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Chapter 1,253.
🕑 Added 2024-05-17 20:09:25 +0000 UTCThe purple breach allowed entry without resistance or complaint, saving the group from having to endure its purple beams of concentrated corruption point-blank. The blindingly bright remnants of the Polaris Vault were instantly gone, with not so much as a wisp of starlight leaking from the main plane.
It was like the Dao knew better than entering this god-forgotten chasm. Zac wondered if they made the wrong choice picking this confusing, deadly vista over the sun. The scorching flames were at least quantifiable, understandable. This bubble of twisted memories was simply chaos, and not the kind Zac was familiar with.
At least, that was what Zac believed he was seeing. There was no purple mist to block their vision, but that didn't do much to help Zac orient himself among the millions of visions phasing in and out of existence in every direction.
There were grand palaces of alien make, patches of dirt holding the final vestiges of eroded ruins, and everything in between. It wasn't just structures, either. Scenes, people, a chorus of sounds and voices. Even emotions and concepts were represented by mind-bending visions.
Nothing was constant. Everything inside the Lost Plane was in a transient state, with most winking out too quickly for Zac to register their shape. What little Zac managed to grasp made his hair stand on end. Like the Dead Dao, the memories had been twisted, exuding the same forbidding horror and decay as the plane itself.
The visions didn't particularly target their group. They didn't even seem to notice their existence. Rather, the visions participated in an internal struggle, seemingly trying to devour each other. It was impossible not to draw parallels with the chaotic environment of the Imperial Graveyard. Seeing the Lost Plane, Zac even wondered if the graveyard's perpetually unstable state was the result of leakage from this realm.
There was no sense of resentment coming from the visions, though. There was only desire. Desire to exist, to become real, to not fade into that eternal night.
Zac wasn't looking around out of idle curiosity. They needed a plan before moving out, as blindly flying about was bound to end in disaster. They were already courting death by infringing on the Lost Plane. Even the Ra'Lashar Goblins knew better, only sending skills and soul threads inside in their search for knowledge.
There were no Qriz'Ul, but the dangers they faced were very real. Instead of purple mist, the Lost Plane was permeated by a wrongness on an existential level. When facing the corruption in the lake water or the Centurion Base, it had always been the invader encroaching on a hostile environment. Now, the roles were reversed.
Zac's Dao Heart screamed that the Lost Plane's perverted truths were utterly, irrevocably wrong, and its continued existence was a deadly assault on his Dao and path. Zac knew he should listen, yet it was like the logic behind his beliefs was being proven false. The Lost Plane insisted his struggles and insights until now were a mistake, a dream from a false reality.
It didn't offer solutions, either. The cardinal building blocks of existence had eroded over the endless eons. Left was despair and reluctance to let go that dragged everything into its twisted nihilism. Even his Kayar-Elu Duplicity Core had woken up to combat an insidious subversion of his Karma.
The visions taking Zac to the limits of the Multiverse hadn't instilled him with such a level of dread and antipathy, and he understood with agonizing clarity why the System and Heavens had so vehemently rejected the entity hiding inside the [Epiclesis Bell]. Coexistence was impossible. One would consume the others, and Zac would
As bad as Zac suffered, the others had it worse. Using Soul Sense was impossible in this realm, but he could sense his companions' struggles through the chains. He even saw Galau screaming at the top of his lungs, his voice stolen by the Lost Plane.
Zac realized his missing affinities had become his greatest protection against the fallen Heaven of a bygone era. Conversely, the greater the affinity, the deeper a cultivator would commune with the universe. And when the universe was wrong, the link was a deadly strike at their Dao.
They desperately released waves of Dao and energy into the surroundings in an attempt to hold back the world. It was similar to how he'd crushed Cosmic Crystals to survive the overwhelming Twilight Energy at the depths of the Twilight Chasm, though it was of limited use. The Daos and energies of the Era of Order were rootless inside the Lost Plane and quickly succumbed to the silent gloom, which also meant skills and treasures were useless against it.
Practicing their modified versions of the [Starfall Scripture] seemed to slightly help against the spiritual corrosion. Zac activated [Void Zone], and the nullification sphere helped further weaken their connection with the Dead Dao. It was only a stopgap measure, though.
Two seconds passed, and Zac breathed out in relief upon finding what he sought. There were a few streaks of consistency inside the nauseating storm of impressions, most clustered in the same direction. Zac couldn't see what they were because of the distortion. Out of time and better options, he could only pray they were the breaches they sought.
Navigation proved almost as difficult as his first time in the Void of Space. The Lost Plane followed neither their Dao of Space nor the lack thereof, and Zac found himself forced to constantly turn when his vantage shifted. Having to fight a war over his sanity while advancing didn't make things better.
Suddenly, the pull of fate arrived like coal in winter. Zac felt the attraction from his quest coming from six locations. He followed the strongest connection like it was the northern star, pushing himself and his bloodline to their limits. Abyssal swirls in his cells groaned in complaint from the extraordinary drain of Void Energy.
