His figure stood before a massive streak of light that seed to reach the sky. It pulsed faintly with white light.
Damon could feel the faint spatial currents inside it. It was a mystery, and he had been watching it for days. He tried sending his shadow perception inside, but his shadow perception just disappeared. There were no shadows there, and even if there were, he couldn’t sense them.
So this is the entrance to a lower world. This lower world was fundantally a part of the world of Aetherus, but so of them operated on fundantally different rules, or maybe they were similar.
What mattered was what you could bring back: rare materials, scrolls, knowledge, magic, elixirs, or lost relics.
So much could be gained and with it, fa and fortune.
If you lived to keep them.
’If’
’I wonder where we would be when we die and realize all the things we’ve been killing ourselves for in this world amount to nothing.’
Wasn’t that ironic? You were born into this world against your will, and what you did with your life was your choice. In order to live in so degree of comfort and find monts of fleeting joy, you must suffer a lot more than you enjoy. You must endure a lot more than you rest. And after all you’ve done, you still die, leaving everything behind.
"Is life really supposed to be fulfilling, or are we here as a punishnt from a wicked God?"
All this and that, and you still have to face inequalities. Why weren’t you given a choice of your birth? Why was the next person born handso? Why was the child from the neighboring house born into wealth, yet you were born to parents who cleaned their latrines?
If God were kind, why did he give you this option and not that one? And if he was all-powerful, why didn’t he make everyone happy?
These thoughts accumulated in Damon’s mind as he watched the world dungeon gate, as if these thoughts weren’t his own, as if soone was sharing their opinion through him.
Damon narrowed his eyes as if he were trying to see sothing, and like a flash, he seed to see a star bleeding in the white light of the world dungeon gate.
No, the dungeon gate was a Weeping Star. At least, it looked that way.
Damon bit his lips, then he whispered,
"Unknown... God."
It was strange. It felt like he was hearing the contemplations of Unknown himself. Damon knew for a fact that Unknown claid to be in a constant state of clarity.
This was a God that dwelled in the abyss, and his objective remained as ambiguous and elusive as he was. This was a God transcendent and boundless, all-powerful, and able to ignore sothing as trifling as death.
Then why are you posing such a question?
"I don’t know, and I don’t care. Right now, I don’t care that I was born... and I don’t even care if I die."
He glanced at the white and glowing distortion of the world that was the dungeon gate.
’I’ve made it here against all odds, and you will fulfill what I was promised. I have co here, and I will obtain my prize.’
He was silent, but he was sure, or maybe unsure that this God could hear his thoughts.
Damon had co so far for his sister, and he was here where the Unknown God had left him, with the belief that he could find a cure for her.
He was unsure what it looked like, but so what?
This was the Unseen Sovereign, and he would not break a promise.
There was a faint ripple in the dungeon gate, but Damon received no response. He only knew that the Unknown God was acting out his intentions.
There were sounds of soft footsteps behind him. Damon didn’t turn around; he was still looking at the dungeon gate.
A woman’s soft voice echoed out,
"My lord, the offensive has begun. The goddess races are currently engaged in battle against the demon beasts."
Damon nodded slowly. He was still playing the role of Amon, and the demons were still following his orders.
The young woman was the mysterious demon kin from the Snake Temple, but till now, Damon had not gotten a handle on her personality. She hardly spoke, except when she needed to.
"I see... and Bakemon?"
She bowed her head lower, her hood covering her face. Damon had given her the role of his adjutant so she could relay the orders he gave and report them, though she never left his side.
"Bakemon Baal is leading and organizing the demon beasts. As per your plan, the goddess races will lose their numbers. By all estimates, it should take them three days to battle their way here."
Three days. Damon didn’t have that kind of patience. He was getting tired of all this.
Why else did he have to rush the offensive? The goddess races were really taking their sweet ti.
"Midnight tomorrow. I want their military offensive on the adow by midnight."
She nodded her head, not questioning his orders. It would have been better for them to hold off and let the enemy starve and exhaust themselves, but Damon was ntally exhausted from using the Faceless skill for days on end.
Even though it didn’t affect him the sa way it would his main body, his mind was still strained, and his head was starting to ache. Moreover, he wanted to complete his quest as soon as possible.
He had to return Matia back to the way she was before, even if he couldn’t bring her back to exactly how she was.
As the young demon kin priestess left, Damon glanced at the flickering dungeon gate.
He gave his own answer.
"I have regrets, and I can’t right my wrongs. But I tried, and I am tired of trying. I couldn’t frown, so I forced a smile and told myself that I was happy. But I know that’s a lie... I’m just tired, and I just want to rest."
He glanced at the shifting light and smiled.
"I told Valarie I would create sothing beautiful. What could be more beautiful than a world without the likes of ? Before I go, I want to do sothing right."
He closed his eyes, feeling them grow cold, his nose slightly stiffening.
"That is why I don’t care... because the dead have no more worries, only rest."
"If there is paradise, I know I am undeserving to walk through its gates."
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