Chapter 1159: Foreign Gods
Zac's consciousness loathed being pulled from the past to face the uncomfortable realities of the present. A powerful rocking rendered the resistance futile, and Zac was shocked wide awake. The confused state of overlapping lives was forced away by memories flooding back. Memories of the fight leading up to his breakthrough.
His body was still covered in wounds from Yselio's onslaught and drained of energy, but it was nothing compared to the pain he felt from the hollow sensation coming from [Link of Demeter]. Zac crammed a bunch of Soldier Pills into his mouth as he desperately channeled the skill, hoping he'd missed something in the heat of the moment. There was no response and no link to trigger.
Intense grief welled forth, one not solely of his own making. He followed the feeling to [Adaptive Symbiosis], where he found a chaotic consciousness. The Heavenrender Vine seemed to sense his presence and extended a vine to wind around his left arm like he was looking for comfort. However, Haro suddenly recoiled like he'd been burned, and it almost looked like it had suffered frostbite. There was something wrong with his body.
The breakthrough was already finished, but he was still drawing on large amounts of Void Energy. Zac followed the feeling to his Soul Aperture, where he found the illusory image of a familiar mountain. The Void Mountain was back in the form of a new ability, though it was so faded Zac barely could discern its outline.
Zac didn't fret about the matter since he could feel Haro was on the verge of losing control and entering a deviation. He quickly roused his Void Heart to control the apparition, which prompted it to flicker out of existence. The drain stopped, and Zac quickly focused on the Heavenrender Vine.
"Hey, hey," Zac whispered as he caressed the startled vine while sending soothing thoughts into [Adaptive Symbiosis]. "It's okay. We're okay."
Haro gradually calmed down, though his aura was still unstable after the sudden breakthrough and using lifeforce. Zac infused his consciousness into the World ring to check his wounds, but a shocking scene threw those thoughts out the window. There were dozens of large withered vines and petals strewn about, and the Heavenrender Vine dragged one after another into its maw.
"You're eating her?!" Zac said, aghast and enraged. "She was your"
The words caught in his throat upon seeing a familiar flower growing on a newly formed vine. It was Vivi, or rather a flower from Vivi's species. Zac scanned the vine, confirming there was no separate spirituality within. It was only a transplant. Vivi's spirit had already dissipated from blocking Yselio's strike, and the only thing that could return her was a Supremacy crossing the river of time.
"You wanted to keep a piece of her?" Zac sighed. "Good."
Zac was answered by a brutal Killing Intent that almost overwhelmed Zac's defenses, and vines harder than steel wildly flailed about inside the World Ring. Haro couldn't communicate with words, but Zac could see a rough image of Yselio surrounded by a halo of hatred. The real person Haro wanted to consume.
"You're right," Zac said, his bloodthirst matching the Plant King's.
One after another, these imperials targeted him, full of self-righteousness and greed. Now, Vivi had paid the ultimate price to keep him safe. It didn't even matter that a large amount of Kill Energy confirmed Yselio's fate after being dragged away. This grudge wasn't over.
"That bastard is dead, but so what? They'll keep coming, and I'm not finished either. We'll have them all accompany Vivi in the afterlife."
Zac's words were resolute, but he was still shaken up over how close to death he'd just come. He thought he roughly understood what to expect after dealing with Valsa Planur and the deathsworn, but Yselio Tobrial was another league altogether. Yselio was almost unstoppable thanks to the Imperial Qi, and he had the personal strength to back it up. Zac had thrown everything but the kitchen sink at his enemy without landing a finishing blow, relying on his breakthrough and the tower to exhibit far greater lethality than his own.
Yselio blocked Oblivion and forced his way out of the Void. Not even flooding him with enough Killing Intent to kill ten lesser men had stopped his advance. Sure, the onslaught left the princeling grievously wounded, but Zac would still be dead if not for the intervention of that masked Technocrat. That begged another question.
Why would she help him, a stranger, after he'd killed a dozen of her men? According to Yselio, Zac's actions had even let the imperials seize the advantage and 'deal with the Sindris Clan.' Even then, Zac was all but certain she'd moved to save him as much as to deal with Yselio. Was it because of the familiar archaic aura he'd felt from her? He'd always assumed it came from his Void Emperor Bloodline. Could it be related to his Selvari Heritage instead?
Another shake forced Zac to table the matter, and he turned his attention to the surroundings. He was still in the control center, sitting at the bottom of a small crater. The depression was nowhere the size of the bite he'd taken out of the Memorysteel Mountain, but Zac was surprised he'd managed to whittle it down at all. He knew just how durable the reinforced chamber was.
It could be attributed to the transformation of his surroundings. Thousands of gleaming spheres of spatial gravity looked like suspended raindrops. They were more stretched out than what Zac remembered, though that may have more to do with the tower than the spheres themselves. The command center seemed to have undergone a similar spatial expansion as the Technocrat Research Base, except it only expanded vertically.
The ceiling was three times farther than before, while the consoles had turned into trees. And it was still slowly expanding, which was a poignant reminder his time was limited. His breakthrough only seemed to have taken five minutes, far below Galau's estimate of half an hour. However, that was just an educated guess, and every second he wasted would make his escape more dangerous.
