Void Essence was a strange thing. In terms of profundity, even space and time combined couldn't hold a candle to it.
Even Damien's understanding of it was only 1% at most. To even claim to be in control of this essence would only be arrogance on his part.
But it was true that he had a method by which he could more easily comprehend the Void. This was the Sanctuary.
The Sanctuary's formation was by complete coincidence. Damien only wanted to borrow the power of Void Essence to make a subspace in which he could contain life. Yet, somehow, the Sanctuary was born.
In comparison to true worlds, the Sanctuary wasn't much, but it was still far more secure than an isolated space. And more than anything else, the Sanctuary had its own budding foundational laws.
This was a characteristic that even True Worlds didn't have. The foundational laws of True Worlds were inherited from the universe. Despite the differences in the qualities of their ambient mana, the rules that made up all things on those worlds were all uniform.
The Sanctuary didn't match this uniformity. It received constant nourishment from the Void itself, being situated within it. As such, it was slowly forming its own laws in a way that mirrored a human comprehending their element.
The key points derived from this process were two. Firstly, it meant that Damien, as the master and creator of the Sanctuary, had the ability to tweak and control these foundational laws, making him akin to a god within. And secondly, he could use this process to gain more understanding of the Void itself, since contacting it was nigh impossible with any other method.
But even then, Damien didn't have the qualifications to partake in this method of comprehension. With his previous power level, no matter how much he pondered upon it or tried to analyze it, he wouldn't gain anything. Any insight that he did gain would vanish from his memories like it never existed.
There was only one thing he understood: the Void was not a singular concept. If it was, there was no way it could provide the Sanctuary with the fuel it needed to maintain itself without a World Core.
The five elements, life and death, space and time, creation and destruction, and any variants that stemmed from their foundation, the Void could perfectly create them all.
It was more than just ethereal. It was magisterial to an incomprehensible level. It almost seemed like the Void could do anything.
As he underwent evolution within the Void Essence cocoon, Damien felt this even more clearly.
It wasn't just his body that was changing. It was only that his bodily change was far more rapid and easily sensed. In fact, within Damien, there were far more esoteric changes taking place.
There was a mysterious space in his body, a space that even he couldn't sense the existence of. Within this space, there were three things.
There were two colorless essences, one in the shape of a cube and the other without shape at all. These two mingled with each other and constantly intertwined, showing their affinity towards each other.
These were space and time, the representations of them that manifested Damien's affinities.
As for the third construct, it was a small reddish-black seed. On its surface, mystical runes of flame and lighting danced as if they were alive.
This seed represented the final affinity in Damien's status window, a mystery that had remained unsolved to this day.
These three forces usually cohabitated this mysterious space, continuously following the same dreary routine. But today, massive changes were taking place.
Strands of Void Essence rapidly converged within this space, invading these three constructs and forcing them to undergo changes.
The space and time essences were already mingling, but they never crossed the boundaries that would connect them as one.
This was mainly because Damien's comprehension was lacking, but also because fusing them wasn't an easy task at all. To do this would require a powerhouse to first sense the existence of this space and only then take years upon years to slowly allow them to fuse.
However, Damien was exempt from this. Void Essence coiled around these space and time constructs, pushing them together. It acted as the glue, allowing them to fuse without problems.
Let alone needing to take steps towards this process, Damien wasn't even aware that it was occurring! He could only vaguely feel that his affinities were going through an extreme change, evolving alongside him.
But even this was rudimentary. As Damien grew in power, he would've taken this step regardless.
The truly massive change within the mysterious space was the one that made the least noise.
With a few nudges from the Void Essence, that tiny reddish-black seed began to crack. From the crack, a small sprout began to bloom.
The sprout pulsated with power. The aura coming from it infected everything else, even traveling outside the mysterious space and affecting reality.
The flames and lighting resting within Damien's Mana Heart responded fiercely to this pulsation, chaotically flaring.
The Void Flames already had the ability to swallow power to grow. While this ability was usually limited to other flames, the energy from the reddish-black sprout was an exception. The Void Flames happily devoured this energy, a tinge of asuran red appearing in their visage.
Damien's lighting showed an even more substantial response. It had been neglected for many years, slowly fading out of prominence. When compared to any of Damien's other abilities, it lagged too far behind.
The only benefit this lightning had provided Damien recently was resistance. Because of his affinity, he was able to resist the Heavenly Lightning that struck him during his Partial and True Baptisms. More than that, he was even able to contain a few strands of silver Heavenly Lightning to use as life-saving measures in the future.
It was just a shame that the first enemy Damien truly required these measures against was a Demigod. To combat them, a mere strand of silver Heavenly Lightning wasn't anywhere near enough.
But against someone at the same level, this lighting was deadly. Even against those peak 4th class existences, using this lightning would provide Damien a second of respite. This was more than enough time for him to warp away.
Now, with the Heavenly Lightning coming in contact with the reddish-black energy, it began to revolt.
It attempted to run wild in Damien's body, doing everything it could to destroy that energy. But with Void Essence present, how could it be allowed to do as it pleased?
Even this Heavenly Lightning was being forced to incorporate into Damien's ability, truly becoming a property of his lightning. Even if it wasn't as powerful as its original form, it was still a major power boost for Damien's previous black lighting.
Under Void Essence's guidance, every facet of Damien's being received a boost. Even his Legends became more defined.
Slowly but surely, the process continued. After a full half an hour, Damien's body finished its evolution. With his usual evolutions taking a few minutes at most, it could be seen how drastic the changes he went through were.
When a full hour finally passed, the more ethereal changes also reached completion. Spiderweb cracks began to form on the Void Essence cocoon. As the outside situation had remained still during the process, this cracking clearly resounded in the ears of all those present.
And finally, many seconds later…
A jade-white hand broke through the shell.
