Chapter 1770: Return [2]

Every time Damien returned from a long journey, he would be a different person than he was when he left. He had a habit of growing when nobody else was around, so the people around him were forced to get used to never actually experiencing his growth.

This time, however, he was not the one who left for a long time. He only spent a few months away, but for everyone else, it had been ten years.

They grew and changed with the time, and he was the one who had to realize what it felt like to be in their position. When he returned to the palace, it was in an especially large outroar.

After all, the phenomenon Damien caused was a huge deal. To him, it was nothing more than subtle provocation, but others didn't see it the same way.

Even Supreme Gods couldn't cause that kind of widespread damage to kill every single foreign being in the world. At most, they could go from zone to zone and individually take care of each one within only a few seconds.

Obviously, the people of the world had no interest in antagonizing a being who could create such a scene, but they had to find out his identity. He was too dangerous to be treated casually just because he was powerful.

The people who served the palace now stood at the head of the world. When something of this caliber happened, it fell on their shoulders to find a cause and inform the people.

It was a little funny how Damien's return went unnoticed in the chaos, but it was probably better that way. They couldn't have a huge celebration every time he came back, right?

He walked through the halls of the new palace, smiling as he saw how it had evolved since the last time he was here.

He scanned the vicinity for signs of his family or his wives.

Unfortunately, Iris, Elena, and Ruyue were all still away from home. Rose, however, was still present.

It was the same for his siblings. Only Hestia remained. Presumably, the rest of them were on the battlefield directly leading the forces of the world.

Hesita... She was a small girl when he first met her. She didn't have much knowledge and the extent of her personality was the shyness she always displayed. To see that she'd grown into an adult and was commanding all of the palace's war efforts even at this moment made him extremely proud.

Damien's sense of time had truly been ruined.

He had been thrown around in time dilations for his entire life. Most of his aging was done in places where time didn't match the outside world in the slightest.

His heart had become somewhat dead to the feelings related to time. Seeing Hestia, seeing Rose, seeing the geniuses he personally chose all those years ago in different forms, he only felt a slight tingle in his chest.

If anything, he was proud of what they could do in only ten years' time.

'Only...?'

His own lifespan was not great enough for him to say something like that, was it?

He lost count at this point, but he couldn't have been more than a hundred and something. He was two hundred at most. To him, ten years was still quite a considerable period of time.

Just...

His mind had experienced so much more. He had seen millions upon millions upon millions of years of memories. He had the experiences of countless others living in his own mind.

It was a miracle that he was able to maintain a sense of self, but even that was only possible because Damien experienced hundreds of thousands of years of change when he was still in his twenties.

With Existence under his control now, his physical form had lost a lot of meaning.

He could change his age so he was as old as the universe itself, or he could revert to his childhood appearance and power. Existence always followed him, and as a fabric that supported the fabric of reality, its influence would not be removed from him even if he destroyed every power vessel in his body.

So, the current Damien was someone who manifested more as what he envisioned himself to be.

There wasn't an aura around him. He was still the same purple-eyed genius, but there was an odd quality that was not present in normal people.

The ordinary observer wouldn't even be able to register his face if he passed by. Only those who had deep personal connections with him could still feel the weight of his existence.

He was disappearing from the world.

No, rather, he was surpassing it.

Nevertheless, the part of Damien that was still human cared deeply for his people. Only for this reason could they sense him no matter how he changed.

Damien put his thoughts to the side. Anyway, he didn't care how he changed as long as he remained the same in his core. The fact that he could still recognize his love for his family was enough.

He approached the inner palace and went to what could be considered a "family room."

It was the main place where everyone gathered. Though it was usually for serious matters, it was outfitted so it could be used casually as well.

Damien sat on a sofa and summoned Persia's Encyclopedia. As he read its pages, it told him everything that had occurred since he went to Arulion.

'It's mostly good things.'

The plans at hand were more than enough to protect the cosmos. If the Dark God hadn't interfered, then it would have been perfect.

'But it was stupid to think he'd just let it be.'

The Dark God was arrogant. Arrogance would usually be displayed by letting the enemy grow. This was what he was doing with Damien.

When it came to the common populace, on the other hand, his arrogance shined most clearly in his desire to toy with them.

They didn't know that their enemies were infinite in number. They couldn't know, or their spirits would be shattered.

'Will he force us to fight here, or will I be able to push into his territory?'

Hypothetically, fighting in his own realm was more beneficial.

That was only when his own realm was empty of innocent civilians.

The Sacred Abyss barely had a population of real living people. It would be a better place overall to have a reality-shattering battle.

'I have to plan that out, but I guess this comes first...'

"The Heavenly God Plane."

Damien muttered it to himself, but he raised his head in surprise as another voice joined him.

His eyes immediately dilated.

"It's usually incorporeal so that only souls can enter, but every ten million years, it becomes corporeal for but a few days. It's a place that every Divinity wants to enter, since it's filled with countless treasures and a special energy that makes ascension and training far easier. As the rumor goes, anyone who enters will leave a God. But...this time it's a bit more special than that."

A man stood at the entrance of the room, leaning against the door frame.

He smiled at Damien as he took a few steps into the room.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person..."

His blue eyes shined like sapphires. His face, a face that looked too familiar to belong to anyone else, made an expression of warmth.

"...my son."

Two words.

With the power of two words, Damien's mind was blown.

Was that really Dante Void?