Defiance of the Fall Chapter 1406: Rebirth

A shudder rippled through the corridors of the Meiu Ancestral Tomb, signaling the crumbling of reality itself. Lompo swiftly lifted his hand and started expending Imperial Merit to extend the memory's flow just a bit more. Seconds passed before a voice echoed from beyond the door.

“Don’t bother.”

Lompo yielded without protest, and the solid walls crumbled into scattered debris, with vast open skies now looming above. The heavy barrier that had divided him from his master vanished entirely, offering Lompo an unobstructed sight of the Sixth Hierarch’s resting place. Inside the shattered sarcophagus lay Kaltosa Lu, entwined in a web of dark, inky tendrils. Lompo let out an inner sigh at the sorry sight of those roots.

He had clung to a faint hope that the system endured deep underground. Clearly, the roots had battled on for ages, spared from turning to powder, yet countless eras had slipped by since they could yield that vital essence. Not a trace remained in the sarcophagus for his master to draw upon, though Kaltosa Lu appeared hesitant to rise.

“So that paradox pulled it off in the end,” Kaltosa Lu murmured, eyes fixed on the heavens.

Lompo traced his master’s stare and quickly noticed the fresh element atop the Mercurial Court’s pillar. It radiated mostly an illusory essence laced with traces of Temporal Dao, yet Lompo sensed something deeply mysterious lurking under those familiar ideas.

“Even so, why the hurry? He could’ve held off till I finished up here,” Kaltosa Lu went on.

“Should I plot a fresh path, Young Master?” Lompo suggested.

“Another soak wouldn’t hurt, but can we pull it off?” Kaltosa Lu inquired.

Lompo paused briefly. “This court’s destiny keeps shifting, and backtracking brings its own hurdles. Still, with a minor offering and some Imperial Merit, I could perhaps carve out a way.”

In truth, Lompo lacked full assurance. Arriving at the Meiu Ancestral Tomb, tucked away in the Citadel’s depths, had already pushed him to his brink, even with the aid of a destined sign. The boundless city naturally repelled all intruders, and the pushback intensified deeper in. Waiting for the next memory gale nearby wouldn’t likely touch the tombs once more.

“… Never mind. Savoring a full sarcophagus of [Millennial Upland Sap] counts as a true indulgence, but chasing a repeat won’t justify the price for slim gains,” Kaltosa Lu said with a shrug. “Plus, my wives would look down on me for twisting fate so stubbornly.”

Lompo stifled the automatic urge to spout hollow reassurances. His master often relished such casual exchanges, but a volatile rage simmered beneath his calm front. Lompo’s instincts screamed that one misstep could spark a wrath far worse than any pretend reprimand. Staying loyal and quiet seemed wisest until another could shoulder the Young Master’s ire.

“Gotta give you credit, Lompo,” Kaltosa Lu remarked in a casual tone, still eyeing the glow overhead. “You pierced the illusions and guessed I’d forfeit a Primordial Rune.”

“I—” Lompo stammered, at a loss.

What response fit? Claim the praise and risk deeper probing, like why he hadn’t devised a proper defense? Confess his foresight was largely guesswork? Sifting truths amid this chaos of phantom timelines resembled hunting lone sand grains in a raging desert gale.

Lompo had reckoned revealing this dire possibility might spark wariness, keeping his Young Master from pushing too far. After all, fierce tempests of Destiny loomed sure to collide on that isle. An advance alert could prompt a swift retreat, but now his vision felt more like a hex.

The heavy quiet pressed for a reply, leaving Lompo just one escape: sidestep and highlight past deeds.

“Shall I store the beacon, Young Master?” Lompo queried, drifting toward the elaborate formation that had whisked his master from peril to a prized chance.

Of course, Kaltosa Lu saw right through the dodge. Lompo banked on that, and it worked as planned. The brooding shadows around Kaltosa Lu lifted as he at last stepped from the tomb.

“Just messing with you, Lompo. Truth is, I’m pleased with how it turned out.” Kaltosa Lu chuckled when Lompo’s reaction fell short of belief. “You figure I’m faking toughness? Then check this out.”

Lompo watched with interest as a spectral replay formed over his master’s palm. The golden heart’s presence ignited an instant link, and his suspicion solidified as impurities started spilling forth.

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

“Caught me off guard too. We suspected our Draugr ally hid depths, but he outdid my wildest hopes in several ways,” Kaltosa Lu chuckled. “He shattered it before I even puzzled out my own method. The realm’s boost hit harder than I figured.”

“Was it—”

“Nah, that sly old fox was tied up handling the incursion,” Kaltosa Lu replied.

