Defiance of the Fall

Emily had to admit, it was astonishing how quickly and effortlessly things could spiral out of control. Before she knew what hit her, she found herself clad in an embarrassingly cliché hooded robe with thousands of other compatriots. Emily had nothing against the witchy aesthetic, but she had undeniably taken things too far by participating in a ritual meant to summon an ancient deity.

To be fair, there were some signs things were moving in the wrong direction.

It all started with a gamble—picking a memory lantern at the last minute, solely based on its vague connection to the Radiant Court. After figuring out the ins and outs of the trial, Emily was disappointed to realize she’d gained an identity not much better than her own. Glothine Peyna was a trainee of the Order of Dawn, still ways from becoming a full-fledged Templar.

Sure, Glothine’s potential was enough to garner the attention of a mysterious Cardinal. Glothine should have known a man like that spelled trouble. The Cardinal led a covert mission, one not suitable for anointed Templars filled with Imperial Faith. The order had discovered a cult called the Children of the True Sun.

The Cardinal needed infiltrators talented enough that they could rise through their ranks and gather information on its elusive deity. The cult would reemerge if they didn’t deal with the root of the problem. Glothine jumped at the opportunity despite its evident dangers. The reward was too good to pass up. Exposing the diety’s true identity would directly qualify Glothine to take the oath. Not only that, she’d become a Templar stationed in the Radiant Court among the other handpicked elites of the Faith.

Emily inwardly scoffed. The memory lantern began during the cult’s initial screening. That silly girl hadn’t even made it past the first hurdle before being exposed. Emily had graciously taken over and solved the issue through some good old Atwood Diplomacy. Dead cultists wouldn’t reveal any secrets. Emily successfully became a Daughter of the True Sun by taking the proctor’s token from her cold, dead fingers.

It was all fun and games in the beginning. Emily’s status among the other ‘children’ increased with every memory domain she visited while her rewards went from mouthwatering to mindboggling.

‘That’s how they get you, isn’t it? They show you a good time, then you’re trapped before you know it.’

The party was over. The cult did as cults do, and Emily had no way out. She was literally stuck inside a volcano, forced to chant scriptures with her fervent siblings. Emily had no way to contact the Order of Dawn. If she did, why would they believe her? At least a million years had passed between Glothine’s name being struck from the Templar records and today. How could a Middle Hegemon possibly have survived that long?

Besides, Emily’s track record made her look more like a turncoat than an infiltrator. This was her fourth connected memory domain, and she’d done nothing to turn the situation around. If anything, she’d been instrumental in setting things up for this stupid ritual—something she only realized a few hours ago.

Emily glared at the throbbing sun floating in the center of the ritualistic circle, wishing she could test its structural integrity with one of her toys. The thousands of D-grade cultists would probably take offense, as would the four leaders standing around the altar placed beneath the sun. All of them Monarchs, with the Emissary of the True Sun being especially scary.

There was nothing to do but stay the course. It wasn’t like she could do anything to the primordial aura stirring in the depths of the sun. Something surpassing Emily’s understanding had appeared in its depths, something ancient and powerful. A presence that was already twisting the Dao and obscuring the Heavens.

Emily shook her head. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as she thought. Her seal had clearly encouraged her greed-induced treason. If the Radiant Court didn’t want her to take out the cult’s competition while embezzling their treasuries, it shouldn’t have buffed her seal after every misadventure. So what if she summoned an evil god? It was just a memory, and why would the god kill its devout followers? It might even have some good stuff—

A pained scream crushed Emily’s fantasy. It came from a cultist on the magic circle’s opposite end. Dark smoke poured out his hood and sleeves. Emily could feel the intense heat gathering within the twitching cultist. He was unable to hold it in, spontaneously combusting into a fiery pillar matching the True Sun aura. Sealed in the center of the flame, there was a stubborn ball of Imperial Faith.

“There are nonbelievers in our ranks, rats with ill intent,” one of the main cultists said as another cultist screamed. “The True Sun’s flames shall cleanse them of their confusion.”

‘I just had to jinx it, didn’t I?’ Emily inwardly groaned when a third infiltrator was exposed.

It was just the beginning. Fiery pillars erupted one after another, each adding to the dormant volcano’s sweltering heat. Worse, the Sun God’s aura deepened with every sacrifice. The Children of the True Sun had clearly allowed itself to be infiltrated, needing the Templars for the ritual. Emily endlessly complained in her mind. What’s wrong with these brain-dead cultists?

