Soulbound: Dual Cultivation

Chapter 332: Core of dominion wielder

Sage Raph rested his palm on one of the sealed boxes and breathed out slowly, the weight of decades settling across his shoulders. "The battles ahead will not be the sort historians write about with poetic admiration," he said in a calm, heavy voice. "They will be brutal. They will be terrifying. Entire regions may turn to ash before this is over. The Core of Dominion must remain one of our hidden trump cards. Revealed only when there is no other option left."

Lucas felt the gravity of those words. Sage Raph was not the kind of man to exaggerate. If he foresaw bloodshed on that scale, then the coming war was far worse than Lucas had imagined.

After a long moment Lucas asked, "Sage... do you intend to join the fighting yourself? With something like this at stake, I cannot imagine you sitting quietly on the sidelines."

The old man gave a low chuckle and shook his head, the lines around his eyes deepening. "Xavier, I am not the force I once was. Age steals more than time. My powers have been fading for years. My breakthroughs stalled long ago, and the little strength I have left is poured constantly into my craft. If I step onto the battlefield now, I will be more of a liability than an asset."

Lucas frowned. "You are still Sage Raph. Your reputation alone could bring some order to the chaos."

"That may be true," the sage replied, "but reputation does not stop a celestial blade. And even if I wished to join the war, my focus on alchemy over cultivation has left me... limited. The most valuable thing I can offer now is my work and the tools that may tilt the balance. I will not waste lives by pretending my body is still capable of what it once was."

Lucas lowered his gaze for a moment, accepting the truth in those words. The sage might no longer be a giant on the battlefield, but his intellect...his creations...were forces of their own.

He finally looked up again. "Then who do you intend to wield the Core of Dominion?"

The question hung in the air, and the sage did not answer immediately. He simply stood there, silent, his eyes drifting over the rows of sealed boxes, as if weighing memories, calculations, and consequences all at once.

Sage Raph finally turned toward him, the soft glow of the lanterns reflecting faintly in his eyes. He stepped closer, lifted one weathered hand, and set it firmly on Lucas’s shoulder. His grip was steady, confident, almost fatherly.

"Xavier," he said quietly, "tell me... who else could possibly handle the Core of Dominion better than you? Among all the young alchemists in Valerion and beyond, whose potential nears yours?" He gave a small, knowing smile. "You understand its structure more intimately than anyone I know. You cracked the instability that baffled me for decades. You are steady, creative, and unafraid to question old assumptions. That is the kind of mind that should wield something like this."

Lucas blinked, genuinely stunned. The words felt unreal. He had expected the sage to name some secret disciple, or perhaps an older cultivator with more battlefield experience. "Sage... I cannot accept that," Lucas said, shaking his head slowly. "There must be someone closer to you, someone who has followed you longer or who holds authority in the alchemic court. I am grateful you see value in me, but this choice should be for someone...someone more personal to you. Someone you trust absolutely."

The sage laughed, and the sound filled the room with ease rather than mockery. "Listen to yourself," he said with a warm shake of his head. "You speak as if trust is something measured by time alone. Lucas, trust is measured by ability, by integrity, by the heart one shows in moments that matter. You have shown me more of that in the short time I’ve known you than most men show in their entire lives."

Lucas opened his mouth to argue, but Sage Raph lifted a hand to silence him gently.

"Do not decline out of politeness," he said. "And do not decline because you fear someone else deserves it more. You will wield the Core of Dominion because you are the one who can. You understand it deeply. You respect its power. And you carry potential that surpasses anything I have seen since the days of the ancient masters."

Lucas felt something tighten in his chest, a strange mix of pride, fear, and gratitude. He slowly lowered his gaze and stepped forward. Then he bowed deeply, with sincerity that reached the ground beneath him.

"I promise," Lucas said in a quiet, resolute voice, "I will carry this burden with everything I have. I will not disappoint you, Sage. Not now, not ever."

Sage Raph let Lucas’s vow linger in the quiet of the chamber for a few moments. There was warmth in his eyes now, something gentler than before, something that hinted at satisfaction long overdue. He finally exhaled, patted Lucas lightly on the shoulder, and turned toward the boxes of carefully arranged gauntlets.

"Good," he murmured, as if Lucas’s acceptance settled something deep inside him. "Then there is one final task before you return to Valerion."

Lucas straightened, attentive. "Anything you ask, Sage."

Raph gestured toward the walls lined with crates and sealed chests. "These gauntlets," he said, tapping a box with the knuckles of his fingers, "must all be taken back to the capital. Every last one of them. They belong with Valerion’s forces, not collecting dust here. You will load them, supervise the transport, and make sure every piece is intact."

Lucas nodded. "I will make sure they reach the palace safely."

"And," Sage Raph added, eyes sharpening ever so slightly, "the Core of Dominion goes with you as well. I will no longer keep it under my care. It has a purpose, and that purpose lies in your hands and the battles ahead."

Lucas’s gaze deepened as he looked at the small chest containing the priceless artifact. "I understand," he replied softly. "I will guard it with my life."

The sage smiled...not the tired, strained smile he had worn earlier, but something steadier, filled with decades of fulfillment. "Xavier, I have lived a long life," he said, resting both hands behind his back. "I have chased theories, challenged old doctrines, and poured everything I had into the creation of the Core of Dominion. To see it completed at last... and to know it rests with someone worthy... that is enough for me."

Lucas gave him a grateful look. "Your work changed the direction of this war before it even began."

"My work," Sage Raph said softly, shaking his head, "is simply the foundation. You and the others will carry the future forward. I do not need fame or glory. The pride that this old man crafted something of such magnitude..." he paused, his voice lowering, "is plenty. I am content."

Lucas bowed his head slightly, acknowledging the weight of the moment.

Sage Raph nodded once, firmly. "Go on then. Gather the gauntlets, gather the Core, and prepare to return to Valerion. What lies ahead will require every ounce of strength we can muster."