Should he give up?
The thought was small and fleeting , yet it created huge waves in his mind . Zac’s heart shuddered , and the golden runes flickered before he could rein it in . Even then , his ethereal state was damaged , and new suspicions and worries replaced the ones he’d pushed down . Zac did what he could to regain his meditative state . He was in trouble . The Void Vajra Sublimation] was based on the heart , so when the heart wavered , so did the method . This couldn’t go on .
Zac gritted his teeth , and the world dimmed . He’d activated Void Zone] in the middle of his breakthrough in an effort to forcibly recalibrate his state of mind . Thankfully , the method was fused with the Void . The runes across his body only lost a little bit of energy after being drenched in Void Energy , and the invisible flames readily replenished what he lost .
Most importantly , the sudden wave of nothingness calmed his frayed heart , allowing him to analyze the problem calmly . The method clearly indicated a tipping point where resistance became acceptance . Heavens and Earth would become one , and external would become internal . He just needed to maintain his Heart of Void , continuing to pilfer from the Heavens until he reached that point .
And while the method was more dangerous and agonizing than he’d expected , he could tell he was getting closer . He no longer wielded Life . He was fast becoming Life . Even with eyes closed , Zac could feel his body shine with divine light , like a golden statue .
If it was just pain , he could endure it . This kind of violent reaction wasn’t mentioned in the method , but it could have explanations other than a failed breakthrough . His attributes and Vigor were far beyond the norm because of his Draugr half and various experiences , just as his cells could contain far more energy than normal because of his bloodline . It was also possible his body had a harder time than normal accepting an attunement because he lacked the affinities to pave the way .
How could that stop him? He was the inheritor of a bloodline so powerful the System itself targeted it . He wouldn’t let a minor bottleneck on a Body Tempering Method impede him . Even if convention and logic told him no , so what? As long as he held on to his path , he’d make the impossible possible . This was just like when using Bloodline Resonance] to get control over his Bloodline Talents . Sometimes , you just have to keep going .
Yet , the poisonous thoughts crept back as Life continued to pour into his body . Words of caution , of not giving in to sunk-cost fallacy as he ran toward a dead end . That there was just too much energy inside the 189 golden runes that still glowed with inexhaustible divinity .
Not even his cells could accommodate this much force , and the temple was inexhaustible in its accommodation . Zac was just reforging his body , not forming a Cosmic Core . Even his danger sense started to indicate imminent doom as his cells began to show cracks from the overload .
It was like a volcano had been trapped inside his body as Zac furiously condensed , purified , and suppressed with his Dao and his determination . Yet , he found it harder and harder to hold on . The agony consumed all thought , and he could tell the runes were only halfway consumed even when he teetered on the brink of collapse .
He had no option but to activate Void Zone] again . Not to recover his state of mind but to let his cells rest and stabilize for a few seconds . When he deactivated the talent , the Dao of Life had been pushed deeper and integrated further with the core of his being . This cycle continued for a while , with Zac forced to make things up as things came , using everything from his bloodline and his Dao to forcibly quell some spillover with Spiritual Ice .
Then , his closed eyes snapped open in horror .
No! - Zac roared as he tried activating Void Zone] in a panic .
It was too late . The threshold had been reached , but not in the way it was supposed to . The volcano brewing in his body erupted , its fury and ferocity so intense that Zac lost the connection to his bloodline . He was unable to even move as he found himself trapped by the glowing runes . The cocoon of his transformation had turned into his prison .
Blinding cracks spread across his fingers , then his arms , releasing plumes of bloody mist that were instantly burned by the invisible flames . The cracks covered his whole body in an instant , a situation far beyond anything even the splinters had created . They reached the very depth of his body—trillions of cells , trillions of fractures .
And then it all collapsed .
Zac screamed with horror , yet not a sound was made as his body exploded into a mottled dust cloud that was pushed to the corners of the sealed temple . As Zac’s body was destroyed , so were his thoughts . There was no past , no future—only the glowing warmth of Life . The feeling was a blanket on his soul , a comforting one rather than suffocating .
If he accepted this new phase of existence , he would become one with the cosmos and the Heavenly Dao . Yet a powerful wave of repulsion made the dust shudder . Zac wasn’t ready to give in . His determination acted like a beacon , gathering his scattered thoughts . With his soul spread through the cloud , he started to pull . And as Zac pulled , he held onto his Dao Heart .
His perception shifted , and the cosmos was suddenly held at bay . Between the unceasing fount of divinity and himself was an impassable wall of demarcation . He was once more the Void , looking in at Life from the outside . And he started taking what he needed . Zac refused to consider defeat or surrender , even for a moment .
So , he’d exploded . It wasn’t good , but he was still alive . And the dust was somehow connected to him , allowing him to impose his will on it . He would survive this tribulation , even if he had to create a body akin to Ubu’s , the Life Elemental he met inside the Orom World .
From there , he could figure out how to return to a fleshy state . He was already planning on doing the same for Alea , so what was one more body? He might even be able to create it right away with Creation Energy after the situation stabilized . One thing was for sure , though . No matter what , he wouldn’t give up .
Zac had too many people relying on him , too many goals left unfinished . So what if he became a walking cloud of Life only held together by sheer force of will? It wouldn’t impede his path . As though agitated by his thoughts , the dust churned and roiled as it started being dragged back toward the circle of invisible flames . Like a pilgrimage , where the pieces of his broken self returned to their origin .
And on the way , the mottled dust took in the ambient Life of the temple . And just as Zac took what he wanted with his Heart of Void , so did he repel what he didn’t need . As a result , the dust started shedding , their mottled exteriors replaced by gold far more radiant than the motes of Life dancing around .
Eventually , the first swirls of dust hesitantly entered the invisible flames . The cloud shuddered and smoke of various colors separated from the dust . Black , grey , green . Small oily drops were also formed , falling like a profane rain toward the golden nuggets below . But no matter whether it was mist or oil , black , red , or green , it was all incinerated by the invisible flame of Life .
Zac vaguely sensed the transformations taking place and furiously held onto his conviction . To reform what was broken . To continue down his path . And in response , a shape started to form in the center of the circle . It wasn’t a hand or a head , but rather the first rune of the Void Vajra Sublimation] .
This time , it wasn’t made from medicinal paste or his Heart . It was made from the broken-down and purified rubble of Zac’s body . It was completely without blemish , a perfected expression of Life . One after another , more golden runes bloomed under the nourishment of his heart . And with every rune forming , Zac felt his scattered thoughts congeal . Almost like an imaginary wall made from his Dao Heart kept his soul in place , gently guiding it back together .