The World Core was silent for many minutes after Damien finished his proposal. Although there was plenty more he could say, and plenty more that needed to be said, he was only trying to arouse the World Core's interest, so those things could be saved for another time.
[We cannot accept this proposal.]
However, the World Core's response wasn't something he expected at all. Even with its survival on the line, it could still refuse?
'Wait, that's not right. Even its demise isn't guaranteed, and my being able to guarantee its survival also isn't something that it can completely trust with just my words. If I want to bind this World Core, it seems I'll have to wait and make more contributions to prove myself first. Otherwise—'
His thoughts were interrupted by the World Core's voice.
[Damien Void has sufficiently proven his qualifications in the location known as the 3000 Beast Mountain Range. Our reason for refusal is unrelated.]
Damien furrowed his brows. 'Unrelated? Is it some kind of unavoidable circumstance?'
[Affirmative. Our situation does not allow for us to contract with you.]
Damien's thoughts became complicated. A World Core was an enigmatic existence that he wasn't even close to fully understanding. But to him, they were like miniaturized versions of the Universal Will, which was also called the Heavens by many.
An unbiased entity that observes without interfering, yet possesses the power to exterminate everything if it truly decided to interfere.
Of course, having this kind of power limited their intelligence. The Universal Will didn't even have an ego of its own, while the egos present in World Cores were extremely incomplete when compared to a truly intelligent being like a human or a 4th class beast.
But regardless of their limited sentience, they were still existences that couldn't be trifled with. Let alone having circumstances, a World Core having personal problems unrelated to survival seemed nigh impossible.
'Wait, survival? Could it be…?'
Damien projected his thoughts. 'Can you show me your main body?'
[…]
[Affirmative.]
With the World Core's agreement, Damien's consciousness was untethered from the formation, traveling deep into the earth below until he reached a spacious cave like the one he had seen on Earth.
'My awareness can't spread this far with my own strength. The World Core must've guided me.' Damien thought. But soon enough, he was forced to stop thinking about useless things.
'This…!'
A shimmering stellar blue mass of energy similar to Earth's World Core stood before him. However, it was far larger than its younger counterpart. The mystical scene never ceased to mesmerize him even if he had seen it before.
But, being mesmerized wasn't something he was allowed to do at the moment.
Because an infinitely small portion of that World Core, an area close to 100 meters in diameter, was completely drenched in an inky black color.
'Nox mana.'
[Affirmative. This mana originates from the foreign species termed as the Nox. It has been corrupting our energy center for approximately 8,000 years.]
'Invading your energy center? What are the consequences?'
[With the current corruption percentage, we are unable to differentiate between foreign invaders and indigenous species. The foreign mana also allows the invading species more freedom in relation to controlling the world's forces.]
Damien frowned. He didn't know much about what the latter sentence meant, but even though it didn't seem like much, it was a great feat to fool a World Core into thinking that invaders were true inhabitants.
Although World Cores couldn't interfere in what happened in their worlds, they could introduce restrictions and other indirect measures to inhabit those that were unwelcome.
For instance, blocking access into a forbidden zone like the 3000 Beast Mountain Range would've been possible if the World Core was aware of the Nox's presence.
It could've also given Alaric an indirect blessing that would've allowed him to overcome the Nox Demigod without dying, which would've been infinitely beneficial for not only the Cloud Plane, but the universe as a whole.
These were just smaller examples, since Damien didn't know the exact kind of authority an unbound World Core held, but even these examples were enough to make him understand the depths of the problem.
Luckily, a World Core wasn't a construct that could be easily corrupted. Even after thousands of years, they could only do so much damage.
[If a contract is created at the moment, the foreign mana might lead to unknown consequences. This risk will not be taken.]
Damien shook his head. The prospect of corrupting a World Core was what worried him. As for the corruption itself, he didn't think much of it.
'This isn't a problem I can't solve. Allow my physical body to appear here, and I can take care of this for you. All you have to do is promise to contract with me afterward.'
[…]
[Understood. If Damien Void possesses the ability to reverse corruption, we shall consent to forming the contract.]
Damien nodded. At least this was going as he expected. Even if the World Core didn't know much about his power, he knew it should at least have an inkling about what the Void Physique was capable of.
It was an entity that could otherwise be called the soul of the world, after all. It definitely had the capability to review what he had been doing ever since he arrived here.
Soon after the World Core gave its acknowledgment, Damien felt the ambient mana around him churn and convert into spatial mana. At the same time, it wrapped around his body, transporting him away.
When he reappeared, he was back in the location he was just viewing with his awareness.
"Alright. There's no need to delay with useless talk anymore since we've already made a deal. I'll get to work immediately."
Damien's figure appeared in front of the corrupted area. When compared to his size, it dwarfed him by many times. But still, at the end of the day, it was just mana.
Compared to the profound and unattainable mana that the World Core itself was made out of, this Nox mana was something he could fathom with relative ease.
He had devoured enough Nox for it to be like that.
He put his hand into the cloud of incorporeal mana and activated his Void Physique.
'Devour.'
He had never used Devour this way, but it was a perfect application of the ability. The Void Physique excelled at cleansing foreign substances.
'Phew. If it wasn't for the World Core helping me, I wouldn't even be able to stand here without turning into ash.'
Damien leisurely thought to himself as he devoured the foreign mana within the World Core.
This massive construct wasn't something a 3rd class like him should be able to stand in front of. Even with his class as a Celestial, doing so without sufficient power was suicide.
The mana that made up World Cores was completely different than the mana that living beings used. Even in comparison to the Divine Power used by Divinities, it was a different breed.
It was another reason why Damien felt that World Cores were the closest beings to the Universal Will that existed.
But none of that mattered at the moment. Damien closed his eyes and relaxed as more and more Nox mana entered his body through devour, only to be purified by his Void Physique an instant later.
This process, it might take far longer than he was originally expecting it to.
