Chapter 1263: An Inch
Had he forgotten the grandeur of Ultom's gift over the decade since he last claimed a seal? Or was this the difference from completing the picture and confirming his fate with the Flameseeking trial? There were five lines of enlightenment currently hovering in his soul compared to the three he'd seized during the previous rounds.
Neither seemed able to fully explain the profound clarity Zac felt, and he realized it was the sole benefit of his desperate situation. Void Emperor or not, Zac was still a mortal who found the answers to his path by walking the razor edge between life and death. It was no different now than during the first years of his journey when he seized the means to survive in the heat of battle.
It was almost impossible to advance mid-battle as you rose through the grades, as his current predicament proved, but Zac still accumulated most of his insights when he had his back against the wall. Currently, Zac's mind was forced into that primal state of survival which let him break the chains of his mortality. Zac was in a much better state than when he grabbed the third piece in the Ensolus Ruins if you looked at it from that vantage.
Not only that, but his theoretical foundations were lightyears ahead of when he sought solutions for his Cosmic Core. The Four Laws were a distant concept he'd only heard mentioned in passing. Today, his body was reborn in their image, and echoes of the Four Desolates could still be found in every corner of his body. It gave him a more memorable lesson on the nature of Laws than centuries of meditation could.
Zac even felt closer to grasping the nature of Destiny through the conflict between the Tribulation and Imperial Faith. Seeing the faded bolt of lightning slowly inch closer let Zac grasp the corner of an important clue about the Eternal and the plans of Laondio Evrodok. He reluctantly put it aside, stifling the whispers of clarity to figure out his next step.
A decade's worth of struggle was dragged through the filter of purpose as Zac scanned his body through a new set of eyes. He had his goals, and Ultom would show the way. Void and Dao coursed through his bodies, which exhibited the very limits of their constitutions to endure the combined threat of Kator and the tribulation. Zac briefly stopped at the [Solidarity Link] and the hourglass upholding its connection before moving on, his heart growing calmer as answers came to questions he hadn't even thought to ask.
Zac followed the paths of destruction carved by the lightning across his limbs and torso. He saw golden hurricanes stubbornly blowing new Life into withered cells and Abyssal ponds sealing damage with Death. Compelled by reasons unknown, Zac strained his consciousness, delving deeper than ever before. A fierce resistance eventually pushed him back, though only after Zac caught a glimpse of the realities beyond.
Moving to his Quantum Space, Zac took in the devastation with sorrow. The second tribulation hadn't caused as large a loss as the ignition and getting his core under control, but Zac had still lost over 15% of his core. That didn't account for the energy he'd used to channel his skills. The surviving debris being tempered by the Four Desolates wasn't much use either, considering he'd have to add new materials as part of the upgrade process. The added imperfections would undo whatever benefits he saw now.
There was a small silver lining to the loss. The temporary space where core upgrades takes place had been drowned in Law. A fundamental transformation was taking place, and Zac felt a familiar aura through a few of the scorched cracks. Zac's mind shook, and the last piece clicked into place. Was it possible?