CHAPTER 165 — CONTAINMENT
"The dead realms were feeding."
The moment those words left Erasmus' mouth, the atmosphere inside the Domain changed completely because every elder present immediately understood the implication behind them.
Dead realms were not living inheritances.
They were failed worlds.
Remnants left behind by cultivators who collapsed during advancement.
They could destabilize. They could corrupt. They could fracture.
But they could not grow.
And yet Erasmus had just described evolution.
Which meant something inside those realms had survived long enough to continue developing after death.
One of the elders took a slow step backward.
The movement was subtle enough that no ordinary cultivator would have noticed it, but inside a Domain, concealment meant nothing because every fluctuation of signature existed beneath the awareness of its ruler.
The elder's aura shifted beneath his robes as his signature condensed toward his fingertips.
Transmission.
He intended to notify his house immediately.
The Marquis noticed.
The flames beneath the elder erupted before the transmission could complete.
The explosion slammed him into the ground hard enough to crack the burning earth beneath him as blood burst from his mouth and scattered across the crimson landscape.
The surrounding elders stiffened instantly.
No one spoke.
Because the meaning behind the Marquis' action was obvious.
Containment.
Nobody was leaving.
Nobody was sending information outside this Domain.
Not until she decided otherwise.
The elder attempted to rise, but the pressure surrounding him deepened immediately until his body froze in place.
The Marquis did not even look at him again.
Her gaze remained fixed on Erasmus.
"What kind of chamber?" she asked.
Her voice remained calm, but everyone present could feel the change beneath it because the pressure inside the Domain had already started becoming unstable.
Erasmus looked at her briefly before answering.
"World Seed."
Several elders lost control of their expressions immediately.
One of them staggered backward while another's pupils visibly contracted.
"That's impossible," one of the Soul Inscription elders muttered. "World Seed chambers cannot remain hidden from the royal houses."
Erasmus glanced at him with open disdain.
"And yet one did."
Silence followed immediately after.
The Marquis' expression darkened because she understood the true problem far better than the others.
World Seed chambers were not ordinary inheritances.
They were foundations capable of birthing entire worlds.
Even incomplete ones could destabilize kingdoms.
For something like that to evolve beyond royal supervision meant one of two possibilities:
either every major house had failed catastrophically—
or something had learned how to hide itself.
Neither possibility was acceptable.
Erasmus continued speaking before anyone else could interrupt.
"The frontier scouts reported abnormal signature storms near the outer sectors three months ago. Spatial pressure was fluctuating unpredictably, and several smaller chambers collapsed shortly afterward."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"We were sent to investigate under direct orders from the Duke."
The Domain became quieter as he spoke because every elder present understood what it meant for the Duke himself to interfere.
"At first we believed it was a failed advancement," Erasmus continued. "Then the realms started consuming each other."
Several elders immediately looked disturbed.
"The first dead realm absorbed two nearby chambers before destabilizing. The second resisted dismantlement attempts entirely."
Then his voice lowered slightly.
"The third one moved."
That sentence made the surrounding flames distort violently.
Dead realms were fixed inheritances.
Anchored spaces.
Even corruption followed structural laws.
Movement implied intent.
The old woman in crimson-grey robes stepped forward slightly.
Her expression had become grave.
"Was it controlled? she asked.
Erasmus looked toward her.
"No.
Then he paused briefly.
"At least not completely."
The silence afterward felt suffocating.
The Marquis slowly raised her hand.
The Domain reacted instantly.
The surrounding flames tightened as the authority inside the realm descended completely upon everyone present.
Restriction.Isolation.
No one would leave this place.
Several elders immediately realized what she intended.
The old woman realized it first.
The Marquis was sealing the information before it could spread to the other houses.
Smart.Necessary.Dangerous.
The violet membrane surrounding the old woman's body expanded instinctively as she attempted to resist the descending authority for a single moment.
The backlash struck instantly.
Her body vanished across the Domain before crashing thousands of meters away into the burning landscape as blood spilled from her lips.
The surrounding elders froze.
The Marquis disappeared from where she stood and reappeared directly before the old woman.
Her hand wrapped around the elder's throat immediately.
No one moved.
No one dared.
The old woman did not resist.
Instead she lowered her head slightly despite the pressure crushing against her body.
"My Lord," she said carefully, "forgive my interruption."
The pseudo-domain surrounding her faded immediately, allowing the flames around them to begin scorching through her robes and skin.
The Marquis stared at her silently for several seconds before finally releasing her.
The old woman dropped to one knee.
No one spoke afterward because everyone present now understood the situation fully.
This was no longer discussion.
It was containment.
The Marquis turned back toward Erasmus.
"You will remain here until this matter reaches the higher houses."
Several elders immediately shifted their attention toward him, expecting resistance.
Instead Erasmus laughed softly.
The sound echoed strangely inside the burning Domain.
"You people truly never change."
One of the elders stepped forward immediately, his aura surging outward.
"Watch your.."
"I crossed battlefields carrying information your houses should have discovered months ago," Erasmus interrupted calmly. "My companions died retrieving it while all of you sat inside sealed chambers debating politics."
His gaze swept across the gathered elders.
"And the first thing you think about is leverage."
No one answered him because no one could deny it.
Erasmus looked back toward the Marquis afterward.
"You heard 'hidden World Seed chamber' and immediately decided information control mattered more than action."
The Marquis' eyes narrowed.
"This situation requires order."
"No," Erasmus replied instantly.
"It requires fear."
The flames throughout the Domain trembled subtly.
"You still don't understand what this means," he continued. "A dead realm inherited identity after its owner failed advancement."
The surrounding elders remained silent.
Then Erasmus spoke again.
Quietly.
"And if something like that already reached the World Seed level…
His gaze moved across every elder present.
what exactly do you think happens when it advances again?