Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 1112: Potential

A small ripple can change the world.Blessed Fate opened his eyes, and his heart moved for the first time in eons. Few things could make the Lord stir in his slumber. Blessed Fate pinched his fingers and turned his gaze to the vast beyond, soon finding the answer. Or half of one. Someone had been touched by the Cosmos, becoming a candidate for investiture.

It was rare, but the occasion shouldn't be enough to cause a reaction from the Lord. Thousands of chosen would emerge every minor cycle. But how many could reach the end, severing mortal Karma and moving the Kalpa forward? Candidacy was just that; potential.

What was different this time? Blessed Fate felt the Heart of all Creation,

The idea born during his use of [Wargod's Sagacity] was to use the Void of Life for his Inexorable Stance, just like his Inexorable Core. It wasn't the first time he'd considered it, but he'd always put it aside since he had absolutely no idea how to accomplish something like that. Zac was still unclear of Void's real nature. He'd simply poured the refined Void Energy from the Void Engine into his core during its formation, but he couldn't exactly do the same thing with a technique.

But the condensed experience let him glimpse a solution based on the [Void Vajra Sublimation]. He could somewhat emulate the truths within, even if he still didn't fully understand them. Combine that with what he'd learned from his blueprints, Core Formation, and Bloodline, and he had a chance of infusing a shadow of the Void into his stances.

The sudden inspiration just now had introduced a new road to explore. Harmonization to the Void through [Void Zone]. If he became the Void, he would naturally move according to its truths. Zac knew that his swing wasn't technically part of his Inexorable Stance.

If anything, it had given a sneak peek of a level far beyond his current level. That attack had contained the full Void of his imperial bloodline, but he only needed the Void of Life at this stage. Still, Zac was anxious to find his way back to that state. As long as he could replicate it, he would be able to move toward true integration.

Kator made no move to attack as Zac came within 50 meters, but his gaze was full of unspoken questions.

"You—"

"It was my carelessness," Zac calmly said. "Let's continue."

There was nothing else to say. Kator had questions, but why should he answer? Zac shot forward while [Void Zone] ensconced him in nothingness. He had limited time left, and Zac wanted to make the most of it.

The hunger for the truth had become overwhelming, to the point the duel became subordinate to his search for the Void. And Kator was the perfect opponent. Where else could he find someone so utterly matched to his stances, forcing him to push beyond his limits?

The reaver was full of misgivings, but he grunted as he swung his shield to throw away three chains before they could latch on. The coliseum became the battleground where Death's inexorable grip fought against the suffocating swamp of temporal decay. The sound of weapons clashing echoed through the stands. Yet both were careful, prodding, trying to understand what had just happened.

The Nullification Zone was initially reluctant to be condensed again, but the pressure helped Zac fully contain it in his body. Where the Abyss waited. Zac was adamant while the two forces were exhausted, yet they refused to merge into one. The Abyss furiously fought back, and it felt like the Void was oil poured into water. A rapidly dwindling source of oil.

Zac wasn't deterred. He kept channeling the Void, observing its battle while Zac fought his own. Every swing, every movement, every breath was made with the Void in mind. He tried recalling the pieces he'd gleaned of the Void of Live over the years, trying to connect them with the unity of before. It didn't spark any further inspiration. But something else did.

The mountain in the back of Zac's mind slowly came alive as it came in contact with [Void Zone]. It was as though it could understand Zac's intent and released a mysterious resonance with his Void Energy. Zac was initially afraid it would do something crazy, but he soon realized it was a good thing. It suddenly felt like the Void in his body had become like the mountain, paradoxically made from everything and nothing at once.

And one of the myriad manifestations was the Void of Life.

Zac tried to grasp hold of the truths when they appeared, but they were fickle and elusive. They appeared without rhyme or reason, a flicker of existence before being consumed by the Abyss or transforming into something else. Eventually, Zac caught onto something and integrated it into his swing. At least Zac thought he did, even if the attack seemed like a normal strike based on the Inexorable Stance. The Void was too obscure, hiding in the shadows of the Dao.

There was nothing special about the attack, but Kator was slightly late in reacting—a noticeable step away from his previous pin-point precision. Zac was flush with success, but he failed to replicate the effect. Meanwhile, the mountain was calming down. Zac refused to let go and pushed more Void Energy into his Soul Aperture. The fading vision stirred again, releasing even stronger pulses.

The Void of Life became even more visible, and the fight rapidly shifted in Zac's favor. Kator sensed the change and launched a furious counterattack. It was as though he wanted to prove himself against this unknown phenomenon. Yet his situation only grew increasingly desperate. At first, Zac only managed to capture the essence of a wisp every couple of seconds. Soon, it was double that, and each time created an opportunity.

The chains were neither quicker nor slower as they moved to restrict Kator's movements, and Zac's swings didn't gain any noticeable power-up. The only change seemed to be that they were becoming harder to predict. A lightning-quick slash narrowly missed Kator's chest, but Zac was already gone before finishing the movement, another hit targeting the reaver's right side. Kator had anticipated him coming from the left, forcing the reaver to block with his mace at an awkward angle, pushing him off-balance.

What was it about the Void that made Kator suddenly misread his moves on such a fundamental level?

Then it struck him. The Integration Stage was the integration of Dao into your movements. It elevated techniques beyond the mundane, but it also restricted them. The whole reason he'd worked so hard to unravel Kator's Daos was to better understand the underpinning rules of his technique and predict his movements.

But how could a normal cultivator predict the alien truths of the Void? The uncertainty it introduced went far beyond the Earthen Peak Kator used to transform his Daos. The attacks Zac managed to infuse with some of the Void simply didn't follow Heaven's Path, turning truths into lies and creating opportunities that shouldn't exist—Kator's extremely high reflexes and affinities had become a weapon used against him.

It had to be said that Kator was a genius. The reaver's instincts must be going haywire, but he was adapting. Unfortunately for him, their starting points were too different. Zac had observed the Void for decades, and he wouldn't give Kator a chance to catch up.

A huge bang echoed through the coliseum as [Death's Duality] crashed into the reaver's chest. Zac looked like a scrawny adolescent in front of Kator's hulking frame, but his smaller body contained the power to destroy mountains. He'd sealed some of his Strength at the last moment, but it still sounded like a bomb had gone off when Kator was launched across the arena. His flight only stopped after being caught by the arena's protective array, mirroring Zac's flight before.

Kator slumped to the ground, and Zac looked down at the axe in his hand with marvel. His insights were borrowed, and it couldn't be considered true integration, but it proved his plan was feasible. And powerful. If he could figure out to use this ability for real, it would become the perfect counter against all these Heaven's Chosen who were one with the Dao.

A pang of visceral danger made Zac look up, and he felt a predatory gaze from Kator in the distance. The reaver wasn't even moving, but Zac's senses screamed at him to get away.

"Good… Good!" Kator roared as red runes appeared all across his Warbones. "How long has it been?!"

Kator's murderous intent soared, and it looked like he'd set half the arena ablaze as a primordial force was awakened within. His power and momentum were growing with every step he took, and it was only further augmented by the halo above his head. The space in the arena was twisting under his pressure like it couldn't withstand what was hiding within that skeletal frame.

"I guess you leave me no choice," Zac sighed as he calmly looked at the approaching juggernaut.

"What, you still have some—"

"I forfeit."