Chapter 115: Changes To The Core

When Leo's vision returned to normal, he found himself exactly where he had been before—the experimental room, its cold silence pressing in. Just a second later, the protective circles embedded into the walls began to pulse with a deep crimson light. Then, without warning, the table ignited. Flames erupted across its surface, devouring it in seconds.

Leo watched silently as the fire consumed the artifact. He had run tests in this room before—he knew that the defensive enchantments only triggered if something posed a serious danger. And they always waited exactly ten seconds before activating. That meant... everything he saw—everything he experienced—happened in just ten seconds.

He stood still, lost in thought, the echo of divine presence still lingering in the room like static in the air.

The heavy door creaked open behind him, and Alexia stepped inside.

"What did you do?" she asked, her eyes narrowed. "I felt the presence of the Moon Goddess here."

Leo blinked. The fact that Alexia, an S-rank sorceress, could sense that presence was... unsettling. It spoke volumes about her power.

"It was a table," Leo said carefully. "It came from the Kingdom of Light. There was an incident there… I bought it to examine it. But it was too dangerous. The room's defenses destroyed it."

He left out the full truth. Some things were better kept quiet.

"Don't bring anything like that here again," Alexia said sharply. "An artifact of divine origin could be used to infiltrate us."

"Understood. I'll be more careful," Leo said with a slight bow of his head.

"Klaus will be back in an hour. Be ready." With that, she turned and left the room.

Once he was sure he was alone, Leo quietly returned to his chambers and locked the door. Then, with a breath, he slipped into his domain.

He appeared on a vast, mist-covered plain, dominated by the massive stone throne in the center. He sat down, fingers drumming lightly on the armrest, his mind racing.

'Lilith.' She had helped him multiple times. She had shared her name. But he couldn't bring himself to fully trust her.

With a simple thought, the ground in front of him shifted. A platform, carrying the Mirror of Truth—an artifact that allowed him to peer into truth, moved toward him. Normally, he walked to it, but today, he didn't feel like moving.

He placed both hands on the arms of the throne and focused.

'Show me the past of Lilith and Selvanna.'

At first, the mirror remained still. Then, the surface shimmered. Images flickered into view—not a smooth sequence like a memory, but a series of blurred, frozen snapshots.

The first was of a woman in a flowing white dress standing across from another cloaked in what looked like a cascading waterfall of darkness. Even in their indistinct forms, Leo could tell: Selvanna and Lilith.

Another image: a grand chamber with ten thrones. Some were empty. Others held indistinct divine figures. Lilith and Selvanna were among them, sitting silently.

Then the image changed again. Fire. Everything burned. Mountains cracked and bled magma. Trees stood ablaze, the oceans boiled away into steam. The sky was red—no sun, only fire. In the center of it all was a massive stone throne, forged from obsidian and molten rock.

Seated atop it was a figure. As the mirror zoomed closer, Leo could feel heat radiating from the vision. It wasn't symbolic—it was real. His skin began to prickle. His breathing shortened. Sweat formed on his brow.

The figure on the throne was enormous, encased in ancient, battle-scarred armor—its surface a dark obsidian with lava-like veins of orange and red. Flames coiled around the armor like living serpents. The air around him shimmered, distorted by the raw heat.

The only clear part of the vision were his eyes—twin furnaces of molten gold, burning with unfathomable fury. And They were looking directly at Leo.

Leo tried to pull back. Tried to sever the connection. But he couldn't.

"I see you… watcher of history and fate," the being's voice rumbled—not just in the air, but inside Leo's mind. The words struck like thunder, cracking through his consciousness.

Flames burst from the Mirror. The entire domain shuddered violently. Walls fractured, and great chunks of floating stone fell from above. The sky in his realm darkened to a hellish red, and fire erupted in jagged lines across the ground.

Leo's heart pounded. He clenched his fists and gathered every ounce of his will. White fog surged from the center of the domain, swirling around him in a protective storm.

He summoned everything—the foundation of his domain, the strength of his soul. With a scream of effort, the fog formed a spiraling vortex and smashed into the Mirror.

The image shattered. The flames vanished.

Silence.

Leo dropped to his knees, gasping for breath. He was drenched in sweat.

Sweat…? That wasn't supposed to happen here. Not in his domain.

He looked at his shaking hands.

"Damn it… how did he see me? It was just a memory…"

After catching his breath, Leo sat back on his throne, his body heavy with exhaustion. The domain around him slowly began to heal. The crumbling walls mended themselves, and the sky returned to its usual pale white hue, as if the land was recovering alongside him.

"No matter how much I prepare," he muttered, his voice edged with weariness, "the danger is always there."

He had narrowly escaped death. Yet, there was a sense of reassurance now. Lilith had remained loyal to Selvanna until the very end. Selvanna had never once hinted at her betrayal.

"I've already taken countless risks," he said, a quiet resolve settling in. "Let's take one more."

With a flick of his wrist, the chest to his right opened, revealing a scroll nestled inside. Without hesitation, Leo seized it. Raising the scroll high, he unfurled it with a practiced hand. The domain's power swirled around him, an invisible shield that stood ready to ward off any unexpected threats. The scroll revealed a complex magical circle, one filled with symbols and ancient words. The circle shifted and moved in ways that defied logic, and Leo couldn't even begin to count the number of layers it might have had.

