experimental karmic observation chamber, a sterile, soundproofed room used for high-level cultivation research. Here, he could truly test the limits of his new tool, the volatile bootleg Earth Core, without immediate detection.
His test subject was a convicted thief, a Rank 1 human cultivator with a deeply tarnished karmic ledger. The man was already facing a lengthy sentence, his spiritual essence already weakened by his transgressions. Elias wasn't looking for justice; he was looking for data.
He strapped the thief into a containment chair, a network of spiritual sensors attaching to his cultivation points. Elias activated the Karma Lens, watching the thief's karmic threads, a tangled mess of deceit and minor malice. Then, carefully, Elias channeled a surge of spiritual energy through the bootleg Earth Core. He intended to simulate a localized karmic backlash, a controlled spiritual recoil. The core pulsed violently in his hand, its Stoneborn essence fighting against its human modifications.
The effect was instantaneous and terrifying. The thief convulsed, a scream tearing from his throat. His karmic threads, instead of recoiling in a controlled fashion, began to spiral unpredictably. Greens turned to sickly yellows, then to a chaotic, flickering gray. His primal essence, his spiritual core, seemed to oscillate wildly. The energy readings on Elias's monitor spiked erratically, far beyond what a minor backlash should produce. The room's own sensors, designed for precision, screamed warnings.
This wasn't a controlled experiment; it was a detonation. The bootleg core, in its instability, had amplified the negative karmic energy, creating a feedback loop that threatened to unravel the thief's very soul. The sheer, uncontrolled burst of karmic distortion was like a beacon in the night.
Within minutes, alarms blared through the usually quiet research sector. Celestial Sentinels, their armored footsteps pounding down the corridor, were already on their way. The uncontrollable karmic overload had drawn Sentinel attention.
Elias moved with a desperate, practiced efficiency. He couldn't let them trace this back to him. He knew that Analyst Vera, a rival in his department, had often voiced theories about "radical karmic punishment," suggesting that controlled spiritual disruption could be a more effective deterrent than mere incarceration. It was a fringe idea, but it was known.
With the Sentinels moments away, Elias rapidly accessed the chamber's internal logs. He subtly altered the digital timestamps, the spiritual signature readouts, and the initial input parameters. He fabricated a sequence of events that suggested Vera had been experimenting, pushing the boundaries of sanctioned research, seeking to prove her theories. He meticulously linked the spiraling karmic readings to Vera's specific research interests, effectively framing a rival analyst for the catastrophic experiment.
The Sentinels burst in, their weapons raised, their eyes scanning the chaotic energy readings. Elias stood calmly, feigning shock and concern, pointing them towards the panicked technician who was attempting to subdue the thrashing thief. He watched as the Sentinels apprehended the technician, and moments later, Vera herself arrived, drawn by the alarms, only to be immediately detained.
The lesson was stark and brutal. Direct karma manipulation, especially with unstable tools, was too dangerous. It was like wielding a force of nature without understanding its true power. He had nearly exposed himself and had caused unpredictable, severe damage. He needed softer tools, subtler methods. His manipulations had to be indirect, working with the Ledger's existing biases, rather than violently forcing its hand. The bootleg Earth Core was too volatile for direct application, but its masking properties remained invaluable.
Elias walked out of the observation chamber, leaving the chaos behind. He had gained a crucial piece of knowledge about the Ledger's fragility, but the cost, and the risk, were escalating with every step he took.