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Chapter 1,358.
🕑 Added 2025-04-04 18:34:05 +0000 UTCBecome a patron to read ahead.
The impenetrable fog parted, giving way to familiar colors and shapes. Helisent blinked a few times as she oriented herself. She was lying in her bed, as she had for the past few years. Her favorite flowers were placed in a vase on her nightstand. On the other end stood a small statuette. It was the first carving her uncle had given her, a version of the graceful goddess dancing among the heavens. It looked worn after eight decades on display, but it was still her favorite.
Helisent felt like she’d awoken from a long, long dream. She could understand why. Death was creeping close, and the Heavens had given her a moment of clarity to conclude her earthly affairs. Was it the reward for a lifetime of accomplishments? She’d toiled for decades, bringing the family to new heights.
Once a simple seed merchant, the Peck Clan had grown into a respected family with hunters of their own. They no longer sold seeds, instead growing Spiritual Herbs and processing the harvest. It was a life well-lived, and one with few regrets. Petryk had been waiting for her for over twenty years, and she had little reason to hang on.
And yet, Helisent felt the dark clouds draw closer. Rather than a gift, was the clarity a cruel taunt? Helisent sighed and turned to the large arched windows, startling the two attendants waiting nearby.
“Matriarch, you’re awake!”
“Would you open the blinds, dear?”
“Of course,” the maid quickly tied back the thick curtains, allowing the golden glow of late summer to pour into her room.
“Thank you. I’d like to see Uncle.”
“Master Atwood?” the maid said with hesitation. “The Master’s health has declined. He might not be in condition for a visit.”
“Humor this old lady and extend an invitation,” Helisent smiled. “I need to talk to him. Alone.”
The maids scurried out of the room, leaving Helisent with her thoughts. The sunlight pouring through the windows made her recall her ancestral home. The old store and its sun-kissed alcove on the second floor were long gone, destroyed during the beast tide nearly forty years ago. She’d rebuilt it, but it had felt like picking at the wound.
The lush gardens outside her bedroom better suited the family’s circumstances. They were also a reminder of life’s ups and downs. They’d risen quickly, and a century wasn’t enough time to create stable foundations. Markus hadn’t mentioned anything for fear of adding to her burdens, but how could Helisent fail to see the worries weighing on her son?
Even now, Helisent could hear the subdued whispers outside her chambers. She understood the content without making out the words. The Peck Clan’s twin pillars were about to collapse, and it would trigger a storm. Their strength was hollow. Their own cultivators needed more time to mature, and their protectors were outsiders. Hired hands and in-laws couldn’t be relied on when enough benefits were at stake.
Her uncle had always cautioned restraint, that slow and steady wins the race. Helisent knew he was right. She also knew that the chances to rise beyond one’s station were as rare as a phoenix’s feather. Helisent couldn’t bear the idea of her descendants toiling from dusk to dawn only to go to sleep hungry. She’d kept expanding, and her children continued the work she started.
The commotion outside grew louder, and Helisent frowned in complaint. Couldn’t these hapless descendants give an old woman some peace and quiet even in her final moments? The frown turned into a smile when the door opened. Anila and Eko, her two oldest grandchildren, tried to enter with Zac only to be ushered out with a few gentle words.
The door closed, leaving only the two. Helisent’s sight wasn’t what it used to be, and she only managed to get a proper look when her uncle sat down by the bed. Still smiling, Helisent felt a pang of sorrow.
“Uncle, you’ve gotten old.”
The once stalwart man whose piercing eyes were once full of adventure and mystery had been reduced to skin and bone. Her uncle looked like a slight gust could drag him away. It was a miracle he made it to her bed. Even sitting, he needed to rely on his cane. Helisent recognized the piece of gnarled wood well. It was nearly two decades old and officially the last thing Zachary Atwood ever carved.
“It’s been a while, Helisent,” Zac said with a gentle smile as he clasped her hand.
“I’m sorry about the scene outside. Those fools will keep me worried in the afterlife.”
