Chapter 1,383 – Eternal Glory

It was as though the Karmic Grand Array outside had realized something was wrong, that the future was moving in a forbidden trajectory. Vast numinous clouds started forming with incredible speed, covering the darkness in the sky with Buddhist light. Resplendent mountains, ancient temples, holy beasts, and countless practitioners of the Buddhist faith emerged from the clouds to safeguard the Dharma.

The air itself was transforming, shimmering with Sanskrit characters filled with meaning. In the blink of an eye, the memory domain had been completely sealed off. As a crowning stroke, enormous statues appeared in the four cardinal directions. Their halos were like radiant suns that lit up the whole Crushing Hell. Looking at them was to look at paradise, and Zac was forced to look away.

The golden Buddhas were so enormous that their heads were obscured by the numinous clouds. It was for the best. There were consequences to looking directly at the face of God. The latent aura of the statues was too powerful, and they became the focal points of the accumulated forces outside. The memory domain’s absolute divide couldn’t withstand the outside pressure any longer.

Unconditional benevolence and love as vast as the sea spread through the domain, suppressing Karmic Death and placating the ancient murderous will. Zac could sense how the fluctuating Imperial Faith transformed, yet the domain remained absolutely stable. Meanwhile, immense amounts of Karmic Energy poured into the slumbering boulders.

The Sangha was going all out to stop the slumbering entities from awakening, or perhaps even convert them. A few boulders were even starting to sprout Sanskrit. If left unchecked, it would be a Vajra who’d emerge, not an Imperial Executioner. The boulder before Zac was no different. On the contrary, it appeared to be a main target, with enormous levels.

However, Zac had already awakened the consciousness slumbering within, and the boulder fiercely resisted the manipulation. The Karmic Energies were rejected, after which some turned their attention to Zac. He was already struggling against the Sangha’s growing influence inside the memory domain. It meddled with the Imperial Fate’s ability to weaken the Crushing Death, like it was forcing Zac to repent for his sins.

Out of options, Zac quickly threw out Tavza’s Talisman. A field of Abyssal Death surrounded him and the boulder. It swallowed Karma and silenced the Dharma, providing some temporary relief. Unfortunately, it couldn’t do much against the enormous levels of Karmic Energy that had already infiltrated Zac and the boulder. His mind filled with chants that tried to wash away individual thought, and his current strength wasn’t enough to resist it by himself.

The suffocating Killing Intent invading his body became the lifeline that kept him from being swept away. It was only a matter of time before he was overwhelmed. The lineup outside was conjured by Karma nourished for billions of years, imbued with boundless Dharmic merit. It was perfection, causing a hierarchical suppression that was only growing worse.

Only the rampaging entities inside the boulders had a chance of fighting back, and even that chance would be gone if the Sangha was given any more time to prepare. Even so, it wasn’t a call to action that came out of Zac’s mouth.

“Why do you know that name? How are you connected to the Void Emperor?”

‘War… Expansion and eternal Glory,’ the chorus answered. ‘Hurry.’

It wasn’t much of an answer, but Zac understood he’d truly run out of time. At least it was a direction to look into. Adding what he heard from Poised Gardens, the Empire had likely invaded the Lower Planes before the Eight Hells and Nine Gardens joined the ranks. It was possible that Karz was part of that expedition, maybe even leading it.

That would somewhat explain his apparent connection to the Lower Planes. They may even have been part of Kayar-Elu’s experiment. It wasn’t like his mother had provided full insight into their million-year undertaking. Either case, it would have to wait.

“I’m counting on you!” Zac roared, smashing the boulder with [Void Mountain]’s seal just as Tavza’s talisman failed.

Karmic Energy came flooding in like moths to the flame, trying to exhaust his Bloodline Talent before it could reach its mark. Zac furiously supplemented the Void Energy lost by interference, but the seal was still weakened by half. Thankfully, the existence inside the boulder was aware of their perilous situation, and something crashed against the weak spot from within.

