Chapter 754: Return (2/2)

Zac only pretended to not notice in hopes that his captive would keep talking in an attempt to delay. Back-up was no doubt on their way, though it would take them a few hours to reach this place. With his preparations, they would hopefully waste a couple of hours pinpointing their ally's position as well, giving Zac more time to gain a head-start.

The corals turned into a kaleidoscopic blur as Zac rushed to create some distance. Only after having swum tens of thousands of meters did he take out an escape talisman and crush it. Zac appeared dozens of kilometers away, and he quickly oriented himself before setting off again, making a wide berth around the settlement.

The [Ocean Chart] of the Havarok warrior had provided Zac with everything he needed to make it back to the middle reaches. It even detailed the location of the Death Pulse, saving Zac the need to capture an undead warrior as well. However, he didn't head toward the Death Pulse, but rather a current somewhat poetically called the River of Broken Ambition.

The name came from the fact that it was one of the few currents that could take warriors from the core regions of the Twilight Ocean all the way to the far safer waters in the beginning. Most of the currents, including the Death Pulse, rather streamed in the direction of the Twilight Chasm, making them unsuitable for his purposes.

He would eventually have to head for the Death Pulse to find Catheya, but traveling against its current would waste months comparing to hitching a ride to the River of Broken Ambition.

Zac kept a frantic pace over the next week, not even stopping for a quick rest, as he pushed toward the next danger zone. It was a massive maelstrom that had made a vast swathe of the inner ocean extremely precarious to traverse. The energy density was a lot higher compared to outside the turbulent waters as well, which was why some considered it a testing ground for those who considered going to the chasm but weren't sure they could handle it.

For Zac, who had survived weeks in the depths of the Twilight Chasm, it could barely be considered a challenge, and he cut through the chaotic waters like an arrow, saving over a week on his route. Hopefully, this had also thrown off any potential pursuit, though Zac hadn't sensed any signs of such a thing taking place.

The moment the waters stabilized, he took out one of his submersibles and set out, using the vessel to hide his identity from any curious onlookers. From there, Zac's journey became a lot more tranquil. It took him a week to reach the current, at which point his speed more than doubled.

The following week,s Zac mostly rested and consolidated his gains. The ambient energy had already become too sparse for him to use his Soul Strengthening Manual, not that he dared use them while traveling. The ship usually sailed itself, but he occasionally had to take over to avoid beasts or greedy cultivators.

More than once did Zac encounter ambushes by people trying to snatch the riches of those fleeing from the inner ocean in defeat. These attacks invariably ended in wholesale slaughter this time around since Zac couldn't have his whereabouts spread. At least those short and bloody encounters allowed him to confirm and sometimes expand on what he learned from Trakodles.

The Havarok Warrior had pretty much spoken the truth, though he had failed to mention that the Havarok was clearly targeting the ancient city that had popped up. Ykrodas had gathered most of his forces to stand guard outside its gates, and their presence on the other areas of the trial was mostly skeleton crews like the one Trakodles had been a part of.

Soon enough a month had passed along the River of Broken Ambition, at which point Zac finally detached his vessel from the current and set a new course. He was at the edge between what was generally considered the middle and inner section of the ocean, meaning it was time for him to start looking for Catheya.

He kept her token in his hand as he sailed toward the Death Pulse, but the communicator didn't show any sign of activating during the sixteen days until he reached the pulse. The Death Pulse itself was just like he imagined, a massive, kilometer-wide current of condensed death. He had felt the environment change even hours before reaching it, the difference was palpable now that his submersible was only a few thousand meters away.

It felt like he was enclosed in a warm embrace, in contrast to the poisonous environment of the Life Pulse. The feeling was a poignant reminder of just how unnatural this realm was, with its corrupted energy constantly burrowing into his body. It made him long for the days when he could leave this place, but he soon refocused and passed right beneath the current, continuing on the other side.

