The main reason the Abyss remained unexplored was obviously due to its inherent dangers.
From the uneven time distribution where every second could equate to hundreds of years in the universe, to the threatening atmosphere that tried to suffocate one from all sides, it was overall a place that did not welcome the presence of universe denizens.
The worst part of it all was the inability to gather mana. The mana of the Abyss was too corrupted for consumption, so once one's internal mana capacity ran out, only their bodily defenses could protect them from the dangers.
And with the Abyss constantly changing, it was nigh impossible to find one's way back to the universe after entering it.
Unless one had the luck of the entire universe in their hands, it was bad enough to be considered genuinely impossible.
But those weren't the only problems.
There was no motivation for the people of the universe to make their way into uncharted territory.
It was possible to find random Nox settlements during one's travels, but the location of Al'Katra remained hidden from all for generations.
It was as if even the Nox didn't know where their homeworld was located.
So pursuing them into that treacherous territory held no benefit.
Without benefit, when did anyone move?
However, what inhibited the rest of the universe didn't apply to Damien.
Putting aside the Abyss' dangers, he held the capability to replenish his mana even in that unknown territory.
And more than anything else, he knew where Al'Katra was.
The reason the universe had never been able to pinpoint its location was because they focused too much on known logic and tried to define the Abyss through it.
The approach wouldn't be incorrect in usual cases, but this was not a usual case in the slightest.
Al'Katra did not move on a linear path, or one with any sense at all.
It was never in the same place, nor were there any landmarks orbiting it that could be tracked.
In fact, Al'Katra's irregular movement that cloaked its location in randomness was only normal in the Abyss.
The Abyss itself was ever-changing, never permanently following a single pattern, so obviously the worlds within would be the same.
To track an object in an area that was already unmapped when it was constantly shifting position was naturally impossible, but after five years of devouring Nox and patching their memories together, Damien circumvented this impossibility.
As he found in the Trial World all those years ago, Damien couldn't incorporate the Nox bloodline.
He had to collect it and store it elsewhere whenever he devoured them, which caused a problem for him.
But with the growth of the Void, he gained an unprecedented power of "falsification."
From the moment he succeeded in gaining new affinities by transmuting the Void's energy, he mastered this power.
And with it…
"Huu…"
Void Mana flooded Damien's bloodstream, dying it black.
'Nox Bloodline…I know it well.'
He had more than enough in storage to research, so mimicking it wasn't a problem.
'Demon Transformation.'
His body changed form. His hair turned white and his skin paled until it was an ash-grey color. His height ballooned almost a foot, and his body was covered in tattoo-like blood runes.
It had been a while since he used this transformation, but he gained it from a Nox, so using it now made the following processes much simpler.
In a matter of seconds, Damien became indistinguishable from a Nox Supreme.
'I can feel it.'
When the memories he stole combined with the "Nox" bloodline in his body, a path formed.
A path that led straight to Al'Katra.
'As long as I follow this, I'll make it there even if that place decides to run all the way to the ends of existence.'
The material preparations were finished, and in the time he took to do so, his mental preparations were also completed.
He was ready to embark on this journey.
He walked through No Return Pass slowly, but every step he took seemed to take him several hundred thousand kilometers forward.
Until he reached the end of the earth, staring out into a wall of blackness.
He couldn't see anything. Not the Nox who would constantly invade him, and not the "depth" that the Abyss should've possessed.
It was a solid wall of blackness.
Yet, when he reached his hand out, it passed through the wall like it didn't exist.
'This…'
Damien took another deep breath.
'...is going to be an experience.'
He took another step.
And his body disappeared into the Abyss.
Unbeknownst to him, his disappearance into that space had more than just a small impact.
In several areas of the universe, people looked out into the distance with strange emotions present on their faces.
Those who had connections to him, whether physical or ethereal, felt his embarkment.
Ruyue clutched her chest with a frown.
It was almost suffocating.
The wisp of soul she shared with him felt like it disappeared.
She knew it was present, but this feeling…
"We need to go to the Sanctuary.
Rose and Elena nodded solemnly.
They felt it through their rings as well.
Something had happened, and they needed to know what.
While the three women pursued the truth, others could only stand in confusion.
They didn't know exactly what was going on, but they could feel it.
A massive change was about to take place.
With Damien Void at its center.
***
'Hmm…'
It wasn't anything like he expected it to be.
Considering the way it was perceived by the universe, Damien expected the Abyss to be a place with nothing but blackness and danger, but it wasn't anything of the sort.
Well, somewhat.
His danger sense was definitely blaring more than ever before.
His senses were telling him that any movement he made would lead him to peril.
However, it was not entirely black.
It took several minutes for his eyes to adjust to the environment, but once they did, the blackness faded to the background.
The Abyss was actually filled with activity.
"Huu…"
Damien took a breath of air.
No, he took a breath of the Abyss. There was no such thing as air here.
Concepts like that had been diluted into completely different variations that hardly held similarities to their original forms.
However…
'It's beautiful.'
The swirling darkness was not a manifestation of emptiness.
Perhaps it was because he was a Celestial, but Damien could perceive it all around him.
This place was filled with energy.
Tens or hundreds or even thousands of energies all mingled together and meshed in ways they were not supposed to, creating the corrupted blackness of the Abyss.
Just by standing here, Damien felt his state of mind heightening crazily.
'I see…I see…'
The phrase kept repeating in his mind.
He understood now.
Why the Nox's mana was like that, some truths about the universe, and more than anything…
'...the ever-so-slight presence of the Void.'
He just stepped into this place, so he couldn't say he was truly in the Abyss right now.
Instead–
'–it's better to say I'm standing in the ruins of a destroyed universe.'
Damien's heart was practically beating through his chest.
'It seems…'
'...this trip is going to be far more bountiful than expected.'
30 minutes.
By judging his internal body clock, Damien could tell that only 30 minutes had passed for him.
But…
He had to be curious.
Was the Abyss' environment truly as chaotic as they claimed?
He could no longer see the way back to No Return Pass.
He was standing still, but it already vanished from not only his sight, but the very ends of his perception.
'I wonder…just how much time has passed in the universe?'
