Defiance of the Fall

Powerful faith fluctuations and heretics. Zac couldn't help but notice the similarities to his experience in the previous memory domain. Could this be a similar event, perhaps even the same one? Were the rebels trying to escape with the loot by setting a forest fire?

Another set of explosions painted a different picture. Zac saw a barrier empowered by Imperial Faith briefly block an attack before being overwhelmed. The rebels were the pursuers, and it looked like they were about to catch their prey. Zac only paused briefly before continuing. It didn't matter to him if the rebels won. He could simply take them out afterward and claim the prize for himself.

However, it wasn't the prospect of another Holy Relic that made Zac grab the lantern. He'd triggered the memory in its transformed state, hoping he'd gain access to the memories of a high-ranking Templar. The Holy Void Treasure had been in his possession for weeks already, and he hadn't made as much headway as he'd hoped.

The treasure was a sponge that drew Void Energy without giving anything in return. The only thing Zac had managed to confirm was that its runes weren't only a seal to protect it from the Dao. Zac had actually discovered a few similarities to the patterns covering his Duplicity Core. If he wasn't mistaken, the runes served as an interface.

Infusing Faith Energy into the arrays would let a templar without Void Energy connect with the treasure. The realization left Zac with more questions than answers. Rava would have said something if the Chapter of the Empyrean Chalice had a heritage related to the Void. At the very least, she would have teased the knowledge to further bind Zac to her chariot.

Was the Holy Relic part of a special research project, or was it related to the Fifth Pillar? Were there more Holy Relics like it? If so, what function did they have? Those were the kinds of questions that only high-ranking templars could answer. Not getting any insights downloaded to his brain was a disappointment, but there was still a chance he could unravel the mystery by saving the fleeing templars.

Trees flitted past in a blur as Zac used [Skystriker] to intercept the fighters. Activating a skill also allowed Zac to get accustomed to his borrowed body. There had been little opportunity to figure out the mechanics of a memory lantern's shared existence when he acted as Terea Wendimar. For most of the duration, Zac was focused on getting his core formation back on track. In the short fight that followed, Zac had been distracted by Terea's overwhelming emotions.

Tam's mental state was the complete opposite. There wasn't so much as a ripple in his heart despite knowing he might be running toward his death. A simple truth overshadowed any doubt. Retired or not, he was a soldier of the Phoenix Legion. He'd seen heretic activity, and he would fight them until the bitter end. It even felt like Tam welcomed death.

Zac's current body was neither his nor Tam's. It was like looking at those artworks that changed depending on the point of view. Zac could make himself take a leading role and come to the surface, but Tam's cultivation created certain limitations Zac hadn't noticed before. His energy moved slowly, almost like that of an Early Hegemon.

Part of it was because Tam's body was starved. The ambient Cosmic Energy wasn't enough for a Middle Hegemon's daily needs. Worse, Tam was also a body refiner who'd lived on low-grade food for years. A Hegemon didn't need to eat, but that was only if they could absorb enough Cosmic Energy to replace normal nourishment.

Zac's starved state was already being solved by [Adaptive Symbiosis] transferring Vigor from Haro and absorbing Cosmic Crystal. Fixing the deeper problems with Tam's body was impossible. Zac felt so brittle he feared unleashing his full strength would make Tam explode. The veteran was already getting on in age for a Middle Hegemon, and that was from a modern perspective.

Ancient cultivators saddled with Earthly Taint didn't live nearly as long, and twelve thousand years of waging war had left its mark. There was good reason Tam hadn't worked on his cultivation since retiring. There was simply no point. His core was riddled with cracks. Tam also had old wounds that never healed properly, leaving damage to his pathways and foundations. Very few were like Zac, who could recover from almost anything without any lasting problems.

The good news was that Zac could use his Daos without any limitations. That alone made him more than twice as strong as the original Tam. Adding his other advantages, like Haro and his Technique, and the gap was even wider. Zac doubted Tam would have died right after the memory started, so Zac felt completely calm as the sound of fighting drew closer. Finally, Zac spotted people in the distance.

A group of three were running for their lives, using the trees as cover. Two were shining with Imperial Faith, almost looking like angels walking the earth. They lacked the bloody aura of a templar or the imperial swordsman, so Zac guessed they were priests who generally didn't participate in battles.

The acolytes were arrows at the end of their flight, especially the one in the back. He was riddled with wounds, and he was wantonly burning his life force to hold back the attackers. Zac could already feel the shadow of death looming over him. He'd be gone in a few hours even if they got away. The other priest was only marginally better off. She wasn't drenched in blood like her companion, but her face was cast in a ghastly shade of green. She'd been poisoned, and she was struggling to keep it contained.

The third member of the group was unharmed. Unfortunately, that wouldn't change their fate. The poisoned priestess was carrying a child no older than ten on her back. There was no cultivator's aura on his body, and he was only kept safe from the shockwaves because of a protective barrier.

The duo was sacrificing themselves to keep the child safe. Zac didn't believe it was a simple act of compassion. There was an indescribable depth in the boy's eyes. It was the kind of gaze Zac had only seen on old monsters like Sendor—entities who'd lived countless years and seen through the cycle of life and death.

