Damien sucked in a deep breath after reading Alex's existence.
It was a truly sad life he led. One where he was never able to accomplish anything he truly desired, and where he only felt suffering without any light at the end.
He'd been rotting away in this cave for millions of years. It didn't seem like he was using mana to keep himself alive either, so he was probably trying to kill himself before he sensed Dante's aura from Damien.
He was a traitor, but he wasn't a traitor.
Damien couldn't imagine how he'd feel if he was forced to betray his allies while trapped in his own mind.
He would've raged. He would've done everything possible to rid himself of the parasitic existence.
Because of his fortune, he would eventually be able to bring himself out of that predicament.
No, in the first place, the Void would never allow that predicament to occur in the first place.
But Alex didn't have the Void supporting him.
Alex didn't have anything supporting him.
Damien sighed.
It really was a cruel fate.
His mother didn't mention Alex even once in their conversations. His name was even erased from Persia's Compendium, banished from the records of the palace.
It was evident that the people of Void Palace still held hostility towards Alex in their hearts despite all the time that passed.
They didn't have a single clue that their hostility was unwarranted.
'It's concerning as much as it's sad.'
Damien's father and mother were the strongest people he knew.
For them, along with his aunts and uncle to never realize the truth behind Alex's betrayal was extremely concerning.
There was no way they didn't consider the possibility. If they did so and still didn't get a clue, it meant the parasite controlling Alex was a supreme entity beyond their perception.
'Alex left their group before my father reached the heights that made him the strongest, so I don't know if he was able to figure something out, but…'
Damien glanced at the black slime on the ground.
It was already dead. Its lifespan was practically nothing when it wasn't within its host body.
Plus, this one was connected to Alex. It was a true copy of him with his desires and emotions.
Alex's desire for forgiveness and understanding stayed with his mind, and his desire for death to end his suffering died with the parasite.
What was left was the Alex from before he was ever corrupted.
'No, he'll probably never return to that point.'
But he was at least freed from his suffering.
His mind could heal with time as long as it was allowed.
'This man doesn't deserve a fate like this.'
Damien didn't have any mercy for traitors, but this situation was different.
He could see through Alex's eyes and feel through Alex's heart. He knew exactly how much Alex valued his friendships.
It was why he managed to grasp onto any string of vitality he could find to call Damien when he sensed his aura.
'Haa…it'll be a task to explain everything to Mother and the rest, but…'
He couldn't abandon this man here.
Not after all the talk about morality he was doing earlier, and definitely not after seeing the life this man led.
[Heal]
The [Heal] trait was no longer a trait anymore. It was now included in Damien's body as if it were a natural process, and it was extremely enhanced through the Authority of Samsara.
Alex's body was in a terrible state, but it was mostly caused by the parasite's existence and mana loss.
Most of Alex's vitality could be returned to him as long as mana was put into his systems, but [Heal] was still necessary to kickstart his Godly regeneration and completely bring him back to his previous state.
It took several minutes to bring luster back to Alex's skin. It took even more time to regrow his legs and recalibrate his entire body so he could use it like normal.
However, his mind couldn't be easily fixed.
The problem wasn't something Damien could fix with his current abilities.
Just like when he had to heal Iris in the past, he would need to control Nonexistence to bring Alex's mind back.
But, of course, there was no easy solution like the [Void Daughter] title for Alex.
It would be a slow process of bringing back function and ego, but Damien was certain Alex could eventually be returned to his past self.
'Until then…'
"Can you stand?"
He wasn't just testing if Alex could move his body, but also if he could comprehend the words spoken to him.
Alex stared at Damien for a minute with big eyes like a clueless dog, but eventually, he shakily put his feet on the ground and lifted himself.
Damien took a step back.
Alex took a step forward.
Damien raised his brow, taking another three steps back and one to the side.
Alex mirrored his movements, taking three steps forward and one to the side.
'Hmm…it's worse than I thought.'
Damien expected Alex to have at least regained some sort of intelligence since he was speaking earlier and could understand words now, but it seemed it was selective healing.
Alex was able to follow orders as they were given to him, but he wasn't able to think on his own yet.
'His ego almost completely died.'
To bring back an ego was far more difficult than bringing back an entire soul.
Egos were ethereal, nonexistent representations of identity that managed to exist in reality.
Since Alex's egos only contained his base desires and nothing else anymore, he could only act on things that followed those desires.
Damien held Dante's aura. Damien was related to those desires. Therefore, Damien's commands would be followed.
'It could be dangerous to bring him into the real world right now. It's uncertain what he'd do in response to external stimulus.'
For now, it was better to keep Alex contained in the Sanctuary.
'I can slowly introduce him to stimuli until he's become accustomed enough to interact with society.'
He had a lot of work to do without a lot of reward at the end of it.
But Damien was going to do it regardless.
This man was too pitiful to leave alone.
For Alex's sake, and to resolve the pit in the hearts of his family, Damien was willing to put in the work.
That was enough for him.
Damien didn't have trouble taking Alex into the Sanctuary.
He created a new space to contain him and made preparations for his future healing.
Left alone in the cave, Damien sighed to himself again.
Unfortunate situations and tragic fates were everywhere.
Alex had a terrible life, but it wasn't a unique one. The same thing that happened to him had happened to countless people throughout history.
Of them, he could be considered lucky, because only a rare few of them had people like Damien who could save and redeem them.
But that was something for Alex to realize on his own when he'd returned to normalcy.
'I've been gone for a while now.'
Damien had to return his attention to the matters at hand.
'The battle is probably coming to an end right now, so I should start making my way back.'
Dominic, Darius, and Tiamat had been putting in a significant amount of work while Damien was gone, so the battle was indeed almost over.
But the scene there no longer looked like it did when Damien left.
In the middle of the snowy biome that held its own brand of ethereal beauty was now a rotted circle.
A mark of the Foreign Races' corruption.
