After reminiscing on the past for a bit, Damien paid a visit to Zenith Academy to see Malcolm, his first teacher in this new world, before leaving Apeiron.
It was a good visit, like visiting a grandparent, barring Malcolm's incessant requests for him to temporarily teach some classes at Zenith Academy.
His decision was obvious.
He ran away before anyone could convince him otherwise!
Meanwhile, Rose chose to stay behind with her father for a while, knowing she wouldn't get time to do so once the ceasefire ended.
Therefore, Damien left for the Cloud Plane alone, reaching within a few hours and visiting those he wanted to see.
Tian Yang, Tang Lingzi, Bai Xieren, Shangguan Yu, the Drunken Old Immortal, the ruins of the 3000 Beast Mountain Range…
Compared to Apeiron, Damien had memories in many more areas of the Cloud Plane. It took a few days to see them all.
Naturally, Damien also sought Tian Yang along with Ruyue, learning from his mistakes and asking for his blessing together with her.
Tian Yang was present when they were like fire and water and watched them grow close to each other. He'd been expecting this moment since before even Damien and Ruyue were!
He happily accepted them, uncaring for tradition or taboo, and hosted a celebration that wrapped the entirety of Celestial Star Palace in a jovial atmosphere for three nights.
Damien enjoyed these festivities with a bright smile on his face and accompanied Ruyue for those few nights, drowning himself in pleasure.
But the time to depart eventually came.
Damien had tasks to accomplish.
'I want to visit Elena too, but she's busy. I don't want to interfere right now.'
Just like Zara, Elena was searching for her origin.
Only, Elena's state was more desperate.
Damien's presence in this journey wouldn't only be unhelpful, but detrimental!
'It's annoying how important independence is for stability and growth. If I could have it my way, I'd solve all these problems so we can live happily ever after, but…'
Damien smiled wryly as he traversed the starry sky.
It was his fault for loving ambitious women.
He shook his head and opened a Warp portal to his next destination.
He'd been in a nostalgic mood recently. The peace of the Human Domain he'd been away from for so long was catching up to him.
He had one more place to visit before he started moving seriously.
A place he really held no connection with, yet meant everything to him.
Earth.
His homeworld.
He looked at it from above with a complicated gaze.
This planet was no longer the one he knew.
The terrain was massively different after several calamities and mana pulses caused by the world's rapid growth.
The regular citizens who lived back then were warriors now. 4th class beings were becoming more and more common by the day, and it likely wouldn't be long before an extreme peak master was born among them.
Damien thought back to his conversation with Lynn a few days back.
"What drove you to follow me? Disregarding my mother's influence, what made the individual named Lynn Carter subordinate herself?"
It was a question he'd asked in the process of transferring Avalon to the Sanctuary.
And her answer?
It wasn't something grand nor was it some valiant message that struck his soul.
Her reason was simple.
"Have you not noticed it by now? Do you think your Divine blood is for nothing?" She had said.
"People close to you are influenced by your growth. I believe that Avalon will flourish under that very influence, therefore, following your mother's subtle suggestion is the best possible route."
Was it his bloodline or was it the Void? Maybe it was a cooperation between the two.
It made sense.
There was no way to deny it.
Regardless of their talent, it would've been impossible for Rose, Ruyue, and Elena to match his growth, purely due to the disadvantages of their births.
The people he encountered in Hidden Death Valley, the people he met in Calypto, and the people he met throughout the universe were subtly influenced by him. They couldn't compare to those in his direct proximity, but they were all able to make rapid improvements after they established positive relationships with him.
And the Sanctuary. It had the restrictions of an independent world that wasn't complete, yet, these restrictions didn't inhibit his people at all.
Theavel grew into something magical in only a decade, Elvira and the rest entered the nine revolutions, and countless masters had been born from the population.
It was an unequivocal fact.
Earth was perhaps the greatest proponent of this fact.
Earth didn't experience any time dilations.
Damien bound it when he was 20. When he entered the Divine Realm, he was still in his early 20s.
And since then, in the regular time flow, only 3 years passed.
In a period of time so short it passed in a flash, Earth went from a place where 2nd class beings reigned supreme to one where 2nd class wasn't even worth mentioning.
He just wanted to see it.
He didn't have any interest in what the earthlings were up to right now. Despite their strength, they were still relatively disconnected from the wider universe.
They only had contact with the worlds closest to them, while those like Apeiron were only theorized about.
He just wanted to see it.
This world that he still didn't understand this connection to.
This world that should have been insignificant, yet refused to be forgotten.
This world…
'Just what are you?'
[Hehehehe…]
Earth's World Core giggled innocently upon feeling his presence.
Its consciousness was infantile, but it was surprising that it could communicate its words at all.
It took a relatively complete consciousness to do so.
Without realizing it, Damien smiled endearingly.
'I guess I have a duty to protect you while you're still growing.'
Whoosh!
He held his arm out and pushed all his mana.
A black hole opened behind him and provided him with an infinite stream of the energy to use as he pleased.
Right.
This was his homeworld.
This was his home sector.
This place was his origin. There were no words to explain why it mattered, but it impacted him nonetheless.
'Stay safe.'
VOOOOOOOOM!
His mana whirled to life and expanded rapidly, encompassing the entire planet.
Waves and waves of Space Laws fortified the earth's atmosphere, disallowing the presence of hostile beings. Time Laws followed, creating a field around the world that would wither away any invaders.
Samsara ensured those on the planet wouldn't die prematurely and provided them great vitality that could help them in training, and finally, a twinge of the void entered the defense, connecting it to Damien.
'With this, they won't get hit by anything they can't handle. If they are, I'll be able to come right away.'
It wasn't long, but it was a good visit.
Nothing happened, but Damien felt like his mind was clearer than usual.
It was the perfect mental space for what was coming.
A lonely journey that wouldn't end until he ran out of time.
Damien's figure disappeared into the starry sky.
And then…
A year passed in silence.
