Chapter 1266: Grand Undertaking
The universe responded to Ogras's complaint before Zac could. An inhuman shriek that made Zac see double shook the whole tower. Zac would have lost control over his core if not for his Draugr half remaining in the isolated pocket space. The scream came from within the distant lightning pillar that cast a gloomy pall on the fading radiance of faith.
Then, it was like space was punctured, and a huge tangle of badly scorched tendrils was thrown into the heavenly furnace. The Heart Curse didn't even get the chance to mount a resistance before it was ripped apart and turned into nothing. It was a rejection different than the absolute erosion of the Four Desolates. It was a rejection of one's path, of the Grand Dao turning its back against you.
That was the danger posed by a failed Dao Confirmation. You put everything in the line to prove your path. It was divinity or death. A being at the Peak of Monarchy was essentially an avatar of their Dao, so having it ripped away meant losing yourself in a literal sense.
The column flickered and disappeared, though Zac could still see it from the image burned into his retina. He could feel a familiar spatial fluctuation, and the Heavens were jubilant—a complete opposite of the anger Zac always felt after surviving a breakthrough.
"The clouds are parting," Ogras commented while cleaning off a streak of blood running down his nose.
Zac nodded in agreement. "The spatial fluctuations should be fragments of a collapsed Inner World."
"I can't believe I participated in a mission to slay the general without knowing," Ogras laughed, a greedy smile gradually spreading across his face. "Why does the contribution point update have to be hours away? My efforts should surely be worth a few million, no?"
"It's not over yet," Zac said. "The pope is a heretic who's mastered the Dao of Sacrifice. There's a risk this is all a ruse to hide from the Heavens."
"You think he sacrificed his Heart Curse to escape?" Ogras slowly nodded. "It's possible. What do you think? Your kin were better versed in this stuff."