Chapter 1792 Death's Hold [2]

Damien never found the river the woman walked.

Perhaps it was imaginary. Perhaps it was meant to represent the rift between the blackness and the whiteness, the area that no man had ever traversed.

If that was the case, then it wouldn't be here.

It was a bit of a shame for sure. Damien didn't necessarily need to see it anymore, but that water was symbolic. He wanted to experience it at least once.

He understood the source of the sorrow in his heart now. He also felt a deep sympathy that he didn't feel from the story alone.

He was understanding something too filled with emotion for it to be untrue.

The further his thoughts went down that path, the more the sorrow in his chest grew. It felt like Nonexistence was crying out, screaming into the void as it came face to face with its emotions.

He couldn't doubt and say that his perception of the scene was wrong anymore.

Did anyone else ever feel this emotion? If they felt how deep and tragic it was, how could they not understand what Nonexistence wanted to tell them?

Perhaps Damien was unique from the start. More unique than he expected.

After all, rather than Nonexistence, Damien saw Existence as his weapon.

His ability to control everything both material and immaterial was enough. Why did Nonexistence have to be a weapon as well?

When Damien entered this realm, he only knew what Nonexistence was on a very surface level. He didn't have any preconceived notions about it in the slightest, other than his thought that it would allow him to achieve the impossible.

He felt its grandiosity from the Dark God, and rather than being fearful, he started anticipating the day he could also control that force.

His lack of preconceptions made him a blank canvas to be influenced by this realm.

He could find out what he thought about Nonexistence by interacting with it.

And, frankly, after a scene like that, he felt more of a connection towards it than Existence.

Existence really was like that, wasn't it?

It merely existed. If it weren't for Damien's advantages and his path, then he never would have come in contact with it. He had to work to find out how to control it on his own. It never gave him clues or acted friendly in the slightest.

He comprehended it because he wanted to, not because it wanted him to.

Obviously, Nonexistence was forming more of a personal connection with Damien than its counterpart. Not because it wanted something from him, but because that was the approach it developed through its love for living beings.

It was not resigned to being a silent observer like Existence.

It wanted to touch them, feel them, and become one with them.

Damien just needed to give it that opportunity. It wanted to receive that chance purely. It didn't want it to be a business relationship.

It wanted Damien and every other person to recognize its pain and offer to save it.

But that was just a way to interpolate its emotions.

At the end of the day, its emotions were never so complex. It had a similar level of sentience to the Void. Sure it could make decisions against logic and sure it could act on its emotions, but its feelings would always remain at the basic level.

Fundamentally, these concepts did not have the ability to think and make complex assertions.

However, in Nonexistence's case specifically, the deep and simple emotion it felt was relayed through human experiences that had been attributed to it.

It used those experiences to convey the depth of its feeling rather than the complexity.

Damien was ready to make a genuine promise to the concept. His heart was clear, rid of all extraneous desires.

This was a different matter from the second island's challenge.

This was a promise he needed to make to Nonexistence for the sake of their future cooperation.

'No, this is how I bring the concept under my rule.'

If Damien was one thing, it was good to his subordinates. He always ensured that the people under him would live well and attain the things they dreamed of.

It was the same for his concepts. He would use them as much as they wanted to be used.

And if he wanted to become Absolute in the future…

'...I can absolutely make Nonexistence into a concept that is recognized as much as Existence.'

The black forest had been moving with Damien as he walked its grounds. It synced with him after he saw the vision, reading his thoughts and understanding his intentions.

It judged him and related to him. It finally felt like it found someone who could see its meaning, so it went deeper and deeper into his mind. It saw his past and struggle. Nonexistence noticed that Damien had come closer to it than anyone else, and as it went into the deepest recesses of his mind, it saw itself.

It saw itself housing Damien's ego as the Wheel of Samsara pulled away his soul.

And it saw how a certain manifestation appeared within its body to save him from that place and bring him back into the land of the living.

Despite an experience like that, Damien never seemed to attribute death to Nonexistence.

No, rather, the kind of death he almost received was the same death he always dreamed of.

A death that was both rebirth and true death. Where his ego was laid to eternal rest and his soul was gifted to the next person. Nonexistence liked Damien a lot. And when it realized the origins of the manifestation that appeared during Damien's death, it started to trust him as well.

Damien raised his hand gently until it was parallel to the ground. His fingers calmly drooped as they naturally did when he didn't actively try to control them. A drop of water appeared at the tip of his index. It slowly became bigger until it was large enough to be perceived by the human eye and stopped, falling away from his hand.

Its trip towards the earth was perceived in slow motion.

It was the first time Damien exerted his power in Death's Hold, but rather than an aggressive assertion of his dominance, it was a gentle request for acceptance.

The black forest reacted instantly.

The growling of beasts once again filled Damien's ears. They approached closer with auras of hostility, but they did not yet attack.

Their wariness was obvious. As was their desire to consume him. They were only waiting for the affirmation of their creator force to act.

The forest shook. The trees seemed to turn to face him. Everything seemed to turn to face him.

The pitch-black leaves that drifted in the wind froze. The wind itself froze. The creatures froze, the sound of their grows fading below the sound of that single drop of water.

It was the only thing that continued to move. Even Damien himself remained frozen.

In the still world where Damien stood at the center, a miracle happened.

WHOOOOSH!

A huge sound filled Death's Hold.

And a gushing river filled the gaping hole in its heart.