Defiance of the Fall Chapter 1406: Rebirth

A sudden quiver caused the passages of the Meiu Ancestral Tomb to quake, announcing the downfall of reality itself. Lompo swiftly lifted his hand and started expending Imperial Merit to extend the memory's persistence just a bit more. Seconds afterward, a voice echoed to him from beyond the door.

“Don’t bother.”

Lompo yielded, and the robust barriers crumbled into heaps of debris, with vast skies now stretching above them. The heavy portal that had divided him from his lord had vanished entirely, allowing Lompo an unobstructed sight of the Sixth Hierarch’s resting place. Inside the shattered coffin lay Kaltosa Lu, encircled by a web of dark tendrils. Lompo inwardly winced at the condition of those roots.

He had clung to a faint optimism that the system endured hidden underground. Clearly, the roots had battled on for ages, since they weren't mere powder, yet countless eras had elapsed without them yielding the vital essence. Not one droplet remained in the coffin for his master to draw upon, though he appeared hesitant to rise.

“So that paradox triumphed in the end,” Kaltosa Lu murmured while eyeing the heavens.

Lompo traced his master's stare and promptly noticed the fresh element atop the Mercurial Court’s pillar. It mostly radiated an illusory essence laced with traces of Temporal Dao, yet Lompo could dimly sense a deeper mystery concealed under those ordinary notions.

“Even so, why the haste? He might have held off until I finished up here,” Kaltosa Lu went on.

“Should I plot an alternative path, Young Master?” Lompo suggested.

“Another soak wouldn’t displease me, but can it be done?” Kaltosa Lu inquired.

Lompo paused briefly. “This court's destiny flows ceaselessly, and backtracking presents notable difficulties. Still, through minor offerings and a touch of Imperial Merit, I could perhaps forge a way forward.”

In truth, Lompo lacked assurance. Arriving at the Meiu Ancestral Tomb, tucked away in the Citadel's depths, had already pushed his boundaries, even with the aid of a destined sign. The boundless metropolis naturally sought to repel all intruders, and the opposition intensified deeper in. Even awaiting the next memory breeze nearby, it scarcely seemed poised to touch the tombs once more.

“… Never mind. Savoring an entire coffin of [Millennial Upland Sap] counts as an uncommon indulgence, but a follow-up immersion won't deliver gains worth the expense,” Kaltosa Lu remarked with a shrug. “Besides, my consorts would view me dimly if I kept bullying destiny into submission.”

Lompo curbed the habitual urge to spout meaningless reassurances. Though his master often relished the casual exchange, a perilous rage simmered beneath his casual front. Lompo's instincts cautioned that a misplaced remark could spark a fate graver than any pretend downgrade. Wiser to stay a loyal—and quiet—servant until another could shoulder the Young Master's wrath.

“I must give you credit, Lompo,” Kaltosa Lu remarked in a casual tone, still fixed on the glow overhead. “You pierced the deceptions and realized I’d forfeit a Primordial Rune.”

“I—” Lompo’s response faltered.

What could he utter? Accept the praise and invite deeper probing, like his lapse in devising a proper defense? Confess his foresight was largely guesswork? Hunting clues amid this cauldron of fabricated histories resembled sifting for lone sand specks in a raging dune tempest.

Lompo had reasoned that revealing this dire possibility served well to foster wariness, preventing his Young Master from stretching too far. After all, it was beyond doubt that fierce tempests of Fate would rage on that isle. An advance alert would prompt a swift retreat, but now his prophecy nearly acted like a hex.

The mounting quiet pressed for a reply, and Lompo spied just one escape: divert and highlight his past deeds.

“Shall I collect the beacon, Young Master?” Lompo queried as he drifted toward the elaborate formation that had whisked his master from looming peril to a scarce boon.

Of course, Kaltosa Lu saw past the ploy. Lompo had banked on that, and it produced the desired result. The brooding shadows around Kaltosa Lu dispersed as he at last stepped from the tomb.

“I’m just jesting, Lompo. Truth be told, I’m rather pleased with how it turned out.” Kaltosa Lu chuckled when Lompo’s reaction lacked full conviction. “You suppose I’m masking disappointment? Then behold this.”

Lompo watched with interest as a spectral replay materialized over his master’s palm. The glow from the golden core ignited an instant link, and his suspicion solidified as impurities started to spill forth.

“The Grand Preceptor’s Dreamforged Avatar got shattered?” Lompo exclaimed. “But our probes—”

“I’m as shocked as you. We sensed our Draugr ally hid depths, but he surpassed my hopes in several respects,” Kaltosa Lu chuckled. “He breached it before I even puzzled out a method. The domain’s enhancements proved far mightier than I’d foreseen.”

“Was it—"

“No, that sly fox was occupied fending off the incursion,” Kaltosa Lu replied.

