It was useless to repeat the man's words. In the first place, there wasn't much rhyme or reason to what he was saying.
Damien could understand it because he was also comprehending Existence. The words themselves meant nothing, it was the essence behind them, the movement of energy and worlds they caused, that really mattered.
So as Damien listened to the man speak, he learned.
Existence was that type of concept.
It didn't have an end, but it had a clear beginning. It was a line that expanded infinitely in a single direction, and as a byproduct, other things were established around it.
There was no real method to control Existence. Everyone who had the ability to rule it would do so in their own unique way.
For this man, it was through words. Every word he spoke had divine effects, changing reality to fit his image.
But he also knew this method only worked for him.
To even find the method, one needed to first learn how to consciously manipulate Existence rather than just tapping into its power as Damien had been doing.
And after listening to the man speak for what felt like ages, Damien understood the crux of what he was saying.
That man was nameless. He didn't have any sort of record or Legend denoting his existence, and he went completely unknown in the cosmos.
However, he was also someone who managed to control the esoteric force of existence.
How he remained unknown was even more unknown than he was. It was impossible for a grand character with this kind of talent to be swept under the rug.
But other than the shame of not being able to bring respect to his predecessor's name, Damien didn't care much about his story.
That man was unrecorded because that was the path he chose. Since it was so, Damien focused on absorbing his teachings and finding a path for himself.
To control Existence.
The key was "understanding."
Damien had an understanding of the nature of existence, but that wasn't what he needed here. That was only the first step he took to gain acknowledgment from the concept.
If he truly wanted to control it as his own, he needed to understand the "will" of Existence.
It was such a vague task that Damien almost raged right then and there, but naturally, the man was providing him a method to understand, not just telling him to do so.
'No, it's not a complete method. It's just a portion of it.'
It couldn't be helped. Old monsters never made it easy for their descendants to gain their legacies. It was always a journey of self-discovery and intrigue that finally led to a conclusion not just in terms of power, but also in identity.
The growth of the mind, soul, and body was half of the reward. It was the reward the descendants would gain through their hard work as they tried to take the easy way out, which would eventually lead to life-altering events that shaped them into good men and women.
Damien understood why experts usually separated their legacies into multiple parts, but as someone who didn't think he had much growing left to do in his mentality and whatnot, he was definitely a little annoyed.
Regardless, he would still follow the man's legacy and search for the other hidden locations.
Because what he learned from this one was great.
There were a total of six steps from what he could gather. Three were related to material existence while the other three it's ethereal counterpart.
It wasn't like comprehending laws where one needed to understand concepts within the law to use it, it was more like one needed to understand the workings of reality.
The first step that Damien learned here was "harmony."
To harmonize with the world and become a part of its body, then to make the world a part of one's body and stand above the heavens.
It was impossible to rule something while being disconnected from it. An Emperor lived for his people and his empire. If he tried to act on personal feelings without considering his people, it would only lead to tragedy.
So Damien needed to understand his people.
He needed to understand the earth.
He needed to understand life.
And he needed to understand the mind.
He already had partial understanding of the concept. Through Absolute Perception, he was able to access the world's eye.
It was only at a base level that let him see for longer distances, but the world's eye was exactly as it was termed. If Damien could master that ability, he'd truly be able to see all things from the perspective of the world itself.
Once he'd achieved that step, he'd gain a level of control he couldn't imagine yet.
'There are six levels, but according to what the man said, this world was created with only the concept of harmony.'
But it wasn't a concept that could actively be mobilized.
Essentially, the man used "harmony" to form a vessel, and the world itself did the rest.
The so-called "manifestation of Existence" that peered into the very core of reality, the illusory reality Damien had been walking through until now, was entirely natural, not the product of outside interference.
'How is that even possible?'
He couldn't imagine it. This place could read into his soul and read into the cosmos itself like nothing, yet it was a simple creation using only the concept of harmony?
It was a massive moment of realization for him, almost like enlightenment.
He suddenly realized that the "Existence" he'd been taking so lightly was not light at all.
Just like the old Universal Core of Grand Heavens Boundary said, his steps were far lighter than they were meant to be.
Existence was "everything."
Because Nonexistence was also a concept, because of the ladder he climbed to reach Existence, Damien never really considered it properly, but that was the truth.
There was nothing he could think of that wouldn't fall under the umbrella of Existence.
The human brain had no way to fathom the truth of Nonexistence. Even the things considered "nothingness" by humanity were just representing the "absence" of other things.
Yet, even those concepts that filled the "absence" existed. Even they were part of Existence.
The Authority Damien currently had so much progress in was meant to control all of that.
All of Existence.
Anything and everything.
How did he never realize how grand the path he was walking was?
How did he never see how beautiful it was?
The mysterious man was still talking, but Damien could no longer hear him.
He no longer had an interest in his predecessors or successors.
He was living in this moment, no other thoughts in his mind.
He was feeling the weight of existence, and through that feeling, he suddenly felt in tune with the world.
His body became hazy.
His mind left the vessel it called home and drifted into the sea of wonder that was the fabric of reality.
There was so much to explore, and he had only stepped a single foot into the water.
No more.
No more would he remain naive.
No more would he underestimate this amazing power.
He dove in head-first and enjoyed the coldness of the depths against his skin.
The concept of harmony was his starting point.
The real starting point that would allow him to reach the end of this path