Life in the Limitless Empire was obviously pretty good, so why go around messing with ancient gods? Are you that bored? And do you think you’ll have a good end after killing so many imperials? Speaking of, how can these Templars be so unreliable? What kind of idiot is running things at the Order of Dawn? Why send dozens of infiltrators? You’re obviously going to get exposed.

More than anything, Emily needed to figure out just how the True Sun cult was able to identify the infiltrators. Did they already have a black book of names? If not, there had to be a problem with the spell meant to hide their Imperial Faith. The deaths started shortly after that vast aura appeared within the sun.

Emily had never bothered using that magic, mostly because Glothine’s fractured memories didn’t contain the whole thing—probably the reason for her premature exposure. It hadn’t caused any problems thus far. Emily had figured it wasn’t a problem, considering she had no faith to speak of. Every conflagration chipped away at her certainty.

What was she supposed to do? There was no escape. The volcano was sealed with incredible arrays, and she’d surely become the next pillar if she left her post. She furtively looked around, desperately praying for someone else to make the first move. It would trigger a domino effect, perhaps creating an opportunity to escape.

‘Muscle-brained lunatics! Why are none of you running? Dozens have died already! If you’re going to sacrifice yourselves, do it in a way that’s of help to your colleagues!’

The sacrifices became a clock counting toward her final departure. Emily wasn’t one to give up without a fight. Since everyone else was unwilling to make a move, she would have to get the ball rolling herself. There was a chance of survival so long as she could figure out a way to survive the initial attention.

The opportunity Emily had been waiting for arrived before she could come up with a plan that didn’t guarantee painful and immediate death. The floating sun flickered, prompting the sealed Imperial Faith inside the fiery pillars to erupt with incredible intensity. Golden flames had ignited from within, quickly overpowering and consuming the True Sun’s fire.

The pillars collapsed, turning into miniature suns radiating rays of unbending conviction. They surrounded the True Sun like a pack of hungry lions eying a wounded elephant. The Sun God didn’t like what it saw, and its vast presence began pulling back. The sacrificial suns wouldn’t let their prey escape, and they released dozens of radiant chains.

Silver harpoons with cruel barbs were fastened at the tip of the chains. They dug into the fading sun and forcibly prolonged its stay. Four of the chains targeted the leaders presiding over the ritual. Two stabbed into the Emissary of the True Sun with such speed he failed to react. They didn’t punch a hole in his chest as Emily had hoped. The chains were spiritual in nature, unable to do anything beyond sealing its targets.

The other two chains targeted one vice leader each, leaving the last one unencumbered. The reversal happened in the blink of an eye, and it was only the beginning. The third vice-master’s hand gained a stony coating with such a brutal aura that Emily’s thoughts were briefly scattered. The vice-leader had already stabbed his hand through his colleague’s head when Emily came to, confirming his status as another infiltrator.

He didn’t get the chance to finish off the others. While chained down, they retained part of their cultivation. The spy had his hands full stopping the Emissary and his helper from saving their god. They fought in a separate space so that their surroundings weren’t impacted. The traitor didn’t want to damage the chains, while the cultists desperately kept the altar safe.

“Protect the True Sun! Break the chains!” the Emissary roared, startling the shocked cultists awake.

The true believers acted without hesitation, targeting the golden suns scattered across the volcano. Some had other ideas. Over two hundred cultists fearlessly intercepted the believers despite being outnumbered three to one. Emily gaped in shock when she realized a full quarter of the cultists had been spies.

A quarter of the hooded cultists took a cautious approach by retreating from the mayhem. They were no doubt opportunists like Emily, who’d joined the cult for its surprisingly ample resources. The true believers didn’t bother with this group. The volcano’s arrays were still intact, so there’d be time to deal with them later.

Awash with relief, Emily tabled any plans of making a heroic stance. Instead, she joined the neutral group, carefully inching away from her spot in the inner circle. The Order of Dawn had made its move, so the outer barrier should be knocked down soon enough.

Or would it?

Emily’s steps slowed until she came to a standstill. Memory domains only appeared where things had gone tits up, and the situation certainly didn’t look optimistic. The Templars mounted a valiant resistance, but the followers of the sun had numbers on their side. Templars were dying left and right. The first two dozen turned into sacrificial suns, at which point the True Sun roared. From thereon out, no new suns emerged.

