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Chapter 1,393
🕑 Added 2025-06-30 19:56:00 +0000 UTCBecome a patron to read ahead.
A/N: And that's it for June and the season! Defiance of the Fall is officially on holiday break! Of course, I'll still be around, and you can always find me on the discord if you need something (or if you want to exchange increasingly unhinged DotF theories over the summer break with other readers).
You'll also hear from me when Book 15 is released next month, and we're finally approaching the point where I can share some official news/teasers about the webcomic! So far, it's looking great. I'll also post a public vacation post tomorrow. It won't hold any new information for readers on this tier, it's so that new patrons and the lower tiers get the same info.
And if I don't see you until we're back on Aug 15, have a great summer, fellow Defiers!
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The good days were over.
The five-element domain faltered, and the surge of flesh pressed closer. At least a hundred Beast Kings had been attracted by the spiritual spring appearing right by the base, and there were too many descendants to count. The basin was filled to the point that a layer of trampled beasts had become the new surface.
The scene normally wouldn’t have fazed Carl in the slightest. He wasn’t sure if "dependable" was the word he’d use for Iz Tayn, but more beasts generally meant a larger pyre while she was around. This time, Carl was forced to face the beast tide by himself. It wasn’t going great. There were no armies to hide behind, and the arrows he’d released had already marked him for retribution the moment the elemental barrier collapsed.
“Guess I have no choice,” Carl said through grit teeth and brought out a set of arrows made from Spiritual Gold.
Each was covered in runes that, while crude, perfectly matched the pathways of his class. He’d only managed to make twenty-six such arrows during their brief windows of downtime. That wasn’t a lot, especially when [Empyrean Suns of Yi] needed at least eight arrows to be activated. The expenditure wasn’t nearly as worrying as the backlash.
Carl took a steadying breath as he inserted the arrows into the ground before him, lining them up in a neat row. The shafts began vibrating as Carl drew on the flames of his path, and the distant calls of divine crows echoed in his mind. For a minute, there was only stillness. Then, Carl became one with the sun.
Arrows were drawn and released according to a mysterious cadence that Carl still didn’t fully understand, though his Earthly Dao guided him through the motions. The released arrows turned into streaks of scorching flames surrounded by golden-red feathers of pure fire. Carl didn’t aim at any particular beast, instead targeting the sky above the beast tide.
The energy arrows Carl usually used could travel a dozen miles before running out of steam. These physical arrows should have been able to go even further, but they exploded into intense conflagrations shortly after emerging from the barrier. The beasts only looked up in confusion before continuing their assault on the five-element barrier.
Carl didn’t have time to worry about their reaction. He was only three arrows in, and smoke was already coming out of his nostrils. Terrifying flames were eating his organs, with each added arrow worsening the punishment. By the fifth arrow, the pain was so overwhelming that he couldn’t think straight. By the seventh, his whole existence was consumed by flames.
By some miracle, Carl managed to find the eighth arrow among the flames, and his smoldering bowstring didn’t snap when drawn. He released the arrow, and the relief made tears pour down his cheeks as he fell to the ground. The fires that dragged him toward oblivion had stabilized before he was pushed to the point of no return, though he’d need weeks of bed rest to get back on his feet. Not to mention that every inch of his pathways was scorched.
His emptied Cosmic Core trembled with hunger, and Carl glanced at the spiritual spring like he was dying of thirst. Maybe just a—Carl shook his head and focused on the matter at hand. The fires inside his body had gathered into eight miniature suns hovering around his heart. Their appearance was perfectly mimicked on the battlefield.
The unstable explosions were unstable no longer. They’d turned into actual suns holding the entirety of Carl’s cultivation along with the power infused into the arrows over months. Dozens of three-legged crows orbited each one, emitting even greater heat than the suns themselves. By the time beasts realized there was a problem, it was already too late.
The crows dove toward the ground with suicidal fervor, and their shapes morphed as they picked up speed. They looked mostly like arrows made from fire by the time they crashed into the beasts below. Deafening explosions shook the valley as thousands of beasts were reduced to ash. The arrows didn’t wink out after tearing apart their targets either.
The flames attached themselves to furs and hides, growing and spreading beyond Carl’s control. Even the environment was working in his favor. A massive, fire-attuned Spirit Vein was hidden beneath the basin. The five-element Spiritual Spring appearing out of nowhere had thrown the focused ambient energy out of balance, but there was still ample fuel for the flames.
