Tiamat and the Zara/Alea duo were unique, but not as unique as one would expect.
The way they reacted to the Dsrk God's energy was unique, and was the opportunity they gained from it.
However, they weren't the only ones it affected.
As mentioned before, the Dark God's energy spread to affect all three of the cosmos that were related to each other: the True Void Universe, Sacred Abyss Universe, and Sanctuary.
Why Tiamat sensed the energy was obvious, but what about Zara and Alea?
They had Nox blood, sure, but not all of the Nox were able to understand what had happened. In fact, aside from Yong An and a few others, none of them were affected in the slightest.
But when it came to the three involved cosmos, the number of people who were truly affected by the Dark God's actions was uncountable.
From random farmers who were blessed by the energy to powerful experts who were cursed, countless people felt those effects and reacted in different ways.
The Dark God never just used one power. He changed Existence itself, and the after effects of such a move were…
Well, they were interesting to say the least.
Nobody could quite tell yet, but a huge shift in reality had begun in the Heavenly World. A wave was sweeping through the people, infecting them like a plague.
Nonexistence was that kind of power. It wasn't inherently hostile, so for some, its presence was actually more of a boon than anything else.
But on the grand scheme, that same sentiment couldn't be reflected.
With the presence of Nonexistence encroaching on the True Void Universe and coercing its laws…
It was safe to say that many things would change soon. Whether those changes were for the better or worse, though…
That was entirely up to fate to decide.
***
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})So why did Damien do it?
Even a baby could tell that trying to meet the Dark God was incredibly stupid. It put the lives of countless people in danger. It made the threat the Sacred Abyss posed manifold worse, and it gave the Heavenly World far less time to get equipped to face such a disaster.
In the grand scheme of things, there was no good they could've came out of that meeting.
Damien wasn't an idiot. He may have been dumb in his youth, but he liked to think he'd improved since then.
If so, then why did he still choose to make such a brainless decision.
It wasn't just because his instincts told him it was right. He trusted them a lot, and he would absolutely act on them in most scenarios, but this wasn't one of them.
Rationality told him he had no business meeting an enemy he couldn't even touch, and when he actually met the Dark God, that conclusion was further proven.
However, he still acted without hesitation and did what he did.
And despite the consequences of his decision, he didn't feel much remorse.
It was hard to fathom the scale of it all. Everything had been thrown into chaos now.
But Damien…
Damien benefitted.
There was no grand reason behind his actions.
He didn't have some benevolent purpose or even some sort of arrogant idea that he could do something.
No, his actions were taken purely out of selfishness.
He always talked about doing things for his own benefit, but most of the time, he acted either for a goal or for someone else's sake.
There were a lot of times when he ignored his selfishness because he had to focus on a larger goal. This time, it was just different.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})He couldn't stop himself, because the prospective benefits were just too amazing.
And while the outcome was tragic in many ways, practically dooming the True Void Universe…
'With this, I think I can do it.'
Damien didn't think it was doomed.
The Dark God showed him a lot of power so he could see a level he "would never reach."
That was the true showing of arrogance.
That was the real mistake, regardless of how it seemed.
Because as Damien sat there against a random tree in the middle of nowhere and processed the events that had just unfolded, his mind experienced a qualitative change.
In that moment, Damien felt Nonexistence for the first time.
Nonexistence was different from Existence, since it quite literally didn't exist.
To find it was a daunting task that had taken even those who managed to complete it millions of years to do.
How did one sense Nonexistence?
Sure, with a completed Existence in one's hand, it seemed like it would be easy to just look for the inverse of that force and comprehend it.
But it wasn't so simple with these two absolute concepts.
Existence was everything.
Everything one could possibly ever think or do was contained within Existence.
So how would one be able to sense, comprehend, or even know where to start when it came to Nonexistence?
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Damien didn't know the answer, and the people who did were either not present, dead, or enemies.
Fortunately, he didn't need to anymore.
The strange force he felt back then, true nothingness that consumed one's soul…
When it hit him, his memories of when he died became clearer than day. He was able to feel the force he was submerged in at that time and actually understand what it was doing.
He couldn't do it now, but it wouldn't be too far in the future when Damien would need to start comprehending Nonexistence.
After all, it wasn't just nothingness that he felt.
True Existence. The end of the path he was currently treading. The Dark God's version of it was completely different from what Damien was trying to achieve, but it was all made up of the same six concepts.
The concept of order, the concept of harmony, the concept of mist, the concept of domination, the concept of chaos, and…
'...the concept of control.'
It was simple and easy, an overall comprehensive concept that combined the best of its predecessors into one.
It was called the concept of control, but it wasn't about controlling Existence. Rather, this concept focused on the control Existence had on all things.
Damien had thought something similar a while back when he decided to stop holding himself back with convention.
Before one could truly wield Existence, one had to realize the true weight of the power they were gaining access to.
One had to understand what it meant to control everything.
Only then would Existence surrender to their whims.
'As long as I understand it, I can control it.'
Damien had gained the keys to success. Though he had, in theory, doomed everything…
'...if I can make the most out of what I gained, then I can change everything.'
If he too could control true Existence…if he too gained access to Nonexistence…
Wouldn't the Dark God lose all of his advantages?
'Five years.'
Damien could alter the time flow in the Heavenly World if he tried, but on such a large scale–
'No, that's not how it works anymore.'
Convention was a thing that didn't exist.
He could change the time flow of the Heavenly World to give them what they needed, but that didn't mean he wouldn't have to push the entire world into a state of rapid improvement.
Even with time, they needed to extensively prepare for this war.
'But, in the end, it all falls on my shoulders.'
He caused this predicament, and he had to be the one to step up and solve it.
Not because of some moral obligation, but because Damien had put himself in a situation where he was quite literally the only remaining hope.
Selfishness.
Or was it the mindset of an Absolute?
For the sake of his self-improvement, Damien wagered the entire cosmos as if he owned it.
Still, while he did feel the pressure, it didn't make him nervous.
This was the exact kind of stimulation he needed. Nothing would change if the stakes weren't at least this high.
He believed he would reach that point, and he believed he would win this war.
Because he was Damien Void, and one day…
…he would be Absolute.