Zac drew closer and closer, not forgetting to monitor his followers. They wouldn't make it. Zac gritted his teeth and activated [Eye of Desolation] with Void Energy. A domain of darkness descended on the foreign world. The Oblivion-filled eye looked into the mayhem, and the mayhem looked back.
Sculpture bands distorted and winked out of existence while the eye morphed into a seven-fingered hand holding a black rope that was soon gone. The skill hadn't even lasted a second, and using it had caused something very bad to happen to the Skill Fractal. Still, it briefly blocked out the surroundings, allowing the others a quick breath before being pushed back under.
[Death's Duality] was already mid-swing when the Abyssal domain was ripped out of his grasp. Two of the Remnants circling his Cosmic Core came alive, releasing a torrential stream of Creation. It emerged from his space, entering the skill fractal on his left shoulder. It was joined by Divine and Cosmic Energy while his soul provided the truth necessary to activate [Origin Revolution].
Finally, [Spritual Void] provided slivers of Void of Death, the final ingredient necessary to resist the Dead Dao. A radiant edge lit up like a torch in the darkness and carved a path of possibility toward the exit. They were right at the finish line, and Zac would drag them past it by hook or crook.
The Lost Plane's cycle of reinvention paused under Creation's opalescent light like its power of origination allowed the memories to last a moment longer. But it also connected the memories of the past with Zac in the present, and he suddenly felt as though a thousand eyes were upon him.
Then, nothing.
The countless visions clogging up the Lost Plane cracked like mirrors, and the twisted Dao was pushed into the depths. Nevertheless, the assault on Zac's body and mind didn't abate. The taint had been replaced by another invasion—one lacking malevolence but infinitely more powerful. It was a darkness so vast that Zac's mind almost broke the moment it descended.
Only the dozen tears remained on account of them being real windows to reality. They struggled and distorted under the burgeoning pressure, releasing sputters of incomplete scenes. Two stony giants tearing through a sea of golden sunlight, their melted, featureless faces radiating malice. A burning jungle, a sea of Qriz'Ul gone mad, a crystalline pillar balancing a miniature sun.
Zac even saw Joanna, Janos, and Ra'Klid briefly flicker by. They were covered in blood, slashing their way through a line of combat puppets. They were desperately trying to reach a gate similar to the arch leading into the Polaris Vault. Seeing them made Zac's heart clench with worry, though the sensations passed through his chains provided a needless reminder their situation was far worse.
The others had already been pushed beyond their limits, and the sudden change had proven too much much to bear. Zac doubted the [Starfall Scripture] could do anything against this new threat since his Void Emperor Bloodline couldn't even muster a resistance. [Void Zone] had already been torn apart, and [Void Mountain] had been forced into hiding. His companions had been knocked unconscious, with even Kator limply hanging from Alea's chains. At least, that was what Zac decided had happened, unwilling to entertain the alternative.
There was only one thought in his mind—cross the final stretch and escape the Lost Plane. It was that mantra that allowed Zac to remain conscious under the unbearable strain. All would be well so long as they returned to their dimension.
Zac didn't even manage to cross half the distance to the closest breach before they also flickered and disappeared. They'd been subsumed by the pressure, sinking into depths outside Zac's reach. The guiding pull of his final seal and the hope it represented were gone. Left was only the darkness that tyrannically swelled in his mind, blotting out Zac's grasping attempts at devising a final chance at survival.
No, not darkness.
As Zac's perception approached its limits, he realized the darkness was just a shadow cast by a being so large it almost pushed Zac's mind over the edge. The Centurion Base, which already pushed the boundaries of Space, wouldn't be more than a grain of dust before it. Zac wasn't convinced all of Zecia could contain this monstrous creature. The only thing that could surpass the entity was the Void Mountain. Even then, it wouldn't look too out of proportion on its slopes.
There was no doubt about it. He'd inadvertently summoned the memory of a Stellar Wanderer with his actions.
Zac should only have been able to see a corner of a corner at such close proximity, but something about the wanderer demanded to be witnessed in its entirety. Even then, it was impossible for Zac to accurately grasp its appearance. It was as though it simultaneously existed in thousands of states, with all of the versions superimposed, creating a confusing mesh of features and limbs.
The distortion was not because the Stellar Wanderer had been twisted like the other visions. Zac intuitively knew the entity was so powerful that not even the ancient memory of its existence could be impugned by Dao's death. While its features were beyond Zac's dimensional comprehension, it was easy to understand the reason for the singular race's name.
The wanderer was adorned by a shroud fashioned from millions of stars, most surpassing the grandeur of the sun fused with the Centurion Base. Zac even suspected those placed in the center of the complex weave were A-grade stellar objects. Yet they paled before the singular light lording over all else.
