Arbiter of the Abyss

*Wield the chains of finality. Become the justice of the abyssal legions.*

## Summary

Arbiter of the Abyss is a peak-quality E-Grade skill Zac evolved from his Vanguard of Undeath skill while in a temple that held one of the seals of his Flamebearer of Ultom quest in Gemmy's Mystic Realm in the Void Star. Zac made significant changes with the upgrade because the old skill no longer suited his fighting style and required the use of a shield which he no longer used. Zac, and Love's Bond, still grows in size. The attribute buff was bolstered, but any change from the previous 15% has not been stated, at the cost of the defensive aspect. Most importantly, the taunting function was drastically improved being also able to rebuff an attack and an incredibly durable spectral chain was added that could block most movement skills once attached to its victim for the ten seconds the chain existed. The chain also allows the immediate delivery of the final strike of Blighted Cut.

## Evolution

### Justification

* The problem was that **[Vanguard of Undeath]** didn't synergize as well with his toolkit any longer. **Chapter 898**
* He couldn't even activate it without taking out a spare shield, and **[Deathmark]** no longer required him to get hit to retaliate against his enemies. **Chapter 898**
* The way he defended himself had also changed. Between the support from the pygmy skeletons of **[Profane Exponents]** and Alea's chains, he didn't get much from using a shield. **Chapter 898**

### Process

* This time, he didn't use the **[Fractal Framework Array]** either. **Chapter 898**
* ... he felt like a skilled surgeon now when he detached the Skill Fractal of **[Vanguard of Undeath]** with pinpoint precision. **Chapter 898**
* Zac didn't completely follow his original plan though, because he could clearly see some of his ideas wouldn't work thanks to his current state of enlightenment. Still, it was not enough to cause worry. **Chapter 898**

### Changes

* At the first step of the transformation, the section focused on attribute boosts was bolstered at the cost of defenses. He still left a smaller defensive function in the skill, but it wouldn't be as obvious as the thick black armor created from pure Miasma. **Chapter 898**
* Whole new sections were added to the system, making it infinitely more complex. Meanwhile, the core patterns of the taunt were bolstered, pushing the boundaries of what was possible with an E-grade skill. **Chapter 898**
* With these many patterns, the skill's energy expenditure would skyrocket. **Chapter 898**

### Outcome

* He was no longer in the eye of the storm, no longer a meat shield meant to run at the forefront of an army. Instead, the skill's fundamental themes now centered around chains and finality, which was far more on point with his class. **Chapter 898**

## Skill Window

[E] Arbiter of the Abyss - Proficiency: Early. Wield the chains of finality. Become the justice of the abyssal legions. Upgradeable. **Chapter 898**

## Early Proficiency

### Visual Transformation

* "I choose Death?" Zac said as his body started to grow. "You have no idea." **Chapter 904**
* Muscles and bones creaked and groaned until Zac was almost four meters tall. This feature didn't strengthen him, but he kept it since it had proven useful when he fought Uona. **Chapter 904**
* ... a swirling darkness that formed a terrifying backdrop behind him. ... The swirl was now roughly the size of his torso, and it created a profane halo effect. **Chapter 904**
* And from its depths, ... a thick scarred chain that wound itself around his left forearm, essentially forming a thick impregnable bracer. **Chapter 904**

### Minimal Armor

* The thick plating that radiated the cold aquamarine of death from within was mostly gone. Instead, Zac found himself donning a mantle of utter darkness that covered most of his features. He still gained a dark scaled breastplate with dense inscriptions, but his helmet was replaced by a hood and the rest of his plating with dark robes that continuously released the black tendrils of the abyss. **Chapter 904**

### Taunting Effect

* And its domain was incredibly powerful. **Chapter 904**
* The strength of his taunt had been greatly improved, and he could now rebuff just like he could attract. **Chapter 904**
* A hit that would narrowly hit would now miss, and a lethal strike would get demoted to a flesh wound as it was rebuffed, drastically lessening the pressure on himself and **[Profane Exponents]** when he fought. **Chapter 904**

