Chapter 1287: Cosmic Rebirth [8]

The meaning of Divinity.

Damien already understood it, but he kept pondering it once his worry diminished.

With Iris managing the Heavenly Order, not only did she gain a chance to grow, he was granted peace of mind.

Now, he could really take his time to think.

What did he want?

How did he want to be viewed?

How did he want to be represented?

His answers were all existent, but too vague to be classified as the building blocks of a Divinity.

'I'll save the law for last. Once I have something built, I can take more time to understand how and what to integrate.'

This was too important of a decision for him to make hastily, no matter how much he wanted to ascend.

If he couldn't find the answer here, he'd rather take his chances and cancel his ascension than ascend half-heartedly.

'Let's think.'

Damien allowed his memories to flow again.

He watched those days in the First Dungeon where he struggled and fell into the depths of insanity to survive, he watched his journey to heal through Apeiron and the Cloud Plane, he watched his first step onto the battlefield free of setbacks in the unnamed world, he watched the Fifth Primal Sovereign appear and show him what true power really was...

He watched his descent on the Divine Realm and the realizations he made, he watched his journey through Death Emperor Star and the relationships he gained, he watched his struggles on Calypto and revisited the lessons he learned...

His journeys were plenty and the lessons they instilled in him were even more numerous. They were what gave Damien the capability to define himself so easily in his current state.

So the first question: what did he want?

'That's...quite easy to answer.'

"I want security. I want control. I want to be someone who cannot be shaken unless I allow it, and I want the people I care about to stand at that peak with me."

It was a lofty wish, but that was what he'd been moving towards ever since he stopped seeing power as his entire life.

He didn't want to be threatened by unknowns everywhere he went. He wanted absolute control that didn't allow anything to remain unknown or even be unknown in the first place.

"Therefore, I also want knowledge. I want the knowledge of all things, so I will never be caught unaware again."

Omnipotence and omniscience. Weren't they the goals of anyone who could exist in a place where they were possible to reach?

Of course, life would become meaningless if these two concepts were absolute, and that's why Damien needed control.

So that he could reach a point above them and become an entity they could not bind. So he could experience the joys of life without being bogged down by the reality of being an absolute.

Usually, people didn't put such high ceilings on their Divinity. If they couldn't eventually achieve those goals, they would be ruined by their own ambition, so most people aimed for more realistic levels by their own perception.

But to Damien, there was no point in becoming Divine if one was just going to limit their own potential like that.

"The same standards I use to judge others should be used to judge myself. If I cannot fulfill the grand ambitions in my soul, then I am not deserving of the Divinity I am building. In the case of failure, the only person at blame is myself."

Right, the reason Damien could hold such an uncaring view of the world, where he did not pity those who were born to be weak and did not envy those who reached places he could only dream of was because he did not discriminate nor did he act like a hypocrite.

He didn't just make claims without having anything to back them.

His desire and mentality...

They were acknowledged by the Heavenly Order.

A change appeared in his soul.

A vague pyramid-like illusion formed. Above it was an eye that gave off a strange luster, entrapped within a manifestation of infinity.

This was the first sign of Divinity establishment.

'Then, the next question...'

How did he want to be viewed, and how did he plan to present himself to the world?

"I...don't care how I'm viewed. Whether I am a saint or a devil is not up to me to decide. I will always be Damien Void, and the meaning of that name will change depending on who is saying it. It has never been my decision how I'm viewed, and I have no desire to be viewed any type of way."

Damien was not a saint. He'd slaughtered quintillions of existence without so much as batting an eye.

But nor was he a demon. He helped countless people and saved countless lives whether intentionally or as a consequence of his actions.

To some, he was a savior. To some, he was a monster. To some, he was a friend. To some, he was an enemy.

What did he want them to think?

Since when did he pay any mind to their opinions anyway?

The only opinions he cared about were those of the people he cared about, and he had no intention of acting a certain way to influence their perception either.

He would always be himself, and that was why they enjoyed being in his presence, regardless of their relationship.

This was why he cared about them to the extent he did.

They were his anchors, and they were the people he could completely drop his guard around, acting however he pleased without needing to even think about unwarranted criticism.

Honestly, Damien didn't believe this answer was enough. It was too indifferent for it to manifest into his Divinity.

But he was wrong. Even that indifference was an answer of its own.

While it had no physical form like the previous parts, its presence could be felt, the subtle veil of warmth encompassing the rest.

'So then-'

Damien's thoughts came to an abrupt halt.

'It started with Space. It expanded with Fire and Lightning, and then was suppressed through Time. Life took root, and Death invaded. They then found each other and formed Samsara, as if following the example Space and Time set for them prior. Yet, they still felt a void. Water flowed through that void, earth formed around it, Wind wildly danced, Wood spread its influence, and Metals formed. Let free from their cage, Flames rampaged, Lightning struck down, and suddenly, the void was full of existence. When Creation and Destruction finally saw their children in harmony, they dawned, bringing forth True Reality...'

The aspect known as "Damien Void" was removed from the equation.

And a word came to mind.

A single word that described what happened when one tried to find where "Damien Void" fit into it all.

"Hegemon..."

That was his position.

The autarch of all things both existent and nonexistent, of all things that existed, exists, to would exist, and all things opposite them.

His title, the title he deemed fit for himself, who did not wish to be constrained to common beliefs, was simple.

Hegemon God Damien Void.

That was the man he was going to be.

That was what his Divinity would represent.

And to prove his qualifications, he stopped paying attention to convention.

"Everything" was being poured into his soul space to solidify his ever-forming Divinity.

Today marked the start of an event that would go down in history for the rest of time, the creation of a being that would be worshipped regardless of how many generations passed.

This was the first step in the path he created.

This was the dawn of an Absolute.