Defiance of the Fall

Zac was in a sorry state, especially his Draugr body, after rushing into the sea of lightning to enter the [Epiclesis Bell]. Multiple skill fractals were damaged from cramming Chaos Energy into their delicate circuits, and his pathways were a mess. He'd even damaged his soul and Cosmic Core. It wasn't just the black lightning or the tribulation. The biggest problem was the dozen Chaos Motes he'd absorbed at once as a warning.

His Mental Energy was equally drained. The exhaustion from overcoming the Atavism and digesting the Dao Impartment was fast catching up with him now that he wasn't running on Chaos and adrenaline. Containing the Glimpses of Chaos for so long had provided Zac with valuable insights at the cost of overdrawing his reserves. His Soul Cores looked like dying stars, and swallowing a handful of recovery pills did little to help.

Zac wanted nothing more than to sleep, but having such a dangerous stowaway aboard the Yphelion was an issue that couldn't wait. The audacious Reaver hadn't actually teleported away after slamming him with his mace. Kator had snuck aboard the Yphelion, hiding his presence from the security systems by installing an unfamiliar array directly to one of the vessel's power lines. It created a bubble of isolation that perfectly matched the Yphelion's energy signature.

In hindsight, it was definitely the correct choice. Zac had seen just how far the Heavens and the System were willing to go to erase the threat. Top-tier escape treasures could certainly overcome such a vast distance, but that was when space was normal. The immense pressure from the Heavenly clouds combined with the weakened spatial integrity made any teleportation incredibly dangerous.

Not to mention, activating an escape treasure risked drawing the System's attention. It was a far safer choice for Kator to hide inside the Yphelion, betting on Zac's refusal to let his people come to harm. As such, he was safe and sound, having retreated to safety before Zac even cracked open the bell.

Luckily, Zac had caught him early. Kator's measures couldn't elude Zac's Chaos-augmented senses after activating [Apex Jungle]. Kator was a being of Death, and he'd lit up like a beacon. His subterfuge was even more hopeless after the System had upgraded the ship. Kator's array had to be custom-made to work with the Yphelion model, and it had lost much of its efficacy now that it was plugged into something else.

"I'm back. The plan worked, but we have a problem," Zac said with a muted voice into a communicator. "The Reaver is still here."

"Damn, I was forced to retract my shadows when the monks reappeared," Ogras swore on the other end. "They were coming alive."

"He used the chaos to his advantage," Zac sighed. "Knock out the other one and bring some people."

Zac kept a measured pace toward Kator's hiding spot. His state was far worse than the Reaver's, and Kator remained content to stay put for now. Every second gave Zac the chance to recover a bit more energy and figure out a plan. The problem was that Zac still couldn't figure out what Kator was thinking. It was clear that Kator's final attack was a disguised attempt to help him out.

Kator knew about his plan of using the Remnants even if Zac hadn't explained it outright. His uncle Kaldor had already seen Zac use them once in the Orom World, and it was impossible to hide the fact that he'd bought the set from the Limited Exchange after stepping into Middle Hegemony. Kator wanted to facilitate their activation by putting Zac in a time-accelerated domain. He would most likely have managed anyway, but the assistance made his job a lot easier.

That olive branch wasn't enough to discern whether Kator was friend or foe. Zac didn't have enough information on the White Sky Phalanx and the brewing conflict within the empire to understand Kator's position. He could be caught in a plot he wanted no part of or turned into a sacrificial pawn.

There were aspects of their recent interactions that supported that notion. Kator had always been annoying, but he'd been unusually infuriating since the mission began. Kator had also given him hints of the threat Zac faced from the Heartlands by mentioning the bounty, and there were similar clues hidden in their discussion when Zac was trapped by the Eidolon's seal.

Kator was also a ruthless opportunist. He'd called himself selfish, and Zac didn't doubt that part for a second. His actions had painted his faction in the worst possible light, and Zac hadn't thought twice about attacking the Undead Autarchs with the borrowed power of A'Zu and Be'Zi.

Now that things had calmed down, Zac was left with misgivings. The sudden appearance of Autarchs was absolutely not a good thing, but Zac felt Kator had led him toward the wrong conclusion. Were they really planning on killing him and taking the Flamebearer seal after he wrapped up his quest? Zac wasn't convinced after having some time to think it over.

A warning beep dragged Zac out of his thoughts, and Zac swore with alarm. "Hurry, he's targeting the ship arrays!"

Zac forced his body into action, setting off into a sprint. Kator had ripped open a panel of the Yphelion, and he was already digging around inside. This went far beyond siphoning some energy for his array. It was outright sabotage. Zac had hoped he could trust the Reaver's sense of self-preservation and that he'd lay low at least until black lightning had dispersed.