“Sure, that crafty Draugr tricked me and cost me my Epistocratic Constellation. So what? I slew Descartes Belial. What do you reckon my Grandpa will make of me cutting off the Belial Tribe’s final shot at rebirth? Using the very toxin he crafted ages back?”

“The Lord will be gratified to witness such filial devotion,” Lompo stated.

Gratified barely captured it for the age. The Centigrade Pryer had issued firm commands to eradicate all ties to his ancient foes. Slaying one of their key bloodline holders, one tagged by the Ultom Courts no less, soared past the mandate. A substitute rune would rank low among the bounties the Lord would heap on them back home.

Kaltosa Lu’s grin broadened as awareness hit Lompo. “Indeed, the Mercurial Court hoards some wonders in its stores, but they lack destiny with me. Same for whatever lingers in Ultom. Items of that caliber would be seized the instant we depart. Thus, I’ve locked in near-endless backing for my Royal Harem.”

“A shrewd move, Young Master,” Lompo commended. “Regarding that Draugr?”

Kaltosa Lu pondered before replying. “At times, it seems he outlives even me. Chasing him deliberately feels unworthy of the trouble. We’re set for the concluding phase anyway. We’ll try again if our routes cross later.”

Lompo started tallying on his digits. “It’s just an initial estimate, but his tie to the Mercurial Court seems to have faded.”

“Excellent. He’ll become another’s headache once he aids that avaricious toad in grabbing her target prize,” Kaltosa Lu noted while toying with an odd token. “Meantime, how about we seek out other sealbearers for some fun? The backups ought to arrive in the weeks ahead.”

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You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“This lodge merely embodies what Sevona viewed as a secure, joyful spot. It’s the summer retreat her folks brought her to in her youth,” Idiche explained with a faint smile. “How could treasures remain here?”

“I refuse to accept it! My instinct for valuables never fails, and I insist on compensation for my efforts!” Esmeralda bellowed, utterly undaunted by Idiche’s profound presence.

“Lacking loot for you to pilfer is truly my failing. In its place, might I offer aid for your impending theft?” Idiche proposed.

“Ah? Theft? What’s that?” Esmeralda stared, her bluster deflating.

The toad radiated guilt as she fidgeted beneath Idiche’s gaze. Astonishingly, she proved a terrible deceiver given her trade. Yet, Esmeralda’s utter absence of pretense skills might affirm her true talents. It showed she’d risen as one of the Multiverse’s top fugitives through raw theft alone, without leaning on lies or manipulation. Esmeralda embodied a classic, unadulterated burglar who seized her desires sans gimmicks.

“Do you truly plan to pretend cluelessness? That Spatial Treasure spells your ruin if you persist on your present course,” Idiche cautioned.

“Did your visions reveal something?” Zac cut in, his face grave.

Now that the complete scenario unfolded, it was simple to grasp Idiche’s visionary origins. She held a fragment of a Stellar Wanderer’s all-seeing insight, enabling glimpses of what lay ahead. Since merging with the Divine Core, that ability had surely amplified.

It outstripped typical fortune-telling or Ventus’ calculations. Per Janos, Grand Dream wielded similar might, crucial to the Mercurial Court’s purpose. In her present form, Idiche could likely behold the full archive of timelines in the Omnipresence Chamber. Dismissing her alerts would be madness.

“Dreams no longer serve to track the paths,” Idiche stated. “It’s simpler to demonstrate.”

Zac beheld his destiny unfurl along an extended trail, encompassing each stride, notion, and ordeal. Abruptly, a distant force tugged him, hauling him swiftly down the way at rising speed.

He materialized beyond the lodge, encircled by strange countenances. Events smeared, and he returned to his estate clad in fresh garb, his Disciple Token logging newfound wealth. He exchanged a glance with Esmeralda, eagerness aflame in their stares.

They’d probed the fee for cultivating near [Second Singularity], and they nearly met it. Pursuing the destined link etched in his Disciple Token, plus his own donation of 20,000 Imperial Merit, sufficed. Weeks blurred by until attendants led them into a chamber.

Zac jolted awake moments later, gasping. He sat in the Hall of Abundance again, facing a somewhat wan Idiche. A barrier shrouded his recall of the last day. Zac drew a blank on [Second Singularity]’s form or vibe. It formed a dark knot in his thoughts. Still, the fragments he assembled painted a picture of utter catastrophe.

Their scheme had succeeded. They’d synced it so the memory realm crumbled soon after accessing the prize. As anticipated, [Second Singularity] endured in the now, unguarded and array-free. Yet they lacked the power to claim it.

Zac dimly recalled frantically burning Void Energy till depletion. Upon his defeat, Esmeralda had to absorb the prize into herself lest it tore them asunder. A tempest of space and time followed, then oblivion. Zac swapped a frantic glance with Esmeralda, verifying the dire end, before facing Idiche anew.

“How precise is it?”

“It marked the prime future should you charge blindly at your aim,” Idiche replied. “Naturally, revealing this has shattered its course. Unlike the Ancient Arcana, I haven’t fully escaped time’s flow. Like Sect Master Grand Dream, I merely peer a touch beyond the rest.”