New crows emerged from the suns as soon as the first generation had perished. It was Carl who controlled the process through the miniatures in his chest. There was enough fuel for two more batches, but Carl knew he didn’t have the time. A dozen Beast Kings had perished under the first barrage, and just as many were busy putting out flames on their bodies. That meant there was still plenty to go around, and they wouldn’t just watch Carl turn the whole basin into a furnace.
Better to detonate what was left as an attack than see the suns be torn apart. Of course, there was a second option that had some chance of forcing the tide to back down. Heart as kindling, soul as arrow—a sacrificial art that turned oneself into the ninth sun in a bid for mutual annihilation. Even the Late D-grade Beast King towering at the back would have to watch out for that blast.
Not that Carl ever planned on using that feature unless it was to protect his wife and daughter. He wasn’t a lunatic who lived for the battlefield and glorified the idea of becoming a martyr. Carl squished the suns with his mind, and the real ones turned into infernal fireworks that rained down on the suffering tide.
The streaks weren’t as potent as the arrowcrows, but there were thousands and thousands of them. The flames fused with the environment, turning into a true wildfire. Carl wryly smiled at the scene. What a shame. That would have been a decent chunk of Kill Energy. He unsteadily got to his feet, popped a few healing pills into his mouth as he stumbled toward the spiritual spring.
Carl was aware that he wasn’t a one-man army like Emperor Atwood. There were at least seventy Beast Kings left, and it was mostly the weaker ones who’d fallen. However, the flames held a trace of the true aura of the three-legged crow—courtesy of Iz, of course—and most beasts would think twice before approaching.
The attacks on the barrier had stopped, and they were already recovering some of their lost energy. By the time the beasts outside figured out it was a ruse, the barrier would have grown even stronger. Carl figured he’d bought at least twenty minutes of safety with his little stunt.
Extraordinarily dense but mixed spiritual ripples rose from the crystal-clear waters. Carl didn’t get it. He would have thought that a spring appearing in one’s backyard was a blessing. Its nature was even somewhat aligned with the five-elements defenses keeping the frontier base safe. It was related to the blasted road.
The Imperial Workshop had deemed that this stretch needed a fire-attuned node stabilized by the five elements, and having the five elements naturally emerge would destabilize the road network. So he and Iz were tasked with resolving the issue while the defenders kept the thirsty beasts at bay. So much for that plan.
Carl did his part by putting his whole head into the pond, greedily gulping mouthfuls of spring water. It temporarily soothed his aching pathways and replenished his lost energy faster than any Cosmic Crystal could. Since the spring had appeared right atop the Imperial Road, it also lacked any of the nasty impurities that permeated most of the Left Imperial Expanse.
How he wished he had the boss’s proclivity for ingestion. Zachary Atwood could gobble up half a mountain while he was still an E-grade cultivator. This little spring was child’s play. He could swallow it in one sitting, removing the reason for the beast tide to stick around. Carl barely managed to make a dent in the spring before he was filled to the point of bursting. He burped and patted his protruding belly as he sat on the shore, his immediate lack of energy somewhat resolved.
What now?
Carl glanced at the burning base. There were still signs of an intense battle going on inside. Carl had run to the frontlines as much to escape her flames as to stall the tide. The girl had suddenly gone mad, turning on the people they’d been sent to assist. Now, the stench of burning flesh wafting over from the fortress was even stronger than the one coming from outside the barrier.
Some messes were too great to clean up. What the hell was he supposed to say when they returned to the Farsee Court?
“It’s my fault for expecting smooth sailing while running the Emperor’s errands,” Carl muttered.
With Iz Tayn clearing the path, they’d successfully explored three Memory Domains on the way and another two after reaching the inner region. The results spoke for themselves. Iz had erected a halo based on her flames, and they’d been working on bringing forth a second since successfully entering the Farsee Court.
The Farsee Court was connected to three Dao Peaks: Elements, Nature, and Order. It was the court responsible for taming the wilds and subduing the elements to construct the mind-boggling, continent-spanning formation. The other courts had helped out in various ways, but it was the Farsee Court that imposed Order on the Left Imperial Expanse—the Empire’s flavor of order, anyway.
Such a monumental task could never have too many helping hands, and they’d been put to work the moment they joined the court. The Sealbearers were sent through the Earthgate—essentially a backdoor that could teleport the Imperial Workshop anywhere on the road—to random problem areas on the continent to deal with whatever prevented the road from functioning properly.
In this case, it was the emergence of the spring that disrupted the area’s energy flow. The previous two tasks were different, with one being an issue of an incompetent Array Master and the other the theft of critical resources. Carl had eagerly solved each one, feeling that each completed task took him closer to the Farsee Court’s true seat of power. That was where he would advance Emperor Atwood's plans.