“Fine, that crafty Draugr tricked me and cost my Epistocratic Constellation. So what? I took down Descartes Belial. What’ll my Grandpa say when he learns I cut off the Belial Tribe’s final shot at rebirth? Using the exact toxin he cooked up ages back?”

“The Lord will surely rejoice at such devotion,” Lompo replied.

Rejoice barely scratched the surface. The Centigrade Pryer had issued firm commands to eradicate all ties to his ancient foes. Slaying one of their key bloodline heirs, especially one tagged by the Ultom Courts, soared past that order. A spare rune would be the smallest prize the Lord would heap on them back home.

Kaltosa Lu’s grin broadened as Lompo caught on. “Yeah, the Mercurial Court’s got some stellar secrets stashed away, but they’re not meant for me. Same goes for Ultom’s remnants. Stuff that potent gets yanked from me the instant we exit. This way, I’ve locked in endless backing for my Royal Harem.”

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

Kaltosa Lu pondered before responding. “He seems to dodge death more than me at times. Not worth detouring for him now. We’re set for the endgame anyway. We’ll circle back if fate crosses our roads again.”

Lompo tallied mentally on his fingers. “Rough estimate, but his tie to the Mercurial Court has thinned out.”

“Excellent. He’ll be another fool’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 hunt some lesser sealbearers for fun? The backups ought to trickle in soon.”

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

“This lodge stands as Sevona’s vision of 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 valuables linger here?”

“No way! My knack for treasures never fails, and I want payback for my efforts!” Esmeralda bellowed, utterly undaunted by Idiche’s endless presence.

“Lacking loot for you to nab is truly my slip-up. How about I offer help for your next caper instead?” Idiche proposed.

“Huh? Caper? What’s that mean?” Esmeralda blinked, her bluster fading fast.

The toad looked guiltier than ever as she fidgeted under Idiche’s gaze. Astonishingly, for a thief of her caliber, her deception skills were abysmal. Still, her zero talent for pretense highlighted her true prowess. It showed she’d risen to one of the Multiverse’s top fugitives purely through raw theft, skipping lies or manipulations. Esmeralda was a straight-up, classic pilferer who seized her prizes without gimmicks.

“You really want to keep pretending? That Spatial Treasure spells your ruin if you stick to this course,” Idiche cautioned.

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

Now that the whole story unfolded, pinpointing Idiche’s foresight origins was simple. She held a fragment of a Stellar Wanderer’s all-seeing insight, letting her glimpse ahead. Merging with the Divine Core had surely amplified that gift.

This surpassed typical scrying or Ventus’ calculations. Per Janos, Grand Dream wielded the same force, central to the Mercurial Court’s purpose. In her present form, Idiche could likely view all archived timelines in the Omnipresence Chamber. Dismissing her alerts would be madness.

“Dreams aren’t needed anymore to track the paths,” Idiche stated. “Better if I demonstrate.”

Zac witnessed his destiny unfold along an endless path, each stride, notion, moment laid bare. Far off, an unseen force yanked him, hauling him faster down the trail.

He materialized beyond the lodge, ringed by strange figures. The scene smeared, and he stood in his estate, clad in fresh garb with credits logged on his Disciple Token. He exchanged a glance with Esmeralda, excitement blazing in their stares.

They’d checked the fee for cultivating near [Second Singularity], and their funds nearly covered it. Chasing a destined link etched in his Disciple Token, plus pitching in 20,000 Imperial Merit, did the trick. Weeks blurred by until attendants led them to a chamber.

Zac jolted awake with a sharp intake, back in the Hall of Abundance facing a somewhat ashen Idiche. A fog shrouded his recall of the last day. He couldn’t summon [Second Singularity]’s look or vibe at all—just a knotted void in his thoughts. Yet the fragments he grasped painted a picture of total catastrophe.

Their scheme had clicked. They synced it so the memory realm would fade right after snagging the prize. As planned, [Second Singularity] lingered in the now, unguarded and array-free. But they lacked the might to claim it outright.

Zac dimly recalled pouring Void Energy till it emptied. On failing, Esmeralda had to absorb the relic into herself before it tore them asunder. A tempest of space and time raged, then oblivion. Zac swapped a frantic glance with Esmeralda, verifying the grim end, before facing Idiche again.

“How spot-on is that?”

“It’s the top probable path if you charge straight at your aim,” Idiche replied. “Naturally, revealing it has shattered that line. I haven’t fully escaped time’s flow like the Ancient Arcana. Like Sect Master Grand Dream, I just peer a touch farther.”

