Zac appeared in a puff of flames, with billows of ash and smoke pouring out of his nostrils. His arrival was accompanied by a snapping sound. Zac coughed a few times, suppressing the flames ravaging his insides, as he looked down at the [Flashfire Flourish] on his left wrist. The reusable escape treasure had finally reached the end of its use, and it scattered into the darkness of Ninth Hell.
Seeing Yrial's bestowment crumble filled Zac with a pang of regret, even if the fact that it had lasted this long was already quite good. Like with Verun and almost everything else he owned, his frantic cultivation pace had resulted in him outscaling his equipment. It was something he got during his E-grade trial, and it should really have been replaced by this point. In fact, Zac already had some escape treasures in his possession. But with the impending danger of accumulating death, Zac opted to go with a tried-and-true method.
Channeling Fuxi's Mantra, Zac observed his surroundings. The underlying patterns of Ninth Hell became clear to his eyes, like thousands of rivers moving through the boundless darkness. The most obvious movements were the gathering storm thousands of miles away, where Zac glimpsed the ruins left from the Rapture Observatory.
It seemed like the rupture was still a few minutes away, but Zac had no intention of sticking around to watch the fallout. [Flashfire Flourish] had taken him as far as he could, yet it wasn't enough to guarantee safety. He opened a series of Void Vortexes, each jump adding dozens of miles of distance.
Zac moved in the direction that gave birth to the specific pattern of Ninth Hell's Death coming in contact with Imperial Fath. With only vague signs to guide his course, Zac couldn't tell whether it was a memory domain or a cluster of spatial tears he was approaching. It would also be a while before reaching his destination.
Suddenly, it was as though the air left the whole realm. Zac turned around just in time to see a pitch-black sun made of death and crumbling space ignite in the distance. Even with a vast chasm of separation, Zac couldn't look directly at the scene. As Tavza projected, hundreds of spatial tears stretched in every direction to swallow the mass of Death that Ninth Hell was made of.
The scene lasted only moments before silence returned to the realm, yet Zac could feel that the artificial hell had indelibly changed. The profound decay had gone from conceptual to practical. Ninth Hell had begun rotting for real, which included a weakening of the spatial integrity. Ninth Hell would indeed be gone by the time the trial ended. The next time it appeared would be at the Era's end.
Zac resumed his journey, keeping a leisurely pace despite the realm's impending collapse. While things were going south, Zac estimated it would take a few months before they'd start to see large-scale effects. That by itself wouldn't be the worst thing, either. Ninth Hell was directly connected to the various realms of Hollow Court. With the spatial integrity weakening, it would become easier to slip back to the surface through a spatial tear.
As such, Zac focused on recovery rather than speed. With Ventus safely tucked away inside his Worldring, Zac didn't need to worry about his wounded companion being overcome by death. To be on the safe side, Zac also infused the elf with a stream of his Life-attuned Dao every so often. Zac also fed the elf a sedative to keep him unconscious, and he had Haro keep an eye on the guest.
While Ninth Hell looked empty, it housed both dangerous undercurrents and formidable monsters. Occasionally, Zac had to move through the Void, and he didn't want to risk Ventus finding out about that ability. He was quite lucky that Ventus took himself out just as the battle began. Now, only Tavza had seen his new Void Talent. The other witnesses had all died in the skirmish.
As he traveled, Zac went over the battle in his mind. His thoughts were mostly consumed by guilt and reproach over pushing [Verun's Bite] beyond its breaking point. A day of recovery and a round of molting had done nothing to heal the deep crack on the axe's edge. The damage was to Verun's foundation, and only extended rest or a skilled blacksmith could solve the problem.
None of the trial takers he'd killed were axemen, and the spares he had were simple Early D-grade axes. If it were just infighting, he was better off using one of the high-grade Spirit Tools he'd seized. It was a shame that the Peak D-grade Spirit Sword was either destroyed together with its owner or swept into the depths of hell when the Primo's Eye sprung a leak. Then again, a weapon with such a refined spirit was usually bound by bloodline or similar credentials. Zac, especially, would have a hard time wielding the sword after killing its previous master.
There was nothing Zac could do about the situation while stuck inside the vast emptiness of Ninth Hell, so he focused on more positive subjects. First of all, he'd seized a couple of unique treasures during his blitz. Such items were exceedingly rare on the frontier, and even Zecia's peak factions would be reluctant to provide their young elites with treasures of that level. If placed inside the treasuries of the outer courts, they would at least demand a price tag of 5,000 points of Merit.
Esmeralda had her hands full incorporating [Second Singularity], but she only needed a glance to identify the nature of the two items Zac snatched. The first was an orb that could create an extremely powerful gravitational domain. When active, those within its bounds would feel as though a Middle Monarch was pushing down on them with the weight of their world.
