The cavern was filled with good things.
The confirmation of an Absolute was good. It meant that the path Damien was treading truly was possible.
He wasn't a person defined by doubts. At this stage in his life, doubt hardly existed at all.
However, that was one thing he'd always doubted. To truly reach the Void and not only touch upon it but conquer it; was it even possible?
Standing equal to it was one thing, but to surpass it seemed completely unbelievable. Despite never outwardly questioning it or showing signs of doubt, it concerned him deeply.
The fact that someone else already accomplished it, reaching a level beyond any means, was a huge affirmation for him.
And that wasn't the only thing the book offered. The author never revealed his name, but his insights were quite interesting. Because he spent his entire life chasing the image of a single Absolute, the way he perceived both Existence and Nonexistence was different from anything a normal person could develop.
As Damien had never seen an Absolute, even he wasn't privy to this kind of interpretation.
If he studied it properly and digested the knowledge, it could possibly define his path to reaching that level even more, making his path to the peak smoother.
This was the book's real value. The author never realized that he was already on the right path because he focused too much on another person instead of looking within himself. However, with his wisdom at hand, Damien would be able to attain everything he couldn't.
Finally, and most importantly, the owl that refused to leave Damien's side.
He walked back to the entrance of the cavern and ascended the waterfall, fighting against the current to escape through the same method he entered with. The owl naturally disappeared when he entered the water, but he found it returned to his shoulder the instant he returned to land.
It was set on following him, though he still couldn't say why.
'Has it discovered something in me?'
Even the mist needed to be persuaded. This owl merely saw him and immediately decided that it was not going to be hostile.
'Or is the owl something that came later? What if those people encountered something else entirely?'
If so, then where was that danger?
Damien didn't encounter it at all, which confused him, but that was not his primary concern at the moment.
The owl was not harmful, after all. It actually seemed to have a deep desire to aid him.
'Clearly, the sea wasn't going to be the answer from the start. For something like the shadow of the Emperor's Crown, only the most dangerous place is worthy to house it.'
The sky was uncharted territory. At most, people used it to travel. Nobody was willing to pry too deeply into its secrets.
At least the sea's deadliness was nearby and known. Enough people had ended their lives in that sea for its reputation to spread far and wide.
The sky was an unknown danger. It was an unknown danger that every single practitioner in this realm understood was more terrifying than the sea.
'I'm about to find out.'
At this point, Damien didn't believe that there was anything new for Nonexistence to show him. From Death's Hold to the Spiritual God of Chaos to the waters of nothingness, Damien had explored everything Nonexistence had to offer.
He understood it completely, which meant that nothing it could throw at him was meaningful.
Or so he thought until he breached the realm's sky.
It wasn't difficult. Not because he was powerful, but because he accidentally picked up something terrifying.
The instant they reached a barrier that was meant to be uncrossable, that owl left his shoulder and flew in front of him.
A huge aura that even put pressure on Damien was released by the beast. It flapped its wings a single time, creating enough of an impact to completely shatter the barrier.
As if nothing happened, it then returned to his shoulder, cooing happily.
Damien shook for a moment.
'I change my mind. This guy is definitely the reason why the explorers before me ran away.'
The power he felt seemed inviolable. It was far beyond the level of his own Nonexistence.
But, he put it down for now. Again, he didn't need to concern himself with questions that he didn't need to answer.
Damien flew past the altitude of his abode and kept going. Like he was breaching a planet's atmosphere, he experienced thinner air and colder temperatures that worsened exponentially until he was in a dark vacuum.
He looked around, observing his surroundings and his own weightless body.
In that moment, he felt like he had abandoned everything.
He was no longer someone that "existed."
'Is that it? Is that how it ends for everyone?'
Was this infinite blackness the place where his ego was supposed to go when he died?
Strangely enough, there was no fear in Damien's heart. At this point in time, any who tried to challenge the sky would start to panic, trying to find a way back into the Land of Nothingness.
Damien did no such thing.
He sat there, pondering his state.
'As long as I am conscious here, I exist.'
His existence could not be denied. He was assured of that much.
However, his surroundings were a place where people went when they ceased existing. There was absolute nothingness in this place, but for some reason, it was filled with so much character.
The records of every ego that was ever abolished into Nonexistence…
'...is this where it finds its faces?'
This realm of Nonexistence was more than just interesting to Damien. This appearance of being both nothing at all and everything at once was reminiscent of the Void.
Only, this nothingness was not everything. It was merely an overwhelming amount of emotion, character, and memory that seemed like "everything" to the human mind that couldn't grasp its true extent.
Damien stayed within, calmly and quietly contemplating it. He tried to dissect its origin, but there was no such thing. This Nonexistence did not have faces, nor did it have any sort of intelligence.
It did not exist purely because Existence existed. In simpler terms, it was the purest essence of Nonexistence, untainted by even its own meaning.
This was the absolute power of erasure that no person could ever resist.
Hell, even Damien didn't know how he was resisting it at first. Only when he noticed the subtle black glow covering his body did he understand that this was also the work of his "guide."
That owl he picked up along the way…he could feel its essence leading him in a certain direction.
'It's really blocking all of the negative effects of this place while still allowing me to perceive it.'
The level of power necessary to accomplish such a feat…
It only showed him its cute side, but he couldn't ignore that it really was a petrifying creature.
'Well, as long as I don't piss it off, I'll be fine.'
Since the owl liked him, he didn't need to question it.
And since it was adamant about leading him through this nothingness…
…then he could do nothing but follow, right?