Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2733: Core Assimilation Complete

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

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

Forgetting all caution, I lunged forward to stop Lil’ Baem’s gray mist from interfering with the baptism that was helping Corey assimilate the Eternal Flame of Agony with the Undead Flame of Agony. I had barely taken a step when a massive white tail whipped across the room and struck me before I could react, blasting my body apart into a cloud of blood mist.

The mist lingered for less than a breath before it began to gather, coagulating and reconstructing my form within a fraction of a second. When I opened my eyes again, Lil’ Baem had already enlarged her body and coiled herself around Corey, forming a tightly sealed dome of white scales.

Using my primordial soul pupils I noticed that her head rested at the apex inside the enclosure, watching Corey intently as she opened her mouth and released a steady stream of gray mist. The interior of the makeshift dome had become completely saturated with it.

A second was more than enough time. If the gray mist had been going to disrupt the assimilation process, the damage would have manifested by now. Instead, I observed that the fusion between the two cores was proceeding smoothly, without the slightest sign of change from the original track.

The gray mist was not interfering with the assimilation at all. If anything, it was working alongside it. Rather than the cores, it was tempering Corey’s flesh, reinforcing her vessel to withstand the strain of the fusion. It was the same principle Lil’ Baem had once used to help Belphegor refine Corey Park’s corpse into Agony.

I knew the gray mist possessed remarkable support-type effects, but the reason I reacted so strongly when Lil’ Baem released it was because the baptism and assimilation processes were already in perfect harmony. Each was reinforcing the other, stabilizing and accelerating the fusion of the two cores. Introducing another variable, no matter how beneficial on its own, risked disrupting that balance. I already had more than enough to manage within the assimilation process. I could not afford an unpredictable factor compromising my calculations.

Moreover, baptism was not an unlimited resource. Each realm received only a fixed allotment, and it could cease at any moment. As long as it remained active, I wanted its influence focused entirely on assisting the assimilation of the Eternal Flame of Agony and the Undead Flame of Agony. The more variables introduced, the more the baptism’s energy would be diverted toward adaptation rather than reinforcement. That would just be wasteful.

I found myself in a dilemma. I wanted to monitor the baptism as it facilitated the assimilation of the two cores, but I was equally drawn to observing the gray mist as it tempered Corey’s body. Both processes were unfolding simultaneously within the same vessel. Each one had the potential to produce insights I could not afford to miss.

In the end, the decision was simple. I instructed Hive Spirit to record the gray mist’s tempering process in full detail while I devoted my attention to the baptism and the fusion of the Eternal Flame of Agony with the Undead Flame of Agony. After all, my primary objective here was clear. I was here to ensure Corey successfully fused the two cores and obtained a soul trait. Everything else was secondary.

Soon, the assimilation of the two cores was complete, and the baptism ceased along with it. The ambient pressure in the room eased, leaving behind a faint residual warmth that slowly faded into stillness.

Just as Corey was about to open her eyes, Lil’ Baem swiftly shrank back to her previous size and coiled herself around Corey’s right wrist, transforming into a white snake bracelet as though nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. I had no idea why she chose to conceal herself at that moment, but I assumed she had her reasons. After all, Lil’ Baem loved Corey more than life itself.

”So, how do you feel?” I asked as Corey slowly opened her eyes. She didn’t respond. Instead, her expression tightened with sudden alarm as she called out frantically, ”Park? Park! Answer me, god damn it!”

In response, a surge of golden light burst from Corey’s body and expanded outward like a willful flame. The radiance swelled and began to condense, gradually taking on the outline of a curvy humanoid figure suspended in the air before her.

As the figure’s features sharpened, strands of black smoke began to seep from the golden fire. The smoke coiled upward, forming long dark hair before weaving itself into a loose, oversized black hoodie. Beneath it, black shorts took shape, the heavy fabric draping low enough to give the illusion that there was nothing else underneath.

It was Corey Park, except the fiery red flames that once defined her had been replaced with brilliant golden fire. The glow gave her a warmer yet more imposing presence, her silhouette clearer and more radiant than before.

In her arms, she cradled a small ball of flame the way a child might hold her favorite plush toy. Gently coddling it, she looked toward Corey and said, ”Relax. I was just greeting the new kid. It doesn’t have any memories yet, so it needed a little help.”

Corey let out a long breath of relief at the sight of Park. At that moment, her presence mattered more to Corey than the newly fused core, the breakthrough, or even the soul trait she had just obtained.

”Since when did demonic flames come in bright golden-yellow?” I asked, studying the transformation carefully. Park was no longer burning in shades of red and orange, and Agony no longer carried its eerie green hue. Both now radiated the same brilliant golden fire.

The change could only mean one thing. The Eternal Flame of Agony and the Undead Flame of Agony had not merely coexisted or overlapped. They had fused completely, condensing into an entirely new flame that harmonized with the newly synthesized title demon core.