CHAPTER 590: CHAPTER 592: LIVE IN ALL

As his body began to take back its human form, he clutched his own head, a soft laughter echoing in the air.

"Heheheheheh... I won... hehehe... I actually won..."

Before he could say any more, soul-tearing agony came from his core.

"Arggggghhh..." he screamed in pain. A crushing sound rang within his head, not just his mind but deeper, in his very soul. His shadow stretched across the cavern.

Pain tore through his consciousness. His soul was broken and ground to dust, then reformed, then broken again. He thrashed across the ground in agony.

After what felt like an eternity, the pain stopped. Damon gasped for breath, rising to his knees. Before he could gather himself, he felt something flying toward him. Without even looking, he reached out and grabbed it.

It was a squirrel and a raven that had appeared out of nowhere.

Without hesitation, he seized what they carried. It was a crown, a crown as dark as shadows, darker than before, as if it swallowed all light around it.

Without speaking, Damon placed the crown on his head. He felt its power suppress his fractured mind.

"Good job..."

The two animals almost seemed visibly relieved that he would wear the crown of his own accord. Damon freed them as the system chime continued.

[Soul recalibration complete]

[You have usurped the boon of Ashcroft]

[You have usurped a fragment of the Domination attribute]

[You have broken the laws of Minerva, Goddess of Doom]

[Mastery Fate Manipulation Resistance Lv2]

[Your mastery has leveled up]

[Charisma Lv. 9]

[All combat masteries have leveled up]

[[You have acquired Ashcroft’s Seed of Depravity...]

[The Seed of Depravity grows within your soul.]

[Possibility of demonization exists.]

Damon felt something spreading within his chest, driving his emotions toward all the things he hated, all the pain he had endured, all he wished to destroy.

And just as briefly as it began, it stopped.

Then another chime came.

[You have received a Quest]

[Do you wish to accept?]

[Y/N]

Damon thought for a moment, then whispered.

"Yes."

[Quest: Path to Conflict]

War is perpetual in every world. In every heart, conflict has shaped the direction of many things and created many outcomes.

All conflict is the product of the Ninth Pillar and part of the balance that holds all things together.

For this balance, the world of Aetherus has suffered Minerva’s cruelty for too long. Its people have been denied the choice between peace and conflict.

I offer you a chance to right this wrong and liberate your world from the tyranny of an indifferent goddess.

[Find the location of the Pillar of Conflict]

Rewards: ???????

Damon stared at the system panel with a deadpan expression, then scoffed.

"Yeah right, that is what this is. Between the both of us, we both know you have your own agenda. Why else would Ashcroft want to do his own thing..."

He did not expect a response. Perhaps that was why the next moment was so shocking.

The system panel glitched. It flickered in and out before displaying a swirling darkness.

There was a soft chime.

[Authority: Boundary Maker is in use]

Ashcroft had already sealed this area in order to trap Damon and Abellona, but in this moment Damon felt that everything was sealed beyond a boundary he could not comprehend.

Time itself was trapped within this boundary. Life was trapped. Nothing made sense because even nothing was trapped, along with sense itself.

This was the power of a god, a true god.

Damon did not feel fear, because even fear had been sealed within this boundary. Still, he spoke, and his voice came out because sound was not sealed.

This was his first real conversation with perhaps the most powerful entity in existence. He had to make it count.

"I want to say something rude... but then I realized you sealed away insults too."

The system panel did not reply.

Then came a cracking voice, filtered by the system so that Damon’s mortal ears could hear without dying or worse.

Damon wanted to ask something, but questions too seemed sealed away. It was evident the unknown god already knew what he wanted to ask. He was not here to listen—he was here to be heard.

"If gods exist, why do they allow suffering? If they are all-powerful, then they must be malevolent. If they are benevolent, then they must not be all-powerful."

The voice reached Damon’s ears, and the will behind the words made his ears bleed.

"I desire to create a utopia. One without suffering. One without the cruelty of gods."

The unknown god paused.

"That is my wish. That is my intent."

And then, with a voice that faded like a dream:

"I call you to join me, as I have called others before you. Let us create a utopia. One where war and pain are silent, and only everlasting peace remains."

Damon listened silently as the unknown god spoke of his intent.

"Why would you want that..." He didn’t ask as a question but rather a statement, and the unknown god allowed this loophole.

The unknown god replied.

"Because I alone feel the pain of all those who resent, all those who rage, all the downtrodden. Even you. When you eventually die, like all things do, I will live life in your shoes. I will experience your anguish, your pain, your love, your resentment."

Damon was shaken by these words. What did he mean? Did he truly experience everyone’s life, all their memories, all their suffering? Every moment, somewhere, someone was dying—and he lived through that? How much anguish was that? Damon could not even imagine it.

"A... are you in pain..."

"No. I am in a perpetual state of understanding. And I see the world from where you stand."

Damon narrowed his eyes. He truly could not imagine it. If he were in such a state, living through everyone’s pain, through every tragedy, he would hate everything.

"Why do you not..." Damon began, knowing his thoughts were already laid bare before the unknown god.

The system panel flickered with resentment so deep it threatened to destroy Damon’s soul.

"I do."

Then, without warning, the system panel vanished. The world returned to normal before Damon’s eyes, his ears dripping blood.

He fell to his knees.

A feeling of uncertainty gripped his heart when faced with the unknown god.

Once again, he was lost. Was this god a friend or a foe?

Damon remained still for an unknown amount of time. Then, finally, thoughts began to move in his head.

If he was an enemy, then there was no winning. At the end of this path only certain defeat awaited.

Damon forced himself up.

"Even so... I’ll still go. The Pillar of Conflict... fine. I’ll find it. And next time... I’ll be the one doing the talking. And you’ll listen."