Zac’s confusion only grew as the Monarch led him through the city, happily introducing its various aspects with uncomfortable deference. The tail of curious onlookers only grew, and Zac soon started to feel like a zoo animal. It was clear that he’d borrowed Terea Wendimar’s identity, explaining the brand’s undulations. However, they didn’t see him as Terea.
Truga Ur had called him a ‘son of the Empire,’ so they saw Zac as himself. The fact he was a Draugr didn’t seem to register, though the mayor briefly lost his train of thought when Zac intentionally released a wisp of Miasma. Zac had the credentials, but the citizens of Black Zenith weren’t unthinking puppets. There were limits to how far he could rely on his borrowed identity.
His perceived status as a Wendimar appeared to grant him quite a bit of leeway, which brought some questions of their own. The grand reception didn’t match the fragmented memories Zac gleaned during his breakthrough. Clan Wendimar was only Kristvan and his daughter, excepting a few mortal branches dozens generations removed. Neither of the two exemplified the ‘Ironblooded Wendimars’ that even the commoners seemed to have heard of.
Furthermore, Kristvan Wendimar was a Baron, the lowest level of nobility. So, who was the ‘Marquis Wendimar’ that Truga Ur mentioned? Was this a butterfly effect of his previous actions as Terea Wendimar? Zac improved her breakthrough, allowing her to reach greater heights and restore her family. Except, didn’t the previous vision take place during the System’s awakening? If so, there’d be no time to restore anything.
Zac’s deliberations were interrupted when the mayor stopped in the middle of a large square. Zac looked up, startled at the familiar obelisk before him. It was almost identical to the large statue in the middle of the Ensolus Ruins, with twenty-three waves glittering under the sunlight.
“It’s the latest model, storing not only the signature of the twenty-three departments but all 729 founding families,” Truga smiled.
Things finally clicked. Zac was by no means an expert on the Limitless Empire, but his time in the Order of the Empyrean Chalice had given him a basic understanding of its history. Like most factions, the Limitless Empire had much humbler beginnings. The Emperor was far from his height of power when the empire was founded, barely strong enough to gain a foothold on a vast continent filled with powerful factions.
Even then, Laondio managed to turn hundreds of sects and clans into loyal vassals. The records said they were moved by his grand vision and willingly joined his ranks. That account didn’t convince Zac. Remembering his bloodline Vision, Zac rather believed that Laondio used his purification arrays and his mysterious fate-bending abilities to bring people to his side.
These vassals became the Limitless Empire’s foundation. A few kept pace with the Emperor during his ascension, growing in might until their families became known as the Nine Imperial Bloodlines. Their leaders became Kings and the Emperor’s closest confidantes. The other families reached their limits much earlier, and many declined into obscurity.
“When did you establish this settlement?” Zac asked as Truga led him past the Bloodline Stele and toward the manor whose gate were placed right behind it.
“I am Black Zenith’s second mayor. It was founded by my Master 82,784 years ago, shortly after the Celestial Workshop announced the Imperial Road Project. He’d discovered that one of the roads would pass through the area and decided to strike out early. He realized that any trading post on their path would naturally attract wealth and fate,” Truga Ud said with a helpless smile. “Unfortunately, Master misjudged the speed of such a vast undertaking. He eventually realized the Workshop wouldn’t reach this region during his lifetime.”
“Yet he stayed?”
“He’d already invested his life savings in transforming the Zenith Chasm from a taboo zone into a stronghold. Since the skull can’t be taken out of the chasm, he simply chose to stay,” Truga smiled. “His efforts will benefit his descendants instead.”
“He sounds like a great man,” Zac smiled, hiding his exasperation.
He’d hoped for an actual year and epoch to get a sense of when this scenario was taking place. It seemed more and more likely that his previous guess was wrong. The mayor’s deference and the differing titles weren’t because of Zac’s changing history. Rather, they were currently visiting an earlier epoch, before Clan Wendimar declined.
The news of Zac’s arrival spread like wildfire through the city. Celebratory streamers were hung on the main street, and a grand feast was arranged the same evening. Notable figures from all walks of life showed up. Zac was relieved to hear there was only one more Monarch in the city, the leader of a prominent clan with branches in six neighboring towns. Furthermore, he entered seclusion a decade ago and wouldn’t emerge unless his clan faced extinction.
Even then, Zac found it difficult to remain calm when faced with dozens of inquisitive Peak Hegemons. While Zac indirectly probed the guests for information, they were doing the same. A sole descendant of a founding family appearing in a place like Black Zenith was clearly out of the norm, and more than one was trying to figure out the purpose of his arrival.
Most of the questions were related to the road network Truga Ur mentioned. Zac’s vague answers didn’t quench the bubbling excitement filling the room. The locals saw Zac’s appearance as confirmation that construction was finally about to begin. Zac became a harbinger of prosperity, and the elders tried to get the inside scoop.
A few focused on more direct benefits. Zac could see the calculating gleams in eyes briefly shifting to his Spatial Rings. Black Zenith was a remote town bordering a continent’s wild region. Such regions were often called shallows because of their lower energy density and higher levels of Earthly Taint.
