Several more months passed. In total, Damien had been in the Abyss for almost a year.
He wasn't anywhere near Al'Katra yet, but his time in the Abyss hadn't been wasted at all.
He explored the vestiges of ancient civilizations everywhere he went, slowly putting together a picture of the past, and gained several comprehensions about his Laws.
Coincidentally enough, his greatest comprehension was of Universal Law.
These fractured universes were filled with fragments of their shattered Universal Laws. Usually, Damien wouldn't have been able to perceive them even with his understanding of the concept, however, he had Reva.
Reva, who'd merged with the World Core Fusion Reactor in his spiritual world and over time became the Universal Law of the Sanctuary, was originally a fragment of one of such universes.
Because of her, Damien also gained the ability to see them.
Perhaps even the vestiges were a product of her existence.
He was starting to understand just how they fell so fast. It wasn't their own fault as he'd originally thought, but a deep conspiracy that none of them realized even in their final moments.
The nature of that conspiracy was uncertain, as was the exact identity of the man behind the scenes, but its existence was certain, and Damien was getting closer and closer to unveiling the truth.
Nevertheless, this was only a part of what he'd been doing this past year. It was a bit depressing, but chasing the truths of the past was also riveting in its own way.
What delighted Damien most, however, was the loosening of his shackles.
After his conversation with the strange old man, the mental barriers holding him back from fusing Elemental and Samsara weakened considerably.
He still couldn't see the end goal, because the two laws didn't have any connection to fuse from, but the feeling that he couldn't do it disappeared.
This was an important change for him.
Without inevitability clogging his mind, his horizons broadened considerably.
Even if there wasn't a connection point, knowing his end goal made it much easier.
Life and Death, Light and Darkness, and many of the base elemental forces held the concept of duality within them, and this exact duality was what Damien now focused on.
As long as he could exploit this link to bring them closer, even if it wasn't enough to bring them together completely, it would fill his mind with comprehensions that'd be useful in finding the way forward.
That was all that mattered.
His steps were light. He swam through the blackness without worry.
And, of course, he didn't only prioritize his growth.
Every time he came across a Nox encampment, which wasn't nearly as rare of an instance as he expected, he went out of his way to destroy it.
However, his methods were lighter than they would've been.
His strategy remained consistent.
He used the Void to conceal himself and find the strongest member of the camp, then proceeded to incapacitate them and forcefully read their memories.
If he felt the camp was led by someone who would be useful for Bai Yumo, he would leave them alive and drop an imperceptible marker in their camp.
'If I'm right, Bai Yumo, or I guess I should call him Yong An now, will be able to sense it. He's smart enough to know what it means.'
Damien learned the name Yong An only after their conversation during his last visit, and he respected the Saint King's desire to change, so it was about time he changed the way he addressed the man.
Putting that aside, Yong An's connection with the Abyss was similar to Damien's connection with the Void. As long as he grew more powerful, he'd gain more control over this place, making him nigh-omnipotent within it.
'His current level is enough for something like this. The problem is whether he'll find them before an Emperor does.'
Damien trusted his power enough to maintain secrecy before a Nox Lord, but the Emperors were on another level.
They were the current end goal.
Therefore, he had to be certain they wouldn't uncover his plans too early.
'The Soul Emperor, from my understanding, hasn't left his territory in ages, so I don't have to worry about him. The Inhuman Emperor couldn't care less about something like this, so he's even less troubling.'
The Karmic and Saint Emperors, on the other hand, were too scheming and involved in the ongoing conflict. Damien couldn't predict their movements or actions.
'The Karmic Emperor…'
He was the one colluding with Immortal Blood Asura.
'Which means he's my first target among them.'
Damien furrowed his brows.
'I left enough information with Lynn to counteract his plans in the universe, but I can't help but be wary. Those two are too good at toying with others. I can't be sure if they've plotted something in the shadows.'
By now, Luciel should've received his information, so he could rest mostly assured, but that wasn't enough.
'We have to remain a step ahead.'
He came to the Abyss to solve the problems of the universe without losing too much more, but if they were able to pull something insane from under the veil, it would ruin everything he was currently working for.
His mind went back to the Soul Emperor's plans of the past.
'I was lucky back then. The timing lined up, so I was able to stop the Corrupted World Cores from going out of control. If something like that happens again…'
None of them were prepared for it.
The second the Nox became suicidal, the second someone gave them the order to sacrifice everything, the situation would become treacherous.
'All I can do is pass my doubts to them and hope they can handle it.'
Damien couldn't enter the Sanctuary personally anymore.
The Abyss' irrationality interfered with the teleportation functions of his domain. If he left his current position and came back from the Sanctuary, he wouldn't remain where he was.
No, the Abyss would change around him and displace him severely, which couldn't be allowed.
Therefore, the only way to communicate with the people within was to send a clone in his place.
'Haa…'
Comprehension was rewarding, and the scenery occupied most of his mind as he moved, but…
'It's lonely.'
It was almost unbearably lonely, and the Abyss' atmosphere naturally amplified his negative emotions while suppressing the positive ones.
'I'm free from the physical restrictions of this place, but that only means I'm more susceptible than anyone to the mental ones. I have to stay focused.'
If he lost track of his goal, he wasn't certain he could keep on his arduous journey to Al'Katra.
So, after condensing his thoughts into a clone and sending it away, he erased them all from his mind.
The path in his mind was vague. It felt like he was following a trail of smoke whose end was unknown.
However, just subtly, he understood how far away he was.
'It'll be a few more years at the very least.'
He didn't want it to be that long.
The longer it took, the more time the universe had to fall.
So he had to latch onto a single, barely viable hope.
Hope that the irregular time dilations of the Abyss were on his side.
