Chapter 437 — Comfort Will Get You Killed

Damian’s voice cut through their spiraling thoughts.

"It seems like the peaceful environment at the Academy has made all of you lose your edge."

He began walking again, circling them slowly.

"You’ve gotten comfortable... Training in controlled environments with safety measures and professors ready to intervene. Sparring matches where losing just means trying again tomorrow."

His footsteps stopped.

"That comfort will get you killed."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop.

"Now that I’ve seen your physical capabilities..." Damian’s hand rose, his fingers poised to snap. "Let’s check your willpower as well..."

SNAP

The sound echoed like a gunshot as Domain of Despair manifested.

Reality twisted, pitch-black ground stretching beneath their feet as crimson sky pulsed overhead.

Damian didn’t manifest the corpses, leaving the space empty except for the five of them scattered across darkness.

But the despair crashed down anyway, invisible weight crushing against their minds.

Edrin’s eyes went wide, his pupils dilating until the brown nearly disappeared.

His hands shot up, fingers clawing at empty air.

"Mother!" His voice cracked, raw and desperate. "I’ll find them! I swear I’ll find every single one!"

His mind shattered completely.

"I’ll make them pay! I promise! Just please–" His words dissolved into screaming, his body convulsing as he collapsed forward onto his hands and knees.

Lysa curled into herself, her arms wrapping around her torso so tight her fingers dug into her own ribs.

"I didn’t mean to..." Her voice came out small and broken. "Please, I didn’t want to kill them..."

Her shoulders shook with violent sobs.

"There was no other way, there wasn’t, I had to–" She gasped for air between words, her breathing rapid and shallow. "I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, please forgive me..."

Ronan’s massive frame collapsed, his hands gripping his head hard enough that his nails broke skin.

Blood ran down his temples.

"I won’t let it happen, I’ll control it, I swear I can control it–" The words tumbled out in a continuous stream, his voice rising with each repetition.

Ariana scrambled backward across the black stone, her eyes fixed on something none of them could see.

"Don’t touch me!" Her scream tore through the crimson-lit space. "Get away!"

She pressed herself against nothing, her hands held out in front of her face like she was trying to ward off attackers.

"Stop! Please don’t–" Her spatial skill flickered weakly, trying to teleport her away from threats that existed only in her mind.

"I said don’t touch me!" Her voice cracked into something between rage and terror.

Zavier stood frozen, his entire body rigid as stone.

His mind showed him exactly what had already happened with his parents, the memory playing on repeat with perfect clarity.

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

His scream tore through the Domain, raw and animal as he finally moved, his hands coming up to claw at his own face.

****

Time crawled.

Minutes felt like hours under the crushing weight of the Domain’s mental pressure.

"Damian... please..." Edrin’s voice cracked completely, his screaming having devolved into broken pleas. "Please stop... I can’t..."

Damian stood at the edge of the Domain, watching Lysa curl tighter into herself as fresh sobs wracked her body.

’Luna and Alessio already have high willpower... but Edrin and the others have always lacked in this area... This is the only way to raise their willpower faster and make them resistant to mental attacks or domains from enemies who won’t hold back the way I am doing...’

His hands clenched at his sides, knuckles going white.

’This is nothing compared to what’s awaiting them in the future... With the timeline being changed, any of the catastrophes can arrive much earlier... I don’t want these kids dead.’

His crimson eyes tracked across their broken forms.

’Better they experience this here, where I can stop it before permanent damage occurs.’

’Better they break now and learn to rebuild themselves, than break out there where death is the only outcome.’

His face remained expressionless, but something shifted in his eyes as he watched them suffer.

****

Hours seemed to pass.

Their reactions cycled through the same patterns, breaking down and rebuilding only to break again.

Damian’s eyes tracked across all five of them.

Lysa remained curled on the floor, her arms still wrapped around herself.

Ariana lay motionless, her consciousness flickering at the edge of darkness.

Ronan had passed out entirely, his massive frame limp.

Edrin knelt with his hands pressed against stone, blood dripping from his nose, barely conscious.

Zavier was on the ground, his body curled into itself as tears streamed down his face.

’This is enough... They’ve reached their limit. Pushing further would create permanent problems...’

SNAP

The pressure vanished.

Reality snapped back to normal as the training room’s familiar walls returned, solid and real.

"..."

Silence fell, broken only by ragged breathing and quiet sobs.

Damian walked past where they all lay scattered across the floor, his footsteps echoing with measured rhythm.

He showed no reaction to what he’d just put them through, his face as expressionless as when the Domain had opened.

He stopped at the door, his hand closing around the handle.

Then spoke without turning around, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I heard you’ve all stopped going to the forest for training ever since the red sky phenomenon."

His fingers tightened on the door handle until the metal creaked.

"From now on, you can head to the northeast side of the forest." He paused, letting the words settle. "I’ve asked the strongest being there to allow you access to his territory... You can train as much as you like."

The door opened, natural light from the hallway spilling across the threshold.

"Though he won’t save you even if you are about to die."

His silhouette disappeared through the doorway, leaving them alone with their broken pride and shattered confidence.

The door clicked shut behind him.

Mike stood in the hallway outside, his weathered face showing an expression caught between concern and disapproval.

"Wasn’t that too cruel?"

His voice carried the weight of someone who’d seen too much suffering already.

"All of them are already talented. They’ve shown great growth in the past few months." His eyes found Damian’s face. "What you just did to them–"