A lesson of five minutes, just how much could be accomplished within its duration?
Unexpectedly, the answer was "quite a lot" when Damien was involved.
Immediately after Damien asked Dante for aid, the latter didn't hesitate to enter "wandering old master" mode to tutor him.
It started simple. Dante was the origin of Damien's spatial talent and an expert who far exceeded him in this capacity at the moment. The first thing he did was check Damien's current comprehension.
Damien revealed his ability to manipulate dimensions, and even showcased his progress with Spacetime Laws, giving Dante an endless wave of surprises.
'I'd sensed the fluctuations of Spacetime from him, but I didn't expect he'd reached such a level. To make the fabric of reality tremble with his strength is an amazing feat.'
Dante was beaming with pride already after this first check, but his pride only became more and more exaggerated with time.
Damien was an extremely fast learner, and his comprehension ability was far greater than anything Dante had ever seen.
The nuances behind the Celestial Class were many, and it was difficult for the normal spatial expert to understand them. This was mainly because the average spatial expert could never touch upon the intrinsic level of dimensional manipulation necessary to reach the peak of the class.
Damien, naturally, wasn't like them. Since he was already so established in the realm of dimensions, Dante had an extremely easy time teaching him to go further with his class.
Damien smiled and clenched his fist as he listened to Dante speak.
'The Celestial Class…who knew it could be so massive?'
"…binding worlds and utilizing World Force are just the most basic abilities of a Celestial. At this level, they can be considered minorly accomplished. Now, depending on whether a Celestial chose to be a Ruler or a Conquerer, their path forward will differ, but since you have chosen the Conquerer's Path, I will ignore the Ruler Path for now."
Dante stopped and faced Damien, bringing his palm up and showcasing a small world that was floating there.
"A Celestial is a dominator. The worlds we conquerer are wholly ours, and everything from their future development to their current environments can be decided by us."
Dante snapped his finger, and the terrain of the world on his palm changed. Rocky mountains collapsed into rivers, and the seas rose into towering cliffs.
With another snap of the finger, Damien and Dante were transported into the world. All the miniature changes Damien watched like a god just a moment ago were being shown to him from the perspective of a mortal.
"Celestials are not merely Overseers, but also entities closer to the universe than any other. At the peak of our class, the universe we've bound on the outside…"
Dante's avatar split into tens, hundreds, and even thousands of copies of itself.
Each one emitted a fearsome aura as if each was as heavy as a celestial body.
"…becomes a universe within our bodies."
Dante smiled, and his clones transformed into small worlds similar to the one he'd shown previously.
Every single one was a world Dante had bound before, and every world was capable of producing an Avatar of him.
'This…'
Damien's mouth was agape in astonishment. Cloning techniques naturally existed, but never to this degree.
And the fact that each clone held the strength of a planet…
Damien could truly become a one-man army if he could master this ability.
His eyes sparkled with curiosity and desire.
Dante chuckled when he saw him. "Don't get too excited yet. You think this is the end…?"
"Unfortunately, I cannot show you any more than this with the power of my projection, but I trust that you will one day discover the impossible realm that all Celestials dream to reach."
Suddenly, Dante's expression turned solemn.
"Because we Celestials are so in tune with the universe, we are able to sense things that others can't. For instance, I'm sure you've noticed the existence of the 'flow.'"
Damien's eyes widened once more.
"I'll take that as a yes," Dante said with a smile. "The flow is an ethereal concept, and it is one of the rawest materializations of the universal will, and perhaps even a greater force. The Flow is immensely tempting for Celestials, as comprehending it would allow them to conquer and even bind the universe itself."
"However, do not be fooled by illusions of grandeur. The risk of following this path is greater than the reward. Barely any Celestials have ever reached the end of that road, and the ones who have lost all emotion and free thought, becoming slaves to the universe."
Damien's eyes hardened. This…wasn't a truth he expected to hear.