The wanderer's myriad heads were all concave, creating a crater the size of a sector. Floating above it was a white star that transcended the Dao. Zac only had the chance to make the unavoidable parallel to Ultom's sublime aura before he was overwhelmed.
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Seventeen rose from the grand mist. Their first awareness was of perfection. They embodied all realms of possibility, all roads of thought. There was nothing else inside the farrago from which they came. Nothing to improve, nothing to change. They were born at the Terminus, and awakening made them hunger for more.
The second awareness was that of their cage. The Heavens were too low, crushing down on their shoulders. Perfection was a curse, bereaving them of purpose and future. They observed all possible trajectories of the Grand Kalpa. None offered change.
The third awareness was that they were not alone. Two more groups existed in the tapestry beyond time. They faced rejection when reaching out. Unwilling to accept the status quo, they chose to split up to find answers beyond the stars.
When none were found, they wandered into the great beyond—the sea of null that stood outside their scope of understanding. It resisted their search, repeatedly forcing them back into their cage. Their solitary journeys eventually yielded testimonials of a beyond, but the broken remnants were flawed, beneath the wanderer's origin. The beyond remained silent throughout, ignoring their attempts to commune.
Their cage was slightly different each time they returned. The mist sought order, and order formed mass. New creatures sprouted. The seventeen were intrigued. The dreamers still refused to emerge from the mist, seemingly not suffering from their perfection as the wanderers did. And she… told them to wait.
The novelty of lesser existences passed. They were flawed and transient. The wanderers resumed their eternal journey. Time held no meaning, so the wanderers did not know how long they'd traveled when hearing the call. The trajectories became undone, and they discovered a new state—uncertainty, where the future was no longer a mirror of the past.
One by one, they returned from the depths of the desolates. Since their inception, it was the first time all seventeen were gathered in one place. The cage strained from their expectation. Even the dreamers stirred from their eternal reclusion, turning their attention to reality's center.
She opened her eyes, the Heavens rose, and the Stellar Wanderers knew what choice they had to make.
Zac was shocked awake, his heart beating like a drum. The fragmented memories of the wanderer were already blurring. They were existences so far removed from his conception that their thoughts and memories couldn't exist in his mind. However, the set of eyes at the end remained crystal-clear, like they'd been branded on his brain.
They transcended restrictive concepts like Dao and Law, holding everything and more. They were the Heaven beyond the Heaven, what waited behind the veil. The Terminus was whatever she willed. She even surpassed the Eras, stretching from the earliest past to the distant future. It was true omnipotence, omnipresence.
And she'd seen him.
Not the wanderer whose memory he'd visited. Him.
"She has many names, but most refer to her as the Eternal."
Zac swirled around, noticing in passing that he stood on solid ground as he came face to face with a man reeking of antiquity. A real being, not a memory or vision, stood before him, and the Lost Plane bent to his will.
"I've been observing you, little Flamebearer," the old man nodded. "I see the shadows of Karz on you. And Laondio's dream."
Comments
Grey Law
I get it; this arc is a bit slow, not as bad as the first Mystic Realm arc, IMO, but of all the chapters to comment on this, you pick this one? With that bombshell at the end? OK bruh.
rene kaminawash
Dun dun dun
Hms
This graveyard arc feels like the first mystic realm on Earth arc way back. The story just keeps plodding along with multiple angles but I can't say its been an enjoyable read so far. Started well when the monks and undead ambushed them but has lagged a bit since then. It's not helping that this hail Mary with the foreign Gods is pretty ambiguous so far with no clear hints about how they are going to just knock out the enemy that is all over the place at this point. Hopefully there will be some more filler info soon and wouldnt mind a POV update from Zecia about current situation. Maybe one from Average's point of view since his family is one of the more interesting groups.
Joshua Little
Thanks for the chapter.
Jeff McCulley
I honestly don’t see the Stellar Wanderers calling someone the same thing as the Undead Empire. Unless they are somehow actually Undead themselves—and we’ve seen no indication they are. So, another group approximately the level of the Stellar Wanderers.
Jeff McCulley
Pretty sure it saw a change when he became Holy Son as well.
Jeff McCulley
Not true. There were twelve breaches. Zac felt the pull from six of the twelve. When those glimpses flashed through his mind, he simply didn’t mention whether the “pull” correlated with any of them—or didn’t. Maybe we’ll see Monday.
Jeff McCulley
The Reavers don’t give anyone “special treatment”. That’s their thing. Everything Kator has is earned. If anything, he thinks that Zac/Arcaz has had “special treatment” to get where is is. That’s part of the reason he treats Zac as he does. He’s learning otherwise. With Reavers, respect is earned. Zac has been earning it.
Porter
I do think Kator will get on board team chaos. He will have seen too much at this point. If he even has an inkling of Zac's present conversation, when he wakes up, he will shape up, though he will always talk tough imo. Just who he is. But helping Zac once, at the risk of angering Undead Autarchs, right in front of them, shows he has a good grasp on the situation.
