Elder Cultivator

Changes were occurring more rapidly inside Catarina than she could properly comprehend, and that was without considering the effect she was having on the world around her. It was partially instinctual, though in many ways it was informed by what she had learned about Domination from others, as well as different cultivation paths.

Her path to Domination wouldn’t look exactly like that of Zaur Beridze. Nor would it look like Sudin, Koronis, or even Timothy. Despite the fact that he was advancing along with her, even her husband shared different perspectives on the world and on themselves.

The aesthetic shift in the platform beneath her was influenced by the Citadel of Exalted Light in part. The fact that there was a transformation, however, was not merely a choice she made. It was a fundamental part of Domination, as far as she could tell.

Unlike Assimilation, where a cultivator took an object, region, or concept and bound themselves to it to gain power, Catarina came to understand Domination functioned in almost an opposite manner. Instead of being empowered by her anchor, she was the one empowering it. That matched the growth aspects of Enrichment to some extent, but it still wasn’t quite right.

Catarina almost got caught up in the flow of energy. She wasn’t sure what would have happened if she did. Perhaps she would have died, or perhaps she would have achieved something akin to a second Ascension. The only thing that she was certain of was that she would no longer be present in the same way if she had let it happen. The anchor was not a place to store her power, though it did indeed do that.

The reason for the name made more sense. It wasn’t something to which Domination cultivators shackled themselves for no reason. Not a weakness without purpose. Instead, it was a necessary part of continued existence, at least in any way they’d previously experienced.

If Catarina let her ego speak for her, she would say she now had a greater control over the rules of reality itself. If she was more humble she might recognize that she could merely break some of the rules more easily than before.

After some indeterminable amount of time Catarina felt her connection to reality solidify once more. She was quite pleased that she hadn’t exploded. And extremely curious as to the changes her husband had wrought.

-----

Timothy had completed his transformation first. Perhaps he had chosen something less complicated, or being closer to the outside had more access to the external energy. He didn’t actually care why or how, though no doubt scholars would pester him and Catarina to try to find out the reasons for every little thing.

He hadn’t realized he was transforming anything until it was done. There he was, supporting the barrier. The same barrier that most of Xankeshan was attacking in the friendliest way possible… while still outputting nearly incomprehensible levels of energy. And then Timothy found that actively supporting the barrier wasn’t necessary any longer, because the barrier just was

.

No explanation made sense. It wasn’t that it was balanced by absorbing the incoming attacks equally with its power output. Timothy could tell that, because Catarina was still absorbing most of the energy that struck the barrier. In a certain sense it could be said that he was empowering the barrier… and in other ways he could see it from a different perspective. He’d simply made the barrier a concrete entity of its own. It might not even have a power source.

Though it would be easier to see if his suppositions were correct once the fleets stopped bombarding them. He was prepared to call them off the moment Catarina finished her own transformation. He turned to watch, keeping only half a mind on the barrier in case something changed, though the only relevant fluctuation was that people and ships began to run out of energy. Fortunately, there were a decent number of replacements… and Catarina appeared to be almost finished.

-----

Catarina locked eyes with Timothy as her energy flow stabilized. “I might be overstepping my nascent understanding of Domination, but I do believe that Zaur was a moron.”

Timothy smiled. “And congratulations to you as well. Though, I pretty much agree with your comment. I can’t see how a rigid single structure like the Citadel allowed for any sort of growth. We didn’t even see signs of him making any attempts to expand in any meaningful regard.”

“... Are you going to tell them to stop?” Catarina asked.

Timothy shrugged. “I was hoping they would figure it out.” He spread his energy beyond the barrier. “We are finished. You may cease your attacks.” Timothy was quite careful with his actions, because he had the feeling that everything around him was so breakable. Except for the solar platform they were on, obviously.

In only a few moments, people began to cease their assault. A few were in the middle of attacks they didn’t seem to be able to cut off halfway. Many turned away in embarrassment afterwards.

Catarina spread her aura as well. “Citizens of the Scarlet Alliance. Friends and family. Timothy and I appreciate your unplanned contributions to our own advancements. With your help, we have been successful. Never forget it couldn’t have happened without all of you.”

-----

There were most likely trillions of questions that people wanted to ask the two of them. However, they first met with the council and all the Scarlet Alliance’s Augmentation cultivators.

“Devotion was a key for most of us to rise to Augmentation,” Catarina began. “But it is even more critical for Domination. As previously seen, Devotion can take many forms. Everheart’s particular advancement may be the greatest example of negative devotion still being used effectively. And his rapid spread afterwards… indicates he had great understanding of potential growth within Domination.”

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“How large is that potential?” Prasad asked. “Can you quantify it for yourselves?”

“Proportionately,” Timothy said, “It appears to be at least as much as any other stage of cultivation. Which is to say, a factor of multiple times power potential. If there is such a thing as a late Domination cultivator, they would put us to shame.”

Durff had been part of the Alliance’s Augmentation cultivators for some time, even if he wasn’t involved in general council activities. “Could you take a hit from Zaur now? If he was able to focus properly.”