While the location of its domain could be controlled, its range wasn't that great. The previous owner never got the chance to use it because Zac teleported into the midst of the group before she could activate it. At that point, it was already too late. Only the user was spared the orb's effect, so activating it would have caused more harm than good. Zac liked the globe very much, even if it held less than thirty seconds of charge. It was a great tool for a lone wolf fighter such as himself, especially useful against hard-to-catch speedsters.
The second treasure was more troublesome. Zac didn't need Esmeralda's expert opinion to know the sinister straw doll was a cursed item. Just looking into the doll's eyes filled Zac's ears with the sound of metal grinding against metal. It also didn't come with a manual, though Zac did find a container inside the previous owner's spatial ring.
Esmeralda provided a decent solution. He could directly destroy the doll before fleeing into a Void Vortex. Between the guise of the Void and his innate tolerance against curses, he should mostly be spared the aftereffects. Instead, the unleashed curse would latch onto whoever was unlucky enough to be within reach. Of course, such a risky method was best kept as a last-ditch solution.
Together with the Spatial Rings and high-quality gear he lifted from the rest of the invaders, Zac more than made up for using the snowstorm trapped in a bottle. The guardian's gear, in particular, was of exceedingly high quality. If he could repair the damage left from the chaos-imbued vine, his War regalia could possibly be an upgrade to [Ossuary Bulwark].
Speaking of [Primal Edict], his large-scale skill had displayed an unexpected level of prowess in the Rapture Observatory's hostile environment. The skill's main quirk was its ability to regrow its vines stronger and stronger by having them adapt to whatever destroyed its predecessors. Nevertheless, Zac hadn't expected them to successfully absorb enough Death to bring forth Chaos. Not only that, the surprising transformation proved powerful enough to directly take out the opposing team's tank in one blast.
Naturally, multiple variables had come together to create such a miracle. First, Ninth Hell's Apocalyptic Death seemed to greatly align with [Primal Edict]'s concepts of breaking down before the rebirth. Otherwise, the vines wouldn't have managed to absorb enough death to reach critical mass in such quick order.
Secondly, the vines inherently lacked Zac's ability to fuse Life and Death. The foreign Dao had been isolated in Miasmic veins, barely touching the vigorous Life coursing through the rest of the vine. Next, it was the combination of his stockpiled Ancient Killing Intent and the Buddhist Vajra's madness that forced the two opposing forces together. It wasn't a feat that could be replicated endlessly.
For now.
Zac technically had all the components necessary to grow Chaos Vines of his own. He could infuse [Primal Edict] with Miasma directly from his Cosmic Core, and his Spiritual Body had almost completed its attunement to the Dao of War.
When he'd figured out a cultivation method and consolidated his [Thousand Axes Avatar], he should be able to turn his own Killing Intent into a weaker version of the remnant intent he picked up in the Crushing Hell. Both his intent and Daos still lacked the depth necessary to conjure Chaos Veins without outside assistance, but it was an interesting avenue to pursue in the future.
Experimentation would have to wait. Channeling Fuxi's Mantra didn't make him fully immune to the realm's ambient Death, especially not after its rules had begun to decay. Adding the growing strain of dealing with the surviving timelines on the other end, Zac had to keep his energy expenditure to a minimum.
The next couple of days brought no great surprises. Zac was attacked a few times by agitated locals, who undoubtedly had sensed the worrying changes to their habitat. The weak ones were crushed through brute force, while the dangerous creatures were avoided with the help of [Earthly Dome]. Zac also saw a few structures whizz by in the distance, far larger than the ruins he'd explored at Ninth Hell's edge.
While alluring, Zac ultimately ignored the call to adventure. He had more urgent matters to deal with, and the larger remnants were almost guaranteed to house C-Grade monstrosities. The dangers didn't justify exploration. After all, the odds of treasures surviving in this realm since it was sealed were slim to none. It would have decayed long ago.
After six days of nonstop travel, there was finally light in the dark. By that time, Zac had digested most of the Apocalyptic Death, though he could somewhat sense there was still a terrifying amount of it being refined inside his personal Void.
The familiar sight of a shimmering barrier of memory lanterns lighting up the darkness confirmed that Zac had ultimately returned to where he set out from. Only the Void-attuned mirror world had an actual wall of imperial Faith to keep it stable, compared to the normal memory domains of Hollow Court.
Upon entering the border an hour later, Zac could also confirm that it was the same sealed realm he'd operated inside. Even after moving for half an hour, he hadn't seen a shadow of movement within. He eventually stopped above the miniature mountain, whose aura of Imperial Faith had grown significantly stronger since his last visit. It was no surprise, considering there no longer were recurring bursts of Apocalyptic Death to drain its excess.
Zac looked at the bundled-up Ventus thoughtfully inside the Worldring for a moment before depositing him in the barrier of Imperial Faith. He scribbled a note for the elf to stay put before entering the memory. Flying straight down, he soon reached the mountain. Unfortunately, it was sealed shut, dashing Zac's hope of getting a second look at the array within.