Worse, The True Sun had imparted its followers with some of its power, making them fight without care for their lives. Even some of the opportunists entered the fray when they saw how badly the Templars were faltering. With fewer and few defenders, the cultists started attacking the chains. Directly destroying them was impossible, but each attack exhausted a small amount of its radiance. It wouldn’t take long before the first ones would snap.

The C-grade spy was powerless to turn things around. The emissary was the biggest beneficiary of the True Sun’s blessing, and the infiltrator was about to be overwhelmed. Just as Emily hesitated about what to do, she felt a vibration from the Cosmos Sack she used to keep her local products. It came from a simple memento that Emily vaguely recalled being Glothine’s.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Emily didn’t need to see its glowing Imperial Faith to realize there was something off about it. She’d completely glossed over its existence since acquiring her identity, yet always kept it on her person. Emily’s back was slick with sweat, suddenly realizing how the True Sun had found the infiltrators.

Emily wasn’t given the chance to curse her callous bosses before receiving an order that allowed no questioning.

‘Ignite the flame!’’

Emily’s gaze was involuntarily drawn to the altar, realizing that a small bundle of golden sticks had replaced the ornamental relics. She wasn’t the only one to have received the message. Eight Templars immediately shot toward the altar. Two of them even sacrificed their lives to open a path for a third. It was all for naught. Only someone like Zac could cut a path through a swarm of cultivators at the same grade.

And yet, that was exactly what she had to do. The chains were snapping, the spies were dying, and there were no signs of reinforcements. Whatever happened next would be too little, too late. She needed to put her finger on the scale.

“God damn it!” Emily spat as a stream of axes poured out of her sleeves.

The flying tomahawks kicked up a literal storm that obscured even Dao-empowered sight, but it couldn’t hide the massive totem pole that rose in its center. Using the memento as a medium, Emily threw two buffing axes into the pillar. The effect was immediate.

There were still a hundred Templars left standing, all of them showcasing valor and strength above the norm. Even they had been struggling against the relentless tide of cultists, and most had used their hidden cards to last until now. A pulse holding the vigor of spring and the fierceness of the summer sun swept through the volcano, imbuing the faltering warriors with newfound strength.

Dozens of cultists died in a single breath from the Templars’ sudden burst of strength. A few more were cut apart from finding themselves within range of [Dance of the Five Seasons]. The axe array reaped six lives before they realized what hit them. To their credit, the cultists displayed a semblance of cohesion even in their rage-addled state. They worked together to create a perimeter before moving toward the buffing pillar. Emily couldn’t have that.

“Suzy!”

A massive salamander came barreling through the dense storm, its incorporeal form allowing the flying axes to pass right through. It crashed into the most organized group of cultists nearby, completely disrupting their formation. The cultists fought back against the beast and Emily’s assault by unleashing swathes of the True Sun’s wrath.

The flames held a mysterious power that damaged the flying axes with shocking ease. Emily had to give it to the Templars; it was a miracle that so many were still standing. The flames left Suzy cautious, unwilling to make direct contact. Instead, her burning form darkened before turning translucent, like she had fused with the obscuring storm. From radiating the scorching heat of summer, the salamander creature became an avatar of fall’s decay.

Suzy opened her maw wide, releasing a gale that suffocated the flames, and two cultists crumpled to the ground. Another cultist died to a tomahawk flashing by in the gale’s shadow, and a brutal stomp from the huge salamander turned the rest of them into a paste. A massive hand of flames picked that moment to target the totem pole from the storm’s opposite end.

It was the combined efforts of eight Early Hegemons who hoped to overcome quality with quantity. The ambush wasn’t fast enough to stump the ferocious salamander. Suzy turned into a gust of wind, appearing before the buffing pillar. The salamander was acting without Emily providing guidance or Cosmic Energy—something only possible now that she’d transcended from being a skill.

Emily had gained a lot from her dealings with the Children of the True Sun, and the [Ardent Sunseed] was undoubtedly the best. The powerful Natural Treasure had imparted Suzy with a true spirit, turning her into a summoned companion like Verun. [Apostle of Autumn] was already one of Emily’s deadliest skills, and becoming a true spirit had made Suzy even stronger.