### The Arbiter's Chain

* Seeing his opportunity, Zac said a silent prayer as his left arm rose, and the abyssal chain around his forearm uncoiled and shot forward. **Chapter 904**
* The first was the original one that had returned to his arm after being rebuffed. The second was a spectral chain that was still very much attached to the Hegemon's chest. It didn't have the usual cold turquoise of Miasma, but it was instead a matte black that reeked of pure death. **Chapter 905**
* The infiltrator had been fettered by **[Arbiter of the Abyss]**, and he would only be released after receiving judgment. Trying to break free would just result in a spiritual backlash. **Chapter 905**
* The ghost chain could only be used once, but it would strengthen the pulling component of the domain significantly. Escaping after being tagged was both difficult and dangerous. **Chapter 905**
* First of all, it should be able to block and deactivate most types of movement skills, including teleportation and various phase shifts. **Chapter 905**
* And no matter if the marked target destroyed the links with a powerful attack or stretched them until they broke, they'd receive an intense backlash. **Chapter 905**
* The only downside of the spectral chain was that it only lasted around 10 seconds, though the other parts of the skill wouldn't deactivate even after using it. **Chapter 905**

## Middle/Late Proficiency

* The first two upgrades hadn't changed anything. It simply made the directional domain stronger while allowing the chain to move significantly faster. **Chapter 1,101**

## Peak Proficiency

* **[Arbiter of the Abyss]** was the last skill to be upgraded to E-grade. ... But like his other skills, it had been elevated to Peak Mastery long ago. **Chapter 1,101**
* The taunt itself hadn't gotten any stronger at Peak Mastery, but it was already very impressive, like the battle just now had shown. Instead, it had pushed the chain's speed to its peak and could now move far quicker than even Alea's upgraded chains. **Chapter 1,101**
* Most importantly, the upgrade made the spectral chain rechargeable. The spectral chain could still only last for ten seconds after deployment, but it would now charge up another chain after a minute. **Chapter 1,101**

## Synergy

### Blighted Cut

* It was the finishing blow of **[Blighted Cut]** that had suddenly become available thanks to **[Arbiter of the Abyss]**. It allowed for instant judgment, and the Hegemon was almost dismembered into four chunks. **Chapter 905**

### Love's Bond

* **[Love's Bond]** and **[Black Death]** looked mostly the same, except the links had grown a shade darker as they had been imbued with the abyssal aura of his Draugr heritage. Of course, they had also grown in size to match Zac's own, but the axe retained its shape instead of being reformed into a bardiche. **Chapter 904**
* The stronger Alea grew, the stronger this chain would become, just like how the power of his shield had partly determined the protective qualities of **[Immutable Bulwark]**. **Chapter 904**
* It was actually the vortex on Alea's coffin lid that had grown in size. It probably looked like a gateway to the abyss, one even more palpable than the darkness of **[Rapturous Divide]**. **Chapter 904**

### Pillar of Desolation

* The absolute darkness from **[Pillar of Desolation]**meshed even better with his other two domains, and Zac could feel how the ethereal chain that connected him and the Goblin’s face grew sturdier. **Chapter 925**
* Surprisingly, the chain of **[Arbiter of the Abyss]** had turned completely invisible while Zac [*sic*], and not even using his taunt exposed his location. **Chapter 925**

## Commentary

* This [*the taunting effect*] was a feature Zac had never encountered in anyone else's skill, and it was shockingly effective. **Chapter 898**
* But now that he had the perfect weapon, it would weaken the skill if it transformed his weapon. **Chapter 904**
* Following up, Zac pulled on the ethereal chain to push his taunting domain to the limits, using the last second on the skill to reject the Goblin’s attack. **Chapter 925**
* The thick chain of **[Arbiter of the Abyss]** barely had time to wound itself around Zac's left arm before he reached out and clenched his hand. A tremendous pull kicked the whole area into a frenzy, and even the huge mountain still resisting his pillar was wrenched over a dozen meters closer. **Chapter 1,007**
* With his five-meter frame shrouded in darkness and swirling halo, the Draugr looked like a fallen God. **Chapter 1,008**
* Only the small shards managed to pass through the curtain, but they couldn't even break through the repulsion domain of **[Arbiter of the Abyss]**. **Chapter 1,100**
* The World Lord was mostly through the vortex by that point, but the sound of the punctured air was followed by a chain shooting into the vortex with such speed that it left small cracks in space. **Chapter 1,100**
* The pull had shattered the spectral chain of his skill, but **[Arbiter of the Abyss]** was still running. This wasn't anything new—like **[Vanguard of Undeath]**, it could be maintained indefinitely as long as he had the energy to spare. **Chapter 1,101**