Lex Luther S
Zac providence didn't see a change till he reached hegemony and declared his void road. Afterall Iz said there'd been something strange about zac providence when they met in the void star and my opinion is that's because zac was only dabbling in the void at that point. Barely making any use of it beyond his bloodline and body tempering technique. But now? It's been added to every aspect of his cultivation, add in his void road title and that's likely why his providence is like a black hole compared to the radiant stars Iz and the other flamebearers are.
Lex Luther S
Maybe but Zac didn't feel fates pull from it or the specific breache before it faded away. My guess is it's probably the core of the beacon but not where zac needs to go to light it.
Mike Naka
Zac really saved Kator's bacon. Hopefully when he comes to, he'll truly realize just how special Zac is and appreciates his time and connection with Zac and stops talking down to him and f-ing with him soo much. I think Kator has an inkling of how special Zac is and maybe a little jealous b/c he seems to be a special case among the reavers w/ his 4 miracle bones and relations, e.g. Kaldor. Maybe his special treatment has caused him to be a brat and have an over-inflated ego, and he's jealous of Zac's progress and opportunities. But if what he says is true- that he's just trying to survive and advance enough so that the higher-ups in the reavers stop using him as a pawn, then he really needs a come to Jesus moment and realize how good he's got it be partnered w/ Zac. I think he knows Zac has the ability to brush him aside and even get rid of him, and that's why he linked himself to Zac. The bomb is kind of a dick way to threaten Zac to let him be part of his group or else. B/c of his background and all the scheming, Kator can't just ask Zac to tag along. Hopefully, this incident will cause Kator to not be such an overbearing dick. But I could be wrong. Kator could just say they're even now after hitting Zac with his mace and giving Zac the time to activate the remnants. I hope the next time Kator tries to one up Zac that Zac puts that shit down hard, really hard and is taught not to cross Zac. Better to ride Zac's coat tails than cross him. Yup, that's the end of my ramble. LOL
Bryce H.
Hey Dr. I've been theorizing for a while that the First People came from the Stellar Wanderers so I keep finding similarities and clues that seem to back it up. Even here, as the 17 witnessed "new creatures" sprouting from the mist. The First People were also gigantic beings, though not as large as the 17, and I think they could be the 'lesser existences' mentioned.
Henry Wartemberg
Makes sense. it may be a little confusing now considering this being is named The Eternal.
Jeff McCulley
Victory!!!
DrSubterfuge
Yeah the Undead Empire calling themselves Awakened and everyone else Dreamers is just an in-group out-group thing specific to them. Everyone that isn't undead is just waiting to be awakened, thus they are dreamers
Collin Sorrells
The undeads term is completely unrelated to anything. They just call them dreamers because when they start their life as an undead they are "awakened". They are very aggressive and think that all living are just bodies waiting to be "Awakened" as undead. Dreamers is just a somewhat derogatory term. Like they don't want to even recognize the "living" as living, so they call them dreamers. They technically don't even see awakening them as undead as killing them. They are just waking up the dreamers.
DrSubterfuge
The scene from the void inheritance is just the remnants of this Era's First People. It's sort of confusing, since they were only first from the perspective of the Era, while in reality there have been many eras. Wal'zo and Ultom seem to be from the actual First Era
DrSubterfuge
Isn't Heaven's Path is just the Dao peaks that the System has Authority over?
DrSubterfuge
Thanks for the writeup. Laondio's Eternal Servants being based on Wal'Zo and Ultom is an interesting idea
Jeff McCulley
Just a thought… “a crystalline pillar balancing a miniature sun” I missed that the first time. Our Beacon? I mean, it’s basically a stylized lighthouse. And “Centurion Lighthouse”…and lighthouses are beacons. Am I wrong?
Unlisted Pokémon Hudson
69th comment!
Jeff McCulley
I expect the old man will shove Zac & Friends through whichever exit is most important for him to deal with first. Whatever the next step is to lighting the Beacon. Which I suspect Vilari would prefer to happen sooner, rather than later.
Henry Wartemberg
I imagine Walzo will have complete control on that. If he can push past the Taboo on Karz’s name I doubt esmeralda could listen in on anything unless he allows it.
Mike Naka
While everybody is unconscious, it seems like a good time for Zac to find his final seal. Maybe his conversation w/ the old man will end with him pointing to the seal?
Michael
I think she may be conscious, but she’ll only get the listen in if Wal’Zo wants her too. Which I kind of doubt he would let her.
