Free Web NovelTime passed slowly in the extreme tension, with every second stretched into a torturous unit.
In the control room, Jeming stared intently at the data stream cascading down the light screen.
Beyond the porthole, Viola's figure appeared exceptionally small at the core node of the crimson array, the dark red radiance interweaving with the energy flow of the Binding Array, struggling to resist the incessant energy tides from the Starfall Plane.
The bad news was that the consciousness of the nascent Living Plane remained in a state of high stress.
The indicators representing its agitation and resistance, while no longer wildly soaring as they did initially, stubbornly maintained a dangerously high level, like a spring stretched to its limit, ready to snap at any moment.
The good news was that after Viola heeded Jeming's advice to switch the binding strategy from strong suppression to more of a guided, buffering, and soothing energy intervention, those fluctuation peaks miraculously stopped growing.
This delicate balance was like walking a tightrope over an abyss.
Originally, according to the initial wild trend, the outer Binding Array should have overloaded and collapsed completely a few minutes ago.
But now, with Viola's meticulous control down to the minutest detail and the application of another relatively "gentle" aspect of the Law of Pain, the Binding Array, despite its dimming light, cracks all over, and an overburdened low hum, miraculously continued to support, barely trapping the "green giant beast" within the net.
"Is it adapting... or, should I say, is it 'feeling'?" Jeming gazed at the subtle changes on the spectrum chart.
The change in binding method seemed to have shifted the nascent consciousness from a pure "attack-resistance" mode to a somewhat confused "probe."
But balance is ultimately fragile.
The energy reserves of the Binding Array were depleting rapidly, and the precious metals and Rune Cores that constituted the array's substrate were beginning to show irreversible fatigue damage.
Beads of sweat dotted Viola's forehead, obviously maintaining such high-precision high-load operations was a tremendous burden for her as well.
Time continued to pass.
Just as Jeming estimated that the array could only support less than ten more minutes, the data returned by the detection array suddenly showed a new set of exceptionally intense changes.
"Spiritual Trait Convergence Index... rising sharply!" Jeming's pupils contracted.
Almost simultaneously, the scene outside the porthole changed as well.
The green plane entangled by crimson chains... it seemed to "transform" somehow.
Not a visually obvious color change, more like a strand of indescribable "sheen" or "texture" suddenly woven into the deeply vibrant green.
If one had to describe it, it was like a rough emerald shifting, suddenly exuding an internal radiant glow, or a calm deep pool beneath suddenly lighting up with a faint lamp.
The color itself did not fundamentally change, but the "feeling" it gave was entirely different.
"Soul readings have surged! Exponentially rising!" The alarm tone of the console had changed.
On the light screen, the curve representing Soul Strength and completeness soared like a rocket, breaking through several magnitude thresholds in an instant.
Jeming understood in an instant.
It's not the color that changed, but the "elements" constructing the plane were undergoing a fundamental reordering and arrangement!
The birth of spirituality was just a prelude, a "possibility" emerging from chaos.
And now, catalyzed by internal conflict and external stimuli, a true "soul" core capable of commanding all this is forming!
A vast array of base plane elements—soil, rock, energy flow, atmospheric components, and even deeper elemental constructs—under the influence of some mysterious attraction, spontaneously arranged and combined into a "soul structure" capable of bearing and expressing this nascent consciousness.
This intense shift on the level of the entire plane's foundational material manifested macroscopically as that subtle yet striking change in "color texture."
Good news followed.
As that powerful embryonic soul rapidly coalesced, the previously scattered and frenziedly conflicting spiritual turbulence seemed to instantly find a commander for lost troops, beginning to orderly converge toward the core.
The birth of a soul provided the rampant spirituality with a "backbone."
Data from the detectors showed that the energy conflict index within the plane started to noticeably decrease, and the amplitude and frequency of spiritual fluctuations also rapidly smoothed out.
The terrifying oppressive sensation, like that of a giant beast rolling and struggling unconsciously, was dissipating quickly.
The pressure borne by the Binding Array visibly lessened.
The crimson glow stabilized, cracks stopped spreading, and energy flow in some areas even began to return to a stable cycle.
"Success?" Viola's slightly breathless and uncertain voice came through the communication channel, carrying the exhaustion of narrowly avoiding disaster, "It's... stabilized? The soul cohesion is complete?"
Jeming looked at the rapidly improving indicators on the screen, finally allowing his tightly wound nerves to slightly relax, exhaling a long breath of suppressed air from his chest.
"It seems so, senior sister. The soul core has taken initial shape, the chaos is abating." His voice carried a hint of relief, "My feeling... might not have been wrong. It was just 'uncomfortable' before, not 'destructive'."
However, just as this sliver of hope began to envelop their hearts...
Change surged!
The spiritual index that had just begun to stabilize plummeted, as if pushed back to its peak by an invisible giant hand, even surpassing any previous peak!
The newly born, strong and stable soul readings erupted with unprecedented intense fluctuations in the same instant
"Roar!!!"
This time, it wasn't a silent tsunami of will.
A "scream" mixed with all the nascent soul's power, filled with utmost fear and confusion, explosively erupted as a substantial spiritual storm from the plane's depths, sweeping across!
With the command of a soul, the plane's own power was no longer wasted chaotically.
All the energy at this moment was instinctively twisted by the fearful soul into a single unit of pure impact, crashing thunderously toward everything around it!
Crack... boom!!!
There was no time to react!
The crimson Binding Array that had just stabilized and even begun self-repair, in the face of this cumulative terror of highly condensed power, was as fragile as paper.
Chain explosions lit up dazzling globes of light in the void, as if the crimson chains were being forcibly snapped piece by piece!
"What?!" Viola cried out in shock.
The mind she had just relaxed was instantly frozen by this abrupt reversal.
Instinctively, the wizard's mind was taken over by the reflex to confront threats: this Living Plane did indeed harbor malice! It feigned calm, only for this lethal strike!
