Void Evolution System
chapter-1873

Damien was in the midst of a swarm of energy. When the storm parted, the Dark God's shadowy form glitched and turned into a horde of locusts that swarmed him.

Each and every locust was filled with the energy of Existence. It would be fine if it was only a single energy, but that was not this vein of Existence was manifested in countless different forms.

The Dark God had traversed so many cosmos and seen so many different energy forms with different laws that he was able to create something like this. Damien was using a sword. He could act against the storm because it was a large and formless entity. Each of its attacks was relatively independent, and against concepts, just concepts were enough.

This swarm was filled with millions of physical creatures. Each physical creature had its own concept within. Damien's sword was fast and precise. It was able to make wide-range attacks as well, but he couldn't just blindly swing it.

If he didn't want his own Existence to be damaged, he had to understand and counter each individual concept within the Dark God's Existence. If he missed even one, it would be catastrophic.

The problem was that these energies weren't simply concepts of Existence that he knew. He had to discern for himself the energies of all these different cosmos and understand them first and foremost. Damien gritted his teeth. 'There isn't a path of escape.'

There also wasn't time to think.

Damien spread his senses in a spherical form around him, containing the entire swarm.

His senses zapped between each individual locust. Time slowed until it almost didn't exist. Damien's mind split into hundreds, thousands, and millions of pieces, each dedicated to understanding an individual concept.

His body was on autopilot, following the data it received as the minds completed their calculations. Suddenly, Damien himself was a blur. The light that his sword carved into the sky as he moved in a flurry was the only thing defining him.

Back and forth, from front to back, Damien's body swung and contorted into impossible shapes so he could reach the locusts that he wanted to cut. He seemed wild, but every movement was precise.

He had to use his sword to attack singular bugs in a swarm of them. He couldn't even graze another on his path to those individuals, so how could he not be precise? It was a silent showing of glory. It was an amazing move that would kill anyone else who tried it. However, it was just a single instance in this battle.

Damien cut through each and every locust. Time resumed and his minds merged back into one.

What he gained from all of his efforts was merely the preservation of his life. The ten or so seconds he took to end the swarm was more than enough time for the Dark God to prepare countless attacks.

When Damien was able to see past the swarm again, he was already surrounded. Five massive white star-like entities encircled him in a star formation.

Damien's jaw almost dropped when he saw them.

'Cosmic Cores.'

Damien knew how densely packed the energy inside of a Cosmic Core was. To manifest five of them at once was already insane. If their energy was mobilized with the intent to harm…

'I can't.'

There wasn't a difference in power between him and the Dark God. Naturally, as they'd reached the same realm, that was impossible.

Instead, what separated them was eons of experience. Damien simply couldn't wield Existence with the same proficiency. In simple terms, the Dark God was an old lion and he was still a cub. Before those Cosmic Cores exploded, he had to make a decision.

No, he had to make it now.

'Dammit.'

He didn't want to lose even once to the Dark God, but he had to make the sacrifice for his eventual victory. The Dark God was better than him at wielding Existence. He had to accept that as fact.

'It won't be the same next time.'

VOOOOOOOOOM!

Damien pulled all of his energy back into his body and opened his eyes once more. This time, the aura that surrounded him was different. With a single thought, he spread that energy throughout this empty space. The Cosmic Cores, the residual energy from the Existence he released, and everything else vanished. Nonexistence took prominence and Existence was forced to step back.

"So this is your level."

The Dark God taunted him immediately. He retracted his energy, accepting Damien's defeat, but he did not allow it to go unsaid.

"That is your only advantage, so enjoy it well. It'll be different from now on."

"Indeed. It will be different. You will no longer have any chances to believe that you will defeat me."

The Dark God's words were bold, but they did not affect his opponent. Damien was confident for multiple reasons, but there was one that stood above them all.

He could sense the aura of the Land of Nothingness. Even though he never absorbed any of its energy, even his Nonexistence had its scent as it was formed there.

The Dark God…

'He doesn't have that scent.'

As he switched to the energy of Nonexistence that he possessed, Damien clearly understood its structure due to his connection with the concept. It was not anything like the energy of the Land of Nothingness. Actually, it didn't seem to have any structure at all.

That could only mean one thing. He somehow obtained Nonexistence before Existence. Because the two forces didn't come in contact when Nonexistence was still in a fetal state, he was never invited to that land. If he was never invited to that land…

'He's missed out on all of the opportunities present there.'

Damien almost wanted to laugh. That was how confident he was.

Mirage changed. Its form was now closer to invisible than ever before. The entire essence of Damien's Nonexistence was contained within, but it was not presented alone.

His territory spread out as well and a vestige of the Eternal Sanctum appeared in reality for the first time. Instead of engaging in more conversation, Damien charged.

"Let me show you how to wield Nonexistence, since you seem quite unaware."

This space was similar to the arena where Damien fought the Dragon Lord. It was meant to support the manifestation of Existence and Nonexistence, so the force Damien produced was visible.

The chains that surrounded him were the same. Rather than Damien, the Dark God saw a mangled mess of precisely plotted attacks, a humanoid arsenal. Damien could not see his expression. He was too deeply hidden in the blackness. However, as he observed and prepared his own energy, he gritted his teeth.

'Impossible.'

It was merely a thought without any backing for now, but if it came true…

The Dark God was not someone who would allow himself to think about anything that indicated that he was not supreme. As such, that thought cut off there and did not emerge again.

He was better in Existence because he had been connected to the Sacred Abyss for so long. Nonexistence was different. It was the core of his self. Back then, Nonexistence was the only–

BOOOOOOOM!

The Dark God's energy finally collided with Damien's.

The second round of their grand battle had begun.