situation . He didn’t know exactly what a Realm Spirit was , but he guessed it was something similar to a Tool Spirit .

It wasn’t hard to connect the dots from there . If there was a spirit having some sort of control over this Mystic Realm , it would probably affect the Eveningtide Asura’s plans . Meanwhile , it sounded like the undead factions wanted to turn the Realm Spirit into a backdoor to snatch the opportunity for ascension .

Zac didn't care about the struggle over the Realm Spirit's fate , but he had a feeling that he would be dragged into it whether he liked it or not . And from what he had gathered , it sounded like the best option was if the spirit survived , allowing it to act interference on Alvod . He sighed with exhaustion as he looked at the state of his body .

Thankfully , he had only been forced to activate a single Annihilation sphere to break into the heart of the ravine , and the single set of cracks was fast being eroded by the Creation Energy in his body . But Zac had hoped he’d have managed to form an equilibrium by now with the help of the Second splinter , which was impossible in the short run .

Thankfully , the brush with Oblivion had somewhat calmed down the Shard of Creation for the time being , and it was currently sitting motionlessly in his Mental Energy cage . But that didn't mean it had been subdued or that it had given up . The shard was still agitated , but more in the sense of a cornered beast preparing to pounce .

Its demeanor was completely different from how the shards acted in all those visions . The shard holders had all met a miserable end eventually , but they didn’t seem as pressured as he was . It was more of a slow grinding down where thoughts of desires were fulfilled , but in a way that brought unintended and often horrible consequences .

His situation wasn’t just a matter of completing his quest any longer . If he didn’t manage to regain equilibrium within a few months , something bad would happen . The shard kept gaining energy out of nowhere to continue its assault , while he was constantly expending Mental Energy to resist .

The best theory he could come up with was that the new shard kept acting out because it failed to merge with the one locked in his cage . He had already passed the - Calamity’ by surviving the outbursts and wresting control , but the process was only half-finished . At the same time , he didn’t dare let the second shard into his cage , causing an imbalance like that .

As precarious as the situation was right now , Zac had a feeling it could get exponentially worse if he opened the cage before having collected the splinter . So for now , he was stuck in this weird state of limbo , as half a calamity on two legs . Hopefully , Catheya would have some answers for him soon enough .

Two weeks passed , at which point he suddenly felt a change in one of his talismans , prompting him to immediately take out a communication crystal and infuse some Miasma .

Mr . Chaos , - Zac said with a modified voice through the crystal , a small smile spreading across his face .

Blue Lily , - an unrecognizable voice responded , confirming that it was Catheya on the other side . - How did it go? Is it done? -

I got your message , - Zac sighed . - It failed , it was like you expected . -

Can you meet up? - Catheya asked .

I’m on my way , - Zac responded as he cut the connection .

Not far from here , hundreds of thousands of warriors had gathered , and it was impossible to know what kind of capabilities they had . Just like bugging telephone lines was possible back on Old Earth , it was apparently possible for inscription masters to lock onto the communication crystals of others . They might even be able to use the signals to pinpoint the speakers .

That’s why they disguised their voices and didn’t go into any details . Some things could only be discussed in person . Even if someone had managed to listen in , it didn’t warrant any additional attention . With so many people and groups gathered in one place , there were bound to be tens of thousands of schemes taking place at any given time . Why waste time on a random one when there were no hints of there being a payoff , especially when he mentioned the operation was a failure?

Zac soon enough reached the spot his tracker indicated , this time a small glade in a forest of dense reeds . It was located almost two weeks travel from the City of Ancients , no doubt because it would be a bit risky setting up a camp any closer . A hole appeared in the ground , and Zac jumped inside .

A moment later the four of them sat together like they did a few months ago . However , the atmosphere was more subdued , with Zac’s plans having gone awry .

What happened? - Catheya eventually sighed .

Uona had figured out my goal , and she’s stolen the item in the ravine . She left a message for me . She’s forcing me to enter the City of Ancients , - Zac mumbled with some distraction as his shard had finally started to wake up after weeks of inactivity .

Well , the road of cultivation is full of setbacks . This chance might have passed , but new ones will come , - Catheya said on the other side . - Are you ready to leave this trial? -

I can’t , - Zac sighed . - If I leave without that item , I will probably die . -

WHAT?! - Catheya shouted with shock as she dropped the glass in her hand . - Why didn’t you tell me? -

Not only that , - Zac grunted . - Without it , I will not be able to contact your ancestor . -

Never mind that , - Catheya said with exasperation . - You should have told me the ravine was that important to you . I might have been able to distract that witch for a while . -

Well , I hoped things would work out somehow , but I guess I was a bit optimistic , - Zac grunted . - Anyway , I’m heading to the City of Ancients . -

Wait , take a breath , and calm down . You know how powerful she is . We need a plan! - Catheya hurriedly said .

Don’t worry , this is not your fight , and I won’t try to implicate your clan . Besides , I have my methods , it’s not like all hope is lost . I almost killed her last time , and this time I have the means to finish the job , - Zac said with a weak smile .

How could you possibly . . . Wait , - Catheya muttered before she seemed to realize something . - Like that time? -

Zac didn't exactly know what she talked about , but he guessed she might be referring to when he raged out at the Zethaya pill house . However , he didn't have time to answer before he felt a surge building in his mind . His eyes widened in alarm , and he immediately started making his preparations .

Watch out! - Zac roared as he rushed toward the exit , his breath turning into opalescent gas full of creation . - Get away from me! -

Catheya caught on quickly , and layers and layers of ice enclosed the three as Zac pushed his hands into the wall . He needed to contain it , he couldn't let it spread and hurt the others . He furiously imposed his will on the storm of Creation that erupted , pushing it all into the stone .

For a second , a huge chunk of the wall turned into an empty hall full of a dozen statues , each one depicting a person he had met inside the trial and made from a different material . The next moment , the chamber had turned into a confusing maze made from bronze , but it didn't last any longer .

Zac strained his mind and imagination to the limit as he cycled over a dozen scenes in an instant , each transformation exhausting some of the energy and preventing it from ballooning out of control . It took just two seconds , but Zac slumped down on the ground with a throbbing headache and shaky hands when he was done , leaving a wall of Memorysteel behind .

