The night passed and daytime blanketed Aquazyl. All Sea God Clan members, regardless of whether enemy or ally, retreated to the safety of darkness during this time.
Unfortunately, neither Damien and Zara nor the Sanctuary forces were able to get a straight answer about why they did this.
Instead, they were now left alone on the surface.
In this time of respite, Damien and Zara met up with the Sanctuarians. In the middle of Aquazyl's desolate peace, they had a proper conversation for the first time since Damien summoned them.
The group sat in a relatively large house they built with their affinities. Aside from Damien, Zara, and Damien's main Sanctuary forces like Feng Yuxiang and Feng Qing'er, the others present were elite forces that had been trained in the Sanctuary during his absence. Truly, the growth his subordinates had undergone astonished him.
Damien smiled warmly as he conversed with them. He reminisced on the Primordial Undying Realm with Feng Qing'er and Lunaria, introduced Zara to the crowd she'd never met before, and even brought Xue'er and Elitra out to play with the rest.
The overall atmosphere was jovial, but when Damien saw it, he knew there was something missing.
"Hey, come with me for a second." His sound transmission entered the White Dragon King's ears, causing his brow to raise in curiosity.
After following Damien to a secluded spot, the two began to converse.
"Why did you call me over?" The White Dragon King asked.
Damien sighed. "It's just…I wanted to talk to you about the promise we made long ago."
The White Dragon King's heart shook. How could he not remember the promise? It was a promise to find his son on the Cloud Plane, it was the most important task that had been bogging him down ever since he got stuck in the 3000 Beast Mountain Range.
"…" he couldn't force out any words. He never forgot the promise they made, he just refused to bring it up because he was well aware of how much Damien had been going through.
Ever since he left the 3000 Beast Mountain Range, he never had a single break. Even when he took breaks, they never lasted more than a day. Even those days were spent training.
With this kind of schedule, and with the wait of universal war on his shoulders, Damien couldn't be blamed even if he completely forgot the promise.
Yet, Damien never forgot.
"In fact, one of the first things I did when I bound the Cloud Plane was use my connection with it to search for anyone sharing your bloodline. However…"
Damien didn't have to finish his sentence. It was obvious that if Damien had truly found the White Dragon King's son, said son would be standing with them now.
"Is he…"
"No." Damien cut him off before he could finish. "Yun is a sentient record of all things that have ever happened on the Cloud Plane. Even if your son died, he would have known. The complete lack of presence means…"
"Nevertheless, Yun would've known of your son's presence if he was ever on the Cloud Plane. I can't be certain of what happened to him, nor can I assure you he's alive. But I swear on my name and mana that I will find him."
Damien grabbed the White Dragon King's shoulder and sighed. "I'm sorry, but this is all I can do."
The White Dragon King shook his head in rebuttal. "No, the fact that you're persistently attempting to find him is enough for me. By our Heavenly Oath, it was completely possible for you to drop the search after not finding traces of him on the Cloud Plane by simply assuming he was dead. I just…I hate my own weakness."
Damien nodded his head. He understood this feeling too well. The reason he always acted preemptively, the reason he never let himself get into situations he couldn't handle, was because of how vividly he remembered the feeling of powerlessness.
It wasn't something he ever wanted to feel again.
"We, as singular existences in this universe, will always be minute in the grand scheme of things. It is our eternal goal to grow until we have the power to rid ourselves of that minuteness. Bai Yuxuan, follow me to the peak. Do not let your inner struggle cloud your mind." Damien said earnestly.
Bai Yuxuan, the White Dragon King, smiled wryly. "Even if you say that, it isn't easy to follow those words. The struggles of the mind are the most difficult to overcome, and even after overcoming them, other mental problems arise to replace them. It is a neverending battle that I can't seem to win."
Damien felt sympathy towards the White Dragon King's plight. The battles of the mind…these were what kept him company on his journey to the top.
He almost started cherishing his trauma, because he didn't know what type of person he'd be without it.
He didn't want to know that person.
It was only through countless brutal experiences, endlessly being forced to face his trauma, that Damien grew to his current level. But just as Bai Yuxuan stated, when the old problems were solved, new ones rose to take their place.
The two stood in silence, unmoving. Their gazes looked off into the horizon.
In a universe where killing meant strength, where war was opportunity, where selfishness was the only way to grow rapidly, it was hard to maintain relationships.
Love, whether familial or romantic, became an afterthought. Those loved ones became a safe haven.
Just as Bai Yuxuan dearly missed his son, Damien dearly missed his wives. Seeing the relationships between people as he traveled the Divine Realm and even the Human Domain prior, he felt both lucky to have his wives and guilty for his treatment of them.
Ironically, there had never been jealousy problems in his harem.
The reason for this was simple: Damien's wives spent far more time with each other than they did with him. They developed an unbreakable bond through countless adventures and experiences that couldn't be broken by something as insignificant as jealousy.
In the same vein, their love for Damien and vice versa would never break.
Damien was aware of this fact. And perhaps, he'd subconsciously used this fact as an excuse to spend less time with them as he focused on his responsibilities.
It wasn't entirely his fault. He was constantly dragged around by various events, forced into situations where death was all but guaranteed. He trusted his wives and their strengths, but that didn't mean he would willingly put them in those situations if he could help it.
'Then again, maybe I'm just being hypocritical.'
The more time he spent away from them, the more he realized how little time they'd actually spent together. He wanted to return to them and spend years bonding with and loving them until they were satisfied, but he knew it wasn't possible.
'But that isn't an excuse to continue my behavior…when we meet again, I swear I won't disappoint you.'
His eyes reflected the refracted light rays shining through the waters. Perhaps being in Aquazyl for so long made him accustomed to viewing day as night and vice versa, because he felt like he was staring into a beautiful moon.
Before he knew it, he was already approaching 30. The passing of time was light and airy like a spring breeze, almost unnoticeable if one didn't consciously pay attention to it. His journey, from the moment he fell into the First Dungeon, would reach an entire decade in length by the time the Hidden Death Valley progress assessment ended.
He thought back to those simple days on earth. He thought back to the various people he'd met.
Jin Horten, Ethan and William from Apeiron, Long Chen and the Xue siblings on the Cloud Plane…
Aquazyl's peace made him fall into a reminiscent mood, and he warmly smiled as he did so. There were many tribulations, too many to count. He'd been crippled and nearly killed an equally countless number of times.
But he didn't regret it at all.
Because if he didn't go through those experiences, he never would've grown.
If he didn't experience failure, he never would've understood what it meant to succeed.
He stood up from his spot and held a hand out to help Bai Yuxuan do the same.
A war was on the horizon, and not a small one. He had a feeling that the final confrontation with the Tephit Clan would take place within the month, far earlier than he expected.
But he welcomed this haste.
The Prominence War was more than just a Mystic Realm that would give Damien a pivotal weapon, it was training.
Training for the true war he'd have to face once he left.
