The Saint Emperor grew in that way.
As he based his growth path on the Void and tried to reach it through his own power, his entire being turned into something that would be the perfect fuel for Damien.
Damien held respect for the man, but that didn't stop him from using Devour.
No, it was precisely because of that respect that he chose to devour him.
Because the Saint Emperor couldn't die here.
If his existence became a part of Damien, he would forever live on.
And as Damien would gain everything the Saint Emperor had, he'd finally be able to understand the man without any gaps in his perception.
So he used the Authority.
Unlike the usual scene that took place, the wisps of pitch-black mana manifested by the Void gently wrapped around the Saint Emperor's body.
As it cocooned him in its embrace, he became a cluster of light particles that drifted into the heavens.
It was a beautiful, almost ceremonious, death for a man who wouldn't be mourned.
In terms of power, the Saint Emperor's comprehension becoming Damien's was extremely beneficial.
His fundamental law Authorities all rose to 90% completion, and his Authority of Existence rose a whopping 10% to reach 60%.
It was unbelievable. Considering the amount of time and effort it took Damien to tether all the fundamental laws and raise the Authority of Existence to 50%, an instant 10% boost was practically nonsensical.
It was a testament to the Saint Emperor's hard work. In his final moments, he reached the level of Existence Law that should've been impossible for him.
Damien's mind expanded as his perception of the world changed, and his body and soul were enhanced an extreme amount by the achievements the Saint Emperor made throughout his life.
However, Damien himself paid little attention to his growth.
He was focused on the memories and Legends that entered his being.
He was focused on the Saint Emperor himself, not the benefits the man gave him.
And through that focus, Damien learned of the Saint Emperor's final thoughts.
He watched and experienced the billion-year journey he took. He witnessed both the benevolence and ruthlessness the Saint Emperor held in his core.
He saw it all.
That man was a contradictory existence. Nothing about him would make sense to anyone else. Nobody could possibly sympathize with his motivations or actions.
He could only be viewed as a villain.
But Damien refused to see him that way.
Because, at the end of the day, the Saint Emperor's actions, no matter how extreme they were, created the chance the current generation had to stand up to their oppressors.
It didn't matter if he was right or wrong, because he achieved results nobody else could.
"Huu…"
Damien took a deep breath.
He sat on his knees outside the Ancient Battlefield, alone in this place where time didn't flow.
It would be a while before he could return to normalcy.
But he had to come back.
He made a promise, and he intended to keep it.
So he would remain in this place, outside the flow of time, and reach a state of peace.
When he emerged, he would be a different man.
He would be the protagonist the Saint Emperor wanted to see.
'Never again.'
Damien swore on his heart.
'Never again will anyone have to suffer a fate like yours.'
***
Damien and the Saint Emperor had their battle outside the bounds of the Ancient Battlefield, in a place that technically didn't exist in reality.
Due to that, the time flow was completely different for them than it was for everyone else.
Years passed as they fought. They felt every fraction of every second of every year they spent there, but for those on the true Ancient Battlefield, only half an hour went by.
But they all felt the change.
Somewhere far away from where the masses were congregated, Tiamat and Iris stood over the dead body of a man who was once known as the Soul Emperor.
Tiamat's gamble paid off.
She targeted the instilled faith the Soul Emperor considered his true feelings, and when she found the seed of corruption planted in his soul, he stood no chance.
Under the collapse of everything he stood for, the Soul Emperor's Divinity crumbled.
Killing him after that wasn't even a task. It was as easy as stealing candy from a baby.
However, Tiamat didn't leave their Sacred Combat without enduring any scars.
Just as she'd found her target, he did too.
Tiamat's powerful Divinity was chipped because of the inherent "flaw" in her reasoning, and though the damage wasn't severe enough to cripple her, it definitely affected her strength to great degrees.
Her battle finished almost instantly. It was different from the genuine differentiated time flow that Damien and the Saint Emperor experienced, but the nuances of Sacred Combat which took place in the ethereal world would culminate into results rapidly.
The Soul Emperor fell within five minutes.
As of now, Iris was helping Tiamat mend her fractured Divinity with the help of Creation Laws.
Still, the two of them felt it before anyone else.
The entire atmosphere of the Ancient Battlefield changed.
Vibrations rippled through the air, and subtly, one could hear the sound of an ancient bell ringing.
That symbolized the end.
The end of this war.
There was not a single Nox being left in existence on this plane.
Their war, the brutal struggle they'd endured for the past several years to secure their futures, had reached its finale.
VOOOOOOOOOOOM!
It was in the very center of the battlefield, above the river of clouded lily pads. There, positioned in such a way that it could be viewed from any part of the battlefield, two portals formed.
All of the Divinities who saw them instinctually knew what they were.
The one on the left was dark. It was a swirling heap of blackness with no end.
That was the portal back to the lower universe. If one walked through it, they'd be able to return to their peaceful lives as they remained ignorant to the grand sights of the beyond.
As for the portal on the right, its center was filled with the same blackness, but its border was lined in gold.
That was a portal that contained an aura all of these Demigods had felt at least once in the past.
It contained the aura of the Heavenly World.
Walking through it would signify a new beginning, an eternal race for power, and the opening of a new world for them to explore.
The choice was theirs to make whether they wished to aim higher or settle for what they had.
Countless Divinities made their way to the portals, including Iris and Tiamat.
There was nothing more to be said, after all.
Everything could be solved once they left this place.
These Divinities worked together until now because they were facing a greater enemy, but in reality, many of them didn't have the best of relationships in the lower universe.
With the threat exterminated, there was no need for them to remain friendly.
Or at least, that was what they assumed.
It took less than five minutes for the closest of them to reach the portals.
Those in the central area already assumed they'd be able to leave instantly, but the space around the portals was surprisingly chaotic, so it took a decent amount of time to fly to them.
However, when they did reach…
…they found that they weren't the first ones to arrive.
There was already a man waiting for them.
And he had set up a wall that was impossible for them to cross.
After all, they weren't allowed to leave yet.
Yes, a culling had taken place prior to make sure only those with the universe's best interests in mind would return, however…
He didn't trust others to do his job for him.
So when he returned to the Ancient Battlefield after half a year in the timeless area, he went straight to the portals.
It was time for him to see for himself whether these people were worthy of his trust.
