Their class changed again.
It wasn't just the mindless variants anymore. 4th class Nox invaded No Return Pass like their numbers were infinite.
But was there really a difference anymore?
The current Damien viewed the average 4th class the same way he viewed the rest: enemies that would die with a single sweep of his hand.
The only reason there wasn't a truly infinite stream of Higher Nox coming after him was because an infinite stream simply didn't exist, but that didn't mean they didn't try their best to put pressure on him.
His growth was severely underestimated.
In two years Damien already became someone no number of 4th classes could match up to, and as the third year progressed, he became even greater, an existence that could only be revered by those below him.
No, even those at his level could only look up in wonder.
During the third year in No Return Pass, Damien advanced again to his 7th revolution, a product of continuous effort towards his Void comprehension.
The nature of his Divinity was slowly becoming more obvious.
And the nature of Divinity itself was already unraveling.
Divinity.
An intrinsic and esoteric concept, any definition mortals tried to give it had no fate but untruth.
At the end of the day, most people decided to regard Divinity as a "higher state of existence" and leave it there.
What point was there in trying to understand something out of reach?
However, practitioners never gave up. One could even consider the path through the first 4 classes and 9 revolutions a practitioner's attempt to give definition to Divinity before reaching it.
Damien never really gave thought to the Divine.
the shattering of his mind.
That was one of the only instances in which Damien saw a Demigod unaffected by the Divinities couldn't interfere with the universe's affairs unless they were dealing with those at the same level. Because of this, it was hard to see the power of a Divinity up close.
There were only a few times when he got a glimpse.
When the Nox Demigod in the Trial World used its True Voice on him, he experienced the shattering of his mind.
That was one of the only instances in which Damien saw a Demigod unaffected by the universal restriction.
He never thought about why, but the answer became clear later.
That Demigod was not full.
He was a fragmented Divinity, and naturally, he no longer qualified to be restricted by those laws.
The thing was, when he took this train of thought to its end, he came to a tragic realization.
'Didn't the old man also fight Xue Yebai back then?'
It was only for show, to give Damien and Ruyue a glimpse at his power, but he'd definitely made a move that should've been illegal for him.
Tian Yang was, without a doubt, a Demigod.
Then, the only conclusion was that his Divinity was also fractured.
Damien frowned as it hit him. He went off track thinking about his encounters with Divinity, but he didn't expect to come across such an uncomfortable truth in the process.
Nevertheless—
'It's not something I can worry about now. I'll talk to him about it when I get out.'
Damien erased his thoughts about his encounters with Divinity. That wasn't something he needed to focus on now.
What made him curious was: why did they stay?
The Divinities in this universe were powerful, but they'd cut off their path to power. They abandoned their claims to Godhood to remain here for unknown reasons.
Some merely wanted power, while others were actually righteous people. Some had personal desires they had yet to fulfill, but the majority…
It didn't make sense why there were so many of them.
The Heavenly World was the true stage for Demigods.
Damien didn't consider those in this universe true Demigods. He considered them incomplete, whether by their own design or some cruel fate.
Therefore, he refused to use them as a model for what he saw as Divinity.
He waited patiently until he came across the concept on his own, so he could understand its essence without the swaying of biased opinions.
So then, as a 7th revolution master, someone already on the cusp of reaching that level, what did he see Divinity as?
'It is nothing more than proof.'
One's Divinity was the universe's way of acknowledging their achievements. Nothing more, nothing less.
At 4th class, practitioners underwent Universe Baptisms, and when the time came to ascend to 5th, they underwent Cosmic Rebirth.
What was the difference between these two processes?
'There isn't one.'
They were, in essence, the same thing. The elevation of a practitioner's body and skills to match the ascending quality of their souls.
Universe Baptism put one on the path towards discovering their soul, and Cosmic Rebirth finally gave them the direct connection with it they'd been seeking.
The "Legend" all practitioners sought to grow as a lower existence, that concept merely morphed into a Divinity when the time came.
Divinity, a reflection of oneself, proof of one's existence.
Why was it important to realize this?
'In fact, it'll never not be important.'
For most, this realization was one that allowed them to realize their wholeness. The realization that Divinity was just another step in the path to power allowed people's minds to grow and their horizons to broaden, so that they could become the best versions of themselves for the future.
However, to Damien, it was simpler than that.
He always had the desire to explain things.
He thought rationalizing his power was the best way to understand it and utilize it to its greatest capabilities, and to an extent, he was correct.
For powers like Universal Law, such deep, literal understanding was the most perfect way to seize control.
But Damien was a controller of the Void.
He was its Apostle.
He always thought he needed to give the Void definition. He assumed this was his only path towards Divinity.
Yet, he was incredibly wrong.
After forming the five elements, he learned everything he needed to as a lower existence.
In the next year, he exclusively used those elements. Every single day, during every single wave of hundreds of millions of enemies, he refined those elements into a force that could support him even without his greater comprehensions.
He brought them to the level they needed to reach.
And with that, he completed everything he needed to do as a lower existence.
It was a simple truth.
If Damien was willing to limit himself and lock his potential, he could ascend to Divinity right now. The last two revolutions were unnecessary.
'But they exist for a reason, right?'
There wouldn't be two steps remaining if it was the right path to ascend immediately.
If he was a regular lower existence, then maybe. Maybe what he already had would outshine every other Demigod in this universe and he could be content with that.
But his path was never normal.
"Fusion."
This was his next goal.
To fuse the elements into a single force, and then to fuse Spacetime, Samsara, and Elemental force into a singular energy.
The day he accomplished that, he would become a Supreme.
He was around half a year into the third year now.
Did the number reach three hundred billion? It was somewhere around there, but he didn't care to keep more than a rough estimate.
After all, it was fun to see the number go up so unreasonably.
Though…
'No matter how things look here, I think it's a shit show outside.'
