It was dark in the Abyss.
The concept of light was drowned in the blackness. It existed, but it didn't exist in its full form. There was a brightness that allowed one to see the path ahead, but there was no path ahead to see.
Unless one had lived here for enough time to become accustomed or was born here and knew nothing else, its scenery alone was suffocating enough to drive one to insanity.
However, to the Nox, this was home.
The Abyss was always perceived by those in Grand Heavens Boundary as a vast emptiness, but this definition was flawed.
The majority of the Abyss was created after the destruction of universes, the tiny trace of the blackness that existed in the past devoured and grew into its current form.
Therefore, while there was only a single complete structure in this place, Al'Katra, it was scattered with debris from those previously existing universes.
Some of this debris was small enough to go unnoticed, while some were enough to form continents of their own.
Those Nox bases that existed outside Al'Katra were all situated on such debris fields, and recently, a new one popped up so far outside the bounds of the known Abyss that it went unnoticed.
Bai Yumo started moving seriously the second he accepted his situation.
Since he got a new life, he wasn't planning to waste it.
The problem was his enemy, a Demigod above Demigods who couldn't be challenged.
How could he face such a being?
He definitely couldn't do it alone, and the Nox were not a people who'd be willing to follow him in his path of destruction.
At least, not normally.
There was a supreme truth that all Nox learned upon inheriting their bloodline memories. It was a truth shattering enough to split the Nox into multiple factions, but mere 4th class beings didn't have the power to escape the shackles placed on them by that truth.
They could only move according to its will.
But Demigods were different.
Demigods who ascended past their mortal coil couldn't be restricted by anything other than universal law.
And though most of those who stayed in the lower universe were those who succumbed to this truth and accepted it, there were still a few who maintained their defiance secretly.
They were the ones he had to reach first. The rest would only follow if he could convince them to join him.
They were not unified, and most of the time, they didn't know each other's identities, but Bai Yumo was different.
His "father" was a supreme being. Nothing could escape his eyes.
He was extremely clear of where the allegiances of every noteworthy Nox lay, yet, he didn't make a move on any of them.
Bai Yumo still couldn't understand why.
That man was willing to do anything for his goals. He was even willing to sacrifice Bai Yumo the second he had opposing thoughts.
So why did he keep them alive to do as they pleased?
Maybe they were still useful chess pieces, or maybe he just didn't know his "father" as he thought he did.
Nevertheless, Bai Yumo knew who those people were, and he started making contact with them as soon as he could.
Years passed in Grand Heavens Boundary. The war raged on. Yet, even longer passed in the Abyss.
Bai Yumo had experienced over a decade since his battle with Damien.
And in that time, he'd built up a considerable force of his own.
The Blade Lord and the Purgatory Lord. He was able to contact these two Demigods and earn their trust, recruiting them into his group.
In the process, he gained their followers as well.
He'd been exchanging words with the Royal Lord and Gluttonous Lord for a while now and didn't think it would take long to recruit them, while the Bow Lord, Frost Lord, and Poison Lord were still hovering on the fence, unsure of what to think of him.
'Everything is moving as planned, however…'
His thoughts went back to the Saint Emperor.
With Bai Yumo poaching the subordinated Lords under him, there was no way he didn't notice.
However, he'd yet to make a move. No, he had yet to even acknowledge Bai Yumo's survival.
'It cannot be because we are too well concealed. This place is hidden, but if he wished for it, he could scour the entire Abyss for my traces without lifting a finger. There must be something else.'
Bai Yumo's ultimate goal was freedom.
At least for now, the Saint Emperor was the greatest symbol of oppression he faced, and thus was the highest priority target for elimination.
But he wasn't an idiot.
'I am still too far away from him. Recruiting Lords is enough to build a force to use elsewhere, but against him, any of those I can make contact with will die in an instant.'
He sighed to himself.
'Is there really no way?'
He didn't know how Damien did it.
The Saint Emperor was such an invincible existence in his mind that he couldn't even begin to imagine defeating him.
How was someone younger than him able to be so confident in front of impossibility?
'I need to know.'
It had been a very long time since they'd seen each other, but he felt they needed to talk.
'I can only continue acting as I have if I wish to make an impact, but this plan is far too long-term. By the time it can be put into action, will the Saint Emperor still be within reach?'
He was uncertain. He didn't believe in himself.
So he had to speak to the man who represented everything he started yearning to be.
'I have heard many rumors. Not one who has gone to challenge him has returned.'
Bai Yumo knew less about Grand Heavens Boundary's situation than even Damien himself, but the tales of No Return Pass spread too far for him to be unaware.
'I wonder…'
In ten years, Bai Yumo regained a piece of himself that had been missing for a long time.
He wasn't going to deny that he lost because Damien was stronger than him, but a large part of his defeat was also owed to his lack of mental stability.
The overlapping impossibilities presented by Damien and the Saint Emperor broke his will to fight, and what could have been a much more equal fight was turned into Damien's complete win.
'I wonder how I would fare now?'
He was going to visit No Return Pass regardless.
His goal was answers. He wanted advice from the only human he'd ever acknowledged.
But it wouldn't be bad, right?
'He must be bored of the rabble as well.'
It had been a long time since he had a proper fight. Such things weren't privy to lords who ruled over others from the back.
He had to make sure his skills weren't rusty, and—
'—I want to find the way to destroy the poison infesting our race.'
There were countless restrictions that forced his mouth shut, however, he wondered:
'Should I tell him?'
Perhaps it was time for that man to know…
'…about the curse that enslaves our race.'