Zac shot to his feet and was surprised to find an unfamiliar item hidden beneath his legs. It was a simple Cosmos Sack without a mark of damage. A hazy memory surfaced of the Technocrat throwing something in his direction just before he blacked out. It was amazing that it had survived when the reinforced stone had not, but Zac had bigger fish to fry. The sack flew into a pocket as he leaped out of the crater.
Unsurprisingly, Yselio hadn't left any seal behind, even if Zac's guts told him the prince was another Flamebearer. If it were true, the seal was now in the Technocrats' hands. The missed opportunity didn't bother him much. He could still get his final piece through the System's quests, and part of him felt unworthy of claiming Yselio's seal. Zac couldn't call it a victory despite the outcome.
Zac made a beeline for the exit. Surprisingly, the pile of materials that had been spat out when Yselio destroyed the vortex remained, and Zac threw them all into his Spatial Ring without missing a beat. However, he froze just as he was about to enter the emergency corridor, even if the door opened just fine.
The hesitation came from scanning the Technocrat's Cosmos Sack to ensure he didn't bring something dangerous onto the escape vessel. There were only two items inside; a hastily scribbled note with two sentences and an unfamiliar insignia with the same archaic aura. The emblem was curious since Zac didn't recognize the design, but it was the note that had stopped him in his tracks.
'The Centurion Beacon is in the inner chamber.North, East, South-west, North-west, South, South-east, West, South-west, Center.'
Zac surveyed the large bridge and realized a hidden door had opened opposite the entrance. Its presence clashed with the schematics he'd seen in the Tribulation Throne. A reinforced wall should have been there, which kept the command center separate from the project operations.
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He needed to make a decision. The shakes were growing worse, and more raindrops were appearing every moment. The incredibly durable materials could not fully isolate the raging energies gathered outside the tower. The escape pods were waiting on the other side of the corridor.
"Damnit!" Zac swore while pivoting, rushing toward the mysterious door.
Zac was playing with fire, but the Technocrat had thrown out the one bait he couldn't resist. He understood she might be using him to extract the beacon after she was forced to leave in a hurry. But so what? The beacon might be able to call forth a power surpassing even the Centurion Lighthouse. How could he possibly ignore it?
A circular room without doors waited on the other side, and Zac noted it wasn't affected by the changes the tower was undergoing. There were no gravity spheres or signs of spatial distortion. Was the room hidden inside a folded space? It would explain how such a large chamber could appear between the two wings.
An ancient round table was placed in the room's center, lovingly engraved with intricate patterns. Zac stowed it without giving it a second look, his eyes frenziedly scanning every nook and cranny in search of the real prize. The room was empty apart from the one piece of furniture. There were no other pathways, and his Treasure Sense may as well have been broken.
Had he misunderstood the note, or was it a ruse? Zac couldn't wait much longer, so he took a last look around before heading back. Suddenly, his gaze stopped at the exquisite mosaic formerly hidden beneath the table. Zac's mind throbbed from the complex motif. At the surface, it looked like a map of an ancient kingdom. It had one central region and was surrounded by eight subsidiary provinces.
The map was arranged with excruciating detail, to the point Zac could almost hear the rustle of trees and feel the weight of the mighty mountains. There were also hundreds of ancient beasts, grand buildings, and mighty warriors added as decoration, each life-like enough that Zac wouldn't be surprised if they leaped out of the marble.
The arrangement was solid rock and without any energy, but there was more at play. He'd have to be blind if he didn't realize the map was only a faade hiding the schematic of an immensely complex array. He even felt like the arrangement exposed some profound truths of the Cosmos.
His first instinct was that the map depicted the Left Imperial Palace and its subsidiary courts, but his eyes widened when he spotted his seal's rune atop a provincial capital. From there, he soon discovered all nine outer courts fused with the surroundings throughout the province. His heart shuddered upon remembering Leyara's words back in the Void Star, how the Limitless Empire had raised Eight Pillars in the corners of reality.
Was this a map of the System?
"Directions," Zac muttered, realizing what was going on.
He aligned himself with the mosaic before infusing a wisp of Mental Energy in the first provincial capital, following the order on the note. Blindly following a stranger's instructions was risky, but Zac had no better solution. Since he only had one try, he might as well put his trust in that girl.
Nothing happened, so Zac took out the [Court Cycle Token] and repeated the process. The response was immediate. One after another, a province came alive, filling the room with scattered scenes hinting at ancient secrets.
With every added pillar, the illusions grew more incomplete, and Zac had to channel his Void Heart to keep going. Soon, only the mosaic was left dark, surrounded by a tapestry just as grand as what he'd seen inside the Tribulation Throne. Zac took a shuddering breath as he infused the Imperial Capital.
The room went dark as immense amounts of Faith Energy flooded the room. Zac inwardly panicked, but it all poured into the imperial capital, making it look like the whole Cosmos was fueling it with providence. Suddenly, a pillar of light shot from the mosaic, and Zac spotted two items floating within.