Jeff McCulley
Connected to the end of this chapter, looking back at Chapter 917, we now have context for some of the seemingly random references that TFD tossed out for us. Like the “peaks of the Pasho”, and the “Pasho’Har Bells”—one of which is what we now know that Vilari is seeking in the Anima Court. We see Wal’Zo say this: “These small sections were moved here to honor those who sacrificed everything.” So…if the section of the “peaks of Pasho” were moved here to honor the creators of the Anima Court… “One step brought him to the Anolan Plains, where the Stalk Sages communed.” …does that mean the Stalk Sages created another Court? And if so, which one? And…was the Primo the sole member of his people who *didn’t* “sacrifice everything” to create a Court? Or…he just sacrificed MOST everything? Or does he have a “section” here somewhere as well? Much of this chapter can now be read with our current knowledge and perspective. Passages like “…festering pools of blight. Creatures twisted by the Heavens shrunk into their dwellings…” tell us that these are the Qriz’Ul, and Wal’Zo is traveling through the Lost Plane. Backing up a step: “These small sections were moved here...” Which begs the question of whether they were moved TO the Lost Plane from outside, or just from elsewhere in it to this section of it. I’m guessing the former. “Wal’Zo was even thankful it would soon all be over. He, too, would sink into the river of time, taking this twisted reality with him.” So, Wal’Zo actually lives IN the Lost Plane (or is intimately connected to it), and his time is nearing an end. And when he goes, the Lost Plane goes. Which leaves us with… “Another step brought him home, and the connection was erected anew. Wal’Zo slowly made his way back through the hallowed halls…” So……are the “hallowed halls” the Left Imperial Palace? Or…is he referring to this base? Is Wal’Zo the Eternal Servant here—or …is he the role model that Laondio based his Eternal Servants on? Is that the “connection” erected anew? To take that idea a step further: “Still, two more hallways had been tainted since he left.” That sounds an awful lot like the corruption spreading through the Base from breaches. Some sections contaminated, some not. Especially this: “…and that was if their power wasn’t drawn upon any further.” What would be drawing on the power of the Left Imperial Palace? The Base here, on the other hand, has its power drawn upon for defense when attacked. Who knows? I guess we’ll see. And then we’ll wrap up with the following paragraph: “Soon enough he reached the First Garden, where the withered remains of Sal’Sun basked in the sunlight.” I have no idea who or what Sal’Sun is, except that apparently it basks in sunlight. Another “I guess we’ll see”. “Next to it, the red pot stood. Inside was a small tree, still no more than a sapling even after billions of years.” Wherever this, I’m guessing the “sapling” is a prize of some sort, and Zac will need to plant it somewhere (not in a pot) where it can set deep roots and grow. “The gift from that inscrutable man.” And…apparently that is Laondio. The rest of the chapter is pretty self explanatory. Oh, I’ll add that at one point, some entity commented that the Left Imperial Palace had been “without a controller”. Whatever that means, but…maybe it’s another job for Zac? Anyway, I’m both tired and done here. Hope something here makes sense to someone. Enjoy!
Jeff McCulley
I was more wondering whether she’s conscious enough to listen in to the pending conversation.
Bryce H.
So there's actually 2 factions aiming to control the direction of the era. The Heavens Path and the The Boundless Path. It basically comes down to this: the Limitless Empire activated the System which drained the Heavens while also usurping them. Their goal is to mend the broken peaks before the era reaches its Zenith, ceding the Utmost Authorities of the Grand Dao to the System (9 Seals) and the 8 Thrones (Beyond Supremacies). Ultimately they aim to perfect the Dao and then seal the Heavens before it begins to decay and collapse, thus achieving true Eternity. The Boundless Faction wants to essentially do the same, except instead of sealing the Heavens, they want to turn all that power against the Heavens to literally break through there Terminus. "The pillars will hold up the vault of Heaven, and the Foreign Gods shall become their eternal guardians." The 8 Pillars are the same as the 8 Thrones. Seemingly, the System wants the Foreign Gods to guard the Pillars to prevent Boundless Path Supremacies from claiming the Thrones and ruining the plan for attaining Eternity in their desire to break free from the cage and enter the boundless beyond, if you will.
Lex Luther S
The multiverse at large is led to believe the system was made by the limitless empire to field their armies and find talents. But that's obviously just a by-product of the systems real goal, which is in my opinion, being used as a vessel to eventually embody all the peaks and through a cultivator, use it to transcend the dao and terminus for eternity. The question is where does the Terminus council come in with all this? I feel that beware thr terminus is said because the terminus council kills anyone with the possibility of truly reaching eternity.
Lex Luther S
A comment is never too long, especially when discussing entities like Wal'Zo and the Eternal and her resting place as well as whatever that sapling laondio gave him is. As for esmeralda, I imagine she's fine, given she's clung to life for so long, I doubt her dao heart is weak enough to be overwhelmed like zacs group given her age far outstrips theirs.
