Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 1152: Falling Out

The corridors turned into a blur as Zac rushed forth, guided by the memorized floor plans. Emily buffed herself with her speed-elevating buff. She tried the same with Zac, but his bloodline rapidly consumed the foreign energy. It lasted less than a minute before collapsing, so they gave up on the idea. She would only hasten his breakthrough if she kept feeding him like that. Furthermore, whenever his cells feasted on high-grade energy, Zac felt the hunger grow more intense.

The only solution he found was relying on his Draugr half. He was still sitting atop the monolith, busying himself by stuffing his mouth with large amounts of low-grade Death-attuned food. It somewhat alleviated his cravings without accelerating his bloodline awakening by a noticeable degree. Unfortunately, this was one time his fortune was working against him.

His rings had plenty of provisions, but it was almost exclusively high-grade food that could be considered Pseudo D-grade tonics. It was mostly made from Beast King meat and prepared by real Cultivator Chefs. What little non-spiritual food he had was prepared in case he stumbled onto some starving low-grade cultivator and didnʼt have time to dilute the energy in his meals.

The Technocrats either lacked manpower or had other priorities, and they didnʼt encounter any more men on the floor. They soon reached the stairs leading to the next level, where a sudden scream of danger forced Zac to lunge back around the corner. An orange laser was only a touch too slow, incinerating the air where he had just stood. Zac had already scanned the corner with his Soul Sense, finding nothing amiss.

The Technocrats once more flaunted their varied methods as a chest-high turret appeared from a camouflage array. Zac tried to launch fractal edges around the bend, making use of the D-grade [Evolutionary Edge]ʼs greater maneuverability. Most were destroyed by the gun, while the few that got close failed to break through an energy shield.

Zac grunted in annoyance. They couldnʼt waste time like this. If nothing else, the sentry was likely informing its owners that it was under attack. Thankfully, the tower had his back. The turret used technology to mask its origin and elude the towerʼs senses.

That method quickly failed, thanks to Zacʼs bombardment destabilizing its barriers and a stretch of arrays lit up in the hallway. Zac urgently backed away before he was lumped in with the turret, swearing when he saw it was no use. The corridor was coming alive, so Zac changed course, pushing into the mounting gravity by the stairs.

The turret tried to shoot him, but its barrel exploded under the towerʼs attention. It was the straw that broke the camelʼs back. The barriers failed, and the contraption buckled, allowing Zac to destroy it with a series of quick swings. He pushed through the sea of orange flames and threw the scraps into a disposable Cosmos sack.

Zac crushed the Spatial Tool to discard the turret in the Void, exhaling with relief when the hallway calmed down. Emily had already caught up, scattering dust to hide their traces before throwing out array disks that blended with the ground. Magical mines. The [Godslayer Coil] was clearly only the tip of a very dangerous iceberg. Zac nodded at his calamitous disciple, and they made their way to the next floor.

It quickly became apparent the turret was only the first of many. The Technocrats had placed them at major intersections and chokepoints, causing constant delays and headaches. And while Zacʼs keen danger sense let him avoid their ambushes, he still had to worry about an increasingly irate fortress.

After dealing with three turrets, it became abundantly clear that his efforts didnʼt expose the Technocrat weapons to the towerʼs scanners. They were intentionally designed to draw attention when their ambushes failed to injure their target. Turrets were cheap while lives were precious, so going for mutual destruction was a sound tactic.

Even then, Zac found the traps more annoying than deadly. His greatly boosted Luck had sharpened his instincts further, allowing him to make accurate judgments and move with pinpoint precision. Sometimes, he deposed of the machines like the first he encountered. Other times, he simply grabbed Emily and ran away while the sentinels wrapped things up.

The real problem was the beckoning call of treasure, which had only grown more potent after gaining his Limited Title. Even the string of illusory [Lucky Beads] around his neck seemed to have been energized by the Tribulation Throne, though Zac didnʼt have time to study their transformation. Right now, they were becoming a problem, to the point that Zac would have unequipped them if not for their assistance in pinpointing danger.

There were supreme treasures on almost every floor at the top, with a few sporting more than one. Just being in the same hallway made Zac gradually lose reason. Even some normal rooms they passed made Zac shudder with hunger, proving they held something energy-dense. However, it wasnʼt as good as whatever was hidden further down the hall.

They were so close, and he was still incomplete. The monolith and the things it brought forth in the Ensolus Ruins were already resisting his ascent. Now, this decrepit old tower wanted to do the same. Rusty doors and broken circuitry tried to cut off his path to perfection? Laughable. Evolution was Heavenly Mandate, and his Apotheosis was inevitable.

Hunger shaped reality and sealed secrets were exposed to the Void. Vague desire morphed into a vision of a box hidden in a spatial fold, protected by layers of arrays. He was the Void, coming and going where he pleased. Nothing under the Heavens could prevent him from taking what was his. Space held no meaning, and he reached for the first piece of perfection.

