Defiance of the Fall

“They’re afraid to even extend their perceptions,” Esmeralda sneered.

They were observing an extraordinary mountain covered in natural Dao markings related to Gravity and Space. Looking at it felt like staring directly into a black hole. It exuded an immense spiritual pressure that would knock Zac unconscious if they went any closer. His body would fare no better since the mountain was surrounded by an invisible gravity well strong enough to threaten Monarchs.

Not that Zac had any plans of venturing closer. The mountain’s natural endowment wasn’t the most dangerous thing about it. Its gravitational pull wasn’t strong enough to contain the brutal aura of the deadly predator within. It was, at the very least, a Peak Beast Emperor with an ancient bloodline—the kind of rare specimen that could put up a fight against the Divine Monarch.

It wasn’t the first strong beast they’d noticed, but they were able to travel in the open because of an unusual phenomenon they’d noticed. They hadn’t seen a single beast in the open. They all cowered underground, even the powerful ones. While it made Esmeralda’s life easier, it left them on edge. Was there an even greater threat lurking in the mountains?

“Let’s keep going. We’re almost through the mountains,” Esmeralda said, casting a final look at the memory lantern just inside the mountain’s gravity domain. “It’s better than the others, but there’s no need to go for the first decent one. I’d rather focus on leaving these mountains behind. I don’t want to meet whoever left these pups shivering.”

“Let’s hope they’re just hiding from the Mercurial Court. I would’ve also gone underground if that pillar suddenly appeared in my backyard,” Zac said. “We won’t have to deal with any big problems if the court’s aura keeps the locals in check.”

An hour later, Esmeralda flicked Zac’s head with annoyance. “You just had to jinx it, didn’t you?”

Zac helplessly smiled as he climbed out of Esmeralda’s pouch. They’d reached the final mountain ridge only to discover an impassable roadblock—a vast ocean filling the horizon. Zac grimaced as he looked at the pillar touching ground far away in the silver waters. Could the Mercurial Court be placed on an island? A few weeks at sea was nothing to a Hegemon, let alone a fleetfooted expert like Esmeralda.

But what were you supposed to do when the ocean held the aura of a Peak Autarch—one superior to any other B-Grade entity Zac had encountered?

"A Peak Autarch’s body was turned into an ocean?"

As crazy as it sounded, Esmeralda’s theory likely wasn’t far from the truth. The waters were imbued with an undying, monstrous aura as vast as the ocean itself. In fact, Zac vaguely recalled a matching mark in a distant memory—his very first vision of the Left Imperial Palace. He'd seen stalwart walls scarred by the attacks of countless masters and the Heavens.

The ocean's forbidding aura matched one of those scars, though it had been transformed somehow. Could he have misunderstood the vision? Didn't those attacks come from invaders trying to stop the System's awakening and revert its drain on the cosmos? Or had the Limitless Empire slaughtered one of the attackers and turned their body into a moat for their base?

“There’s a strong aura of death. They should be long gone, right?” Zac said.

“Probably, but that doesn’t help us,” Esmeralda sighed. “We’re dealing with an Autarch who’s managed to seize a small piece of Authority, someone getting ready to make the final leap. There’s nothing we can do to circumvent their domain. The waters hold the power of spatial decay. We’ll disintegrate the second we touch it.”

“What about—”

Esmeralda shook her head. “Flying over or digging beneath won’t work. It’s an absolute domain. We’re only able to stand here because something keeps the power contained to the ocean.”

“There has to be a method of crossing,” Zac said.

"Maybe we can go around it," Esmeralda sighed and sped off along the shore.

As the days passed, circumventing the ocean seemed less and less possible. It was massive, and the coast showed no indication of veering in the court’s direction. They were either dealing with a gargantuan river or the Mercurial Court was indeed situated on an island. Finally, the mountain range ended, and they immediately spotted something promising.

"Damn," Zac whistled. "That's a lot of faith."

Four hours later, they arrived within a few miles of an awe-inspiring memory domain. Only the sprawling battlefield where he met Joanna surpassed it in size. However, nothing they’d seen came even close to its intense radiance of faith. It was orders of magnitudes greater, fierce enough that it suppressed the deadly waters for over a mile.

There was no way memory lanterns were enough to fuel such a domain. Collecting every single lantern he’d seen wouldn’t be enough. Most of it was supplied by the Left Imperial Expanse. Underground rivers so powerful that even Zac could sense them poured in from below. It was like the countless streams of providence across the Left Imperial Expanse had converged on one spot.

