DefianceNovels

Chapter 1,293.

Zac would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. The memory's restoration wasn't as magical as Sendor winding back time to erase another Supremacy's attack. It was closer to a large-scale blessing of a support class. Still, the power required to stabilize a whole world was no joke. Roan had gone from a taciturn child to an existence that Zac couldn't handle.

Escape by waiting out the scenario was impossible now that the Earth Child kept the realm on life support—which was worrying in ...

Chapter 1,292.

Zac's greed-induced confidence came under attack as the tribulation clouds grew stronger without end. They soon surpassed the levels Zac faced when stepping into Late Hegemony and showed no signs of stopping. There being no hint of the Four Desolates wouldn't matter when the amount of lightning approached the levels of a Middle Hegemon's attack.

"You're expecting too much of me," Zac warned.

Roan didn't answer. The Earth Child was going through a mysterious transformation while ab...

Chapter 1,291.

Zac tried and failed to find any clues on the Earth Child's face. It remained as impenetrable as before, and the boy's aura remained that of a juvenile who had yet to start their cultivation. His weak appearance couldn't erase Zac's feeling of being seen through. The boy had ignored Tam's attempts to communicate in the original timeline, making the situation all the more suspicious.

"Who are you?" Zac asked.

"Also the wrong question," the boy said before looking at the ground.

Chapter 1,290.

Powerful faith fluctuations and heretics. Zac couldn't help but notice the similarities to his experience in the previous memory domain. Could this be a similar event, perhaps even the same one? Were the rebels trying to escape with the loot by setting a forest fire?

Another set of explosions painted a different picture. Zac saw a barrier empowered by Imperial Faith briefly block an attack before being overwhelmed. The rebels were the pursuers, and it looked like they were about to catc...

Chapter 1,289.

Zac trudged through the deadly duochrome. The dusty winds were red-hot with nature's wrath. Its everchanging shape was a stark contrast to the utter stillness of the ground. The storm had buffed the ground into a perfectly flat obsidian mirror. Its enduring silence was reminiscent of the Abyssal Pond. And like the bottomless waters, the land held incredible dangers.

It was impossible to tell whether it was something underground that fueled the storm or if the smooth surface had absorbed...

Chapter 1,288.

The unyielding brutality of Zac's Evolutionary Dao couldn't so much as break the palm's skin. Instead, it was Zac who was flung back dozens of meters by the recoil. Around him, hundreds of trees collapsed without warning. For an outsider, it might have looked like the jungle crumbled on its own. The reality was much scarier.

Zac got back to his feet with a solemn expression. The golden scar on Insik's forehead had expanded to the width of a hand, and it continued all the way to his groi...

Chapter 1,287.

Rhuger silently observed the lands ahead from his spot halfway up the solitary mountain. The snaking rivers suspended in the air kept the lands below in a state of perennial dusk, and Rhuger's own Dao of Darkness let him perfectly meld with the surroundings. Even the denizens born in the gloom would have a hard time discovering his presence so long as he remained unmoving.

The source of the pervasive darkness wasn't the waters themselves but rather the streaks of pitch-black mud dragged...

Chapter 1,286.

Another mark. Carl carefully investigated the scarring on the mountain wall. He estimated the battle took place just over a week ago. It was enough to conclude two things. One, they were indeed heading toward the Farsee Court. Secondly, Carl was catching up with them. The earliest traces he'd discovered were two days older.

Covering more ground was by no means a testament to his strength. He was benefitting from his target carving a path of destruction, slaughtering beasts and breaking ...

Chapter 1,285.

A/N: A belayed thank you for re-upping and welcome new Patrons!
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Joanna clearly wanted to test her strength against the Indomitable Courts and find out if the Emperor's Spear had left something for her. Zac also knew that the threat of death would never make Joanna back down and give up on her path. The hesitation in her eyes came from something else, and Zac had a notion of what. Duty.

"Don't worry about me or the Atwood Empire," Zac urged. "Th...

No chapter today.

Hey all. I wish I had better news here at the start of the month. I've been in a small accident. It's nothing too serious, but I won't be able to release a chapter today. We should be back on Friday, and I'll release the missing chapter later this month. Hopefully next week.

Chapter 1,284.

A/N: And that's it for September! I hope you've enjoyed the return of DotF and the start of the Ultom Arc! I hope to see you here next month!

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"Found it!"

Zac looked down the 100-meter deep chute dug on his orders. The scout and her guardian soldier were already on their way back, the former holding a glass case.

"Young master's calculation was right on the mark," the scout said as she emerged. "Your method is amazing. I di...

Chapter 1,283.

"I have no relationship to the theft you mentioned," Zac said. "As for why I triggered your treasure, I'm not at liberty to say."

Declaring himself a Holy Son had a huge chance of backfiring. He'd amassed no Imperial Faith and no item to corroborate his claim. He couldn't replicate the resonance from before even if he wanted to. In that moment, he'd truly believed he was the chosen of the Empyrean Chalice, and there'd been nothing in his heart to refute that claim. His conviction had af...

Chapter 1,282.

Zac's grand prize for finishing the Flamebearer seal was [Void Emperor Apotheosis], the unified method meant to incorporate his whole path. It was the best outcome of the multiple directions Zac had considered taking his increasingly unwieldy cultivation. He hadn't even been convinced the idea was possible until Ultom showed him the way.

Calling [Void Emperor Apotheosis] a single technique was incorrect. It would be more accurate to call it a modul...

Chapter 1,281.

Zac had brought three long-range trackers into the trial to find his companions. One was the official device provided by the Undead Empire for their mission. Zac had left that tracker in a danger zone shortly after arriving. It had most definitely been tampered with, and there was no way he'd carry that thing around after Kator's betrayal.