What… was that? - Catheya asked with a shuddering breath before she emerged from her protection while repeatedly sniffing in the air . - This smell . . . -

Zac smiled weakly in return as he got back on his feet and sat down again . - It's safe now . For a while at least . -

Is it really safe? - Qirai asked with a frown as she stepped in front of her master while Varo glared daggers at him from the side . - Are you safe? -

A side-effect from my mission , - Zac grunted . - As soon as I get what I need from Uona , it will be fixed . For now , I'm a bit volatile . Sorry , I thought I had it under control . -

Of course , he wasn’t quite as optimistic as he tried to let on . Getting his hands on the splinter was nowhere near as straightforward as he would like . Certainly , he almost managed to kill Uona last time with a simple Annihilation Sphere , and this time he was armed with a fully charged Shard of Creation .

But at the same time , she was now ready for him to use that kind of attack , and she had probably spent a full year figuring out a counter .

His best chance was that he would be able to create an opening with the help of the unpredictable nature of Creation . She was probably expecting a ball of Oblivion , but he was going to attack her with the opposite . He had to make that count .

Is there nothing you won’t blow up?! - Catheya cursed as she thumped down on her chair again . - We haven’t even covered how you managed to cause a volcano to erupt . Are you allergic to some peace and quiet?! -

Zac only smiled weakly in return , not sure how to respond .

Well , we’re still going , - Catheya said after taking a few calming breaths . - We might not be able to help you in a direct conflict , but we can help you gather intelligence and provide ancillary support . Besides , we've stayed by the City of Ancients for over a month by now , you will save a lot of effort having us around . -

…Alright , - Zac reluctantly agreed . - I’m sorry , I keep putting you guys in danger . I’ll try to find a way to make it up to you all . -

No need to be so distant , we’re all friends , right? - Catheya countered with a smile . - And I've already gathered some tidbits I think you'll find interesting . -

The two proceed to exchange what they had learned since they met the last time , which ended with Catheya glaring at him accusatorily .

How is it that you keep finding out more about what’s going on while off traveling in desolate regions , compared to us who actually spent a month in the temporary city? - Catheya muttered with annoyance .

Lucky , I guess , - Zac smiled .

So it is a trap , after all , - Catheya muttered . - A lot of people have similar thoughts , but there hasn't been any clear proof either way . -

People know , yet they stick around? -

The city has essentially been confirmed to predate the Twilight Harbor , and everything points to it being untouched . Even if Aia Ouro has managed to set up some sort of trap , they believe that with enough participants , the smart ones will walk out with ancient treasures while using the foolish as shields , - Catheya explained .

And everyone sees themselves as the smart ones , - Qirai added with a snort .

A disaster waiting to happen , - Catheya agreed before she released a deep sigh . - Blood and souls… Realm Spirit… What a mess . And now with a walking powderkeg joining the fray , ancestors have mercy on us . -

Chapter 765 : Gathering at the Gates

Zac didn't know how to feel about being called a walking powderkeg , but it was hard to argue with the description after having literally blown up a volcano just two months ago .

Well , I do have something that might work , - Catheya laughed after seeing Zac's awkward expression . - I didn’t manage to gather all the information you needed , but I did manage to get my hands on a few interesting items that might help you . -

What’s that? - Zac asked curiously , happy to change the subject .

First , this , - Catheya said as she took out a finely crafted cloak seemingly made from high-quality wool .

Invisibility cloak? - Zac blurted with excitement .

Unfortunately , no , - Catheya smiled . - True invisibility requires too much energy to trick even the eyes of scouts . It would have to be a D-grade treasure making use of a Hegemon’s Core . This is something simpler , but still very useful . -

I can’t see any difference? - Zac muttered as he tried putting the thing on .

It’s a distraction cloak , - Catheya explained . - You know that others need to focus on you for roughly two seconds to see your bounty , right? -

Ah! - Zac exclaimed , looking at the robe with appreciation .

He remembered that Verana owned a cowl just like this . She had used it to hide her identity when they entered the underworld together , and even Zac had found both his mind and eyes drift any time he had tried to focus on her . The cloak Catheya had provided now seemed to be of even higher quality , and Zac immediately realized how useful it could be in this place .

Exactly . You already have something to deal with your aura since coming back from the Chasm , and with this , you will avoid anyone’s attention . As long as you keep moving and don’t do anything to draw attention , you might even be able to walk on a crowded street without getting exposed , - Catheya smiled . - Secondly , I have this . -

The next moment , a finely crafted golem appeared , its body covered in inscriptions . It was roughly as tall as Zac was , and it even emitted a pretty dense aura , roughly the equivalent of a normal cultivator at the peak of E-grade .

A golem? - Zac muttered as he looked at Catheya for her to explain .

A remote-controllable puppet , - Catheya explained as she handed him an array disk . - Infuse your mental energy into this disk , and you will be able to control the puppet from a great distance . -

You’ve really thought of everything , - Zac smiled .

Well , as much as I’d like to take credit , both these methods have become somewhat common outside the City of Ancients . The few puppeteers and craftsmen who have entered the trial are making a fortune . I simply snatched up a few of the higher-quality goods , - Catheya explained . - Now you can enter the settlement without raising any waves . I'll try to figure out something else on the go . -

This is more than enough , - Zac hurriedly assured . - Should we set out? -

Give us a moment , please? - Catheya said .

Zac nodded , guessing they needed to discuss the situation among themselves . He left the hidden room , leaving Catheya and her two companions .

I won't ask you to go with me this time , - Catheya said . - You know how dangerous this might get . If I fall , you can still return to the clan and work in my father's palace . -

Where you go , we will follow , - Varo said without hesitation , and Qirai nodded in agreement .

So I guess we’re going on an adventure together , - Qirai snickered . - I guess your spring is finally coming , huh? Some heat to melt that frozen heart? -

That’s enough , - Catheya snorted . - You know it’s not like that . -

Then what is it? - Qirai said with a raised brow .

That’s… - Catheya hesitated . - We’ll see . For now , I simply enjoy traveling with him . Don’t you feel the same way? You know how life is back home . It's safe and stable . But it's also slow , uneventful , and predictable . If I return , I will become a Peak Hegemon at worst , a middle Monarch at best , tasked with maintaining some section of our estate until the madness takes me . -

Well , you better figure out what you want , and then communicate it clearly , - Qirai snorted . - That guy’s ability to create trouble is top-notch , but he seems about as dumb as they come when it comes to matters of the heart . -

Yes , mother , - Catheya laughed . - When did you become so wise? -

Whatever , - Qirai grunted as she launched a jab toward Varo . - How about it , want me to help you ambush your rival? -

The quiet Revenant effortlessly dodged the swing , shifting just out of reach . - Arcaz Black holds great importance to Clan Sharva’Zi , provided his connection to the founder is true . Working against him is out of the question . -

Boring , - Qirai muttered .

