Conquest.
It was a theme quite prevalent in Gehenna right now.
Though, it was on a completely different scale depending on who was experiencing it.
For the younger generations other than Thalia, this theme was relatively muted. They were being given inheritances that would strengthen them, but none of them could notice the subtle nuances behind the specific inheritances they were granted.
For Thalia herself, it was something mystical, a sort of destiny that would be decided by her hands.
And for Damien…
For Damien, it was at a scale nobody here could replicate.
With the mist as his guide, Damien went on a journey to find the Crown that existed in this realm.
The mist wouldn't tell him anything about it, but from what he could gather, the crown would be just as important to him as the mist itself.
Which, when remembering that the mist was one of the six concepts of Existence, was truly telling.
The Crown was hidden deep within Gehenna, at a place none could reach.
The mist around there was so thick it was almost solid.
The Crown had existed in Gehenna for a very long time. In a certain sense, it was the source of Gehenna's mystical nature.
It had been unguarded and untouched, because Gehenna itself was only open to those who had already become ethereal beings.
However, when the Gehenna Tribe managed to form a connection to the realm, things changed.
The mist was here from the start.
The mist was an omnipresent entity that existed everywhere and in everything. It was one layer of the fabric of Existence, and it could observe all things.
It noticed the Crown's presence long ago and had been carefully watching over it, but when Gehenna became connected to the Real Plane, in the Sacred Abyss Universe, at that, the mist couldn't sit still.
It started to maintain a more physical presence in this realm that both inhibited people aiming for the crown and gave it the ability to communicate with living beings.
Its first goal had been accomplished thoroughly thus far, but it's second was only fulfilled when Damien appeared.
And, whether it was coincidence or destiny, Damien was the man who was fated to wear that crown.
The mist was able to alter reality itself to control those within the realm. Around where the crown was located, anyone who got close would be turned around, their souls completely forgetting the existence of such a location.
No matter what, the mist couldn't directly interfere with reality, so this was the extent of it, but it was surprising the number of people and spirits that had been brainwashed by this place.
When Damien arrived there, on the other hand, he was completely fine.
He was now the owner of that mist.
He couldn't control it unless it allowed him to, but he would not be affected by its mystery any longer.
Surprisingly enough, as the mist itself cleared, Damien found that he was in the same place he started.
In front of him was a path that led to nowhere, while behind him was an arch that led to a very familiar plaza.
"It's over there…?" Damien asked wryly.
The mist gave him a positive response, of course.
"Haa, this destiny stuff is really…"
If he had chosen to move in the opposite direction when he first arrived in this realm, what would have happened?
It was pointless to think about it, but Damien was curious regardless.
As he walked that path, he was tempted to think about cause and effect, about the actions he took in the past, and how reality itself would have shifted if he had chosen another route.
Causality was a strange thing Damien didn't quite understand.
Destiny was the same.
He always felt like he was someone who forged his own path. A path as twisted as him couldn't be forged by anyone else.
However, at several times throughout his life, he'd felt like he was being led by some strange force.
To a certain point, it could be described by his own actions.
After all, he did influence reality from the Void for a period of time after the war ended.
His father also played a part in it. Like the legacies left on Death Emperor Star, Dante had planted several things in the lower universe for the purpose of Damien's quick growth.
But that still wasn't enough to explain it all.
Especially when he came to the Heavenly World. The instinctive feeling that parts of his path were being altered by something greater never left him, and he was hard-pressed to ignore that feeling.
What was he supposed to do about it, though?
There was no way for him to find out whether his feeling was true or not.
He could only continue on his path and believe in himself. As long as he was confident in his actions, they were his own.
And he was confident as he entered the vicinity of the crown.
This area was similar to the one he started in. It was also a plaza with an organized look. It was surrounded by statues as well, but these were statues of men, monsters, gods, and demons.
In the middle of the plaza wasn't a foundation, but a pedestal that seemed somewhat mundane compared to its position.
Damien didn't say anything as he approached it.
The Crown had a specific aura around it.
To Damien, it felt extremely familiar, yet extremely far away.
When he got within a few feet of it, he started to hear indistinct whispering. He couldn't make out any of the words. The language seemed unfamiliar as well.
There was one thing he caught, though.
The Crown of Realis.
In other words, the Emperor's Crown.
Its name resounded in his head, a grandiose imagery accompanying it.
But when he approached close enough to see it, it looked quite dull.
"It's…incomplete."
The Crown was covered in wear. It looked like it was made of wood, but when Damien picked it up, he could obviously feel that it was metal.
It didn't seem too ornate, but it also seemed like it was meant to be ornate at some point.
It looked like somebody had stopped halfway through its creation and left it to rot in a corner.
Yet, as the cool metal touched Damien's hands, he felt an immediate connection with it.
'This crown…is not as it seems.'
He raised it above his head slowly.
Imperceptibly, the surrounding statues turned their heads to watch him.
Damien slowly lowered the crown until he was wearing it, and as he let his energy calmly circulate through his body…
The crown came to life.
It aggressively sucked up energy of any kind, with a particular preference towards Void Energy.
Damien gritted his teeth as he coped with the sudden change.
He allowed the crown to do as it pleased, however, he also maintained control over his mana, disallowing it from going too crazy.
Energy boomed into the surroundings as the crown's consumption got higher.
The crown itself began to glow, the debris on its surface melting away to reveal its true luster.
Damien's eyes were wide open.
But they were not the color of amethyst purple that had come to be known and loved.
No, Damien's eyes were like galaxies, shining with the light of billions of suns.
