Defiance of the Fall Chapter 1391: Fateseizer

“The tracking sigil vanished alongside her illusionary realm. We can still follow her trail via the embedded energy, but…” Jimok trailed off, a frown deepening on his face.

“Lodge Island is in a state of flux; the interference is overwhelming.” Royce grimaced, struggling with great effort to regain command over his physical form. “Forget it. Inform the others just to be safe. What is the extent of the damage?”

“The overlap remains partial and volatile,” Jimok reported. “Without the beacon, we are restricted to minimum capacity—and that is only after we finish repairs. Even worse, it appears a second ritual has suffered a total failure, resulting in the destruction of the entire node.”

“We anticipated there would be complications,” Royce muttered, his internal organs still in chaos.

He considered himself fortunate that his “Guild Master” had chosen the cautious path. For a moment, it seemed she might abandon all restraint, and Royce lacked the remaining energy to survive the final, glorious explosion of a Monarch. He had already been pushed to release a restriction on his [First Seal]—a decision that always carried a heavy price.

“And the remaining three?” Royce questioned.

“Two are successfully active. The Fifth Locus requires an additional hour to synchronize. No issues have been reported elsewhere, and their vigilance should be heightened following our setbacks.”

“Is that sufficient to lift the curtain?”

“It is, though the transition will be unstable,” Jimok confirmed.

“Good. Splitting up allowed us to avoid casualties, but it has left us undermanned. The survivors must tend to their injuries once the contingency is deployed. I want it functional before the Fifth Locus is ready,” Royce commanded, exhaling in relief as his body finally stabilized. Noticing his assistant hesitating, he raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“How… thorough should my report be?” Jimok asked after a moment of uncertainty.

“Simply state there was a mole,” Royce replied, then paused briefly before adding, “Wait, send the full details to Descartes. We won't be able to manage the consequences if he discovers we concealed such valuable prey from him.”

“Descartes…” Jimok whispered with visible dread. “I will see to it. He likely has finished dealing with the first Sealbearer by now.”

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“Useless, the lot of them,” Descartes spat, watching the unstable pillar flicker and die in the far distance. “Is that where you’ve crawled off to hide?”

The moment his attention wavered, a broken blade plunged into Descartes’ back. It carried the desperate, hidden reserves of a dying man aiming directly for his heart. Violent sword lights exploded within his frame as the steel shattered into a thousand shards to inflict maximum internal ruin. Descartes merely snorted, a primal roar erupting from the depths of his soul.

The shards disintegrated, the foreign Dao was smothered, and a wet gurgle beneath Descartes’ boot signaled the death of his assailant. The puncture and the shredded internals vanished instantly, as if they were nothing more than a fading nightmare.

The six fractured blades scattered across the clearing dissolved as the light in the outsider’s eyes went dark. Descartes felt the influx of Imperial Fate surging into his Fateseizer Seal, yet he still pulverized the corpse with a heavy stomp. These outsiders possessed too many tricks to take chances. Just as Descartes finished, a token resting within his [First Seal] began to vibrate.

“Hm?” Descartes muttered after interpreting the data sent through the network of the First Era’s Gift. “Yet another one?”

He looked back and forth between the ruined pillar and the sandstorm beginning to swallow the mist at the island's center. After a moment's hesitation, Descartes sprinted toward the tempest. He was loath to abandon his current hunt, but it was merely a short delay. Weren’t they all converging on the same destination anyway?

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Grief and bewilderment filled Zorm’s eyes as their final light flickered out. Simultaneously, the crimson hue deepened on the scroll of [Desperation’s End], signaling that another soul had entered the cycle of reincarnation. Zorm Hastor’s Inner World had been cleaved in two, causing his already fragile soul to collapse under the resulting backlash.

Zac delivered another strike to the fallen Monarch’s head just to be certain. A third blow turned the enemy into a bloody pulp, leaving behind only a Peak D-grade [Mercurial Sack], a set of D-grade armor that had nearly shattered during the altar's explosion, and one of Zorm’s eyes. Zac gathered the loot quickly before the intensifying spatial tremors could swallow them.

The clash with Zorm Hastor had lasted under two minutes, yet the win was neither simple nor without cost. Zac and Idiche had made good use of the hours spent waiting for Esmeralda’s scheme to unfold. Idiche had divulged everything she knew regarding the Hastor Society and Zorm. The members of the Hastor Clan practiced a unique path known as Illusory Ancestry, which bore similarities to his human side’s [Conformation of Supremacy].

They established and fed a bond with a fictional ancestor, eventually tapping into those strengths as if they were a beast’s bloodline. This differed from Zac’s skill because it provided a permanent enhancement to every facet of their cultivation. This method allowed their lineage to draw power from various legendary beings. In Zorm’s case, it was a one-eyed titan whose very aura rendered the [Eye of Desolation] nearly useless.

