I’ve recently learned what happened , what the church tried to cover up . But you should better understand the truth than anyone! It’s all because of those things , - she said . - It twists minds , turns devout servants into madmen . Keeping the five sins of extermination sealed is the burden our church has borne for millennia , all to keep the citizens safe! -
He only shook his head in response . So the little nun thought it was revenge .
Our training and piety don’t make us immutable , - Sina pressed on , her pure eyes pleading . - The sin of extermination never lets up , and our mortal minds can’t fully block its immortal will . Mistakes were made , and tragedy struck , but the events at Polsara are not indicative of the church as a whole! If you fulfill the prophecy , everything we’ve worked toward will be undone . Emyr’s sacrifice will be undone . -
It looked like she still didn’t understand the truth . Mortals weren’t the only ones who could be corrupted by the immortal will of extermination . Emyr’s sacrifice had long since been undone by the twisted will of Emyr himself .
That’s exactly what has to happen , - he said , pointing Edge of Oblivion] against the city . - Right or wrong , the chains have to be broken . I have set out on this path , and I will see it to the end . For our history , I hope you will give way . The citizens will need guidance after the collapse . -
You know I cannot do that , - Sina said , tears running down her cheeks as five halos sprung up behind her back .
The halos grew to cover the whole gate , each stretching hundreds of meters into the air . Sky shook , and one red pillar of light after another descended as the Celestial Array answered her call . He looked upon the scene with equanimity . The situation was lamentable , but it wasn’t enough to create a ripple in his heart .
Four roars of extermination entered his sword , and a wave of Oblivion rippled forward . The young nun channeled the whole sanctuary’s accumulated faith in a desperate attempt to block , and the warriors atop the walls formed an interlocking wall of shields . It wasn’t enough .
Sina , along with his memories of her , were consumed , and the outer wall of Emyr’s Sanctuary was no more . Four emaciated sinners had nothing more to give , and their final wails of pain and release echoed in his mind as ash drifted out of the birdcage . He barely noticed . The wall’s collapse had finally let him sense it .
The fifth artifact of extermination . The key to stopping the resurrection of the mad god .
The fourth Splinter of Oblivion didn’t assault Zac with a confusing and endless series of miserable fates . It only showed him three , each far more detailed than those before it . The Grand Inquisitor Nosora , who sacrificed everything to save his country . To destroy the nightmare created from a god’s soul utterly tainted by the Splinters of Oblivion .
The Seven Desolates Emperor , who turned his small duchy into a powerful empire through a ruthless campaign spanning millennia . The Oblivion Dragon who hunted splinters to enhance its bloodline .
The goals of these three were completely different , as were their temperaments . The one thing in common was that all four held four Splinters of Oblivion in their souls . Furthermore , while they struggled against the madness , they still held onto their purpose . Mostly . Whether it was Nosora , the emperor , or the dragon , they had lost most of their emotions .
In their case , it wasn’t without their awareness . It was the price they willingly paid for their Dao , for their goals . They had severed pieces of their soul to feed the Remnants , much like some cultivators severed their seven emotions and six desires .
Was that what the Heart of Oblivion wanted to show him? That it was fine if he wanted to borrow their power , but a price had to be paid . That was simply the Law of Balance . It was a stark difference from the visions he endured inside the Orom World . Those scenes had been filled with hopelessness and defeat , like the splinters were trying to drown him in despair and doubt . His Dao Heart had almost crumbled then , and the experience was the main reason he’d been so eager to practice his Void Vajra Sublimation] .
Now , it almost felt like all that hard work was for nothing .
Had the Remnants realized his Dao Heart had grown far stronger since and instead opted for negotiation? Was it another trap , an attempt to steer him down a path of no return? Ultimately , it didn’t matter much , and this wasn’t the time to figure things out . The splinter had already entered his body , and Zac ushered it toward his Soul Aperture before it could unleash too much destruction on his body .
Meanwhile , he furiously rebuffed any Oblivion Energy that got close to his Duplicity Core . He even sacrificed some of his hold on the splinter to create a durable barrier of Mental Energy aimed at protecting the hatch .
The world sped up again , where an urgent warning of danger and shrieking fury greeted him . The undead Gwyllgi understood what had transpired , and its murderous intent was powerful enough to make the whole star quake . Not that it needed any help in that department . The splinter had infiltrated the Stellar Core for who knows how long , and Zac could sense how its vast energies were fast going out of control .
The situation inside his soul mirrored the chaos outside , with the splinter releasing torrential amounts of Oblivion while trying to break into the prison . Luckily , Zac had both experience and the strength of a Three Fates Soul this time around and simultaneously reinforced the prison and rebuffed the new splinter .
However , a chorus of madness and destruction threatened to overwhelm even his reinforced Dao Heart . The four splinters formed a powerful resonance , resulting in a far greater impact on his mind . And the more the splinter’s Oblivion tainted his soul , the harder it became to resist the corruption .
The screams of danger grew more urgent as a black sphere shot out of the Gwyllgi’s mouth and entered the ball of destructive flames already bearing down on him . The sphere made the fireball condense until it was no more than five meters across , just a small ember in front of the deathly sun . The aura it radiated filled Zac with terror . He’d grossly underestimated just how angry he’d made the Late-stage Beast King .
The crazed beast had actually spat out its Beast Core to reinforce the attack .
Doing so was an act of all-out aggression . The attack was extremely deadly , containing the full force of the Beast King’s cultivation base , yet it also carried great danger for the attacker . Damage to the Beast Core could mean millennia of weakness until the damage was repaired . If it broke , the Beast King was crippled . In other words , the Gwyllgi was putting everything on the line to kill him .
Seeing the situation , Zac opted to go for broke . Madness and determination gleamed in his abyssal eyes as he dragged the accumulating storm of Oblivion out of his soul , steering it into his hand . Pain wracked him as small cracks covered his skin , but there was nothing else to do . A beam of pure nothingness shot out of his hand and carved a tunnel straight through the Stellar Core . Zac rushed inside .
The sudden attack was the straw that broke the camel’s back , and the sun went supernova . The core exploded , unleashing a shockwave that tore apart space like it was made of paper . Zac was right at the epicenter , though pulses of Oblivion consumed most of the force crashing into him .
The same was true for the incoming attack . The Gwyllgi’s desperate move tore through the sun’s outer layers like it was nothing , but the following shockwave was another thing entirely . It was filled with the energy of a sun corrupted by Oblivion for who knows how long , and then further augmented by Zac’s outburst .
The two forces collided , forming spatial tears that stretched for miles . A scream of pain and anger pierced Zac’s already beleaguered soul , leaving a set of surface cracks across both Soul Cores . The sense of danger had mostly abated , proving his plan worked .