Damien was in the Ancestral Dragon Pool for no more than a single day. As he left the pool and the scenery faded around him, he finally realized that there was a time dilation around the space.
It was so flawless that he didn't notice it until he left, which was incredibly impressive.
'I'll have to visit the original Ancestral Dragon Pool in the Heavenly World so I can experience it in all its glory.' Damien thought to himself as he walked through the halls of the Golden Dragon Palace.
The banquet came to an end not more than an hour ago, and countless people were moving through the palace halls, returning to their quarters or homes to rest and finally succumb to their fatigue.
The atmosphere of the world had calmed down drastically. It was a miracle just how fast people could readjust after a tragedy.
Now that the celebration of life had ended, the time to celebrate the dead arrived.
The number of casualties from the catastrophe was in the several millions at the very least. People all over the world had lost their friends and loved ones to the war, and while the urge to place blame did exist in their heads, how could they?
The Emperor himself suffered more than anyone else in this tragedy, losing half of his children to the enemy.
The burial rituals of the Golden Dragons were quite fascinating. As beings who were so close to fate, they didn't view death as a sorrowful thing. Death was inevitable, and though fate could be cruel in the way it toyed with lives, it was a just entity.
Those who died in this battle, those who defended their homeland or died innocent of any crime, would be reincarnated with blissful destiny. This was without a doubt.
Therefore, it was not a time to mourn, but to celebrate.
To celebrate the achievements the deceased made in their past lives, and to pray for their happiness in the next.
Damien quietly watched the ceremonies without participating himself. He was just an outsider after all, and his achievements weren't broadcasted to earn the people's affection.
Unlike him, Elena was widely accepted among the Golden Dragons. She was personally requested to participate in the processions, and her acts of spreading vitality across the world and healing its people practically made her a saint in their eyes.
Funnily enough, being Elena's spouse granted Damien more status among the clansmen than his role as Astoria's teacher.
Not like he minded it, though. Who wouldn't feel pride seeing their wife achieve greatness?
Damien had no interest in stealing her stage.
Instead, he silently obtained the Emperor's permission and made his way into a secret corridor in the palace, walking down a damp hallway and down an extremely cramped and weathered staircase until he was near the core of the world.
'Another prison near the World Core. The Director's Avatar was trapped in one of these too; I guess it's a common practice.'
It was also likely that the invaders who were aiming for the World Core during the war were actually trying to enter this prison and let loose its inmates to cause chaos.
Damien reached the end of the staircase and stepped on flat land again. He was met with a thick metal slate with no visible openings that was guarded by a group of 5 High Commander level guards.
"State your name and affiliation," the head guard commanded, raising his weapon.
Damien shook his head wryly, "you don't have to be so on edge. The war is truly over."
He took out a plaque the Emperor gave him and tossed it to the guard, who caught it and carefully inspected it with his awareness before nodding at his comrades.
"I apologize for the misunderstanding, sir. Please enter," the head guard said as he returned his focus to Damien.
Damien smiled and nodded. "Don't worry about it. You're just doing your job."
He watched as the guards acted together, positioning themselves against nondescript locations on the two walls on their side of the metal slate with no particular rhyme or reason.
Rumble!
The ground began to rumble and the metal slate showed immediate changes, but the guards hadn't moved in the slightest.
Damien opened his All-Seeing Eyes and took a deeper glance into their actions.
'Oh? That's interesting.'
With the new perception opened by his trait, Damien could see the mana streams exiting these guards' bodies. The mana streams entered the walls and flowed in multiple randomly intersecting paths.
Each connection point would cause the metal slate to change properties and become illusory, and while the movements looked thoughtless, the mana control required to be so precise in intricate work like this was genuinely nonsensical.
'If they make a single misstep and the connection point is even a millimeter off, the formation will counterattack. These guards have been specifically trained to do this job.'
It was an incredibly smart decision that Damien honestly didn't expect from the Golden Dragons considering their track record.
It became clear to him that if these guards and this mechanism hadn't been so complex, the war situation would have been far, far worse than it already was.
'Hmm, those invaders who went down to the World Core pretty much just disappeared by the time the conflict settled down. I guess their fate is clear now.'
The metal slate finally turned fully illusory, allowing Damien into the prison.
He was immediately struck by the stench. It was a putrid and disgusting mix of feces, body odor, varying body fluids, and several other unidentifiable yet repulsive scents, all enhanced by the damp environment of the underground prison.
It was pitch black and lifeless in appearance. Damien could see clearly using the All-Seeing Eyes, but his regular visual ability wasn't nearly enough to see through the artificially amplified darkness.
'Hmm…'
Damien walked through the prison indifferent to the maniacal cacophony of prisoners around him.
They screamed and taunted, they provoked and pleaded, they did anything they could possibly think of to grab Damien's attention, with some even urinating through the cell bars or touching themselves when they saw him.
'There is…no time dilation in this place.' Damien thought as he poked his senses through the air. 'These rabid ones; just how long did they have to stay here to lose themselves to insanity?'
The prisoners were from all different races, some human, some beast, some angel, and even some Nox. Many races that had death feuds against each other were placed near each other as if to create the utmost chaos in this controlled environment.
However, Damien didn't come here for them, nor did he dare to entertain them. Any reaction he gave would be pleasure for them, even if that reaction was to torture or kill.
He walked and walked through the seemingly endless single corridor of the prison, passing thousands upon thousands of cells and areas until he finally reached his destination.
"Look at this. They really hate you guys, eh?" He said with a slight smile as he looked into the large cell block.
This isolated area was created with the sole purpose of housing Black Dragons. It was built with far worse conditions than any other cell block, and there were specialized guards who stayed in the area to torment the Black Dragons and break their spirits whenever possible.
'It's inevitable to form a god complex in an environment where you have mana and your enemies are helpless and crippled.' He inwardly noted as he watched a group of guards humiliate a group of older Black Dragons.
He sighed and entered the cell block. The guards immediately looked up and turned hostile, but Damien just had to repeat the same process he did with the gate guards to placate them.
After they left, he faced the millions of Black Dragons that were in the cell block. He knew very well that all of their gazes were currently on him, filled with hostility, hatred, and fear.
He grinned.
There was one more thing he had to test before leaving Beast Emperor Star.
He raised his arm parallel to the ground and gracefully outstretched a single finger.
He gently tapped the air.
"Bind."
