A woman's voice stopped him. Damien turned around curiously. He could've sworn that this island didn't have anything like a population, but it seemed there were indeed people living on its shores.
The majority of the island was filled with black water everywhere. It was a shade lighter than the Sea of Nothingness, but barely to a noticeable extent. There were some small Eastern-style buildings in a few places, but they looked old and abandoned.
Seeing how the woman was approaching him, she didn't seem to carry bad intentions. As such, Damien decided to entertain her.
As long as he wasn't sent on another quest to save the island, it was fine, right?
"What is it?" he asked. His tone wasn't rude, but it properly conveyed his urgency.
"Ah," the woman said, "I did not mean to disturb you. However, there are certain rituals you must complete before stepping into the waters of nothingness. If you enter without completing them, your body might be rejected and erased."
"Rejected?" Damien echoed.
"Yes," the woman responded, nodding her head furiously.
"I will not deny who I am. I am a coward who faced the waters and could not find the resolve to enter, so I have lived on this island for many years and observed its challengers. It is certainly possible to succeed without partaking in the rituals, but those who do tend to gain much more security than their counterparts."
Damien's eyes narrowed as he scanned the woman up and down. As she said, she had the aura of someone who had been stuck in stasis for a very long time. It may have been fear that kept her away from the trial when she first came to the island, but it was now contentment. She was fine with her circumstances, therefore she did not wish for change. Though her heart was warm, the rest of her being seemed tired of existing.
'Is she trying to help me because I'm special, or is this something she's been doing for years?'
It was definitely the latter. Damien didn't even need to consider it. As he scanned the island seriously, he noticed that there were no more than ten living people in the small structures decorating the shore. Most of the structures were made for other purposes, likely to aid those who came to challenge the island.
"How long have you all been living here?"
"I stopped counting after one million. The Elder is the only one who still counts the time, so you may ask him if you are truly curious."
Damien nodded. He looked into her eyes and asked another question.
"Then, was compassion something you possessed from the start, or did you develop it after living here for an uncountable amount of time?" The woman smiled wryly.
"What I was before is no longer relevant. I am merely a guide for those who seek guidance."
It must have been painful. Thinking about her previous life took her out of the illusion that there was nothing beyond her quiet life on the island. Ambition was a beautiful thing for many people, but to some, it was the very thing they feared the most.
Damien was merely curious, as it seemed that most of the kinder and more thoughtful people he met in the Land of Nothingness developed those ideals after coming to this realm.
However, he wasn't going to push the issue. If she wanted to be a guide, then a guide was all she was.
"What are the rituals you were speaking of earlier? Is it anything troublesome?"
Damien asked quite bluntly as that was his main concern. His attitude made the woman smile slightly as she shook her head.
"No. They are not troublesome at all. It merely takes a bit of time."
Once people reached the fourth island, they were usually thirsty for success. The finish line seemed so close, so it was obvious that they didn't want to waste even a single second.
It was a little comedic, as all of the time in this realm was inconsequential. Regardless, everyone would be returned to the exact moment they left.
Just, it was more a matter of mindset.
To take it slow felt like torture to many of the people who had spent too many years to reach this point. They saw a simple task and wanted to tackle it head-on to get it over with and progress.
Damien also had that mentality until only a few seconds ago, didn't he?
Nevertheless, if time was all it took to reap more benefits from the waters of nothingness, then who was he to refuse?
The woman led him to the nearest house, which turned out to be a bathhouse. "First, please use these facilities to purify your body. I will prepare the next ritual as you do so."
The woman bowed and left him at the door. As she left, Damien went inside and started undressing.
The facility was nice. It was mostly made from wood, but the faucets from which the water was released looked oddly similar to those from Earth.
'Well, I guess that kind of thing translates.'
It was a little funny how so many different cosmos developed in extremely similar ways. All humans reached the same conclusions, even if they were separated by different environments and laws.
That fact made Damien a little happy as he entered the empty bathhouse and chose a place for himself.
As he turned the water on, he noticed that it was just as black as the natural waters of this world. The usual clear water that he knew and loved could not be found here.
Damien let it shower his body regardless. 'Just in case I didn't know…' he thought with a smile as he saw a poster on a nearby wall that displayed the proper methods to wash one's body.
It was next to a mirror, which was where his attention was focused.
How long had it been since Damien paid any mind to his own body?
He saw the person in the mirror and almost didn't recognize him.
"When did I become so…old?"
He didn't really look it. He didn't have any wrinkles or discoloration on his skin. He, to some extent, looked the same as he did when he was first entering his thirties.
But the look in his eyes, the maturity in his figure…
Rather than a young genius, he looked more like a wizened expert. The black water ran down his body, taking with it his sense of self while making him all the more aware of it.
To purify oneself in the Land of Nothingness meant something different. It meant erasing oneself and embracing emptiness.
Damien watched as his eyes became more peaceful and indifferent than ever before. His skin was already glowing, but it became softer, as if to erase the invisible scars that piled up over the course of tens of years of battle. The aura of an Absolute, the look of a Supreme Ruler…
Damien lacked these things because he liked to stay grounded. He kept his mind on earth so he never lost his human side.
However, as he looked into that mirror and saw himself as a Supreme for the first time, something changed.
The "human side" that Damien cherished so much…
Why was it so significant?
And, if it was holding him back from reaching his full potential…
Why was he holding onto it so dearly?