Chapter 95: Home Sweet Home

For the first time since arriving in the Lord’s Domain, Cassian found himself with absolutely nothing to do.

​The thought was strangely refreshing.

​The Graveshade Expanse had already reached Tier III and officially become a Region.

Every available infrastructure had been constructed, his forces had expanded tremendously, and his territorial authority had stabilized.

​The next step was obvious: conquer more Regions.

​Only by controlling multiple Regions could a Lord establish a true Kingdom.

​Unfortunately, there was one small problem, the seven-day protection barrier.

​Cassian stood by one of the high windows of the [Necrolord’s Crypt], gazing at the vast azure barrier covering the entirety of the Graveshade Expanse.

After the territory advanced, the protective veil had expanded alongside it, but what was once a blessing had now become a cage.

​The barrier prevented hostile forces from entering, but it also prevented his troops from leaving.

Outsiders could still be granted passage under specific conditions, but Cassian had already ordered against that, there was no reason to expose his territory prematurely.

​Only after the seven-day protection period ended would the restriction disappear completely, allowing his conquest to continue.

​Cassian couldn’t help but find the situation ironic.

​The very mechanism designed to protect newly awakened Lords was now actively slowing him down.

If another Lord heard him complain about such a thing, they would probably cough blood from sheer frustration.

Most Lords spent their protection period desperately trying to survive, whereas he was annoyed because there were no territories left nearby for him to conquer.

​Still... the barrier wasn’t truly a problem.

​Even if it vanished right now, Cassian would still return home first. There were things he needed to handle, promises he needed to keep, and mistakes he had no intention of repeating.

​His expression softened slightly as memories stirred within his mind.

​In his previous life, he had been negligent, too focused on survival, and too obsessed with becoming stronger.

By the time he realized what truly mattered, everything had already been ripped away from him.

​This time would be different. Strength was important, and power was essential, but so were the people waiting for him.

​Cassian exhaled slowly before turning toward Nyxara.

​The undead elf immediately straightened her posture. "My Lord?"

​Cassian smiled. "Once I return, I’ll summon you shortly afterward. Be ready."

​Nyxara placed a fist over her chest and bowed deeply. "Yes, my Lord."

​Cassian nodded. There was no reason to delay any longer.

​His consciousness shifted inward, sinking toward the [Lord Seed] residing deep within his soul.

Within the seed existed a fundamental connection, the anchor, the tether linking him directly to his home realm.

​Entering the Lord’s Domain required preparation, authority, and the activation phrase created by every Lord. Returning, however, was far simpler.

​’It’s like holding back a compressed spring... all I have to do is let go.’

​Cassian released the anchor.

​The moment he did, space rippled violently around him as his body dissolved into countless particles of cerulean light.

​Nyxara remained standing silently, watching as the glowing particles scattered through the master bedroom before disappearing entirely.

​A second later, nothing remained.

​The room fell dead silent, leaving the shadow elf staring at the empty spot where her Lord had just stood.

....

Cassian moved through the cosmic pathway connecting the Lord’s Domain and the Astral Dominion.

​Countless streams of light flowed around him, stars stretched into endless lines, and distant worlds flashed past in a blur.

The journey itself lasted only moments, yet within the pathway, time seemed strangely flexible.

​He used the brief opportunity to organize his thoughts.

​As a Mortal Lord, he could only summon a limited percentage of his total forces into the Astral Dominion, specifically, thirty-three percent.

The restriction was instinctive knowledge embedded deep within every [Lord Seed].

​Crucially, the restriction wasn’t based on simple numbers; it was based on total power.

Which meant summoning one powerful Champion could consume the exact same quota as thousands of ordinary skeletal soldiers.

​Nyxara alone occupied a substantial portion of that allowance.

​Fortunately, she was more than enough, at least for his immediate plans. The undead elf was loyal, intelligent, and strong enough to deal with almost any situation he could encounter on Earth.

The rest could wait.

​As these thoughts passed through his mind, Cassian noticed the end of the cosmic pathway approaching.

​The radiant tunnel collapsed around him. Space folded, reality shifted, and in the next moment—

​Cassian descended into his room.

​The familiar scents hit him first: the faint smell of books, the old wooden furniture, and the slightly dusty air.

Everything was exactly as he remembered. Even his clothes had reverted to what he had been wearing before Integration.

​The transformation was so seamless that it felt as though no time had passed at all.

​Yet something felt horribly, dangerously wrong.

​Cassian froze, every muscle in his body locking instantly as his instincts screamed in terror.

​Someone was inside his room.

​Sitting casually upon his bed was an old man. The stranger appeared entirely ordinary, gray hair, a wrinkled face, and simple, worn clothes. Nothing remarkable whatsoever.

​And yet, the pressure emanating from him was enough to make Cassian’s skin crawl.

​It was not mana, and it was not territorial authority; it was simply the weight of his absolute existence.

​The room groaned under the invisible strain, and the air seemed moments away from collapsing.

By all rights, the walls should have shattered, the building should have been reduced to fine dust, and the city itself should have ceased to exist beneath that terrifying pressure.

​Yet none of that happened. Everything remained intact, held together by another force.

​Cassian immediately noticed it: a second presence, and a second source of overwhelming power.

​His gaze slowly shifted away from the old man toward the other side of the room.

​And then, Cassian’s mind went completely blank.

​The shock was so overwhelming that, for a moment, he genuinely questioned whether he was hallucinating, whether the Eternal Serpent’s warning about a "hiccup" during his return had been far more severe than advertised.

​Because standing there calmly was a woman.

​A familiar woman, one he knew better than anyone, and one who absolutely, positively, should not be capable of standing against the sheer pressure radiating from the old man.

​Yet she was doing exactly that, without effort or strain, as though the terrifying pressure filling the room did not even exist.

​Cassian stared. His mouth opened slowly, and his thoughts crashed violently into one another.

​The conqueror of the Graveshade Expanse, the Lord who had defeated Morghanna, and the man who had spoken face-to-face with a fragment of a Cosmic Pillar... at this moment, looked far less composed than a child caught sneaking food from the kitchen.

​His eyes widened in utter disbelief.

​​His brain desperately searched for a reasonable explanation, but found none.

​Only one word escaped his lips:

​"Mom?"