Defiance of the Fall

As Zac expected, he needed to have his sealbearers infuse the token to officially form a cycle. It also confirmed that you needed to have a real link to the sealbearer since the process was automatic for Jaol and impossible for Stormstar. In other words, Zac couldn't go around slapping random sealbearers with the token to fill up on cycles.

The situation also gave some possible answers to his other Ultom-related quest, One By Nine.

[One by Nine (Unique, Inheritance): Form a full cycle of Sealbearers. Reward: Entry to the Left Imperial Palace (9/9) COMPLETE. [1148 days] [NOTE: Multiple cycles can be formed.]

The quest had been listed as complete for a while, yet it was impossible to turn in. Perhaps that would change when he filled in the whole token, at which point it would become a key. Who knew? There might even be follow-up quests waiting for him.

Confirming if that were true was easier said than done. His progress might say 9/9, but he currently lacked access to three of the outer courts. Ogras would be gone for a while, and there was no telling when or if Kruta would arrive. Finally, there was the issue of the Daedalian Court, where Zac still wasn't sure who counted as part of his cycle. It should be either Ventus or Catheya, neither of whom was close at hand.

Most interesting was the weak aura of Ultom the token exuded. It wasn't close to the levels of the epiphany and even far inferior to the lake water. However, it didn't dissipate or weaken. The rune of the Farsee Court released a steady stream of crystallized comprehension. He might be able to use the token as a cultivation-assisting treasure, similar to Yrial's Statue or the [Mind's Eye Agate] he lost a while back.

It wasn't enough to do much of anything right now, but what if he filled up the cycle? Or even multiple cycles?

"How do you feel?" Zac asked as he carefully stowed the token.

"How do I feel?" Jaol swore, his face a mask of fear and suspicion. "Bastard, what did you do? What was that thing?"

"What's with that look? I just officially added you to my group for the upcoming inheritance. How could that hurt you?" Zac said with a roll of his eyes.

"Then why did you pretend like it was a technocrat disk?" Jaol countered.

"Did anything change for you?" Zac asked, studiously ignoring Jaol's question. "Any prompts, new quests? Any energy entering your body?"

Truth be told, Zac had no idea what the token would do. Even now, he just had working theories that could easily be proven incorrect. His biggest fear was that the token would extract the seals altogether. That was why he'd started with Stormstar and continued to Jaol. Better their seals disappear than someone like Vilari. Ultimately, Jaol wasn't one of his people but more like a reluctant ally.

The Technocrat was contributing to his faction right now, but Jaol would undoubtedly sell Zac down the river if it meant getting back in the good graces of the Living AIs. Besides, while his fate had been thrown off-kilter after the events in Little Bean, it was undeniable that Jaol had come out ahead. Zac had already given him a fortune to get his new life started, and he was almost certain Jaol's Karmic connection to him was the only reason he could become a sealbearer in the first place.

"Whatever," Jaol muttered as he deflated under Zac's even stare. "No, nothing. I didn't feel anything from that mysterious light, and my quest still says I need two more pieces to finish my seal."

"Alright," Zac nodded after confirming the situation by having Jaol share the quest. "I guess that's it then. Let me know if anything changes."

"I will, but don't blame me if your subordinates don't forward my messages," Jaol asked, his eyes darting toward a metal door to the other side of the room. "Uh, is that the only reason you came here?"

"I had some time, so I figured I'd check in," Zac shrugged as he nodded at the screen. "What's that?"

"This? I'm still working on modules that can better interpret the data your vessels provide," Jaol said. "The scanners of your Class—ehm—D-grade Vessels are surprisingly good, but most information is too complex. Your navigators can't make sense of it, so the ships limit what they share. Furthermore, your vessels are all military make, so they prioritize battle-related readings."

Zac was aware of the problem. Karunthel had warned him when the shipyard was upgraded. Some features ran in a simplified mode because they lacked specialists like Jaol to take charge. Like with everything else, they were working around the clock to catch up, but they needed some stop-gap measures until then.

"The things I'm working on are designed to sift through the discarded data and lessen the workload for your crews."

"Lessen the workload in what way?"

"Right now, I'm working on something that'd quickly let you determine the source of distant energy signatures. Right now, your ships only provide some low-priority general information unless the source is something like a Cosmic Vessel or array. But you use the Destroyers for resource extraction as much as their original purpose. This module will help your crew determine whether whatever your scanners pick up comes from Natural Treasures, large quantities of low-quality materials, or something else. At a later stage, it'll be able to tell exactly what treasure it is and how much."

"Without any AI or technology, right?" Zac asked while looking at the data with interest.

The setup made Zac think of the tablets the 'Datamancers' used back in the Mystic Realm, and he worried Jaol would try to sneak Selvari tech into his ships for one reason or another. Then again, Zac could vaguely tell something was different about the text on the screen. It almost felt like he was looking at an array, where his Ultom-awarded insight picked up on some patterns.