“Absolutely,” Timothy said. “Though, as a specialist in defense I wouldn’t find that surprising. Saying he wouldn’t scratch me… would be a bit of an overstatement. But I could certainly withstand any of the attacks he previously made without worry.”

“We have questions about the barrier,” Koralo commented. “Should I ask you or Catarina?”

Timothy shrugged.

“It’s not connected to the formations anymore,” Catarina said. “On that note… I believe we can much more efficiently route teleportations through this system.”

“Oh, really?” Uzun perked up at that. “How much? Ten percent? More?”

“I can’t comment precisely until we begin to test,” Catarina said. “But… it should be significantly more. Without going too overboard, the power of Domination is such that I almost wish I had connected to the grand spatial distortion formation, even if it wouldn’t be the best compatibility.”

Durff had his hand raised for a while until he was acknowledged. “Can I try to hit you? I mean Timothy. But either of you would be fine if you’re confident you wouldn’t get hurt. I never really got to attack Zaur himself.”

“I suppose a proper demonstration is in order,” Timothy agreed. “It may provide insights our words cannot. Though… I think we will have to keep things out of the public eye for reasons of national security. At least for now.”

-----

Durff had knocked a planet halfway across a solar system once. He’d shattered the Citadel of Exalted Light… or at least smashed up pieces of it when its defenses fell. But the best comparison he could think of for attacking Timothy was trying to attack his aunt when he was a little kid. Actually, at that point she was probably already a Domination cultivator. He almost thought he hadn’t grown stronger at all.

Timothy did take half a step back, though. And everyone else clearly seemed to think differently. “A mighty blow,” Timothy said. “I’m sure you can feel how much I’ve changed, based on previous spars.”

Durff nodded. “It feels like a greater difference than any other stage. Domination energy is… very strong.”

“It is,” Timothy admitted. “But I would say that’s more because of how it bends the laws of reality compared to other forms of energy. The amplification effect on insight is significant. If I simply formed a wall of energy without any understanding, I believe you could break through.” He turned to Chidi. “And now we should test something else.”

Chidi nodded. “I’m ready. Should I expect you to fight back?”

“How? Could I even touch you with a sword?”

“I’m practically a normal person,” Chidi said. “You might be able to manage something. How about we take it slow at first and ramp up to a more serious level? I would be embarrassed if I thought too highly of myself and ended up being killed.”

Though Chidi said that, he showed no concern for anything on the level of regular injuries. The area provided for Durff and his father had been ten kilometers across to account for reverberations of energy, but he would hardly need any of that.

While it seemed like his movements being restricted to that of a normal person would make it impossible for him to touch Timothy, who could likely move at near light speed, there were various factors that had allowed him to keep up with Zaur that would still apply.

He felt Timothy’s sword intent before he even began to swing, and negating a wave of Domination energy from the sword was simple. He didn’t even have to parry… though he raised his sword regardless. That temporary touch to Timothy’s energy provided him an instant of time that the other cultivator might not even realize where he functioned at something akin to normal speed.

Then Chidi cut apart space- just a few kilometers of distance where some might cross an entire system. He didn’t want to cheat by beginning in his melee range. He almost met his loss by underestimating Domination, despite having fought against it twice. Most importantly, he had underestimated the way Timothy changed, and his read of the energy flow was lacking compared to his assumptions.

A trail of blood on his neck told him he was dead, though his father had more control than to actually cut more than skin deep. Chidi had been too slow to respond to the attack even if he technically felt it coming. “How embarrassing,” Chidi said. “Shall we continue?”

Timothy nodded, and at that acknowledgement Chidi took control of the local energy. He cut towards his father, aiming for his side away from the man’s shield. But Timothy twisted his body and more importantly altered his energy flow so that he suddenly had an unbreakable guard. “I’ve already seen that one,” Timothy pointed out.

Chidi grinned. “Oh good. I was worried my growth would be too easy.”

It would have been no fun to surpass those with more experience so easily. No doubt even Zaur had only faltered because it was a new technique and he was waylaid on many sides. Chidi was still surprised that his father altered his energy flow in the right way without even having an access to any sense of it, though.

-----

The first official act of the Scarlet Alliance now that they had Domination cultivators was to demand an apology from the Silver Fang. They still shared a border with the sect, after all, and they’d never gotten proper retribution. Koronis had interrupted that.

But, rather than immediately starting up a war and slaying their neighbors, they gave her some face. The power of the Scarlet Alliance had jumped from an interesting, up-and-coming new group which might one day be relevant to the only group with two known Domination cultivators in a single moment. While it was reasonable for them to possess confidence, they were still surrounded by enemies. Angering even newer Domination cultivators seemed like an unnecessary risk.

Even if it came down to a conflict and they won, they would likely just turn themselves into a target. Nobody wanted to find out what happened if the Exalted Quadrant and the Trigold Cluster put aside their differences to annihilate a mutual threat. Even among Domination cultivators there were clearly weaker and stronger specimens, and they had no intention of revealing their hand. And if it turned out that Timothy and Catarina had overestimated themselves because of some misunderstanding of Zaur’s effectiveness, they might be the shortest lived Domination cultivators ever. Neither was interested in such a legacy.