Alright , that’s enough . You don’t need to worry about me . For now , try to figure out a way to turn this mess into an opportunity for us , - Catheya said as she walked out of the room .

The group set off toward the City of Ancients , with Varo once more taking on the role of helmsman . It allowed Zac to rest and focus on keeping the remnant in check . It almost felt like it had realized Zac was aiming to pick up another splinter since the ravine , prompting it to start stockpiling energy for the upcoming clash .

It was hard to tell exactly how sapient these things were . Sometimes they just felt like small balls of primal anger , while at other times it seemed as though they had personalities of their own . In either case , it made Zac’s life a lot easier . It still released a burst of energy now and then , but it was far more controlled compared to before .

Finally , after just below two weeks of travel , the vessel suddenly stopped before Zac felt a thump as it set down on rocky ground . Zac was about to step out of the vessel to check on the situation , but a cough from Catheya stopped him in his tracks . He shrugged helplessly and instead took out the golem , which was now decked in a robe .

Be careful to not expose yourself , - Catheya said . - We probably have dozens of sets of eyes on us . Luckily , the spot we used last time was still available , and our neighbors should quickly lose interest when they see it's us . -

Alright , - Zac agreed as he slumped down into the chair again and infused some energy into the Array Disk .

His perception shifted , and Zac was beset by a bout of vertigo for a few seconds until his vision stabilized . Suddenly , he had two sights , one coming from himself , and one belonging to the puppet .

It was an odd feeling , but as long as he didn’t move around too much in his real body , he could freely control the golem as though it was his own . That was partly thanks to him practicing over the past weeks though . The first times he had been unable to shift his focus properly , making the puppet stutter like a drunk . It had been a source of endless laughs for Catheya , and an embarrassing reminder for Zac of his horrible performance during the Dao Discourse in the Tower of Eternity .

Catheya donned a cowl to hide her features , even though her face had transformed into a Revenant's , and the two walked out of the vessel .

I guess I'll start setting up the arrays , - Qirai grunted , and Zac only hummed distractedly in response as he focused on the vision of the golem .

The City of Ancients was located in a vast basin , sitting in the center of the thousand-meter-deep indent in the ocean bed . Meanwhile , Varo had set down at the edge of a cliff overlooking the whole area , providing a spectacular view .

The city itself was not that shocking , at least not in Multiverse Terms . Some of the cities on the Twilight Harbor world disks were larger than whole countries of old Earth . Meanwhile , this city didn’t seem much bigger than cities like New York or London .

Interestingly enough , it was enclosed by an air bubble , and it was even filled with swirling clouds that obscured most of the city’s features . However , now and then a small piece of the city was exposed , showcasing ancient structures that seemed to be in decent shape . Zac could understand why many believed it housed treasures after seeing the glimpses of thousands of mansions .

In the heart of the city , a massive castle pushed through the clouds and was one of the few permanently visible structures . Its walls were covered in fractals , though many of them had cracked from eons of disrepair . Even then , it gave off a grand aura , and Zac guessed that it was once the home of a supreme cultivator .

The city was surrounded by thick medieval walls reaching over fifty meters into the air . That would not be an issue normally , considering they were underwater and could simply swim over it . However , there was clearly a barrier powerful enough to keep the whole Twilight Ocean at bay , let alone some piddling E-grade cultivators .

Outside the city , four smaller settlements spread out in front of the four closed gates , and Zac could barely believe his eyes when he saw people walking back and forth like it was just some random town on the outside . Of course , he had already heard about the situation from Catheya , but it was still eye-opening to see in person .

It was all thanks to the Twilight Council , apparently . They had allied with the Havarok Empire to enact strict rules for anyone entering the settlement outside . The Radiant Temple hadn’t opposed the idea , and neither had the spectral cultivators . Uona’s stance was unknown , but it was a fact that she hadn’t attacked anyone within a day’s travel of this basin .

Zac turned the golem’s vision to the side , and he spotted dozens of vessels parked just like theirs , at the edge overlooking the chasm . Some had even built small mansions to live in . And this was just a small section of the ledge that surrounded the basin .

It’s hard to believe we’re in the middle of a slaughter trial , - Zac muttered , his voice being transmitted through the array disk .

It’s not as peaceful as it seems , - Catheya smiled . - I figure at least ten thousand cultivators have died in those settlements , and at least a hundred vessels like ours have been raided . But as long as you’re strong enough to ward off opportunists , it’s pretty safe . -

Even then , people keep flocking over , - Zac commented as he looked at the streams of cultivators swimming down toward the cliffs from every direction .

In a place like the Twilight Harbor , only 1 , 000 or so out of all the Trial Takers are expected to reach Hegemony through normal means , - Catheya said . - Few have ever left the Harbor . The Twilight Ascent is the only chance to create an opportunity to overcome their lacking talent and fate . Many have come even if they know the odds are they will die here . -

Is it really worth it? - Zac muttered as he looked down at the city .

Aren’t you the same? - Catheya laughed . - The things you've done so far are beyond death-defying . If you can risk your life even though you're so strong already , why can’t they? If anything , their willingness is even greater . If they die , they die . If they succeed , their destiny will change completely . -

Fair enough , - Zac acceded . - So , what do you think? Should I try to break down the gate? I can’t sit around here forever . If Uona is already inside… -

Catheya and the others had followed Uona after she had snatched the splinter , but she had disappeared after closing in on this place . Things mostly pointed toward the vampire having entered the city somehow ,

You wouldn’t be the first one to try , - Catheya smiled . - But give it a little bit longer . I think we’re close . -

What makes you say that? - Zac asked with confusion .

Womanly intuition , - Catheya winked .

Is it population…? - Zac muttered , completely ignoring her comment . - Or perhaps energy flows? -

Whatever , - Catheya spat . - It’s the clouds , you meathead . -

The clouds? - Zac repeated with surprise as his gaze turned back to the City of Ancients . - What about them? -

The clouds are a lot thicker now compared to the last time I visited . When the city first appeared , you could see most of the city at any point . Now , it looks like it's just days from being completely obscured . -

Making it impossible to see from the outside if something sinister is going on inside , - Zac concluded .

