Chapter 1,342 – Grand Dream

The organizers made no effort to quell the clamor and reestablish the solemnity of the occasion. If anything, they welcomed it. Zac’s face scrunched with annoyance upon seeing concession stands appearing among the F-grade cultivators and Mortals at the back of the square. He’d been turned into an opening act, though he’d be a fool if he couldn’t notice there was something else going on.

The Transformation Docks were undergoing a metamorphosis that started with an enormous influx of Imperial Faith. The world beyond the spatial gate infused the Imperial Army’s ferocity, and Grand Dream primed the mix for a specific purpose with his speech. That energy was still being absorbed by the crowd. The efficacy had even gone up since the atmosphere changed.

The Mercurial Court had taken the opportunity to plant millions of seeds, and only they knew what kind of flowers would sprout in the future. Zac had his own problems to deal with before he could worry about hidden plots. Finding his challenger didn’t prove difficult. The perception-bending array brought Zac’s attention to an unfamiliar face on the ground without the need to leave his seat.

The challenger was holding up a token of the Tethered Court while fiercely glaring right back at Zac. He looked much the same as the hundred sealbearers gathered around Zac. His energetic aura put the Late Hegemon somewhere at five or six hundred years of age, which appeared to be the average of the native sealbearers.

There was absolutely no recollection of this Threadbinder of Ultom in Everit’s memories, and none of the other sealbearers offered any clues. The challenger also didn’t give Zac the impression he was a fellow trial taker. Frankly, he wasn’t strong enough to so confidently challenge the real Zac. Even so, the challenge wasn’t random. Had the Vigil’s nun arranged for someone to test him? Or was this another consequence of Everit’s prickly personality?

Zac could feel countless gazes turning to him, including the terrifying group on the stage. No one was striking him down where he stood, which actually helped calm Zac’s fraying nerves. His borrowed identity was withstanding the intense scrutiny. Astora Theomore also remained oblivious to the proceedings, which provided some additional comfort.

“I suggest you stop making a ruckus and scurry back to the Tethered Court. Otherwise, you’ll come to regret it,” Zac said while giving the challenger a baleful look.

Acting the part of Everit Draom had never come so easy. Safe or not, Zac was furious at being thrust into the spotlight. Everit would have hated it just as much, though for a different reason. Being picked among nearly two hundred sealbearers marked Everit as a bottom-of-the-barrel talent, and it happened in front of such a huge crowd.

“Time marches forward, and two rivers cannot occupy the same space. One will absorb the other,” a gentle reminder came from the stage. Meanwhile, four enormous holograms appeared above the altar. “Everit Draom, you may choose the trial of passage.”

Grand Dream had spoken, meaning there was no way to back down. Zac reluctantly got to his feet, wondering if his disaster-attracting ability was starting to outpace his other progress. This time, he didn’t even get what he came for before everything was turned into a mess.

At least it seemed like he’d get to walk away with the challenger’s Imperial Merit if he won. The Fate sealed inside his Tethered Token couldn’t match Zac’s significant accumulations, but it would boost his stockpiles by nearly a quarter.

Zac inspected the four holograms carefully. Each conveyed a vague impression and a basic set of rules. The first depicted two crossed blades, and it represented a simple duel. Zac almost picked that option without looking at the others. It was an opportunity to satisfy his deep-seated desire to plant his fist on that haughty challenger’s face.

The second trial was foreign to Zac. It was called a dreamshaping contest. From what he could make out, each side would nurture a dream provided by a mortal in the crowd. The contestants would enter the other’s creation, and the one who broke out first won. It would have been the perfect option for Janos.

Zac was confident in his ability to break out of a hastily erected dream. It was the shaping part that stumped him. The third hologram looked a bit like a whirlpool, and it represented a race through a transforming spatial maze. The final option was a crafting trial where the parties would compete by completing a tool embryo. The options confirmed the Mercurial Court didn’t solely judge candidates through power, though all options would benefit from a higher cultivation.

Combat remained Zac’s best option. He couldn’t shape dreams, and [Cosmic Forge] hadn’t reached the stage of actually crafting equipment. His only other option was the maze. However, the challenger was clearly a Spatial Cultivator. Zac wasn’t confident he could perform better than a Spatial Cultivator even if he relied on the Void. Not to mention, he definitely didn’t want to rely on his Void Emperor Bloodline before the Vigil and Astora Theomore.

