Night turned to day in the outside world, and in that same period of time, a little over 6 months passed in the Sanctuary.
In this time, neither Damien nor Astoria had moved much at all.
In these 6 months, both geniuses were utterly focused on the World Creation Event, watching with front-row seats as the World Core bloomed earth and an atmosphere and eventually gained all the necessary components to be a true world that could house life.
Oceans formed, mountains rose and fell, and eventually, when the tectonic plates completed their first shift, the world settled in place and was born.
It wasn't a fanciful phenomenon that was announced all over the universe. If so, wouldn't the universe be crowded with such obnoxious phenomena?
Instead, the world was covered in a barely visible blue light film that faded soon after, though its presence could still be clearly felt.
"M-master…" Astoria voiced, her words echoing through the empty void.
Damien turned to Astoria with a smile, lightly stretching his body.
"How was it? Did you manage to understand anything?" He asked in return.
Astoria hesitated for a moment but shook her head. "Master, I thought I understood something, but when I tried to think of it, it all became blurry. I don't know what happened!"
Damien nodded in understanding. "That's normal. At your level, having a full recollection of such a profound event would only burn your brain. However, now that you've witnessed it, your path forward will be far, far smoother."
Damien wasn't just pulling the words out of his ass. He'd personally experienced something similar as a young genius.
Back then, when he visited the Space-Time River, he lost all awareness of its existence for a period of time, only remembering its name.
Even to this day, Damien couldn't recover the entirety of his memory in that strange space.
However, chasing the Space-Time River contributed greatly to Damien's current strength. As he grew, he always used the Space-Time River as a foundation for his practice, allowing him to excel.
For Astoria, who was more talented in supportive spatial abilities, witnessing a World Creation Event was a mind-bendingly precious opportunity.
However, Astoria wasn't satisfied with this. As Damien slowly explained it to her, her expression crumpled further and further.
"I don't believe I can't understand it!" She exclaimed defiantly. "Master, please teach me! I won't disappoint you!"
"Oh? And if you can't produce results? How are you going to compensate me for wasting my time?" Damien retorted.
"I…I…I'll give you…anything," Astoria stammered, blushing slightly and pushing her body forward.
Damien's eyes narrowed.
Tak!
A flick landed firmly on Astoria's forehead, turning it red and pushing her away from him.
"Who taught you to be so mischievous? Did you think I, your Master, would fall for such an obvious trap?"
Damien scoffed while flicking his finger, sending a small beam of light into Astoria's stomach and disrupting the mana flow of the treasure she hid there.
If Damien had to guess, it was some sort of restraining treasure that Astoria was going to try to use for unknown reasons.
After all, she was known as a devil emperor. There was no way she'd submit to someone so easily.
Unfortunately for her, Damien wasn't someone she could easily mess with.
An evil grin spread on his face.
"Aha, so my young disciple loves to tie people up. Then, let's see how you like it done to you!"
Damien immediately controlled the laws of the Sanctuary and restricted Astoria's movements entirely.
Walking up to her as she struggled futilely in hopes of escape, Damien's grin widened.
"Didn't you want to hear the specifics about World Creation? Hmph, I, your gracious master, shall educate you!"
Damien stood in front of Astoria, made sure there were 0 distractions in the surroundings she could use as respite, and then…
"World creation starts with a few very basic conditions. Firstly, a large congregation of mana, secondly, the approval of the universal law, and third, a World Seed, a heavenly material that is born in accordance with the universal law to populate the starry sky.
"By the time you entered the Sanctuary, the World Core's base structure was already formed. This is the easiest part, as it's just a matter of accumulating mana to such a density and intensity that it creates the shape of a material World Core.
"What comes after is the most important step. The universal law will baptize the false World Core and turn it true. Through this baptism, the World Core gains a connection to the universe and the capability to form its own World Laws, which in turn allows the world to form an atmosphere and house life.
"There are several important universal laws involved in this process, including but not limited to…"
From that point on, Damien talked and talked and talked. He talked until his disciple was practically begging him to shut up and let her go, apologizing profusely for playing.
But would he stop?
Hell no!
Even though he was punishing Astoria by not entertaining the severe ADHD that she seemed to have, he was also teaching her important facts. Through the knowledge she gained from him today, she could interpolate much more when she finally got a grasp on how the Laws of Space functioned.
Nevertheless, Damien let Astoria go after his speech ended, and she immediately collapsed in the void like she'd just been tortured to death.
"Masterrr~ I won't…play…anymore~" she muttered to herself.
Damien glanced at her wryly. Evidently, she was unconscious. It was a little humorous that the previous lesson had scarred her enough to appear in her dreams.
'Rest well.' Damien thought with a smile. 'From this point on, it'll only get worse.'
He smiled so brightly that one would mistake his teeth for the sun. He was truly a benevolent saint of the people.
With that thought in mind, Damien hauled Astoria over his shoulder again and entered the atmosphere of the newly formed world.
'I should check on this place before she regains consciousness. The World Seed had an inexplicable connection with Astoria, so this world might be the ideal training environment for her. Whether or not it can hold her power, though…is another story altogether.'
Damien sighed to himself. Observing the atmosphere, he immediately knew it was impossible for this world to hold 4th class beings without becoming structurally unstable.
It was a newborn world that was even younger than Earth in its awakening. It was still covered by the universe's beginner world protection measures, and the dungeons forming on the world barely had 1st class beasts.
'No problem. It's just a matter of force.'
In any other situation, it was impossible, but with Damien in full control of both the world and the universe it resided in's laws, there was no problem at all.
He took the two Realm Seeds out of his inventory and threw them in opposite directions, allowing them to fly to two completely different portions of the world several tens of thousands of kilometers apart.
When they arrived in position, Damien only needed to speak a single word.
"Bloom."
And instantly, the entire world began to quake furiously, cracking into two equal halves.
Just like that, the newly formed world was destroyed.
