The journey back to the Eclipse Sect was quite the long one. With the Eclipse Sect itself being a smaller influence with only a few 4th class protectors, it wasn't able to afford spirit ships capable of traversing this distance in an incense stick of turn.
However, the journey would still be shortened to a few days at most. During these days, the spirit ship was peaceful. The man and woman from the Great Desolate were placed in separate rooms, a group of maids taking care of them and nursing them back to health.
"It's strange, isn't it Elder Jue?" The veiled princess commented as she gazed out the spirit ship's window.
"What is strange, princess?" Elder Jue responded, clueless. The princess was too extravagant. It was impossible to guess her thoughts at any given moment.
"Those two…" the princess started. "According to the maids, their wounds weren't extremely heavy despite the state we found them in. Aside from that, they've both healed to peak condition in only 2 days, but they remain unconscious."
She was truly curious about the origins of these two people. Even though their strength didn't seem too extravagant, their mortal bodies begged to differ.
But even more so, she was curious about that strange meteor that hit the Great Desolate and caused their injuries. Where did it come from? And why did it vanish without a trace?
In the corner of her curious heart, she could feel that this situation wasn't so simple. That meteor must've held an immense secret.
She almost wanted to return to the Great Desolate for a more in-depth search, but unfortunately, she couldn't.
'The Storm Heavens Mystic Realm expedition begins in only 2 weeks. Sadly, I don't have enough time to focus on anything else.' The princess sighed to herself.
The Storm Heavens Mystic Realm was incredibly important for her, mainly because it was a Mystic Realm connected to the Dimensional Leaderboard. If she could obtain good results within, her position would rise.
Perhaps she'd even be able to reach the top 1,000,000!
While this didn't seem like much, reality was different. The Dimensional Leaderboard was a concept similar to the system in its reach.
As long as one entered a Mystic Realm or Challenge Gate tied to the Dimensional Leaderboard, they'd automatically be registered on it as long as they met the age and class requirements.
Moreover, this wasn't something limited to the Divine Realm. Every sector besides the Human Domain was represented on the Dimensional Leaderboard. If the princess reached the top 1,000,000, it meant that out of the countless young heroes of the 7 involved sectors, she would still be considered a peak genius!
As for those in the Top 100 or even the Top 10,000, these were existences that the princess could never hope to match even if she did everything in her power. Those geniuses in the Top 10 were like spiritual gods in her heart.
Thinking about the higher rankings on the leaderboard, the princess' face soured. Nowadays, the sanctity of the Dimensional Leaderboard was being ruined. After all…
"Princess, we've arrived." Elder Jue commented lightly.
On the horizon, the outline of a grand temple revealed itself. Majestic pillars supported its weight, carved with countless profound runes. The materials used to create it were incredibly rare on the Dawn World as well, loudly proclaiming the Eclipse Sect's power. Even if the Eclipse Sect was a small sect on a universal scale, it was still near the peak of the Dawn World.
When the spirit ship arrived at the palace, those on board rapidly departed and went their own ways. This small excursion hadn't netted them any gains to speak of, so these disciples were naturally disappointed. Even the excitement caused by the meteor couldn't change this.
As for the princess, she and Elder Jue moved towards an isolated palace, the mysterious man and woman in tow.
It wouldn't be long before they woke up and the princess was able to receive the answers she wanted. Until then, she would enter a period of training while Elder Jue watched over them.
Like this, a week passed without any changes.
However, while the outside world experienced no changes, an ever-changing scenery flashed through a certain comatose man's mind.
These scenes were marred with the vicissitude of time. Endless millennia flowed without change, only the dark vastness of the starry sky expanding in every direction. Every now and then, the man witnessed brief flashes of instances, minor interactions that held little to no meaning in the grand scheme of things. However, he felt no loneliness or insanity.
From the moment he fell unconscious, Damien had been plagued by these memories. Even through his journey in the Abyssal Corridor, he didn't awaken even once.
However, that journey was truly a harrowing one. The Abyss' essence rampaged chaotically, mixed with many unknown forms of energy. These wild energy storms barraged Damien's body without pause. In any normal circumstance, he'd have died instantly.
But before he was pulled into the Abyssal Corridor, he'd not only devoured the Fifth Primal Sovereign, but also all of the universe's essence within a 50,000-kilometer radius. To say his body was filled with ownerless energy was an understatement.
Unfortunately, most of this energy had dissipated by now. It was whittled away by the Abyssal Corridor until only a minuscule amount remained for Damien to personally digest.
In his current situation, though, how could that be possible? Luckily enough, his long dream seemed to be coming to an end.
He saw a flash of starlight, followed by a terrifying all-consuming blackness. An ancient voice chanted in a language he couldn't understand. Reality twisted and warped into something unholy, something unspeakable. In the end, all things returned to one in a flash of brilliance that blinded Damien's eyes!
Unable to endure the shock of this scene, his mind jolted awake!
Damien was covered in a cold sweat. He didn't get up. For the next several minutes, he laid still attempting to comprehend what he'd just seen.
But the more he pondered upon it, the faster it vanished from his memory. Eventually, Damien gave up.
What he'd just witnessed…he'd lost scope of time so he didn't understand how long that being had lived, but it was a period of time he found incomprehensible.
Regardless, he'd come to understand what those scenes were after living that being's life for so many years.
Those were the Fifth Primal Sovereign's memories. Aside from bloody battle and endless wandering, there was almost nothing else present. That was the life the Fifth Primal Sovereign led.
What was more curious than this life, however, was both the final scene in the memories as well as the reason Damien could view them in the first place.
Concerning the first question, Damien had no way of finding an answer. He could only grow stronger until he had the power to understand the truths contained within. As for the second…
There was really only a single explanation after Damien considered the entire chain of events.
From his Baptism, to the war afterward, through the final fight with the Primal Sovereign, Damien slowly understood that the connection he now had with the Void Physique wasn't something simple.
His Void Mana was proof of their fusion. And clearly, he hadn't uncovered even an infinitesimal portion of its abilities.
His fusion with the Void Physique was a qualitative change in his abilities that he needed to slowly explore and understand. But he at least understood a few things. Of them…
Was the fact that Devour now gave him access to his target's memories.
