Defiance of the Fall

Its effect was simple : returning some malleability to a budding core . Sometimes , delays or mistakes make you fall behind schedule , which could lead to a negative spiral of accumulating mistakes . The Rising Sun Return] acted as a second lifeline , where you’d get the opportunity to fix the problem or catch up . One could only eat three such pills during Core Formation , and its effect would be halved after every use . Yet Zac felt it warranted after the earlier delay .

With his nucleus once more resembling a magmatic ball , Zac dragged over the next treasure—this one Death-attuned—adding another layer . The addition of more Death-attuned material affected the stability of the core , but the thin outer layer wasn’t enough to push the nucleus off-balance . It just resulted in a few more discharges of energy .

After Death had joined War , Zac swapped to his human form to add the matching Life . With all three materials in balance , the core calmed . Even better , just as Zac was about to infuse Void into the Quantum Death , he realized he didn’t need to . The dense amounts of Void were already spreading into the added section .

With the initial hump passed , Zac entered the longest stage of the Core Formation . He formed a stable cycle , adding one element after another while swapping between Draugr and human . Layers of Conflict , Death , and Life were tacked onto the growing core . Occasionally , Zac supplied Void Energy through his Void Heart] to prevent the Void from becoming too diluted . Interestingly , the vast Dao Tapestry was absorbed into his core with every layer added , providing extra strength and stability , shrinking the spiderweb a bit .

Zac almost felt like he was gestating life inside the Hollow Core] , and he was filled with anticipation as the weeks turned to months . During that time , he encountered only a few snags . Some materials destabilized before they could be used , and others didn’t react as he’d expected when forming his plan . The constant explosions were a real headache .

His Quantum Core would hold more than ten times the energy compared to most cultivators while being a mortal . And when the one month mark had passed , he knew there was no chance he’d survive the core collapsing . It was success or death .

Such a threat wasn’t enough to make Zac hesitate or back down , though the eruptions only worsened . The Core Refinement array could only take you so far when trying to contain such vast amounts of energy . Even his Hollow Core] was starting to show cracks . Zac doubted its creator could ever have dreamed his invention would get beat up so badly .

The Core Formation barrier could be moved inside the Duplicity Core if the protective shell cracked , but it wouldn’t block out the damage nearly as well . In other words , the energies would crash into the Duplicity Core , and Zac had no idea if it was designed to withstand these kinds of eruptions . After all , his Core Formation process was undoubtedly designed to be controlled by Jeeves , who’d manage the process with inhuman precision .

Two months in , Zac was forced to swallow his second Rising Sun Return] . It wasn’t to catch up but rather to turn the inner regions of the core malleable again . The internal wiring had been damaged to the point it couldn’t be ignored anymore . At the same time , Zac had no choice but to start relying on outside help .

One pill , talisman , and consumable treasure after another was used over the following days , each a powerful but costly method to absorb damage or calm the core . The large amount of toxins was manageable , but each lifeline added some extra heterogeneity to his core . Even then , the Hollow Core] cracked around the three-month mark from an earthshattering explosion that almost knocked Zac unconscious .

He held on to his fraying consciousness , clumsily containing the damage while swallowing the third and final Rising Sun Return] to repair the huge crack that reached all the way to the nucleus . Months had passed with no rest , and he’d been constantly forced to maintain full focus . His soul was a parched desert , but his red eyes gleamed with madness and excitement as a rumble shook the sky . The Hollow Core] had lasted much longer than Zac expected , and the Dao Tapestry was almost fully absorbed .

A few dark clouds had appeared in the sky over the past days , and a weak aura of punishment filled the mountain range . The Heavens hadn’t descended in earnest just yet , but Zac’s Cosmic Core was already nearing completion . Things had more or less gone according to plan , except the process had been rougher than he expected .