Chapter 1465: Gehenna [2]

There was only one person who would visit Damien at a time like this, and really only one who could find him.

The person timidly approaching from behind was naturally Thalia.

She had taken some time to herself to process what she'd seen in the jungle earlier. For that reason, she didn't attend the party or even speak to Damien ever since he killed the Uruk.

Their return was a silent one, and while she did entertain the tribespeople when they asked her about the battle, she really needed to consider all the thoughts carelessly swimming around her head.

In the end, she found that none of her questions would be answered unless she went to the source.

It didn't take her long to find Damien. There were many beautiful locations in the jungle, but Damien always went to the same spot to look at the stars when he wanted some time alone.

Usually, Thalia wouldn't disturb him when he was here. She also had a safe space deep in the jungle that she used to get away from the world, so she understood how important silence and isolation could be.

Today was a special case, because there was no better place to ask what she wanted to ask than here.

Damien was expecting her presence, since she revealed it a few seconds ago. She walked up and sat next to him without a word, preparing herself for the first question.

"What are you?"

She didn't know how to phrase it. It came out in the most visceral way.

But that was Thalia's question in its truest form.

Damien looked over curiously.

It wasn't like he was offended. Her question came from a place of ignorance, not judgement. Thalia had never seen someone like Damien before. No matter how human he looked, it was hard for her to regard him as one.

That wasn't the kind of power a human could possess.

In a sense, she was correct.

For Damien to handle this power, his body had changed to the point where even the system couldn't determine his race.

And, even if that wasn't the case, he was still more than human.

He was Divine.

Divinity was like a race of its own. One's original race and roots wouldn't change when they achieved that level, however, that race would always be prefaced by their Divine status.

They were Demigods and Gods before anything else.

But there was no way to explain that to Thalia.

What would happen if Damien told her he was a Divine Being?

She, as someone whose worldview was defined by her surroundings, would never be able to understand it properly.

Worst case scenario, she'd get offended or even think of him as someone deserving of worship.

Neither outcome was good. Though, Damien knew it would just fry her brain rather than provoke such a drastic response.

It was still useless to try and explain Divinity to her at this point. Because of that, Damien had no real way to answer her question.

He really was the monster she saw him to be.

Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing was up to her.

"What kind of answer do you want?"

It wasn't the response Thalia expected.

She didn't know what she wanted to hear.

"A truthful one," she said.

That was where she settled.

Damien nodded. What she wanted wasn't a figurative answer, but a literal one.

Her curiosity stemmed from what she'd seen. She was already aware of Damien's personality. She wasn't going to classify him as something other than what he'd shown her just because his power was so monstrous.

She genuinely just wanted to know what he was.

So he gave her the answer she desired.

"I don't really know. I started as a human, but that changed as I changed. At this point, I've become something far removed from that humble beginning."

"For the sake of that power?"

"Rather, as a result of it."

"I see..."

Thalia furrowed her brow.

"Then, if I reach your level, will I still be human?"

"I don't know that either. That depends on the path you decide to take."

Thalia nodded thoughtfully.

She seemed quite connected to her roots as a human. When Damien was younger, his brutal mentality meant he was willing to sacrifice anything for power, so a race change always excited him. It made him feel the weight of his power physically.

He later became more attached to his humanity, but his thoughts on his actual physical race didn't change. It could change as much as it wanted to. As long as his humanity was maintained, he'd be a human.

That was the answer he had for Thalia if she'd asked the same question more figuratively, but she instinctively understood this reasoning and didn't need it explained to her.

Damien still didn't understand why Thalia had come to him.

She didn't ask him much after that either. Just a few questions on how his power worked and how he used barrakh.

Afterward, she just sat there in silence.

She was considering many things inside her mind. Surprisingly enough, she learned more from that first answer than anyone could imagine.

To Damien, her reasoning for seeing him was confusing, but she wasn't as confused as he thought.

Damien just wasn't used to people like her.

She didn't come here with some sort of deep question in mind. The curiosity that burned in her soul was about those things she didn't know, and human emotion wasn't included.

Everyone, no matter how secluded, experienced emotion the same.

Thalia witnessed something beyond the scope of her existing knowledge when she saw Damien fighting the Uruk.

She questioned whether she could achieve that level, and she questioned what would happen if she did.

Her desire for knowledge was more practical than most.

But there was definitely an aspect to it that others wouldn't understand.

She didn't quite get it either.

Was she questioning the tribe's beliefs?

Was she wondering if she should use barrakh more recklessly?

At first, she was.

But Damien told her that he changed as a result of the power he had. He didn't change for its sake.

In the same way, she didn't have to change for the sake of power.

But seeking its peak would result in change regardless.

That was the kind of change she wanted.

Therefore, rather than questioning the tribe's methods, she went a different route.

"I will become as strong as you."

"I'm sure you will."

It was a statement she couldn't have said if she knew about Divinity, but precisely because of her naivety, Damien believed she could do it.

"I will get there with the tribe's techniques."

"I'm excited to see it."

The way they interacted had changed somewhat, but Damien didn't mind. He also found the Gehenna Tribe's techniques interesting and had actually done some work on his own to improve them.

He was actually planning to give that method to Thalia soon, but seeing this change in her, he changed his mind.

'It won't be too late once she's figured it out on her own.'

The night passed in relative silence.

Thalia left Damien alone a few minutes after that short conversation, leaving him to gaze at the sky alone again.

To Damien, it was just a passing moment, a promise from someone young and full of energy.

But for Thalia, it was monumental.

She finally got a hint.

A hint about how she could take the Gehenna Tribe higher than it currently was.