Zac sighed, knowing there was no Holy Relic. The child was the target of the pursuit. What was Zac supposed to do with a kid? He couldn't be brought of the memory, and Zac couldn't very well eat him like a Natural Treasure. It also didn't look like this bedraggled group would know anything about Void Treasures.

The child was the first to notice Zac. His expression didn't change in the slightest, like he'd known someone was coming to save them. Zac put his disappointment aside and focused on the task at hand. Tam's battle intent upon spotting the enemy was already becoming difficult to suppress, and there was no reason to suppress the impulse.

Zac burst through the bushes and shot past the two surprised priests. His target was a burly human who took the vanguard of a five-man party. His physique was reminiscent of Billy's, except for two massively oversized hands with bulging knuckles. They looked just as fierce as any Spirit Tool. Zac would have thought him a random pugilist if not for the two metallic balls floating over his head.

They were Technocrats. The pugilist's frame and brutal aura were very different from most Technocrats Zac had encountered. He was likely a Transcender, the branch of Technocrats who used technology to upgrade their biological bodies. Strength serums, gene manipulation, bloodline transplants. Some even invented entirely unique organs that didn't appear in nature.

Their path was the opposite of the Machine God Faction, who saw their biological form as a weakness that was best discarded. The Selvari choosing Transcenders to infiltrate the Left Imperial Expanse made sense. They were harder to spot compared to the branches that relied on machines when fighting.

The Technocrats were only a few hundred meters away from the dying priest, a distance Zac could cover in the blink of an eye. The musclebound Technocrat was so focused on the struggling priest that he failed to react in time. He'd already been restrained by Haro by the time he thought to move one of his meaty hands to block Zac's overhead strike.

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[Verun's Bite] tore apart two hastily erected barriers generated by the drones. The axe dug into the pugilist's skull while the drones exploded from the backlash. Zac's wrist creaked from the killing blow. The man's skull was incredibly hard, to the point Zac failed to extract his weapon. Out of better options, he took another step forward and activated [Evolutionary Edge].

The corpse was dragged along, becoming a blunt weapon that crashed into a second opponent. The attack was enough to dislodge [Verun's Bite], and the axelight had destroyed another drone. A powerful shockwave to his mind prevented his follow-up strike. Zac suddenly felt like his nerves had been re-routed, where swinging his arm resulted in an awkward stumble. The momentary lapse was enough to steal much of Zac's momentum.

Haro wasn't affected by the mental attack. The Heavenrender Vine no longer fought by instinct, mindlessly targeting whoever made him angriest. He understood Zac's Evolutionary Stance, how to prioritize threats, and how to balance offense and defense. He'd become a true companion to Zac.

Two vines forcibly interrupted the fastest follow-up strikes while the rest targeted the Technocrat in the back. She was the one who'd hit him with a mental attack. It would be a mistake to categorize Transcenders as the brutes of the Technocrats or as meatheads who progressed by taking futuristic steroids. They were expert bioengineers who could improve or reinvent any aspect of the human anatomy—even the Soul.

Unfortunately for the mentalists, Zac was also not as simple as his brutish exterior let on. The team clearly hadn't expected the powerful soul attack to only make Zac stumble. For good reason, considering it triggered the odd sensation of futures diverging. Tam had suffered the same attack in the original timeline, and it left him with a nasty wound.

Zac pushed aside the confusion of split realities and launched a lightning-quick swing. A blade of violence shot toward one of the Technocrats before making a sudden turn. The real target had just looked away because of a vine coming from the opposite direction. Zac's attack ended up maiming one while stopping another in their tracks.

None of the Technocrats were as strong as the original Tam, but their cooperation had turned it into an even fight. That wouldn't work against Zac, who was an army of one. Zac left the wounded Technocrat to Haro. [Skybreaker] brought him before another target, whose desperate resistance proved futile. A second attacker died before he could display any of his skills. Of the two open targets, Zac turned to the Mentalist.

She'd already backed away, but her speed wasn't Zac's match. Knowing there was no escape, she turned around with a manic expression. Three spots in her body began emitting powerful spiritual fluctuations. Zac looked at her with shock, wondering if she'd actually grown two additional brains in her pelvis.

It wasn't enough to save her. Zac activated [Empyrean Aegis] just as the fluctuations reached a crescendo. The wooden wheel behind his back turned, and the seasons turned with it. The defensive skill's disruptive pulse hit the three Technocrats simultaneously. The wounded one immediately died from Haro's follow-up attack. The other two suffered a powerful backlash that ruined their plans.

The Mentalist was hit especially badly, with her eyes rolling back into her head from the mental shock. Zac wouldn't give her the chance to recover. Three quick swings tore apart the spots where he'd felt Mental Energy, and he destroyed her core for good measure. The lack of Kill Energy to confirm kills was still difficult to get used to.

The hunting party had been reduced to a single member in the blink of an eye. The survivor unsurprisingly chose escape, but Zac was already bearing down on him. The Transcender dodged six blades from [Evolutionary Edge] before one nicked him. Seconds later, his headless corpse fell to the ground.

