Defiance of the Fall

"You've captured a Zecia sealbearer?" Zac asked with a frown.

Zac knew the reaver was just taunting him, but he was still worried. On paper, it should be almost impossible for him to know whoever Kator had captured, but things weren't that simple. For one, the circles were much smaller when looking at the elites at the top. Even if he didn't personally know them, there was a decent chance he knew of them.

Secondly, he'd already seen how one acquaintance after another got their hands on seals, possibly piggybacking on his connection to Ultom or the Left Imperial Palace.

"I didn't, the cultists did," Kator said while scratching the bone plating on his chest. "The Kan'Tanu takes a lot of prisoners, and we often get missions to liberate them. A world I conquered had a prison full of captured elites waiting to be implanted with Heart Curses, and the sealbearer hid among them. I sent the others back home for a small fee but kept the real prize for myself. Who knew it would come in handy so soon?"

"Who is it?"

"Does that mean you accept?"

Zac didn't immediately say yes. "What if I lose?"

"Then you rein in your attitude and follow orders properly inside the Left Imperial Palace."

The fact that Kator was so eager to spar with him, to the point he was even offering up a sealbearer, was suspicious. What the reaver asked in return was essentially something Zac would have to do in either case, considering his contractual obligations. It felt like a trap, but he didn't know what it could be.

Did he want to use the opportunity to strike at him? Zac doubted it. Even if the reaver wanted to kill him, a spar in the middle of Kavista wasn't the place. Multiple Draugr Monarchs were observing, and there was simply no way Kator could take him out before they intervened. And Kator was definitely smart enough to realize that.

Or did Kator want to leave a shadow in his heart, utterly crushing him to the point Zac began to doubt his path? Unfortunately for him, Zac's heart wasn't so fragile he couldn't take a loss by someone almost twice his age. Yet Zac hesitated, unsure whether the gamble was worth it. But could he just leave someone here in Kator's grasp?

"Even spars can lead to injury," a calm voice interjected, and Zac looked over at Tavza. "The Abyssal Pond is opening in one week. He cannot be wounded for that opportunity."

"Then let's wait a month," Kator said. "I want to spar with him when he's in his best state anyhow."

"Fine, I agree," Zac grunted. "But you keep the sealbearer alive and in good condition until then."

"Of course. I'll ensure the Isolation Array keeps running for a month," Kator grinned. "After that…"

"No need to play those games," Zac snorted. "I said I'll fight you, so I will. Now, can you tell me who it is?"

"Enough bickering," Toss said. "We'll keep the Dreamer alive. This is good; you should exchange pointers anyhow. Both of you have entered the Integration Stage, and fighting opponents with similar accomplishments in technique will help you push toward the next level. As for the sealbearer's identity, it's a Dreamer called Boje Zethaya. You should know him. For now, let's get back on track."

So it was that guy. Boje was the Zethaya Clan Alchemist he'd almost killed while visiting the Tower of Eternity decades ago. To think he'd also gotten his hands on a seal. Zac knew he'd have to win the duel in a month and free the man, to give him a thrashing, if nothing else. After all, it was after Ibtep visited Boje's subordinates that his reputation took a drastic nosedive, and his nickname was born.

Of course, Boje was also incredibly valuable beyond his status as a sealbearer. It wasn't a secret that Boje had become a disciple of their Matriarch over a decade ago. Even Zac, or rather Joanna in his name, had sent a letter of congratulations when the news became public. Saving Boje could help the Atwood Empire get their hands on Zethaya's best wares, the stuff that the alchemists currently only provided the top factions as part of their wartime contribution.

"Agreed, let's move on," Laz Tem'Zul said. "The information you brought on the Seven Heavens will be useful. Knowing that the Tobrial Dynasty of the Seventh Heaven is in charge of the events will let us prepare some counters. However, be careful when striking deals with entities such as Sendor the Unbounded. You never know how it'll affect the course of events. The Realm Spirit might have just been bored, but it likely had ulterior motives for assisting you."

"I wasn't really in a position to refuse, so I figured I might as well extract some benefits," Zac shrugged.

"Greedy, just like in the Orom World. Be careful not to overstuff yourself," Pavina smiled before her brows furrowed. "Since no one else is asking, I will. One moment we thought you'd sacrificed your Draugr half, then two names appear on the Zecia Ladder. What's going on? Are you okay?"

The time had come for the main course. Zac put the matter of Boje aside and gathered his thoughts by ensconcing himself in the Void within. The next couple of minutes would decide whether his gambit was successful or not, and there couldn't be any mistakes.

"I guess I overestimated myself, thinking I would be the first to succeed where all others had failed," Zac began, trying to look like someone embarrassed but trying to hide it. "Simply put, things went wrong during the Core Formation almost immediately, and I was forced to split my soul.

