Infinite Realm: Monsters & Legends

Chapter 578: Zach

The Path

Essence swirled around Zach in an orderly fashion, threads of it drawn from tiny open fissures in the fabric of reality itself. Nine fissures, one for each of his Arsenal Aspects.

He funneled it all through his body, through his channels and into his core, churning it in rotation and compressing, refining into Qi. The process felt easy, his will was great enough that he could touch on the Essences he was close to with far more control than any other beginner Cultivator could ever hope to. His strength was such that he had no need to measure himself. His conduits and core were crafted out of the Essence of his body, one that was already on the peak of two Focuses, there was no Essence that could easily break him.

The instructions he had obtained from the Twilight Melody Sect had been useful, but it was the insights he gained from the Castle of Knowledge that had fueled his advancement the most. There were differences though to the more traditional way of Cultivation. He didn’t gain an option to pick a secondary Path at the Peak of Lord, a probably downside of first advancing the Class to its peak. Another was that he had no choices in his perks. Though, he had realized that he could guide them somewhat at least.

He focused on his meditation, drawing in and cycling Essence relegated to his subconscious, as his mind wandered through the planes of his Essences.

He was on the Path of the Endless Pursuit, a choice that didn’t have an already predefined Aspect. He was free to choose his own, and the choice had felt natural to him, something that felt right with every part of his being, the Pursuit of Knowledge.

He had spent enough time around Ryun and his partners to glimpse at things that had happened to them, the changes. Their Aspects were the easiest thing to notice. Zach knew more about Essence and Aspects than probably anybody else in the world, perhaps even more than the three of them.

He knew and understood it intuitively, and with the access to spirits and the knowledge stored in the Castle libraries and repositories, coupled with his link to the Plane of Knowledge itself—it was hardly a surprise that he had managed to form for himself something similar to whatever it was they had achieved.

All Aspects were manifestations of ideas, of laws, of elements, interactions between Essences, or the Essences themselves. They were a result of the world’s expression, of reality’s heartbeat.

Zach manipulated it, he gathered all the free Essence from around himself, then pulled more from the links to the Aspect Planes of his Arsenal. He wove it all together in his core, and with his will shaped it into the expression he wanted—The Pursuit of Knowledge.

To do so properly, he had to focus most of his attention on his meditation, on his desire to learn. So, now he focused on a single Essence, pushing his mind and Soul to the Aspect Plane of Time.

He stood on the surface of the River of Time, looking out at the banks as it flowed ever forward. Time was an Aspect he was closely connected to, yet his actual grasp of it was crude. He understood it perfectly, but the way he used it was simplistic. His connection to it came from the sheer amount of time he spent in the mental prison, by the end, Time had become a close companion. He had pushed his will on it, and shaped it, put in boundaries to constrain it, but it was still time.

The banks of the river near him were carved as the river flowed, the terrain, the events, everything that happened in that exact moment was recorded here. Zach could see the events that happened near him clearly, those far away less so.

He saw flashes of Erdania and Bera standing on the deck of their airship, talking with sect members bearing the colors and heraldry of the Dragon Heart Sect. He could almost hear their conversation, though there was no real sound here. It was unnecessary, he knew what was said. They had reached the Dragon’s Peak territory, and were about to be allowed in.

But that was out there, in here, Time mattered little. Zach stepped on the surface of the river then jumped ahead of the wave, he landed on the empty ground, and looked ahead. Time was a straight line, every choice made was carved into the ground as the river passed. But the future was possibility, it was ever shifting, as choices that were solidified by the river changed what could happen.

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Zach let his mind seep into the plane and allowed his mind to sift through what was around him, a constantly shifting landscape made out of sand and dust, futures that could be.

There was too much for him to really see anything far, to truly see the future. That was by design, he had forged the plane with that intent. But… Time was still the Past, the Present, and the Future.