And it still wasn’t enough.

The memory domain hadn't come into being. Only the vague, flickering outline of a coastal city was visible. The finished thing would be even more terrifying. Conjuring Autarchs and B-grade materials wouldn't be a problem. Apart from the courts themselves, the city before them should hold the trial’s greatest opportunities.

"It might take a while before it's accumulated enough Imperial Faith," Zac said. "What do you think?"

"This thing is sitting right on the waters. It has to hold the path to the court," Esmeralda said with a scowl. "Is the System really punishing us for making good time? Does it want us to sit idly by and let the competition catch up? Is it manufacturing conflict by having you brats gather outside?"

Zac recalled Rava's description of the Seed of the Apocalypse. "What if it’s not an issue of accumulated Faith? Let’s say this is the doorway to the Mercurial Court. We might need to meet certain conditions for it to come into being. We’re rewriting history in the domains. Maybe the courts won’t open until the timeline has changed enough to meet their needs?"

"You're saying we've accomplished nothing by rushing here?" Esmeralda said with growing anger. “This stupid trial! How am I supposed to rob an unformed memory? Fate, my foot!”

"Taking detours to visit every memory domain on the way wouldn’t have changed anything. We tried to force fate,” Zac said. “Besides, we’re not ready to head inside even if the domain is activated right now. We need an identity.”

Esmeralda soon calmed down. “You’re right. It’s too early to be worried. This domain is clearly special. Maybe it’s just saving energy, waiting for a qualified participant to appear before coming alive. Seizing a proper identity could be enough.”

“See? It’s not all bad being early. We’ve already spotted eight lanterns since entering. There’s probably some even better than the one you saw back in the river,” Zac quickly agreed, noticing how Esmeralda’s mental state had worsened for a moment. He was afraid she’d lose control over the temporal curse or do something crazy out of desperation. Thankfully, she soon calmed down.

"Capitals have satellite cities. If something else is preventing the city from appearing, we might find answers there,” Esmeralda said, her anxiety replaced by purpose.

They decided to focus their search on the regions closest to the yet-formed coastal city. Zac was just about to return to Esmeralda’s pouch when he noticed something peculiar. He flashed over to stand before a flickering gate. The domain’s overbearing aura allowed no competition, and it had exterminated the wild grass that otherwise surrounded the city.

Zac moved a layer of dry soil, exposing more of the rock he’d noticed. It was weathered and broken into dozens of pieces, but one could still make out it was once a symmetrical block five meters long and half a meter thick. A few sections who’d endured time and wind erosion held the remnants of engraved runes.

“Huh,” Esmeralda said. Half a mile of topsoil was moved aside with a wave of her hand, exposing a trail of similar blocks. Not one was intact, and more than two-thirds had completely crumbled. Still, the similarities were undeniable. “It’s the tiles they used in the Imperial Road. So, this hidden region isn’t completely scrubbed like the rest of the continent. It must have been sealed deep enough to escape Heaven’s judgment.”

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“If such traces remain…” Zac said, glancing at the pillar.

“Parts of the courts should remain in the present. Maybe all of it,” Esmeralda nodded. “Good, I’ve been worried it only existed as a memory. The item I’m after isn’t some bauble that can be copied or brought out of the past. Plundering ruins is also a simpler matter than robbing Supremacies.”

Expanding their search failed to turn up anything except more damaged roads. There were no signs of the countless manors and outer battlements that one would expect around the harbor. The city itself shouldn’t be limited to the memory domain, even if it was the size of some pre-integration countries.

“I don’t think the buildings have been vanished like the rest of the continent. See how the ridges lean away? Esmeralda pointed at the mountain range they came from. “They were probably formed by the attack that destroyed this city.”

“I wouldn’t have expected some supersized pavement tiles to be the only thing surviving in a city inhabited by the empire’s elites. The Fifth Pillar must have reinforced the road network,” Zac said. “Have you noticed how the roads are almost perfectly aligned with the underground currents? Should we follow one to see where it leads?”

“It beats running at random,” Esmeralda agreed.

It only took three days for their idea to bear fruit, though not in the form of a surviving ruin. It was a memory domain holding an extraordinary geyser that reached dozens of miles into the sky. The stream was also a few miles wide with a powerful current, releasing more than enough water to create a lake in seconds. Yet the land at its base was bone dry, and there was no rain falling toward the ground. The stream ended in a dense golden cloud filled with Faith Energy that wasn't formed by the memory lanterns.