Carl thought Iz was on the same page. Had he been deluding himself?
Until today, Iz had never given him reason to think their goals were incompatible, and traveling with a golden spoon undeniably had its perks. Carl’s pockets were bursting at the seams with Natural Treasures that failed to attract the lady’s eyes. [Empyrean Suns of Yi] was also something she brought to reciprocate his ongoing assistance, and the force that gave the arrows their kick came from her own blood.
Iz Tayn wasn’t interested in the treasures left in the memories, nor did she appear too keen on exploring the meaning behind the threads of fate they encountered. She mostly seemed interested in setting things on fire and spouting nonsense about fate. The girl had the face of an angel but the mind of those fire-starting imps back home.
The way she barreled through challenges like a meteor made the mad emperors of Earth appear measured in comparison. It was Carl who performed all the investigations, and he dealt with all social issues after Iz nearly tested the fates of a group of engineers from the Imperial Workshop. Carl should have known then that it was only a matter of time before disaster struck.
Killing the workers of the Imperial Workshop was a big no-no, and the only way back was through the Earthgate in the middle of the burning fortress. If they left through the domain’s border, they’d emerge at some random spot on the continent, undoing months of travel in one go.
Carl tried to make sense of the situation as the flames outside began fading. Iz Tayn was crazy, but not crazy crazy. There had to be more to it. But it was impossible that she’d uncovered traitors among the locals. They barely had time to step out of the Earthgate before she began launching fireballs left and right.
Was it a play to approach the Clan of Pomul?
The Imperial Workshop controlled the Farsee Court, but the design behind the Imperial Road wasn’t solely their work. The Clan of Pomul was an ancient race thought extinct long before the Limitless Empire’s time. Iz only knew of them because their ruins still stood to this day. They were a popular target for cultivators hoping to excavate treasures from the beginnings of the Era.
The great empire of Pomul had been reduced to a small clan, but they possessed an extraordinary understanding of Order. The Imperial Workshop had found the survivors in some corner of the universe and conscripted them to help design the road. While the cooperation was harmonious on the surface, there was clearly some tension between the two camps.
Iz Tayn had also been in a private meeting with the four-armed race a few days ago.
“Sitting here won’t change anything,” Carl muttered under his breath and reluctantly set a course for the fort.
The commotion had finally died down, and Carl found Iz standing in the middle of the main square. Lying before her was a corpse burnt beyond recognition. He’d essentially been turned into charcoal, and Carl wouldn’t have known he was looking at the militia captain if not for the large mallet in his hand.
“Uh, is everything alright here?” Carl asked as he glanced at the corpse.
“It is now,” Iz said, unleashing another wave of fire.
“Uh, isn’t this literally beating the dead—" Carl stopped in surprise when the flames ate away the charred skin, exposing a golden luster beneath. “What the hell! These baldies are everywhere.”
Beneath the layer of charred skin was a Buddhist monk. It clearly wasn’t just an issue of having his hair singed off during the battle. The man was outfitted with six small scars on his forehead, and he emitted the unmistakable aura of Karma. Carl would never forget the feeling after being exposed to that crazy B-grade monk outside the Imperial Graveyard.
Thankfully, this monk didn’t appear any stronger than the Early C-grade captain that Iz had subdued. In fact, he was clearly on his last legs, and his pristine skin couldn’t hide the devastation within. Most likely, his whole Inner World had been incinerated, and he was only holding on through sheer will.
“Benefactor, must you leave us with no hope?” the monk sighed as he looked up at Iz. “I can sense that you already carry great sin. Your actions will only further stain your Karma. It’s still not too late to turn away from the sea of regret.”
Iz’s answer came in the form of a final wave that reduced the dying monk to ash.
“Damn, these baldies are simply everywhere. Was it a trialtaker?” Carl asked.
“No.” Iz shook her head. “This man should have been an infiltrator who implanted the rest of the base with seeds of Dharma. Over decades, this fort was turned into a stronghold of the Buddhist faith.”
“You could have told me and spared me the heart attack,” Carl muttered. “I thought you’d gone crazy there for a while.”
“They’d prepared for our arrival. Our Dao Hearts were targeted the moment we stepped out of the Earthgate. I had to unleash my flames to assert my path,” Iz said, giving him an odd look. “You didn’t notice anything?”
“Huh?” Carl said, thinking back. “For some reason, I missed home when we appeared. Not sure if it’s related?”
“Power of belief,” Iz said, slightly shaking her head.
