Chapter 2732: Using Baptism For A Miracle

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, TSR Guild Headquarters

After reviewing the research on both title demon cores, Eternal Flame of Agony and Undead Flame of Agony, I confirmed what I had long suspected. They were two sides of the same coin, reflections of each other in the same way good and evil or life and death mirrored one another.

Once that became clear, so did the path forward. From there with the assistance of primordial pupils and the Hive Spirit it wasn’t hard to come up with the best trait I could grant to Corey.

...

I began preparing a fresh catalyst using the rare and expensive ingredients I had acquired and arranged in the lab. If the two truly shared the same foundation, were two sides of the same coin as I believed, then with the right medium, assimilation was possible.

But there was a significant complication.

The Eternal Flame of Agony was a titled demon core. The Undead Flame of Agony, however, was an unholy core. They did not exist on equal footing. The latter operated on a fundamentally higher tier.

If I attempted to fuse them as they were, the Undead Flame of Agony would simply devour the Eternal Flame of Agony. And if that happened, Corey would lose Park. After all, Park was the ego of the Eternal Flame of Agony she inherited from her past life.

To compensate for the disparity, I planned to temporarily elevate the Eternal Flame of Agony to match the level of the Undead Flame during the assimilation process. If both flames operated on equal footing, neither would be able to devour the other. They would merge with the other instead of competing with the other.

My confidence in this approach stemmed from the state of the Undead Flame’s will.

Stripped of its memories, it was little more than a blank slate, adrift and instinctive. And instinct always seeks familiarity. When it encountered Corey and Park’s will, which shared the same origin and resonance, it would naturally gravitate toward them rather than resist.

The bond between them would serve as a beacon, guiding the Undead Flame of Agony back to where it belonged. Serving as the true catalyst for the assimilation of the two cores.

The most elegant part of the design was what came next.

Because the Eternal Flame had been temporarily elevated beyond its natural tier during the assimilation, the fused core would initially be unstable. But that instability worked in our favor. The Undead Flame, operating from a higher level, would instinctively relinquish excess energy to preserve structural balance. In doing so, it would downgrade itself from an unholy core to a titled demon core, stabilizing the newly formed core in the process.

The surplus energy would not go to waste. It would flow directly into Corey, increasing her active soul percentage and strengthening her foundation.

And even though the final product would technically be a titled demon core, it would retain many of the advantages of an unholy core. Abilities such as intent sense, a faculty normally reserved for devils and demigods, would remain accessible to Corey despite her mortal status.

To ensure that the fused core preserved the best aspects of both flames, I incorporated the modified Protean Bacteria derived from the Davis family lineage.

Its altered trait, Gifted Lineage, allowed the progeny to inherit the full range of talents possessed by their predecessor. By integrating it into the assimilation process, I could guarantee that Corey retained everything she already had while also inheriting the strengths embedded within Agony’s unholy core.

But inheritance alone was not enough.

During the fusion, I would simulate Corey’s ethereal spirit through pseudo-bestowal. This would allow her to properly internalize the talents carried by the Gifted Lineage and, in the process, trigger the manifestation of the soul trait I had planned for her.

I followed each step precisely, executing the process exactly as the countless simulations conducted by Hive Spirit had outlined.

Stripped of its individuality, Agony’s remnant spirit offered no resistance. Instead, it cooperated. Drawn by shared origin and instinct, it guided the assimilation forward, carrying the fusion smoothly to its conclusion.

As the assimilation of the two cores reached its critical phase, I used my celestial voice to stir Corey’s ethereal spirit from within and commanded, "Break through now!"

Her ethereal spirit responded instantly, executing my order without hesitation under the overwhelming authority of the celestial voice.

Ordinarily, attempting a breakthrough while one’s core was being upgraded would be suicidal. It invited instability, collapse, even annihilation. But Corey had been suppressing this breakthrough for a long time, waiting for the right foundation.

And this time, she wasn’t facing the storm alone. With the Card Celestial standing at my side, the risk was calculated.

As a result, the baptism that follows a breakthrough into a higher realm descended immediately, not waiting for the realm to stabilize as it usually did.

Considering that she broke through while her titled demon core was still upgrading, even her survival was uncertain, let alone the stabilization of her realm.

Fortunately, having friends in high places had its own perks.

The baptism became the miracle we needed to pull off this insane plan. There was a limit to what a baptism could do, but Corey’s origin card did not require as much refinement, as it was pretty cut-throat and straightforward. That meant all of its focus shifted to her titled demon core’s upgrade and talent acquisition. As I hoped for.

I used my primordial soul pupils to monitor the effect of the baptism on the assimilation of the two cores. The baptism did what it does best. It empowered what could be empowered and fused what needed to be fused, ensuring that the resulting core was the best possible version of itself.

As I focused on understanding how the baptism was accomplishing what it did, Lil’ Baem suddenly unwound from Corey’s waist and spat a mouthful of grey fog onto the assimilating core, giving the scare of my life. I immediately yelled, "You damned snake, are you trying to kill your mother?"

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