From that day onward, Damien maintained regular contact with Elvira and Lynn to understand how the situation was progressing.
Every day, he'd visit the Sanctuary for a few hours to converse with them, as well as to visit Xue'er and help guide her in her training while he could.
The more he heard, the harder it was to stay still.
'Luciel has been slowly gaining control, which is good. The situation isn't nearly as dire anymore, but…'
It was no longer a fight between Grand Heavens Boundary and the Nox, but one between Luciel's loyalists and everyone else.
As the days passed, more and more traitors started to reveal their allegiance.
The truth behind the Great Commanders of Heaven's Army was discovered by the Sanctuarian troops a few months ago, but it came to light soon enough.
After all, at the decisive moment, both fake commanders showed their true faces and ruined the integrity of Heaven's Army for good.
The organization known as "Heaven's Army" had already been disassembled in the past month, and those who still held the desire to fight had moved to Luxurion to join Luciel's camp along with the dwarves who resided in Hephaestus.
The current situation was as such.
The Divine Realm was the universe's territory, while Hephaestus was being used as a Nox base.
The Infernal Realm was the main battlefield, with the demons splitting to both sides based on their allegiance.
Meanwhile, the Human Domain was still untouched.
No matter how many defenses Damien put up before he left, and no matter how strong the natural barriers were, it was impossible to keep the Nox out forever.
But when their scouting parties finally snuck between the spatial layers and entered the sector, they found that it was practically empty!
There were only 6 worlds left in the entirety of the domain, an incomprehensible sight.
When news made it back to the Nox…
Surprisingly, there wasn't any movement.
In fact, these scouting parties reported back to the Inhuman Emperor and Soul Emperor, as the Saint Emperor had yet to involve his forces and the Karmic Emperor was focusing his efforts on Hephaestus.
The Inhuman Emperor couldn't have cared less about the nuances of the situation. If there weren't people to satisfy his and his people's desires, there was no point in pursuing the matter.
After all, he was the truest form of a barbaric warmonger. He wasn't an idiot, he simply didn't care to use his brain for such matters.
Carnage was his only goal, so why should he?
Meanwhile, on the Soul Emperor's side, things were more complex.
His purpose for collecting World Cores was not a mystery. Every Nox who'd unlocked their bloodline memories to a certain degree understood where those cores were going.
However, speaking of it was prohibited due to the "curse."
It didn't matter anyway. Most of them didn't have the power to interfere nor the will to do so.
All except one.
His suspicions of the Saint Emperor became far more severe once this information came to him, and the divide between the two Nox camps increased.
When he went to visit the Saint Emperor, the man himself didn't say anything to confirm or deny his accusations, which only made him more suspicious.
This was all a game to that man.
If inhibiting the Soul Emperor's plans made that game more fun, he would absolutely do it.
So, instead of focusing on the "why" behind the Humann Domain's state, he created the "why" himself.
Regardless, this wasn't yet known to anyone but himself and the Saint Emperor, and the Human Domain was put aside as all sides lost their desire to use it.
'The question right now is simple. Where am I going to be most useful?'
Damien could absolutely re-enter the universe and lend his efforts to the war. He could likely save a few billion more people by doing so, an achievement to be proud of.
But his gut told him this wasn't the way forward.
'No matter what Luciel does, he can't win against an unending enemy. The more they show their longevity, the more people will switch sides, and the situation will continuously become more unfavorable.'
"Tch."
Damien gnashed his teeth.
This severe situation caused by fear and panic, it was slowly turning into another impossibility.
He couldn't accept it.
The last impossibility he faced could only be solved with time and a spark of inspiration, but this one…
'I'll do it myself.'
A month ago, he decided to let go of the Mind Prison and embrace his emotions again. As his ego flooded back into his mind and brought it to life, the variety of emotions that populated his head culminated into a single product.
Fatigue.
He was tired of it.
This unending war, these insects he'd been seeing more than anything else for the past five years, he was tired of it all.
He could no longer trust the universe to take care of itself.
'Rose's Judgement Order is something to be praised, but their power isn't enough yet. They'll only be able to make proper waves with time.'
And time was a commodity right now.
How could he help the situation best?
The answer was obvious.
He was Damien Void, he was the Void's Apostle, a man beyond the reach of those within and without the universe.
They didn't have the right to piss him off this much.
'Recently, things have been getting interesting.'
It seemed some had given up and were getting desperate.
There were some Demigods on the universe side that tried to attack lower existences and pull their peers into the Ancient Battlefield, since the presence of Demigods became something that only benefitted the Nox.
But, they hadn't been successful.
The Nox had their own Demigod Lords and the traitors who came to their side.
The universe's Demigods couldn't move covertly no matter what they tried, so every attempt they made was inhibited by a member of their own class, foiling their plans easily.
'The Ancient Battlefield, huh…'
A plan started forming in Damien's head.
A grin formed on his face.
"This is insane…" he muttered.
But his grin didn't go away.
In fact, it only became wider and wider.
'If I do that, I'll be able to kill two birds with one stone…'
'...well, maybe it'll become three.'
The best way to use the Void Apostle's strength in the current time was simple.
"I'm going to Al'Katra."
The hidden motherworld of the Nox, the place that spawned these disgusting vermin.
"I feel bad for not taking Orion along as promised, but…I don't really have time to grab him, do I?"
Damien looked up into the blackness of the sky.
It didn't vary much from the blackness of the earth or the walls to either side, but for this moment, he felt it necessary to stare into its depths.
"Five…"
"Four…"
"Three…"
"Two…"
"One."
Crash!
The sound was indiscernible, but it was incredibly clear in Damien's ears.
The sound of 5 years officially passing.
The sound of his shackles shattering and freeing his soul.
"Then, I'll leave this place to you."
"Do not worry, My Lord. We will not let anyone trespass until your return."
"Return, huh…"
Damien smiled.
"Don't worry about that. When the situation becomes unfavorable, leave directly. There will be someone else to clean the mess once you leave."
"Pardon?"
"Don't worry about it."
Damien turned his head to face them.
Tephit and the Sea Races, Lucius and the Demons, and Bai Yuxuan and the Dragons.
These three forces would hold the fort for him while he was gone.
"Well then, until next time."
He smiled once more and turned to the Abyss he'd been facing for the past five years.
He took his first steps.
Towards the desire he'd held for more than a decade at this point.
It was finally time to enter the Abyss…
"...and crush their fucking skulls."
