The Innkeeper

Back when Lex was in the Golden core realm, much of his survivability depended on his core. Even if his body were turned to mush, as long as his core was unharmed, his energy would be able to flow, and help him recover to his peak state.

This was as a result of the unique blend of his body, soul and spirit. His new form of existence had the benefits of all three, with the only drawback being that more energy would be required to carry out the functions of any one.

For example, his body, even as a mortal, had the inherent ability to heal. Souls and spirits all lacked that, though both of those boasted a certain durability in their own way. But bodies did not necessarily always heal completely the way they were before injury, yet souls had an inclination to return to their whole being.

Even though they lacked the ability to heal on their own, should someone provide them with healing, the soul would always return to its original state. When that ability was mixed with the body's healing ability, it meant that no matter the injury he suffered, he would be able to heal back to his peak state. It was just that his recovery would take longer, and be more energy intensive.

The mind, or rather the spirit, could neither heal, nor did it have a tendency to return to its original state. However, it was endlessly adaptable and resilient, finding a way, any way, to survive. Initially, that just made Lex tougher. Yet when he transcended from the Golden core to the Nascent realm, it added a new layer to his survivability.

In the Golden Core, his survival was intimately linked to his core, but in the Nascent realm, that changed, and to an extent the ability transferred to his entire being. As long as any part of him survived, he would be able to heal.

When he became an Immortal, Lex's survivability transcended even that - to some extent. Now, as long as a single cell, or even a single speck of his soul survived, he would be able to heal back to his peak state. Yet here is where the versatility of his spirit began to shine. Now, it was not only a single cell from his body, nor merely a speck of his soul from which he could return to whole. As long as there was a remnant thought - because Lex also had the ability, through Mindmeld, to turn into thought - Lex could recover.

As it happened, exerting his tenet could also be done through his tenet, so Lex had a feeling that when he entered the Heaven immortal realm, his survivability would go to a whole other realm - one that was linked to his tenet!

Regardless, his condition at the moment was nowhere near that bad. Let alone a single cell, there was an entire cloud of blood left of Lex. A cloud of blood also meant a significant amount of his soul was still left, and so was his mind - though admittedly getting blown up did affect his spirit enough to make Lex feel drowsy.

"Very good," Lex's voice reverberated through the land, his voice a suppressive force on its own, crushing the army of locusts around them, wiping every evidence of their existence. "But not good enough."

The full force of Lex's tenet was unleashed. Though he did not spread it far and wide, within 100 miles (160 km) of where his body exploded, his Supremacy was unleashed.

Within this territory, all laws halted their ordinary function, and everything fell under the influence of Lex's Supremacy, forming a Domain. Lex had used a Domain once before, though he had been kind of cheating then.1

Now, though, just the sheer force of his full power allowed him to form a Domain - something Earth immortals shouldn't have been able to do. Even now, he felt that the way he was forming a Domain was incorrect, and that it was supposed to be formed through some other way. He didn't care.

Within his Domain, the abominable influence of Abaddon ceased. Within this region, Lex was supreme, and his will dictated everything.

The cloud of blood quickly retreated back into a single drop of blood, and then the blood began to expand, slowly turning back into Lex's body the way it was before it exploded. Or at least, that's what everyone originally thought was going to happen.

Instead, when Lex's body reformed, there were a few changes that they all noticed. His eyes were different, and looked as though they contained the whole universe. Though, since no one could truly imagine what the whole universe looked like, all they saw was an endless, expansive galaxy that contained everything.

The second big change was that Glorious Inferno, Lex's own version of Dragon Flames, formed a brilliant cape of bright golden flames.

Lex did not unleash Domination, rather, his very presence exuded Domination, which had seemed to gain a regal element to it, as he were some monarch or leader.

His reappearance not only relieved the two armies, it amazed them as well. Yet Lex was not focused on that at the moment. Although he seemed entirely unhurt, and even stronger in fact, the truth was that he was greatly injured. Lex had mastered many healing techniques, but even then, it would take him a long time to recover. If he could continuously stay within the Recovery pod, then he guessed it would take him about three months at the very least.

Yet healing and recovery was a matter he would attend to later. Lex's attention was entirely focused on the last grain of its existence, which faded out the moment he returned, as if it had fulfilled its mission.

Lex narrowed his eyes, yet before he could ponder deeply into the matter, his karmic reward for killing something that had a hint of Universal Rejection arrived. It was just that… compared to everyone else, who only received a little positive karma, what Lex received was like the shining sun compared to a single ember.

It was so great that it was visible, and everyone stared in awe as a bright light fell from the heavens, as if crowning Lex a king.

Only Z seemed unimpressed. Everyone else was mesmerized.

For those who want a reminder, Domain is first mentioned in chapter 1247.