The benefit of this path was the acquisition of genuine, lasting power. One's very aptitude could be improved by feeding the bloodline of these ancient entities. The flaw was that the Hastor Clan had only successfully conceptualized four ancestors capable of providing real cultivation gains. According to Idiche, these were modeled after actual Innate Existences from the dawn of the Era.

These Primordials were incredibly powerful but simplistic, usually relying on sheer physical dominance. It wasn't that those races lacked intelligence, but rather a reflection of their environment. The Dao was fractured and the energy was chaotic, which did not favor delicate cultivation or complex paths. Because the Hastor descendants had to mimic these ancestors, they eventually became brutes themselves.

Even Zorm, a premier talent of his generation, fought with the same raw style Zac had used before mastering technique. He relied on durability and brute force to crush foes, and his use of corruption had only made his movements more predictable. Illusory Ancestry was a path that traded a higher ceiling for faster growth, which was how the Hastor Clan maintained a steady supply of mid-tier experts within the Mercurial Court.

Zac had never dismissed their path, and his caution was justified. He had anticipated Zorm’s final strike, which was devoid of any subtlety. Yet, his Void-enhanced technique wasn't agile enough to slip past the blow. It carried such overwhelming power that the hidden pathways of the Void were forcibly closed.

His protection was like paper against that glancing contact; the bloody stump where his left shoulder used to be was proof his body wasn't yet tough enough to take such a hit directly.

Fortunately, the loss of a limb was no longer a permanent disaster. A new arm was already regenerating on its own, without even needing to tap into Creation Energy. The growth was sluggish, but it would accelerate once he cleared the lingering energy from the wound. Zac felt no immediate need to rush the healing.

The remnants of Zorm’s primal energy and aggressive Dao continued to fuel the ancient Killing Intent, allowing Zac to harvest a few more threads of refined intent. Soloing Zorm had already been twice as productive as slaughtering the entire pack of drakes, and the gains were still coming in.

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Zac wanted nothing more than to find a quiet place to recover and reflect on his progress. However, that would have to wait. A spatial rift had opened wide enough for him to pass through, and he slipped inside, masked by the final remnants of the [Eye of Desolation]. He felt a wave of pride as he surveyed the ruin of Zorm’s crumbling Inner World.

He had succeeded. He had defeated a Monarch in single combat. Granted, Zorm was hindered by backlash and a lack of information, but Zac had faced his own challenges. He had used significant effort to keep Zorm’s five subordinates suppressed. Furthermore, several invaders had attempted to breach his domain until Zorm’s chaotic attacks drove them back.

Zac had even puppeted the five lieutenants during their struggle against the chains of the [Eye of Desolation], shifting them to aid his primary fight. Consequently, he had used Zorm’s own power to eliminate all five at once, saving himself the trouble. This also granted Zac the chance to scavenge Zorm’s Inner World before it dissolved into the Spiritual Sea.

A veil of rot and corruption hung on the far side of the spatial gate. Beneath it lay the shattered remains of a miniature world radiating the raw, ancient energies of the Era’s start—clearly the product of his Illusory Ancestry. The failing spatial stability suggested this subspace was nearing its end.

Splitting the core of the small landmass with a Void-charged [Desperation’s End] had been the primary cause of the collapse, but the terrain already showed signs of previous wear. The world felt unrefined. There hadn't been sufficient time to stabilize it after his breakthrough, making it far more fragile than the world of a seasoned Monarch.

Streaks of corruption ran through the entire continent, clustering around the lone mountain at the center of the Inner World. This integration went beyond a simple last-minute power boost from the Lost Era’s energy. Zorm Hastor was clearly an agent of the other side, having cultivated with corruption from the very start.

Zac had emerged at the very heart of the realm. He sprinted toward the mountain, dodging thick plumes of corruption venting from its fissures. Zorm’s Inner World was sparsely developed, lacking buildings or complex arrays, so Zac pushed through the leaking toxins into the mountain’s primary entrance.

Inside lay a vast cultivation cavern large enough for a small sect. Zac scanned the area with his Soul Sense and vanished. He reappeared before two corpses in a living area. One was an exact double of Zorm, while the other was a young woman at the Early D-grade.

The double was the avatar Zorm used for management and cultivation within his world. It was more a tool than a person, and it had expired the moment Zorm’s soul was extinguished. the woman showed signs of a spiritual toxin that had wiped her soul clean. Her calm expression suggested she had taken it willingly. Such was the reality for those living within an Inner World; their existence was tied entirely to the Monarch who hosted them.

Zac searched the bodies and the residence but found no trace of what he sought—no commands from the other side or clues to their plans. The doppelgangers didn't seem to keep written records of their home world. There was no need; cultivators possessed nearly perfect memories and wouldn't forget vital data.