“Unchecked growth will leave the wood brittle. A tree needs to face the wind to temper and shape,” Zac said. “The Peck Clan has stepped onto the path of Immortality, a road that’s measured in eons. The journey needs to have ups and downs just like life.”
“Old man, still acting all sagely with a foot in the afterlife,” Helisent snickered. Her smile soon faded as he gripped her uncle’s hand tighter. “So this is it, huh?”
Zac only patted her hand. Most thought that Zac Atwood retired because he’d lost the touch, that he could no longer see the truths hidden in the wood. Only Helisent thought differently. The older and more ordinary her uncle appeared, the deeper the impression he left on her.
“Old man, do you have regrets?”
“A life without regrets is a life not lived.”
“I knew it. That’s what you get for picking blocks of wood over family,” Helisent huffed.
“Family? Don’t I have one?” Zac said with a gentle smile.
“You do... And for all these years... Thank you,” Helisent sighed, finding it harder and harder to keep her thoughts straight. She slowly turned to the old statue by the bedside. For a moment, Helisent felt like the goddess stared back at her. “Do you think there’ll be a chance for me in the next life?”
“Perhaps. The Cosmos is unpredictable.”
Helisent smiled as she closed her eyes. “Old man... The first time I saw you, I thought you were a celestial taking a break in our little alley. If I was right; please look after my descendants in my stead.”
---------------
Zac exhaled as he felt the hand cradled in his grow colder. His own body was only kept going through sheer will, and he felt Death’s chill creep into his body. Zac still held on as countless memories flashed through his mind. Helisent had been a constant in his life for the past eight decades, and they’d shared a lifetime’s worth of ups and downs. He’d known her even longer than any of his companions on the outside.
It didn’t matter if it was the simulation of an alternate timeline. Was his sorrow an illusion? Were his memories? It didn’t matter what the universe said. To Zac, Helisent was real, and this was the last time he’d see her. Zac held her hand until true Death permeated his body, save a single thread of flickering life.
The threshold between Life and Death brought unprecedented clarity. Zac’s mind expanded, spreading through the mansion that had been his home over the past decade. He saw the worried expressions on the Peck Clan’s descendants as they discussed their situation with hushed murmurs. Occasionally, they’d glance toward Helisent’s chambers or the meeting room on the opposite side of the building.
Increasingly heated arguments came from within. Helisent’s three children were so desperately trying to salvage the stalled negotiations that they weren’t aware of their mother’s passing. It wouldn’t work. Zac’s perception expanded further until he saw the fifty cultivators closing in on the manor. The crude arrays had already been deactivated by traitors within.
Helisent had grown into a wise clan head, but she was ultimately a mortal who looked at the world of cultivation from the outside. She couldn’t understand the Dao’s fatal attraction, the drive to seize strength and longevity from the Heavens. Cultivation couldn’t be explained through a merchant’s rationale, where risk and returns were carefully weighed. At its core, cultivation wasn’t rational. It was a subversion of the natural order.
The Peck Clan was a fat sheep, and the wolves had circled long enough. They’d confirmed there was no mighty figure backing the fledgling family, so there was nothing to hold back. They would have struck years ago if not for Zac suppressing their impulses with his vastly superior Dao Heart. However, everything must come to an end.
Eighty years had passed, and the timeline’s attempts to erase him had never relented. Year by year, they had grown stronger until Zac could no longer spare any energy keeping his adoptive family safe. Accompanying Helisent on her final journey had already pushed him beyond his limits. And now, it was time to go.
Zac’s perception shifted, and Peck Manor was replaced by a gondola sailing down a silver river. It looked just like the crude boat he’d embarked on, but its aura had undergone an earth-shattering transformation. His true self was surrounded by a dense swirl perfectly aligned with the Four Laws, and the whole boat exuded incredible levels of Destiny.
