Defiance of the Fall

Yet the result was good . A few layers were still missing , but Zac could barely believe how close to his goals the core had come . Certainly , the large number of explosions left enough imperfections to make a High-quality Cosmic Core an impossibility , but it was certainly enough for Middle-quality . It wasn’t even a matter of barely pushing past the goalpost . He was well within the acceptable range .

Another three days passed , and Zac’s hands shook as he moved the refined piece of Life-attuned Natural Treasure onto the main array . His soul was too tired for telekinesis , but he roused himself as he tacked on the layer that perfectly entered the groves on the core’s surface . The region was drenched in darkness , apart from the flickering purple of the barely contained bolts of lightning above . The sky roared , and Zac didn’t dare look up , afraid that giving the boundless fury attention would unleash the storm .

There was something odd about the Tribulation Lightning this time . Technically , the tribulation for forming a boundless Cosmic Core was the same as forming Dao Branches . Cultivation was stealing providence from the Heavens , and the severity of these two crimes was considered at the same level . However , the amassed energy far surpassed what he’d endured inside the Orom World . Something about his core angered the Heavens more than normal .

At the same time , it didn’t seem very focused . The lightning was spread across the horizon rather than gathered above him . Almost like the Heavens had trouble pinpointing his exact location , making it even angrier . Zac presumed it was a feature of the Duplicity Core rather than the Perennial Vastness , adding the Technocrat’s trademark ability to hide from the Heavens .

This time , Zac didn’t mind his mother’s meddling . He’d planned to slow his progress when he reached this point , to recover before facing the tribulation . But with the process being so volatile , Zac was forced to keep a breakneck pace to the end . Even now , there was no chance to rest .

One side of the core was complete , while the other was not . Zac could already sense the incredibly dense energy streams form a perfect circuit in his Evolutionary Core , which put immense pressure on the other side . Zac shifted to his Draugr form one last time , where he branded the recently added pathways with the Void .

Balance was restored within his trinity path , and something clicked . A second circuit was completed , and two streams became one . One half felt real and palpable , while the other remained in a quantum state , like a shadow hiding from the light . The flowing rivers of energy added stability , further fusing the materials .

It was done .

Zac couldn’t use it yet , but he had a fully working core .

A powerful pulse of primal force shook the hidden space within the Duplicity Core . The wave passed through the Specialty Core’s walls , where it seemed to be amplified rather than absorbed . It spread through his body , invigorating him and filling his cells with boundless power before continuing outward .

It was an unstoppable expression of Zac’s Dao and his path , a heralding cry of his ascent . It made the ambient energy in the whole region stir , forming one apparition after another around him . They didn’t look like the Kalpataru tree nor the Iron Maiden of his Pale Seal . The apparitions weren’t even fashioned after the shifting Dao Avatar wielding his two axes .

Instead , two powerful armies materialized , forming a protective circle like an Imperial Guard . While both sides were part of his force , there was an unmistakable animosity between the camps .

One army looked like a horde of barbarian ravagers . No two were identical in shape or equipment , except they all wielded axes . They emitted a primal aura of dominance , more beast than man , with an unquenchable and unbreakable will . Like their weapons could sever Dao , Fate , and the Heavens themselves .

The other half was a dour army of hooded executioners , slightly resembling Zac’s form when using Arbiter of the Abyss] . All held a black axe , and chains wound around their black robes . Their auras truly resembled that of a judge . Their weapons held the inexorable certainty of death . Dao , Fate , and the Heavens only became subordinate truths of their will .

Nine hundred ninety-nine warriors were conjured in each camp before the phenomenon stopped expanding . However , the pulse continued even when the armies did not . It spread to envelop the whole mountain and beyond , repainting the valleys in the color of Zac’s Dao . The platform beneath his feet crumbled from the pressure , yet Zac floated in place . He was a radiant sun , showering the world with his glory .

It was the Toll of Hegemony .