Split your body into two

Currently, you had 8 monster cores within you, roughly 7 more than what a normal monster had. Considering you had zero chance of winning a fight with the arch-imago or persuading her from leaving, this was your only gamble. Using your tentacles, you remove two of your monster cores while ordering your roots to begin producing several new organ chambers, your decentralized vitals from your verdure heritage working in your favor. You think about leaving only one monster core in there, but to your dismay, you lack the finesse to produce any duplicate bodies smaller than massive. Considering your enemy's obsessive tendencies, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Filling each organ chamber with one of every potion or toxin you could make, you finish it off by creating a duplicate of your original plant body and stuffing your monster cores into there, making sure to sever any roots connecting themselves to your true body. As you sever the roots, you feel a wave of nausea, no longer controlling one massive body but now controlling two separate bodies. When you regain your senses, you begin testing the limits of the secondary body.

To your glee, you find that you can still control both of your "bodies" independently despite being sliced apart. Furthermore, the separate "body" you have still benefits from the pure land and dungeon core buffs despite being outside of your dungeon. The only issue is that your second body can no longer produce potions, lacking the sunlight and nutrient dense soil of your dungeon to produce them. You note to yourself to test out splitting yourself further when you have the time, but for now, you decide to wait and watch as Citranas exits her domain to find Asriana and her three compatriots waiting outside.

"What are you doing here? Where did everyone go?" She asks, still in a sour mood as Asriana bows at the waist.

"They have left to stop the Carnation Seneschal. Our leader has left us behind to stay by your side and aid you with whatever you desire until we return to your comrades." She answers as Citranas glares at her.

"Are you going to tell me where you got the healing potions from?" She asks half heartedly.

"Yes, but only if you promise not to tell anyone." Asriana answered, startling the arch-imago.

"Why don't you want me to tell anyone?" She asked, suddenly interested.

"We are slightly ashamed of what we had to do to survive here. We would prefer to not lose our honor. Can you promise us that?" Asriana asks as Citrinas eagerly nods.

"I just want to know." She confirms as Asriana takes in a long sigh. Walking over to where your second body is hidden, she begins excavating it and pointing at the fleshy organ you've buried underground. Rather than be repulsed, Citrinas seemed fascinated by the organ and poked it while Asriana gave her your cover story.

"We found a monster that creates potions buried in these lands. It hasn't harmed us, and helped us survive until you arrived. The rate it produces healing potions wasn't enough to sustain everyone, but it did keep us alive." She explains as Citrinas reached into her pocket and removed a knife. Carefully cutting a hole in the pouch, a single drop of healing potion oozed out and healed the wound. Upon seeing the droplet, her curiosity became complete joy as she let out an excited squeal.

"Incredible! Monsters shouldn't be able to create healing potions, yet this one is!" She says excitedly as Asriana frowned.

"They aren't?" She asked, genuinely surprised at the statement while staring at you, now even more puzzled as to your true nature.

"Alchemy is an art of sorcery. At best, a monster can produce toxins and aphrodisiacs. Furthermore, this monster shows both Verdure and Erosarkic family traits. It's the first monster hybrid to exist in the world. Also, the size! I can sense two monster cores in it!" She says excitedly while stroking your root system and organ chamber, the contrast between your rigid root system and fleshy body fascinating her. "Something like this would revolutionize alchemy. To no longer have to harvest resources, but to..." She continues, muttering to herself as Asriana grabs her shoulder, snapping her back to reality

"And you swear to hide this knowledge from the world?" She asked frantically as Citrana eagerly nodded.

"Of course. I'll make sure it never sees the light of day ever again." She says cheerily before chanting a spell. You brace yourself as you try not to think about what happens when the spell completes. The only thing preventing you from lashing out is the knowledge that losing 25% of your mind was better than losing 100% of your mind, and that Asriana and her colleagues promised to spend a LOT of time repaying you for the trouble. Soon, the spell reaches its end as Citranas points her hand at you.

"Domain!" She shouts as your second body is whisked away to her pocket dimension. Your main body, however, is still close enough to hear their ensuing conversation.

"A-arch-imagos, you said that the monster would never see the light of day." Asriana says quickly, her voice cracking as Citranas nods.

"Yes, it will be safe in my domain. Don't worry, I won't tell a single soul about this! I swear on my honor!" She says cheerily while shaking Asriana's hand. "And thank you so much for showing this to me! It's really a great specimen!" She says as Asriana swallowed nervously, looking at the empty hole where your second body was.

"Er... Arch-Imago Citrinas, is it really safe to keep a monster in your domain unattended? Should we not... At the very least leave it here?" She asks as Citrinas shook her head.

"Monsters always try to instantly breed any woman that touch it, and that goes double for Erosarkics or Verdure. This one stayed docile even with 5 women near it, so it's probably chaste. This is probably a new breed of monster that's only used to produce potions, so I doubt it's even sentient." She said excitedly as you resisted the urge to tell her just how non-sentient you were. As for the breeding issue, Asriana and her friends would argue against that.

"S-still, it's a monster. It could rampage or hurt you one day." Asriana said as Citrinas yet again shook her head.

"Don't worry. The Domain spell is not something that can be escaped, and I'm not one to be defeated by such a weak monster." She reassures.

"But still-" Asriana continues only to be silenced mid-sentence.

"If you're worried, I'll let you and your subordinates enter my domain and help me research it." She offers.