The first was a tome called [Foreign Gods], and the other a compass made from unknown metal. Zac urgently stowed them before the room ran out of faith and rushed back to where he came from. Just as he was about to leave the folded space, Zac threw out the Cosmos Sack with note and insignia still inside.
The emblem could be a way for the Technocrat to contact him, and her intentions could be good for all he knew. However, it could also be a tracker so they could snatch the goods from his hands. He needed the token to extract the beacon, which possibly meant the Technocrat had been unable to get it herself. He couldn't take that risk, so her gift would have to stay behind.
Zac made a beeline for the escape room, and Zac breathed out in relief upon seeing that his outburst hadn't managed to reach the escape vessels. Two remained, which meant the others had squeezed into just one. Not only that, but it looked like Emily and Galau had left him the best ship.
Zac inwardly swore at their stubbornness as he closed the hatch behind him. Emily, especially, should understand how hard he was to kill and have taken the vessel for herself. Of course, Zac would do the most of their generosity. The escape pod was shaped like a small shuttle and didn't require any expertise to pilot. Emily even left a note beside a lever saying, 'Pull me!'
So why didn't it active?
Zac repeatedly pulled the lever with increasing force and frustration. Had the array broken? Or did it realize the conditions outside were too dangerous to open the hatch? Zac urgently opened the pod's hatch and threw out a fist-sized clump of metal. The chunk flew onto a manual override with the help of telekinesis, which immediately brought about the apocalypse. A shaky gate had opened, meant to let the vessel outside. But instead, a flood of chaotic energy poured into the room.
It crashed into the vessel, blowing its hatch wide open. The sudden shock almost threw Zac out the door, but he grabbed a handle and pulled himself inside. The ship groaned under the strain, and Zac worried it would buckle before it could even be launched. Out of better options, Zac drew upon his bloodline.
An immense sphere of nothingness covered the whole ship, dousing it in silence. The gateway kept spewing more inside, but the brief respite was enough to pull the hatch shut and return to the pilot seat. He retracted [Void Zone], simultaneously activating a soldered-on booster that bore Emily's mark. The ship shot forward like a rocket while Zac furiously cranked the lever like an old lawn mower.
The ancient console sputtered to life, and a gleaming barrier surrounded the ship just as it passed through the gate. A deadly yet beautiful storm waited on the other side. It resembled a hurricane formed by trillions of fireflies, except the motes of light contained shocking amounts of spatial energy.
The shielding proved woefully inadequate to fully isolate the intense spatial forces. Cracks spread across the hull and console, and bleeding gashes were forced on his body. Zac used what little energy he'd recovered by repeatedly activating defensive talismans. It helped, but not for long.
A piece of the hull was suddenly ripped away before Zac could activate another talisman, triggering the instant and total collapse of the escape pod. Zac found himself in the midst of the storm, and he knew he had to rely on his bloodline to survive. His energy was almost tapped, but he could feel an ocean's worth of Void Energy hiding in the depths.
The nullification sphere spread out, and thousands of fireflies suffocated. It confirmed [Void Zone's] range had increased to almost twenty meters and was noticeably stronger. The spatial forces were too powerful, and spatial fractures opened new wounds across Zac's body.
The expenditure was terrifying, and Zac feared he'd run out of juice before he made it through. He contracted the sphere, but it didn't help. At least not in the way he intended. The expenditure remained the same, but Zac noticed the nullification grew more overbearing the smaller the sphere grew.
His lack of control only allowed him to decrease its size to five meters, but that was enough to lessen the pressure enough to figure out his next step. He wildly looked around for a path out until he sensed something familiar from his ring. It was actually Emily's rescue beacon going off again.
She'd made it through, and she was probably trying to help him like when he'd entered the tower. Zac tore through the storm using Void Energy and [Skystriker], enduring the accumulating wounds across his body. Just when he thought he'd reached his limits, the pain dwindled.
The deadly beauty of the spatial storm had been replaced by oppressive darkness, but Zac almost cried with relief upon seeing the comforting emptiness of outer space. He kept going, heedlessly expending his dwindling stock of Void Energy.
While putting more distance between himself and the tower, Zac glanced back at where he came from. The tower was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he found himself looking at an ethereal streak of light that seemed to shift in and out of reality. Or rather, in and out between dimensions like a spatial needle pushing through the fabric of reality.
The beam was already longer than the circumference of New Earth, yet it kept expanding at a breakneck pace. Then, Zac's heart shuddered, and he urgently activated an escape talisman despite the spatial turbulence. It only held for a second before the teleportation failed. Zac would have been turned into meat cubes by the spatial collapse if he hadn't anticipated the situation and reactivated [Void Zone] at the last moment.
The spatial flux he appeared from was crushed by the Void when he reemerged a dozen miles away from his original position. Even then, his body was almost twisted in a knot when the pillar of light released a powerful pulse and disappeared. The [Centurion Spear] had entered the next stage of his journey, which would hopefully end in the middle of a Kan'Tanu base.
"Godspeed, you broken piece of junk," Zac muttered as he took out a rescue barge with shaky hands.
He was out. Now, he just needed to get back without being caught by cultists, outsiders, Technocrats, or any other opportunists who wouldn't mind taking him out for his fortune.
Easy enough, right?
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