Defiance of the Fall

Deciphering those formations might be key to finding clues to the Void , but this wasn’t the time or place . His cells were already trying to drag runes out of the clouds , and the nucleus was teetering on the brink of collapse . Zac captured the cloud with a net of Mental Energy and dragged it toward his Duplicity Core .

Meanwhile , he opened his cells wide and supplied large amounts of Void Energy , slightly diluting its immense energy to exchange quality for quantity . The cloud was too intense , overpowering the auras from the other three elements . If Void of Death was more powerful than the Dao of Life , he’d fail to reach a state of equilibrium .

Zac stopped the churning cloud right outside the hatch , where he split it in half after a short deliberation . He considered adding Branches of the Pale Seal and Kalpataru into the halves but decided against it . The Quantum Death fused with modified Void should result in Void of Death . Adding actual Dao would likely ruin the process .

It was impossible to say whether he was making the right call or whether his idea would even work . He could only put his faith in Ultom’s impartments and years of effort as he made the plunge . Zac could already sense that another piece of the nucleus was about to destabilize , so he pushed one of the clouds through the hatch . Mental tendrils turned into a blur as they split the cloud into two dozen streams that entered the nucleus from every direction .

Zac didn’t have to wait long to see the result . His triumphant roar echoed through the mountain range as the Void Energy effortlessly entered the Quantum Death , and the cloud was rapidly consumed . It worked! Void really was the key . However , the Void Energy was certainly not the calming balm he’d anticipated . Anywhere it entered , the surroundings quaked as the Void disrupted the faltering peace brought by Chaos .

For a moment , it looked like Zac had built a bomb rather than a core , but that didn’t mean he stopped infusing the nucleus . There was no going back now . Either he finished the job , or he’d blow himself and the surrounding mountains to kingdom come . It only took a few seconds , but it felt like an eternity as he desperately applied the Void to every nook and cranny .

Then , the shaking stopped , and the energies turned docile after hours of madness . Zac looked on with bated breath until it seemed like his vantage shifted . Zac felt like he was looking at one of those images that changed motif depending on the angle from which you looked . A moment ago , the nucleus felt like a fake core , like someone had slapped a new coat of paint on a rotting house .

Now , it was perfect—an Evolutionary Core holding the shadow of Inexorability .

Well , almost perfect . Seven imperfections marred the complex structure after he’d been forced to excise the unstable sections , creating some disturbances in the energy flow . However , that level of damage was no worse than him getting a couple of cuts . He’d still be able to fight in that state , and his Cosmic Core would still work with issues this small .

Part of Zac just wanted to look at his creation and marvel , but he had to keep going . He swapped to his Draugr form and began the process anew with the other half of the Void Cloud . Inverting the core destabilized it again , but having one completed half made it sturdier . Even then , Zac filled the sections with extreme meticulousness until a complete Inexorable Core was born .

Zac just sat there staring at his creation with an immense sense of satisfaction .

Fifteen years it’d taken him to reach this point . Fifteen years of struggle , wracking his brain for a solution . A solution that would prove to the world they were wrong . That it was possible to form a core with Life and Death . Yet , even as he began this final process , he hadn’t been entirely sure whether he was chasing a wild fantasy or if he was really onto something .

Today , uncertainty finally turned into truth .

80

TOLL OF HEGEMONY

Zac released a heavy breath . Forming a nucleus obviously wasn’t the same as forming a core , but it was the step that worried him the most .

With that hurdle out of the way , Zac grabbed one of the Void Cores to extract its energy . A storm of chaotic energy entered his body , dragged straight into his heart before it could cause damage or create a mess . Infusing the cloud had drained him of most of his Void Energy , and he needed to recover some while he worked on the refinement arrays .