Soulbound: Dual Cultivation

Chapter 331: Core of dominion gauntlets

They arrived at a secluded chamber tucked away behind layers of reinforced barriers and intricate seals. Lucas immediately noticed how quiet it was...eerily quiet. It was clear that this room was not meant for ordinary visitors. Every surface gleamed faintly under the soft illumination of floating orbs, their pale light revealing rows upon rows of polished metal cases. Each box was engraved with ancient runes that pulsed faintly, alive with residual energy.

Lucas took a few slow steps forward, his gaze wandering across the vast collection before them. "What is this place, Sage Raph?" he asked, his voice almost reverent.

The old sage’s lips curled into a knowing smile. "Few know of this chamber’s existence. Even fewer have set foot in it. Every artifact you see here was designed with one purpose...to serve the wielder of the Core of Dominion."

Lucas blinked, his curiosity deepening. He approached one of the boxes and carefully lifted the lid. Inside lay a gauntlet made of a silver-like alloy, its surface traced with golden veins that glowed faintly as his hand neared it. The craftsmanship was exquisite...each curve and rune perfectly carved, almost breathing with latent power.

He glanced at the sage. "They’re beautiful," he murmured. "But... what exactly are they?"

Sage Raph walked closer, his robes brushing softly against the floor. "Gauntlets," he said simply, though there was weight in the word. "Thousands of them. Each one attuned to the Core’s resonance. You see, when the Core of Dominion is activated, it draws in every strand of Qi in its range...leaving nothing for the enemy to use. It grants absolute control to its wielder, but as you correctly pointed out, it would also drain the Qi from their allies. That was the flaw I could not accept."

Lucas turned the gauntlet over in his hands, examining the fine script that lined the interior. "So... these are the answer to that flaw?"

"Precisely." Sage Raph’s tone carried a note of pride. "Every gauntlet is linked to the frequency of the Core. When the Core absorbs Qi, these gauntlets act as conduits, redirecting and amplifying the energy for those who wear them. To put it simply, your allies won’t just retain their Qi...they’ll receive double of what their bodies can normally harness."

Lucas’s brows lifted, astonished. "Double the Qi?" He could hardly believe it. "That means their cultivation speed, their combat output... everything would surge beyond their limits."

The sage nodded, his eyes glinting with satisfaction. "Exactly. Imagine an army of cultivators, each one empowered beyond their natural peak, fighting alongside the wielder of the Core. That is the true power of dominion...not just control, but unity under a single source."

Lucas set the gauntlet back in its box and exhaled slowly, his mind racing through the implications. "You thought of everything," he said quietly. "This changes everything about how battles could be fought. An army blessed by the Core... even the mightiest sects would tremble."

Sage Raph chuckled softly, the sound filled with both wisdom and caution. "Power alone does not win wars, Xavier. Discipline, trust, and purpose do. The Core of Dominion is not a weapon of destruction...it is a tool for balance. It must never fall into the wrong hands."

Lucas met his gaze and nodded with genuine respect. "I understand," he said. "But still... this is brilliant, Sage Raph. You’ve built something far greater than I imagined."

The old sage smiled faintly, looking over the thousands of glimmering boxes like a father proud of his children. "Perhaps," he said. "But in the end, it will be your choices that determine how this power is used."

Lucas said nothing more. He simply stood there, surrounded by the quiet hum of countless gauntlets, realizing that Sage Raph had not merely crafted a tool of battle...he had forged a legacy of control, precision, and foresight. Lucas understood just how much thought and vision the old man had poured into the Core of Dominion.

Sage Raph closed the box gently and folded his hands behind his back, his voice steady with the calm certainty of someone who had spent decades contemplating every detail of his creation. "You must understand something, Xavier," he began. "The Core of Dominion was never incomplete because of a lack of design. The concept was sound from the very beginning. What held it back was the instability at its heart. The core was too volatile. It could not sustain the flow of power it demanded without collapsing in on itself. That was the flaw that delayed everything."

Lucas listened carefully, remembering the grueling weeks he spent stabilizing the array, fine-tuning the channels and the runic patterns, enduring the overwhelming pressure of the energy it emitted. He remembered nearly fainting more than once, and how the slightest misalignment could have resulted in disaster.

"So the instability was really that serious," Lucas said thoughtfully.

The sage nodded. "Serious enough to render it unusable. Even I could not push it beyond the halfway point. It demanded more precision than most cultivators can achieve, more patience than most alchemists possess. But you... you found the flaw, understood it, and resolved it. You brought harmony to the core’s circulation lines, and because of that, the Core of Dominion now stands complete."

Lucas felt a wave of pride, not arrogant, but quiet and deep. He had not expected Sage Raph to praise him so openly. The old man was not known for giving out compliments unless they were absolutely earned.

"So now," Sage Raph continued, turning slowly to face the long rows of sealed boxes, "the Core can finally be used in battles without fear of it breaking or overloading. The gauntlets are stable, the flow is steady, and the radius is consistent. This is the first time in my life that all the pieces have finally come together."

Lucas exhaled slowly. "That’s... a lot to take in," he admitted. "To think that something like this could exist and actually be ready for the field."

He paused for a moment, then asked the question that had been lingering in his mind. "Sage Raph... how many people know about all of this? About the Core, the gauntlets, and what they can achieve together?"

The sage’s expression shifted. Not dark, but serious—careful. He walked toward another row of boxes before answering, his fingertips brushing lightly against the metal casing.

"Very few," he said. "And that is intentional."

Lucas waited, watching the old man closely.

"Only four people know the entire truth," Sage Raph continued. "You. Myself. And two of my most loyal alchemists. They have served under me for more than thirty years. They have sworn their lives to my work, and they understand the consequences of betrayal. Beyond that, no one knows the full extent of the Core’s capability."

Lucas nodded slowly, absorbing that. "So not even the Kings, Emperors and Empresses?"

"Not yet," the sage replied. "And certainly not anyone from your kingdom either. It is not that I distrust them... but the fewer the ears, the safer the secret. A tool like this should be revealed only when the time is right, not before."

Lucas tapped a finger on the side of the box he was standing beside, his thoughts racing through possibilities...strategies, risks, the implications of such overwhelming power being known to only a handful of people.

"It makes sense," he said eventually. "If word of this spread too early, it would cause chaos. Everyone would want it. Everyone would fear it."

Sage Raph gave a faint smile. "Exactly. And until the moment comes when this power must be used openly, we keep it quiet, controlled, and protected."