CHAPTER 165 — ERASMUS
Silence settled heavily after Erasmus' words.
Not anymore.
The sentence lingered strangely within the Domain, sinking deeper the longer one thought about it.
The Marquis stood unmoving beneath the endless crimson sky, her expression calm, yet Frigga noticed the subtle change in the flames surrounding her.
They had become unstable.
Not outwardly.
The fire still flowed with terrifying control, still bent perfectly around her existence, but the rhythm had changed. The Domain itself seemed to pulse slightly slower, as though even it had fallen into thought.
A dead realm inheriting will.
That alone was enough to shake anyone at the Domain level.
Because they understood what realms truly were.
Not spaces.Not even tools, but dentities.
Every chamber was the corpse of a failed world.
A fragment left behind by cultivators who came close to ascension and failed at the final step. Their Domains collapsed, their worlds shattered, and what remained became training grounds for future generations.
Controlled remnants.Nothing more.
At least..That was what they believed.
The Marquis slowly closed her eyes.The flames around her quieted further.
Then she lifted one hand.A small gesture.
Yet the entire Domain reacted instantly.
The endless sea of crimson fire expanded outward with a deep rumble as the isolation space widened far beyond its earlier limits. The pressure inside the Domain thickened as layers of fire folded over one another endlessly, creating new sections of burning landscape within the world.
Then..Figures began appearing.
One after another.
Some emerged directly from the flames themselves while others stepped through spatial fractures opening within the Domain.
Each arrival carried terrifying pressure.
Soul Inscription cultivators.
The true foundation beneath the Phoenix House.
The air distorted around them immediately as their signatures instinctively resisted the overwhelming heat of the Domain. Purple essence flowed around their bodies in different forms, each one unique to its owner.
Some appeared like flowing mist.
Others resembled burning liquid.
One elder carried a translucent skeletal construct around his body that shifted whenever he moved.
Each one radiated enough power to erase Manifest cultivators effortlessly.
Frigga felt the atmosphere tighten slightly.
Not because of their strength.
Because all of them understood what it meant to be summoned directly into the Marquis' personal Domain.
This was no ordinary gathering.
The seventh elder appeared last.
An old woman dressed in faded crimson-grey robes.
The moment she stepped into the Domain—
Several elders unconsciously lowered their heads slightly.
Even Erasmus' gaze paused on her briefly.
Around the old woman's body floated a thin layer of purple flame, separated from her skin by barely an inch. Unlike the others whose signatures leaked naturally outward, hers remained perfectly contained.
Controlled.Absolute.
A pseudo-domain.
One step below true Domain Expansion.
At Soul Inscription, cultivators harmonized with identity.
At Domain..Identity harmonized with reality itself.
That was the difference.
The old woman glanced toward the Marquis briefly before turning toward Erasmus.
Her aged eyes carried no hostility.
Only scrutiny.
The Marquis finally opened her eyes again.
"Repeat what you said."
Her voice spread evenly through the Domain.
Erasmus clicked his tongue softly.
His gaze moved across the gathered elders one by one.
Their expressions varied.
Some looked cautious.Others irritated.
A few openly displeased.
Then Erasmus tilted his head slightly upward, staring toward the burning sky above them as though suddenly uninterested in everyone present.
He spat into the flames below.
"Pathetic."
The word echoed.
The atmosphere froze instantly.
One elder stepped forward immediately.
The flames around his body surged violently as immense pressure rolled outward from him in waves. Purple liquid-fire coursed beneath his skin while the surrounding space distorted under the density of his signature.
"You dare..!
"Don't strain yourself," Erasmus interrupted casually.
The elder stopped.
Erasmus finally looked at him directly.
"Your old bones aren't strong enough anyway."
The silence afterward felt dangerous.
Frigga narrowed her eyes slightly.
That elder was terrifying.
A genuine Soul Inscription cultivator.
Someone capable of erasing mountains with a single refined strike.
Yet Erasmus looked at him the same way one would look at an irritating insect.
Then he turned away from the elder completely.
That single action almost caused the man's signature to erupt.
"I spoke of utmost danger," Erasmus said coldly.
The humor from earlier was gone now.
"I crossed the border with twelve companions."
The Domain quieted further.
"Three survived."
Several elders' expressions shifted immediately.
"We moved through dead sectors where failed realms are beginning to overlap with one another. Entire chambers are changing. Expanding. Mutating."
Erasmus' eyes darkened slightly.
"And all you people do is sit behind your sealed territories debating politics while the world outside starts rotting."
Nobody interrupted him this time.
The old woman spoke calmly.
"What kind of chamber was affected?"
Erasmus glanced toward her.
"A World Seed chamber."
This time..The reaction was immediate.
Even the Marquis' expression changed slightly.
World Seed chambers were fundamentally different from ordinary failed Domains.
Those realms had already crossed the threshold of self-sustaining existence before collapse.
They possessed ecosystems.Natural laws.
Some even contained primitive lifeforms generated entirely from condensed identity and essence.
If one of those chambers became unstable..The consequences would be catastrophic.
"The owner attempted advancement three months ago," Erasmus continued.
"The breakthrough failed."
He paused briefly.
"The chamber should've collapsed alongside him."
His gaze slowly swept across the gathered elders.
"It didn't."
Nobody spoke.One elder frowned deeply.
"What exactly are you implying?"
Erasmus smiled faintly.Then answered quietly.
"The chamber consumed him."
The Domain trembled.Violently.
Flames surged across the endless crimson world as several elders instinctively released their signatures in shock.
Even Frigga felt her heartbeat tighten slightly.
Because every person present understood what chambers truly were.
They inherited fragments.
Echoes.Residual instinct.
But consumption?
That implied hunger.The old woman's eyes narrowed.
"And afterward?"
Erasmus' expression hardened.
"It evolved."