"Of course," Jaol said. "I'm only using a screen since I'm more used to reading data this way. It's a headache doing all this work without the assistance of the Digital World or a specialized Ai, though. You're all living like barbarians."

"You people wouldn't be cowering in a remote corner of the Multiverse if the Technocrat way was so superior. There are arrays and spirits out there just as complex and powerful as your AIs. It's just that your foundations are shallow in this regard," Zac countered. "But this is an interesting project. Let me know if you need anything to speed up the process."

The Creator ships were top-of-the-line, but as Jaol said, they were specialist vessels. Adding extra features was a godsend since Zac doubted his upgrade quest would broaden his ship catalog that much. Until now, the Creators had only sold warships, likely by design from the quest that awarded the shipyard.

The modules would help him chart his stellar neighborhood, but they sounded especially useful for the war effort. The [Elite War Mapper] only showed where merit could be found, but it wasn't always easy to tell which markings would lead to riches and which ones represented hidden experts or strategic resources of no value to the Atwood Empire. And the more efficiently they could extract any value from the enemy planets, the quicker they could move on to the next campaign.

"I could use a couple of helpers. It doesn't need to be skilled labor like the so-called Datamancers you sent over," Jaol said. "The prototype is working, but we need to build a database for the array to compare energy signatures. The more data we've collected, the more precise the array's estimates will become."

A smile tugged at Zac's lips at the thought of how technology and magic were ultimately the same. For so long, he'd thought there was something about the Dao of Technology that clashed with the Heavens, but it was just an ancient grudge that scarcely anyone remembered the reason for any longer. The Supremacies of the Technocrat alliance must feel incredibly frustrated about the situation.

"I'll arrange something with our treasury. We have quite a bit of stuff lying around. You could try building something portable. Something the quartermasters of our armies could use while going through our loot."

"That's a good idea," Jaol eagerly nodded, his eyes darting to the door.

"Alright, what's on your mind?" Zac smiled. "What's behind the door?

"Ah, well," Jaol coughed. "Do you remember our last discussion?"

"I haven't forgotten," Zac said. "Do you have everything ready?"

"I do," Jaol said, eagerly walking to the door.

It slid open, leading into a large warehouse lined with dozens of vats and special containers. It looked like a mad scientist's laboratory, and Zac looked at Jaol with a raised brow.

"You've been busy."

"I, ah, might have exaggerated your involvement in a clandestine project to get help with my search after I didn't hear from you for a while," Jaol said, studiously looking away.

"Fine, but no more," Zac snorted as he stepped inside. "You need this much?"

"No, but you never know what turns out to be useful. I've collected all kinds of promising samples, and the war veritably flooded the markets. I've drawn out a series of branching schematics, depending on how well you think you can replicate these things."

"You do realize I have my hands full? It's all hands on deck, and I can't spend my days analyzing all these bloodlines. You need to—" Zac said as he looked across the room full of samples, but he froze upon seeing a body floating in the inner corner. He flashed over, his eyes wide with shock. "Where did you get this?"

"What's the matter?" Jaol asked after teaching up. "An old acquaintance?"

"Something like that," Zac sighed. "An old enemy."

It was actually Uvek Cartava, the leader of one of the four factions of the Research Base. The Cartava clan had targeted his faction in a desperate attempt to escape the base, nearly resulting in disaster. Luckily, Zac had returned in time, foiling their attempt. Uvek was almost killed, but his followers had managed to fake the old man's death at the last moment, narrowly escaping with a small group of civilians.

The survivors of the Cartava clan had escaped toward another fragment of the Research Base when things came crashing down, and that was the last he saw of them. He'd assumed they all died since they failed to show up on Memorysteel Mountain, either killed by Void Beasts, the Lunar Clan, or the realm's collapse. So it definitely wasn't a face he'd expected to see today.

"I'm not surprised," Jaol nodded. "I found this guy floating outside one of the local planets with over a hundred clansmen around him. He's from the Technocrat Research Base, right?"

"What's going on?"

"Well, my search for strong bloodlines quickly led me to the survivors of the Subspace Station I heard was connected to this planet. When I learned that many research subjects tried to escape their prison by jumping through spatial anomalies, I tuned my scanning modules to look for corpses floating around space. Their weak signals are normally something your vessels will disregard unless the bodies are Hegemons or above. Only those people might have stuff worth looting.

"When I made it look for E-grade bodies, quite a few popped up nearby. Mostly people who tried to escape at the last moment or were spat out when the realm exploded. I only found two bodies from before your world's integration into the System."

Zac was surprised to learn that people had been thrown out in his cosmic backyard. Everyone had waited for the Great Redeemer to descend, and his failure to do so was taken as proof that the path between Earth and Mystic Realm was completely cut. Perhaps these people had been spat out before things reached that point, or perhaps the battle between the titans had forced Voridis A'Heliophos to flee, costing him his chance to find Earth before the Assimilation.

"Do you know if they were alive when they appeared in the main dimension? Could there be survivors?" Zac asked.