Zac hurried back to the others after a quick inspection. He'd destroyed as many of the drones as he could, but two had managed to slip away. Most likely, they'd already called for reinforcements. The other bodies were already gone by the time Zac returned. Zac said nothing, even if the action seemed as much to hide clues from him.

"Many thanks for your aid, savior. May I know your esteemed name?" the priest said as he stepped between Zac and the priestess.

They were wary for good reason. There were few logical explanations why a warrior of Zac's caliber would appear in such a remote place. The most logical explanation was that he'd come for the same thing as the Technocrats. Luckily, Tam had a token to prove his identity. It was a veteran's badge that could only be activated by Tam's aura.

They were impossible to forge, so they were a trusted form of identification. Displaying it could provide benefits throughout the empire. The treatment could even surpass that of lower nobility in certain situations. And while it didn't absolve him of suspicion, it was much better than being an unknown stranger.

"I'm Tam Brooks. Phoenix Legion, Sixth Division Captain," Zac said. "I was crossing the region and noticed the commotion."

"The Phoenix Legion?" the priest exclaimed, looking like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "Thank the Heavens!"

"Do you require further assistance?"

The priest briefly hesitated before slowly nodding. He walked toward the priestess, who looked back at him with sorrowful eyes. Zac's brows rose in alarm as the priest extracted the last of his life force to draw a rune on the nun's forehead. It radiated great warmth that suppressed the poison. However, it wasn't a cure. Zac could tell he'd brought his companion another day at best.

"This is where we part."

"I shall see you soon, brother," the priestess answered as she let down the child.

The trio turned toward Zac together. The priest's face already looked like that of a corpse. His longevity had run out, and his final burst of faith wouldn't stave off death for long.

"Sir Brooks, I am sorry to disturb your rest, but the Empire needs your aid once more. Please bring the Earth Child to Verdona."

"Verdona?" Zac muttered, searching Tam's memories until he found a match.

Verdona was a regional capital quite some distance from here. The trek would take over a month, even if Zac pushed himself to the limits. There was no way he'd reach it before the memory lantern ran out of steam. Should he do it, or should he go his own way? Tam had accepted the mission without hesitation, but their situations weren't the same.

Zac's intervention hadn't changed the general course of events. He already had a separate memory of Tam killing the five Technocrats. Of course, the victory had been hard-earned. He'd received a few wounds, and he'd been forced to use a powerful talisman to cripple the Mentalist. Unfortunately, Zac couldn't observe Tam's future. He could only remember the original timeline as it played out.

His mission to uncover truths about the Void Relic was a wash, so it was time to focus on his second goal. Zac needed to get far away from his current position before the memory ended. Judging by the amount of ambient faith in the memory world, Tam's lantern would, at best, last a week.

That prognosis depended on him following the original script. The further Zac diverged, the greater the drain. He'd drastically change history if he rejected the templars and left. The memory would probably collapse within a few hours. Zac wasn't sure if that was enough time to escape the storm. He might emerge even further from its edge.

Meanwhile, taking the mission meant facing much greater danger. The Technocrats would send stronger people the next time, possibly even Monarchs. Zac wasn't in an optimal state, and he couldn't use the same tactic as in the memory domain. He couldn't just click his heels and leave whenever he wanted. Tam might be willing to die for the Empire. Zac was not.

Hesitant, Zac looked down at the child who'd stayed silent throughout. He wore the same detached expression. The imminent death of the priest didn't bother him in the slightest, nor did he seem to care that his own life was hanging by a thread. He silently observed Zac, his thoughts unreadable.

"I'll do my best to bring him there safe and sound," Zac sighed.

Zac didn't know the best solution, so he'd go with the one that felt right. Ancient memory or not, he couldn't just leave a child to fend for himself. Helping out could also bring unexpected benefits. Changing Terea's ending earned him three amazing treasures, and the brand she left seemed to have grown stronger. Since Zac was stuck with Tam's identity, he might as well boost it to its limits.

"Thank you. May the fertile earth bless your journey," the priest exhaled.

The words had barely left his mouth before he collapsed into a fine golden ash. He'd already held on longer than should be possible. Zac waited for the nun to perform a final blessing before speaking up again.

"We should go. Can you move on your own?"

"I'm afraid you have to carry this burden alone."

"You—"

"The sealing rune won't last long. I'll use my remaining time to create a diversion," the priestess said with a bow. "May the fertile earth bless your journey."

The priestess didn't give Zac the chance to reject. She ran off in the opposite direction, releasing her faith like a beacon. Zac was left standing with the reticent child, whose stare was starting to become unnerving.

"Uh, what's your name, kid?" Zac asked, more to break the silence than because he expected an answer.

"Is that truly the answer you seek, distant traveler?" the child said in a voice that didn't remotely match his appearance.

Zac's heart lurched at the question. How was this a kid? He sounded as ancient as the bedrock they stood on. More to the point, why did it feel like the 'Earth Child' was talking to him and not Tam Brooks?

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