Trial by Combat was also the fan favorite. Countless voices were clamoring for Zac to pick it, and he was happy to oblige. Fighting in a manner significantly different from Everit’s might raise questions, but this was something he had to face eventually. Zac planned on using Everit’s long training journey as an excuse. Encountering great enough opportunities to reforge one’s path wasn’t anything unheard of.

‘The race! Pick the race!’ Esmeralda urged just as Zac was about to make his decision. ‘I’ll run circles on that bastard. I’ll show him what happens to greedy fools who dare covet my things.’

Zac’s eyes lit up at the idea. Having Esmeralda deal with the challenge would make things easier, and it would avoid the risk of revealing his Bloodline in front of Astora and the nun. As for the shame of bringing on a ringer, Zac didn’t care. He wasn’t a real elite of the empire, and his reputation was already in the dumps.

‘Are you sure? You’ll be exposed in front of all these people. I can just beat him up. I’m already in the mood to pummel a Spatial Cultivator after dealing with Kaltosa Lu,” Zac asked to confirm.

‘I was never one to skulk in the shadows. A skilled thief doesn’t fear the attention. They welcome the challenge,’ Esmeralda said while slapping her chest. ‘Besides, it doesn’t matter. That old thing on the stage noticed me the moment you were challenged. I might as well make an appearance now so that I can move in the open after we reach the court.’

Zac turned to the Dao Guardian who announced the challenge. “May I ask if there are any limitations on equipment? Or on external aid, such as talismans, contracted beasts, or berserking pills?”

“Any method within the bounds of your grade is permitted.”

“Then I choose the maze.”

The declaration only caused some dissatisfaction in the crowd since it was the second most interesting option. Watching a crafting competition would be much more boring in comparison. The sealbearers looked at Zac with surprise, especially those who knew Everit. They’d undoubtedly expected him to pick the combat trial.

Their confusion only grew when a small toad appeared on Zac’s head as he flew toward the altar. The hologram had already transformed into a churning sphere of Spatial Energy. It looked like it was only fifty meters across, but even Zac could tell the labyrinth was an enormous subspace of hundreds of overlapping layers.

The maze reminded Zac of their harrowing journey through the Imperial Graveyard. The few navigable paths couldn’t be considered safe, and the constant transformations meant a path could turn into a dead-end or death trap. Zac couldn’t keep up with the changes at all. Just looking at the churning spatial bubble was enough to make his head spin.

Esmeralda took the scene in stride, her eyes gleaming with supreme confidence. That was, until they reached the altar’s border and noticed the hidden temporal field. The maze was actually kept inside a temporal chamber, speeding up time ten to one, so the paths were actually rearranging themselves much faster than it looked.

That wasn’t so much a problem as their most recent confrontation with the Dao of Time. Esmeralda only woke up yesterday, and Zac wasn’t doing much better. Such a weak Temporal Dilation wouldn’t threaten his life, but it would certainly reopen the wounds he’d worked so hard to mend.

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‘It’s ironic. A child visiting us from the future being afraid of time.’

The Supremacy’s message was followed by a wave of pure Time that poured into Zac before he could react. Esmeralda received the same treatment. No matter how quick the thief was on her feet, how could she avoid Grand Dream’s nearly perfected Dao of Time? It moved in its own timestream, arriving at its moment of conception.

First horrified, Zac quickly realized he wasn’t about to be ripped apart by an immense temporal backlash. Instead, he felt his body align with the Cosmos while countless temporal fractures that had eluded his notice were exposed and repaired. Realizing what was going on, Zac decisively transferred as much of the gentle Temporal Energy as he could to his other body. His Human side would recognize what was going on after the initial surprise.

The process only needed a few moments to finish. Zac hadn’t felt so good since he first suffered a temporal backlash while advancing to Middle D-grade. His vexing temporal jitters were long gone, but he clearly hadn’t been as well-adjusted as he thought. It was at that moment Grand Dream spoke again, reminding Zac what he’d been called—a child of the future.