A stinging pain across his cheek launched Zac off his feet and made him crash into the wall with the force of a cannonball. Zac took a shuddering breath, his eyes wide with alarm over losing control so quickly and completely. It was a humbling reminder his inroads to Heart Cultivation could only help him so far. Like any other trick, it was helpless when faced with overwhelming power.

Emilyʼs well-timed slap had brought him back to reality, but it was already too late. Heʼd blindly rushed to the chamber holding a supreme treasure and reached into the Void. Now, the Void refused to let go. Zac could no longer see the interiors through the mysterious vision that seemed a combination of the Void and his Luck, but he could hear and feel the commotion inside the sealed room.

The real problem wasnʼt the triggered safeguards. It was the vortex heʼd formed in his delirious state. It was about to swallow the tightly defended box, and Zac knew that would push him closer to the point of no return. Perhaps itʼd make him cross it entirely, depending on what treasure it held. He couldnʼt let that happen. They still had some ways to go.

Zac growled with defiance as he imposed a steely will of rejection on his bloodline. He was the Void, and none but him would decide what would be taken. This box, it was not for him. It was not part of his path, and thus, could only be rejected. The hunger of the Void fought back, and Zac felt his vision blur as he fought a losing battle.

Out of better ideas, Zac could only take a gamble on something heʼd vaguely gleaned during his rebirth. He stopped his struggle, and the box was dragged inside. Simultaneously, a vortex appeared before his hand, aimed at a shocked Emily.

”Out!” Zac growled.

The vortex shuddered and struggled, but Zac pushed with every fiber in his being. The box emerged, propelled by the force of its pull. A profound circle was engraved on its lid, which made Zac think of the wheel of reincarnation. Each side was made from a different material, forming a mysterious cycle that showcased many of the truths Zac had drawn from the [Book of Duality]. It was mesmerizing, and seeing it with his real eyes made the madness return.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

”Stow it,” Zac croaked, his eyes veritably burning.

He could barely stop himself from lunging at Emily. A part of his mind screamed at him to strike her down for taking what was rightfully his, though those thoughts were quashed and banished the moment they appeared. His mind rejected the notion so vehemently that their mere appearance shook his mind awake. Emily was pale from the attention and quickly put the box away.

Only then did the madness recede, allowing Zac to take back control over his mind.

”You—”

”Iʼm sorry. You did the right thing,” Zac exhaled. ”If I lose control, throw some Natural Treasures at me and run far away. Iʼll do my best to not impact you.”

”Donʼt talk like that. Weʼre almost there. Letʼs keep going.”

Zac nodded, and they set out again. They were forced to take an even more roundabout path to avoid the same issue from cropping up again. The change forced them to waste even more time on their final ascent, increasing the risk of running into more cultivators. As expected, their luck finally caught up to them when there were only four floors left from their destination.

Shouts reverberated down the hall, stopping Zac and Emily in their tracks. They couldnʼt back down. Theyʼd left a trail of broken turrets like breadcrumbs, and the corridor ahead was the only path to the wing where the control center was located. Instead, they hunkered down and prepared for a siege.

However, no Technocrats came barreling down the corridor. Instead, the shouts grew more urgent, while powerful energy eruptions caused vibrations on the floor. A battle?

ʼItʼs the aura of the imperials!ʼ Emily commented through a mental link.

Zac nodded with a heavy heart. So the imperials had really come all this way, making their mission even more difficult. However, it looked like their cooperation had broken down completely. Had they turned against each other now that the prize was within reach?

ʼAround ten of them? What should we do?ʼ

Zac listened for a few more seconds before answering. ʼItʼs five versus four, with the four being imperials. Letʼs wait for now. Theyʼre still feeling each other out.ʼ

ʼSo they came to blows in the end. Thatʼs great,ʼ Emily grinned.

ʼMakes our life easier,ʼ Zac agreed.

The battle continued, and the fluctuations grew increasingly intense. It soon passed the threshold of life and death. The imperials were one man short, yet they suppressed the opponent with an all-out offense. Zac had expected as much. The Technocratʼs auras were by no means weaker, but their methods were restrained inside the tower.

Zacʼs eyes shot open as the arrays around them activated, triggered by a whirring sound and an outburst of energy unmistakably teeming with the Dao of Technology. Emily looked around with fright, only relaxing upon confirming the towerʼs ire was concentrated on the fighters.

ʼGet ready!ʼ Zac instructed. ʼIʼll take point. Focus on stopping anyone from escaping.ʼ

Zac tensed, waiting for the right moment to strike. Several earth-shattering explosions stopped the whirring. The walls dimmed, and the pressure relented. It was time. Zac shot forth, moving through the corridors like a streak of death. Emily kept pace, her form fading inside a storm of tomahawks that filled the hallways.

It only took a second to reach their destination, where they found four Middle Hegemons fighting tooth and nail. Five bodies lay unmoving on the ground, two of which were killed by the towerʼs sentinels. Piles of molten scraps surrounded them, the remains of the machines that triggered the defenses.

