Sheila shot Kaizen an ambiguous look.
However, Kaizen turned away, pretending not to notice.
At this moment, Sheila had only one reason to show favor toward Kaizen—to get food from him.
"This is your reward for sharing information about the Phantom Troupe," Kaizen said, handing her a bag of bread.
At the same time, Kaizen had finally seized complete control over Sumas.
In other words, Sumas was now an extension of his mind.
For Sumas, Kaizen's will determined life or death.
A flood of information surged into Kaizen's consciousness as he sat in a corner, processing it.
Sumas—also known as Twin Spaces—had two forms of usage.
The first was a fixed form, where it merged with the surrounding environment and could alter it.
This was how the Kurta Clan used Sumas, shaping landscapes spanning tens of kilometers. Different environments could be created: forests, plains, deserts, even ancient structures like pyramids. It could also absorb the aura of the deceased and spawn creatures—dry branches, earthworms, crows, even mummified corpses. It could manifest places like the Land of Trials.
However, this usage anchored Sumas to a single location, making it unsuitable for Kaizen's needs.
The second form was mobile.
A self-contained space could be created, though smaller than the fixed version. The advantage was portability—Kaizen could summon and access it anytime. In this regard, it functioned somewhat like Shizuku's vacuum ability. But unlike her ability, which could only absorb objects she deemed lifeless, Sumas could contain anything.
It bore a closer resemblance to Nobunaga's four-dimensional space but was far larger.
Although smaller than the fixed form, Sumas still retained many of its abilities.
In essence, Kaizen had acquired a condensed version of the Kurta Clan's hermitage.
"The only downside is that when the old man shrank Sumas, he discarded too much. There's barely anything left. If not for that, Sumas would be much stronger."
Kaizen contemplated his next steps.
"Since I own Sumas now, I can transfer external objects into it…"
A sudden thought crossed his mind.
"Could I bring the Ganlu Temple into Sumas? The space is certainly large enough… but would the presence of multiple aura-based entities cause conflicts? I'll have to test it later."
Kaizen focused his will.
"First, let's fully expand Sumas's mobile form."
The room trembled violently.
Sheila's eyes widened in alarm. "What's going on?!"
Kaizen feigned surprise, locking eyes with her just as—
BOOM!
The entire chamber collapsed, sending both of them plummeting downward.
Then, Kaizen vanished.
Within Sumas, the space fragmented into distinct sections—forests, deserts, grasslands, pyramids, the Land of Trials, and blank zones. These were remnants of its previous form, now significantly reduced in scale.
"Each area has shrunk to about ten square kilometers," Kaizen observed.
"The forest is thinning—fewer trees, fewer creatures, and a lingering aura of death."
"The grassland's earthworms are gone."
"The desert's sand scorpions remain."
"The Gobi has vanished entirely."
"The pyramid still holds a few mummified corpses."
"The Land of Trials is the best-preserved section."
Kaizen analyzed the situation.
"These six regions are now separate, divided by invisible barriers under my control. I can open or close them at will."
"For now, I'll throw Sheila into the forest area. She can survive in the lower levels. There's no need to kill her yet—she still has value."
Her knowledge of the Phantom Troupe… Meteor City…
She had revealed some information, but only a fraction of what she knew.
"The grassland and desert can be left alone for now."
"The pyramid will serve as a prison. In the future, anyone I need to keep alive for interrogation can be detained there. If they die, they can be turned into mummies."
"The Land of Trials has two main functions—absorbing aura from the deceased and manifesting creatures similar to aura beasts, testing intruders and rewarding those who pass."
"If I kill a strong Nen user in the future, I can throw their body into the western section of the Trials."
"Nina and the others could use the Trials for training, rapidly boosting their strength."
"The blank area will serve as a warehouse—a space far larger than the storage within Killer Queen's ability."
Sheila appeared in the forest, glancing around warily.
"Where am I? Where's Kaizen?"
She couldn't see him anywhere.
...
Meanwhile, Kaizen had already exited Sumas, standing in the outside world.
In his hand, a sphere materialized.
With a thought, he merged it into his arm, leaving behind a circular emblem.
"There are two ways to enter Sumas."
Kaizen reached out and swiped the air.
A doorway manifested.
"This is the first method."
He could control this door, directing it to any of the six zones.
Then, he willed it shut, making it disappear.
"The door can be opened from both inside and outside," he noted. "But it requires an anchor."
"The spot where the door appears in the outside world becomes the anchor point. If I enter and then make the door vanish, reopening it from inside will return me to the last anchor location."
"I can set multiple anchor points or cancel them if needed."
"The second way to enter Sumas is by using an aura shroud. It's faster but consumes more aura."
Kaizen smirked.
He had taken full control of Sumas. The possibilities were endless.
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