Chapter 237: Backlash
The method Adam used to harvest extra enlightenment from chaos wasn’t the only path forward. Remedy also had her own way of accumulating enlightenment, though it wasn’t as abundant as his. Still, it was enough to push her growth forward.
The problem with exceeding the normal enlightenment limit was simple. Creating ten techniques would no longer guarantee ascension to the Lord rank. There would be additional requirements, extra trials, and unseen thresholds. Those concerns, however, belonged to the future.
Right now, Remedy’s focus wasn’t on ascending. It was to stabilize and help Cornelia’s domain advance. But as to how she created a domain that power came from the enlightenment she had accumulated, condensed and refined into a technique powerful enough to mimic a true domain.
But the difference between enlightenment-based creation and territory-based creation was massive. The result spoke for itself. Remedy could only form a partial domain, a weaker projection that mimicked the effects but lacked the absolute dominance of a real domain.
Still, that limitation didn’t bother her. A complete domain wasn’t necessary for what she needed. Her goal wasn’t conquest or overwhelming power. It was something far more personal, something that involved helping Cornelia.
She replayed the moment in her mind. I showed her the domain so she’d trust me more. Trust mattered. Without it, there was no chance of cooperation. But showing the partial domain wasn’t enough to solve the core problem.
What Remedy truly needed had nothing to do with space control or territorial dominance. The issue tied directly to her soul, something far deeper and more dangerous than forming a domain.
As for the territories belonging to monarchs, they were physical landmarks, but that wasn’t what Remedy meant when she told Cornelia to destroy them. She wasn’t targeting the land itself. She was referring to the links between Cornelia and her territories.
Those links acted like nodes inside Cornelia’s body. They connected her to the territories and stabilized her domain. Remedy’s plan was simple but dangerous. Cornelia had to sever those links by destroying the nodes one by one.
Cornelia had already destroyed most of them. Now she stood on the verge of collapsing the final node out of three hundred. The energy buildup inside her body was overwhelming, vibrating like something ready to detonate.
I have to time this right, Remedy thought, eyes fixed on Cornelia. If she made a single mistake, the backlash could cripple Cornelia or tear her domain apart. Everything depended on this final moment.
The instant Cornelia destroyed the last node, the energy stored from all previous implosions burst outward. It surged through her body like a storm finally breaking loose. The pressure was immense, raw, and chaotic.
Remedy didn’t waste a second. She pulled out a fragment of her own soul. The pain was brutal, like tearing out part of her existence. But she endured it. She had suffered far worse before.
She hurled the soul fragment into the energy erupting from Cornelia. The reaction was immediate. Like fuel hitting flame, the power surged violently, intensifying the energy and accelerating its transformation.
Energy couldn’t be created or destroyed, only converted. And the amount required to build an imperial-grade domain wasn’t enough to reach the divine tier. External intervention was necessary. Remedy became that intervention.
There was no catalyst more powerful than the soul of a regressor. The fragment fused with the chaotic energy, guiding and stabilizing it. Slowly, the broken nodes began repairing themselves inside Cornelia’s body.
The process didn’t stop at restoration. The structure expanded beyond its original state. Instead of three hundred nodes, four hundred formed, each anchoring the domain more firmly and increasing its overall capacity.
The violent energy surge finally subsided. The domain around them trembled, then stabilized with a deeper, denser pressure than before. The air itself felt heavier, thicker, and filled with a new level of power.
Cornelia opened her eyes. A shockwave erupted outward from her, rippling through the space around them. Her aura had changed completely. She had succeeded. Her domain had risen to the divine grade.
****
Cornelia steadied her breathing as the divine-grade domain settled around her. Power flooded her body in waves, pulsing through her veins like liquid fire. The density of the energy was overwhelming, yet it obeyed her completely.
It actually worked. The thought flickered through her mind. She had trusted Remedy, but not completely. That wasn’t strange. Absolute trust was rare, especially in a world where a single wrong choice could cost everything.
But she hadn’t been wrong this time. Remedy had delivered. The new structure inside her felt solid, stable, and more powerful than before. She could feel the four hundred nodes humming in sync, waiting for the next step.
I just need to activate the remaining hundred nodes. Once those were fully stabilized and aligned with her will and new territories, the domain would finish evolving. The foundation had been laid, now completion was within reach.
She turned toward Remedy, intending to thank the girl who made this possible. But the words died before they formed. The moment she looked at Remedy, her expression froze.
She had been too focused on her breakthrough. Too consumed by the surge of power and the restructuring of her domain. Because of that, she hadn’t noticed Remedy’s condition until now.
Remedy stood unsteadily, her posture weak. Her breathing was shallow. Her skin, which had once held a healthy tone, was now draining of color at an alarming rate. She looked like she might collapse at any moment.
Cornelia’s heart tightened. She rushed forward without hesitation, catching Remedy before her legs could give out. "What’s wrong?" she asked, her voice strained with sudden fear.
Remedy didn’t answer immediately. Her body trembled as if an internal storm was tearing through her. The reason was simple but devastating. She had used a fragment of her own soul to stabilize Cornelia’s transformation.
Her soul had already been in an unstable state. It was mutating on its own. Altering it further, even by tearing off a single fragment, had triggered a violent backlash that her body was now struggling to endure.
Cornelia held her tightly, trying to understand what was happening.