Zac kept steering his vessel in a zig-zag pattern over the next 20 days along both sides of the Death Pulse. He was trying to get close enough to Catheya for the tracker to activate, and one day his efforts finally paid off. He looked down at the array disk with a mix of anticipation and hesitation as he put away his submersible and entered a dense forest beneath him.

He understood all-too-well how much chaos he had created, and he wasn’t sure what kind of reception awaited him. He even considered turning around and leaving. Then again, since he could see that Catheya was nearby, then the Draugr scion had probably sensed his approach since a few hours ago.

There was no point to his hesitation. He had decided to put his trust in his Draugr associate, in the fact that she had not decided to throw him under the bus to protect herself. Of course, that didn’t mean that he would just blindly go in without some preparations since there was some risk that she had been captured by his pursuers.

A thorough scan of the surroundings exposed some of the usual wildlife, but no cultivators either living or undead. The spot Catheya had chosen was really desolate, and the area didn't seem to have much in the way of valuable plants. There were no suspicious energy fluctuations either, and his Danger Sense was completely quiet.

If there was a trap waiting, then it was extremely well-hidden.

Even if there was some risk involved, Zac still swam toward the place his beacon indicated, a small chain of mountains sitting in the middle of the forest. As expected, when he got within 100 meters of a sheer wall, a gate appeared out of thin air and soundlessly opened. Zac steeled himself as he swam inside, both his axe and his coffin at the ready in case of ambush.

Past the hidden gate was a roughly carved tunnel leading into a small chamber no more than five by five meters. Its walls and ceiling were filled with small holes, and looking into them gave Zac an ominous feeling. The three small skeletons of [Profane Exponents] appeared behind his back, protecting him in case something nasty came flying out from those trapholes.

“Hello?” Zac eventually shouted as the seconds passed, and only then did another hidden door open.

Zac flashed inside, and he immediately found himself face to face with three familiar figures in the other room. Catheya sat on an ice crystal crafted into a high-backed chair, and her two followers stood behind her. He breathed out in relief upon seeing they were fine. He hadn't heard anything about the three since setting out, and their situation had been a constant weight on his shoulders.

But in fact, it seemed like they were more than fine. Just over a year had passed since they met last time, but Zac sensed that they all had made pretty impressive gains to match his own, Catheya most of all. Her aura had always been one of an elite, but it was much deeper now. Not only that, but over her head a bounty of [750-1,000] soon appeared, proving her improved aura wasn’t just empty bluster.

Her increase in bounty was proof that her Death-aspected Dao had become a Peak Fragment, but Zac was certain it wasn't the only Dao she had improved. Her bounty wasn't too high, but the cold aura she exuded easily surpassed that of someone with a simple Peak Fragment, which meant she probably had formed some ice-related Dao Branch.

Qirai’s aura had become deeper as well, even if her bounty was still a pitiful [0-250]. It was no surprise, considering she probably had a combat-oriented Dao, possibly coupled with a Soul-oriented one. Even Varo felt a bit stronger, though Zac noted that he had ultimately lost his badly mangled arm. An empty sleeve now hung to his side.

It wasn't the end of the world though. Catheya's master, or her clan if Va Tapek turned out to be a traitor, shouldn't have too much trouble regrowing an E-grade cultivator's appendage. And even if that failed, there was the Corpselord route that was open to the undead. Of course, Varo could also do just fine without the use of a second arm as evidenced by people like Ogras.

Zac was feeling excited to finally link up with his old allies, but the oppressive feeling in the room was making him a bit unsure whether the feeling was mutual. Catheya and her two companions didn’t say anything for a few seconds, instead opting to mete out even stares that spoke volumes on their own.

“Uh, long time no see. How have you all been?” Zac said with a small smile, trying to lighten the mood since the pressure of Catheya’s gaze was starting to get a bit suffocating.

“What was the last thing I asked of you before we split up?” Catheya finally said, her voice shaking with barely contained fury as the room turned into a freezing hellscape.

Right then and there, Zac felt he might be better off facing another turtle monster than this enraged trio.