As far as I know , we have no enmity toward each other , - Zac continued . - Want to explain why you’re here? -
Zac was curious about the answer and had everything to benefit by stalling . Apart from his rapidly healing body , there was Kruta , who was hopefully bringing chaos to the battle . He also needed to find the weaknesses in the dome . Those runes had so perfectly fused it with the realm that Zac wasn’t sure the puppets would attack it . He was also no closer to figuring out what powered it or how it could move .
Without dealing with that , he was trapped . Reactivating Ancestral Woods] with Void Energy was useless if Valsa could just move the domain to his location .
At least their operations had to be costly . Whether it was the array or the War Regalia , they had to drain large amounts of energy every second . The more time they wasted , the better his position would be .
I think you know , - she said . - The Left Imperial Palace is emerging . Some are fated . Others have to seize fate . -
Then you’re just a greedy thief , - Zac sighed .
A thief? - Pealing laughter echoed through the square , and Zac was surprised by the shocking killing intent the followers suddenly emitted .
They hadn’t so much as frowned when he killed five of their companions . Now , they looked ready to eat his flesh and drink his blood? These people were extremely loyal . Making them scatter after killing a few more wasn’t an option .
Perhaps in your eyes . But the pillars were made by the Empire . They belong with us . Your individual fate cannot match the Imperial Destiny . -
So you’re from one of the traitor clans , - Zac said , putting two and two together . - That explains some things . -
We did what we had to survive . How does that make us traitors? - a hint of sharpness touched her voice . It looked like she was about to continue , but she looked at the sky . - Ah , here we are . -
At first , Zac didn’t understand what she was talking about . Then , the haze above the dome was dispersed by a radiant glow . It was like a morning sun had risen to drive away the gloom , even if the view was still the familiar night sky of the Stand of Saeward . The stars moved about , and no attacks were raining down from above .
Then , he saw it .
Zac’s eyes widened as the stars rearranged themselves , forming an enormous rune in the sky . It wasn’t an array , it felt more like a fundamental law of the universe taken form . This was far beyond the scope an E-grade cultivator could accomplish , yet Zac’s instincts told him this wasn’t an illusion . That thought alone was incredibly terrifying . Was one of the old monsters in the Perennial Vastness working with his enemy?
Candor .
That was what the rune meant . Not in the standard Multiverse alphabet but rather in the script of the Limitless Empire .
Under the Imperial Edict of Candor , justice will prevail , - Valsa smiled . - There can be no duplicity . -
52
EDICT
Duplicity? Zac frowned as he had a worrying premonition , and he knew the situation had gone from bad to worse the moment Immutability of Eoz] woke up . It was trying to purge something from his body . Judging by its persistence , it wasn’t going well . Zac sent a tendril toward the Specialty Core at his center , where his fears were confirmed .
Sealed .
An intangible barrier surrounded the Duplicity Core , utterly sealing its activation . Zac couldn’t tell how the barrier worked or even which Dao it belonged to . Like the enormous rune in the sky , it felt like law rather than Dao .
It took us some time , but we eventually deduced the trick to your transformation , - Valsa smiled . - You’re truly a marvel . The Undead Empire really went all-out for this pillar’s ascent , modifying a Duplicity Core to such an extent . Even your path is harmonized with the Ultom Courts . Creating a being such as yourself must have been quite an undertaking .
Still , a modified Duplicity Core is still a Duplicity Core . Nothing is without weaknesses . Thank you for staying put while the Edict found its way here . -
So that’s how it was . He’d wanted to waste time to exhaust their energy , but she was also stalling . The good news was that she seemed to have misunderstood his origin , though that could be a ploy on her part . He’d half-expected her to divulge some pieces of information after displaying a few facets of his bloodline during the initial clash .
Immutability of Eoz] was still trying to burn through the seal of his Duplicity Core , but it showed no progress , even with Zac using his Dao as a wallbreaker during the conversation . It looked like he’d be stuck with only one class for this battle , which definitely wasn’t within his original plan . He’d planned to go all-out until his Cosmic Energy and skills were exhausted , at which point he’d swap and finish off the beleaguered enemies .
Was his current strength enough? It had to be enough . This imperial wasn’t backing down now that she’d made her move . In comparison to Ultom , what did the Perennial Vastness matter?
Zac’s heart thumped with realization . Valsa shouldn’t even be here , she had no reason to . She came from one of the peak factions in the Multiverse . Yet she’d scrounged up enough tokens for a small army of deathsworn . It had always been about Ultom for her . It was possible she wouldn’t even bother breaking through in this place . He , Ogras , and Catheya would be under constant threat so long as she was alive .
She couldn’t be allowed to leave this realm .
There was no room to hold back , no room for mercy . With the seal in the sky , he would have to put all cards on the table . A storm of Cosmic Energy entered the newly minted fractal on his back , prompting the whole cage to rumble . Meanwhile , a ripple spread through Zac’s Soul Aperture as his Evolutionary Core began spinning .
A construct emerged from the heart of the core , like a submerged statue being dragged out of a lake . Zac’s eyes met Valsa’s , and he could tell she had the same feeling . Both believed themselves the predator before their prey . One way or another , one of them would be proven right today .
An Imperial Edict? - Zac said with a steely smile as his restrained aura exploded outward . - That’s funny . I have an Edict of my own . -
The air twisted under the immense pressure of Zac’s fully unleashed aura . Meanwhile , his Evolutionary Core was rousing from its leisurely swirl . It released massive amounts of Attuned Mental Energy , and it all went into the thing that had emerged from within the core .
The construct looked like a confusing gordian knot made of dozens of Mental Energy tubes . The moment it appeared , it began extracting large amounts of Mental Energy and Dao from the Evolutionary Core .
There were over fifteen entrances to the maze-like mold but only one exit . From it , a complex stream of intermingled Dao emerged and entered the pathways of Thousand Lights Avatar] . The Dao passed through Zac’s body with blazing speed before entering the Skill Fractal on his back , Primal Edict] .
It had proven fruitless to cultivate the Nine Reincarnation Manual] and Void Vajra Sublimation] during his downtime while traveling or resting . After passing the first major threshold , the energy demands were too high , so Zac had focused some of his free time on other projects . One of them was the Thousand Lights Avatar] , which greatly benefited from Zac’s evolved soul .
Cultivating the supportive technique had been effortless since forming the dual soul spirals . He just needed to urge the spirals to speed up , and they’d release large amounts of pure Mental Energy that could bolster his spiritual body . It still hadn’t reached the point he could perform spectral walks , but it was far more corporeal than when he entered the Perennial Vastness .
More importantly , he’d confirmed that his idea of making pre-arranged braids worked . It began by growing two permanent braids of Mental Energy out of the framework , each one using nine strings . When they were finished , he detached them and moved them to his Soul Aperture . From there , Zac added more and more , making the braid increasingly complex .