"You should already know from the Twilight Ocean I've absorbed the two forms of Remnants. They were a big reason I chose to cultivate Pure Life and Death rather than stepping onto the Heavenly Path. Ultimately, it didn't work out. I was forced to use Creation to form a second body and then Oblivion to sever the two."

"You're saying your state is the result of a controlled deviation?" Tavza asked.

"I'm not sure if you can call it that," Zac said. "It isn't my path that's broken or imperfect, but the Dao. The result is mostly the same, though."

Zac spent the next half-hour going over his situation and answering questions, mixing truths and falsehoods to paint the picture he wanted to show to the outside world.

"Forming a new body with Creation and transplanting the Essence of Draug," Toss muttered, turning to the other Monarchs. "Is something like this possible?"

"That's—" Laz hesitated while Enis looked similarly troubled.

"I stand by my earlier statement," Tavza said. "He is Eoz."

"We will have to run some tests to make sure nothing is wrong with you," Toss said, getting approving nods from the other Monarchs. "If what you say is true, it's a miracle just being alive. Odds are you have lingering problems, problems that should be remedied sooner rather than later. You still are in a formative state after your breakthrough. Waiting too long will leave you with a cracked foundation."

"Of course," Zac agreed, having expected them to put forth such a demand.

They obviously wanted to use the examination to dig for his secrets, but so what? Even Sendor had been forced to provide benefits to get to the bottom of things, so how could a couple of Monarchs trapped on the frontier figure out the truth? Between conventional wisdom and the simple fact that even the System considered him two people, his lie was almost foolproof.

"This is good and all, but you still haven't shed light on the most critical issue," Kator said. "You're saying this body was created inside the Perennial Vastness. Are you, the Draugr you, even a sealbearer any longer?"

"That's where things get tricky," Zac said as he shared all three of his quests related to Ultom and the Left Imperial Palace to prove he still had access to the inheritance.

"Flamebearer…" Tavza sighed, and Zac could feel a palpable desire from Kator on the other side of the table.

"The thing is, both I and my alter ego received this quest," Zac said. "I actually don't know who's the real sealbearer. Maybe whoever gets the final piece? Maybe we can choose which of us should enter? I guess I'll know more when I start progressing the quest."

"Maybe we should just cut you open and see if there's a seal inside," Kator commented.

"You could try," Zac said, not fazed in the slightest by the undisguised threat. "If you think one of your subordinates would be a better Flamebearer candidate than me. Of course, if I don't send back the right message at regular intervals, my other half will know you've broken your side of the agreement.

"Then we'll see how things will play out inside the Left Imperial Palace, especially after Zac joins up with the Tayns or some other faction. No point for him to hold onto death when you've severed the link, right? And I guess you'll just have to pray that the Court Cycle Token isn't necessary for your mission."

"No one is killing anyone," Laz Tem'Zul said. "The Empire honors its agreements."

"Kator's crude jokes aside, you should understand we have no reason to target you," Pavina said, giving the young reaver an annoyed look. "You might not know this, but seals taken from others generally don't award a quest. Meanwhile, you have three, more than we've seen on anyone else. And considering how you were the first to get a seal, we have all the reason to believe you'll be a key player in the upcoming mission."

"How do you know that?" Zac said with surprise.

"The whole Multiverse knew," Toss scoffed. "You picking up the first seal was like throwing a mountain into a calm lake. Everyone tuned into these matters felt the ripples on the River of Fate. And while you have extraordinary protections against investigative measures, they're not foolproof. Our Divine Strategists and the Abyssal Eye of the Mez Family all found clues to your identity."

Zac kept his face impassive, but he was alarmed. This was the first time he had heard of such a thing. It was one thing to be one among many sealbearers, slipping back into obscurity after the inheritance while the Undead Empire took the heat of any potential fallout. But it was another thing altogether if the ancient factions knew it was he who kicked off everything.

"Your identity should be mostly safe," Tavza said. "The divinations only returned diffuse hints of Chaos, Death, and the Buddhist Sangha. We could connect those impressions with you because of the information compiled from Twilight Harbor and your encounter with the Voidcatcher. Only the Sangha has a similar understanding. The Starbeast Alliance shouldn't be aware of your real identity."

That was a relief, though only a small one.

"While on the subject, can you explain your connection to the monks?" Enis asked. "I find it highly troubling that you're so entangled with them. Of all the factions in the Multiverse, they're one of the most troublesome to get mixed up with. Even the Absolute Seal came out on the losing end when she invaded the Sea of Tranquility. And I hear she's been plagued by misfortune since, barely holding onto her title."