The scene was extraordinary, only eclipsed by the nine-layered city built on the rising stream. Floating cities were nothing special; this was something different. The city districts were directly standing on streams branching out of the geyser. Even the buildings were constructed from flowing water that resisted being categorized either as solid or liquid. With branches and a sprawling cloud at the top, the geyser looked a lot like an aquatic tree.

"Is that the same water…?" Zac hesitated.

"It looks like it," Esmeralda agreed. "It doesn't give me a dangerous feeling like the ocean, though that could be because we haven’t entered yet."

"What do you think? Head inside or look for an identity first?"

"Let's take a quick look. We need information," Esmeralda said. "If need be, we can return later with the proper credentials."

Less than an hour later, Zac found himself sampling a local wine on Dawndeep Bastille’s fourth layer. He was sitting in a remote corner of a tavern’s open terrace. It supposedly overlooked a great vista, one that Zac couldn’t see because of the memory domain’s limited reach. Zac still leaned on the railing with a distant expression in a valiant effort to convey his disinterest in casual conversations.

Those efforts failed.

"Isn't it a shame drinking alone on such a beautiful day? How about we share a glass?"

Zac looked up with a slight frown. Standing before him was a young man dressed in flowing white robes. His vigorous aura indicated he wasn’t much older than Zac, at most two or three hundred years old. The estimate clashed with the profound wisdom hiding behind his carefree smile. There was something about him that made Zac certain he was a powerful character.

Then again, Zac didn’t need to look for hidden wisdom or the quality of his clothes to know that. The stranger was a Late Hegemon at the limit of the stage. Reaching that level without the System’s assistance was far more difficult, and his cultivation hadn’t been rushed. His foundations were stable and deep, giving Zac the impression he was looking at a vast ocean.

'Is this the guy?' Zac asked.

'It’s him. He's been following us since the previous level,' Esmeralda said, adding after a slight pause. 'I never noticed his Dao Guardian. He's very strong.'

It was only at that moment Zac noticed the elderly man draped in a simple hemp robe. It was like he'd returned to simplicity to become one with the world, which completely masked his presence. Zac inwardly swore when the old man's gaze sharpened. Zac had only scanned his surroundings like any wary traveler would, but the Dao Guardian still realized he’d been exposed.

"I fear young master would grow bored with my company," Zac slowly said, still trying to understand why he’d been singled out.

Zac’s appearance and behavior shouldn’t have raised any flags during their short visit. Late Hegemons were a dime a dozen on the streets. They weren’t even qualified to fly between the city’s layers. Only Monarchs and those holding special status held that privilege—still, Zac had already seen dozens of cultivators whizzing through the air. The rest had to pass security checks and use lifts.

The information they’d gathered was limited, the foremost being the memory domain held a genuine Autarch. With powerful formations and guardians present, Esmeralda couldn’t zip away and perform her customary investigations. Still, they’d seen enough to know traveling cultivators were both welcome and common.

Some form of grand event was taking place on the highest level, and the festivities had spread to the lower floors. Esmeralda had noticed the tail before they could look into the details. They’d entered a bar to see if they were dealing with a pickpocket, thinking they’d found an easy mark. The tavern was also situated on the edge of the fourth level’s “branch,” and the memory domain’s border was only half a mile away.

It gave Zac some comfort, though the stony-faced elder left Zac wondering if that was enough. An Early Monarch wouldn’t be enough to protect a Late D-grade Heaven’s Chosen. Seeing the young man’s extraordinary status, he might be a B-grade Dao Guardian like the ones following Iz Tayn around. Best case scenario, his hidden presence was the work of a powerful treasure, but no common warrior would own such a thing.

Thankfully, there was no need to hide his wariness. Anyone would be suspicious if approached by a duo like this. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll—"

"Bored? On the contrary, I feel you have some interesting stories to share," the young man ignored Zac’s excuse and sat down. "What's your name?"

Zac hesitated a moment before reluctantly taking out his veteran’s token. "I’m Zac. Zac Atwood."

"A three-star veteran?" the youth whistled. "So that’s why the smell of death surrounds you. Did you become an enforcer after retiring? Which order are you working for?"

"I’m sorry, what do you mean?" Zac asked.