“So the monks were meddlesome bastards even back in the day,” Carl said. “I didn’t expect them to deal in road sabotage, though.”
“They weren’t,” Iz said. “The Spiritual Spring wasn’t part of their plan. There are signs of them trying to contain it. When they failed, they knew the Farsee Court would send someone to investigate.”
“Then what were they here for?” Carl asked.
Iz took a moment to gather her thoughts before answering.
“The cosmos is limited—limited in resources, space, and even ideas. For one’s cultivation to advance, the fates of those standing in the way must be severed. Similarly, for one truth to exist, another reality must falter.”
“The truth is the truth, isn’t it?” Carl said with confusion, not sure what she was getting at.
“Truth is malleable, and control over the interpretation is at the heart of the great struggles raging across the Multiverse,” Iz said, looking down at the corpse. “The Buddhist Sangha has almost completed the Six Paths of Reincarnation. At that point, the Wheel of Samsara will become truth, and reincarnation will follow the rules of Buddhist doctrine.”
“What’s that got to do with the monks masquerading as border guards?”
“You should have understood the Limitless Empire’s ultimate goal by now,” Iz said.
“Sure, they want to resurrect.”
“In a manner of speaking,” Iz nodded. “Don’t you think it was suspicious how easily we caught onto the clues on our way here?”
Carl’s brows furrowed in thought. Now that she mentioned it, it did seem a bit convenient. He’d chalked it up to his travel partner piecing together the clues thanks to her exceedingly high vantage. But no matter how strong, they were still just juniors playing a game set up ages ago. If the empire wasn’t okay with the truth being exposed ahead of schedule, they should have been more than capable of hiding the traces.
Suddenly, Carl’s neck hair stood on end, and he realized the little tyrant by his side was staring at him with an inscrutable smile.
“Ideas and beliefs can hold great and unexpected power,” she said. “Us knowing should be part of the design. It plants the seed of possibility in our subconsciousness, and it influences our actions as we explore the courts. Even trying to stop their plot helps foster credibility. There would be no reason to resist their attempt if you sincerely believed it could not come true.”
Carl didn’t really understand what Iz was talking about, simply nodding along while memorizing her words. Someone else could unpack all this stuff after he went home. Iz seemed to realize his lack of comprehension and changed her approach.
“Even long after its fall, the Limitless Empire is the Sangha’s greatest adversary. While others fight over the interpretation of Dao, they’ve fought a silent war over the interpretation of Destiny. These Dharmic seeds were planted eons ago, knowing they would die and become part of the continent. They are just pawns in the struggle for the Era’s direction.”
“Wait, are you actually saying that the monks somehow knew this trial would take place and began plotting even before the Dark Ages?” Carl asked. “Are they really that powerful?”
“The Sangha has firmly grasped the Dao of Karma since time immemorial,” Iz shrugged. “Even if they didn’t know exactly what was going on, they’d sense that the Left Imperial Expanse would play a role in achieving their goals. If their attempt didn’t work out in the end, they would only lose a few Dharmic Guardians.”
“For one truth to exist, others have to suffer,” Carl said, finally catching what Iz was putting out. “Will the resurrection of the empire undo their work on their Six Paths of whatever?”
Iz nodded. “What the Limitless Empire is trying to accomplish goes far beyond reaching into the past and resurrecting someone. It goes against all reason, and it proves that the rules of Samsara aren’t absolute. The belief supporting the Six Paths of Reincarnation will be damaged, preventing it from reaching perfection.”
“Wait, if the monks knew this place was trouble, why didn’t they launch a proper strike back then? Why send weak monks to infiltrate remote locations?”
“Perhaps they did? Few know what truly happened during the empire’s final days. The attackers were erased by the Dark Ages along with the empire itself,” Iz shrugged. “I also suspect that thwarting the empire’s plot was never their goal. They’re more ambitious than that.”
“Then what?” Carl asked. “The pillar? Or Ultom?”
Iz looked at the sky where a light drizzle of memory lanterns was falling. “No. What they want is the empire itself. They want to send the last souls of the Limitless Empire into the Six Paths. The extraordinary levels of Destiny these souls carry will become the nourishment that renders the Six Paths Eternal.”