Exactly , - Catheya said .

You’re not heading inside , right? - Zac asked for the fifth time or so .

I told you , no , - Catheya snorted . - At least not unless the defensive array breaks apart . I want adventure , but being trapped in a slaughter array is not my definition of adventure . Only a deviant would enjoy something like that . -

I told you I don't like that nickname , - Zac muttered .

Whatever , - Catheya laughed . - Let's head down while the others deal with the arrays . A few weeks have passed since I was here last , and if the city is about to open , we might learn something important . -

Zac nodded , and the two swam down toward the closest settlement . As they descended , Zac spotted thousands of small shacks that formed a circle at the edge of the basin , enclosing both the City of Ancients and the settlements outside .

What are those? - Zac asked .

Guard stations , - Catheya snorted . - The Havarok set them up . It's one of the worst-kept secrets of the area that there are array flags under each one of them . I never managed to figure out what they were for , but now that I know the whole story , I would guess they're either there to empower the Realm Spirit or make sure the gates don't open . -

Zac nodded , and the two soon entered the closet settlement . But unfortunately , even after having traveled back and forth for over three hours , there was not much of value he had learned . There had been no sightings of Uona , and not for lack of searching . The last time she was seen was when she appeared roughly two days' travel away , ten days after she had stolen the splinter . Since then , nothing .

In somewhat related news , the Havarok was running a campaign that the city was a slaughter trap , but it mostly fell on deaf ears . But Zac was still pretty interested in the large posters the Havarok had set up . One of the most common messages was 'Uona lurks inside the City of Ancients' , like she was some sort of dangerous beast .

People thought it was meant to scare people away from entering , but Zac wasn't so sure . He didn't feel he was being narcissistic when he believed the warning was a message for him .

What do you think? - Zac asked Catheya as he looked at the sign .

I guess they'd know if anyone , - Catheya slowly said . - And we don't have any better idea . -

It's a conspiracy , - a nearby Revenant warrior who had overheard their conversation spat . - Those Havarok dreamers say that only death awaits inside the trial , yet they have called over more than 500 more soldiers over the last two weeks . Even more , they have recruited ten times that number as mercenaries . -

Well , who cares even if that witch hides in there , - Catheya winked . - She can only kill so many of us before she runs out of blood , right? -

You got that right! - the warrior laughed as he walked away .

Zac simply snorted before he turned away and continued down the street . Greed was running rampant in the settlements , and almost half of the discussions were theoretical debates about what kind of treasures waited inside and what they'd do after breaking through to Hegemony .

There were also quite a few who took advantage of the calm to make some money , and there were dozens of exchange stations where a few wealthy but uninformed scions were trying to buy up Twilight Fruits en masse . It seemed extremely unlikely that the Fate-Plucking ladder would take place when the trial closed in a year , and it looked like the more connected clans had come to a similar conclusion .

Only the Elementals and one more clan were buying Twilight Fruits , and but Zac felt it was more for commercial purposes than for ladder placements .

The two eventually returned to their submersible , which was now shrouded in both a layer of mist and an illusion array to keep prying eyes away . Zac opened his real eyes and stowed away the puppet as they walked into the vessel .

I guess we'll just wait? - Catheya sat as she sat down next to Zac . - A week at most seems to be the consensus . -

I guess so , - Zac nodded .

The following days , Zac simply rested up in the vessel , but every day the impatience built in his chest . He felt stressed , and not just about the splinter . It almost felt like there was some looming danger that he was unaware of , but his Luck tried to make him aware of .

And on the fifth day of waiting , something changed .

What the hell?! - Zac roared , startling the others to the point they erected defensive measures .

However , it wasn't another burst of creation coming on , and neither was it the gates of the City of Ancients opening , even though the city was completely shrouded by this point . It was something far more unexpected , and Zac almost felt his brain short-circuit as he looked at the screen in front of him .

What's going on? - Catheya eventually asked as she peeked out from behind a wall of ice .

How is this possible?! - Zac muttered , barely hearing Catheya's question .

Catheya gave her two followers a look , and they left the room as Catheya walked over and put her hand on Zac's arm . - Hey? -

Zac finally woke up and looked over at Catheya before he shared the screen that had just popped up in front of him .

Incursion opening in 8 hours .

Maximum Level : 100 .

General : Vilari Blackwood

Lieutenant General : Joanna Thompson

Captains : Pika Blackwood , Rhuger Blackwood , Ilvere Azh'Rodum , Ciru Volor

Combatants Registered : 10 , 000 (10 , 000) .

Surcharge for preregistered items and teleportation : 5 , 053 D-grade Nexus Coins .

Approve?

What in the heavens , - Catheya murmured , her eyes wide .

Chapter 766 : Incursion Owner

What in the heavens , 5 , 053 D-grade Nexus Coins? - Catheya said with shock , her eyes as wide as saucers . - Are your followers trying to crush the natives under mountains of wealth? Even if they seize the planet , it will be a long , long time before you turn a profit . Knowing Zecia , it might not even be possible . -

That’s what you think I’m worried about? - Zac said with exasperation . - Why the hell has an incursion started up without my knowledge? -

What , you didn’t know? - Catheya asked with interest .

How would I know? I’ve been stuck in here for the last two years , - Zac said as he waved at the ocean outside the submersible .

Just how powerful is your fate? - Catheya laughed . - You accidentally became an incursion owner? Is that even possible? -

Be serious , - Zac groaned . - Can I stop this? -

Stop it? Why would you want to? - Catheya countered with confusion written all over her face . - It looks like they have things in hand , and you seem to have the capital to endure their spending . -

Have things in hand? They just endured the integration five years ago , and now they want to unleash that kind of suffering on others? - Zac said with a frown .

That’s up to your followers isn’t it? - Catheya shrugged . - You should know their characters , no? Are they the kind of people who wantonly slaughter the innocent for power? -

No , but . . - Zac muttered .

Well , there you go . Would you rather the slot go to my empire or those body-snatching cultists you mentioned in the Tower of Eternity? For all you know , your followers might be the saviors that save the lives of billions , - Catheya shrugged . - There's more than one way to conquer a planet . -

Still though , - Zac said with a shake of his head .

