He didn't look anything like the man Damien had gotten used to.
His face was haggard, and his skin was taught to his bones, showing just how much time he'd been forced to spend here.
Especially because this space lacked its own timeflow, Dante's body had aged according to his own internal body clock alone.
If that was the case, then just how much time needed to pass for an unrivaled God to reach a point like this?
Damien's brows furrowed.
'His Divinity is leaking.'
It had been leaking for a long time. Dante didn't have the aura of a God at all, but since there was still Divinity obviously leaking from his body, it meant that his Godhood was intact.
But he was alive, and his vitality was extremely powerful.
Damien walked up to him cautiously.
'His leaking Divinity is probably what created all these holes. As for the mechanism that brought me here instead of taking me to the Sanctuary…that must also be his doing.'
In normal cases, it was impossible for anyone other than Malevalon and those higher than him in the hierarchy to enter or even interact with the Celestial Prison.
Since the entire prison defied all laws of reality, it was obviously possible to make sure others couldn't even touch it.
That was why Malevalon was so confused when Damien was able to steal it.
Dante used the majority of his power to create a mechanism that would counter that one, allowing others to enter this place.
And judging from what Damien could sense, as someone who was temporarily controlling the prison, the mechanism he created was more than just complex.
It made sure not just anyone could enter the prison, so a random person couldn't get trapped within.
However, it also wasn't so limited that only someone like Damien was able to exploit it.
It was a contingency plan, a final effort to create hope for escape.
'It worked.'
Dante's efforts gave Damien the chance to come here, and since it was Damien of all people, Dante's chances of survival were heightened immensely.
Damien stood over his father, who was slouched against an invisible wall.
'Is he too exhausted?'
Damien frowned. Dante's eyes were closed, and despite Damien expressing his aura to wake him up, he didn't remotely register it.
'...or can he not wake up at all…?'
Damien's frown deepened.
He got down on one knee and gently took his father's wrist into his hand.
Sending his senses into Dante's body, Damien scanned everything.
And, as expected…
'...nothing.'
Whether it was his soul or his body, the injuries he sustained weren't enough to cause a state like this.
Dante should've still had consciousness.
His powerful vitality was another confusing factor when his appearance was taken into consideration.
'Either he willingly put himself into a stasis-like state to survive and sustain himself for as long as possible…'
'...or they did this to him.'
Damien's eyes narrowed.
He didn't have a way to find out which one was the truth.
The only way to learn that information, and Damien's entire purpose from the start, was to save Dante Void and hear it from the man himself.
'First things first, I need to save his Divinity.'
"On the bright side, it won't be too difficult."
If there was one positive in this bleak situation, it was that the Celestial Prison was an entirely contained space.
The energy trapped within wouldn't just disappear.
It lingered.
Dante's Divinity, and the Legends and ethereal factors that made it up, were still within the Celestial Prison.
Even concepts like Divinity couldn't escape. That was the type of security this prison was designed with.
Damien closed his eyes and stood up, once again spreading his aura out.
'Please help me.'
This time, he truly and sincerely asked the mist for its help.
And it, as a concept that wholeheartedly wished to serve him, it allowed his audacity.
Existence, a power Damien wasn't supposed to have access to without suffering from the appropriate consequences.
In a space where the laws of reality weren't real, it was a force he could utilize without restriction.
Damien held his hand out, watching his mana become physical.
Its presence in the world was defined by a lustrous blue glow. As that glow got stronger and stronger, as it spread past the borders of what seemed material, a golden energy was trapped within.
The energy gathered in Damien's palm, endlessly compressing to form a ball. With more and more energy joining the ball, it got bigger and bigger before slamming back into the size of a pearl, its aura multiplying by several times.
By the end of it, Damien almost couldn't believe what he was holding.
It was still that same golden pearl.
But the energy it contained…
'...this is energy beyond anything I've ever felt from a single individual.'
That included Malevalon Straea.
That included every single existence Damien had seen or met, both through memories and life experiences.
Dante truly was the most powerful person he'd ever seen.
Wasn't it amazing that such a man was his father?
Damien smiled wryly and shook his head, refocusing on the situation at hand.
'Now, what to do with this…'
This energy was Dante's to begin with, so if Damien fed it to him, it wouldn't act aggressively.
But with the current state of Dante's body, even the gentle version of this enemy could cause him to collapse.
'His vessel is still broken…'
Damien knelt down again and touched his father's chest.
'Bloom.'
He gave a command, and the world responded.
A pure white lotus flower bloomed within Dante's chest and connected to his mind, body, and soul.
'That'll protect him in the short term, and as long as it lasts for a while, it'll heal him completely.'
The lotus was a condensed essence created from Damien's Authority of Immortality.
Even if Dante was the most powerful God, it could still heal him.
In a moment like this, Damien truly felt thankful for all the work he put in.
Thanks to his efforts, thanks to his struggles, he always had the proper tools at his disposal for critical moments like this.
Being able to heal his father, Damien felt like all of his suffering was validated.
"Huu…"
"Okay."
Damien took a deep breath and opened his eyes.
The situation was stabilized. He didn't have to worry about Dante's health degrading.
'Now, I can focus on what's going on outside again.'
Damien was relieved.
He didn't show it, but he was truly relieved.
His father was in a bad state, yes, but it wasn't anywhere near unrecoverable.
In his eyes, Dante was safe.
The biggest worry in his heart had been taken care of.
All that remained was…
'...when I get out of here, I'll probably be right where I left from.'
That was the worst-case scenario.
But it was also the most probable one.
'Before I leave here…'
The Celestial Prison was timeless. Damien could spend as much time here as he wanted without consequence.
'...I need to find a way.'
He needed to use that timelessness to his advantage, so he could find a path that would allow him to safely extract Dante from the Northern Region.
'Because if I don't…'
…all the effort he put in would be in vain.
He would die.
As would Dante.
And everything would end there.
With Damien being the man he was…
There was no way he could allow that, right?