Kator must have realized the problem with his array and concluded his situation was so unfavorable that he had to take drastic measures. His actions didn't pose an empty threat, either. The Yphelion wasn't the most durable of Late D-grade Vessels, and he'd seen Kator's offensive might just moments ago.

The situation was even worse when the ship was targeted from within. Any critical arrays were guarded with additional protection, and there were multiple redundancies in place. However, Kator clearly had an intricate knowledge of the ship, going by his earlier inspection and how he could install the obfuscation array.

Kator's choice of hiding place shouldn't be random. There were hundreds of rooms and service tunnels throughout the ship, some even harder to access than his current location. Had they discovered a weakness in the design? If so, then an all-out attack could very well cripple the Yphelion.

The ship was only so big, and Zac appeared before the chamber in no time. Ogras stepped out of the shadows while Kruta, Emily, and Galau caught up soon after. Emily wasted no words before imbuing Zac with a set of tomahawks while a miniature totem pole appeared behind her back. Zac felt a rush of vitality from Emily's layered buffs as they stabilized and strengthened his body.

"Your right-hand woman is guarding the other one. She'll kill him if he makes the wrong move. I left one of my shadows just in case," Ogras whispered as he looked at Zac up and down. "What's our plan?"

"Be ready, but don't do anything hasty. He might not be an enemy," Zac said before opening the door.

"The locals kept gossiping about you, and the tales grew taller by the day. I even heard someone call you the reincarnation of an Abyssal Prince in Kavista before setting off. I was never convinced, even after you somehow activated that ancient piece of junk."

"And now?" Zac said as he stepped inside, [Death's Duality] firmly gripped in his right hand.

"Seeing is believing. Suffice it to say that my horizons have been broadened. I've never heard of someone bickering with the System and coming out ahead. The road was a bit bumpy, but it looks like you got everything you wanted."

"Not quite."

"I suppose. Can't get rid of me that easily," Kator laughed.

"Then let's talk," Zac said. "But first, get your arm out of the wall."

"I think I won't," Kator shrugged.

Killing Intent began leaking from Zac's body, and two similarly ruthless auras appeared in the room as Kruta and Ogras entered. Emily took up a position in the doorway, ready to provide support from the backlines. Galau remained outside, working remotely with the shipwrights on rerouting any critical systems and energy away from the area.

"Quite the line-up," Kator said as a shield grew on his free arm. "Are you sure you want to fight right now? I can tell you've taken a large step forward, but you're in a wretched state. Can the Yphelion withstand our battle? It'd be a shame everything fell apart now after you managed to navigate those dangerous waters."

"I will if I have to," Zac said with determination.

The silent standoff grew tenser by the moment, with neither side moving. Kator didn't take his hand out of the hole he'd created, but he also didn't channel any energy. Eventually, Kator's body began creaking and rumbling. He was actually laughing.

"I'm just joking. You're right. We need to talk, so I prepared a little something. Call it a belated greeting gift. Take a look."

Kator stepped aside, leaving Zac lost and suspicious. The Reaver's frantic dismantling had removed multiple layers of protective plating to expose a section of the arrays that made the Cosmic Vessel run. The complex, interlocking system was far beyond Zac's understanding, and the System's alterations had made them even more aliens.

However, even Zac could tell there was something odd going on with the exposed spot. The Yphelion had been completely reborn from the golden pillar. Zac had asked the System to bring them to safety, expecting it to teleport them or open a spatial tear. He'd never expected that the System would interpret Zac's request in such an oddly generous way.

Perhaps it felt the balance was skewed and added extra benefits. As such, the System didn't half-ass things as it did with some rewards. Anything Zac inspected with his administrator access or Soul Sense said the same thing. Not a single inch had missed the System's attention. Light fixtures, decorations, anti-dust arrays, storerooms—everything had been touched up.

Everything except a small section hiding in the wall of this remote service room.

The blockish fractal patterns that were the calling card of the Iliex stood out as a sore thumb in the middle of graceful patterns engraved by the System. Zac pushed his sense deeper into the hidden crawlspaces to confirm. The exposed spot was the only aberration, and it didn't seem like an external addition like Kator's obfuscation array.

The Iliex-designed section was fully integrated with the main array, and running diagnostics indicated everything was in working order. Pulling up schematics stored in the Yphelion's database even displayed this part, indicating it was part of the propulsion system of one of the subspace generators. Still, Zac had a bad feeling as he looked at it. The System wouldn't make a mistake like this.

"The Ruthless Heavens did me a solid," Kator said as he lazily scratched his chest, where a scar from his fight with the Golem remained. "It would have been harder to convince you otherwise."

"What—" Zac said, only stopping himself at the last moment. He'd been led around the nose enough by Kator today. "Step aside."

Kator shrugged and sauntered over to the far side of the room, with Kruta and Ogras taking up defensive positions.