“I presume you hold a fix?” Esmeralda asked, done with feigning.

Zac sensed no intent to retreat from her simulated demise. He mirrored her resolve. Such was cultivation’s trail. A misstep plunged one into the void. They simply had to tweak and ready anew, armed with clearer perils.

“Pass me the [Peregrine Almond],” Idiche directed.

Though puzzled, Esmeralda retrieved a jade case from her maw. The saliva-slicked vessel contained the [Peregrine Almond] they’d snatched just prior to the Explorer’s Guild. They’d plucked it shy of ripeness, so Esmeralda had stored it within her since.

Zac wasn’t certain if it stemmed from the Grand Traversal Toad’s innate gift or a skill for smuggling, but Esmeralda’s form acted as a vault. Her innards could strip seals and traces from pilfered wares, and she doubled as a mobile nurturing array for objects.

A brief span hadn’t ripened the [Peregrine Almond] fully, but Zac noted its essence swiftly gather upon touching Idiche’s grasp. It swiftly hit perfection, then surged further. Zac’s frame cried out in craving as archaic motifs bloomed over its skin.

The nut’s spirit deepened, shifting from new-matured Spiritual Treasure to a relic tempered by the Heavens across endless cycles. Thanks to myriad Outer Disciples’ hunts, such superior [Peregrine Almonds] were virtually extinct.

“Its shift is real yet illusory. Consume it now, or it’ll lapse to normalcy,” Idiche urged, returning it.

She referred not to the ripening. The [Peregrine Almond] now bore an arcane aura Zac knew well. For the first instance, the tiny stars in his cell cores stirred from dormancy at the Stellar Wanderers’ trace. Though faint, the [Peregrine Almond] had absorbed a hint of Ancient Arcana.

Zac spared a moment to scribble a hasty missive to his alternate self before shoving the [Peregrine Almond] into his mouth. His whole essence urged him not to let this chance slip.

No surge of dominant forces erupted, no transcendent spirit hurled Zac’s consciousness elsewhere. The [Peregrine Almond] softly lodged in his gut, where it commenced peeling strata upon strata. Each flake was gossamer-thin, like a dragonfly’s wing, so fragile a breeze might shred it. Yet they resisted his cells’ ravenous draw completely.

Without Idiche’s enhancement, the flakes moved independently. They twisted into filaments while surging into Zac’s Quantum Space. Swiftly, myriad strands slithered along his Cosmic Core’s fringe routes, akin to burrowing worms. They advanced deliberately, lured to flaws and scars like insects to light.

Dozens of filaments pierced each flaw, sparking a ripple Zac knew at once: ambiguity. His Cosmic Core’s tangible issues abruptly turned doubtful. The solid grew hazy, the hazy turned phantom. Soon, flawless zones emerged under the “phantoms.” Once sufficient flakes infiltrated a blemish, the phantom faded, yielding a flawless expanse fused flawlessly with its neighbors.

This mirrored Descartes’ mending from fatal strikes, save for a profound addition to the [Peregrine Almond]’s phantom Dao. Zac sensed Idiche’s boost not only heightened the nut’s potency but tailored it to a loftier scheme.

Zac merely had to restrain his form from vying for the tempting prize. The filaments innately grasped their task, as though armed with a design beyond Zac’s grasp. They pinpointed troubled areas Zac hadn’t detected till highlighted, purging the mortal Cosmic Core’s innate discord.

They traversed his Quantum Core smoothly, entering the life-bound zone veiled in the Void. Step by step, Zac’s Cosmic Core renewed. Its shell ranked lowest versus the heart, yet the almond held ample reserves.

Zac immersed himself in the spectacle, despite merely watching from afar. The intricate additions yielded vital cues for his coming cultivation, and Zac freely tapped the honed perceptions from the corruption pool. As the phantom filaments plunged further, his frenzied quest for reality intensified.

Naught remained but awakening veiled in lies. His awareness delved to the profoundest layers, and all aligned. A gale of slippery motifs swirled in Zac’s thoughts, linking and advancing wildly. They fit precisely what he sought, yet eluded his claim. The gales ebbed, carrying the motifs away. Zac desperately etched what he could till Ultom’s wisdom ran barren.

Zac breathed out as he gradually lifted his lids, tasting the mingled joy and sorrow of a finished revelation. Joy from surmounting the toughest barrier in forging his Peak D-grade design, birthing a core surpassing prior projections. Sorrow from grazing just an edge of the vast might in Idiche’s boon.

He shook off the greed, urging restraint. The gratis wisdom was merely extra to the true prize. Zac peered within again. The [Peregrine Almond] and its signs had vanished, like the prior event another vision. Zac delved further, beyond his Duplicity Core into his Quantum Space. There it lingered; the evidence of authenticity.

A flawless Cosmic Core.