Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 1169: Bringer of Change

"Welcome back," Qul'Uster said, looking up from the terminal as Nutzu entered his office. "You've seen better days.""Wouldn't mind a vacation," Nutzu grunted while slumping into a chair. "Here's the reports you wanted. It should be all there."

"What an unexpected harvest," Qul'Uster said with satisfaction.

"Why would you even want those old pieces of junk?" Nutzu muttered, still annoyed about losing so many of her men to that devious bastard's plot.

"Junk?" Qul'Uster said with a shake of his head.

"Yeah, junk," Nutzu said. "It should be a Class-4 flotilla using outmoded technology. And that's provided the things remain functional. Damn, I almost got killed over garbage."

"These things aren't garbage. True, they lack the advancements we've developed over the Era, but bear in mind the environment in which they were constructed," Qul'Uster said. "It was during a time when the Selvari were still united, fighting a losing war. With the Limitless Empire breathing down their necks, would there be the squabbles our spies have reported among their descendants?"

"You think they might hold core technologies of multiple families?" Nutzu said skeptically. "If true, we could use that as a reference for our re

"Whatever," the beast grunted. "Are you bastards the ones who meddled with the preordained trajectories?"

"Fate cannot be meddled with. It can only be," Sacred Insight said with a calm gaze. "And benefactor should sense the bringer of change is separate with the Sangha."

"Should I?" The beast said, her bestial eyes turning to Thea. "Then why are the Heavens pointing me to this one? Why do I feel your repulsive mark hiding in the river of fate?"

"All is one, and one is all," Sacred Insight said. "The trajectories may have changed, but the destination remains the same."

"That's right. All paths lead to my belly," the beast said as an unnaturally wide grin spread across her face.

Warning signals were going off in Thea's mind, and she inched away despite knowing it was futile. There was no escaping the suffocating pressure before them.

Two men suddenly stepped out of Sacred Insight's shadows. The first looked almost identical to the original, but his aura was many times greater. The second was barely a hazy outline, yet that glimpse was almost enough for Thea to lose her path. What terrifying attainment in the Dharma.

What was going on? It almost felt like Sacred Insight had invited incarnations of himself from the future. Or was it his current form that was false? The middle avatar kept growing more tangible, while the original felt more and more like a dream.

One thing was certain. He was now a better match to the stubby monster looking ready to swallow them whole. The standoff went on an uncomfortably long time until the Primordial snorted.

"You will die by my hands like the others," she said as the enormous hand faded. "But not before you've helped me open the path."

"Amitabha. What will be, will be."

"Thank you for—wait!" Thea shouted with exasperation upon realizing Sacred Insight was already floating away on a cloud. She had to strain herself just to keep up. "What were you talking about? What's happened?"

The monk slowed down and turned to Thea. She didn't flinch before the intense scrutiny, glaring right back even if she knew it was empty posturing. She might have become a Soultaker of Ultom, but she held no illusions that'd allow her to contend against this man. It had only made the huge chasm slightly smaller.

And while his face was impassive, Thea had spent enough time among these monks to glean that he was extremely annoyed.

"Fate has worked to keep the Flamebearers separate, but your friend went against the natural order. Fate's tide is rising, and the trajectories are in flux. Our time is running short."

"Running short? What does that mean?" Thea said, but the question was thrown into the back of her mind ."Wait, my friend? You mean Zac fought a flamebearer?"

Thea urgently opened the screen.

[Stars of Zecia: Early D-grade]

1st – Zachary Atwood, Atwood Empire

2nd – Emily Larkin, Atwood Empire

3rd – Kelvinios

4th – Ynar Solefair

5th – Kerokas, Kavriel Province

6th – Helian Ailo, Allbright Empire

7th – Nori Vera, Starforge

8th – Fateblight, Hanor Clan

9th – Arcaz Umbri'Zi, Atwood Empire

10th – Keshka'Vur, Entroso Clan

[…]

100th – Uroso Kavriel, Kavriel Province

Thea blankly looked at the update, even more shocked to see the second-place holder than the first.

"You—" Thea said, realizing the monk was already gone.

Since he was alive and well, he must have been forced to step into Middle Hegemony to make the Primordial back down. Was that why he looked so annoyed? Thea's lips curved into a smile at the thought, but the glee was soon replaced by confusion and loss.

It seemed extremely unlikely for the Zac she knew to surpass the monsters at the top of the ladder, but that was over a decade ago. Achieving the impossible was right up his wheelhouse, so it almost felt expected to suddenly see him shoot to the top like a rocket.

But what about Emily? Thea felt a pang of regret as she saw the familiar name. The only way Emily could have reached such a height was through having her fate swept up in Zac's, something she'd welcomed in contrast to Thea. Would that have been her if she'd fought a bit harder to get back home?

No, she had her path to walk while he had his. She would be the one to choose the direction, even if that meant her journey ended earlier. And while a slew of new names on the ladder had made it harder to thwart the Sangha's plot, she suddenly had a feeling she'd reunite with Zac and the others sooner than she'd expected.