Damien originally thought of Existence as a teenager who was still learning how to control their emotions, but as he interacted with it more, he learned that it was more like an abandoned puppy.
It felt extremely uncomfortable with any and all feelings. As it developed a sense of self, the emotions it experienced through others were separated from it by an invisible wall. Everything Damien did surpassed that wall and affected it directly.
Any and all things beyond the wall terrified Existence. It was experiencing the unknown and needed to overcome it to make progress.
So, that was where Damien started.
He chose simpler methods, deciding that he could use more complex things when it started to learn how to cope with having its own emotions.
As such, it started like adopting a puppy. That puppy had been left on the side of the road to fend for itself for months. Before that, it was abused by its owners. Now, it was completely untrusting of anything and everything. It acted aggressively to hide its fear, but subtly wanted to enjoy the affection it was being shown by the people who found it.
Perhaps the healing process would be long. Perhaps even several years later that puppy would jump at loud sounds or get scared when it was left alone, but it would eventually find true peace in a home where it was valued.
Like when it was just a puppy and its new family showed it that not everyone was bad, it just needed time to fully conquer its past trauma.
The "past trauma" for Existence was its isolation. It had to overcome the fears that came with expressing itself and giving itself physical form. It had to accept the vulnerabilities that it would develop as it gained emotions for itself.
Because this was a change that it also wanted to make. It noticed how the faces of Nonexistence rallied around Damien. Nonexistence, which had always cried sorrowfully at its disconnection from living beings, was joyously pushing one of those very living beings towards Existence.
It was curious about what Nonexistence had gained, and in its deepest depths, it also wanted to experience the same.
That was why it responded to Damien's efforts.
It felt fear, but even that fear was a joyous thing that wasn't possible before.
As Damien spent more time with it, teaching it slowly and getting it more comfortable with its presence, it learned and learned and learned.
The experiences of existences were like a guideline for it. Previously, it was only able to feel those things from the perspectives of others, but now it could view the same scenes and form its own emotions based on them.
Of course, it wasn't such an extreme change. Existence had to be indifferent to an extent. It was not allowed to interfere with reality. That would be the equivalent of a man tearing a hole in his own stomach to touch his liver. However, it was enough.
Existence's form began to change at some point. Its large and gruesome image was molded to match the way it viewed itself.
First, non-living entities and laws were removed from its form. Like Damien, it did not discriminate against these parts of its being. Merely, the form it wished to take was separated from them.
It did not prefer humans. That was not its reason to become humanoid. Unlike Nonexistence, Existence had a duty to treat every part of its being equally. The reason Existence eventually changed into a humanoid form was none other than Damien himself.
He was the one who taught it how to think for itself, how to interpret its own mysteries, and how to accept itself. He was, in the most human way possible, its "role model."
It was only natural for the concept to desire a form closer to him. Existence approached, completely different from the entity that he knew before.
Was it right to give Existence something similar to sentience? Its burden was so big that it needed a limited consciousness to cope with it. Now that Damien gave it the ability to think complexly, what would happen?
These were worries that Damien had while he was teaching it, but he was soon able to put them down. Existence showed him personally that it would be fine. It was smart in a sense. As it had access to all information, it was able to cross-reference and learn without Damien's help. Since it had a genuine interest, it spent a lot of time learning how to sympathize.
At the same time, it learned how to separate its consciousness from its duty. Just like Nonexistence, it formed faces. Some faces were unfeeling still, dedicating themselves to upholding Existence. Others were allowed to dream and possess emotions, allowing Existence to feel in the same way that Nonexistence did.
The two concepts were separated by their duties, but they were the exact same in every other aspect. As they were the two children of the Void, the two supreme concepts that were necessary for everything to function, they were as similar as they were different.
Time didn't pass, but it could be interpreted. If the amount of time Damien spent with Existence was forced to be quantified, it would likely be a period of thousands of years at the very least.
But, Damien didn't feel the weight of that time, so it was as if it didn't happen. To him, it had only been a short period and Existence had progressed by leaps and bounds.
When the concept gained the ability to "understand" itself, everything changed. It was so subtle that nobody noticed it, not even those who used Existence. However, nothing was the same anymore. Everything was more vibrant. Every emotion, every plant, every action was more pronounced than before. Legends could grow at a pace that was impossible in the past, and overall prosperity became far more attainable.
Only in a few thousand years would people be able to look back and understand that it was during this era when fortune spread across all cosmos. But, of course, none of the changes were as significant as what Damien himself experienced. When Existence materialized its humanoid form, it approached him on its own for the first time. Like a human rather than a concept, it embraced him, melting into his body.
As if to thank him for showing it a world that it didn't know, Existence submitted itself wholeheartedly.
Damien could feel it. The two concepts formed a state of almost complete harmony in his body. His soul twisted as its center was defined with a new symbol.
A broken infinity sign formed there, supported by both Existence and Nonexistence.
Subtly, Damien could tell that this infinity sign was truly everything.
The moment it was completed, he'd ascend to a realm that no man had ever seen. Damien looked down at his hands. Existence and Nonexistence intertwined but refused to merge within. They would not act together, not because they opposed each other, but because they were aware that Damien wasn't prepared to handle that kind of power yet.
'Still, they're both in agreement.'
Damien only needed to properly reach that level. The two concepts would guarantee everything that came after.
His goal had been achieved, and he gained even more than that out of this endeavor. With Existence and Nonexistence at an equal level of intimacy, he was able to leave the realm of Existence happily.
The Land of Nothingness…
Really, it was the best opportunity he'd received since the very beginning of his journey.