Kator's Spatial Ring should hold a superior version without the hidden pitfalls. Esmeralda was still working on unlocking the ring's seal. The second...

Chapter 1,280.

"It's clearly the Stormwall Tor like the map said. But why is it here? Where's the Emerald Sea?" Esmeralda muttered. "It'd be one thing if it dried out. But this…"

Zac nodded in agreement, taking out the map he'd gotten from Mayor Truga. The huge pillar crackling with lightning was marked just beyond the Withering Wind Region's border. It should have taken them months to reach it at Esmeralda's speed. At the border, there should have been a huge, viscous sea filled with deadly algae. ...

Chapter 1,279.

The Abyssal pools filling up Zac's cells darkened to more closely resemble the real thing. Their width expanded far beyond what should be possible, eventually fusing with the ponds in neighboring cells. Soon, there was nothing else. He was no longer Draugr. He'd become the Abyss. It was boundless, bottomless. It was silence, finality. And it was waiting.

It would be so easy to let go, to relinquish the self and become part of Eternity. The Abyss had stood before the Era's birth, and it ...

Chapter 1,278.

It was impossible not to have heard of Zenith Elixir during the gathering. Truga Ur himself mentioned it in passing. It was Black Zenith's most famous product, and having a monopoly on its concoction was an important reason for Truga's unshakeable position. There were multiple stronger Monarchs in the region, but no one wanted to harm the goose who laid the golden egg.

"Unfortunately, young master should've heard that the purification takes a significant amount of time. Every day, a sin...

Chapter 1,277.

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...

Chapter 1,276.

"Are you ready?"

"Ready enough for some exploration," Zac smiled at Esmeralda's eager expression. "What's left won't be solved in a day or two."

Eight days had passed since secluding himself. Zac felt like a dried-out plant having recovered after a long drought, filled with energy and desire to explore. New pathways had replaced the broken mess left after his breakthrough. They felt like superhighways able to transport boundless amounts of energy with unprecedented speed.

Ev...

Chapter 1,275.

"You found a city?"

Zac was about to comment on the absurdity of the notion of running into actual members of the Limitless Empire when he realized it was by no means an impossibility. His human half was still making his way through the Pangonian Wilds, which were filled with various lifeforms. If there were beasts, why not natives? Whatever method had kept the ancient continent and the fifth pillar hidden hadn't killed all life on it.

"Well, it's not quite that simple," Esmeralda...

Chapter 1,274.

The surroundings exploded in a chaotic mix of faith and space. Zac was unscathed, finding himself standing in the middle of a shallow crater fifty meters across. Surrounding him was a sea of orange complemented by nine pillars grasping for infinity. The new environment came with the influx of memories he'd hoped for. The shared state with Terea Wendimar had ended, replaced by his normal twinned existence.

Even so, the grief of parting with his 'father' lingered. It even intensified afte...

Chapter 1,273.

Kristvan's frown deepened from the information transmitted through the hundreds of runes floating around him. He sought the source of the anomaly, digging toward the depths of the earth and reaching far into the sky. There was no earthly reason to be found for the slight but comprehensive drop. The cosmos was still providing enough to maintain the node's operations, but it was getting more difficult by the minute.

It was only a matter of time before they'd have to start compromise. Kris...

Chapter 1,272.

A/N: We're back!

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Esmeralda reluctantly stirred, resisting the chill and exhaustion's attempts to drag her back into the comforting darkness. Bleary eyes opened, and thoughts resisted being put into a coherent order for a good while. She felt as lost as when she woke up in her next incarnation, her physical form unable to bear the weight of her consciousness. Thankfully, clarity returned much faster. It was the sixth time she’d awoken over...

Dragoncon and Sept Update.

The summer is coming to a close, which means I've dusted off the keyboard and returned to my writing cave. DotF is returning in September as planned. The only caveat is that I'll be flying home from Atlanta on Monday the 2nd, so the release time of the month's first chapter will be off. Barring any internet outage or tech problems, I'll likely just post the chapter on the Sunday before.

Speaking of DragonCon, Aethon's author lineup is finalized.

2024-08-16 14:40:43 +0000 UTC View Post

Defiance of the Fall Deluxe Edition

Hello, a small summer update! First of; Patreon should be mostly unbugged for everyone by now. Discord roles are still lagging behind, but the chapters should be accessible for everyone again. More importantly, I do have some other exciting news during the DotF drought!

Defiance of the Fall Book 1 is getting an illustrated deluxe hardcover!

2024-07-19 15:21:10 +0000 UTC View Post

DotF 1,222-1,271

Patreon still hasn't gotten back to me, and the problem hasn't solved itself. Since they don't work on weekends either, it seems unlikely this issue will be resolved this week. Thus, I've attached the early access chapters in PDF and EPUB format.

Sorry about the inconvenience!

Patreon is bugged

As many of you have noted, Patreon is bugged, having removed access to chapters and now Discord Roles. The bug is in how Patreon handles billing pauses.

I am desperately trying to get someone at Patreon to look into this issue, but they have no live support and an expected response time of 5-7 business days. You can submit a support if you wish to help. With enough tickets, they might escalate the problem.

2024-07-05 05:15:44 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 1,271.

A/N: And that's it for June and the Intersector War arcs! I hope you enjoyed them, and thank you for the patience you've shown as I've figured a sustainable path forward. When we start back up in September, we'll jump right into DotF's next phase.

A final reminder: Billing is turned off for July and August. If you want to retain the benefits of your membership (mainly early chapter access + Discord roles) during this period, you need to keep it active. 2024-06-29 13:55:41 +0000 UTC View Post