Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 936: Gates of Rebirth

"How about it? Should we take a look around ourselves?" Ogras asked as he and Zac made their way toward the edge of the Ensolus Ruins."My body is still all kinds of messed up," Zac said with a helpless shake of his head. "You can go ahead if you want to, though."

"Without your supercharged fate to keep me safe?" Ogras scoffed. "Alright, I guess there's no real urgency. It's not like any outsiders can access this place in the short run. But we should perform a proper sweep before the war starts. Who knows what kind of good stuff this place holds? After all, no one did war better than the Limitless Empire."

"Agreed," Zac nodded before adding. "Janos might still be in here, though."

"Honestly, if he's been trapped in the equivalent of one of those temples we visited in the Void Star, there's not much we can do about it," Ogras said. "We'd just get disintegrated if we tried barging in. And if his disappearance isn't related to the Left Imperial Palace..."

Zac sighed with a nod.

"Well, those three will scour this place with new information over the next months, and they know about Janos. If they find something promising, they'll let us know," Ogras said. "Of course, if you can investigate with your luck, it would be even better."

"I'll take a look just in case after I've fully healed up," Zac nodded.

"Perfect, thank you," Ogras said. "You might want to set up your trial while we're here. Most of them have limits on how many can undergo it a day. With four years remaining, you want to cycle as many people through the gauntlet as possible."

"Oh, right," Zac said. "We'll place it close to Zelphi Watch on the way back."

The Ensolus Ruins being related to Ultom had thrown Zac for a loop, but he ultimately felt it didn't affect his long-term plans for the planet. It could still serve as a front-facing world to trade with neighboring empires like Salosar or Havenfort World. After all, there were almost 100 years until the Assimilation.

By then, the first stage of Ultom's inheritance was bound to be over and the ruins thoroughly

"I'll go!" the young chieftain immediately said with excitement all over his face.

"Wait," one of the old advisors said. "Let one of us old bones step through the gates first to test the waters. We don't know what to expect, and we can't have you dying at this critical juncture."

"A chieftain can't be afraid of death," Ra'Klid said with annoyance, but he did relent. "Alright, which one of you want to go?"

"I'll do it," an old axe-wielder Zac recognized from the peace summit said.

The man was at the peak of the E-grade, and he exuded both the aura of a warrior and of one cultivating the Dao of Life, making him a perfect candidate. Similarly, a spectral warrior stepped forward to enter the Gate of Death.

The group walked over to the front of the Gates of Rebirth, and the gates soundlessly swung open as they approached. On the other side were just two swirls, but the golden gate actually held a shimmering swirl made from death-attuned energy. The opposite was true for the Gate of Death.

"The Gate of Life is made from Miasma?" Ogras muttered with confusion. "And a Gate of Death filled with life?"

"Uh," Zac said as the others looked at him with inquiring glances. "I have no idea."

"Fighting against death is part of life," the seasoned Mavai warrior eventually said. "I'll still enter the Gate of Life."

"I shall follow suit and enter the Gate of Death," the spectral warrior added.

"Even if the element is wrong, you should at least pass the first layer of the trial," Zac slowly said. "Just go out instead of overdoing it if it's the wrong path."

The two nodded and were swallowed by the swirls a moment later.

"How long will this take?" Ogras asked.

"Six hours," Zac said. "The burst of information was very clear on that point, at least."

The group soon set up a table to wait for the two to emerge, and Zac took the opportunity to update the Mavai and Raun on the situation with the war. The Raun also hesitantly asked about the problem with them betraying the Undead Empire. Zac answered that Arcaz would meet up with his allies from the Empire soon enough and that he'd have a definite answer in a couple of months.

The subject of the Kingdom of Raun really was something Zac planned on discussing with Catheya, and he didn't believe the Undead Empire would cause a stink over a small tribe of ghosts at the edge of the Multiverse. Eventually, the six hours had passed, but Zac frowned when the gates showed no sign of reopening.

"I felt a ripple from the graveyard," Aouvi suddenly said.

"Let's go," Zac nodded and flashed away.

By the time they reached the backside of the trial area, they could immediately spot signs of activity.

"What in the..." Ra'Klid muttered as he saw the Mavai warrior push open the lid of a coffin and crawl outside.

Similarly, a thick bulbous plant was cut apart, allowing the ghost to emerge from within. Zac breathed out with relief upon seeing the two were mostly fine, though the Mavai warrior sported some pretty nasty wounds. Zac had no idea why the trial would send out people like this, but it was fine as long as they were alive.

"How was it?" Zac asked as the group walked over.

"It was…" the warrior said before he froze. "Huh? Why can't I remember?"