Defiance of the Fall

The unforgiving divinity of Arcadia shone with golden splendor, creating a pocket of light in the darkness of [Eye of Desolation]. The axe of [Arcadia's Judgment] could barely be called a blade since being upgraded to D-grade, nor were there any signs of the wooden hand from before. Instead, the huge gash in the sky had become the actual attack. When the light descended, so did the judgment.

The large suppressive magic circle was also gone, though its effect remained and was stronger than ever. Arcadia's influence now reached wherever its light did. Gaseous clouds of distant dreams poured out of the hulking behemoth to teleport away or hide within a dreamscape. It accomplished nothing. The golden rays dispersed the clouds the moment they formed, rejecting all falsehoods and preventing anything from coming between themselves and their target.

There was no escaping judgment, and the pugilist was no exception. His actual strength was roughly on par with Zac's, and not even a Peak D-grade Cosmic Core could rally enough energy to easily combat the power of a Void-activated Middle D-grade finisher.

Seeing he was stuck with an earthshattering strike descending on his head, the Black Heart Cultist's aura soared even higher. He was putting everything into tiding through the descending strike, including talismans and forming a flesh wall with the help of his curse.

The commotion allowed the second danger to arrive unnoticed from below. It resembled the blade of an upside-down guillotine, sent straight from the King of Hell to end the desperate struggle of whoever had been marked by Death. Dense runes covered its gleaming edge, and it looked like an actual gate to the underworld formed wherever it passed.

The scene was only visible to Zac's eyes. Its form was obscured within the darkness of [Eye of Desolation], and not even [Judgment of Arcadia] could pierce through its innate gloom. Furthermore, its aura was almost perfectly contained within the blade, making it incredibly difficult to discern when the cultist's immediate surroundings were drowned in torrential amounts of energy.

Its subdued appearance was a stark difference to the skill's form in the E-grade, where it conjured wings and later spheres. Zac had done away with all of that, even the skull that delivered the final strike. All the focus was on increasing speed and lethality. That wasn't to say Zac saw no changes from activating [Desperation's End].

A pitch-black scroll had emerged from a deathly vortex to his side. It was covered in lines written in blood, using scripts completely alien to Zac. Their meaning was still clear; it was a line of names whose time had come. A new line had already been added, and Zac could feel a hint of the pugilist's aura within.

It was like Zac had become the controller of the pugilist's future the moment his name was engraved. The scroll didn't restrict or bind. It only showed a glimpse from the river of fate, allowing Zac to adjust his strike as needed to accomplish its goal.

The golden blade of Arcadia arrived first. It tore into the meaty wall with unquestionable might, and the unbridled Life stored in the light caused the barrier to mutate and lose its cohesion. The scene was similar to the effect of Creation, except more targeted. It drastically weakened the blockade, allowing the judgment to cut closer to its real target.

The scene was new and easy to understand. Many of his undead skills had seen subtle changes since Oblivion was added to his Daos, in a weak echo of the changes his skills had seen when used with Remnant Energy. The most noticeable improvement was to [Eye of Desolation], which already relied on Oblivion to function. Having an actual Dao incorporating those truths made the skill far sturdier. Without it, the crumbling dimension outside would already have broken through.

Zac hadn't gotten the chance to try out the effect with his human body until now, and [Jugment of Arcadia] appeared to take on more of Creation's aspects than most of his skills. Even then, it wasn't enough to take out the pugilist in one go. A tattoo lit up on his chest, and a thick plaque appeared to block the descending strike. Zac welcomed the sight, seeing as the hidden defense wasn't omnidirectional.

The scroll had already indicated there were no obvious defenses protecting the pugilist from below, and the timing was perfect. The pitch-black edge tore into the giant with incredible momentum, almost cutting him clean in two before he could react. An explosion of fleshy tendrils desperately tried to exhaust the skill before it could reach the Cosmic Core, but the ambush made the pugilist lose control of his defensive tattoo.

The plaque destabilized, giving [Jugment of Arcadia] the window it needed to break through. Life dug into the grotesque head covered in wriggling veins, severing the storm of dreams that flooded out of his damaged Soul Aperture. The mayhem of Zac's full power was too much, and the resistance completely crumbled.

Life and Death met in the center, resulting in an apocalyptic explosion that almost made [Eye of Desolation] break down. Cracks rapidly spread across the last sculpture band as deadly streaks of entangled Life and Death flooded every corner of the cage. Even Zac was forced to dodge and weave, so there was no need to mention the Goliath from whose chest the explosion originated. Not even scraps remained.