Perhaps if they didn’t have such a monstrous leader who kept rushing between causing trouble and falling into piles of wealth they wouldn’t be pushing themselves to risk their lives like this . But you should know that your rate of improvement is terrifying . Your strength has what , doubled , since appearing in the Twilight Ocean? How long until your faction can no longer contain your fate? -

I know , - Zac muttered . - But there is no need for them to go this far… -

It’s like the people outside , - Catheya said . - Everyone has their dreams and aspirations . Few of those who have truly embarked on the path of cultivation are content with simply becoming average . Trust in your people that they know what they are doing . -

I just wish I could be there to help him , - Zac muttered , but he knew it was impossible .

Even if he left right now , he would be far too late . The closest exit was over a week’s travel away , and it took close to two weeks to pass through the void when teleporting between sectors . By the time he reached Earth , the members of Port Atwood would long have entered the incursion and connection would be cut for at least three months .

And that didn't even factor in that leaving the Twilight Ocean now would cripple his cultivation , and possibly even kill him because of the imbalance between Creation and Oblivion .

Well , help me make sense of the text at least if you can , - Zac sighed .

Which part? - Catheya asked . - The Maximum level is the soft limit of entry . Going above that level tacks on a massive surcharge , and that surcharge doubles for every additional level . -

Wait , that means that putting a level 110 through the incursion is a thousand times more expensive than a level 101? - Zac exclaimed .

Exactly . And sending a level 101 is roughly a thousand times more expensive than sending one within the soft limit . Below that , the price difference is not quite as steep . However , you'd most likely be able to send over a hundred peak F-grade warriors for every level 90 warrior , - Catheya explained . - Most likely , some of the generals or captains in the invasion are the reason for the exorbitant price . -

Zac slowly nodded , believing that might be the case . The three undead of the Einherjar should all be within level 100 , especially Vilari who might not even have Evolved by now . Of course , the fact that she had taken the mantle of general over Joanna indicated the mentalist most likely had evolved by this point .

As for Joanna , he wasn't as sure . She had been around level 95 when he set off for Twilight Harbor , and gaining another 5 levels were well within reason even if she didn’t push herself . Most likely , she was a good few levels above 100 by now , considering the items he had sent back home for the Valkyries to enjoy .

The same was true for Ilvere , who was already at peak F-grade upon reaching Earth . He had entered E-grade just a few months after the Origin Dao ran out . The last two , Zac didn’t remember . Ciru was one of the gemlings of the younger generation , but Zac barely knew him apart from him being very talented in both combat and crafting .

It was no wonder that clans like Azh'Rezak refused to send a single E-grade through the Incursion . Azh’Rezak was barely scraping by to nurture a couple of Hegemons . For them to spend hundreds of D-grade Nexus Coins to let a level 77 pass through was impossible , especially considering they’d be restricted by the System anyways .

Are the slots negotiable as well? And what's included in this fee? - Zac asked .

Your force was provided ten thousand slots , and they filled them all . You can send more people , but the cost gets steeper for every additional warrior that gets teleported , - Catheya explained . - The surcharge is for approved arrays , gear , and the warriors themselves . For comparison , I had 5 , 000 warriors and a cost of 629 D-grade Nexus Coins when I led my incursion at 17 . And a good part of that cost was for the terraforming array . -

I remember a friend mentioning that the warriors in his clan could spend money to increase their strength even further? - Zac asked .

I'm not sure about that , - Catheya slowly said . - Is his faction on the more poverty-stricken side? I guess some clans have their warriors pay their way to some degree . Another feature you can pay for is to unlock more of your strength upon arrival , but it's not worth doing so past a certain point . -

The Ruthless Heavens are already matching your strength with the natives , and your restricted power is meant to unlock at roughly the same pace as the natives can improve if they make the most of the opportunity . Unlock too much of your strength , and you might be harming yourself . After all , there aren't many insights to be had if you simply slaughter all the natives like they were ants , - Catheya said .

Then why allow it at all? - Zac asked with confusion .

If a faction is willing to pay more than a planet is worth to send some younglings there , why would the Heavens not abide? It's all about balance . It would be more than happy to send a Hegemon through an incursion since the revenue that would generate could pay for the cost of integrating one hundred other worlds , - Catheya said . - Thus increasing the odds of nurturing powerhouses . -

The Ruthless Heavens indeed , - Zac sighed , but he still infused his will into the 'Accept?' button , giving his tacit blessing to the madness .

The screen disappeared , and a glance at his Status Screen indicated that the System had already charged him for the cost . He could only pray that they knew what they were doing when preparing everything . Between the Demons , Abby , and his other elites , they would hopefully have come up with a plan with a high degree of success .

Even then , Zac knew there would be casualties , perhaps even more than when Earth's Integration took place . After all , back then he had been involved with closing almost all the incursions . If he had sent his armies instead of going himself , the loss of life would have been catastrophic after having closed 2-3 of them .

It took him over an hour to calm his nerves , where he frantically kept trying to figure out a way to help his people . Unfortunately , it really looked like there was nothing he could do . Thankfully , Vilari had long returned with the resources from Twilight Harbor , and the foundations of his followers should have improved considerably by now .

Along with the vast wealth at his disposal , Port Atwood would probably be even better prepared than most C-grade clans . It wasn’t that these ancient factions couldn’t provide the resources , but rather that they wouldn’t . An incursion was a risky investment , with both the natives and other factions contending for the planet .

For most , it ended up as a training trip for the young generation , where they stayed for a year or two to enjoy the Origin Dao and hunt for rare herbs before returning . Few factions were willing to spend thousands of D-grade Nexus Coins on a couple of F-grade juniors who hadn’t even proven themselves .

That alone helped Zac calm down quite a bit . Being agitated did him more harm than good , considering how it exposed him to the shard in his head . The low susurrus of - helpful’ suggestions had grown considerably louder since the screen had popped up , making him barely able to think clearly .

He had even felt a sudden urge to pierce the void and create a Space Gate between his location and Earth . That was a solution to his predicament that might actually 'work' , but Zac was certain he would run out of lifespan long before managing to create something like that . He quickly pushed the urge down and emptied his mind again .