Comments
ItsFin
Long way from when Iz used to torch zac for asking simple questions
Edgar Segura
Thats a wild last statement. What exactly does that imply? This is insane. I have some theories like some of the Godking generals are still aroundish like Joanna teachers Eyler. It could be that they're more similar the primo where they have pseudo immortality or it might just affect the Eternal servants like on ensolus
Lex Luther S
Ermmm, a lot of this is to far fetched. No, zac won't be a half step monarch. As stated, that is giving up in a sense and it severely limits ones potential and inner world size and as we know, the larger the inner world, the more weight and strength they can bring out. If you're saying zac will have the strength of one, then he already eclipses your average half-step monarch and by the trials end, most early stage monarchs, at least frontier kind, will be a challenging but possible fight. Yes, earth and, in turn, zacs faction has about 70 years left before the initiation where their veil is lifted, as well as getting a grade on how well they did that 100 years. When Ultom ends, the entire multiverse will see upheavals; remember, the flamebearers that pass Ultoms trial can all have a say in how they want the era to go and there can be more than one, which my guess will be Zac, Iz, Yselio and that hidden imperial from the Eternal storm. As for zecia, with how the Sangha did things, it's clear the sector has fallen. But the system will surely give a way out to the factions that went well and beyond what was required, and zacs faction is number one. I do think he'll get a number of monarchs joining his banner, most noticeably the Peaks as they have a vendetta against the kan'tanu and likely the black heart sect as well as likely the everfast monarch. As for the Zenthaya matriarch and her faction, no doubt she'll find home somewhere else. I doubt it'll be with zacs faction. As for Zac immediately leaving after the trial, yeah, there's no WAY that's going to happen. The Atwood empire is entering a tumultuous period, and to be without both emperors would be highly ill-advised. Not only that, but zac and his seal bearers not only went through an insane danger zone to reach the Eternal guardians but also an extremely dangerous trial and will need ample time to consolidate their gains and just relax and unwind. My guess is it will take 20 or so years to properly set-up his empire in wherever they're moved as well as give those that will need to come with him on his mother's mission and chance to unwind and properly grow. This is even more prudent if zac truly decides to do away with the creators shipyard. They'll need a source of revenue to not enter a deficit and go bankrupt. As for arcaz and his seal bearers bringing down any kan'tanu left alive, thats assuming his faction will stay in the Zecia sector long enough to even attempt to aide before being given the option to be sent elsewhere. Honestly, I doubt he'd do so, given they've done plenty thanks to the Eternal guardians. As for where his faction gets moved, no way would zac want it in the heartlands of the undead empire. My guess is zac will get sent to a proper B grade sector where he and his faction can properly flourish. I do know that both zac and arcaz will be leaving for off world travel soon enough, even if they're given 20 years, zac will embark on his mother mission while arcaz will be picked up to go to the abyssal shores but this is something far far in the future. One way it could go is zacs human side catches the attention of Izs' family, gaining backing from them, while arcaz gets back from the abyssal shores and the primo. All this is up to TFD though and years away. I wouldn't be surprised if the ultom arc goes for another 200 chapters given this is the culmination of such a long overarching plot, even minor details shouldn't be glossed iver even if it makes some people pissy about slower story progression.
Julius Roßner
Hey Guys, so I Just got done Reading ans Id like to share some thoughts regarding after ultom: - so first I am under the impression that when zac Leaves he will either be a half step monarch or Something similar. - I also think that earth hast Like 60-70years of introduction left, right? Because Zac in real time ist Like 50 and earth got integrated when he was 20 Something. (At least i think so, this is all from memory). So the theory goes: When ultom ends there is gonna be a big disruption around zecia, so that the participants dont get hunted down. My theory is that the undead Empire cant immedeatly get Zac and His Empire, so while His human Side immedeatly Leaves for His mothers Mission His undead Side stays and together with His extremely strong sealbearers fucks up the Kan' tanu in zecia. I also think He will unite the people still in zecia. A good candidate is the zenthaya pill house matriach. She is a high Monarch whos interested in Zac, because their cultivation is compatible and her faction would be a biggg boon to His Empire. After Earth gets "integrated" it and all the other usefull planets the Empire hast conquered will be moved by the undead Empire to some place in the Heartlands, prob. Into some Kind of Life / death Environment. If I missed anything regarding the zenthaya or other zecia factions please correct me :)
Lex Luther S
Man it wasnt until I started reading the Ultom arc from start till now that I realized how much I missed Defiance of the fall. The 3 weekly chapters and endless theory craft I'd go through when bored out my mind at work. The just general enjoyment I get from how well crafted this story and its laws and power system is to the characters. And by far Esmeralda is my absolute favorite. Zac is 2nd and ogras is 3rd, but Esmeralda just takes the cake as the best Toad around. Truly will miss her when the trials over and Lovla takes her away to absorb her treasure and regain her strength. I am bummed out the chapters was delayed another week but it is what it is. One more week won't hurt.
