Defiance of the Fall

It was almost like Zac had been shrunken to a mote of dust and placed inside the simulation array back in his mansion . The circular array he stood on was placed right where the Cosmic Core’s nucleus would be , and he couldn’t even see the edge where his core ended . It was quite the place the Perennial Vastness had prepared for his Core Formation .

This whole setup , a level of customization not generally provided , was a unique feature designed for mortals , while most cultivators only used a main array .

Three of the outer arrays were refinement platforms for the treasures going into his core , based on Zac’s respective Daos : War Axe , Kalpataru , and Pale Seal . The Perennial Vastness provided the arrays in exchange for 5 , 000 Mana . They and the main array replaced the need for Core Formation Methods aimed at mortals . The mysterious threads were a welcome bonus that would increase his efficiency .

The final two ancillary arrays’ functions were to take him through the first hurdle of his Core Formation by setting up a stable nucleus . Thanks to this setup , Zac only needed to focus on correctly adding treasures and fusing the essences provided by the refinement arrays .

Zac had even modified the arrays using his accumulated knowledge from Cosmic Forge] . They were still mostly the Perennial Vastness’ design , but the energy produced would be more familiar to him . Obviously , adding the theories of Essence Union] into the arrays would have been even better , but the current setup was more than enough to accomplish his goals .

The two swirls of Life and Death inside his Duplicity Core wouldn’t last forever , so Zac sat down on a shimmering prayer mat . The movement made Zac grimace with pain . He’d kept a frantic pace since making his move on the splinter , and now that he’d stopped , he fully realized the state he was in .

Since he last seized a set of Remnants , he’d evolved his Draugr heritage and cultivated the Void Vajra Sublimation] . His soul was stronger too , having crossed a whole stage thanks to the Moss Crystals , something that would normally have taken a century . All that work , yet it wasn’t enough to nullify the damage the Remnants wrought on one’s body .

As usual , Zac’s body and Soul Aperture were filled with hairline cracks in gold and grey , especially between his head and shoulders . This aspect wasn’t that bad , though . The Remnants had been given little time to leave a lasting mark on his body .

The bigger problem was the large amounts of Creation and Oblivion inside his soul spirals . They had frantically swallowed energy to protect the cores , and they hadn’t spat much of it back out when Zac formed the Glimpse of Chaos . Now , it remained a double-edged sword . The energy would come in handy one way or another . Even if he didn’t need to use it , it would still speed up his Soul Cultivation .

However , this wasn’t purified energy like what was released from the prison seals . The energy had been separated from its source and still contained the Remnants’ immortal will . He’d have to keep his guard up and not let it influence him . Apart from that , his Soul Cores were slightly damaged , but he could still extract 60-70% of their power .

The real damage had been wrought by the Glimpse of Chaos . He’d intentionally only used five Chaos Motes , just one more than when he broke out of the Orom World . It certainly wasn’t his limit , but it left his body in a state of disarray . His pathways were damaged , as were his cells and the Thousand Lights Avatar] .

None of it was lethal , but it created a general imbalance in his body . Energy was more difficult to control , and multiple leaks affected its composition . The turbulent energy was a stormy sea , and sending tendrils of Mental Energy to his Duplicity Core left them weakened and less agile .

Most wouldn’t even consider starting their Core Formation unless they were in perfect condition , both body and mind . Zac obviously would have preferred being fully healed before starting , but it wasn’t meant to be . His road had never been a straight one where everything went exactly according to plan . Why start now?

He was a scrapper . Forcibly pulling through with his body a mess was where he excelled .

Zac swallowed a mix of Healing Pills and got to work . Three boxes appeared before him , each sealed by dense layers of arrays . They contained the materials that would form his nucleus , and successfully dealing with their complex energies was the next hurdle to be crossed . And that needed finesse .

As much as Zac wanted , he couldn’t just swallow the treasures . He first needed to refine them into something that could be used as the nucleus of a core .

First , he took out the Warstone] , and his heart surged with vigor from being buffeted by the crystallized essence of Conflict .