Zac's human avatar appeared by his side, the wooden wheel still floating behind his back. [Verun's Bite] was in his hand, dripping with blood. He'd taken the opportunity to finish off the other enemies inside the pocket dimension. They'd already been at death's door, so it hadn't required any effort. Space rippled, but Zac didn't immediately send his other avatar back into the Shrine of Kanba.

They stood side by side, observing the beautiful spectacle before him. It was the complete opposite of the clean delineation between Life and Death when using [Rapturous Beginning] and [Sonorous End], the fusion skill he'd created based on [Rapturous Divide].

The original target was all but forgotten. Life desperately warred with Death for hegemony, each side rallying everything in their repertoire to swallow the other. Everchanging Creation joined the war to resist the desolation brought by Oblivion. Zac took a shuddering breath, finally seeing the answers he'd strived for put on open display.

It was a shame he couldn't wait any longer. The line on the scroll hadn't been crossed out, and there was still no surge of Kill Energy. Zac's human body finally disappeared before his Draugr half rushed forth, right toward the heart of the madness.

Void, Conflict, and Death coursed through his pathways, making him an embodiment of his inexorable path. The rampant streaks from [Desperation's End] and [Jugment of Arcadia] were unable to touch so much as the hem of his robes, as were most of the spatial tears formed in the storm's eye.

He was like a specter, separated from the Dao. In reality, his actions only worked because he was the origin of the explosion. He understood the concepts behind the seemingly out-of-control frenzy around him, and the Void allowed him to walk in its blind spots until he reached the very center.

Where a huddled form waited. The cultist was grievously wounded but alive. Thousands of discarnate souls swirled around him for added protection, sacrificing themselves to exhaust any danger coming his way. Behind them, a final barrier protected the Black Heart warrior from any further harm.

The cultist was back in his original form, though his skin looked ruddy like a baby's. Zac, having regrown his limbs many times, could tell the whole body was new. He must have used a special survival technique, similar to being reborn from a drop of blood. Judging by the spiritual fluctuations, he was already preparing an escape.

It was lucky he hadn't taken anything for a given, even if both his Void-activated finishers had hit him head-on. An inexorable step put Zac before his target, and Abyssal chains tore apart the wailing souls before they could get close. Murky eyes filled with hatred stared at him from within the purple barriers as a mysterious rune appeared between his clasped hands.

He was already fading away, but his relief was bound to be short-lived. Vengeance turned into shock and confusion when Zac stepped right through the shield as though it wasn't there.

"How—"

The sound of a wooden wheel turning echoed in the darkness, and the dream rune shattered. A tug on Zac's spectral chain pulled his maimed target back from the dream world, and a seemingly simple swing delivered true finality.

Zac swiped all treasures and spatial items with expert precision before moving out of the way, a wave of exhaustion and pain hitting him now that he'd accomplished his job. The battle had lasted less than a minute, where the short duration might have made it seem like a steamroll.

The crisscross of wounds across his body told another tale. He'd also used almost all his cooldown skills, which were significantly draining his reserves now that they were Middle D-grade skills. Resisting the curses had exhausted another chunk of his energy and Vigor.

It was lucky he had multiple energy stockpiles. It allowed him to spend Cosmic Energy instead of miasma on the Specialty Core's Karma-warding ability, avoiding the undead species' inborn weakness of energy insufficiency. Unfortunately, Zac knew he wasn't out of the woods yet. The host was dead; its passenger was not.

His attack would have killed any normal Kan'Tanu Heart Curse before it could emerge. The Black Heart Curse clearly worked differently, as he couldn't find its core. A spike of danger made him flash away, leaving a D-grade talisman in his wake. A tremendous explosion rocked one side of [Eye of Desolation] while Zac appeared on the opposite side.

Zac had learned his lesson after the spatial curse and would keep his distance until he knew what he was dealing with. He barely had time to reposition before a second scream of danger shook his mind. A clawing swing aimed at his throat had appeared out of nowhere, infused with enough power for the nails to create spatial tears as they moved. Zac narrowly dodged but found himself unable to extricate himself from his new enemy.

Or rather, his old enemy. Zac briefly wondered if his kill had been part of another dream when he saw the Black Heart Pugilist come at him with unhinged madness in his eyes. No, it wasn't a dream. The scar of being cut in two was still there, as were the scorch marks from his talisman. Not to mention, he'd already received the kill energy.