Lex Luther S
Embrace the dao of Patience, for it shall become your guiding light of TFD patreon updates.
Lex Luther S
Ai another 9 days till chapter drops. Truly saddening.
Lex Luther S
I seriously can't understand the hate you have for Catheya. As for a full read through again, I say go for it. With another week added to the timeline before the next chapter, you'll make some decent headway if all you do is read Defiance of the fall. Remember, sleep and food are for the weak.
Jeff McCulley
I was rereading the exchange with Rava, and I found myself kind of amazed at how chock full of goodies that was. It also offered a treasure map of things he needed to (and could) eventually do. That mini arc is LOADED. Biggest weakness was his Heart, and he fixed that like a champ! Body was second, upgrade there. The biggest problem was Faith, and, well, he made that his own. No foreshadowing there, huh? And that’s just the tip of the iceberg…all of the resources, buildings and connected Mystic Realms is another. As well as that never explained teleporter that was behind Rava. And, she’s had all of his non-sealbearers (around 175) all this time now. So looking forward to it!
Jeff McCulley
Hah! I went back to reread Zac’s first encounter with Rava—I think it’s key at some point going forward—and got stuck running through it over and over again. All sorts of goodies! I had intended to do a series reread—and add some reference points to my “bad Catheya” note (it’s very long), but Igor caught up in catching up on a couple of other series. That’s done now. Now sure I’ll be done by Friday, but I guess I should go start rereading about some random schmuck in the woods with a little camping axe, huh?
D P
I miss you come back!!!
Booksaregood
I check everyday hoping for more theories in comments, the 15th cannot come fast enough
SandreX
I might be wrong, but let me give you my theory. First of all system pillars are like uber rituals made by Empire to wash away their mistakes and resurect their claim on cosmos. I believe Buddhists are trying to use that fact to make entire ritual abide their "vision" of resurrection. Basically if everything goes the way Empire planned they will be reborn through imperial faith, but if baldies manage to funnel them through their cycle, they pretty much can strip all imperial destiny trapped in ritual and with it solidify their position in Cosmos
Evan Therrien
She’s partaking in the trial.
Silent Consent
Ha, you’d need to go way back and it’s silly at this point in my opinion. He makes his own skills and paves his own path. Who really cares how much his strength is? I don’t and I think it’s super silly once he hit D grade.
Silent Consent
I super don’t get how the Buddhists think they can send already dead people into their exclusive version of an afterlife and steal their destiny but whatever.
J L
is Carl's wife on Earth?
Christopher Walker
Does anyone remember the last chapter that had level and stat breakdown?
Mitchell Meyers
This is the chapter he leaves before a 2 month break....
DagNabItAll
https://discord.gg/X3bAsxzm If that doesn't work, you can put your discord into Patreon somewhere and you get auto added to the discords you have privileges at.
Jmitias
Hey guys, how do I join the discord? Never used it, but I think I might explode if I don’t put my DoTF theories in writing
Jeff McCulley
That’s pretty much it!
MacMahon Wenzl
I'm just interpret it as "Carl is so assured in his belief that Zac and Iz are insane monsters that even the Dharma can't influence him"
Sirloki
It sounded like most of them do die though in between eras. some for sure make it through but I'm not sure how many.
Sirloki
Our boy Carl can't be shook by no baldies!! Just felt like he was missing home a bit indeed! Well, I was going to try and hold out until August to read these so the delay would be less but I don't think it worked out? Oh well 🎉
Jeff McCulley
Eh, he’s just dissing the Baldies, for how irrelevant they are to him. I’m good with that.
M💬
I don’t think I’ve seen a more apt description. His enemies must be turning in their grave after finding out.
M💬
What chapter was Janos dream I want to re read that part.
SandreX
Glad to hear from the best characters in this chapter.. Carl, as always is insanely sane 😂. Iz figuring out in how much crap they are is firm step towards her and Zac having one hell of the advanture together. Also in the long run instead of six bath of bhuddists we will have Zac's system where death is death and probably with Orgras he will create some kind of reward/punishment system after death.
DagNabItAll
“Will the resurrection of the empire undo their work on their Six Paths of whatever?” Carl understands this about as much as me.
Jeff McCulley
Here we go: “What they want is the empire itself. They want to send the last souls of the Limitless Empire into the Six Paths” A. The Baldies want to steal the make the Limitless Empire their own. B. Yselio is trying to steal Zac’s Fate, and make the Limitless Empire his own. *note, he may be responsible for this spring. 3. In Janos Dream, the last we saw of him, his vision—and apparently Grand Dream’s as well—was of a blended Limitless and Atwood Empire. Hope that helps to see the direction TDF seems to be going.
