Defiance of the Fall

Zac didn't know what to think as he observed the Trove. Their lack of information was working against them. The Kan'Tanu had the graveyard on lockdown, and those they'd interrogated only knew surface information. Why an anomaly would look like this or how to deal with it was well outside that scope.

"It looks human," Ogras commented. "Big fella, too."

The eye did indeed look mostly human, except it was at least ten times larger than the Yphelion. It had seen better days. The white had become murky grey, and it was shrunken like it had lost most of its water. A string of rotten nerves was still attached, looking like a tail as it navigated through the storm.

"It's not real," Galau said after a few moments. "It's energy given shape around a spatial gate. Something in the lingering will made it take this appearance."

"Maybe the outer shape takes after the spiritual anchor," Zac said.

"The main source of resentment could be an Ocular Cultivator," Emily offered. "It looks sort of normal, though."

"What is your approach, Draugr? Go in and break anything that looks like an eye?" Kator asked.

"Something like that." Zac took out an Array Disk. "We've brought scanning arrays. They look for gatherings of resentment and energy. We'll split into two teams, and you're with me."

Each squad originally had five members, and Galau and Kator added another two. Zac led team one, whose main objective was dealing with the Trove. Kruta helmed the other, with Joanna as second-in-command. Galau joined this group along with Rhuger, Bubbur, and Janos, and their main task was to look for the seal and any other treasures. Meanwhile, Zac had Ogras, Emily, Carl, and Ra'Klid to back him up.

Catheya wasn't joining this particular mission, even if she wasn't needed by Vilari's side any longer. Zac wanted to keep Catheya and Kator apart as much as possible. She was officially a subordinate of his, while Zac was only really required to follow the Reaver's orders after they'd entered the trial. That didn't mean Kator could order Catheya to do anything he pleased, but Zac didn't want to risk anything until they had all their ducks in a row.

The preparations were quickly finished, with each squad entering a landing vessel specially modified to better withstand the dangers of the Imperial Graveyard. They could probably make it to the eye without them since all were Hegemons, but they provided an extra layer of protection.

The reinforced vessels left through a hatch the moment the eye was within reach, prompting a series of curses and worried looks. The constant tremors had made it seem as though the Yphelion's shields were barely doing anything, but that was absolutely not the truth. The pod ships groaned under the strain from the cosmic turbulence, and a sinister aura immediately permeated the insides.

Zac had expected the environment to resemble the sword scar in the Centurion Lighthouse, but this resentment was far more chaotic. It had been possible to get a sense of the Autarch who left the enormous chasm. In contrast, the resentment burrowing into Zac's body and mind was such a mottled mix that it had lost any defining traits. It was more like the madness of the Lost Plane, except without the profound insights to match.

The corruption wasn't enough to faze Zac, who'd dealt with far more insidious attacks on his mind and heart. [Purity of the Void] was working in concert with [Immutability of Eoz] to purify the infiltration. [Void Heart] would normally have helped out, except it was still occupied with refining the third bolt of Tribulation Lightning from yesterday.

Zac observed his followers, gratified to see everyone dealing with the infiltration without a problem. Rava's teachings and the preparations for withstanding the [Epiclesis Bell] were bearing fruit.

"The entrance is the pupil. The spatial fluctuations are quite weak, so the Trove shouldn't be more than a few times larger than the eye," Jaol said through a communicator, his voice crackling from static.

"That doesn't matter if we're dealing with an Ocular cultivator's world," Kator grunted. "They can be as large as their imagination."

Zac agreed. The saying that the eyes were the windows to the soul held water even in their current reality. If they were dealing with the lingering resentment of an Ocular Cultivator, the odds of finding an illusory realm on the other side were quite high.

Ocular Cultivators had three main branches, Scouts, Illusionists, and Mentalists. Other paths, like the Temporal Eyes of the Cartava Clan or purely offensive techniques, were quite rare. The idea of destroying your enemies with a glance was enthralling, but it wasn't very practical. Simply using one's hands or a Spirit Tool was generally more effective than forcing the eye to be something it was not.