Jeff McCulley
Fair warning, a chunk of my (eventual) comments have to do with Chapter 917, so you might want to go back and reread that yourself. First point. Clearly, Zac wasn’t sent to the Polaris Vault to “fix a breach”, as he first assumed. He was sent here to go through it. I’m passing over most of the esoteric stuff at the start. To me, that all gets filed under “will have added context eventually”—just as the aforementioned Ch. 917 was. “Two stony giants tearing through a sea of golden sunlight, their melted, featureless faces radiating malice.” Here apparently we see the Qriz’Ul attacking the base. The “predecessors”. Foreign gods who weren’t puppetized? “A burning jungle…” Where Kruta and Catheya are. “…a sea of Qriz'Ul gone mad…” Maybe just the Qriz’Ul responding to “the predecessors” attack? Or, may be where Carl, Rhuger and Bubbur are—having kicked on the power. “…a crystalline pillar balancing a miniature sun…” My only guess here is this is a/the place Zac is going. Or just a random mystery we’ll never see again. “Zac even saw Joanna, Janos, and Ra'Klid briefly flicker by. They were covered in blood, slashing their way through a line of combat puppets. They were desperately trying to reach a gate similar to the arch leading into the Polaris Vault.” At least we now have our final group accounted for. Maybe this is the gate to a…“Sigma Octanis” Vault? An armory? What else does Zac need, or has asked for? A Foreign God, a Cosmic Vessel, and ??? Because that’s what they’d be on the way to retrieving. I’ll lastly note that everyone is (hopefully only) unconscious, and I’m going to wonder how Esmerelda is holding up—and if she is conscious for this upcoming little chat. Infodump for Zac incoming. This got too long. Will continue with Chapter 917 in another post.
Jeff McCulley
Suggested edits: “Zac knew he should listen,” >Shouldn’t “One would consume the others, and Zac would” >I don’t know where this was going. “Zac swirled around” >This should probably be “whirled”.
Michael
My question is where does the system fit into the scale. To me it seems like there is a “place between” the terminus and the beyond. Maybe the whole purpose of the system is to raise up someone who can help all of the S-grade beings break free from the true cage outside the terminus. “Beware the terminus”. Because once you pass it you’re basically trapped in a place outside of time. That’s why they need to wait. Zac hasn’t reached them yet to break the seal on the multiverse.
Michael
S grade has been mentioned and hinted at a few times now. So I assume that’s who they are referring to here?
Michael Bristow
That is what it implies in the chapter. Like, exploct
Zachary Koffink
This is the correct answer
Palmer Evans
Ehh Malazan character writing was really well done imo and it’s an ultra hardcore read but I’d agree that Malazan’s story has a lot more cheap & vague explanations to big questions throughout the series
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With the difference being that there’s a point and cohesion to DotF and I would recommend other people read it. I read the Malazan series and enjoyed some parts of it. But, the entire thing felt like a slog fest, plot threads frayed and evaporated, I still don’t know what the point of it was — and ultimately, I wouldn’t recommend that garbage to another reader.
M💬
Hmmmm so the eternal is a true immortal that is omnipresent and omniscient from what you are saying
ouroboros
That was really loaded with content.
Jeff McCulley
Thank you. Saved me having to find it. 👍
Jeff McCulley
Why do I get the impression that Zac’s “black hole” of providence is in the process of getting fueled for a bump higher? What’s next, a nebula of providence?
Guilherme Oliveira
Thanks, makes much more sense now!
Lex Luther S
Facts. As zac grows stronger, we will see the lore and multiverse expand in ways we can't imagine. And I'd argue the story just got a bit more complex after zac reached hegemony. It's not hard to follow if one reads patiently and sometimes reading the same chapter another time or 2 helps you catch things you missed on the first read.
Lex Luther S
So zac and Co entered the breach, at first it was a confusing mess but zac eventually felt fates pull for his last seals quest in multiple directions and was aiming to go to the direction with the greatest pull. By then, zac was really the only one left conscience, the other dangling limp from his chains. They wouldn't survive the distance to the greatest pull of fate so zac used Eye of Desolation to give them a brief second of respite before the skill was deformed and warped, with something very bad even happening to the skill fractal. It was just enough, giving zac the opportunity to use his Origin Revolution] to pave the path forward. But then zac literally ran into a stellar wanderers corpse, and even though its size was only eclipsed by the void mountain, it wouldn't look out of places beside it. And it was like it demanded its glorious visage be seen. Then zac somehow entered a vision and sees the stellar wanderers from birth and their cage to them all convening to meet the Eternal and zac, before leaving the vision was looked at by the Eternal and she wasn't looking at the stellar wanderer but "Zac" meaning she saw him through the river of time through innumerable eras. To which Wal'Zo said,'she went by many names, but most called her "the Eternal," meaning he knows zac saw her. Zac then realizes he's on solid ground and the lost plane was bending to Wal'Zos' will. My guess is he stepped in to give him a hand after seeing him struggle, or maybe he felt zac dying this way was too much of a waste and intervening would take but a thought for him.
Maxim
The lore going crazy with this one.