However , the equanimity was eventually broken again almost eight hours later . It wasn’t due to the fact the incursion should start any moment now , though . A sudden ripple made Zac’s eyes shoot open from his meditation , and the golem next to him immediately rushed out of the submersible . From there , Zac could see the huge upheavals that were taking place in the City of Ancients .

Catheya had been right , there was no doubt about it . The city was completely obscured by thick churning clouds now , and not even the castle in the middle was visible any longer . The grey haze had essentially looked like a solid wall by this point . However , it was still clear that the city was waking up from its slumber as it radiated enormous amounts of energy .

Not only that , but previously invisible inscriptions had appeared on the fortifications , forming some sort of powerful array . One by one they awakened , and the aura the city emitted grew with every breath . The thing didn't feel like an uninviting weaponized fortress though . Its aura wasn't that of bloodshed , but one of ancient mystery .

Zac's mind was occupied elsewhere , but even he couldn't help but become moved by possibilities the place held . More importantly , it meant it was finally time for him to get going . Between the splinter being snatched from under his nose and his followers risking their lives on some unknown world , he held a belly full of anger .

He almost looked forward to running into Uona by this point .

The ocean has shifted , - Faebloom Monarch sighed as a handful of leaves on his head turned white and dropped from his crown . - The last spirit is exposed . -

A stir rippled through the room , as this no doubt meant the schemes of the outsiders no doubt had succeeded inside the E-grade trial . A surge of anger filled Rhodium’s heart as he gazed across the room . Vassal factions like Karabas Clan no doubt held most of the blame for divulging the secrets of the ocean , which was why they all were absent from this meeting .

However , many of the clans here today had no doubt given up some findings of their own over the years to reap some benefits . Otherwise , something like this simply wasn't possible .

His own clan , Yrvar-Las-Eseru , had held a chair at the council for six million years , yet they only knew of some fragmented rumors about the city that once belonged to that ancient Autarch . But some outsiders had not only managed to locate it , but even modify it before bringing it to the surface? How could that possibly be possible without multiple council members selling out core secrets of the Harbor?

Is there truly nothing we can do? - Rhodium sighed as he turned to the Faebloom Monarch .

The ancient treant slowly opened his eyes , his expression downcast as he shook his head , causing the leaves in his crown to flutter with the Dao of Nature .

All our efforts to block the currents of fate have been a failure . The second facet of the Realm Spirit has already dispersed , meaning that the avatar in the E-grade trial is the only one still standing , - Faebloom sighed . - Even if it remains to the end of the trial , I think the Twilight Lord will be able to supplant its will and take control . -

The fact that the D-grade trial had ended in defeat was ultimately not too surprising . With the advantage of better results across three full grades and far superior equipment , the power discrepancy between the elite and the frontier Hegemons was just too big . However , they had held out some hope that quantity would beat out quality inside the E-grade trial , where they had hundreds of thousands of people working for them .

It’s only one of two , and that man has already seized the core chamber . Besides , they are simply too old , - Heryes of the Necromancer's Guild agreed . - They remained hidden for too long , and it’s working against us . If they had succumbed to the river of time a few million years ago , a new spirit would have been born by now , one properly in tune with the new realm . That way the Twilight Lord would never have been able to do something like this . -

There’s no point in lamenting that right now , - Rhodium said . - It looks like we are out of options . We will have to proceed with our final gambit . -

Should we strike now? - Artolo , a Corpselord Monarch , ventured with some anticipation in his eyes .

It wouldn't work , - Heryes grimaced . - That bastard is hiding in the folds between the trial dimensions like its nexus . We might actually be helping him if we strike now . -

What about the Havarok? - a Revenant monarch asked . - Have they answered our call? -

They have assured us they have the situation under control , but their goal is ultimately not the same as ours . For them , the only thing that matters is killing the impostor and preventing a hostile Autarch from ascending . Ruining our lifeline to make that happen is a small price to pay , - Rhodium frowned .

The room once more turned silent , and Rhodium looked around the chamber with lamentation . Twenty-four Monarchs , the weakest of them at the end of the middle stage . Yet they were filled with impotence as fate pushed forward like a tsunami . A tsunami that would swallow their homes and cut off their path of cultivation .

Certainly , none of them were in mortal danger . They could leave at any moment and look for another place to call home . But the price for doing so was too steep . Their current accumulations were thanks to their predecessors’ hard work for tens of thousands of generations and the unique environment provided by the Twilight Ocean .

With both gone , they could simply give up on refining their inner worlds any further . Most would no doubt lose a stage or two without the Twilight Rivers providing them with a constant stream of pure energy . Their creations weren't stable enough to withstand the drought of the Frontier for too long .

But there simply weren’t too many sanctuaries at the edge of the Multiverse , places where the Dao was clear and the energy dense enough to keep them going .

The few continents that could support a handful of Monarchs had entrenched powers that would fight tooth and nail to keep any rootless clans from settling in . Uprooting the locals would cost too much , further weakening their already damaged foundations . And joining the greater factions , after rebuffing their inquiries for millions of years?

They’d be lucky to become cannon fodder at some front line in the hopes that their descendants might get to live the life of commoners rather than slaves .

We can’t just wait around , - Ovo , one of the two Rox'At Elementals present at the meeting , said as six golden blades appeared behind their back . - Rebirth through death . -

Murmurs of agreement echoed through the hall .

Lady Heryes is right . It is not the right time , - Faebloom slowly said .

It’s never the right time with your kind , - Artolo growled . - You and the other cowards have prevented any concerted action for months now while the situation grows more and more chaotic . We’ve spent exorbitant sums setting up those nasty spears , yet they’re collecting dust while Alvod Jontun gets closer to his goal . -

The treant only grunted in response as space opened up above his crown , depicting the scene in the distance .

A vast ocean of blood churned above the entrance to the Twilight Ocean , stretching for hundreds of kilometers in each direction as it blocked out the spatial anomaly from above . Sitting on top of it was a small island where three warriors emitted tremendous auras . Any one of them would be a match for any of the councilors , but the hooded being in the middle was in a league of his own .

He was shrouded in sinister darkness , and his aura was not only that of a Divine Monarch but one right at the threshold of ascension . They still didn’t know his identity , but even a fool would know that he was here to snatch the opportunity for himself .

If the Eternal Clan guarded the Twilight Ocean from above , then the Eidolon guarded it from below . One million crystals formed a shockingly complex set of arrays , thousands of them interwoven with such complexity that they still couldn’t make heads or tails of the situation . They hadn’t even managed to pinpoint which one of the crystals that housed the Divine Monarch the spectrals had sent .

