An Envoy from the Heavenly World.
Because 90% of his memories were locked behind the wall of existence, Damien couldn't understand anything about this identity.
He thought it was impossible for existences from the Heavenly World to descend, and he had countless questions about the race this man belonged to, but the only leads he had were the Envoy's thoughts alone, which barely gave anything away.
Damien could only assume the rules of the Abyss were different, or maybe there was some hidden method that required immense sacrifice to activate.
He didn't know.
'All I can tell is that this guy served some kind of "Lord," and that his mission in the lower universe was to watch over the Nox and keep them in line. It's difficult…'
This man was likely linked to the biggest mystery behind the Nox, their artificial nature, but unfortunately, he didn't provide any clues to this connection.
Even though Damien devoured his body along with his memories, he didn't feel any significant upgrade in his demon bloodline, nor did his body receive any sort of traits or strengthening, which was extremely odd.
All in all, it was like all information other than the factors relating to Al'Katra was hidden from him.
Almost as if it was done intentionally.
'But this can't be one of those things where I'm being guided. This one is too much of a coincidence.'
Their meeting was probably fated since Damien came to the Inhuman Emperor's territory directly without knowing anything, but that fate was natural and not altered by outside forces.
'It's stupid to even think about blaming Universal Flow since I'm not in the bounds it controls anymore.'
It was annoying.
Damien wanted to tear down the wall that disallowed him from getting the answers he deserved to have, but he couldn't do anything about it.
'I'll find out more when I ascend. It's not like that's far away at this point, so there's no need to get hung up on it.'
"Huu…"
Damien exhaled lightly and stabilized his mind.
At the end of the day, those secrets weren't too important right now.
He was now aware of the hidden enemy lurking in the Heavenly World, and that was all that mattered.
'Luckily, I'm using an altered appearance. When I get up there, I shouldn't be targeted by them, but…'
"Haa, things will get annoying if news of this spreads."
He was not excited to see how they would react.
If they had the ability to send their people to the lower universe without restrictions, he would have to prepare to confront several new and unknown enemies.
And more than that…
'If that guy was able to sense the Void properly before he died…'
Damien shook his head.
'Let's focus on this first. Once it's over, I can worry about the rest.'
Putting aside the negatives, there was an immense gain in killing him, a windfall that made Damien's life a million times easier.
'The basic knowledge should be enough to converse with, and his personality and body language have been fully ingrained in my mind, so…'
Damien wrapped his body in mana. By the time the swirling waves disappeared, his appearance had changed again.
'From now on, I'm the Envoy.'
"Aktruy" never called himself by name even in his thoughts. The titles he used were various, but the Nox didn't know any of them, so "Envoy" was enough of a name for this identity.
And with it, Damien gained easy access to the Demon Abyss.
Because, unknown to the normal Nox population, the Envoy was a being who stood on equal footing with the Nox Emperors.
He was also someone no Nox who knew of his existence would dare to probe or provoke.
Essentially, Damien found his golden goose.
'The Demon Abyss is far. If this was the universe, it would be easier to go into orbit and teleport there, but I'm afraid that'll have the opposite effect in the Abyss.'
Damien sighed again.
Since it had come to this, he would act as the Envoy and slowly make his way to the goal.
'Wow, this guy really made my life so much easier. I'll have to make a grave for him or something to show my thanks.'
The Envoy was already furious with the Inhuman Emperor and used his abilities to incite conflict between him and the Karmic Emperor, a similar plan to what Damien had in mind.
Now that he had this identity, he could sow discord openly without worrying about anything.
And with the Envoy's memories, Damien gained a deep understanding of the hidden Nox Emperors and their power sets, which gave him much more room to work with.
He was set.
Now, all that was left to do was act.
'It'll take a few years to get there regularly, but this guy…'
Damien smiled.
With this identity, he could make the journey in less than a year.
'Good.'
He was already getting excited.
He couldn't wait to see what the Demon Abyss showed him.
***
A pair of eyes shot open in the blackness.
Hissss!
A man sharply inhaled and clutched his chest.
"I am…alive."
He almost forgot.
After spending so many years with his entire consciousness in that body, he almost forgot his original identity.
'I was killed.'
A piece of his soul was in that Avatar. It wasn't as simple as waking up and being okay. He'd sustained a deep injury that he wouldn't be able to heal for decades.
"DAMMIT!"
He roared, slamming his fist to the side.
"That was not mana. The one who killed me…"
He didn't use the mana that the people of this reality used.
He used a form of "energy."
"Energy" very similar to what he was used to.
"I have to report to the Lord."
He stood up shakily, leaning on a nearby wall to catch his balance.
The injury of his soul didn't hurt yet, but the second his mind got accustomed to this body, he would feel excruciating pain.
Before that, he needed to transmit the message.
That man…that appearance, that attitude, that energy…
A medallion-like object appeared in his hand.
In the same movement, he inputted "energy" into its systems, creating a connection to a similar device long enough.
"Hahahaha!"
A bout of laughter came from the other side.
"I never thought I would see the day when a lowly slave tried to contact the Lord personally!"
"Yuba…"
"What did you just call me?"
"Sir…Yuba…"
The man gritted his teeth, his grip on his chest tightening.
"Now is not the time for this."
"Hmm…"
The voice on the other side stopped mocking him.
After all, this particular slave had been tasked with a job in the lower universe. His return to his main body indicated a problem already.
"Report. Why have you returned?"
As the other side turned formal, the man's eyes narrowed, rage bubbling in his chest.
"I was killed…"
"Killed? By a lower being? This is why–"
"NO!"
The man roared, falling to his knees.
"It was one of our own," he squeezed out.
He only had a single breath left.
He had to make sure they knew.
They had to understand that–
"–THERE IS A TRAITOR AMONG US!"
The man who killed him was a member of their race, not a lower existence, and not an external enemy of any kind.
"..."
The other side was silent for a moment.
It was obvious that a rain of questions would descend on him soon.
But the "Envoy" had no time left to answer them.
In a cave, shackled to a wall by his wrists, ankles, and neck…
"Aktruy," the "Envoy," screamed in agony.
This pain…
He would remember it.
Whoever that man was, whether it was another slave or the Lord himself…
"I…WILL…KILL YOU!"
…he would make them feel his pain.
