Defiance of the Fall

A web of cracks spread across Kator's left arm as he advanced on Zac. The reaver might have expended a supreme treasure to avoid backlash from their contract, but he was still under the effect of the [Solidarity Link]. Since Kator hadn't relied on the bond's loophole to destroy Zac's left arm, he faced a similar backlash. The effect wasn't at the level Zac hoped to see, though.

Kator was resisting the effect through the huge amounts of Temporal Energy in his body. The transmitted damage was being slowed down while his recovery was accelerated, drastically mitigating the impact. While the Lost Plane's madness might have sent Kator down the wrong path, he clearly had long-going preparations for his betrayal.

Those preparations undoubtedly included severing the bond. It would stop the damage transmission, allowing Kator to whittle down the transferred and decelerated damage without facing any lethal threat. Even so, the reaver didn't get the chance to follow up on his javelin throw. Hundreds of runes conjured by Zac's Core Formation Arrays lit up the dusky chamber.

The runes matched Zac's Evolutionary and Inexorable Paths, heralding his sudden ascension. In reality, they were the funnels meant to draw on his Cultivation Cave's ambient energy. With no matching energy around, they mostly became an empty ornament, though they did draw in an unexpected catch.

Hidden pockets of Imperial Faith that had survived the Centurion Beacon's activation were drawn into the runes and deposited into Zac's body. That did nothing to bolster the Core Formation Array's barrier, which was what Zac desperately needed with his core about to blow. Luckily, the replacement was ready.

The Remnants usually orbiting his Cosmic Core had been pulled from the Quantum Space the moment Zac came up with his plan, and they readily supplied all the energy they'd stockpiled since the Atavism. The same was true for the other sets spread across his bodies. The energy was only a decent match with his tailored Core Formation Array, which was better than nothing.

Still not satisfied, Zac threw out a pile of Fiend Crystals just as a deep groan came from the depths of his Cosmic Core. The next moment, Zac's mind was overwhelmed by a blinding white as his core exploded. The ignition was so intense that the weight of its force briefly held back the shockwave, and Zac used that small window to crush the Fiend Crystals with a wave of his arm.

A profoundly brutal aura spread across the octagon like a starving beast let loose from its cage. The bloody air shook Kator awake. He'd toppled over from the intense pain that must have been transmitted through the [Solidarity Link]. Zac's foolhardy action appeared to have left him stunned, not knowing whether he should attack or let Zac tear himself apart. Kator chose the former.

"Stop, or I'll trigger the bomb," Kator threatened, taking out his mace to unleash a wave of destruction rushing forward.