Two enormous statues waited just down the river, one placed on each shore. Just beyond was the shimmering curtain of a memory domain. The statues faced each other with outstretched arms, only inches apart yet fated never to touch. They existed in different realities and were separated by a chasm of causality. One second, they felt like lovers kept apart. The next, they were mortal enemies trying to snatch the mysterious treasure floating in the middle of the river.
The astrolabe radiated paradoxical Continuum and boundless possibility, approaching the limits of what the Heavens would abide. It was the embodiment of the Mercurial Court’s power of transformation and was directly connected to the Peregrine Ocean’s myriad realities. Truth became malleable in its presence, and it created a mysterious resonance in the gondola—a resonance that grew stronger the closer it drew.
More than a decade had passed since Zac’s heart grew strong enough to overcome the dream, and he’d watched the Gates of Transformation drawing closer since. From that moment, he could have returned to the gondola with a single thought. Zac had spent years resisting that impulse, choosing to stay in Everit’s failing body and enduring the timeline’s increasing suppression.
Back then, the statues were barely visible in the distance, and the astrolabe had only appeared last year. The gondola’s aura was also significantly weaker. With each additional day he endured, the gondola’s accumulations grew a little deeper. The battle was over. The simulation had reached its end, and Zac could tell that the gondola couldn’t attract any more of its precious cargo.
“Transformation,” Zac muttered as he retracted his perception, knowing it was more than an empty name.
The gate was a crossroads, presenting two choices. The first was to sever the mortal and nourish the divine. Zac could shatter the dream and use its accumulated power to trigger a transformative rebirth—one that would even eclipse the Tribulation Throne. However, the Law of Balance was absolute. To gain something, something else had to be sacrificed.
The gondola carried the essence of the timeline he’d spent decades crossing. Offering it meant reducing this life to an illusion. Even if the memories remained, they wouldn’t be real.
The second option was to embrace his experience and turn it into a supporting pillar for his cultivation journey. Everything he experienced would become real, allowing him to bring his experiences and insights out of the timeline. Most notably, that meant his monstrously powerful Dao Heart. Indecision about what to pick was part of the reason Zac had held on this long.
On a surface level, the first choice was superior. It promised a massive comprehensive boost. The amount of Law on the gondola was as much as his previous brushes with the Four Desolates combined. His body would be further aligned with the Cosmos, greatly improving his body’s potential.
The fluctuations of Destiny were just as enticing. It wasn’t Imperial Fate like one would expect inside the trial. It was raw, unclaimed Destiny, making it the perfect fuel for his Void Road. The gains were massive and immediate—exactly what he needed. He’d just reached the most dangerous part of the trial, and the boost could mean the difference between life and death.
A strengthened Dao Heart didn’t seem as valuable in comparison. He was only a few decades old, and he would have plenty of time to temper his heart after the trial. On the other hand, the Peregrine Ocean was uniquely suitable for tempering the Heart, and the timeline’s constant pressure had tempered his Dao Heart more thoroughly than any Heart Nurturing Manual could. Zac had progressed as much in his first decade on the Greenworth Trade Street as he had from his countless life-and-death experiences since the integration, and his improvements had never slowed down.
Out of Soul, Body, and Heart, Heart was undoubtedly his weak link. Keeping the timeline’s essence for himself was his chance to catch up and then some. It would greatly help stabilize his foundations, preparing him for Monarchy and beyond. The choice also aligned with his path. Zac was extremely reluctant to demote this life’s experiences to a dream.
Zac felt Everit’s body slump over as the final thread of life snapped. The small change was the difference between Heaven and Earth. The last scraps of energy fled his exhausted vessel, returning to the cosmos. His soul similarly returned to nature. Zac experienced the changes with detached equanimity. The cycle of life was complete, and Zac had his answer.
“To cultivate is to go against the Heavens. It’s fine to be greedy every now and then.”
Two eyes holding boundless Abyssal Death opened, turning to Helisent lying in her bed. He gently placed her hand to her side before disappearing in a flash. The people gathered in the meeting room didn’t have time to react before the two dozen outsiders exploded. The raiders outside met the same fate.
