The illusion never ended.
The white room, the chess-like game, the man who played against Damien, none of them were real. Damien didn't realize it from start to finish.
But when the game started, something changed.
The illusion became more thorough. Damien's ego was picked apart and separated into different pieces, different characters whose lives he experienced. These illusions were influenced by Damien's soul, so they were far harder to detect.
As such, his consciousness almost became fully immersed in the illusion. He almost became those people he saw, his true ego never to reform.
The bard was the key. The locket he held was empty. It was just something he picked up during his travels. The images Damien saw when he opened its body were…his own memories.
Damien's emotionless face reflected in the pale blackness around him as it began to fade. His body was moved to a different white room, but this time, there was no challenge in front of him.
A golden scroll slowly unraveled. There, he saw that his name moved up two places. Presumably, he'd completed the Challenge Gate.
Only two places…was far less than his estimate. He didn't think his performance was necessarily bad. If so, it only meant that the people above him were better or had better track records.
This was only Damien's second interaction with the Dimensional Leaderboard. Without the large quantity of achievements other geniuses had, his only choice if he wanted to skip ranks was to accomplish the unimaginable.
Unfortunately, Damien wasn't perfect. If it was a physical trial, he had complete confidence in destroying everything and everyone around him. However, in a challenge like this one, he was at a natural disadvantage.
Nevertheless, Damien could only accept his results. This Challenge Gate didn't allow one multiple chances to pass.
His body was soon teleported out of the Challenge Gate. After meeting up with Leona, he traveled back to Seeking Lotus Palace quietly.
His face never changed.
He and Leona arrived at the sect and went straight to her office. Now that he'd done what she asked, it was time for her to do the same.
And Leona wasn't someone to break a promise. She led Damien to the sect's library and allowed him to peruse the shelves.
Over the next few hours, Damien skimmed every technique he could find. As he expected, the rumors about every disciple having a customized technique were false. However, it wasn't very far from the truth.
Seeking Lotus Palace's main techniques were similar to the Ananta Matrix in that they were built to evolve.
The Ethereal Seeking Lotus was a foundation. Once one successfully built that foundation, the technique would grow and change along with its user. This was why each Seeking Lotus Palace disciple seemed to have a technique perfectly suited for them.
Because although the technique wasn't as good as a personally tailored technique made by an expert, it was practically the next best thing!
Damien made his decision. He already had a friendly relationship with Seeking Lotus Palace especially after bonding with Leona over their shared class. Since their main technique was also amazing and would change itself to be perfect for Jiao Mei, there was no need for any more thinking.
After all, Damien didn't want to risk Jiao Mei's safety by being reckless. If Roaring Thunder Palace learned of Jiao Mei's existence too early and discovered her physique, she'd be in more trouble than she was equipped to handle.
The Roaring Thunder Palace was notoriously domineering, and while they never committed atrocities, they were still an "any means possible" type of sect. Damien visited Seeking Lotus Palace first because its environment seemed much more suitable for Jiao Mei.
After reaching this conclusion, Damien exited the library. He looked at the Seeking Lotus Palace around him, peacefully residing in its pocket dimension.
"Collapse."
His arm raised into the air and slammed down. Space trembled incessantly as Damien destroyed its foundations.
"Starfall."
Starlight shined upon his body. Damien used this starlight not to empower himself, but instead as a medium. He used it as a tether to shoot his awareness into the starry sky and read its layout.
After he did so, he clenched his fist and opened a portal in the sky.
Voom!
The portal eclipsed the entire Seeking Lotus Palace. No, the portal eclipsed the mountain entirely.
"Come."
Following Damien's command, an object slowly fell through the portal.
It wasn't rapid like a comet or piercing like a meteor, rather, it was moving at a snail's pace.
But that only made it more terrifying.
That object wasn't barren or dull. The small bit of its atmosphere that made its way through the portal was enough to announce its identity.
The object continued forward. By the time it made it halfway through the portal, it was already colliding with Azure Rain Star.
Damien's body flashed into the starry sky. As he departed, two worlds collided.
BOOOOOOOOM!
The two worlds' crusts shattered instantly. All life on those worlds was decimated in an instant.
The World Cores collided soon after. A powerful fluctuation of mana blasted through the starry sky as they began merging into one. The entire area turned into a singularity.
"The Void cannot be imitated," Damien whispered as he watched on. Pitch-black exited his body and melded into the starry sky.
"Devour everything."
His essence spread. First, the two colliding planets were devoured, the space they resided in following soon after. The plague only spread from there.
From this tiny corner of the Divine Realm to covering its whole area was only a matter of minutes. Devouring the entire Grand Heavens Boundary would only take an hour at most.
Damien watched this happen without a word. As greater portions of existence disappeared, living beings united to defend against the scourge. At one point, even the Nox collaborated with the universe's forces. The Abyss was being swallowed as well.
Their efforts, however, were futile. Everything was inevitably consumed, and the time it took didn't exceed Damien's one-hour estimate.
He stood alone in the blackness. This blackness was neither existence nor nonexistence. It was the only thing left when even these two concepts were destroyed.
This wasn't something humans were meant to see.
Damien's eyes turned bloodshot. Even when he closed them, there was no difference. His ears buzzed as his eardrums burst. Blood leaked from his every orifice.
His mind collapsed instantly. The World Core Fusion Reactor and his bound worlds imploded as his spiritual world dissipated entirely, leaving him an idiot. Only seconds later…
Bang!
Damien's head exploded with a bang. But he didn't mind. This was far more comfortable than the terrific experience he'd just had.
He opened his eyes, gasping for breath.
"Haa…haa…haa…" a tinge of clarity reentered his eyes. As he looked around, he found himself in a familiar empty white room with a golden scroll floating in front of him.
His name was at the 418th position just as he'd seen prior.
Damien looked at the scroll, looked at his hands, looked at the room around him.
He didn't know.
He really couldn't tell.
Was this truly reality?
Or was he trapped in yet another illusion?