“You’ve got a fix, I bet?” Esmeralda pressed, done with games.

Zac sensed her resolve hadn’t wavered despite glimpsing her demise. He mirrored that fire. Such was cultivation’s trail— one slip hurled you into the void. They merely had to tweak plans now, armed with clearer perils.

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

Baffled yet compliant, Esmeralda retrieved a jade case from her maw. The saliva-slick box cradled the [Peregrine Almond] they’d snatched just prior to the Explorer’s Guild run. Picked a tad early, she’d stored it within her since.

Zac wondered if it stemmed from the Grand Traversal Toad’s innate trait or a smuggling trick she’d picked up, but Esmeralda’s form doubled as a secure vault. Her innards stripped seals and trackers from pilfered items, and she embodied a mobile nurturing array for treasures.

A mere handful of days couldn’t ripen the [Peregrine Almond] fully, but its essence sharpened the instant Idiche grasped it. Perfection hit in a flash, and it kept evolving. Zac’s frame howled with craving as archaic designs bloomed over its skin.

The nut’s spirit intensified, shifting from new-ripe Spiritual Treasure to a heavenly-forged relic aged across endless cycles. Thanks to myriad Outer Disciples’ hunts, such elite [Peregrine Almonds] were virtually extinct.

“Its shift is real yet fleeting. Consume it now, or it’ll fade to normal,” Idiche urged, returning it.

She meant not just the ripening. The [Peregrine Almond] now pulsed with a profound aura Zac knew all too well. For once, the tiny stars buried in his cells stirred at the Stellar Wanderers’ echo. Though faint, the [Peregrine Almond] had absorbed a hint of Ancient Arcana.

Zac spared a heartbeat to dash off a hasty message to his alternate self before swallowing the [Peregrine Almond] whole. His whole essence screamed this was a chance not to squander.

No surge of wild forces erupted, no wild spirit hurled Zac’s consciousness elsewhere. The [Peregrine Almond] eased into his gut, peeling away sheath by sheath. Each flake was gossamer-thin, fragile as a breeze could shatter, yet they defied his cells’ ravenous tug.

Without Idiche’s enhancement, the flakes drifted aimlessly. But empowered, they twisted into filaments racing to Zac’s Quantum Space. Soon, myriad strands slithered along his Cosmic Core’s fringes like burrowing worms. They pressed onward, lured to flaws and scars as surely as insects to light.

Dozens of filaments pierced every blemish, sparking a ripple Zac knew well: doubt. His Cosmic Core’s genuine flaws now teetered in ambiguity. Solid truths blurred to mirage, and mirages solidified. Flawless zones soon emerged under the “deceits.” Once sufficient flakes infiltrated, the veil lifted, revealing flawless segments blended perfectly with the whole.

This echoed Descartes’ mending of fatal wounds, but Idiche had woven a subtler illusory Dao into the [Peregrine Almond]. Zac sensed her tweak not only heightened its power but tuned it to a grander scheme.

Zac simply held back his body’s grab for the tempting prize. The filaments acted with innate precision, as though handed a design beyond his grasp. They exposed hidden flaws Zac hadn’t spotted, purging the mortal-taint that plagued his Cosmic Core.

They traversed his Quantum Core smoothly, slipping into the life-linked zone veiled in the Void. Step by step, Zac’s Cosmic Core renewed itself. The surface layer mattered least beside the heart, yet the almond’s reserves ran deep.

Zac lost himself in the spectacle, though he observed from afar. The intricate workings sparked key insights for his path ahead, and he freely tapped the purified wisdom from the corruption pool. As the Dao-veiling filaments plunged further, his frenzied quest for reality intensified.

Nothing but awakening lurked amid the lies. His awareness plunged to the core, and it all aligned. Fleeting motifs swirled in Zac’s thoughts, linking and shifting wildly. They fit his needs perfectly, though not yet owned. The gusts ebbed, carrying the motifs away. Zac desperately etched what he could until Ultom’s wisdom ran barren.

Zac breathed out, lids lifting gradually, tasting the mixed afterglow of a finished revelation. Joy from conquering the toughest barrier in forging his Peak D-grade design, yielding a core beyond old projections. Regret for barely tapping the vast might in Idiche’s boon.

He shook it off, chiding his excess greed. The gratis wisdom was extra; the true gain lay elsewhere. Zac peered inward again. The [Peregrine Almond] and its marks had vanished, like the ordeal was another vision. Deeper he delved, beyond his Duplicity Core to his Quantum Space. There it rested—the evidence of truth.

A flawless Cosmic Core.