Time passed without end, and the universe flowed without pause. The strings of fate and karma continued to intertwine as all beings moved to accomplish their own desires and purposes.
During this time, Damien remained on Calypto with limited contact with the outside world.
He traversed the mountains and rivers, explored the subterranean world, and became completely acquainted with this new world that he was to bind.
It was a novel experience.
Aside from the peacefulness of solitude, the clarity of mind Damien gained from mindlessly walking the earth was curious. He didn't quite know how to describe the way he felt.
It was an experience that made him feel bigger than himself. He, as a human, experienced the mindset of someone far transcending that level.
'Though, I guess I'm not quite human anymore.'
Damien smiled wryly. Even his status had no clue what his current race was. After changing his blood, he'd become an entirely unique existence under heaven.
Wasn't that exhilarating?
At least, Damien thought it would be.
Yet, it wasn't like that at all. Rather than feeling like he grew stronger, he felt like he'd grown into himself, becoming more complete.
He clenched his fist quietly as he stared at it. White and black wisps of mana circled his hand like koi fish, making their presence known.
'What do you want from me?'
Mana was a mere energy source for others, but to Damien, it always felt alive. His mana was playful, and even occasionally disobeyed his command. After interacting with such strange mana for so long, how could Damien not view it as a sentient creature of its own?
He asked the mana a question like it could answer him, and to his expectation, the mana jumped in response to his thoughts.
Still, he was left sighing. Regardless of the mana's reaction, it couldn't truly communicate with him, nor could it help him understand it.
When it came to comprehending Life and Death Laws, he was entirely on his own.
'But isn't that what makes the process exciting?'
Originally, it was difficult to comprehend Life in an atmosphere so corroded with Death, but that problem only lasted for the first few weeks before he understood how to solve it.
Life and Death themselves had helped him comprehend duality, and duality was what would help him comprehend Life and Death.
Death was cold and harrowing to some, bliss to others, and merely void to some. The perception of death was wholly dependent on one's life experience, tying the two concepts even further together.
In a situation where the meaning of death couldn't be understood without the presence of life, Damien was able to find absolute duality, and even within this desolate environment, he felt life.
He felt the life of the World Core that was slowly budding within the earth, he felt the life of those creatures who lived so deep in the subterranean world that they weren't affected by the Saint Emperor's final move, and more than anything else…
He could feel "Life" from existence itself.
The universe's breath of life entered his pores, filling him with a sense of enlightenment unlike anything he'd ever felt before,
Just as the two forces had done within his body, the external Life and Death Laws Damien observed intermingled and showcased their relationship, allowing him to comprehend both at the same time.
This kind of observation was ten times better than any sort of individual comprehension. Comprehending the interactions between Life and Death allowed one to gain double the understanding with half the effort.
And all of this was possible due to the strange trance-like state of mind that Damien entered. In this state, he cut out any thought not pertaining to his training, and Life and Death began to breathe through him.
His blood churned through his body, the white and black glow of it surfacing on his skin as time passed.
He began to understand.
Life was beautiful, but so was Death.
Life and Death were a measure of existence. In a sense, the stronger one became, the more they strayed from the two concepts.
'If one reaches the Demigod level and completely sheds their mortal coil, comprehending these laws becomes impossible.'
It wasn't that life and death had no impact on Demigods, since it was true that they still lived and could still die. Merely, internalizing the true meaning behind life and death wasn't possible when one was so distanced from them.
Nevertheless, both life and death were extremely amicable towards Damien in terms of their mana, and comprehending them was only more difficult than comprehending space and time, which came naturally to Damien at this point.
What he was more curious about was the intersection between them.
Death marked the end of Life, and to a certain extent, it also marked the start of a new life, but this was only in a situation where the concept of reincarnation was present.
Damien's greatest find in this time of reflection was that reincarnation was fickle. Not always did it allow existences into its cycle.
For some, Death was the true end.
Their egos would be erased, their souls would break down and vanish into the folds of reality, and the entirety of their existence would crumble.
'It sounds torturous, but it's no different than regular death. Since the ego is erased first, the "person" that the soul represented is already gone by the time it is erased from existence. Rather, the universe's indifference is the most interesting facet of this process.'
The process seemed like punishment for vile souls, but it was nothing of the sort. It was merely a matter of random chance, an event that took place at the whims of a conceptual existence without sentience of its own.
It was cruel, unbiased, and indifferent.
'It's also one of the most confusing processes I've come across.'
Damien shook his head and decided not to think about it. For now, he didn't have the proper level of Life and Death comprehension to break down the nuances behind such a vague process.
What he did have, however, was a newfound connection to the two Laws as well as a few different means to utilize them, whether in combat or support.
'It's just unfortunate that I didn't have much time. If I had another half a year, I feel like I could truly become one with these Laws.'
Sadly, Damien was a man with many responsibilities.
He'd stayed past his welcome on Calypto, and the progress examination was only a matter of days away.
Damien's awareness sunk into the world. He set his eyes on an almost wholly iridescent blue World Core.
The traces of Nox Mana in the World Core Space were still many, but their actual influence on the World Core had become negligible.
Damien snapped his fingers. A large shadowy maw appeared in the World Core Space and began devouring every bit of Nox Mana it came across.
With just a bit of effort, the entire World Core Space was cleansed.
'The only thing left to do is bind the core, I guess.'
There were too many things that made Damien lament his short stay on Calypto. The greatest was his inability to comprehend just "how" the World Core changed and recorrected itself after his original interference.
'Though, it's become a bit clearer.'
With the introduction of Life and Death into Damien's repertoire, his Void comprehension saw a sharp increase, which allowed him to see a vague representation of the process.
Everything would come to him in due time. This much, Damien was sure of.
But for now…
His consciousness teleported to the World Core Space. A Celestial Mana Thread left his finger and gracefully entwined with the World Core's pure mana.
When the two forces made contact…
An explosion of light enveloped Damien's mind.
