The Void Essence was soundless and ethereal. If it wasn't for the pitch black color and the slight suction force that wanted to consume everything, one wouldn't even notice its presence.
This essence was wrapped around the massive clump of space that used to be Damien's subspace and essentially consuming it.
There was no longer any semblance of structure. It was just a mass that seemed to have bloated and taken the place of many spatial layers that were desperately trying to mend themselves back to normal.
[The Primordial Undying Tree is expressing interest.]
[The Primordial Undying Tree allows the current situation to proceed.]
Damien saw flashes of blue light in front of his eyes that denoted system messages, but he was of no mind to pay attention to them. If he took his attention off the ongoing situation, he knew that all his efforts would collapse.
Not only would he have to rebuild his subspace from the ground up and provide it enough mana to grow to the proper size, but he'd also have to replicate the feats he was currently performing, which he doubted he could do.
But all of a sudden, the load seemed to become much more bearable. It was as if the space around him was actively helping him complete his task.
And this release of burden was actually extremely helpful.
Despite it being Damien's first time coming into contact with Void Essence, it felt so familiar and natural to manipulate that he did so without even batting an eye. His main problem was the suppression being enforced by the actual space around it.
After all, he was fighting against space itself, and on a broader scale, reality. It might've been a stretch to go so far as to say Damien had reached a level where he could manipulate reality, but with many factors coming together, he achieved a similar feat.
But it wasn't him doing it. Rather, it was the Void Essence that did all the actual work, while he just guided it and gave it instructions. His own power wasn't close to enough for anything near similar.
Luckily, this kind of process led to a drop in his mana drain, but unfortunately, his mental power was being drained exceedingly fast.
Damien was feeling incredibly fatigued to the point where he could barely stand anymore. He didn't pay attention to the passing of time nor did he pay attention to his own condition at all. If he did so, perhaps it would be the straw that led to his collapse.
Under his extreme control, the pitch black Void Essence melted into the subspace and infused itself within. Every inch of the area slowly became one with the void.
Now, the subspace no longer existed. As the bloated area of space was consumed, the area it once took up reduced from a massive city all the way down to the quarter it once was. And finally, it disappeared entirely.
The situation in the cave seemed to quiet down. The sparkling starlight of dimensional magic drifted through the air like fairies and space began to mend itself.
'Did I succeed?'
Damien didn't know. His mind was too tired from the aforementioned processes and his body was strained by the amount of mana he had drained and absorbed together.
'If it wasn't for the strengthening I received earlier from the magma, my body probably would've broken. Well, obviously such an overpowered absorption speed would have its own drawbacks.'
Damien's body was drenched in sweat and his eyelids were already starting to become heavy. He didn't know how much longer he could keep himself awake.
'No…I have to check if I succeeded or not…it's too important…'
He roughly bit his tongue, causing blood to flow in his mouth. Although in normal situations this would've helped him regain some clarity, it was impossible this time. He was so fatigued that he could barely even feel the pain from his actions.
[The Primordial Undying Tree expresses its surprise.]
'Ah, fuck.'
He felt like his body and mind were disconnected, as if he was watching everything that was happening through a tv screen. And with that sensation engraved in his psyche, he collapsed to the floor and passed out.
[The Primordial Undying Tree smiles at you.]
'Did I…succeed?'
***
A week had quickly passed during Damien's attempt to reform his subspace. Even he wasn't aware that he had been focusing for so long.
Little Xue'er had long since woken up from her sleep, but not wanting to disturb him, she sat quietly in the corner and watched the glistening starlight of his dimensional magic.
To her, the only thing that was visible was a concentrating Damien and these little blue and black fairies in the cave. There was no way she could've seen the chaotic scene between the spatial layers.
Luckily enough, the food within Damien's subspace was littered across the floor of the cave, so little Xue'er had plenty of sustenance. It would've been dangerous for her otherwise.
She spent her time playing with the beautiful atmosphere Damien had unintentionally created. If it wasn't for that, who knows what she would've done to alleviate her boredom?
One day, when she woke up from a good night's rest, she found that those little fairies were gone and that Damien was collapsed on the cave floor.
"Big brother?!" She rushed over to his body quickly, shaking him violently in hopes of a response.
"Big brother! Don't leave Xue'er alone! Big brother!"
She immediately went into a panic. This big brother that she had just met might not have been extremely close to her, but to Xue'er who had lost everything, he was now all she had.
To see him collapsed, to lose him, her little mind couldn't handle it. She began sobbing uncontrollably, the memories of her village's demise flooding into her mind.
"Big brother…don't go…" her voice was softer than a mosquito's, but it held a strong will. A will to never lose anyone again. She didn't want to suffer anymore, she didn't want to fall into despair.
So she couldn't let Damien die. She continued shaking him, doing her best to ignore the tears that were blurring her vision. Even though her body still wasn't fully recovered from its previous stress, she didn't care. She wouldn't eat or sleep until he woke up.
"Mm…"
She sat by Damien's side desperately shaking him for an entire day. By this point, it was more like a light pat than anything else due to her fatigue, but she didn't let up. And luckily, she received a response.
It wasn't him waking up like she hoped, he didn't even seem to be close to opening his eyes again. But that slight mutter she heard…it brought a light of hope back into her eyes.
"Big brother!"
Xue'er cried happily. She threw herself into the bosom of the sleeping Damien and cried once more. But this time, her tears were of joy.
He was alive. Even if he was asleep, at least he was alive. Realizing this, Xue'er's mind relaxed, sending her into a deep slumber on his chest.
Her little body would finally be getting the rest it needed after another day of struggling.