Despite their name, shallows generally took up the majority of a continent’s landmass. The inequality was even greater before the System came along to remove the taint and stabilize the flow of energy. Even so, Black Zenith was clearly flourishing. The energy inside the memory was far greater than what Zac and Esmeralda experienced outside.
The environment even exceeded the Kavriel Continent back in Zecia. If the System had been around to widen the path of cultivation, then there wouldn’t be just two Monarchs in the city. The fact that the citizens of Black Zenith still considered themselves country bumpkins was very indicative of what kind of continent they were dealing with.
“I still cannot believe a founding member came to this desolate stretch of the Left Imperial Expanse. I’ll be able to brag about this meeting for centuries,” an old man said with a toothy smile.
“You’re too kind,” Zac nodded. “Are you a local, senior?”
“Born and raised on this big ol’ skull,” the man nodded. “In a way, she’s all of our ancestor.”
“Do you happen to know of any interesting features in the region?” Zac asked.
“Interesting features? I assume young master is looking for destined encounters and opportunities to hone himself?” the old man guessed, getting a nod in response. “If it’s opportunities you seek, then the Kantor Crypts are a must-visit. The third prince’s inheritance is still waiting for a worthy successor.”
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“Old man, are you trying to send the young master to his death?” an old lady exuding an Alchemist’s medicinal scent said with a glare. “One wrong turn in that treacherous labyrinth, and it’s over. And for what? Some trinkets the ancients were willing to use for funerary rites?”
“How could some corpse poison harm the Ironblooded?” the old man retorted, though he was clearly wary of the fiery old lady. “And according to the scripture, the prince’s inheritance goes far beyond mere trinkets.”
“Scripture? The nonsense your old man spouted?” the old lady waved her cane at the man before turning back toward Zac. At that moment, she looked like a kindly old grandma again. “Don’t listen to his nonsense. His grandfather managed to discover one of the tombs in his youth. It held some decent items, but it also became his downfall.
“He discovered mentions of a godlike prince and became obsessed with finding his remains. Of course, he never found it, nor did any of the others trying their luck. The smart ones gave up. The others eventually entered the crypts and never came back,” the old lady sighed. “If you’re looking for opportunities, I suggest visiting the Whittlestorm Mountains.
“That’s right,” another guest agreed. “The beasts are agile, making them decent opponents, and there are plenty of herbs growing in the hills. If you delve deep enough, there are even herbs that would move Void Heralds.”
Hearing the discussion, a few more elders came walking over with their own suggestions. The more Zac heard, the more shocked he became. There were five treasure grounds within a few months’ travel, each of them confirmed to hold C-grade materials or greater. Any such remnant would trigger a storm back in Zecia, with Monarch flocking from every direction. Here, it was simply gossip.
Zac first wondered if this was simply how high-grade continents worked. That clearly wasn’t the case, judging by Esmeralda’s gobsmacked expression as she listened in. Eventually, Zac couldn’t help but raise his concern. “Are we truly in the shallows?”
“Ai, young man, don’t get your hopes up. If they were truly blessed grounds, the powerful old codgers would already have picked them clean. They all have problems. Either they’re too dangerous to match the potential reward, or the harvest is entirely dependent on luck.”
“Still,” Zac said.
“Isn’t it because of the engineers causing a mess?” a slovenly old man muttered, glaring right back when the guests looked at him with warning. “What? You know it’s true. You imperials descend on Eversee Expanse, and the ground starts shaking soon after. Then all these dangerous places keep cropping—”
The old man’s tirade had been stopped by the mayor, who suddenly emitted an extremely dangerous air. “Trovald. Don’t make the rest of us look like fools by bringing up such ancient history. It became the Left Imperial Expanse multiple epochs ago, and we’re all better off from it. There’s order even in the shallows, all thanks to the Imperial Legions performing regular sweeps.”
The gathering continued well into the night before the guests reluctantly left. Zac’s social battery was running on fumes, but he still walked deeper into the manor. The mayor had asked for a private meeting. It looked like Truga Ur was ready to play his card.
“Your city is full of vigor,” Zac praised as he sat down.
“It’s mostly thanks to the young master. The Ironblooded Legions might be in charge of clearing out the surroundings of the Indomitable Prefecture, but tales of your exploits have reached this corner of the empire. Your presence is bound to enliven the atmosphere. For some, it represents hope. As for others… Well, some live at civilization’s edge for a reason,” Truga Ur smiled.
“You’re quite forthright,” Zac said with surprise.
“It’s entirely superfluous, I’m sure. I can tell young master is aware of the darker sides of the world.”
“What Trovald said about the earthquakes,” Zac said. “Is it true?”
“It is,” the mayor said after some thought. “The world is bound to change with the seasons, which occasionally births or unearths new mysteries. However, the upheavals have become more noticeable since the Imperial Edict. The road drawing closer causes the world to rumble and its Dragon Veins to realign. Sometimes it’s a blessing. Sometimes…”
“Any worthy undertaking will come at a price,” Zac said.