"I'm sorry, we don't have anything more useful for you," Jaol continued. "We'll try to find out more after you enter, but there might be interference."

"It's okay. We'll manage," Zac said.

The pods were equipped with more powerful scanners than the Array Disks they'd brought. However, they relied on the Yphelion's Main Arrays to interpret most of the data. Without a proper scout like Jaol to join the mission, the arrays were essentially big recorders.

The groans of corrupting winds calmed as they approached the aberration. Or rather, it approached them while the Yphelion added more distance—the Trove moved far faster than their pods could. A gossamer of twisted memories replaced the storm's roar, windows into a long-lost world. Zac entered a Void State while his subordinates activated various defenses.

It didn't change anything. He kept seeing snippets of battles intermixed with jarring patterns and colors.

"It's really an illusory trove. It's all risk, no reward," Kator spat with annoyance. "We'll be lucky if we manage to take out a single item."

"The normal Troves usually aren't much better," Zac muttered as the vessels pierced the pupil's swirling darkness. "Get ready; anything can wait on the other side."

Space rippled, and a powerful force rocked the vessel soon after.

"We're under attack!" Ogras alerted before turning into a streak of shadows.

The hatch had already opened, and Zac shot out with his weapon in hand. He was greeted by a scene that was both foreign and familiar. An all-out war raged all around them, seemingly over a domed building in the distance. The soldiers numbered in the millions and were tearing into each other with a ferocity that had tipped over into insanity.

The bloody conflict was between cultivators donning blue-crested robes—soldiers of the Limitless Empire—and an unfamiliar faction who seemed equally matched. They appeared indifferent to the sudden appearance of a third party, and the attack on their vessel appeared to be incidental damage from a clash between two Late-stage Hegemons far in the distance.

However, their presence had been noticed in the most unsettling way. Every single soldier was looking straight at Zac as they fought against their enemies. Some even had their heads turned 180 degrees like they had snapped their necks to maintain eye contact. Zac couldn't help but shudder at the unnatural attention, especially upon realizing the millions of eyes were identical to the larger one they'd just entered.

There was a profound wrongness with the whole situation beyond the unnatural stares. The topography was constantly shifting, and the soldiers were constantly replaced. An imperial soldier could be a barbaric fighter drabbed in furs the next second, like multiple battles and memories had been mashed together without care for continuity.

Zac felt he was in a waking dream, finding something amiss any time he focused on a detail. It was drastically different than most illusions, which were designed to pull you in by perfectly mimicking reality while suppressing any attempts to question it. Even then, Zac saw no weakness to exploit. The illusory realm may as well be real, relying on snippets of Dao far above what their group possessed.

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Thankfully, the welcome stopped at unnerving attention, giving Zac the opportunity to gauge the situation properly. They had less than half an hour to deal with the illusory realm, so if they rushed in blindly they risked ruining their only chance at accomplishing their mission.

There was no sign of the entrance nor the other vessel. Every squad member carried a life-signal ring, though, confirming the other squad was fine. They were likely trapped in another layer of the illusion, and Zac trusted them to fend for themselves. Having Janos on their squad, they were even better equipped to deal with the situation.

The only thing that seemed immune to the constant replacement was the domed building in the distance, and it was also the direction the Array Disks pointed.

"The core is in the dome!" Zac said.

Focusing on the building was all it took to be dragged into the war. The illusion shifted, and Zac suddenly found himself facing an insane Early D-grade Imperial Soldier while the others were matched against similar foes. A burst of brutal swings dismembered the warrior in no time, only for him to be replaced by another one before Zac could finish the attack.

There was no Kill Energy reward, even if it felt like a real clash. The endless stream of warriors didn't pose a threat, but Zac soon noticed something odd. The others were ripping apart enemies one after another, just like him—except Carl. He remained unaccosted as he kept watch of the surroundings, firing arrows at anything approaching their vessel.