The youth looked like he'd just realized something. He took out a golden disk radiating an almost blinding amount of Imperial Faith. It was an identity token of the Order of the Empyrean Chalice, one of exceedingly high status. Zac felt like he was once more facing the true Empyrean Chalice hiding at the universe’s edge, and something deep within him stirred.

Zac both wanted to kneel in supplication and seize the disk for himself. He settled for a vacant look.

"I'm sorry. I should have introduced myself. I'm Xiphos Valtron, this generation’s Enkindling Sage," the man said. “Well, one of them.”

"Apologies, Sage!" Zac said, quickly getting to his feet to bow. As he did, Zac noted that none of the patrons had reacted to the token. Their table had been isolated without his notice.

"There’s no need for that," Xiphos quickly said, grabbing Zac's elbow. "I'm not here in an official capacity. Even if I was, we’re both protectors of the Faith. I simply sensed the great merit on your person and became curious. I can even feel my order’s flame in the mix. Did you fight alongside my disciple-nephews during your service?"

"Oh, uh, no," Zac said, appearing to relax slightly.

In reality, Zac was more nervous than ever. He'd never heard of Enkindling Sages under Rava's tutelage. It couldn’t be a simple title. If the token and powerful guardian weren't enough, calling ordained templars nephews could only mean one thing. This young man had the same status as a Grand Deacon—the rank just beneath Cardinals. In other words, he was a Late Hegemon that outranked most of the order’s Monarchs.

If it were a secular faction, Zac would have assumed Xiphos was the direct descendant of a grand elder or sect leader. Things worked differently in the templar orders. While templars didn't practice celibacy, there were no hereditary ranks. The only way for someone at Xiphos's level to have such status was by earning it.

This consummate chosen of the Empyrean Chalice was still waiting for an answer. Zac couldn’t very well say he was the order’s Terminal Son. Thankfully, Zac had already crafted a backstory to explain the mark of Imperial Faith on himself or Tam’s identity. Although, he’d hoped to test it in safer conditions.

"I have some connection to the Order of Fertile Earth,” Zac explained while Esmeralda prepared for a desperate escape. ”I encountered a small party of priests during my travels. They were mortally wounded, and heretics were on their heels. They sacrificed themselves to delay the pursuit while I delivered an important item to their seniors.”

Xiphos listened with interest as Zac recounted a modified version of Tam Brooks’ final days. Zac stayed as close as possible to the real thing without mentioning any explicit dates or places, hiding critical aspects behind the excuse of secrecy.

“Since I completed the mission, I’ve been performing some random tasks for the order. However, I’m not an official member.”

Zac had kept constant watch on the elder’s reaction to his tale, and there was nothing to go on. He may as well have slept through the story. The Enkindling Sage was more receptive, almost acting like a child being told a fairy tale.

“So, you helped deliver an item?” Xiphos nodded as a knowing smile formed on his lips. “I wonder what the Earth Saint would think if he knew you were calling him an inanimate object?”

Zac quickly adapted. “I meant no disrespect. There are things best left unsaid, even in the presence of the Young Sage.”

“It’s fine. It’ll be our little secret,” Xiphos snickered. “Who would have thought that stuffy guy would have such a backstory?”

“Manners.”

The gravelly voice almost made Zac jump out of his seat. Thankfully, the elder appeared content with chiding his ward. The Dao Guardian showed no inclination of commenting further on Zac’s story, so he took the opportunity to change subject.

"May I ask what brings Young Sage to Dawndeep Bastille?"

"Just call me Xiphos," the templar smiled. "And what else could it be? We're here for the Mercurial Court."

"Master Xiphos is visiting the court?" Zac exclaimed while Esmeralda perked up inside the shrine.

"You must have heard that the Mercurial Court is going to hold its first selection?" Xiphos said with surprise.

"I’ve only heard some rumors. Since I was in the area, I came here to find out more," Zac said. “I’m not one for crowds, but it would be a shame not to witness such a grand event.”

“You can say that again,” Xiphos grinned. “It’s not every day you get the opportunity to see a member of the continent’s ruling family. When did a member of the Theomore Dynasty last emerge from seclusion?”

“The Theomore Dynasty?” Zac gasped, his shock very real.

Zac was still in the dark about most of the Founding Families. There were simply too many of them, and most had no presence on the Left Imperial Expanse. However, the nine names representing the height of the Empire’s nobility were known to all. They were the ruling clans in possession of the Imperial Bloodlines.

The Theomore Dynasty was one of them.