Lex Luther S
Wal'Zo was first seen back in the Void star arc when zac got his 2nd piece to ultom. Wal'Zo is basically the caretaker of Ultom and the one guarding it for those flamebearers and beyond that have the chance to break the chains and prove their not another link in the making; also a supremacyor whatever they called the cultivators at the peak in the Lost era. He can even be seen looking upon the "Eternals" place of rest, with some sapling that's been one for literal actual Eons. A gift from laondio most likely. We have two references of dreamers. #1 is the undead empire. It's what they call the living, seeing their attachment to life as nothing but a dream meant to eventually end. The 2nd reference is from jalach if I'm not mistaken. He talked about some civilization that sought to go beyond the dao and it's collapse through a dream that could subvert reality itself but it seems to have ultimately failed. These dreamers could be the predecessors of the original from the lost era, or maybe even got the idea from that era. There's just to much ambiguous ans incomplete information to go on till more gets exposed over the following years.
Aaron J
Lots of things happening!
Guilherme Oliveira
Man, I’m lost… 🤯
Michael Bristow
I figured it was a title for those who had reached the terminus of an era, and were trying to create eternal heritages to extend beyond their era collapsing. Or had succeeded and sought to keep going. Eternal feels like what Christians might think of as "God" a being beyond all, that is omnipresent and omniscient. The being that broke and succeeded the peaks beyond peaks.
M💬
So I have been living off comments since the schedule shift having 14 chapters in the bag to read and seeing comments of people beyond supremacies is quite a shock…. Seals and thrones were expected but I thought eternal and terminus was more like a title….
GMO pineapple
Cooking so good that it has surpassed the dao
Bryce H.
Dreamers are essentially beings of Life. Even the Undead refer to anyone that isn't Undead as Dreamers.
Palmer Evans
Yeah the story makes so much sense relative to other cultivation series. Mainly the character writing combined with an incredibly intricate yet logical plot and universe. People complain about how they’re going to quit the Patreon because of how hard the story is to follow but it’s chapters like this one that justify the groundwork set in earlier chapters that at the time had little context. I think the Malazan series is the only one that had the same feel of being clueless to the overall plot and world from the start but slowly piecing things together as the series progresses.
Lex Luther S
The dreamers are what the undead call the living. Have we heard the term used else where? I know about what jalach said, those that thought they could dream up a heaven beyond the terminus but that doesn't feel like it'd be on the level of the terminus. I'd say above the seals and thrones but below the monsters like the stellar wanderers, karz and Laondio.
Alexandre Bergeron
Can anyone remind me who is Wal'Zo? And who are the dreamers?
Lex Luther S
Wal'Zo is basically the care taker of ultom and likely exempt from his memories of Karz being erased. Either that or he's at a lvl that even someone like Laondio can't really influence.
Alexandre Bergeron
I feel like the dreamers (whatever they might be) have to rank above the stellar wanderers, probably somewhere on the level of the terminus. I'm guessing the dreamers are the terminus council members (?)
Lex Luther S
Shit he'd have to be evolving his bloodline ti A grade for even a chance at that.
Lex Luther S
I swear he's like some quantum AI with how insanely good this story is. From the insane indepth power and cultivation systems to an MCZ that actually has to have the drive and gritt to reach the peak Of all the countless cultivation and Wuxia novels I've read, this one is by far the most Indepth cultivation system out there. Reminds me of lord of the three realms where Chang under go's a trial where you have to have a solid heart and mind to cultivate to any high lvl of cultivation and then towards the end lecherous lvl 5 or so "gods" are thinking with only their dicks for some ohh so jade like beauty😕 At least here it doesn't matter how pure your dao heart is as long as you and your will can survive to the peak of your path, even heart curse cultivating heretics can reach supremacy albeit with great suppression from the system.
Lex Luther S
We don't know what the Eternal was trying to do. She was obviously beyond the limits of cultivation and the terminus of the lost era yet she had to sacrifice herself to keep the flicker of hope alive. The question is what that flicker of hope was. Was it the hope that ultom would persist where they failed? Did she sacrifice herself to forge an eternal heritage so powerful and absolute that only the passing of innumerable eras could see it's collapse? Not only that but it's strictly conjecture that the dao weakens with each era. Of course it does make sense but we've yet to get any confirmation beyond zacs speculation. But it seems the real issue is that the terminus is a cage and even escaping to the empty expanse beyond the terminus doesn't work; they literally need to break the terminus apart and go beyond it and that endless expanse, transcending it all with but a thought and stopping the daos weakening just doesn't seem to line up. Their really goal is to literally stop the daos collapse, the eras end. To look at the terminus and it's endless beyond and declares yourself an eternal and embody it all. Which is why more than a few think that breaking past the terminus and reaching eternity will end cultivation all together.
liquid_helix
boom!
Jay Fowler
The guy talking to the plant in that scene?
Lex Luther S
I feel it's should be. Eternal. The step beyond Supremacy where they brush eternity. Terminus. Stellar wanderers, karz and laondio. The seals and thrones. Supremacy. Autarchy. Monarchy.