Carl possessed abilities and equipment that lessened his presence, but Zac could tell there was more to it than that. Zac had an idea and put the dome out of sight and mind as he destroyed the next warrior. This time, there was none to take her place.

"Ignore the dome!" Zac said, swearing with annoyance when his words dragged him back into battle.

The others quickly caught on, turning their group into spectators again. Over the next minute, they tried various methods, hoping to save time on their approach to the core. It was impossible. Anything they attempted conjured new enemies. Using skills also proved troublesome as channeling energy seemed to attract more attention.

"We can't sit around here," Kator said.

"Emily and Ra'Klid, guard the vessel. Ignore the thing as best as you can. The rest of us are breaking through," Zac said.

Emily nodded and unleashed a flourish of tomahawks while a protective totem appeared above the pod. Her buffs would eventually run out of energy without reapplication, but they'd last at least fifteen minutes—at which point they needed to have wrapped things up anyhow.

Zac rushed forth, ignoring the confusing surroundings. The only thing that mattered was the dome and the enemies that barred his path. Chains rattled as they wound around the staring warriors with crushing force, tearing them apart or simply hurling them out of the way. He'd become the Underworld's apostle, where each swing brought an end to their suffering. Rightful conclusion had been denied these lingering wills for too long.

The Defiant War churned through his body, imparting him with seemingly inexhaustible energy. The war around him stimulated his Earthly Dao, allowing Zac to bring out more of its untapped power. Meanwhile, the evolved Pale Seal far better encompassed the concept of finality now that his Dao contained a first set of truths related to Oblivion.

Zac could tell that each kill exhausted the illusory realm by a small degree by destroying the thoughts they had sprung from. However, most were retained and repurposed. He'd have to fight for weeks to completely exhaust such a large accumulation, and that was provided the illusory world didn't draw nourishment from the outside.

The idea of being steeped in battle for days on end wasn't without its allure. It would be the perfect opportunity to get acquainted with his recent gains. Every swing was a revelation, allowing Zac to discover a new aspect of his upgraded Daos.

Just being based on greater Daos allowed his Inexorable Stance to showcase greater might than ever before. And yet, Zac felt dissatisfied when [Death's Duality] wove an intricate dance to open a path to the dome. He felt he wasn't utilizing his Daos to their utmost anymore. Part of it could be explained by lack of experience, but there was also a more fundamental issue at play.

His technique wasn't able to utilize the added profundity of an Earthly Dao, nor did it properly incorporate Creation and Oblivion. The latter was something that could be fixed with slight adjustments. The former required more comprehensive overhauls.

A technique didn't need to have reached Late Integration to use Earthly Daos. For instance, Kator had only reached Middle Integration, and his ferocious advance through the sea of warriors indicated he was still trapped at this stage. The problem was that Zac had created his stances before understanding what an Earthly Dao meant.

Zac had given his stances room to grow since his path had been laid out for years, but the jump to Earthly Daos was beyond his ability to anticipate or incorporate before he wielded one. It was like asking a fish to describe the sky. He'd expected there to be a problem, though not to this degree. He'd have to deal with it before facing a real threat, whether that was through an upgrade to Late Integration or expanding his current stance.

Thankfully, the opponents weren't enough to cause any real problems, even when they grew stronger as they drew closer to the domed building. It looked like Middle D-grade would be the limit, even if Monarchs were duking it out in the sky. They were just hollow illusions with nothing but the form to show. Otherwise, the Trove's energy signature would have been far stronger.

They reached the stone dome in just five minutes, at which point shutting out the surroundings was no longer enough to stop the harassment. Zac was about to ask Ogras and Carl to look for a path inside when he felt a powerful pull. Zac could resist it with his bloodline but opted not to when seeing the others disappear.

