The World Energy Barrier was fading, or rather, it was becoming one with the outside world, synchronizing their time flows and laws.
As Damien saw this happen, a wave of vertigo overcame him.
It'd only been roughly half a day in the outside world, but to Damien, a full two and a half years had passed since his Universe Baptism began.
The ratio between the two time flows was almost 1:2000! As Damien was forced to rapidly adapt to the drastically differing time flow of the outside world, it was only natural that he was incredibly disoriented.
But more than that, he was confused.
His Baptism hadn't ended, this much he was aware of. If so, what significance did the World Energy Barrier's movements have? Why was he being reintroduced to the real plane?
Before he could question it further, his thought process was interrupted by a massive chain of explosions. His eyes moved instantly, locking onto the sight of a familiar city in an entirely unfamiliar position.
'That's…Avalon?!'
He wasn't given time to remain surprised. From the floating island on which Avalon rested, dozens of massive artillery weapons emerged, blasting the battlefield without a single care.
But if one looked closely, they'd notice that these shots were aimed quite precisely. They only fell in locations where Shadow Garden and Cloud Plane forces weren't present. In this way, these attacks with massive blast radii wouldn't affect the allied forces.
However, this didn't mean that Avalon couldn't provide support for its allies. Aboveground and lining the roofs of nearly every building were smaller precision-based weapons. These weapons were operated by Avalon's citizens, accurately aiding their allies in repelling the swarm of enemies encroaching upon them.
But swarm wasn't even a substantial enough word to describe the scene of hundreds of thousands or even millions of enemy soldiers wantonly charging through the battlefield without a care for their lives. It was a terrifying sight.
Above the ground, some few hundred meters in the air, the 4th class combatants held their battles. Even Rose and Ruyue were included in this group. Here were the true powerhouses, those who could kill thousands of those on the ground with a single swing.
But because they were all locked down by each other, this kind of scene didn't appear.
Even Rose and Ruyue, who were still at 3rd class, were now being watched by 4th class beings after their destructive power was recognized.
'This…how did things escalate so much?!'
Damien had a great understanding of time after studying it for so long in the World Energy Barrier, so understanding how much time had truly passed while he was gone wasn't difficult.
Still, even half a day wasn't enough for things to become so chaotic!
If Damien knew that he was the reason for this situation, it was unknown how he would react. After all, the only reason the battle reached this scale was because of Wrath's order to capture him or interfere with his Baptism.
While things had surely spiraled out of control after that order was given, it was still true that this was the reason everything started.
But Damien still hadn't taken in all the scenes around him. Even further in the sky, far above the clouds, the Demigods stood in stalemate. Due to their Authorities, the normal soldiers below them weren't even able to witness their battles, but Damien was different.
Authorities were separate dimensions, separate space-times. As this was his forte, wouldn't it be embarrassing if Damien didn't notice their presence?
However, noticing them was all he could do. His power level hadn't jumped nearly high enough for him to interfere with an Authority.
Regardless, these scenes all entered Damien's eyes within a few breaths time. Not long after, he was able to accurately understand the gist of the situation.
After all, it was relatively simple. The powder keg had finally been set off.
Voom!
The World Energy whirlpool soon finished its growth, and in the next second, it charged into Damien's body. Droves upon droves of World Energy filled his every cell, nourishing him and destroying him at the same time.
"Keuk…!"
Damien coughed in agony. World Energy was likely the highest form of energy he'd ever encountered, discounting Void Essence. It was energy only usable by the universe itself and Celestials like him.
Now that it was flooding his body, he didn't know what to do. It felt like the World Energy was prying into every nook and cranny of his internals in search of something it couldn't find.
'What do…!'
Before Damien's thought could even finish, he found his body paralyzed. A slew of system notifications appeared in front of his eyes.
[The Universe has acknowledged your qualifications.]
[You have successfully completed the Universe Baptism.]
[Your class has been changed to—]
[Unknown entity interfering with procedures.]
[The Third Test will begin.]
Damien panicked. Now, of all times, the Void Physique decided to mess with him?! He was already in a precarious position, disoriented and unprotected, but now he was also paralyzed?! If someone decided to attack him…
A flash appeared in front of Damien's body. Time seemed to slow to a crawl.
This was an attack. Not only was it an attack, it was an attack that could instantly kill him if it landed.
Damien felt the horrifying energy fluctuations coming from this attack. It wasn't something a mere 4th class being could conjure. No, this was the work of a Divinity.
In that moment of crisis, the world slowed nearly to a halt in Damien's eyes. His mind remained incomparably calm, racing in search of a solution to his predicament.
If he couldn't find one, he would die.
This was a Demigod. There was no lucky chance, no miracle ability, no life-saving opportunity that could protect him from a Divinity.
In front of a mortal, a Divinity was absolute.
The feeling of death encroached upon Damien. It was a strange yet familiar feeling, but today, it seemed far more defined than usual.
It was almost as if his senses were telling him he had no chance to escape this situation.
It was almost as if the universe paralyzed him on purpose so that he could die under this sneak attack.
The figure in front of Damien coalesced. Under his gaze, the visage of a bulky old man with a domineering beard and tired yet maddened eyes appeared.
This man…was none other than Odin himself!
The exalted leader of Asgard, the Demigod whose presence allowed Asgard to remain standing under Niflheim's regime…
This man was currently standing in front of a junior, his arm slowly extending while being encased in mana and mysterious law fluctuations that Damien couldn't comprehend.
He had already given up any sense of independence he had. The current Odin was no more than Wrath's dog.
In the strange mental state he was in, Damien clearly saw every motion Odin took as if it was in slow motion. But seeing these movements wouldn't help him.
He was just a being in the process of ascending to 4th class. Even among mortals, he had a long way to go before being the strongest.
His body simply didn't have the ability to react.