The Black Heart Curse acted completely differently than the Kan'Tanu versions, which burst out like parasites desperate for a new host. The real thing was far more integrated with its host, allowing it to use the original body much longer. Zac could sense a slight drain of Life Force in every swing, but a young Peak D-grade cultivator would be able to keep going like this for hours.

The pugilist used the same Daos as when alive, but his combat style had completely transformed. He fought like a berserker, unleashing 120% of his strength. Zac was almost overwhelmed by the storm of violence, reduced to a passive defense that pushed him and [Love's Bond] to their limits. He would have been overwhelmed if not for [Arbiter of the Abyss] and [Eye of Desolation] resuming their suppression.

Zac neither had the time nor energy to whittle down such an opponent, so he looked around for ways to deal with it. Luring it into the ball of Oblivion in his skill's center would be the best solution, but the possessed body clearly wasn't completely mindless. It fought with the ferocity of a beast, which included perceptivity for danger.

Suddenly, Zac roared and swung with everything he had. The corpse realized something was amiss and veritably exploded with power to shake off the many chains latched around its limbs. However, the sole, pitch-black rune on [Death's Duality] lit up at that exact moment.

The corpse froze in place as a projection of Alea appeared behind him. Serrated chains dangled from her hands. The other ends were already wound around the pugilist, who desperately struggled against the restraint. However, the seal was one on fate and future, making the binding absolute.

A burst of spatial madness almost took Zac's head after tearing a hole in the dimensional fabric. The immobilized Heart Curse was completely consumed by the storm, and the body was once more torn into thousands of pieces. Zac urgently activated [Abyssal Drive] to escape in the other direction as his Supreme Pathbound Skill collapsed around him.

The spot Zac chose wasn't random. It was the dimensional weak spot created by his finishers clashing, hidden by [Eye of Desolation]. There had been a price to pay for Ibtep's grubs to seal space. The Spatial Cultivator creating a stable pocket was no different, even if not at the same scale. Zac's swing called forth the backlash early, destroying both the dimensional pocket and Zac's domain.

Fierce forces ripped into Zac's intangible body from every direction as he escaped back to the main dimension. Thankfully, the pocket was closely linked, and Zac soon found the way. He was greeted by a gallery of carnage of struggle.

Kruta was closest by; his burning ancestor lit up like a sun behind him. His two brutal shortswords were hacking at two black-robed cultivators who fought back with an exquisite Sword Array. The whole area around him was set ablaze, and the dancing flames made Zac think of burning steppes.

The icy domain nearby was a stark contrast. Catheya had become an apostle of icy Death, locking down and siphoning the Life out of three Middle D-grade Hegemons, one of them another Black Heart Cultist. Crystalline spirits that made Zac's heart clench danced across the glacier, each instilled with an unnatural cold.

Streaks of gold were continuously released from the Yphelion's side. It was Carl who assisted all the ongoing battles with well-timed snipes that disrupted momentum or put enemies at a disadvantage. A few corpses floated nearby, which meant he'd dealt with assassins who'd tried to sneak aboard the ship. Vilari and Emily were defending his flanks, ensuring the sniper's and the vessel's safety.

Most of the weaker combatants had fallen already. Zac had taken out a good chunk with [Deathmark] while fighting inside the Dimensional pocket. The skill becoming a fixed-area ability instead of following him around had worked in his favor this time. The skill had already run out of energy, and someone else had continued the job he started.

Zac shuddered upon seeing dozens of specters harass the final pockets of resistance among the common personnel, their aura so evil that even the Heart Curses seemed scared. Zac knew Ogras hadn't given up on the [Shadewar Flag] even if the demon hadn't used it since they set out. On the contrary, he'd made huge strides in upgrading the flag, going by the waves of fell Karma it exuded as it floated above its prey.

It was the same wherever Zac looked, with his companions fighting for their lives. Zac was relieved to see all of his Sealbearers alive. However, the same was true for more than half of the enemy's upper echelon, forcing his people to fight against multiple enemies. Everyone sported grievous wounds or had auras flickering precariously to signify spiritual damage.

Normally, Ogras would have acted as a floater, using his stealth to jump between battlefields to finish off weakened targets. A few shadow tendrils were still trying just that, but the greatest gathering of shadows was by Kator's side. Zac could see why. The reaver had already activated all four Miracle Bones Zac knew of in his battle against the Black Heart Half-Step Monarch.

And he was still at a disadvantage.