Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 1250: Polaris Vault

"A bunch of nothing," Bubbur said, looking about ready to bite into the engraved antenna he'd taken out. "What about you, big guy?"

Rhuger shook his head and stepped back. "The lingering energy has already dissipated. There's no way to reopen a pathway or see where the others were sent."

"What dogshit luck! With so many freaks around, I get struck with you two? Might as well lay down and die before one of those revolting things finds us," Bubbur grumbled before catching himself. "Uh, no offense."

"I get it," Rhuger said. "We're not exactly the first string here."

"So what should we do? Stay put?" Bubbur said, looking around the cluttered warehouse. "As far as an infested base goes, this place isn't too bad. Less gunk than in the chambers before, and I'm carrying enough liquor to keep me going for a decade."

Rhuger turned toward Carl, who'd only half-listened to the conversation. The werewolf had been neurotic since his resurrection, which made sense considering how his predecessor's fearlessness led to his demise. Being separated from his dad and sister was bound to leave him floundering. Meanwhile, the musclebound brute hadn't followed their Emperor long enough to appreciate the nuances of being swept up in his storm of providence.

Carl was more interested in the buckets filled with tools and wires on the closest shelf than in figuring out why the gate separated them. Because why wouldn't it? This was how the boss operated. He'd disappear for days or years to do whatever madmen did. They'd probably reconvene when the boss was ready to blow up the base, the star, or perhaps the whole galaxy.

"Hey, snap out of it," Bubbur said, poking Carl with the antenna. "The scare didn't make you lose your marbles, right? Should we set up camp until someone comes to pick us up?"

"We can't," Carl said. "Not when we have a mission to complete."

"Ah?" Bubbur said, looking between Rhuger and Carl with suspicion. "What mission? Some secret task ol' Bubbur wasn't worthy of knowing?"

"I haven't received any mission beyond our briefings," Rhuger said with equal confusion.

"You have to read between the lines," Carl said, realizing he needed to teach these two how to survive an Atwood-sponsored mission. "Don't worry about the boss. Let him do what he does best. We just need to mop up the mess and tie the loose ends before this place goes up in flames."

"Up in flames? You're talking like the boss is a force of nature."

"He is," Carl said with utter confidence. "And you don't control the whims of nature. You plan around them."

Bubbur looked at the rusty coil in Carl's hands. "Then what would those loose ends be? Taking inventory of spirit-drained junk?"

"Look at it. And this," Carl said, picking up a mottled metal sheet from the bottom shelf. "There are thousands of these. It's a sign."

"He stayed the longest. Poor guy must have swallowed too much of that purple stink," Bubbur whispered. Carl felt the veins in his forehead throb when an ugly smile spread across Bubbur's face as he inched closer. "That's a great sign, buddy. How about you keep that one, and we'll look for more while you rest up for a bit. You've been through a—NOW!"

Carl rolled his eyes and flashed out of the way before Bubbur could catch him in a bear hug.

"You hairy ox, help me restrain him!" Bubbur swore while scrambling to his feet. "We got to cram a couple of tranquilizers down his throat before he starts howling at the moon and attracts even worse company."

"Uh—" Rhuger said, snout wide open at the sudden turn.

"Bastard, you're the one who's going mad!" Carl threw the bundle of wires at the grizzled veteran. "I'm telling you simpletons that these shelves are stocked with parts that go into Cosmic Vessels. We've been sent to another hangar or a shipyard. Do you get it now?"

"Uh—" Rhuger repeated, scratching his bushy throat in embarrassment and confusion.

Carl took a deep breath before patiently explaining. "The boss said he wanted an ancient ship, so the Heavens sent us to a place where we could get one for him. Consequently, we have to commandeer whatever's waiting outside that door before he blows up the base."

"You shit-brained lunatic, that's your takeaway?" Bubbur wheezed incredulously. "You see some scrap metal and cook up some crooked undertaking? These items are as simple as refined products come. They could serve replacement parts for almost anything, including this fae-kissed base."

"Dollars to donuts, I'm right," Carl said. "Why keep all this junk in the open? It would be more convenient to store it in common Spatial Coffers. They were stocked here because they had a hint of Spatial Affinity before they corroded, making normal storage difficult. And feel the spatial integrity. It's much higher here than before. This warehouse has been reinforced to store Space-attuned items. That's probably why there's so little corruption, too."

Bubbur's brows furrowed in thought. "You might be right about the warehouse, but you're out of your mind if you think we're fit to seize an ancient ship. Maybe if we had Shartermaster or the guy you pretend isn't a Technocrat. Even the demon would do. But this team? You clearly have a few screws loose, he's barely ten years old, and I spent all my luck on getting this handsome face."

"Some luck," Carl said beneath his breath. "Anyway, I'm going, with or without you. It'd be suicide going against the river of fate."

"He does have a point," Rhuger hesitated, quickly continuing upon seeing Bubbur about to launch another tirade. "I don't know about this mission, but we've seen how the Qriz'Ul are attracted by energy. Staying in one spot for long could be dangerous. We might end up surrounded, and this room only has one exit."