Zac was still reeling over his identity as the first sealbearer being exposed, but he gathered his thoughts and shared what he knew. This time, he saw no reason to hide any details. One of the reasons he'd joined up with the Undead Empire was to gain some protection against the Sangha. So Zac shared everything from Mount Everlasting Peace until what happened with the [Boundless Vajra Sublimation].

"That little bastard," Pavina swore. "I'll deal with him if I ever see him again."

"You've done well, but you should have told us about this part earlier. We have some methods to weaken their hold on you," Toss added. "Few are as versed in dealing with the Sangha as us."

"The trap in the Body Tempering Manual. You realized the danger from one of the seals you picked up inside the Void Star?" Tavza interjected, and Zac nodded after giving it some thought.

"Fate…" Tavza sighed, putting two and two together.

The Draugr Scion was right on the money. If not for the situation with the [Boundless Vajra Sublimation], he might not have thought to ask Iz to investigate the [Essence of the Abyss]. Even if suspicious, he would probably have succumbed to the drive to get stronger and drank it before Iz showed up. Certainly, his odd bloodline and the Technocrat Core may have protected him from the trap, but he'd have to be a fool to underestimate the means and methods of any ancient faction.

"It sounds like a classic move by those baldies," Pavina sighed. "They likely knew you'd come to us after observing you inside the Orom. This way, you'd either become an unfeeling arhat or develop a distrust for us. Those people are something else, causing trouble from the other side of the Multiverse."

Zac wryly smiled. He sometimes wondered the same thing, whether Three Virtues really meant to harm him or not.

"The content of your quest, is that's why you've brought a Dreamer merchant to the empire?" Tavza asked, getting the discussion back on track.

"Exactly," Zac said. "You guys have helped me a lot over the years, but I need to be shameless and ask for more assistance. My faction is ultimately young and lacking foundations. We don't have the resources to fight this kind of large-scale war."

"That's not what our reports indicate," Toss snorted.

Even Pavina, who had only spoken in his favor during the meeting, raised a brow at the shameless display.

"You're simply filthy rich for your grade, even before you started selling those Cosmic Vessels," the reaver continued. "You shouldn't have any problem completing the Campaign Quest by throwing some money around. You might even be able to finish a solo campaign on an Early D-grade world, judging by your aura."

"This is only the first quest in the line," Zac countered. "None of us know how many hoops the System will throw at me before giving me the final piece. The quicker I can finish this one, the better, right? Especially considering I only need some siege—"

"We'll assist you, but we need to be careful," Laz Tem'Zul interjected. "There is a reason us old things are standing on the sidelines. The war is connected to the inheritance and the System observing our every move. We're afraid helping too much would count as cheating, negatively affecting you in the trial, or making subsequent quests far more difficult. Tavza and Kator only have slightly better resources allocated compared to our other battlefronts for the same reason."

"You've given us a lot to unpack," Toss said. "Someone will take you to get checked while we discuss. Frankly, we need answers from the Liches before we can formulate a plan."

"I'm sure you're curious about life here in the Empire," Laz Tem'Zul added. "Why not familiarize yourself with your new home and stabilize your state before dealing with these matters?"

"There'll be time for sightseeing later," Zac said while putting the next part of his plan in motion back on Earth. "Right now, I need to focus on getting stronger. And let me be clear, I may have been split in half, but I am still the same person. My home is the Atwood Empire. I do not wish to change anything in my previous agreements just because I'm now more of a normal Draugr."

"Then we'll have someone lead you to a suitable Cultivation Chamber afterward," Laz sighed, opting not to press the issue.

"Thank you," Zac nodded. "I look forward to working with you all."

He walked toward the exit, and the door opened on its own, revealing a beautiful young Draugr woman. Her eyes practically sparkled as she looked up at Zac, and she curtsied in a way that showcased an astounding amount of cleavage.

"Lord Umbri'Zi, I am Kasina Kavriel. I've been tasked with guiding you and fulfilling any of your other requirements during your stay," she said, her inflection leaving no doubt about how far she was willing to take her hospitality. "If you please."

"Then I'll rely on you," Zac coughed as they left the meeting room.

He tried to keep up some polite conversation with the girl as she led him toward the ward, but his thoughts were elsewhere. Just like the Monarchs no doubt was analyzing everything he'd said, so was he going over the meeting. As far as he could tell, everything had gone according to plan, except for Kator making the situation murkier than it needed to be.

The Monarchs had stopped short of promising anything tangible, but things were moving in the direction. Passing the check-up was the final step before he could begin harvest, and he'd prepared a few tricks to stack the deck in his favor. His human body had already appeared on Pangea, stepping into another War Camp without hiding his tracks.

Zac wasn't planning on conquering a second world in one day. This would be a short visit where he killed multiple birds with one stone.

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