Defiance of the Fall

Zac’s whole Soul Aperture shook as the splinter tried to break free , either to attack the nearby shard or to break out its companions . The trapped Remnants were also going insane , and the runes keeping them trapped flickered precariously . A mental command opened the gates before it was too late , and six streaks of light raced into his Soul Aperture .

However , before the four splinters could unite against their mortal enemy , time slowed once more as Zac grasped an opalescent mark .

75

KARMA CONCLUDED

Three more lives passed before Zac’s eyes . The minstrel who sought to lift an ancient curse through Creation , the flickering flame who wished to become a sun , and the warrior who wanted dominion over Life and Creation to resurrect his daughter . Beings of great determination who turned the shards into engines for their desire .

The trio knew they were trading the vast longevity of a cultivator for a short moment of glory . A worthy sacrifice if they could turn their desires into reality . Like before , they were at the precipice of Atavism , believing that step to be the key to achieving their goal . The message of the visions was identical to the splinter’s , yet Zac’s heart wasn’t moved .

Zac was too occupied with his immediate concerns to worry about the future , and he used the first outburst of Creation to forge a powerful shell that blocked out the collapse of the golden sun . The Beast Kings drew closer with murderous intents , but his attention was fully on the situation in his Soul Aperture .

The shard had made a beeline for his mind after entering his body , sensing the dangerous situation of its brethren . It crashed into the fully-charged splinter like a meteor , and the collision unleashed a flood of energy into his aperture . The two enormous soul spirals were spinning to the point of almost going out of control , and they couldn’t absorb the efflux quickly enough to prevent damaging his cores .

The Remnants remained indifferent to the collateral damage they caused and were already rearing for a second exchange . Zac furiously held the Remnants back with everything he had while pulling two threads of Oblivion and Creation into his shoulders . The energy highways happily accepted the overflow and subtly transformed the energies before releasing them into his chest .

The process had started , and a deep rumble in the sky penetrated the roar of two collapsing stars . Zac was filled with a sense of déjà vu upon seeing the Remnants fearfully starting to struggle . It was no wonder the Heart of Oblivion and Spark of Creation failed to become the equivalent of Supremacies , even if they were unique entities singularly tuned to their respective Daos .

Their obsessions made them stupid , for lack of a better word . They didn’t learn , they didn’t change . The first set of Remnants he seized had been tricked the same way three times by now , yet they eagerly jumped into the trap all the same . The birth of Chaos had begun , and there was no escape . Torrential amounts of energy were forcibly dragged out from the Remnants , and the churning ball in his chest was fast reaching its tipping point .

The world-ending clashes of Life and Death outside shook the Calamity as the two broken stars collided . The unique energy signature of Creation encountered Oblivion all around him , and he almost felt like he and the stars were one . Was this how Catheya felt upon harmonizing with the world?

Possibly , though Zac knew it wasn’t the same . Harmonization was likely impossible for him to begin with . How would you possibly connect with the Heavens without any affinities? His perception was from having his soul overloaded by Oblivion and Creation , just like the stars had been for centuries .

Thousands of eruptions added to the turmoil around him every second , each powerful enough to rip Beast Kings to shreds . The orbiting moons had already collapsed , and Zac could guess the fates of their inhabitants . Only the two leaders remained , but not even they were able to easily endure the explosions . Yet they pressed toward him , their killing intent dense enough to twist the air .

With the shard snatched just like the splinter , the Gwyllygi no longer had any reason to impede its nemesis . Instead , they found themselves in the same boat and teamed up to deal with him . Zac guessed they wanted to make him spit out the Remnants before moving them to a new set of suns . Or perhaps finally consume the items themselves .

They were much too late for that .

The storm raged , the sky rumbled , yet Zac was removed from it all . He was a storm unto his own , where his latent energy emanations kept the much larger tempest at bay . At first , it had been an unstable mix of Oblivion and Creation , but that changed as the opposing forces were reluctantly fused into one . A broken peak was temporarily made whole as Chaos graced the Calamity with its presence .