Zac had hoped the sentinels would finish the job, but the outsiders wouldnʼt have reached this far if they lacked any methods to deal with the tower. The reinforced doors that required the [Court Cycle Token] would have stopped them in their tracks. Therefore, Zac made his move the moment they used up their aces.

A floating rune saying ”authority” shrouded the remaining deathsworn in golden radiance. Meanwhile, a clearly Technocrat drone generated a rippling bubble around itself, muting any signals from the weapons in its ownerʼs hands.

The Technocrats were fighting to kill the deathsworn while the imperials targeted both Technocrats and their drone. Their battle froze upon spotting a third party entering the fray, but Zac gave them no time to figure out what was happening.

A brutal arc tore into the most wounded deathsworn, powered by all the pent-up stress Zac had accumulated since they ambushed him. The soldier seemed incredibly shocked but blocked the strike with her shield. The force was far too overbearing to absorb. Bones snapped, and the deathsworn was forced to her knees, where an armored foot was already waiting. It crashed into her face, sending her right through the floating rune before smashing into the wall.

Zacʼs figure disappeared like the attacker had been a hologram, only to reappear next to the Technocrats. Zac felt a cold sensation as he passed through the bubble, knowing heʼd just phased through another physical barrier. His breakthrough had left him with one foot in the Void, making his body exhibit some of its properties.

The barriers had been rendered moot, and [Skystriker] showcased its true strength in the cramped, chaotic battle. The kick that had almost caved in the deathsworn soldierʼs face still packed plenty of momentum, and a pained wail followed a gruesome crunch.

The kick shattered one of the Technocratʼs knees, and the sudden, blinding pain made him forget to stay aloft using energy. The infiltrator fell over, and [Verunʼs Bite] was there to catch him. It almost looked like the Technocrat was presenting his throat to the gleaming edge of Zacʼs blade. In reality, it was the product of the Evolutionary Stance and a mountain of experience.

The furious blitz hadnʼt even taken a second, yet it left one combatant unconscious and another dead. Only two remained, and they reached a common split-second decision—escape. Each turned into a streak before Zac had finished his swing, escaping in opposite directions.

Zac could feel Emilyʼs intent in the storm and made a beeline for the imperial, taking out the Technocrat drone on the way. Streaks of axelight hounded the man, repeatedly forcing him to stop or dodge. With Zacʼs elevated body and superior attribute pool, it took no time for him to catch up.

Madness shone in the soldierʼs eyes as he stopped and swung his sword in a final act of defiance. The target wasnʼt Zac. It was a flickering rune on the wall. Zacʼs brows furrowed, but he made no attempt to escape. His axe dug into the soldierʼs skull just as the sword flooded the unstable rune with foreign Dao and energy.

Zac was already moving away, using his Movement Skill to focus on speed. However, the rune shattered, unleashing a wave that carried the weight of a mountain. Its gravity field was so dense that [Skystriker] failed to carve a path. Zacʼs mind screamed of danger as he was forced to his knee.

The Void and his aligned body had pushed his body beyond its previous boundaries, but it was not yet enough to withstand the crushing pressure within the tower arrays. He rolled the dice, calling forth Void Energy to reactivate the movement skill. Suddenly, the pressure was gone, and Zac flitted through the corridors like a ghost separated from the cosmos.

He was back by the unconscious soldier in no time, his body hunched over by fatal hunger. He swung his axe to finish the job before stepping away from the corpses. His body reached even further to siphon energy from its surroundings. Soon after, Emily returned with a bloodied tomahawk in hand.

”Itʼs dealt with?” Zac asked with a heaving breath.

”Itʼs dealt with,” Emily confirmed as she ran her hand through her scorched hair. ”He threw out his whole spatial ring when he was about to die. Too bad theyʼd already used that—holy crap!”

Zac was already on the move, fleeing down the corridor they came from. Emily appeared by his side, and the two looked on in surprise as a seal rose from the soldierʼs body. The imperial soldier was actually a Reignender of the Starfall Court, but neither Zac nor Emily was happy to have another seal appear before them.

”What should we do about this thing?” Emily urged, nervously looking around. ”Itʼs going to attract people, and itʼs blocking the path forward.”

”What can we do? We canʼt take it. Itʼll dissipate on its own,” Zac whispered, as much to convince himself as to answer Emily. ”Itʼs not for us… no…”

”Youʼre not thinking!” Emily wheezed with alarm as she grabbed Zacʼs arm.

Zac could barely hear her as his body shuddered with barely contained desire. So what if it was a seal? Could it be compared to the boundless grandeur of the Void? If anything, it was his birthright. He was the one who made Ultom stir. His ancestor was part of the undertaking to raise the pillars. What was one bite?

The senseless idea was rendered moot when the seal suddenly released a familiar pulse. The incredibly durable stone was utterly incapable of resisting, and a sphere thirty meters across instantly disintegrated. A rain of dust fell through the hole in the ceiling, and Zac took a shuddering breath as he woke up from his delirious state.

”Dissipate my butt,” Emily muttered. ”I canʼt believe you managed to scare it away.”