"Galau, come over," Zac said, and the merchant peeked over his girlfriend's shoulder soon after. "What do you make of this?"

"Huh, what's this?" Galau said, his wariness over Kator's imposing presence gradually giving way to academic curiosity. "It's part of the schematic, but why is this pathing suboptimal? No… don't tell me…"

"Can you identify it?"

"There is something odd going on, but it's hidden in an ingenious way. I need some help to figure out what the secondary function is. Can you call over Jaol?" Galau asked, his eyes never leaving the Iliex runes.

It didn't take long before a glassy-eyed Jaol stumbled through the door, clearly having trouble coming out of the Dharmic vision. The tense atmosphere woke him right up, and he scurried over to Galau's side. Ogras had already thrown out an isolation array to mute their discussion, but their confused expressions indicated their analysis would take a while.

"Don't look at me," Kator said. "I have my suspicions, but I'll wait for your helpers to confirm them. We wouldn't want our new partnership to start off on the wrong foot because of a mistaken guess, now would we?"

"Alright, what games are you playing? One minute you're antagonizing me, the next you're acting buddy-buddy."

"Why not just throw him overboard?" Kruta said. "The easiest way to deal with stowaways."

"Forceful teleportation is easier said than done, Blooddancer. Especially when the target is wearing a spatial anchor," Kator snickered. "Besides, doing so would have nasty consequences for everyone involved. You can explain it, one barbarian to another."

"The binding clauses of our agreement are still active," Zac sighed. "Throwing him overboard now is a death sentence, so I'll be hit with a backlash. The contract was witnessed by more than half the Undead Empire's Surpemacies, including the Primo."

"How is that possible?" Kruta sputtered while Ogras looked thoughtful. "Is the agreement still standing? They sent Grand Elders into the region!"

"Even so."

Zac had tried to make Kator admit to breaking the agreement or rebelling against the Undead Empire, but he'd been extremely careful with his words and actions since the get-go. Kator was correct in that he hadn't broken a single clause, and Zac could still sense the magic stamp that meant the Primo's Writ remained active. Conversely, simply attacking Kator without proper justification risked triggering a backlash, as it would be a form of insurrection against their official party leader.

It would have been one thing if Kator had actually tried to damage the Yphelion, as that was equivalent to an attack on everyone aboard. But even that turned out to be a false opening. Zac felt a headache coming on, and he looked at Kator with annoyance. It felt like he was dealing with a lawyer rather than an elite soldier.

"Buddy, you need to read everything twice over when dealing with old schemers," Kruta lamented. "Otherwise, you'll end up digging trenches in some penal colony for a few Nexus Crystals a month."

"I guess I missed this loophole."

"That's a pretty big loophole to miss," Kruta muttered. "Ai, whatever. I knew what I signed up for."

"So you'll be the one who faces the backlash if we want this guy gone?" Ogras snorted. "Like a bone stuck in the throat, this one."

"I can't relate, but I'll take your word for it," Kator said.

"We got it! It's a tracker!"

Everyone's attention was drawn to Galau, who'd emerged from the isolation array.

"What did you say?" Zac growled. "A tracker? Is it active? Can the Autarchs use it to follow us?"

The fate of the four Autarchs had suddenly become the most pressing issue. Their positions had imploded into unstable black holes filled with malevolence and heavenly wrath. Zac couldn't imagine even an Autarch surviving such a deadly concoction. However, there were no signs of them inside the Void.

A Monarch was essentially a walking Mystic Realm, and Zac remembered how specialized units hurried over any time a Monarch fell during the war. A Low-grade Monarch's Inner World could survive for a couple of weeks after its creator's demise, becoming a time-limited trove holding the wealth of a C-grade cultivator.

Of course, it was a risky venture, considering it was almost impossible to kill a Monarch without also crippling their world. It could collapse at any time, and whole sections could split off and disappear without notice.

No matter how weak or stable their worlds are, there would be signs of spatial instability. This wouldn't change when an Autarch fell. If anything, the commotion would be hundreds of times greater. Yet there wasn't a whiff of spatial fluctuations or broken pieces of an inner world around the blast site.

Zac had been too preoccupied with Vilari at the time and simply figured they'd managed to escape by the skin of their teeth. He hadn't been too worried, as their main priority should have been to escape Heaven's pursuit. By the time things calmed down, they would have been forced out of Zurbor, and any trail leading to them would have gone cold.

However, things were very different if they were being tracked.

"Don't worry; it doesn't work after the ship broke," Galau assured Zac, allowing him to breathe out in relief.

"What, you still think this is related to us? How are we supposed to have installed this thing?" Kator scoffed. "You've been monitored by someone else."

"Who?"

"The Centigrade Pryer must have had his eyes on you for a while."