Moments later, Zac appeared above Palimu, and the whole city was drowned in death and destruction. Noblemen and commoners were brought together in shared horror. They didn’t dare look directly at the grim reaper floating above the city, but they also couldn’t look away.
“The Peck Clan is under my protection. If they die, so shall you,” Zac said before stepping out of the dream.
One of the statues had almost faded when Zac appeared in his own body, and the astrolabe was already pulling in the timeline. A burst of Void Energy stalled the sacrifice. Zac’s body had become a black hole the moment he awoke, consuming both the gondola and its cargo before the Gate of Transformation could exact its due. The timeline’s essence was sealed in the depths of the Void in his heart. It would remain real so long as he lived.
Deadly streams of unstable space lashed Zac's body as he found himself without a vessel. Zac barely noticed. His full attention was on the fading astrolabe and the power of transformation it held. His body was aflame with hunger after only getting a taste of the Peregrine Ocean’s extraordinary powers. He’d become the Void, and he wasn’t done.
Zac flew toward the astrolabe like a moth to the flame, his hunger so urgent it impacted reality. It was only through practiced effort that Zac kept himself in check until the last moment. A Void Vortex appeared in the middle of the astrolabe just as Zac passed through the gates of transformation. The realm shook with fury from having a sliver of transformation stolen, but the thief was gone before it could react.
Comments
1FantasyFanatic
Ahahahhahha
R. Maxwell Steele
While in the vision between realities, the line between fake and real was blurred and stretched. Like Dr Strange falling through the Multiverse. He experienced a few alternate realities as if they were real, but actually landed in that last one. So instead pretending to be the imperial bounty hunter, real and fake got jumbled. So he was no longer undead Arkaz. He was the imperial bounty hunter in the flesh. There at the end when his released his now super strong dao heart to break out of that reality and back to the reality slipstream, the bindings of that reality making him embody the imperial bounty hunter were broken and he regained his true form as Arkaz again... and as he's transitioning out of that reality he made the decision to essentially drag that alternate reality through the slipstream in his heart and make it part of his original reality (but way back in time as the ending of the bounty hunter's life). He opened his black eyes there at the end because they were undead draugr eyes. And the spectre in the sky was his undead reaper skill.
Lurkingowl
Peck ~ Peak?
Dave Richards
Good choice by Zac. It feels right that he not only kept the "dream" and made it reality in the void, but also him making a move to protect the clan. He's lost a lot of potential gains, but I'm sure his heart cultivation will come in handy. He's made insane gains in something that is very difficult to improve. And his choice just makes me happy tbh.
Kirin
Im a little confused on how he switched bodies or maybe he just switched to abyssal energy. But why’d his eyes change
Kirin
Facts, love when he change pov to a random common in the empire, always show the depth of the world and story
Kirin
Boss
Kyle Hunter
You dont deserve my like but I'm giving it to you anyway. I'm a sucker for good puns.
Russ
It would be interesting to have a POV of Zac from another flamebearer. That way we could see what they think of his advancements in the heart, body, soul, and cultivation in general. We keep thinking that other flamebearers are at much higher cultivation than Zac, but to me it seems that they may have higher Dao's than Zac, in part because of their extreme affinities, but also just an insane amount of money and resources. Zac seems to dabble in every aspect of cultivation, while we learned that most seem to focus on 1-2 aspects and compensate in other areas through companions or resources. It also seems that Zac may be an extreme genius when it comes to incorporating Dao into fighting techniques - where even figures like Kator, who was a brawler, could not keep up with him. Also adding another 80 years of intense heart cultivation, should put him at a higher level of heart cultivation than anyone in the trial so far - other than Esmeralda and the Primordial. But we have not heard of anyone else establishing an Idol yet, and that was before his extreme cultivation stunt. I'm exciting to see how his idol transforms, as he kept summoning and unsummoning it during the fight of supremacies, with his other side also cultivating the heart. Maybe he'll develop another 1-2 idols, and we may see another trinity?
