So, did the people of each temple have alliances with each other?
Were they forbidden from fighting amongst themselves?
The simple answer was no.
They were allowed to fight whoever they wanted as long as the other individual was also a member of a temple. The three temples only served to separate people so they could be more easily managed.
The heads of the temples were required to maintain good relationships with each other. The current heads were actually close friends. Under their command, chaos couldn't come to this island. Prosperity thrived because of the temples' existence. Civilization thrived in prosperity.
This landscape was not filled with castles made by people who only wanted to move on to the next island. It didn't just have two cities to contain the people who weren't allowed to build as they pleased.
The third island had the largest population of the five by a large margin.
As every Area Lord was stronger than the last, a great divide was formed on this island.
There were a large number of people who tried and tried again only to fail. When they accepted that they were not fated to leave this place, they conceded their badges and chose to make the best of their situations. As such, the third island was pretty much an entire nation led by the three temples.
There were millions upon millions of people living here, all of whom failed to conquer Nonexistence.
They were the main reason for the three temples' existence.
To give them better lives despite their unfortunate circumstances, and to ensure that chaos never threatened the beautiful civilization that arose because of them, the three temples moderated all active practitioners on the island.
Hell, even the Area Lords were managed by their people.
On that note, the society they'd built with their system was truly something to marvel at.
When Damien made it off the shore and started focusing on the island itself, even he was impressed.
How was he to describe it?
It only resembled the lands he'd been between in the fact that it was extremely developed, but it wasn't exactly similar to any of them.
Rather, it was like all different building styles from all different cosmos were brought together into a single picture.
The cities were large and sprawling. In their centers, they had skyscraper-like structures similar to Earth if it was given a few hundred more years to grow.
The buildings defied the laws of physics that humans created on that planet. Some were floating, others were spirals that seemed to contain too much tension to last for a long time, and others more had wild edges and curves that seemed more akin to a creative depiction of the future than reality.
The amazing part was how these buildings melded in with the rest of the environment.
Medieval architecture, gothic architecture, victorian architecture…
It was a little bit sentimental to see how the styles of other cosmos related to the styles Damien was already aware of. Really, regardless of where they were, humans were bound to follow a pattern.
But, there were obviously some who didn't like patterns at all. The architects of this society found a middle ground between the two belief systems and incorporated both into their cities.
It really looked like a hodgepodge of styles that didn't work together, but strangely enough, one could see a sense of order within the madness. There was a beauty to it that couldn't quite be explained.
'It wouldn't work if it weren't for the stray structures that don't follow any rules.'
As if they'd been created as markers for where the architectural styles changed and merged, there were several large structures visible from a distance that didn't conform to anything else done in the cities.
These were pieces created by individuals or small teams with the support of the general public.
'It's almost as if everything they wanted to accomplish on the second island but were too weak to do was completed here.'
Damien had to admire it.
There was nothing wrong with falling into depression after failure. Especially in a realm where failure meant never returning to normal life, it was actually common for experts to find locations like Death's Hold to kill them for good.
The people here chose a different path. They resigned to being here for eternity, but they did not resign to living in sadness.
Unlike the unwelcoming second island, the third had an entrance to the nearest city right off of the shore.
Damien and Kura's battle actually took place not even five minutes from that place.
It wasn't just some port city either. This was the home of the Water Temple and one of the three Grand Cities on the island.
The entire south of the island was filled with members of the Water Temple and people who chose to live under their reign.
The Fire Temple's territory was to the west, while the Earth Temple existed in the east.
Damien was walking through the city just to get a feel of the environment. It was definitely strange seeing street vendors and common people with the knowledge that everyone here had a relatively large amount of control over Nonexistence, but if that was how they chose to live their lives, then he didn't see a problem with it.
The most surprising thing he noticed was children.
'I didn't know this realm could support new life.'
It was probably the result of Nonexistence's emotions. Actions like these gave people a friendlier view of the concept, after all.
'Will those kids be stuck here for their entire lives?'
In a sense, they were no different from people who had never been outside of their own country. There wouldn't be any severe impact on their lives caused by the fact that they were trapped in this realm.
They didn't even know there was an outside world, so they were able to live happily.
And, they had a chance to make it out as well.
'They're unique. These children are born with an affinity for Nonexistence.'
They reached the more esoteric concept first. They could absolutely comprehend it to its heights and escape the realm where their parents were stuck.
Damien was extremely curious about what a kid like that would do when they made it to reality and saw the more visible side of the world. Would Existence accept them? Would they pursue it and become Absolute?
They were intriguing trains of thought, but he didn't plan to have children here, so it wasn't for him to learn.
More importantly, Damien had to decide which temple he wanted to join.
'Kura was probably part of the Water Temple considering her fighting style.'
Well, that was enough to cross the Water Temple off of the list.
'It's not like I hate her. I just have this sinking feeling that if I end up at the same temple as her, I'm not going to hear the end of it.'
She seemed like the type of person who'd chase a competitor for revenge over and over again until she won.
Damien didn't want to deal with that. He was being considerate, really.
The more she lost to him, the more she'd lose that gold badge that she worked so hard to earn.
The first catered more towards the old Damien. When he was young, he would have loved that kind of environment.
Meanwhile, the Earth Temple was more suitable for his current self. It was calm and peaceful. The people knew how to act brazenly when they had to, but they also understood that sometimes it was pointless to expend energy on trivial matters.
'We'll see about it. It'll definitely be interesting if she comes back after changing things up.'
But, that was a matter for another time.
'Between the Fire Temple and the Earth Temple…'
The first catered more towards the old Damien. When he was young, he would have loved that kind of environment.
Meanwhile, the Earth Temple was more suitable for his current self. It was calm and peaceful. The people knew how to act brazenly when they had to, but they also understood that sometimes it was pointless to expend energy on trivial matters.
The Land of Nothingness was many things for an expert on the path to becoming Absolute.
Among those many faces, one was its identity as a place of reminiscence.
The old emotions that were revived by the atmosphere; everyone knew that they'd have to discard most of them when they left for their own worlds.
So, they used this place to enjoy those emotions as much as possible before their (hopefully) inevitable departure.
The choice in Damien's hands now wasn't actually one of great importance.
It was more about what he wanted his experience in the Land of Nothingness to be defined by.
Did he want to see it as a place to kick back and disregard his duties for a little bit?
Or did he want to enjoy this atmosphere from the perspective of the person he was now?
It was a hard choice for many others, but Damien thought otherwise.
He didn't miss his old self. After all, that part of him still existed inside of who he currently was.
There was only one choice for him from the beginning. As someone who accepted his changing personality without discarding the foundation on which it was built…
'...I have to go east.'
…the answer was obviously the Earth Temple.