MikeNaka
remember zac has the world ending bomb on ensolus. maybe he'll stick that up blessed dream's sleepy ass to wake him up and tell him it's time to enter oblivion.
coldar
Senior superlatives, class of 102,025, 'Least Likely to Become a Baldie' goes to: Carl! TYFC TFD, have a great break!
Mike Ockslonge
Seeing Carls POV is funny because you remember how BS it would be to have Zac invade your mystic realm or something. Want to kill him? His mother and father are royalty from peak factions that date back to and matched the limitless empire at its peak. They don’t care? He has a bloodline so valuable that three supremacies are heavily invested. You don’t care? He is apparently literally and figuratively a favored son of the system Still? Alright… He has two bodies. A race that makes him ultra durable to the point his father is considered unkillable. Another race and bloodline that is pretty much the same just with abilities too. Still? He can regrow limbs in seconds. No problem just send a champion ? He cheated somehow and became one of the best weapons masters for his grade in the multiverse…. His second specialty is one-one battles. Just send an army? Killing lots of people at once is his main specialty Send a mentalist? He has a super powerful soul. Poison him? He’s completely immune to most poisons. Nastier poison? He eats it. Light him on fire? This kind of works but limited, can regrow limbs remember? Just use divination or karma to predict his next move? You can’t divine him when he’s on his BS plus also pretty much immune to karma. Send autarchs? He calls buddies and chops them then feeds them to evil gods. Send supremacies? Nice try they like him plus you wouldn’t have this problem if you had them. You just don’t want him to take your stuff? Sorry one of his favorite things is stealing. You have a big vault? He has a reborn god of thieves in his pocket that can break into pretty much anything. Your vault is impenetrable? He will just eat your vault no problem. You will just wait for him to leave? Sadly, he always accidentally blows up the mystic realm. You will send everything you have? Unfortunately he also has tons of fate (real plot armor) you are totally screwed.
William Keith
One can only hope
Joshua Little
Thanks for the chapter. Truely genius to have the 2 crazies work together.
Mike Ockslonge
Catheya is cooked she is definitely gonna get sucked into a world of ice or heroically sacrifice herself to kill somebody. The setup of Iz and Zac as a universe destroying couple is totally in the cards. Plus catheya lowkey can’t hang when it comes to blowing stuff up, Iz learned how to do it in no time ie this fort, beasts, that one space fish, the void gate….but catheya isn’t a very good student she hasn’t blown up hardly anything. Plus I don’t really see this author writing a harem so she gotta die tragically. Maybe his mother will zap her too
Mike Ockslonge
Pretty excited to see baldies get chopped up in the fall!! Also no one has commented on the fact that they live in an eternal heritage that takes them along for the ride. They have been around for multiple eras and if I remember right - the stellar wanderers codified the dao, the gurus codified the laws and what’s her name did the destiny. The sangha are probably the gurus and have been conspiring pretty much since the beginning of time.
Mike Ockslonge
Ya the bloodline thing is kind of confusing to me but it’s looking more and more like stellar peak is correct. I was thinking about how this is connected to laondio and realized the other thing throwing me off the scent is that laondio was an alchemist, which means he very likely cultivated the dao of fire as well. It’s like everything is set up to have koltara be the ultimate authority on burning people to a crisp but it’s impossible. Also, the Iz thing is very confusing. She has the vermillion bird form, the jinwu, and a third form the abyssal butterfly which I couldn’t find an equivalency to but is often associated with fire in Mexican mythology or there is an Aztec goddess of death called the obsidian butterfly. Interestingly, on the wiki the excerpt from the book about these aspects implies that they are actually associated with other planes…. Like they represent the fires of creation - mozhius, elemental pure fire - koltara and hellfire - her father? She has a bloodline of three of the most powerful flame cultivators there are. She’s totally cheating.
Tom C
The power of Carl’s unshakeable belief in boss Zac! TFTC
Andrew
Thank you!
sgt_turtle
No better way to kick off a break than a carl chapter! Didnt help i was reading dungeon crawler carl earlier and got really confused for a moment
SmokeJam
He is simply the Janitor of the Atwood Empire. Sometimes he has to put out the fires (literally), sometimes he has to burn everything down (literally). When you believe the job you are doing is necessary and worth doing, having simple but strong beliefs is easy. And he saw Zac and his chaos in action, slaying the Pope, unleashing the Eternal Guardians not to mention the whole war and journey. I think that might've played a role too :D In essence he will always be good at dealing with Dao Heart attacks. He is an honest und hard working man and cares about his family. He will go to the end of the multiverse to protect them, even if it means coat-tailing Chaos. Nothing else really matters to him.
