Three days passed while Damien sat in meditation, and the day of promise came.
The girls had returned to the great tree and the Overseer was waiting patiently as well, but Damien still hadn't woken up.
His deep slumber was not caused by the battle he faced, but by its aftermath!
Not only did he destroy a portion of his spiritual world to break the Void out of his shackles, he'd devoured a tiny piece of Universal Law that he had to work hard to digest.
Three days was a very long time, especially in this place where every day accounted for weeks in Grand Heavens Boundary.
Many things happened during this time.
Of course, Damien's group experienced peace, as they were reaching for nothing else. The girls were able to explore the Severed World's ecosystems without worry, learning from its roots and strengthening their foundations along the way.
The truly interesting events took place elsewhere.
On the first day Virgil and his group entered the third layer, they came across an injured beast that they ended up saving. It was just a small sparrow when they met it, and after healing it, they sent it on its way.
Never would they have expected that the mother of this sparrow was quite the powerful beast who currently held the ambition to earn a place in the central region during the Ascension Ceremony!
However, she was sure she didn't have much of a chance and enlisted their group to help.
They set off to the central region with her on the second day, prepared to defend her flight and aid her with their artifacts!
It was almost as if Virgil had the so-called "protagonist's luck." To survive a night in the third layer without killing a single Messenger Bird and even find a free ride to the most important event of his sub-universe; could there be any better explanation?
The woman named Sia, on the other hand, split from their group at this point, her destination unknown. She soon disappeared into the vibrant rainforest and erased herself from any perception that could have followed her.
With the coming of the third day, there were only two remaining until the Ascension Ceremony officially began.
And every being near Skyrend Mountain was preparing for its arrival.
***
Such a substantial time difference was jarring.
Damien and his group entered the Severed World roughly a week ago, but in Grand Heavens Boundary, it had been over three months already.
The internal cleansing operation began in full a long time ago, and along with traitors being constantly forced out and killed, an Infected Source World raid had already taken place.
Heaven's Army began in Soul World. The domain of spirits always had a strange atmosphere that was perfect for the existence of spirits, but almost haunting to all others. The Infected Source World in their sector was considered the weakest because the Nox had to endure this disadvantage.
Meanwhile, the allied forces had protection from the spirits that allowed them to act while bypassing it!
Infected Source Worlds were all different, but their base purpose was to act as farms. They bred Lesser Nox and were supervised by Higher Nox, but the strength of the enemies couldn't match the denizens; not without support from their main force outside the universe.
The Infected Source World fell in 2 months. Heaven's Army sent elites to completely destroy it without a single hope for reconstruction, and they did exactly that.
The world crumbled. The shattered pieces of rock that floated through the starry sky were incinerated to nothingness, and every Nox on its surface was eliminated.
The only trace of its existence left in the universe was the wriggling black Corrupted World Core that supported the world's actions.
To this day, even the universe's Demigods had been unable to find a way to get rid of it.
Even if it was corrupted, it still existed as part of the universe's core system and couldn't simply be destroyed. The only method to deal with it was to purify the filth and let it rebirth as a normal world.
It was safe to say no expert with such capabilities existed among their forces.
Space for several million kilometers around the Corrupted World Core was evacuated, and experts filed into the area to constantly monitor the structure.
If there were any signs of movement, these experts instantly moved to cut the roots.
This world wouldn't be allowed to cause any more trouble!
With the experience gained from the first raid, a second one began just half a month later.
The next target was Hephaestus.
The Soul World raid was a measure of caution meant to feel the strength of an average Infected Source World.
Having this information, which was interpolated by the greatest of Seers and scholars, the allied forces chose not to waste any time.
Hephaestus was the most important strategic point as it was where the headquarters of Heaven's Army was located.
When the universe came together as one, they created two strongholds from which the core of their forces acted.
These were Sky Castle Luxurion and the Heaven's Army main base.
The former handled logistics while the latter was the headquarters for all things related to combat.
Luxurion already had a nigh-impervious defense, as long as someone at the Saint Emperor's level didn't intervene at least. Therefore, Hephaestus took priority over the Divine Realm.
This raid was far more important than the last and it had to be guaranteed there would be no mistakes.
For the past half month, Heaven's Army had been sending scouting parties to the Infected Source World and fighting small skirmishes against the Nox stationed there, but they hadn't entered true combat yet.
However, the day wasn't too far away.
Grand Heavens Boundary was enveloped in war regardless of the ongoing ceasefire, and while this meant their forces would be depleted and exhausted, those who survived would be refined into diamonds before they had to carry the universe's very fate on their shoulders.
The only question was…how were the Nox using this time?
The answer was truly unknown.
The four Nox Emperors didn't have any sort of alliance with each other. They had their own goals, and as long as they didn't interfere with each other, they rarely maintained contact.
However, the Saint Emperor's actions this time forced them to come together.
He was always stronger than them, and in the depths of their hearts, they understood just how mysterious and terrifying this being who lived through uncountable eons was.
Any expression or sense of personality he showed was fake. There was no such thing as a personality that could survive hundreds of millions of years without shattering.
Every step he took was calculated. Every loss he took was taken on purpose.
Even the Saint King, Bai Yumo, who he called his own son, was–
This ceasefire was no different; a loss he knew he would take.
And the terms he suggested affected their entire race. The only ones safe from his Mana Oath were the three other Emperors, but how could they easily show their heads?
This display wasn't just for the denizens of Grand Heavens Boundary, but for his fellow Nox as well.
Four Nox Emperors gathered in one place and hadn't moved since the ceasefire began.
Their forces also remained still, awaiting orders.
Whether it be the most common entry-level 4th class who just gained sentience, or a Lord-level character like the Marionette Lord, none of them dared to act recklessly.
Because the establishment of the ceasefire meant only one thing to them:
The Saint Emperor was declaring himself their Sovereign.