"Possible, but unlikely," Jaol said. "The spatial tears or the Void destroyed most bodies. Only the strongest would survive moving through dimensions. Even then, they'd have to appear on a planet or close enough to reach the atmosphere before dying of asphyxiation."

Zac shook his head as he turned away from Uvek's body. The Cartava Clan was truly pitiful. They'd been captured by the Tsarun Clan because of their eyes, and one suffering had replaced another. Yet they'd held on for a chance at freedom. Yet now they were gone, and Uvek had once more become a research specimen.

It made him wonder if it was related to the Taboo Power held within their eyes. Leviala tampered with the river of time twice. Could the cosmic backlash be powerful enough to curse her whole clan?

"Do you want me to—" Jaol hesitated.

"It doesn't matter," Zac said with a shake of his head. "But I won't be able to recreate the Temporal Bloodline in his eyes—I've already tried that for our Revenants. And like I said, I can't spend too much time studying all these bloodlines."

"Of course. I've thought of an alternative method that might be easier for you," Jaol said as he walked over to a table. "The problem is recreating the bloodlines themselves, right? What if, instead of creating new body parts from scratch, you create my genealogical makeup inside an existing organ? I'm a normal human, apart from my implants, so it should be much easier. I've already extracted the essence of my blood."

"So, an organ transplant without any rejection," Zac thoughtfully muttered. "Maybe. It would require very delicate control, and Creation Energy is notoriously hard to keep in line."

"Any more delicate than recreating a foreign bloodline?"

He had to admit; it was an interesting prospect, and not just for his deal with Jaol. If his idea worked, it might let Zac manufacture Corpselords without any downsides of rejection between body parts. Sure, using Creation Energy and Longevity absolutely wasn't worth it for common Corpselords or even elites. But what about the Heaven's Chosen he encountered?

Zac could imagine the kind of powerful followers he'd be able to raise if he fused the strongest aspects of his strongest enemies into one body. He even had a lot of candidates in his Corpse Sack, considering how often he was forced to target the heads of his enemies to take them out in one go.

The concept might even have uses beyond creating bodies and body parts. It could be combined with the techniques of [Cosmic Forge] to create perfect materials for his Spirit Tools. Verun, especially, could benefit from adding a Cosmic Cycle or two, but Zac needed to get everything just right to not damage its growth potential.

Zac shelved the idea as he collected the data and samples Jaol had collected. He had way too much on his hands right now to add his crafting technique to the list. His weapons had already reached a state where they wouldn't hold him back in the war or the Left Imperial Palace, which was good enough for now.

"I'll give it a try. Give me two months to look over the materials," Zac said.

"No problem, take your time," Jaol quickly nodded. "A few months here or there won't make any difference."

"I'll talk to you later," Zac said as he left the research center.

Zac glanced in the direction of his compound but shook his head and teleported to Pangea, where he briefly met with Rhuger. A second sigil was added to the token, and the aura it released grew stronger. Oddly enough, Rhuger didn't seem to notice it, and neither did Janos or the others he visited one after the other.

An hour later, Zac ran out of sealbearers on Earth. He found himself standing by the shores within his compound, looking out at the boundless sea. A storm rumbled in the distance, its dark clouds slowly creeping closer. The scene perfectly mirrored Zac's thoughts. As the duel drew closer, his sense of apprehension became stronger.

It wasn't his Danger Sense warning him of a plot like in the Perennial Vastness, but rather an uncertainty from the depths of his heart. It wasn't just the quest that had made him ask for an extension, but that nagging feeling. It wasn't a fear of Kator but rather a worry over his mental state. Eight years of running rampant in the Perennial Vastness seemed to have created a flaw in his mentality, and he felt his very identity under threat.

When the Incursion struck, he was a nobody, a lost boy in the woods struggling to survive. He'd always held onto that feeling of helplessness, even when his identity began to shift. Conquering the Azh'Rezak Clan, becoming the strongest on Earth. Having his name spread far and wide across the sector and beyond. Mortal or not, he'd become a true Heaven's Chosen and only advanced from there.

It had become harder and harder to convince himself that he had to be careful, that the waters of the Multiverse were deeper than he could imagine, and Zac realized he'd been nurturing the arrogance of an elite. He'd heard the warnings, seen the signs. Kator was an absolute monster. Yet, in Zac's heart of hearts, there had been a sense of superiority and conviction he'd pull ahead. Kator was ultimately only 90 years old, which wasn't that different from himself. When restricted to the same level, how could he possibly lose?

Now, he had started worrying about what would happen if he came up short. Would it damage his path, his convictions? The impervious mentality that had let him forge ahead despite all odds? Was his Dao Heart perhaps not as stable as he'd come to believe?

Zac shook his head and turned away from the advancing clouds. Investigating the token had been a welcome distraction, but he couldn't stall any longer. Only by facing the doubts in his heart could he quash them before they turned into Heart Demons corroding his Dao.

He had done what he could, and it was time to test his axe against Kator's mace.

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