"Fine! Let's go," Bubbur growled. "If only to keep you two fanatics from getting yourselves killed."

"You're still new, but you'll soon come around to the way things work," Carl said. "Well, either that or you'll die."

"Isn't that nice? Now, follow my lead. I spent years breaking through doors just like this one. We might have to rip out the frame and fiddle with—" Bubbur's words reached an abrupt halt when the reinforced door smoothly slid open from their approach.

"Fate will lead the way," Carl pointedly said as they took in the scene outside.

"I'll be damned," Bubbur whispered, his eyes wide with awe and confusion. "There's really a ship waiting for us."

Carl smugly looked at the fleet of ancient vessels moored to the branches of something resembling a metallic World Tree. There had to be over two hundred of them, all of them looking more oppressive than any vessel Carl had seen during the war. The enormous beast floating near the crown was especially intimidating. It had to have been a C-grade ship at its prime. Even with age and material degradation, it'd surpass anything in Zecia.

"You know what? I'm in," Bubbur said, looking at Carl in a completely new light. "I still can't tell whether you're a madman or genius, but you actually got everything right from a couple of wires and blind, dumb faith."

"I'm just a janitor who's gotten familiar with these kind of messes," Carl said. "Let's go for the big guy and work our way down in case it doesn't pan out. Do you have any ideas?"

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"The Stellar Energy in here is very weak, and the vessels appear drained," Rhuger said. "That maintenance tower is supposed to provide them with energy, but it's dark. The energy supply has been turned off or damaged."

"The hangar door is also sealed shut," Carl added. "We'll probably want to take the ship outside after stealing it. Both to avoid Qriz'Ul and in case we need to bring the others away."

"So turn on the lights, pick the locks, save the day?" Bubbur said. "Doesn't sound too bad."

"Well," Rhuger coughed. "A maintenance tower this big has to draw immense amounts of energy. The commotion is bound to attract a huge number of creatures."

Bubbur blinked a few times before shaking his head. "I'll just pretend you didn't say that."

-----------

"There's only five of us left? No more freeloaders to worry about, eh?" Kator snickered, briefly glancing in Emily's direction. "Well, almost none."

Emily had been holding onto a bellyful of fury since Kator threatened Galau a few hours ago, and she looked about ready to release it all. Ogras smoothly stepped between the two while Zac tried to make sense of the situation. Ogras, Catheya, and Ra'Klid were the first to use the gate in case the other side proved dangerous. Emily was somewhere in the middle, while three out of five were sent here from the last batch. In addition, the pull he'd sensed from his quest was gone.

"I'm assuming you were the last ones through?" the demon asked. "We first guessed that different seals would be sent to different locations. I guess that's out of the window now that the Blooddancers and Lightbringers have been split up."

Zac briefly recounted what happened at the end while fruitlessly trying to contact the others or the Yphelion. The only reason he wasn't panicking was the lack of change in his quest or the [Court Cycle Token]. He also had life brands of all his sealbearers, though he wasn't confident they'd register a death when the communicators failed to pierce the powerful walls of the Centurion Base.

If they were even still within the base.

Their current surroundings were a stark contrast to the city-like wing they'd entered from the hangar. The floor being made from the same gray stone was the only resemblance, though it was covered in intricate patterns made from differently-colored rock. Zac couldn't tell if the arrangement was decorative or functional. Perhaps it was what maintained the invisible barrier protecting them from the huge sun hanging overhead.

The sun was another indication they might have been transported further than expected. It hadn't been visible during their approach to the base. It emitted the same fierce energy as the hollow tesseract sun, though, so Zac assumed they were seeing another piece of the same thing.

Going strictly by appearance, they'd been transported to a platform in the depths of space. The only thing of note beyond the sun and distant stars was the huge arch. It was carved from an unfamiliar stone that emitted a far purer Dao of Stars than the actual sun above. Zac wouldn't be surprised if it were made from true C-grade material, not an alloy mimicking its effects with the help of formations and a few C-grade shavings.

Zac couldn't quell the flicker of greed as he subconsciously calculated just how much the arch might be worth. Even slightly depreciated, it likely eclipsed Zac's full net worth if it could be brought back. Of course, it was just a distant dream. For one, most C-grade materials needed an Inner World or C-grade Spatial Tool for storage, as their immense energies and weight would collapse the subspace of lower-grade items.

More importantly, it was likely their only ticket out of here. While currently inert, the runes hidden among the detailed engravings on its sides indicated it was a gate of far higher complexity than the one they'd just passed through. And the destination was cause enough to keep his desires in check. It wasn't the beacon chamber Zac looked for, but it still made Zac's heart beat with anticipation.

Polaris Vault.

If the entrance was made from pure C-grade stone, then what about the treasures it protected? Zac had to enter a Void State to prevent his thoughts from running amok. While enticing, there were the mission and his subordinates to worry about. Furthermore, the base was at least in a semi-operational state. It wouldn't hand out its riches without a fight.

