'I should go find the old man again. He's probably the answer to far more questions than Azera.'
Azera was a treasure trove, but not by her own design. It could be said that she was lucky and misfortunate to enter her current state.
She wasn't really an elf, nor was she really anything else. She was an unknown factor, a unique being within the universe.
However, the only reason she could become one instead of dying and being consumed by the Abyss was because of the old man, so naturally, he was the one Damien had to speak to.
He rushed out of the shack and turned his head to the table where the old man was sitting.
Luckily, he hadn't–
"Hey, hey, didn't you say you were going to stay?!" Damien suddenly exclaimed.
The old man shrugged. Well, he did something similar as his body virtualized into particles along with everything he owned.
"Did I? If I am remembering correctly, I said I couldn't make any promises. Remember…?"
"Haa, yeah, you don't do anything actively, right?"
"That's the one."
Damien was incredibly annoyed by the timing. If he wanted to disappear, why couldn't he do it a few seconds earlier?!'
Nevertheless, he didn't want to hear the same phrase a sixteenth time, so he didn't say anything else.
"Until next time, old man."
The old man nodded in response, his presence completely vanishing.
Damien was left alone in the blackness once more.
"Haa…"
He scratched his head in frustration with a sigh.
"Seriously, how does something like that even work? Are you saying you're being moved by something, or…?"
Damien didn't really know what to think, but he knew he had to find the old man again.
He was the key to "something."
What was that something? Damien didn't have the slightest idea.
But it was important.
It was probably one of the most important things as of now.
"The most important thing is still Al'Katra, so I guess I should just keep going."
There was nothing more to be said.
There was nobody who could hear him anyway.
Damien shut his mouth and started moving again, reaccustoming himself to his usual routine.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. Before months could turn into years, Damien stopped counting entirely.
The number of Nox he killed kept increasing, but oddly enough, he didn't gain much from them anymore.
Their memories simply held no value.
These beasts who'd never left the Abyss and only acted on orders were of no use to him.
So the only thing he had to look forward to was Al'Katra.
When his internal body clock notified him of his 5th year in this place passing, Damien finally took note of the time again, but only for a bit before returning to his regularly scheduled program.
He saw countless ancient ruins and vestiges during this time, and he'd managed to meet the old man twice more.
Each time, his seemingly regular words about life or spirit liquor gave Damien insights into the truths he'd been seeking for so long.
And with his growth, Al'Katra also became closer and closer.
It would only be a few more years now.
This unbearably lonely pilgrimage was almost at its climax.
But until then…
'There's really no need to say it.'
It had been said too many times already.
Damien's current life…really was quite boring.
***
BOOM!
The battle currently ongoing wasn't in the regular areas of the universe.
Not to say those battles had stopped. In the past three years, they'd only become more prevalent. There wasn't a single area of the Infernal Realm that was free of conflict, to the point where its common populace was forced to evacuate to the Divine Realm years ago.
However, the current battle was not one of those without potential, but of those filled with it.
The younger generation had become extremely absorbed in Mystic Realms since the war eclipsed the universe. Even the Judgement Order, who usually stayed on the battlefield, split their forces for this purpose.
Those within the Dimensional Leaderboard's criteria focused their attention solely on climbing its ranks and occupying the top positions, while those like Aishia and Pontius led the troops to help guide the momentum of battle how they wished it.
The present location was an independent space titled the Starry Sky Mystic Realm.
It was like a miniature version of Grand Heavens Boundary that only contained a few planets, and of the Mystic Realms that had been discovered thus far, this one had the most bountiful rewards.
Which also meant this was the place where the most fierce clashes were taking place.
Along with many of the geniuses who'd been trained by Prismatic Sun Holy Land like Pandora, the members of Judgement Order that were present were Rose, Ruyue, Elena, Long Chen, and Su Ren.
These five members made up a majority of its combat power in the younger generation, and they were also those who represented the universe's greatest hope.
The current Dimensional Leaderboard looked something along the lines of:
[1. Damien Void]
[2. Saint King]
[3. Su Ren]
[4. Xue Ruyue]
[5. A'Ku]
[6. Elena Pierce]
[7. Altaro]
[8. Rose Adelaire]
[9. Long Chen]
[10. Xirxes]
Damien and the Saint King could be ignored since they weren't present in Grand Heavens Boundary at the moment, but the rest of the spots were dominated by the Judgement Order.
As for those names that didn't belong to them, they were Nox geniuses.
With this ranking, it was evident that these five would become targets for all younger Nox beings, and that was exactly how the situation panned out.
Because if one looked at the top 20, or even the top 50, the Nox were far more prevalent than universal geniuses.
The battle became one of quality against quantity, and while the regular troops fighting in the Infernal Realm seemed to value quality based on their ever-increasing fighting spirit, Rose wasn't of the same opinion.
This would be negative for them if it continued.
The Nox had caused far more damage to the universe than they had to them, so if one looked at the overall situation, the Nox were the ones in the lead.
The Starry Sky Mystic Realm was an opportunity to change that.
To slaughter those Nox geniuses who occupied the Dimensional Leaderboard's top 100s and replace them with people loyal to the universe.
Rose brought Pandora and the rest here for that exact purpose.
She wasn't going to do all the work, nor would her people. They were here to preside over the situation and make sure none of the weaker geniuses died early.
The main players of this battle were already set.
Pandora, being one of them, and arguably the one with most potential, didn't enjoy being used like this, but she accepted it nonetheless.
Because she could no longer compete with the likes of Rose and her Judgement Order.
After countless experiences on the battlefield, they'd all grown into High Commanders with great power, while she was still stuck in the 3rd revolution.
So if this was how they wanted to do things, she couldn't complain.
She could only accept their help and try to stand equal to them once more!