Refusing to give up, Zac pushed [Void Zone] to its limit before entering the chamber that served as the anchor for the Lost Plane’s Dao. The corruption here was as dense as the heart of a corrupted zone, and Zac felt his focus wavering as he moved forward. Pushing [Purity of the Void] and [Immutability of Eoz] to their maximum, Zac peered into the well at the room's center.

Instead of a portal to the Lost Plane, the malevolent energy was handled as an external fuel source. An array lined the rim, holding faint traces of Imperial Faith. The seal had been breached to harness the well, but Zac noticed signs of earlier infiltration throughout the Inner World.

Zac guessed the setup functioned like the prison for the Remnants, which had refined their energy to aid his own growth. This specific array clearly couldn't cleanse the corruption. At best, it kept the taint at a manageable level. Consequently, the corruption had become a fundamental part of Zorm’s Foundation, and removing it would likely have destroyed his cultivation.

A glint from the bottom of the well caught Zac’s eye, and he sent down several chains. He soon pulled up four head-sized crystals: Pseudo C-grade Corruption Crystals. Zac’s mind began to reel, and even [Void Zone] couldn't silence the mental whispers. He quickly boxed and stored the crystals, then snapped off the tainted segments of [Love’s Bond].

Unable to stay any longer, Zac retreated to the outer rooms. His search had only taken seconds, so he continued his sweep. Esmeralda could reach him if her situation turned dire. A scent of blood drew him to a side hall, where he found the remains of several Early Beast Emperors.

A tribal formation was siphoning the essence from the meat, and a partially formed pill saturated with volatile Fiend Energy sat in the center. It disintegrated when the room was disturbed, venting its power into the air. Zac didn't mind; he was focused on the array itself and was pleased to find it could be easily moved.

Any C-grade array was a treasure, and this one was perfect for Zac’s needs. Based on the remains in the cave, the array could likely use any Beast Emperor to create Fiend Pills. He didn't need his own Inner World to use it; it could be set up on Earth or the Yphelion for now.

The array was a great find, and Zac’s original search for clues became a secondary concern as he looted the remaining rooms like a plague of locusts. Sadly, the final haul was mediocre. Zorm carried no Spatial Treasure other than the [Mercurial Sack], and his stored resources were nothing compared to Zac’s hoard.

Zorm had likely spent everything to achieve Monarchy. What remained was invested in his production lines and private chambers. Aside from the Fiend Pill room, there were four other dwellings meant to refine C-grade materials. Since he had only recently advanced, no finished products were ready for Zac to take.

A deep vibration warned Zac it was time to leave. There was nothing left to find, and he had already committed the damaged runes around the corruption well to memory. If Zorm had some secret trick to cheat death, he’d buried it too deep for Zac to find in his limited time. It wasn't the end of the world if he missed something.

The token hadn't updated his status since he arrived on the island, but their achievements so far had to be worth a massive reward. Even if Zorm had a way to survive, his power would be reduced to nothing.

Large portions of the land were being consumed by subspace voids by the time Zac left the mountain. Curiously, these rifts rejected the Lost Plane’s rot, preventing it from spreading into the wider cosmos. The release of all that concentrated corruption caused the local Dead Dao to spike, and he retreated back toward the twin peaks.

Zac’s active skills had ended during his search, and he finally saw the valley clearly for the first time since the fight began. He immediately noticed the rising humidity. The sky had darkened again, and rain was beginning to fall. Only the dying embers of the magic circle in the clouds held back the storm.

Sevona was retaking the mountain, and the Lost Plane’s influence had been driven into the new canyon. Even the energy bleeding out of Zorm’s Inner World was being forced down into the black pool at the bottom. The sight made Zac shiver, and he looked away.

There were no bodies or ongoing fights, yet the air was thick with tension. Zac steeled himself and flew to Idiche’s side, eyeing the massive bubble in front of her. It was a murky blend of spatial energy and illusions, clouded by death. Zac couldn't see through it, but the violent tremors suggested something was fighting to escape.

“Finally! You might have mentioned you were going to drop that monster into the valley. I was caught in the crossfire along with everyone else,” a bruised Idiche grumbled, her expression bitter.

“I’m sorry, there wasn't a moment to lose,” Zac said, looking at the orb in surprise. “You’ve caught the other Monarch?”

Idiche nodded. “Your toad is attacking from within, but we’re nearly at our limit.”

“I’m not sure I can handle another fight,” Zac admitted, gesturing to the stump of his left arm. In truth, his right arm was also in poor shape from the Ocular Attack, though he had used some Creation Energy for quick fixes during the battle.

“No one expects you to. The inner region is shifting. We should be able to evade him in there,” Idiche said quickly. “But first, we need...”