Aaron Pennington
Good to see Zac establish the "peck"ing order
Robert C
I dont believe this has been mentioned, but Zach just made insane progress with his Heart. As well as just surviving an encounter involving multiple supremacies. I expect his war bringer idol to go nuts
Kris Piskorski
Helisant and peck clan side story was one of my favorites when it comes to side stories so far! Awesome work
Dro
'justification to keep doing crazy moves and blowing stuff up.' — Dao of Chaos confirmed
Jeff McCulley
Oh yeah… F. I’m pretty sure Zac just grabbed at least some of the tools he’ll need to make dreams real. That’s my impression, anyway. Perhaps including bringing a chunk of the Limitless Empire out of the memory domains. Those Pesvati Rift folks would doubtless like that.
Jeff McCulley
Saturday morning notes. A. Generally, TFD keeps his chapters chronologically accurate in POV shifts. Which would mean that three weeks have now passed since HZac started his little nappy time—from Ch. 1,357 to 1,358. If this holds true (and I suspect it does), it suggests that HZac has been doing nothing significant for three weeks—indeed, suggests that HZac has been unconscious and recovering. Which might well explain why DZac’s void bloodline was starving the moment he came out of the dream. If HZac had a breakthrough that has been suppressed. Because… B. I have been pondering HZac “breaking the chains” in Ch. 1,357. Maybe not enough information, but rereading (several times) it seems most likely that those chains are in relation to either Chaos, or the Void. I’m not an expert on all of this cultivation stuff. Not hardly. I don’t know enough about the Chaos stuff to guess where he might have had a breakthrough. The Void, however? Despite my lack of expertise, there are two obvious areas that jump out, obvious enough to my inexpert eyes, anyway. One…Zac broke the chains of his “Corrupted” bloodline. Simple enough, it’s no longer corrupted. It seems possible because the System seems to be responsible for the “corrupted”, and the System is hands off here. That said, I think it’s the least likely of at least three options—because I’m not sure he CAN break that one. The second would be making another more conventional breakthrough on his Void Emperor bloodline, which he hasn’t done since his encounter with Yselio on the Centurion Spear. I dunno, is he due yet? Maybe that’s the chains that were broken, advancing before he was supposed to. The third option (and onwards) is “I don’t have a clue what TFD just did”. Which is probably by far the most likely of the three. C. If HZac has indeed been unconscious for three weeks, that suggests Ogras has been carrying Tavza around like a sack of potatoes for that long. I’m sure that would have gone well. D. If the mysterious A faction guy who was about to claim Ventus was a Flamebearer, it would be interesting if Ogras has to deploy—I mean, turn Tavza loose—and she kills the dude and becomes a Flamebearer. Just a thought. E. Remember, only Monday and Wednesday chapters next week. POV’s? Have a good weekend, all!
Jeff McCulley
Just realized. Only two chapters next week. So, just stop and think for a minute about the IMMENSE cliff TFD is doubtless gonna to leave us on Wednesday. G’night, all. 💤
Jeff McCulley
Agreed!
Jeff McCulley
Wait until he tosses some POV cliffs into the mix next week, just for fun!
Jeff McCulley
I think maybe Human Zac had a breakthrough with his Void Emperor bloodline (“breaking the chains”), and that’s why Daugr Zac came out of the Dream so hungry. Maybe he removed the “Corrupted” part? After all, the System isn’t exactly meddling closely here. Maybe?
Jeff McCulley
The illusion. If he had made the first choice, he would have gained fuel, but lost eighty years of progress on his Heart and elsewhere. And relegated the people his knew to being pure fiction. Instead, he chose to make those years real. While he doesn’t know it, I think he took the first step to eventually bringing them out of the dream. I suspect maybe there was a reason Janos pointed him to that particular boat. And not because it “only” took a month. And Janos grabbed one that took so long because it would allow him to build up that much more Destiny. Maybe?
