Damien was able to regain his calm after a few minutes, and without wasting a single second, he walked through the gradually enlarging tunnel until he reached its end.
The area was massive.
Damien was just a human. His perception range was extreme and his vision could pierce the heavens, but his natural form made him nothing more than an ant in this place.
Behind him were tall walls at least a few kilometers high which extended into the distance both ways for distance unknown.
Just like when he faced Al'Katra, he couldn't even see the curve in its structure, but it was obvious that these walls were the very facility he'd just exited.
The facility itself had the same diameter as several worlds combined, so this was natural, but the real majesty was the view in front.
The name "Demon Abyss" was apt.
The manmade structure to his rear was almost comforting, because in front of him was an expanse of blackness far more terrifying than the Abyss itself.
It felt like he was standing on the edge of the world.
If he fell into that space, his existence would dissipate into nothingness, and "Damien Void" would become a forgotten name.
'That's the darkness that they're bred in. Even someone like the Saint Emperor was born from this.'
As he approached it and stood on its edge, the emotions he'd just calmed came rushing back into his mind.
His mind, body, and soul were screaming at him not to go down there.
But for the first time in his life, he had to ignore his instincts.
This was his path.
This was a choice he made of his own free will.
The problems nobody else was willing to solve, he would solve them himself.
If it cost him everything, that was his own mistake.
It was his fault for making the decision in the first place.
But the presence of consequences wasn't enough to make him back down.
Short-term pain for the sake of long-term gain was the basis of growth.
And since when was there such a thing as reward without risk?
He stepped one foot over the edge, letting it hover over the Demon Abyss.
It felt strange.
The tip of his foot should've been submerged in the blackness, but it was still clearly visible, as if the Demon Abyss was just a massive sinkhole.
But this blackness was corporeal.
It was extremely real, and it was tangible enough to make him feel fear in the depths of his soul.
That darkness…
Why couldn't it cover his light?
'If this isn't a sign, then nothing is.'
"Huu…"
Entering the Demon Abyss was something even the Nox Emperors couldn't do, but the Envoy was different.
The power of his bloodline granted him entry.
And even though Damien didn't absorb his bloodline, he understood after carrying his identity for a while that they were one and the same.
His Demon Bloodline and the Envoy's, that is.
'The fact that I obtained a bloodline from the Heavenly World so easily makes me feel funny, but I guess I was already carrying the bloodline of two Gods since birth, and even the Void…'
Damien shook his head.
'Distracting thoughts, distracting thoughts.'
He smiled.
In the end, his distracting thoughts were still plenty useful.
Because by the time he realized his attention was too focused on something else…
He'd already tilted his body forward too far to turn back.
He was already falling into the Abyss.
'Ah, to think I'd get baited like this. And not by anyone else, but myself!'
Joking internally to overcome his fear, he fell.
He descended into the Demon Abyss.
The first thing he felt was the chill.
No, it wasn't necessarily a chill, but he did get goosebumps that made him shiver.
It was a complete absence of temperature.
His body instantly went numb as if his sensory organs decided to stop functioning, and with this change, it almost instantly became impossible to perceive distance.
After all, he didn't even feel like he was falling. If he believed his perception, he was floating on a cloud instead of barreling through the darkness.
At the same time, he could clearly feel it now.
The blackness didn't encroach upon his body. It was like his existence was the single source of light in this place, but he could now feel the murky aura of the blackness crawling over him like some sort of failed experiment come to life.
'Hmm…'
Damien's mind was surprisingly stable, contrary to his previous fears.
He'd been in similar situations too many times, and at this point, losing his perception during a fall was more comfortable than standing at the edge of the cliff.
Slowly and carefully, he started to toy with the surroundings to develop an understanding of it.
He first separated a strand of awareness and threw it into the distance.
'As expected, the link was lost instantly.'
Spreading his awareness here was impossible, but it was good to know that the natural forces of the Demon Abyss wouldn't corrode his mental power.
He did several more tests to see how mana functioned in this environment, whether or not the Void would react, how his Demon Bloodline would change when exposed to it, and even what would happen if he devoured the blackness.
All in all, he didn't discover much. The environment was devoid of anything, and while it didn't cause any harm, it also didn't do anything to benefit him.
'How strange. I expected there to be more downsides, but maybe this is the benefit of my Demon Bloodline. Since they're granted access, it would be weird for them to be suppressed.'
He just assumed the degree of suppression would be different since he was a human, but it seemed the Demon Abyss didn't discriminate against holders of the bloodline.
'Or, there's no such thing as someone able to carry the Demon Bloodline outside of their race.'
Damien shrugged to himself and continued searching the darkness.
'There are no signs of life. It feels wrong. There are supposed to be millions upon millions of Nox being bred here, but I don't feel the fluctuations of even one other existence besides me. The ambient aura smells of them, though, so they have to be here somewhere, right?'
Was it a special property of the Demon Abyss?
'It may be because of the Nox Race's nature. If this is their power of origin, then what if this entire Demon Abyss registers in one's perception as a Nox being?'
It would make sense why he couldn't sense the individuals if they weren't regarded as individuals until they left the Demon Abyss.
'Well…'
Damien sighed internally.
'I can't tell the time anymore because the concept of time is basically nonexistent in here. What to do…'
He'd basically conducted all the tests he wanted to, and his results were quite disappointing.
It wasn't really a problem since he was only investigating out of curiosity, but–
'–I now have nothing to do.'
Until he came across something interesting, he would just be falling for eternity.
'Haa…'
Damien smiled wryly. He never thought it would come in handy so soon, but…
'Welp, it's a good thing I did patience training.'
