Mana swirled around Damien's body.
It wasn't his own, but the Ancient Battlefield's ambient mana creating whirlwinds around him as it was stirred by his presence.
Logically speaking, this was the moment he'd been waiting for.
The closing of the circuit in his soul gave him access to Partial Existence Law, which would become true Existence Law once he brought the four forces into one.
This was the condition for him to ascend, however, his circumstances were a bit special.
By all means, if he was in the lower universe, his Cosmic Rebirth would have already begun.
However, this was an unprecedented situation where someone was ascending to Divinity in the Ancient Battlefield.
This place was mostly absent of the lower universe's Universal Law, leaving it with barely enough power to sustain a Universe Baptism, let alone a Cosmic Rebirth.
Damien gritted his teeth as he realized it.
'I can't let it end here.'
The future was uncertain, and the power of Partial Existence Law wasn't enough to defeat someone like the Soul Emperor, let alone the Saint Emperor.
'I need Divinity.'
That was the stage he needed. A comprehensive increase in his league, a completely new playing field.
'I have no choice. I'll support it on my own.'
His own mana roared as it was freed from his body. Using his own comprehension of Universal Law, he tried to form the environment necessary for Cosmic Rebirth to succeed.
Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly enough.
"Son…"
Dante's voice rang out, bringing Damien's attention back to reality.
He watched as Dante's existence faded away. He had a sad smile on his face as he left, almost melancholic.
"I cannot help you with what is to come, but I can at least support you for a period."
"You…what…?!"
Damien's eyes widened.
As he'd grown far more sensitive to reality after closing his circuit, he sensed exactly what Dante was doing.
The piece of his soul that descended in order to unseal Destruction, he was sacrificing that fragment to summon something.
"It will not last long, but it will start the process. I shall leave the rest…to you and the connections you've formed in this life."
VOOOOOOOOM!
As Dante's soul fragment collapsed, the heavens thundered.
A massive storm appeared, but instead of dark, ominous clouds, those above were a saintly white, pristine as if they were carved from the purest jade.
The lightning coursing through them was equally majestic, a mixture of silver and gold that Damien had never seen before.
He felt the pressure of that entity. It was far beyond anything he knew, the most complete representation of "Law" he'd ever witnessed.
And it bore down on him with all its strength, as if it were a pair of cold eyes judging his worthiness.
"This is the Heavenly Order, or, in your terms, the Universal Law of the Heavenly World. It shall aid you in completing Cosmic Rebirth."
Dante reached his hand out one more time, trying to touch the face of his son to no avail.
His state was already known, and the second the Heavenly Order appeared, Damien's consciousness began to fade into a different realm as well, making him unable to move his body.
"I wish you well. I look forward to our next meeting, and, I promise. While I understand your feelings, you will not be able to touch a hair on my head."
Damien did his utmost and finally managed to crack a single eye open, straining himself further to grin.
"Thank…you…d– I'll see you…soon."
He couldn't say that word yet, but Dante wasn't offended.
Just the fact that it was sitting at the tip of his tongue was enough.
Dante smiled one last time, wiping the sorrow off his face.
"Son, I am proud of you. Always remember that."
As his body turned into particles that drifted into the Heavenly Order, tears attempted to form in Damien's eyes.
But he shut them down.
'A father, huh…'
He hadn't experienced the feeling much, but it wasn't bad.
It wasn't bad at all.
And if he wanted to properly regain the key relationship that had been missing from his life…
'...I have to break past this boundary.'
His mind was ready, as was his body, and as was his soul.
The time to elevate his existence had come.
But…unknown to Damien, the Heavenly Order could only sustain itself for so long.
Perhaps it could initiate his Cosmic Rebirth, but whether or not it could support it in full was still a question.
Naturally, there was a solution to this problem, but to understand it, one had to look at the outside world.
Whether it was Universe Baptism or Cosmic Rebirth, the processes were similar, and the appearances were somewhat mirrored as well.
Just like during Damien's Baptism, a massive wall of law formed around him. This wasn't a protection mechanism, but a natural instance formed by the sheer weight of the Heavenly Order's influence.
With the fading of Dante's barrier and the sacrifice of his soul fragment, the law pressure exerted itself on the world, and immediately, it was noticed by almost every Demigod on the Ancient Battlefield.
All of them had been through Cosmic Rebirth before, but none of them were able to judge this phenomenon as the same thing.
After all, this was their first encounter with the Heavenly Order.
Therefore, a variety of conclusions were formed. Some thought it truly was a Cosmic Rebirth, while others believed some sort of heavenly treasure was forming.
Regardless of their reason, Divinities began to congregate on Damien's position.
Just like his Universe Baptism, Damien was undergoing Cosmic Rebirth in the middle of a war zone.
But unlike that time, it wasn't so cluttered.
At that time, armies charged from all sides. The total number of enemies and allies was in the tens or even hundreds of millions, creating a scene that blotted out the earth.
However, there weren't nearly as many Demigods in the Ancient Battlefield, and of them, not many were willing to risk themselves going somewhere that would obviously become a frenzied slaughterfest.
Therefore, roughly 4,000 were involved in the battle that was soon to start.
On the Nox side, it was mainly the Karmic Emperor's forces, traitors like Immortal Blood Asura, and some from the Soul Emperor and Inhuman Emperor's factions.
Meanwhile, the Grand Heavens Boundary side was less scattered.
After all, Tang Lingzi was there to see everything that happened.
She called Alucard and their forces, who'd grown heavily in number since the beginning of the war, and explained the reality of the situation to them.
The 1500 of them present were here to protect their future, the hope that would bring them to victory.
This was half of the total forces Grand Heavens Boundary possessed.
They would have brought more. Surprisingly, the most stubborn of Demigods were also willing to lay their lives down to protect Damien.
Because even those who were selfish understood the value of forming a positive relationship with him and promoting his growth.
What would it look like when someone who could kill Demigods as a lower existence ascended to their level?
It was obvious that being on his bad side was an absolute sin.
Nevertheless, just like last time, Damien became the central point of the war.
And as the two sides faced each other, one protecting the barrier of law and the other intent on penetrating it, the winds stilled.
Even the Ancient Battlefield itself had to quiet down.
Because the coming collision was of a scale that had not been seen since the start of the war.