Jeff McCulley
Amen!!!
Jeff McCulley
Why? And, do you mean, staying in different Courts, or fusing? Because I don’t think he’s doing the latter before Monarchy.
Jeff McCulley
Zac: Slow and steady wins the race! Also Zac: NOM NOM NOM NOM…
Jeff McCulley
Zac grabbed a bunch of stuff, and ducked into the memory domain of the Mercurial Court. We likely won’t see Draugr Zac again for a few chapters, until Human Zac gets back on his feet, and enters his (Hollow) Court.
Havics Child
Had to go and reread the other 2 chapters of this little episode, you've been doing some great work lately TFD. Zac is finally finding himself and expanding his horizons. Helisent is great, once he arrives in the mercurial court make sure he sits down and makes a carving of the sweet girl that represents her journey through life please. 2-3 sentences to mark her impact on his heart and journey.
Tomer Yud
im confused by the ending. I hope the next chapter will clarify things
Arthur
Everyone ones comments in this chapter was well worth the read Thank YOU'll
Michael
I wonder if Zac’s bodies are going to stay separated in the Courts? They’re already going to have a pretty big differential when they do eventually sync
Joshua Little
Thanks for the chapter.
Maxim
I didn't quite fully Understand the Consequences of the First Choice. Would picking the Transformation render his "Original Life" a.k.a the life of Zachary Atwood/Arcaz Umbri'zi into an Illusion or would it render his "Simulated Life" a.k.a Uncle Zac into an Illusion. I think it's the first option but I'm not fully sure, because it doesn't feel like _that_ big of a Trade off to some Cold-Hearted Person, Considering that they should know the "Simulated Life" to be not-reality.
John
Zac’s going to experience some major whiplash when his two halves reintegrate after the memory domains. I think the product of the two will also be greater than the sum of its parts. All the insights human Zac managed to grasp witnessing a battle between Supremacies will have 80 years of experience and a far stronger Dao Heart to help process, courtesy of the Grim Reaper here. What do you all think is next for Zac to improve?
Dan
To be a cultivator is ultimately to steal from the heavens.
Tyler
And I feel like there are significant parallels in his path echoed in the way he advanced as well. His Death attuned body was forced to experience Life by living, and his Life attuned side was pushed to the brink of Death in battle.
James Getgood
That means a lot.
Tartlet
I’d like to say a word for Helisent. Plethora.
Michael McLennan
Its what Dora would do.
EsoEasy
Massive two-body gains report starting Monday, right? Advances in Void and Heart for sure. What else? There has got to be some significance to the fact that DZac and HZac are progressing at the same time.
StuBee3
TFTC Have a great weekend! 😎
B-Slam
Yeah I would say so, he should be able to practice the 9RM to the fith layer to reach peak d grade like the VVS. He still has a soul in the e grade.
Omiso
Yes.
Omiso
It's a trap, just like Janos and Great Dream he too has an "illusion" that can only remain as a memory unless he joins them in their crazy plan to turn Fantasy into Reality.
Dro
So Zac *Literally* just Stole Fate from Emperor Limitless. He took what seems like a piece of artificial Fate (the timeline/fate of the Peck family) and while Zac keeps them alive in his void heart, they will just keep getting stronger and more influential in their little universe which should generate Destiny if it doesn't get taken by the void. He has a tiny destiny generator that can only get more powerful with time.
Michael Kawesa
So did he steal both options?
EsoEasy
This!
Jeff McCulley
“Out of Soul, Body, and Heart, Heart was undoubtedly his weak link” So…,…is Soul now his (relatively) “weak link”?
Palmer Evans
I’m here for it
Omiso
"At its core, cultivation wasn’t rational" I feel Zac just thought of this as a justification to keep doing crazy moves and blowing stuff up.
Tom C
Choose?! Porque no los dos? 😆 TFTC!
Azulmar
I think the best thing about two bodies is getting to jump back and forth between cliffs. 😉
Jeff McCulley
Opponents will find they’re a Peck of Trouble.
