The phenomenon echoed through all of existence.
Those who were on the warfront, those who were observing it silently, those who were plotting in the shadows, and even those who remained wholly uninvolved with the universe's affairs…
Without a single notice, completely beyond their expectations, the Demigods of the lower universe disappeared from the world.
Nobody knew why.
There were no obvious signs of a restriction being activated to summon the Ancient Battlefield.
Even if one assumed there was a problem in the Abyss, the problem still didn't make sense.
It had been so long since the war began. The last time the Ancient Battlefield opened was dozens of thousands of years ago, so naturally, nobody expected someone to open it now.
After all, the universe's forces were now unified. Regardless of their attempts to accomplish this exact feat, they'd been unsuccessful, and they were very clear on the fact that they did not cause this incident.
However, the Nox didn't have any reason to take drastic measures.
The Nox power structure was simpler than anyone expected once it was revealed.
The Supremes were like envoys who represented the Lords they served, while everyone under them would be allocated by said Supremes to act in any way they needed to in order to accomplish the overarching goal.
Lords were subordinated to Emperors, and the four Emperoes practically managed the entire Nox Race's actions for as long as they existed.
Essentially, their power was extremely concentrated in the highest ranks.
The Karmic and Inhuman Emperor were presently active in the universe when this phenomenon took place, as were the majority of the Lords under them.
The Soul Emperor was also focused on the universe from the Abyss, and while his actions couldn't clearly be seen, there were several incidents that were assumed to be his doing.
The only Emperor who had been silent was the Saint Emperor.
After imposing the 2-year ceasefire and presiding over the battle between Damien Void and the Saint King, he disappeared from the war scene entirely.
So those like Luciel who watched the Demigods disappear and had minds racing with questions could only assume he was the one who caused this.
But they couldn't understand why.
The Nox would not benefit in the slightest.
Others had made similar conjectures.
Losing their Demigods left Nox's leadership in the hands of their Supremes, but those Supremes didn't have any knowledge of how to move without instruction.
They were just puppets.
Considering what was known about the Nox now, this design was both pitiful and extremely ironic, since they themselves were keeping themselves in a state where they would never escape their enslavement.
Though, not everyone was clueless.
***
In the depths of the Abyss, a massive wave of shock spread.
How could it not?
Unlike those in the universe, those in the Abyss were able to understand far more about the cause.
The fact that Al'Katra was now covered in seas of black ink was hard to ignore, and with the way rumors spread among the Nox, more and more of their race concentrated on the world to find the truth.
Among them was a certain Nox man who wasn't able to return here in a very long time.
But now…?
Now, the enemies he had to hide from were gone from the universe, and his freedom of movement increased greatly.
'Before they left, they made a monstrous claim…'
Yong An was frowning.
He had taken several Lords under his banner in the past several years, so he wasn't as uninformed as the masses.
The hivemind of the Nox was prejudiced towards powerful individuals. With his current strength as a Supreme, he couldn't see much, but those Demigods under him let it be known.
A huge change took place in Al'Katra.
He had to find out what.
And as he did so, he realized the shocking truth.
The area where the Demon Abyss used to exist, which was currently heavily guarded by the forces of the four Emperors, was already suspicious, and when he used his contacts to gain access, he found that there was nothing more than a chasm left in its place.
'There should be fluctuations of something, but there are none. It is as if the Demon Abyss decided to disappear on its own.'
He couldn't understand it.
Such an action couldn't be done by a Nox.
'And the Envoy…'
The Envoy, who should've been extremely angered by its disappearance and on a manhunt to find the cause, was nowhere to be seen.
'This is bigger than I thought.'
Nobody could predict it, and nobody could understand it.
But Yong An had a wild thought.
'Could it be…?'
There was only one man in existence he thought was capable of this.
But that man…
'He should not be here.'
And even if he did come, why was there no sign of him?
A pit formed in his stomach as he continued to ponder.
Damien Void.
He had a strange relationship with that man.
They started off as enemies. The entirety of his existence was built on killing that man and taking his place.
However, that man never seemed to treat him like an enemy.
It was like he understood Yong An's struggles and, while pretending to be his opposition, was guiding him on a path that led to freedom.
At some point, their relationship changed for the positive.
Damien saved his life, and Yong An wasn't a man who forgot his debts.
'I thought something was off…'
The last time they met, Damien seemed far less concerned about the threat of the Nox than he was.
Yet, he had information that should've terrified him.
The same information that made Yong An cower in fear.
'Why is it…?'
Why was that man so fearless?
Did he think himself a god?
Yong An couldn't understand it, but he respected it immensely.
Because that was the kind of courage he wished he had.
That was the courage that allowed him to continue on his path and grow to the point where he was at now.
'But…'
'Did you do it…?'
There were two ways for Demigods to be transported to the Ancient Battlefield.
The first was by the universe's decree, which could only happen if the actions of Demigods were directly causing enough harm to harm its lifespan.
But that didn't happen.
If that happened, the event would've been far more spectacular, and the main battlefield would've been wrought in destruction mirroring the Abyss.
And the second…
The second was for a Demigod to directly cause harm to a lower existence and activate the restriction.
If that happened, and Damien was the lower existence…
'Are you…have you truly passed?'
He couldn't believe it.
That man died?
That man couldn't die.
He was a person who would survive no matter how much fate wanted him to die.
He was a light.
'No, he was my light.'
Yong An didn't have role models in his life until he met Damien. He'd never met someone who could set him on the right path and support him unconditionally.
To Yong An, even though they didn't know each other that well, Damien was like an older brother.
'I can't accept it.'
His family, his village, his clan…
His friends, anyone he'd ever cared for…
The Saint Emperor took them all from him.
His heart was barely beating.
Did it happen again?
It felt like his emotions were slipping away.
He was becoming numb to it.
'If this is fate…then is it even worth trying?'
Was it hopeless?
Perhaps they hadn't known each other for long, but Damien had a profound impact on Yong An's life.
And even the thought of something happening to him was crushing.
Damien wasn't that kind of person.
Whenever it seemed like he'd fail, he'd always appear happily and ease everyone's hearts.
But as days and weeks passed, he never showed up.
It was getting harder to deny it.
Damien Void was truly dead.
And not even a body remained to prove it.