The portly man hesitated a moment before leaning over. “Can I ask… Are the rumors true? Will the road purify their surroundings? Even before the royal courts are erected, at that? It seems too good to be true. I’ve heard that not even the Sovereign Soil of the Limitless Expanse is completely free from Earthly Taint.”
Zac suppressed his excitement. He already had a decent idea of what was going on, and Truga had finally confirmed his hunch. The System was propped up by eight pillars, of which the Left Imperial Palace was one. The palace, in turn, was supported by nine lower courts, adhering to the cosmic order of eight by nine.
That arrangement had felt like an abstraction, until now. Emperor Limitless had turned the whole Left Imperial Expanse into a gargantuan formation. The Imperial Road was its pathways, and the royal courts were the formation eyes. In addition, there were countless smaller nodes, such as the remote base Kristvan Wendimar had been dispatched to maintain.
Black Zenith’s current timeline should be at the earlier stages of the undertaking since the Outer Courts hadn’t even been finished. They’d only seen some minor upheavals, but Zac suspected that life in the Left Imperial Expanse would only get worse before it got better. He still remembered the corrupted forest spirits driven to madness by the overflowing taint.
It was no business of Zac’s. He was not some saint who stayed awake at night worrying about woes of the world. Not to mention, all this was ancient history. His actions during the trial couldn’t change the fate of the Left Imperial Expanse. Zac could, however, benefit from its circumstances. He’d worked hard for the past hours, and it was time to reap his reward.
Zac ignored Truga’s question about purification, countering with a question of his own. “Before that, how about you explain what you’re up to? I’ve played along for now, but there is a limit to my patience when being used as a prop.”
The atmosphere immediately changed, but Zac didn’t back down. He calmly sipped his drink, waiting for the mayor’s response. Inwardly, he was primed for battle. Truga Ur appeared shocked for a moment before shaking his head with a helpless smile.
“Young master is truly wise beyond his years. Nothing can escape your gaze,” the Monarch said. “Truthfully, I’ve been working for the Celestial Workshop for the past twenty centuries. The contribution I previously mentioned was taking measurements and performing surveys, helping the Formations Masters plot out the correct course. Unfortunately, that work became my undoing.
“I recently got word from my contact in the capital. Construction will reach the Withering Steppes Region within 800 years. Only, the intended path going through Black Zenith has been rejected in favor of another arrangement. Peyre Makra, a hamlet bordering the Peyre Marsh, will become this region’s central node.
“Worse, Black Zenith is on a faultline, so construction might cause the whole city to collapse. All the work and resources we’ve poured into this place will become worthless.”
‘I knew this old guy was up to no good.’ Esmeralda snickered at Truga Ur’s crocodile tears. ‘He must have paid through the nose to get the news ahead of time.’
A smile tugged on Zac’s lips. They’d realized something was off since the very public welcome, and the feeling only got stronger through the day. Truga Ur had made it impossible not to know of the founding family’s arrival. The mayor was using the event as part of a plot, and Zac had been planning on demanding a cut. However, it was only now Zac fully understood Truga’s scheme.
“You’re trying to offload your assets before the news break?” Zac smiled. “Those in the know should have realized that the construction is drawing closer. But only you know the path has changed?”
“A few more should have received the news. Those with that kind of connection know when to keep quiet.”
Zac couldn’t help but laugh. He had to admit that Truga Ur deserved his position. The mayor was using Zac’s appearance to create a real estate bubble. The bubbling rumors about the imminent economic upswing probably came from Truga himself. Zac refusing to give any clear answers couldn’t stop the rumor mill.
Truga wouldn’t have to do anything. The opportunists would come to him, and the mayor “reluctantly” sell off his worthless deeds and properties for exorbitant sums.
“I should remind young master that these news are technically considered classified information. I only dared share it because of your esteemed name.”
“You don’t want me to expose your scheme?” Zac smiled, waving his hands when the mayor was about to deny the accusation. “It’s fine. I would never divulge the empire’s private matters, and I’ve done nothing to besmirch my family name. I’ve been very clear that I’m not involved with the Imperial Road.
“Only… The Wendimar name isn’t so cheap it can be used freely by outsiders.”
A dangerous air filled the room as Zac unleashed his aura mixed with his Killing Intent. The reinforced walls shook from the monstrous air of slaughter he’d accrued on the battlefield. Zac believed few among the real Ironblooded Wendimars would be able to replicate the depths of his foundation or the pressure of his accumulated slaughter. It was a warning and declaration that Zac wasn’t just some random member of his clan.
“That’s, uh—” Truga Ur said, looking slightly pale.
The pressure went away as quickly as the came. Zac continued with a smile on his face, like nothing had ever happened. “I heard elder controls an opportunity unique to Black Zenith…”
The Monarch looked at Zac with surprise. Realization dawned, and an ingratiating smile appeared on Truga’s face.
“Indeed. My master studied the Zenith Chasm for millennia. Shortly before his death, he discovered the method of refining its immense energies. That is the famous Zenith Elixir. Since young master has brought such honor to our small town, I’d be honored to gift you some to sate your curiosity.”
Zac’s smile widened. Being an arrogant young master wasn’t all bad.