It wasn't the end of the world. He'd gotten a good look at all four stations of the Rapture Observatory. Everything he'd learned lately, from Fuxi's mantra to the complex revolutions approaching Chaos, remained esoteric without direct application. However, he believed that time or a burst of inspiration would turn this knowledge into another part of his foundation.
Zac took out his communicator, which successfully connected to the surface. "Everything is dealt with."
"I guessed as much when the new halos popped up," Ogras said with a laugh on the other side. "Any complications?"
"There was some... opposition," Zac said before briefly describing the group of attackers and their outcome. "Be careful; their allies might try to retaliate."
"I'd like to see them try. There's plenty of room to open up a few more graves," Ogras scoffed. "So that little soothsayer survived after all. I'm not surprised. What about the Draugr princess? Did she make it through?"
"She should be fine," Zac said. "You haven't seen her?"
"No, though I haven't really been looking. Do you need me to ask around again?"
"No, it's fine. She's probably exploring the ruins of Ninth Hell," Zac said. "Anything new on your end?"
"There's one piece of news. They're saying a teleporter to the Left Imperial Palace is about to open. You apparently can catch a ride if you're fated, whatever that means," Ogras said.
Going by how things have worked so far, Zac guessed you could pay your way with accumulated merit. Of course, there was probably no need to go through all that if you had the proper credentials, like, for example, being a genuine Flamebearer. If Zac gathered another lantern, he could enter memory domains with his own identity.
"Are you planning on going?" Zac asked.
As far as he was aware, Ogras had barely spent any of the Merit and Longanimity he'd accrued during the trial. It didn't cost him anything to dig graves with the elder of the Hollow Court, either. Unless the teleporter was prohibitively expensive, Ogras should be able to afford passage.
"I don't think so," Ogras said after a pause. "While it would be fun to see what trouble you could cook up at the capital, I have a good thing going here. I think I'll follow the old digger until the clock runs out."
"I got it. I'll probably return to the surface in a week or two. We'll talk then," Zac said.
"Sure. Just give me a call if something comes up. And I'll keep an eye out for those New Age Imperials."
From the miniature mountain, Zac returned to Fuxi's statue one final time. With new experiences under his belt, he felt himself gleaning a few new insights into the mantra. Of course, he was aware that he was still only scratching the surface. With the refresher course complete, Zac finally returned to the barrier in the sky.
The elf was still soundly asleep when Zac came back. Somewhat surprised, Zac released some of his Killing Intent to trigger Ventus' survival instinct. And indeed, he was quickly dragged out from the comforts of unconsciousness.
"Ah? I'm alive?" Ventus said with a slurred voice as he rubbed his face. "Why does my tongue feel so rough?"
'That would be the tranquilizers.'
Zac naturally wouldn't say that out loud. "You're alive for now. So why do you look even worse off than when I left you?"
"I woke up a bit earlier. I couldn't resist taking a quick peek into the future," Ventus sheepishly said, his pristine features cast in a ghastly hue. "May I ask what happened to my... companions?"
"Dead, all of them," Zac shrugged.
"What a shame," Ventus sighed, clearly not meaning a word of it.
"What happened?" Zac asked.
Ventus' story mostly aligned with Zac's expectations. The one who'd captured Ventus was the swordsman, a main descendant of the Phusudor Alliance. Apparently, he'd never joined the intersector war, nor had he bought a seal from the Kan'Tanu. Instead, he'd managed to pass through the barrier toward the end and killed a local Zecian sealbearer.
The Phusudor party had begun their descent shortly before Ogras found Zac, yet he'd only reached the Hollow Court a week before they arrived at the Rapture Observatory. It turned out that almost all the ledges of the Hollow Chasm had shortcuts that allowed one to bypass the Gardens and Hells. Only finding them was both difficult and time-consuming.
The Numerologist's wretched state wasn't only because he'd been stored inside Tavza's Abyss. He'd been forced to repeatedly perform divinations to speed up the group's descent. It was a thankless job that brought repeated backlashes that risked harming one's foundations. Not to mention, bypassing the challenges meant no opportunity to accumulate Longanimity. As such, Ventus arrived at the Hollow Court with a paltry 800 Longanimity, and he was given no opportunity to recover from the loss upon finally reaching the court.
"I'll survive, and my foundations will recover after a few years. In fact, this could be a blessing in disguise. Repeating calculations in such an unusual realm has brought me unique insights," Ventus lightly smiled upon seeing Zac's expression. "Most importantly, the dark clouds in my future have finally dispersed now that the matter with the observatory is dealt with and over. There are only clear skies ahead."
"Clear skies, huh?" Zac said as he looked out across the vista of boundless darkness. "Wouldn't that be nice? "