Already weakened and targeted from both ends, the boulder exploded with a deafening roar that silenced the Dharmic chants. The pacifying Karma burned from the winds of fanatical zeal as the shockwave swept through the whole memory domain. With the two sides locked in battle, Zac was once more forced to endure Saṃghāta’s Crushing Death alone. It was even amplified by the large amounts of Killing Intent that covered the memory.

Zac was thrown dozens of meters away and found himself utterly incapable of getting back to his feet. Tavza’s talisman was already exhausted, and [Void Zone] wasn’t enough to counteract the pressure. Meanwhile, his Duplicity Core was burning red-hot to resist the hidden Karmic entanglements that came with his actions. He was losing energy at a dangerous speed.

Worse, cracking open the boulder didn’t accomplish what they’d hoped. It was supposed to release a tide of Imperial Faith but instead released a pillar of raw Killing Intent. What little Imperial Faith managed to escape the Sangha’s blockade was spent to keep the remaining boulders from defecting.

The good news was that Zac could feel the energies below ground churning, matching the increasingly unstable situation above. It just hadn’t reached the tipping point, while the current change to history wasn’t significant enough to trigger a collapse on its own.

With Zac’s growing anger came a fierce, burning defiance. Time and time again, the Sangha stood in his way, plotting while spouting their sanctimonious litanies. They saw their schemes as Heaven’s Will and their meddling as Cosmic realignment. Zac had had it with them. If they wanted the Crushing Hell, he’d stop them if only out of spite. And if unsealing one boulder wasn’t enough to blow up the memory, then he’d try with two.

Blazing runes in gold and steel appeared across Zac’s skin as his anger transformed into a force of nature. His heart thumped with Arcadia’s vengeance, and only a crusade would satiate its hunger. Who was the Crushing Hell to punish him for his actions, and what gave the Sangha the right to make him repay for his “sins?” The blood on his hands was justified and proof of the righteousness of his Dao.

Karma would be crushed, the Wheel of Samsara overturned. Even Death would be forced into retreat when Arcadia’s crusade swept through the cosmos. Bones creaking, Zac got to his feet and shot forward like a bullet. The complex tapestry Tavza spent weeks drawing overlapped with the complex flows of energy and fate, and Zac instinctively knew where he needed to go.

The Karmic Energies once more tried to get in his way. It even gave up ground in its claim on a few boulders to focus on his advance, causing the existential pressure to grow beyond what [Arcadian Crusade] could handle. Railing against his weakness and the injustice did nothing to prevent him from slowing down or his Duplicity Core from approaching levels of Karmic Entanglement it couldn’t block.

It was at that point a thousand bursts of near-perfect Killing Intent seeped out from as many boulders. They came rushing over, tearing into the accumulating Karma. Zac’s eyes burned with fervor, and he could almost see a stalwart army coming to his aid. While their allegiances were different, they were unified in purpose. The enemy had arrived, and it was time for a cleansing crusade.

Unbelievable levels of Killing Intent fused with Zac, filling his body with purpose and his mind with delusions of grandeur. He felt like a god of war, a manifestation of slaughter that could overturn the Heavens themselves. A small hatchet appeared to stabilize his Dao Heart and remind Zac of his true nature. The Killing Intent was only a tool, one that had to be used the right way.

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Zac barreled into another boulder with enough kinetic force to topple mountains. The boulder only trembled. [Arcadian Crusade] and the boundless Killing Intent demanded he keep railing against the roadblock until only rubble remained, but Tavza’s earlier warning cut through the madness. The stones weren’t true physical items, and he still needed a different method of breaking through.

He settled for a compromise that satisfied his primal craving while accomplishing his goal. A deep clap shook the domain every time Zac punched the boulder with a fist imbued with [Void Mountain]. Each rumble was a call to war, and the countless incubators began vibrating in harmony. The Dharmic will was forced into retreat against the Limitless Empire’s growing momentum.

The boulder Zac picked wasn’t on Tavza’s list of potential targets because its seal remained in a much better state. Unsealing the first bloody pillar and Zac’s madness were enough to overcome the difference, and Zac was once more blown away in a deafening explosion. He knew he’d succeeded before he even landed.