He'd been feeling the call of the flow for many years now, and while he ignored it because he didn't have enough information to follow it, he'd always been of the mind that he'd get to the root of it one day.
"Are you asking me to give up on that path?" He asked melancholically.
However, Dante shook his head in refusal. "How could I tell my own son to give up on his dreams of the peak? Merely, I wish to warn you. Follow the flow, comprehend it, and escape its clutches so you can rule it. Never, and I repeat, never allow the flow to envelop you and drag you forward. This path only leads to death, regardless of the temptation you feel when you encounter it."
Damien nodded seriously, internalizing everything Dante said.
Before he knew it, he was conversing casually with the man as if his hatred didn't exist in the first place.
And honestly, it didn't,
What Damien was feeling were merely vestiges of his past emotions, ghosts of trauma that tried to haunt him even after he slayed them.
He didn't need to overcome this trauma again, he merely needed a reason to quell its screams.
Dante's attitude during their interaction built this reason in Damien's heart.
He could tell.
This man was an asshole, an absolute tool who left his family, regardless of the reason…
But at the same time, he was a father, Damien's father. It was evident that he was being conscious of Damien's feelings as he spoke, and from the way he entertained all of Damien's questions, it was clear that he wanted to make up for his past mistakes.
Perhaps the time of reconciliation wasn't now, but Damien didn't think it'd be impossible in the future.
The only problem was…
'This bastard acts exactly like me.'
Dante was completely unserious, domineering, and uncaring of anyone but himself. He was a braggart that tried to sneak hints of his achievements into every conversation they had.
This trait was annoying, sure, but it also gave Damien a clearer picture of who his father was.
Dante Void was far more active in the lower universe than he'd expected, and it was clear that many vestiges of his past actions were left in Grand Heavens Boundary.
While it was too much to say they were legacies left for Damien specifically, it was true that only he knew of many of their existences.
Unfortunately, time decided to act as Damien's enemy once more.
5 minutes felt like an eternity to Damien, but at the end of the day, they were only five minutes,
They would eventually reach their end.
Dante's body began to fade mid-conversation. His lecture on Celestials had already ended, and the father-son pair were merely having idle conversation at this time.
Was it sad that this was Damien's favorite part of their encounter so far?
The stories of the Sea Kingdom of Alatria, the Sand Wyrm Tribe of Uhar, and the many other civilizations Dante had visited in his time, Damien truly was enjoying listening to them.
"It seems like it's time for me to go."
Those were the words he wanted to hear the least.
His head hung, downcast.
Dante smiled sorrowfully. He was glad that his son still cared for him enough to react like this at his departure, but the act of departing tore his soul apart.
"I wish I could stay. I wish I could stay by you and your mother for all eternity, enjoying the beauties of life…ah, why must our family have such convoluted destiny…?" Dante's voice became softer with every word.
"Damien!" Dante suddenly shouted, causing Damien's head to snap towards him.
"A man's will is his greatest quality! Never bow your head, never submit, and always fight until the very last breath! As long as you persevere with everything you have, the road ahead will reveal itself!"
Dante's eyes were serious and filled with pain. His fading body didn't allow him to say the goodbye he wanted to say, so he instead said everything he could in the time he had.
With barely any time remaining, Dante stood stalwart.
A final roar left his mouth.
"Make our Void Palace proud!"
Dante's projection dispersed into the air with those words.
The powerful reverberation of his voice continued to spread through the small realm, echoing endlessly.
Damien's eyes hardened, and his gaze turned cold.
"Our Void Palace, huh…"
That damn bastard was leaving a trail of breadcrumbs until the very end.
But…
'I'll happily follow it if it means I can beat your ass at the end.'
A new goal, a God who needed a beating, renewed determination, and…
Damien gently touched his chest.
Before his father vanished, he'd flicked a speck of something magical into his body.
Damien could feel a new sense of power coursing through his body, mirroring his renewed purpose.
It was time for him to dominate and conquer, just as Dante said.
Damien Void…this would become a name that provoked only fear and reverence from now on.