As if that wasn’t enough , there was even a vast nebula slowly rotating around the two guardians , tens of thousands of stars that formed an ever-changing pattern . It did not only provide an outer barrier to stall any sabotage of theirs , but it even blocked out most of their long-prepared methods to influence the trials . If not for the System's warning , none of the Trial Takers would have made it out of that triangle of death .

Artolo snorted when he saw the scene , but his fighting spirit had clearly waned a bit . Taking on not only the Undead Empire , but also the Radiant Temple , was a bit much even for the battle-crazed Corpselord .

Let us wait a bit longer . The Tarramak Vault will open quite soon . At that point , those three will not be able to act so domineering , and an opportunity should present itself , - Rhodium said , and the others nodded . - For now , let us finalize the lances . -

Interesting , interesting , - Artolo snickered as he phased out of the chamber . - I've never killed a whole realm before . -

Chapter 767 : Depths of Madness

I guess this is it , - Catheya smiled as she walked up to Zac , or rather the golem that stood at the edge of the basin .

Looks like it . Most people seem to agree , - Zac nodded .

The whole city was abuzz from the changes , and tens of thousands of warriors streamed toward the four gates . Zac could spot dozens of energy eruptions in the settlements as well , signs of chaotic battles taking place .

The City of Ancients waking up was like a match setting the whole area ablaze , and order was fast crumbling . As things looked , the scene would turn into a full-on war unless something changed . Thankfully , they didn’t need to wait for more than another minute before the gates begun to swing open , prompting the trial takers to freeze in anticipation .

No quest , - Catheya commented . - At least not here . -

Is that a clue? - Zac asked .

Increases the likelihood of this being a man-made event , - Catheya explained . - If it had been a true ancient city appearing by itself , the Ruthless Heavens would be more likely to turn the event into a limited quest . Of course , with people clawing at the gates , the System might deem it unnecessary to increase the incentives . -

Soon enough the doors were completely opened , but Zac still couldn’t see what was going on inside . The entrance reminded Zac of a spatial gate , a shimmering wall giving no hints of what waited on the other side . That didn’t stop those at the front line though , and thousands of people heedlessly rushed into the unknown , wanting to gain the first-mover advantage .

Others adopted a wait-and-see approach , hoping to use the first batch as an experiment to see what kind of dangers waited on the other side . Unfortunately , not a single one who entered emerged again , which almost certainly confirmed that the City of Ancient was sealed from the inside .

Even then , more and more people kept streaming inside , and hundreds of powerful auras started to descend toward the gates from the cliffs . It was the elites who had bided their time , hiding at the edge . Judging by some of the auras , there were more than a few who possessed Dao Branches . But even they were drawn by the dense energies and mysterious fluctuations coming from the city .

Zac’s eyes turned toward the large Havarok encampment in the distance , and he saw how orderly lines of warriors had started pouring toward the gate closest to them as well . The dams had collapsed , and the Havarok had given up on keeping people away . Instead , they joined the fight , though Zac wasn’t sure what their exact objectives inside would be .

The real Zac donned the distraction cloak and stepped out from the submersible for the first time in weeks , stowing away the golem who had been his eyes and ears . It was time to make his move . Zac’s goals in this place differed from everyone else’s , but he still was filled with some anxiety as he saw one warrior after another swimming through the gates into the unknown on the other side .

What if someone somehow managed to get their hands on his splinter and then left?

Be careful , - Zac said to Catheya as he started to slowly infuse Abyssal Phase] with Miasma . - Don’t worry about whether I have left or not if things get out of hand . Just exit the trial . I’ll figure something out . -

Aren’t you sweet , - Catheya smiled as she patted his arm . - And don’t worry . I’ll be fine , as will your followers . Who knows , you might have another planet waiting for you by the time you return home . -

Zac smiled weakly in response , once more filled with urgency . He didn’t know what he could do to help out his people back home , but that didn’t lessen his desire to return .

Here , use this while you approach , - Catheya said as she handed him an ice shard . - It’ll obscure you , just in case . -

Zac looked at it curiously as he infused it with some Miasma . The ice crystal immediately started expelling motes of ice all around him , hiding him in a shimmering nebula .

Thank you for all your help , - Zac sighed . - I’ll convey your message to your ancestor as quickly as I can . -

I have an idea if you’re willing . I can proactively reach out to the Ambassadors , explain your situation , and convey that you are friendly and can be an asset to the Empire . As long as I get the message to representatives of the empire , not even my master would dare make a move on you , - Catheya said . - At least it would give you a window to prepare , no matter what response the empire has . I'll try to send you a message somehow as well , if I'm in a position to do so . -

Zac slowly nodded , feeling the idea made sense . He had already reconciled with the fact that his secret would be exposed soon enough . If not the moment Catheya left the trial , then at least by the time she returned home . And she was right . It was probably better to reach out to the empire preemptively , rather than leave his secret to a declining clan desperate to regain its glory .

Even if Catheya and possibly her father wanted to befriend him , what about the other elders?

Alright , I trust your instincts , - Zac smiled . - Get me a good deal , alright? I wouldn’t mind visiting the Abyssal Shores in the future . -

Gods help us , - Catheya laughed .

The next moment Zac was gone , turned into an abyssal wraith . The world slowed down once more as Zac shot toward the City of Ancients . However , he didn’t go for the closest one , but rather the one to the east . The eastern gate was opposite of the one the Havarok Army was heading toward , which would hopefully minimize his interactions with those people .

They had sent out that olive branch , but Zac wouldn’t trust his life on it .

The ancient city came closer and closer , as Zac moved with blazing speed , but he noted that dozens of the cultivators descending from the ledges could match his pace . He even spotted three that were moving slightly quicker than him , most likely talents who had Dexterity as their main attribute .

Luckily , this was not a race , and Zac didn’t rush into the portal when he landed at the edge of the mob waiting right outside . He immediately started walking through the crowd at random to avoid having someone focusing on him . Honestly , though , Zac doubted his distraction cloak was even needed judging by how intently most people were staring at the shimmering barrier that hid the insides of the ancient city .