Zac looked around the spherical building, noting that the dense scripts on the ceiling were nothing but gibberish. The dome appeared to have been a powerful War Array, but whatever conjured this vision didn't remember the details. That probably explained why the whole thing was almost empty except for a pulsating swirl of spatial resentment in the middle.

The core.

The lonely silence inside the chamber was a stark contrast to the deranged war outside. Only one enemy was waiting for them, standing between them and their target. The haggard man was covered in blood after having clawed his eyes out. Guttural sounds escape his mouth. There was the occasional word or phrase between the grunts and growls, but it was impossible to glean anything from the ravings.

The man wasn't fluctuating between different appearances, making him feel more real than the warriors they'd fought. It had to be a wisp of the Trove's main consciousness. The entity possessed terrifying energies despite his wretched state, eclipsing even Kator's when he fought the golem monk. They would have been in for a tough fight if the madman hadn't been completely oblivious to his surroundings.

No one did anything to attract his attention, restraining their auras as much as possible. Carl slightly shook his head when Zac looked at him. The sniper wasn't confident in destroying the core with a ranged attack, nor did Kator step up to the plate. It wasn't laziness or intentionally making trouble, though the Reaver was likely using the opportunity to get a better look at Zac's abilities.

The issue was the dense swirl of resentment surrounding the core. There was no telling how a skill would react when entering its domain, except it would probably awaken its guardian. It was also unclear whether the core was a tangible object or susceptible to attacks.

Zac cracked his neck and got ready. There was only one way to find out, and it was clear he was the best suited to the job since he had his bloodline in case brute force didn't work. A dense shroud of shadows hid his presence, courtesy of Ogras. Zac was about to sneak forward when he felt a looming presence behind him.

"Wai-" Zac wheezed, but his word of caution fell on deaf ears.

Kator's flanged mace crashed into his back, launching him forward like a Temporally accelerated cannon. The Reaver used the same method as before, except he applied even more force now that his attributes weren't sealed. Things had already reached this point, so Zac turned into an abyssal streak to increase his speed further.

He shot past the eyeless guardian at breakneck speed. The latter still didn't react, though the whole chamber shook when two pillars of force passed by him to his sides. It was Carl and Ogras launching powerful ranged skills that dug into the curtain of protective resentment just before Zac arrived.

The guardian finally stirred, releasing a screeching wail that held a thousand voices and destroyed Carl's attack with a swipe. It was like the skill had become an illusion and winked out before doing any real harm.

The eye-less guardian didn't see the same level of success when dealing with Ogras' attack. It tore a huge hole in the curtain, giving Zac almost free access to the core. Zac appeared in a puff of darkness, shrouding the surroundings in Abyssal Darkness. A swing holding the limit of Zac's path tore into the core.

Zac's plan to follow up with a second swing proved unnecessary. The core shattered, unleashing a storm of resentment. Kator's temporal domain instantly crumbled and was replaced by a sphere of utter nothingness. Torrents of Spatial Energy and resentment tried to pull him under. The combination of [Void Zone] and [Profane Exponents] proved enough to tide over the sudden burst.

Looking around, Zac realized the chamber was gone, as was the whole illusory world. He was floating in outer space, with no sign of the eyeless guardian or the Trove. The others were spread out in the area, with the second squad just a mile away. The pods were also fine, barring some minor damage.

Kator was just a few dozen meters away, while Ogras and Carl had backed away to avoid the brunt of the attack.

"Don't you have any better ways to apply your Temporal Domain?" Zac glared.

"I do, but where's the fun in that?" Kator laughed as he looked around. "I guess that's it? Not bad for a first run."

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"Not bad, huh?" Zac sighed as he flew toward the pod.

Detonating the Trove had caused a shockwave of resentment that was pushing into the larger storms around them. He could already feel the winds intensifying. Soon enough, the accumulations would reach critical levels and form new aberrations. There was no guarantee the next one would only be at the eye's level, so they would need to be long gone before then.

It would be a long couple of months.