With |I Analyze and Predict| he sorted through what his mind gathered. His purpose was simple Pursuit of Knowledge through Time. An action that shaped the Essence in his core into a Qi with solidified nature. He hadn’t been able to actually touch the plane of this Aspect he had created, but he could feel it there, close, with his connection growing by every moment that passed. As if he was making it from scratch. Perhaps he was, even with all the knowledge he possessed there was still too much they didn’t quite understand. Ryun and his partners were the proof of that.

He turned his attention at the shifting banks, the uncertain future, always changing as choices were being made. His mind analyzed through them, narrowing it down to the most likely to occur.

He watched and studied, noting the instances that didn’t change much, that were certain. They would arrive at the sect while the Sect Gathering was in full force. In some futures, they would be refused entrance, or at least Zach, Naha, and Bera would, as they were not from the Sects. But in most, they were accepted as valued friends and allies, Zach and Naha’s deeds large enough to earn respect.

He saw futures where the gathering would devolve into violence shortly after their arrival, others where it would continue for days. But those futures were few, just flickers in the sand.

There was something wrong. He could see it, a large swath of the ground was so turbulent that he couldn’t read it at all. A large chunk of the futures was just completely chaotic. Something was interfering with the Plane of Time. That worried Zach, so he immediately pulled his focus from the other planes and his gathering of Essence for cycling. He pushed all his will, channeling his link to the Plane of Time.

He got flickers, the Dragon’s Peaks swallowed up in a single swath of some to him invisible hand. Death and destruction, or fear and panic, but order and resolve. He didn’t understand what he was seeing, but one thing was certain, there was a possibility for something to happen.

He pulled himself back and out of the Plane. The Qi in his core finished cycling, and he flexed his core. Advancement surged through him, his body improving. He felt the Early Monarch Realm settle onto him, his Qi rippling through his body, shifting and then settling as a new perk was formed. His Aspect Manifestation, taking the form of an Aura—as he had expected, he didn’t think that his Qi could manifest in other ways in any real manner. He wondered how it would manifest as an Aura, but he would have time to test it out later.

He opened his eyes and saw Naha sitting across from him, focusing on her own meditation and advancement. He stood, leaving her alone to finish as he hurried to the deck. He found Erdania and Bera looking out in the distance. He could see the Dragon’s Peak and the massive fleets surrounding it. There were a lot of different factions here.

“Bera,” He said as he stepped next to them. “I’ve meditated on the Plane of Time. There is a chance of something happening in the near future.”

“Something?” Bera asked.

“I couldn’t see it clearly,” Zach answered. “But I got the feel that violence was likely, an attack perhaps?”

“Ryun?” Erdania asked.

Zach turned to meet her eyes and shook his head, then paused. “The nature of his existence and power means that he is harder to perceive. Perhaps the disruption I am feeling is largely because of him. Though, it could also just be him reacting to an incident.”

Erdania nodded.

“Bera I need you ready for anything, in case of an attack provide your skills at managing promptly and help organize everyone here. I doubt that they have anyone else like you around, or who could manage so many different factions.”

“I’ll be ready.”

Zach turned back to Erdania.

“Have you had any luck?” Zach asked after a moment.

Erdania shook her head. “He is still keeping his side of our bond locked down tightly.”

“Well,” Zach turned his eyes to their destination. “We’ll know soon enough.”

They flew toward the central docking tower, guided by a small Dragon Heart skiff. Zach took a deep breath, letting his senses take in all the information around him, the knowledge rolled in his mind, data churning and analyzing.

He was the damage done to the city by the attack. One of their three peaks was damaged, as if a chunk was eaten out of it. There were destroyed buildings beneath, rained down by debris. The city was on alert, but… fear clung to them all. They were shaken, they had lost their Sect Head, their symbol and leader. The one they looked up to not only protect them and lead them but the one who signified the supremacy of their Sect.

From everything that he had seen so far, Zach knew that the Exalted Empire’s attack was perfectly tailored for the Sects. They were led by the strong, their faith put in those on the higher advancement. The loss of their leaders had hurt their faith.

Zach only hoped that the damage wasn’t too severe, that they could rally and fight back.