The salamander even adapted to embody Emily’s seasonal Dao, not just the heat of summer’s end. Suzy’s unbelievable transformation wasn’t even the best part. The sunseed had created a spiritual space in the heart of Emily’s Cosmic Core, and both Suzy and her home would be nurtured when Emily cultivated.

The addition had increased the amount of energy needed for each level, but the benefits more than made up for it. The sunseed would provide significant assistance when assaulting Monarchy. Its space would fuse with her Inner World, stabilizing it while expanding its borders. It was also this treasure that made Emily fall to temptation and enter the volcano’s memory domain for “one final score.”

Suzy successfully stopped the ambush, but it was only a delay of the inevitable. The zealots had realized totem pole was a major factor behind the Templars’ sudden burst of strength. More and more shifted their attention from the sacrificial suns to dealing with the new threat. Suzy could stall a handful of cultists, but a whole army of them was asking too much of her newborn pet.

It wasn’t like protecting the totem pole with her life would change anything. Emily had always known her buffs wouldn’t be enough to turn the situation around. What mattered was how she used the attention it garnered. The salamander’s rampage had taken focus from the six massive cannons silently appearing within the storm. Even Emily’s modified [Godslayer Cannons] needed a moment to arm.

That moment had passed, which meant it was time to create a few suns of her own.

A deafening roar heralded an enormous shockwave of fire and smoke. It would have been easy to mistake the eruption with the volcano coming alive with Emily’s totem pole as the epicenter. Six streaks of condensed destruction moved much faster than the expanding cloud. They smashed directly into the tightest clumps of cultists who’d advanced on Emily’s position.

The zealots were woefully ill-prepared to deal with the Atwood Empire’s bloody gift and were consumed by ephemeral suns. The explosions quickly disappeared, leaving behind utter devastation. Three dozen cultists instantly died, only leaving scraps behind. An even greater number were maimed by the hidden shrapnel or knocked silly by the shockwave.

Those who’d narrowly avoided calamity mutely stared at the smoldering remains of their so-called siblings. As one, they stepped away from the menacing weapons that had appeared around the buffing pillar. Not even the True Sun’s blessing could make them stare down the oversized barrels of the [Godslayer Cannons].

Smoke poured out of the War Machines, and they were covered in cracks. They still exuded a palpable fighting spirit, like dying warriors ready to drag their foes down to hell. Their runes sputtered and flickered as they released a low roar, and cultists began running for their lives.

A burning mace radiating horrifying power descended before the cannons could go any further. It held the weight of a collapsing star, far surpassing what a Hegemon could withstand. The totem pole shattered, and the [Godslayer Cannons] were turned into flattened scrap by a resounding slam. Suzy would have shared their fate if she hadn’t returned to her spiritual space the moment the cannons fired.

Emily hadn’t expected the Emissary of the True Sun to interfere, allowing his vice-captain to get mortally wounded to deal with the unexpected variable. Thankfully, she’d never planned on sticking around. She was already miles away, hiding inside the shockwave she’d created. The Emissary had kept his ambush contained to avoid birthing new suns, but the ripples still reached her position.

Holding back a pained groan as bleeding cracks appeared across her body, Emily kept making her way toward the altar. The message had told her to ignite the flame, so that was what she was going to do. Not because of a belated sense of duty but because it was the only way Emily saw herself getting out in one piece.

Emily moved with supernatural grace, a perfect integration between purpose and Dao. She’d become the storm, making her aura almost indistinguishable from the rippling clouds. Her placement in the ritual was close to the innermost circle, and she successfully slipped past a protective perimeter erected around the True Sun.

Success was so close Emily could taste it, but the clouds couldn’t withstand the sweltering sun’s glare. Despite Emily’s best attempts to keep them going, they dissipated while Emily was still crossing the no-man’s land.

Behind were dozens of powerful cultists who realized their deity was in danger. Ahead was a Peak Middle Monarch who had already tried taking her life once. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Emily could only keep going. She threw a massive ball covered in sinister runes at the cultists as she rushed toward the altar, her body crackling with invigorating lightning.

The bomb erupted in a blinding light. That was it. Emily snickered at the cultists scrambling out of the way of her disco ball. Sure, she would have preferred presenting them with the real thing, but her stockpiles were running low. This wasn’t the first time she’d been forced to rely on external help. Emily had used them while traversing the Left Imperial Expanse with increased frequency, and the previous memory domains had required incendiary intervention.