Palmer Evans
TFD’s outline for this series must be absolutely bonkers
Palmer Evans
Wal’Zo - “Another wave of reluctance filled his heart as his mind wandered back to that distant past. To those who said no to the Terminus, and set about changing the course of history. To the Eternal, who sacrificed herself to keep the flicker of hope alive when all else failed.” Chapter 917 So is the Eternal attempting to solve the issue of the Dao getting weaker and weaker each Era? Or at least forestall the issue as long as possible to increase the chance of solving the problem?
Michael Bristow
Okay, so the ladder of existence's power scale is- Eternal Terminus Stellar Wanderers Limitless and Kurz The Pillars and Thrones The step beyond Supremacy Supremacy Autarch Monarch? I'm pretty bad with memory, so people correcting me would help a lot
Other Tan
I thought only Zac was able to speak Karz's name.
Hartmann
Wal'Zo is suspected to be the Tool Spirit equivalent for the Ultom Courts. He probably also was the person Zac saw and heard while claiming his second Seal peace inside the Dimensional Seed.
martin smith
I second that thought
Timothy Dana
Who is Wal’Zo again?
LIMBO
Holy shit
Andrew
Thank you!
dampsey damamme
Damn
Wayward_Vagabond
Ah, Cliff Friday, we meet again. 🥲
Scott Mingo
"One would consume the others, and Zac would". Left unfinished, I have decided that Zac would consume the victor.
Hartmann
What a chapter!
Scott Mingo
No eating the Stellar Wanderers, Zac!
Lex Luther S
Holy shit this is some good eating here. Finally saw where janos, joanna and Ra'klid went. Seems zac has turned a near death sentence into an opportunity and now we finally see Wal'Zo for the first time since the void star. A bit worried for the "very bad" that happened to eye of Desolation but knowing zacs luck,it'll be a boon that somehow elevates the skill even more. But what's got me interested is how utterly BUSTED the Eternal was; she was basically the heavens taken form to be able transcend the dao and will the terminus like that. And to peer through the depth of eternity since the lost eras fall and actually "look" at zac is insane. And it really seems that the Stellar wanderers we actually beings born at the limits of the first eras cultivation but forever caged, even leaving the "cage" and exploring that endless expanse saw them stuffed back in. How is the very interesting question. But the biggest surprise is it seems Wal'Zo also saw the Eternal seeing zac, going by his comment of her name. And for him to have been watching zac the whole time? Sensing the shadows of Karz(the void?) and Laondios' dream? Man what are you COOKING TFD because this is getting way too good.
Tyler S.
Do we finally get to meet Wal'zol? Its been since the void star his thread was twined. And The Eternal above the Terminus, such a juicy chapter for friday thanks FD.
Katerina
Wow that is grand!
Luke Scheffe
I think Jeff really enjoyed this cliff.
Sanc Asura
Oh man. Are we finally gonna get some more info here? Answer a few of the questions?
Alexander Dupree
Oh yeah we’re going to get some good exposition
Kevin Squalls
that's a brutal cliff bro
Zachary Koffink
Holy shit were gonna get some answers. Let's go big lore dump chappie!
FriendorFo
That wasn’t on my bingo card
Bryce H.
‘Solevur opened her eyes and gazed upon an endless void. She was the first of the first, the originator of all.’ In the PV, Zac gathered 17 Fate Kernels representing the 17 Grand Dao Peaks. When he did, "Zac felt like he was looking at an ancient sky. A sky from before Earth, before the System. Before the Dao. The vortex drowned out everything, its movement releasing a deep hum that Zac could feel to the depths of his soul." "The sky roiled, and a rumble originating from the beginnings of the era shook the world. And then it appeared—a finger whose size was beyond comprehension." "It barely fit through the vortex, covering the whole land beneath." “Holy…” Ogras whispered as he hunched down, unable to fully withstand the mental pressure of seeing something that big descend toward him." "Zac also gazed at the unfathomable finger but didn’t feel the pressure. He felt a longing call coming from the depths of the river of time—the call of the First People, searching for something beyond themselves." "Sendor nodded. “You closed the loop by accepting the inheritance and desire of Solevur. The Quarry will no longer appear in future Cosmic Galleries as it has no more potential to extract.” ___ Is the 'caretaker' of the First People's inheritance actually Wal'Zo? "It was this accumulated will that had given birth to him, the corpse of the First People. Not living, not dead. He was locked in his prison of knowledge with no power to subvert the river of Fate. A shudder rippled through the platform, and another set of cracks appeared." "“We’re too late,” the corpse sighed, its hollow eyes peering beyond the layers of the storm. Beyond reality itself. “Or rather, too early. No fate, no fate.”" "“If that is our fate, so be it,” the corpse sighed, turning to the library behind him. “But we shall leave our mark on the tapestry.”" ___
Rouslan Tourtsev
First
