Defiance of the Fall

The octagon had already been forced to endure the assault of a Foreign God and Heaven's increasing pressure. With the remnant Imperial Faith being commandeered by Zac, it was only a shadow of its former glory. The bone dragon's tremendous aura already pushed its limits, and they were fully crossed when Kator's temporal quagmire spread through the hall.

The floor gave way, exposing the seemingly bottomless chasm. Walls and ceiling followed, and a rain of rubble crashed into the floating constructs. Only the spire and control rooms remained, kept aloft by hidden mechanics. The Core Formation Arrays had no such function, and Zac took out two of his flying treasures to stop them from falling to the depths.

Zac had no choice but to stay behind. Stepping outside the spire's protective domain of Imperial Faith with either of his bodies would expose him to the true power of Heaven's wrath. He finally got a full view of the situation outside through the capital-sized hole ripped open by the Foreign God. The sky could've been a stormy sea made from the darkest ichor. The tribulation clouds were extremely unstable, looking like they were consuming themselves.

The seas heaved, and the pressure decreased as hair-raising forces were unleased far in the distance. Was his plan working? Zac had focused on siphoning off Imperial Faith from the Ascension Chamber, hoping it would get in the way of the pope's Dao Confirmation. Judging by the steep jump in his tribulation's intensity, it worked better than expected.

The flip side was that his own tribulation had slowed down after Heaven's wrath had been redirected. Zac hadn't been forgotten, but the slow buildup meant he'd have to wait a while longer before the third bolt arrived. It was like the tribulation clouds were lending Kator a helping hand. Zac wouldn't mind a quick conclusion either, but he clearly fared much better against the Four Desolates than his opponent.

The heavens weren't the only dangers lurking outside the warming rays of Imperial Faith. The amount of ambient corruption had skyrocketed since they fled into the octagon. In the war between the Centurion Star and the Lost Plane, the Lost Plane was coming out ahead. At least two-thirds of the innumerable tears outside were leaking corruption instead of starlight.

Dense mist blocked Zac's view of the Eternal Guardians and their prey. Their battle was still ongoing, though. Distant eruptions shook Zac to his core. He prayed the imbalance between light and dark outside wasn't a reflection of their battle, as there wasn't anything he could do for them at this point. Even if he could, he already had his hands full.

The dragon's jaws opened in a silent shriek that spewed forth a virulent plume filled with Kator's mixed Daos and corruption. Both dragon and quagmire were like Kator, changed after drawing in too much purple mist. The scene reminded Zac of himself when the remnants were ravaging his body, though it remained to be seen if there was any coming back from Kator's brush with ancient madness.

Zac was different from Kator, who had been given a year's worth of preparation and recovery. His body was a mess, and the second tribulation still hadn't been routed from his Cosmic Core. Thankfully, he wasn't alone. An immense column of sunlight tore through the madness. It held the scorching warmth of high summer, dispelling gloom and drying out the swamp.