It was hard to imagine Damien Void relaxing.
When was the last time he did it properly?
He didn't really remember.
Whenever he visited the Sanctuary for "relaxation" or to spend time with Xue'er, he took a few days to go over management matters with Elvira and the other Emperors as well, so he wasn't really taking undivided rest days.
If he had to think of a time when he rested with nothing else in mind…
'...maybe back when I first took Rose to Earth.'
It was hilarious how long ago that was.
It had been a month since his scheduled rest time began, and to be frank, he was bored out of his whits.
'Do all practitioners end up developing ADHD? I think it's a consequence of the profession.'
He couldn't focus on the Sanctuary due to its…special situation.
Disregarding his own thoughts and fears, the Sanctuary was constantly being filled with new worlds. It wasn't hard to know where they came from after he saw what the Soul Emperor was up to back then.
He could even speculate on the universe's situation based on their arrival.
But it wasn't time yet.
Not because of fear, but because he was certain he wouldn't be able to stand still when he found out the truth.
He needed to be selfish for a little longer. He needed to train himself a little longer.
He understood the urgency of the situation. It wasn't like Damien was unaware of how greedy his thoughts were.
But, as he'd figured before, there was nothing he could do anyway, so knowing wouldn't help.
'I should trust Lynn. Things will be fine.'
If Elvira was his most reliable helper, Lynn was his great secretary. Ever since she entered the Sanctuary, she'd taken the role of general manager who oversaw the incorporation of new worlds and the maintenance of Sanctuarian society.
Without her, perhaps it would've become a reflection of Grand Heavens Boundary, but from what he sensed from the budding universe, it was nothing of the sort.
'Wow. I really just made a mess and left it for others to clean up. I should reward them when we meet again.'
Damien smiled to himself.
Then he frowned.
'Fuck, I'm bored again.'
His thoughts were entertaining, and other than that, his memories provided a semi-constant source of entertainment.
He was tired of meditation, so that option was off the table. He almost went to battle a few times, but forced himself not to in order to continue his training.
'This is actually a real problem. It was a joke at first, but I think I'd genuinely crumble if I had to spend a long period of time doing nothing.'
It was quite a funny problem to realize, but since it was a problem nonetheless, he became more serious in his "doing nothing" training.
'Still, 6 months is going to take forever.'
He sighed to himself for the umpteenth time.
A long and unavoidable time.
He had a feeling.
This was going to make him suffer more than anything he'd experienced to date.
***
Just as Damien became aware of the Soul Emperor's actions, the Soul Emperor realized early that someone was interfering with his plans.
How could he not?
He'd been harvesting worlds for years, but his yield wasn't nearly what he was expecting.
He originally didn't mind the disappearance of several worlds more than he needed to, judging it as an isolated incident and sending his minions to find the cause, but that changed after a period.
Because no matter how much he did, it kept happening!
Every time he plundered World Cores, or even when the Nox forces destroyed them altogether, some would slip through the cracks and vanish into oblivion.
And it couldn't be tracked regardless of what he tried, even if he personally intervened in the investigation.
It caused him a great deal of trouble.
More than anything else, he was being humiliated constantly.
The Soul Emperor was a man who never lost. Until Damien's arrival in the universe, he never made a single plan that failed.
But why was he experiencing failure so often now?!
"Nothing. There is no sign of anything."
The Soul Emperor was once again standing in the Abyss with a plethora of World Cores before him, this time from Soul World.
As always, more than half of them escaped his grasp at once, but…
He managed to catch one.
The last fish, before it slipped out of the net, was forced into submission by him. Its teleportation was canceled, and it experienced the poor fate of becoming his test subject.
He tore it apart.
He literally took apart the laws that created its structure and searched for any sign of alteration, but there was none.
After all, Damien's Celestial Mana Threads no longer led back to him.
They connected the worlds he bound to that hidden universe forming in the Void, away from even a Demigod's perception.
"Unpleasant."
The Soul Emperor's words came out as no more than a mutter, but they were filled with a seething killing intent that dyed the Abyss red.
His emotions were no longer under his control.
The Divinity he built on constant success felt like it was being slapped mercilessly every time such a situation took place.
If he couldn't solve it, perhaps he'd face setbacks in his personal practice as well!
"This cannot be allowed to continue."
He said it, but…
Just like a certain genius trapped in the lands of darkness, he felt a wall of impossibility.
A wall that told him he wouldn't find what he wanted regardless of what he did.
He tried everything already. He even tried to plant his aura on the World Core and allow it to escape, but as if it understood his plans, it remained, sacrificing itself for the greater good.
Was that even logical?!
The Soul Emperor gnashed his teeth in annoyance.
He hated this feeling.
He never had to feel it before.
No, there was one case.
The only person who could give him this feeling…
"Saint Emperor."
There wasn't another answer.
It was impossible for there to be.
Because in the entirety of existence in this lower universe, the only person stronger than him was the Saint Emperor.
"Is the problem from within? If it is that man, it is not impossible."
He had been targeting the denizens of Grand Heavens Boundary because he assumed one of their Demigods was messing with him.
But after years of finding nothing, the ludicrous thought in his mind was much more rational than it should've been.
The Saint Emperor had a track record.
Earlier, when he signed the 2-year ceasefire and restricted their entire race, setting back their plans immensely, was only one of such incidents.
In reality, throughout the course of history, the Saint Emperor had been meddling past his qualifications.
He acted as if he was on nobody's side but his own.
Whatever agenda he was trying to push was his only goal.
Even if he had to inhibit his own people, even if he had to push them into extinction, he would do so without hesitation.
So his involvement in such a matter…
'...is extremely likely.'
The Soul Emperor frowned heavily.
He finished his current tasks, sending the newly corrupted World Cores to a location unknown, and…
"I shall pay you a visit."
He set out.
To see whether or not he needed to add a new name to his death list.