Summas76
For a moment, Helisent felt like the goddess stared back at her. “Do you think there’ll be a chance for me in the next life?” “Perhaps. The Cosmos is unpredictable.” You ain't slick, TFD. You make me weep over Helisent dying, and then you reference her wish to have been a cultivator, when she wasnt fated to be anything more than a mortal in this "life" within the illusion. Zac's going to either name one of his children after her (undead or otherwise), or even go so far as to directly infuse her essence when making one of his undead children. God, the narrative/cathartic payoff for that is gonna be good.
Rayyyn
Will the people from this dream become the first people in his inner world I wonder?
Porter
That's where we are headed I think. Limitless, I think, designed this trial to use actual fate, destiny, and memory, to make it as lifelike as possible, all in an effort to extract something very real from the trial takers for his grand plan. Zac might actually be able to take some of that memory, fate, destiny, and make these memories real. And again, I think it's so obvious that the First Defier is Zac. He is gonna come out of this trial with some sort of treasure powering it, the sort of treasure Limitless had that can make these memories real. I'm not sure where the story goes from there, and it's all just theorycrafting. I do my best to come up with theories, and the author outdoes me every time.
Lizy Flore
Truly Esmeralda’s esteemed disciple, embracing the path of shamelessness and profit! (Ogras would be so proud)
Lizy Flore
Would… would this option also help with Janos’ dilemma ? If he were this steal Janos’ Dream and put it into the void, then Janos AND Anson should be able to survive, right ? Right ? Someone tell me im not imagining things 😭
Summas76
I'm fuckin sobbing
Michael
Until shown otherwise my head canon will be that the Peck clan becomes the Peak family after the fall of the LE
Craig
Of course he chooses both, LOL
Palmer Evans
I think this is my favorite arc in the series so far. The fact that it will only get better is fantastic
Andrew
Thank you!
Jeff McCulley
All righty then! Basically, presented with Option A or B, Zac said, “I’ll make my own Option C, thanks! Part Option B, part Option “I’ll do whatever the f*** I want, grab whatever I like”. I.E., usual Zac antics!
Porter
Oh man, I got a real pang for Helisent. I'm glad Zac helped her clan out.
Palmer Evans
I love when we get the perspective of how far Zac has come from F or E-grade bystanders. He’s a literal god of death (his Draugr half) at this point relative to books 1-5.
CloudyBall
Give Zac all the options you want, he will still take what he wants and more
Palmer Evans
I got the impression that he somehow did both but I’m also kinda confused and could be wrong
Chase C
Did Zac choose the transformation and steal the essence of the memory for his Dao Heart, or choose to keep the memory alive and steal some of the accumulated energy?
Lex Luther S
Brooooo, let's GOOOOOOO. Well, I always knew which option zac would ultimately choose. He may be about as greedy as they come but he still clings to his mortal heart and emotions in a way even heartland hegemons fail to do so and that will continue to be zacs guiding light towards the peak. He will become unfettered while bearing the weight of all who follow him and man ohhh man I can't wait to see what he becomes by the time he's a supremacy. Well, now, I wonder what the benefits he'll gain from turning this dream into a reality will be. His dao hearts transformation is but one big gain but that's just one slice of this time paradoxical pie. What benefits will come about from the Pecks' clans rise? Maybe he'll even see reports of an autarch bearing the name "Peck" and the grand Peck family. Man we may have gotten blue balled with what's happening to zacs human half and ogras and Tavza but it was worth it for this chapter. And zac still found a way to make his mentor proud, stealing something for his void in the end. Zacs gonna become a thief only rivaled by esmeralda by the time he's a supremacy 🤣
Alexander Dupree
NOM
Alexander Dupree
First he calls on the emperor directly and second he blatantly steals from the Mecurial Court. FFS man just gotta start something with someone or his day hasn’t begun.
Tibstrike
Zac doing the most iconic thing possible
Indy
first