"Why would a teleportation gate send us here? Seems like the kind of destination that should only be accessible from the central tower," Zac muttered.

"That thing was already on its last legs," Ogras shrugged. "It might just have picked a random spot within reach and its capability. Or maybe it was a going-out-of-business feature? The base is facing its end, so it sent people to pick up the valuables before they were lost."

"When did the ruthless Limitless Empire become so generous? It's more likely we're being controlled. Either by one of those creatures or by an Array Spirit," Kator said. "Perhaps it took us where we wanted to go. Were you thinking of riches or duty when you jumped into the darkness, Draugr?"

Zac ignored the jab. "Any way to get back? Or at least connect with the others?"

Galau had been observing the patterns on the floor and arch while the others talked. He shook his head upon hearing Zac's question. "Not from here, at least. I doubt Escape Treasures would work. I believe this space is spatially sealed. As you said, it would be impossible to reach this place except under very specific conditions if the base was in working order."

"We need to enter the vault and see if there are consoles or another way out," Ogras said, not looking particularly broken up about it.

"Finally some good news," Kator said, not even trying to hide his good mood. He couldn't care less about the mission or the state of the others. The Reaver was in it for himself, and he looked ready to reap the rewards of forcing his way onto the crew. "I knew sticking to you was the right call."

"There's no point in sticking around here," Zac said and set out.

With each step he took toward the gate, the stronger the sun's rays became. Zac could barely see a thing by the time he was a hundred meters away. There was no sense of rejection or danger. Zac still turned to Galau, who shrugged. An installation of this level was ultimately out of his league.

Soon enough, there was nothing but golden light. It even overwhelmed Zac's Soul Sense, leaving him functionally blind. He sent out his chains to grab onto the others, but he couldn't actually find them. Zac opened his mouth to ask if the others were okay. Nothing came out—the light even burned away all sound. Stepping back didn't weaken the light either.

Zac decided to hurry forward instead of unleashing the Void. His danger sense remained calm, but his intuition told him that fighting back was bound to land him in a heap of trouble. It didn't take long before he'd walked more than a dozen times further than the distance to the arch. Then, the light disappeared, replaced by intense madness.

"No—" a weak groan awakened Zac from the sudden sensory overload.

Galau was there, clutching his head in pain. Emily was fiercely struggling by his side, and a shimmer of flames protected the two. It wasn't enough. The purple haze was far denser than when they faced the Half-Step Monarch, its intrusive influence feeling as tyrannical as in the lake. It was also fresh and active in a way the previous encounters hadn't. The streaks of purple mist almost looked like it was alive despite there not being a Qriz'Ul in sight, trying to fight its way past Emily's defenses.

Zac soon understood why. There was a breach inside the Polaris Vault. He could feel it in the distance, a streak of otherworldly energy and profound madness. Was this why they'd been sent here? If Kator was right, then an Array Spirit might want them to close the breach.

Another groan forced Zac to table the matter. This wasn't the time to worry about keeping his secrets. Two of his followers were about to buckle under, and there were no signs of the other two. Zac activated [Void Zone], which stopped the nearby clouds in their tracks. Dead Dao or current, it didn't matter. The Void was the antithesis of both.

It provided a safe harbor for Emily and Galau, but it wasn't sustainable. Trapping them in the Void would make it difficult to fight back using their Daos, and nullifying a 10-meter domain crammed full of hostile energy was draining Void Energy at a perilous rate. He needed a better solution, and he had just the idea.

"Emily," Zac said, his voice empowered with the Void.

His disciple was shaken awake.

"I need your help," he continued. "Form a cyclone with your Axe Array. Drag everything to me."

"Are you sure?" Emily said. "This much energy—"

Zac felt a spatial ripple, seeing someone was about to emerge from the walk of light. He'd expose [Void Zone] if it were Kator. "Hurry."

Zac deactivated his bloodline talent and was immediately surrounded by a swirl of tomahawks. They became a blur that dragged everything toward its center. Zac roused his Void Emperor bloodline again, only stopping short of actually opening Void Vortices. His cells were wide open, accepting everything that was provided.

A second storm was born in Zac's mind, but it was suppressed by [Void Mountain] descending. Seizing the opportunity, Zac pushed with everything he had, depositing it in [Purity of the Void]. It was like the action created a negative pressure in his body, and dozens of streams formed that poured the purple taint into the purification space the moment it appeared.

The corruption in Zac's body reached manageable levels, and the clamoring voices were reduced to a whisper. Meanwhile, his nugget of insight was growing a dozen times faster than before. The whole space would fill up with insights in a couple of hours unless something changed.

"What in the—" Ogras yelled as he appeared in a puff of light with Kator right on his heels.

Zac was like a black hole pulling a nebula into its event horizon. Anything that got close was dragged in and consumed. The method would never be enough to cleanse the room as the breach was continuously replenishing some of what Zac absorbed. It did at least lower the density by a few notches, enough for the others to make do.

"Not bad," Kator nodded before turning to the Vault that was coming into view now that the purple mist was weakening. "Not bad, indeed."

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