EsoEasy
I was fully expecting today’s chapter to be even more cliffy than the last one. Pleasantly surprised to get reacquainted with my favorite superhero tag team instead. Well played, TFD. Enjoy the summer break.
Reno
Is Carl good at dealing with Heart attacks because he's always so conflicted about every situation he's in? Baldies: "You miss your home 🌀" Carl: "Yeah duh. This shit sucks but I'm doing it anyway."
DrSubterfuge
Huh more ammunition for the Empyrean Throne = Stellar Peak interpretation. "Empyrean Sun" is pretty hard to ignore. On the other hand, all the other Stellar theming of the attack can be linked to the very Stellar-themed Mohzius (whose three-legged crow bloodline is the jinwu, which is mythologically aligned with the Sun; and, you know, he's so sun-aligned that his chosen place of meditation is sitting on one). The thing is, Kolsara's bloodline is the Vermilion Bird, which is almost all fire theming. It is, however, also a constellation in the sky, but that's a pretty tenuous link to the Stellar Peak. One way or another, I think it's safe to assume that Kolsara's cultivation is very fire themed and that's why the peak of the Empyrean Throne is so very fiery.
Tyler S.
Hey, hes already got a nice empty city for them to populate. Lol
SandreX
I believe Zac is the contingency:d
Omiso
He serves his Emperor faithfully, following a plan even Zac know nothing about. The only problem is that Carl also knows little of it and has to scry buckets of bolts and any other clue he can get his hands on.
Omiso
Wow this is a bigger problem than I expected. If Zac truly wants to mend the Peak of Chaos he'll have to help the Empire or have his path be suborned to the Sangha. This Chapter also explains why Marai told Zac about Idiche. When the Eternal Servant of Ensolus told Zac to bring back any relics of the Empire during his travels I don't think she was talking about a bunch of Imperials seal bearers / scions from before the Dark Ages but if anyone can do it is Zac.
Craig
>“They’d prepared for our arrival. Our Dao Hearts were targeted the moment we stepped out of the Earthgate. I had to unleash my flames to assert my path,” Iz said, giving him an odd look. “You didn’t notice anything?” It was at this moment that Iz realized that Carl's Dao Heart is absolutely unshakeable.
M💬
If Carl has an Earthly dao we can kind of speculate all top officials in the trial already has one at this point. Or maybe just Vilari Joana and Emily, but maybe all early earthly daos.
M💬
The sangha have to be squashed.. their ploy is really sick for some so called benevolent cultivators. On the other hand, I hope they accomplish their goal partially, because it would be more satisfying when they and Zac eventually clash. It also makes me wonder if Arcaz will be fighting the monk, because to me the mercurial court might be a major crux for the empire resurrection; and most will say Kaltusa Lu would fight Arcaz, but I see him being an Iz opponent or an unwilling ally because he looses interest in Iz. All in all excellent chapter the cliff was not that insane but theories and speculation are about to got nuts.
Booksaregood
I’m to scared to read it rn, I’ll wait until the shakes hit(later tonight…)
Corac
With this being the break I guess it's a good time to catch up. I have been saving up like 75 chapters to read
Owen Kaz
His heart remains unshaken. His faith in the Boss unshakable!
Lex Luther S
Ohhh boy, what a chapter. Finally, wgot to see Carl and Iz and I must say, Carl the janitor has certainly come a long way. He can hold back a beast tide, even if he becomes a smoldering mess, and even broke through to an earthly Dao. Truly, Carl is the best; still though, no wonder the baldies have been playing the long game. If they can send someone like Laondio through the six paths, then that would complete their plan in no time. Thankfully Laondio isn't gonna follow their script and theyre currently being hindered by the flamebearer from the Eternal Storm as well as Thea. Welp, now we await August 15th. May time pass quickly.
Lizy Flore
Carl is such a delight to read. Thanks for this little surprise before the break, and have a good vacation ! 2nd : Carl powering through with his absolute belief in Zac’s bullshit will never cease to cackle me up. Carl’s insane insight is literally fighting off the baldies. Must I remind everyone than even Thea and Vilari struggle against them ? Last : why do I feel like those souls will go the Atwood Empire at the end ? Idk I feel like the Sangha are a bit shortsighted in this. The empire would have anticipated their plans and made contingencies, no ?
M💬
I saw Carl and had to comment…. Absolute bliss for our crazy janitor!!!
Ryan Pepp
End of an era!
