Damien's Nonexistence was well known already. He used it for many years before coming up with a concrete style, and due to the environment that he trained in, he was able to make eons' worth of progress in just a few years.
The Dark God, on the other hand, had eons worth of practice but no solid environment to support his growth. It was for this reason that they were equal in terms of power.
The disparity came from the fact that the Dark God had never faced another Supreme. He had seen the Worldwalker before, but he'd never seen the Worldwalker fight. In the same way, because Supremes were so rare, none of the cosmos he'd conquered until this point were able to birth one to face him.
This was his first real battle against someone of the same level. He was always confident in his skills because he understood just how much damage he could do with them. His Nonexistence had consumed entire cosmos before. Under its weight, countless quintillions of existences were slaughtered.
Even if it was a person of his level, he didn't doubt that he would be able to defeat them.
But…did he truly know how to fight against another form of Nonexistence?
The flow of battle was relatively similar, but it was an entirely different ballpark from the Existence battles he was confident in. He only realized this when Damien started his attack.
Just like the people in the Land of Nothingness, Damien's attacks followed a certain pattern. It wasn't the same, as the Dark God was not familiar with the rules of this kind of fight, but he didn't change much.
Instead of staying still, he charged in and used physical force on top of his concepts. However, other than that, Damien's strategy had already been seen.
The Dark God was caught inside of his web. From his position as the controller of those metal webbings, Damien canceled several concepts while birthing new nonexistent ones to support them.
Though he was able to fight back, the Dark God could not effectively counter him.
His Nonexistence raged like a powerful tsunami. There was no sense of control or finesse, but Damien had to admit that the Dark God's connection with the concept wasn't something to be laughed at.
Clearly, after being around it for so long, he had formed a special bond with it.
Just, the nature of that bond was different from what Damien had.
It felt almost as if he was relying on that force. It was like he had absolute trust in it and it was being forced to live up to his expectations.
That relationship was almost the direct opposite of what Damien had with his concept, and as a result, the concept manifested differently as well.
There was no precision. There was no method. The energy swarmed wildly and latched onto each and every chain and concept Damien utilized, erasing them as they came.
Rather than an energy, the Dark God seemed to treat his Nonexistence as a summoned being. When it was viewed through this lens, it became far easier to understand.
A part of the concept protected him instinctively. Meanwhile, the rest lashed out and attacked anything that was targeting him.
The Dark God himself was like an observer in the battle between Damien and his Nonexistence.
From that position as an onlooker, he was able to entertain the thoughts that he pushed away before.
'This method of wielding the concepts...it is not unfamiliar.'
He had seen it before, but at that time, he thought it was just the accomplishment of the individual in question.
Damien's style was different, but this refined sense of Nonexistence that couldn't exist without some sort of guidance and the strange aura of the energy that felt like that of the person he had in mind gave way to an unquestionable realization.
Both Damien and that person experienced something that he was not privy to.
There had to be something. He refused to believe otherwise.
How could this man who was not even two hundred years old control Nonexistence better than him? It simply should not have been possible, especially since he was aware of Damien's every movement since their last meeting.
'There is something I do not know.'
More unacceptable than anything else was this fact.
It didn't matter to him if things happened outside of his control, however, the situation in the True Void was meant to always be under his thumb. He could not directly interfere with the other cosmos easily, but watching it wasn't a problem in the slightest.
He watched as Damien spent time in meditation in his isolated cave. He watched as the man's power grew exponentially, but he took it as a sign of talent, another reason to end the anomaly known as Damien Void.
This new information told him that rather than talent, Damien attained some kind of opportunity elsewhere.
And he did so while making a fool of him.
Perhaps that was one of the only things Damien had in common with the Dark God. The desire to be in complete control that pushed them to become Supremes; Damien's actions had violated that desire for the Dark God.
The further their fight progressed, the more the Dark God's emotions rose.
Damien was truly a master. His every movement trapped the Dark God's Nonexistence and took away its power. Despite being at the same level, it was powerless.
Was this what Damien felt during the last round?
No, this was to another degree. This was far more pronounced of a gap than what existed between the two of them in terms of Existence.
The Dark God could feel the air around him constricting as any and all concepts were banished. He was forced to focus on protecting himself and his own mind, as it didn't slip his perception that Damien was trying to find a way in.
If there was one thing he could never allow, it was the invasion of his mind.
The situation was , but he refused to lay down his arms and cancel Damien's attacks with Existence.
Damien made that move earlier, and he mocked the man for being defeated. If he was forced to do the same, then it would be too much of a blow to his ego.
Though it didn't seem like it to people who didn't know, the Dark God did have emotions. He wasn't dull and unfeeling.
No, he was actually someone who valued his emotions more than most.
However, the actual feelings that he held and the weight he gave them were not normal.
Damien would learn more about that as the battle continued. For now, they only touched upon the supreme concepts they controlled, but this fight was fated to be more than that.
Because when Supremes clashed, the outcome wasn't like any other battle.
Well, it was enough to say that expecting an ordinary battle was just plain stupid.
The twists and turns to come were fated to be unexpected to the both of them.
It truly made one wonder how they'd react when those moments finally came.