"So, this is the spell that creates vampires?" he whispered under his breath, trying to make sense of the chaotic design.

He lowered the scroll, his mind racing. 'If the first vampires weren't subjects of Lilith, that means they stole this magic... and unlike me, Lilith couldn't reach them.'

Leo leaned back on the throne, his eyes narrowing as thoughts tumbled through his mind. 'If I use this, I'll become a vampire. That could bring certain advantages—but becoming like them… that's a risk I'm not sure I want to take.'

He fell silent, pondering the implications. 'Maybe I should seek out other spells... perhaps one that creates werewolves, then combine them into something entirely new, like a hybrid.'

As if responding to his thoughts, the fog in the domain swirled and coiled toward his hand. The scroll lifted from his grip and floated toward the center of the room. The fog followed, rising upward and gathering in the sky above. It moved with purpose, as though the domain itself was listening to Leo's musings.

Leo stepped forward, his movements purposeful. It was as though something deep within him knew what had to be done. He raised his hand, whispering the incantation. "Obscurae."

The words on the scroll began to animate, twisting and writhing like living things. They lifted into the air, merging with the swirling fog. The fog shifted in color, turning blue as it danced around the symbols. Then, suddenly, the movement stopped.

Above him, in the air where the sky met the palace walls, a massive circle materialized. On it, three smaller circles appeared. Two of them remained empty, but one pulsed with dark energy—the magic of Lilith's vampire spell, now contained within its borders.

Leo had no idea how this happened. But deep down, he understood: the domain itself was evolving, responding to his will. And the spell he had just invoked—his own creation—was playing a significant part in the transformation.

The large circle in the sky pulsed with power, its fog-filled center swirling as though something was lurking inside, waiting to be unleashed.

Without warning, the massive circle began to rotate. The fog from below surged upward, enveloping Leo. A sudden, intense pain gripped his body, and he collapsed onto one knee. His chest tightened as an agonizing scream tore from his lips.

Pain overtook him. Leo writhed on the floor, every nerve alight with agony. Something was crawling through him—burrowing through every cell, every thread of his soul. It was not just pain; it was transformation. His body and essence were being reshaped, twisted into something new.

Time lost meaning. He lay on the ground, consumed by the torment, for what felt like an eternity. Then, silence. The pain stopped as suddenly as it had begun.

Gasping for air, Leo stayed motionless for a few minutes, letting his senses settle. Finally, he pushed himself off the ground, shaky but alive.

His first instinct was to look up at the magical circle hovering in the sky. It had stabilized, now pulsing rhythmically with mana. The fog still churned at its center, hiding whatever secrets lay beneath.

Once assured that the domain hadn't collapsed around him, he turned his focus inward. Something had changed—fundamentally. It felt similar to the shifts he experienced when his rank advanced, but this was deeper, more visceral. Not only his soul but his body had altered.

His muscles were taut with new strength, his senses sharper. And then he noticed something else—an unnatural thirst, subtle but unmistakable.

"…Don't tell me I turned into a vampire."

Panicked, he exited the domain and hurried to the nearest mirror. He searched his reflection, scanning his features. His green eyes stared back at him, unchanged. He let out a breath of relief.

But his skin was different—paler. It was as if he had inherited fragments of vampiric traits, but not the full curse.

"How is this possible?" he muttered.

Somehow, the domain had responded to his thoughts. It had shaped a spell—his spell, Obscurae—into a transformative force that changed him partially into a vampire.

Returning to the domain, Leo gazed at the skyborne circle. One of the three smaller circles on the great ring was now filled—brimming with Lilith's vampire spell. The other two remained empty.

'It's like the domain is trying to grant my wish,' he thought. 'But how?'

He speculated: if he could acquire a werewolf spell, perhaps he could fill another circle. But why were there three circles? And what was hidden beneath the central fog?

Was the domain reacting to Obscurae specifically? Was it storing spells he used the incantation on?

If that was the case, he would need to be careful. Until he had something truly powerful—like a werewolf's essence—he should refrain from using Obscurae again.

Unfortunately, finding answers would require deeper access to the domain's nature, knowledge likely locked behind A-rank status. Advancing from B to A wasn't as easy as before. He'd have to put those questions aside for now and focus on what mattered—understanding what he had become. 

First he got out of his domain again and closed his eyes, focusing on his mana. Vampires were known for their command of shadow and blood magic, though they lost access to other fields in the process.

He tried forming an illusion—simple fire. A flame flickered to life in front of him. Next, he focused on shadow magic. Nothing happened. No response, no surge of energy.

After several more failed attempts, he gave up. Then he turned his focus inward—on his blood. The awareness was uncanny. He could feel it inside him as if it were another limb. With a mental command, the skin of his palm parted like an old scar reopening. Blood floated out, hovering midair, responding to his will.

"I can use blood magic?" he whispered, stunned.

Just then, the door to his room burst open.

"Victor, what are you doing? We need to go," Klaus called out.

Leo didn't turn. The sudden interruption broke his concentration, and the floating blood fell to the floor with a soft splatter.

"Sorry. I'll be right out," he said, still facing away.

Klaus gave a brief nod and closed the door behind him.

Leo looked down at his palm. The wound was already sealing, the skin knitting back together before his eyes. A grin crept across his face. He had found a new path to power.