Emily feared she would arrive at the Radiant Court with empty pockets at this rate. The decoy bought her the window she needed, but it wasn’t over yet. The Emissary of the True Sun wouldn’t fall for a cheap trick like that. However, the Emissary had underestimated the determination of his enemies. The C-grade infiltrator suddenly exploded, unleashing a conflagration of Imperial Faith that threw the Emissary out of the way.

The golden flames fueled by the Monarch’s life force swept over the altar, exposing a hidden protective array. The detonation of a Monarch’s inner world only managed to open a small crack, and it was already closing. It was now or never.

“No!” the Emissary roared, desperately unleashing another attack through the curtain of golden flames. Even weakened, it wasn’t something Emily could deal with. Suppressing the pain in her heart, Emily threw out the only thing strong enough to buy time. A massive cube of refined alloy thumped on the ground, creating a durable blockade.

From its shadow, Emily hurled her tomahawk imbued with the raging flames of summer at the altar. The weapon turned into a flaming comet and successfully squeezed through the crack. It was at that time the bulwark exploded. The Middle D-grade ship would have been able to withstand a hit or two with its shielding active. The same couldn’t be said in its furled state.

The Emissary’s desperate wave of flames descended, yet all Emily could see was the small, golden fire burning atop the altar. How dared that ball of burning gas above dare call itself the True Sun? What an impostor. Only that flame was worthy of such a grand name. Emily calmly looked up, knowing she’d stumbled onto such a fundamental, inviolable truth that reality could only comply.

The True Sun’s ancient presence was torn asunder, triggering a complete collapse of the Emissary’s cultivation. The sky darkened, and the volcano froze over from the chill of immense, cosmic loss. The whole memory domain quaked, but the Imperial Faith froze from the utter absence of sunlight. Even the Dao in Emily’s mind trembled, threatening to wink out like a dying flame.

The fighting had stopped while Cosmos forced them to witness the end of all things. Just when Emily feared the world would fade into eternal darkness, the True Sun reignited with majestic power. Shifting from angry red to the small fire’s imperial gold, the sun released a pulse of unquestionable authority. The cultists became shadows under direct sunlight, fading into nothingness.

“Butchers! Thieves!” a decrepit-looking Emissary wailed, giving Emily a final hate-filled stare before joining his subjects in annihilation.

Emily barely heard him. She gawked at the True Sun as its aura surpassed its previous heights and reached unfathomable levels. The memory domain should have shattered ten times over, but the sun’s rays kept the reality aloft. A single drop fell from the sun, turning into what could only be an angel without wings.

The featureless entity looked at the destruction, gently waving his hand. The chains faded, leaving only the sacrificial suns. They were joined by hundreds more that rose from the bodies of the fallen Templars. Emily marveled at the scene until even the few surviving infiltrators joined their brethren, leaving her behind with this bloody angel.

“What—You—” Emily stuttered before she found her mettle. If she were going to die, she wouldn’t go out with a whimper. “Damn it! I’ll haunt you if you dare repay my hard work by turning me into a bonfire. I’ll curse you with impotence, you fire-starting lunatic!”

“Some mouth on you. I suppose your lack of discipline is how you successfully infiltrated the cult,” a decidedly female voice scoffed before her tone softened. “You did well. Countless years of work would have faltered if not for your timely intervention.”

Emily wanted to ask what the hell took the order so long, but she reined her temper now that she might survive. Still, the anger seemed able to read her thoughts.

“Caution is paramount when hunting Gods. It took us over a million years to make the True Sun accept our Faith Offerings, and it never truly trusted us. It would never have entered our trap if it sensed any High-grade Templars lurking nearby.”

“Wait, what?” Emily blurted. Did the angel just admit the Order of Dawn had not just infiltrated but actually founded the Children of the True Sun?

“Your contribution will be remembered,” the angel said, and a streak of flames poured into her left hand.

Emily didn’t have time to investigate the mysterious power it held. The angel had left, and the Imperial Flame released its grip on the memory domain. The volcano’s towering walls faded, exposing the vast jungle beyond. Emily gave the shrinking sacrificial suns a pitying look, suddenly realizing they looked quite familiar.

A parting message entered Emily’s mind as the domain’s last vestiges faded.

“Their service is their reward. Their faith shall burn forever, guiding those lost in the dark.”

Only two hundred freshly made memory lanterns remained.