Not a single warrior who had entered had made it back outside , but neither did Zac sense any battles or suspicious fluctuations within the walls . It was completely tranquil , providing no clues as to what waited inside . Zac hesitated a bit as he circuitously came closer and closer to the gate . Should he really enter? It seemed like a pretty deadly event , and he hadn’t even confirmed if Uona or the splinter was inside .

But suddenly , a shudder rippled through his mind – it was there .

It was distant and obscured , but he had felt a weak hint of oblivion from the depths of the city . Zac hesitated no longer , and with one leap , he entered the City of Ancients .

A thick haze immediately greeted him on the other side , completely robbing him of any visibility . He couldn’t even see the axe that had appeared in his hand , and his Draugr Vision didn’t do anything to help him either . The only thing he could sense was what he could touch , and that was the cobblestone street he walked on .

Zac started to make his way forward , his nerves taut in preparation for an ambush . However , what met his gaze was not an army of spectral cultivators or Uona . It was a normal dilapidated street party covered in the ever-present haze . He turned around toward where he came from , but the way back was completely obscured .

He guessed it was a powerful confusion array running along the wall , preventing anyone from leaving . It might be possible to brute force his way out of there , but he had no interest in trying that out right now . He could still sense the splinter , and it felt much closer than before . It was so familiar . The impression was weak , but it reminded him of how it had felt when he had just found himself stuck with the first splinter .

Zac shook his head as he stepped onto the path , his brows scrunching together into a frown .

That god-damned vampire . Zac grit his teeth as he looked around at the ghastly surroundings . Even now that the haze wasn’t as dense , he could barely see more than fifty meters ahead . It was all her fault . She had forced him into this cursed place , when he could have been back in Port Atwood by now .

It was her fault that his people had set out on such a dangerous mission without him , invading a world without his protection . Who knew how many deaths it would lead to? Annoyance turned to fury as he continued forward , the knuckles on his right hand whitening as he saw the faces of those back home . He had already lost so many , and Uona had made him lose even more .

A sudden fluctuation in the air made him turn toward the left with a snarl , where a human drenched in blood appeared through the haze , his eyes tinted with madness and suffused with killing intent to the point that the white haze had turned red around him . That suited Zac just fine as he felt in urgent need of some release , and he actually stowed away his axe before he grabbed the man with his bare hands .

The human roared in anger as he tried to rip Zac to pieces , but Zac simply sneered asthe four chains of Love’s Bond] blocked his attacks . Zac's own two hands gripped hard and started to pull apart , and the man only had a chance to wail with pain before he was ripped in two . The rain of blood looked so beautiful as it painted the walls red , and Zac was lost in revelry for a moment . The mists in half the street had gained a rogue tint by now , and Zac felt like the world suddenly was more beautiful .

If he could only find a few more people and complete the imagery…

A sharp pang of pain erupted from his mind as the Shard of Creation slammed against the tunnel , prompting a few new cracks to appear . Zac shuddered as his mind cleared up , and he hurriedly erected the cage around the remnant again . Only then did he look down at his sanguine hands with incomprehension .

What the hell had just happened?

That sense of rage was so familiar . The splinter in Uona’s possession , could it really affect him from this far away? It had completely consumed him even if he had felt something was amiss for a few seconds . Or was the splinter in his mind somehow exerting pressure on him now that its brother was closeby? Zac frowned as he looked down at the corpse . Neither felt right .

The haze?

Zac quickly closed his pores and ate a general antidote pill , but it barely helped against the murderous impulses at all . He could quickly confirm that the effect wasn’t really medicinal in nature . He closed his eyes and stabilized his mind , moving away from the corpse , or more importantly the pool of blood that seemed to react with the mist .

However , he still felt weird murderous tendencies assail him even after avoiding both red and white mist for a while . It was like the very air was filled with condensed killing intent or something similar , some manner of tainted Mental Energy that couldn't be seen or sensed . Purity of the Void] was thankfully fast at work purifying the red mist that had already entered his body , but the biggest contributor to his mental state recovering was actually the wild shard in his Soul Aperture .

The air was filled with pervasive killing intent , and it entered his body completely unseen . But the moment the murderous intent came in contact with Creation it mostly fell apart , through his body took some damage from what was created in its stead . Some wounds were a small price to pay though , since the transformations didn't seem to cost him his life span .

The foreign energy that had slipped into his body had paid the price of Creation all on its own , perhaps thanks to having a will . It resulted in weird wounds filled with toxic goop forming in his body . Normally , Zac would have simply cut his arm and exsanguinated some of the impurities to speed up the process , but there was something weird going on with blood in this place as well .

It looked like Ventus’ predictions were right on the money . The City of Ancients contained a layered trap of soul and blood . The area itself nurtured and magnified your murderous impulses , perhaps even with the help of the Splinter of Oblivion . Next , blood interacted with the mist and supercharged it into something that provided all of the madness but none of the strength of items like the Rageroot Oak Seed] .

Now that he had realized the danger , Zac didn't feel the threat was too big . At least not for now . His mental state had been in a bad spot because of the stress from the shard and the incursion , allowing him to fall for a trap that normally wasn't nearly strong enough to take someone like him out . As long as he kept his mind guarded and his mental state stable , he should be able to withstand this place easily enough .

A sloshing sound drew Zac out of his musings , and he looked on with a mix of confusion and disgust as the pool of blood around the corpse started to congeal into small rivers that ran off into the mist , like they were called from the distance . Oddly enough , they didn’t move along the main road that should lead toward the heart of the city , but rather down one of the alleys and into the haze .

Zac hesitated for a moment before he shook his head and stayed on the main route , walking down the road and into the darkness . Once more , he found himself shrouded in the haze , but this time he was more cognizant of the risks .

He still heard the whispers , but he steeled his mind as he walked , forcibly keeping the anger at bay . Soon enough , he emerged from the haze , but something was wrong . The street , the buildings , the layout . It didn’t fit with the section he had walked through just a few seconds ago . Had he been teleported?

Or was the whole town covered in a confusion array , rather than just the edges? Zac was pretty sure that was the case . It didn’t look like he was getting closer to the splinter , even if he had walked toward it in a straight line .

A door suddenly exploded as two bloodied warriors tumbled out , both of them fighting for their lives in a ruthless melee . One of them was an undead warrior using a sword made from ice , and the other was a human holding a staff . But the wizard had clearly gone mad , using his weapon to bash in the swordsman’s head rather than conjuring spells .