Void Evolution System

How did he get there?

It wasn't on purpose, but everyone in his position experienced the same thing as long as they gained their power through proper means.

Damien eventually decided to try and summon the energy of Nonexistence. He couldn't control it and he could only slightly perceive it, but it did exist in his body.

It was an aura that manifested in the way he wanted it to. For most people, it would turn black, but that was a color that represented the Void in Damien's mind.

Existence was a formless power. Damien viewed Nonexistence the same way. As such, when he summoned it into the cave abode, it didn't necessarily appear.

The air became several degrees colder. Not because the temperature was decreasing, but because the air was being banished from the room.

Nonexistence had a noticeable effect on the world even in such a small quantity. The cavern was a little dark from the start, but it was plunged into an eternal blackness the instant Damien summoned the energy.

Existence itself was being denied and rewritten. Damien's eyes sharpened as he wondered if the effect would be contained or if it would consume the world if left alone.

To corral it, he had two options. The first was to put the energy away, and the second…

The second was to summon Existence as well and feel what it was like to control both sides of the coin.

This was something that everyone and anyone would eventually do. It was too tempting even if it didn't come out of a place of curiosity.

The two energies didn't meld. They were direct opposites and could not logically interact, so they formed a state of yin and yang around Damien's body.

The problem was that there wasn't an equilibrium between them. Existence took up too much space and naturally suppressed its counterpart, which Nonexistence could not accept.

It gripped at Damien's body and forced out more power than he could handle.

His eyes widened. He used Existence and attempted to suppress the energy as he returned it to his body, but it was no longer listening to his orders.

Damien's entire body was covered in it. It went up his nose and in his mouth, polluting his system entirely.

His eyes rolled into the back of his head. A feeling very similar to what he experienced in death filled his body and soul.

Damien's head lurched back like he was possessed. He tried to utter a guttural scream, purely the result of the oddity he felt with the energy around him.

It was like pain, but it was not pain. It was like pleasure, but it was not pleasure. It was a feeling that didn't exist and could only be related to existing emotions roughly. The only factual thing was that it was a feeling that made Damien scream.

His form turned into a black fog that dispersed into the cave abode.

That was the last Damien saw of the Heavenly World for a decent amount of time.

The fog took him to a different plane. It wasn't another cosmos like the Sacred Abyss, nor was it a remnant realm like the Heavenly God Plane.

It was completely different from anywhere else Damien had ever been.

'It's a realm that does not exist.'

His eyes narrowed as he looked around.

'This place…how do I explain this?'

Everything looked relatively normal. It wasn't even a particularly beautiful scenery, but there were traces that the more beautiful areas were further away.

Damien was in a field of rolling hills. The only thing he could see in the distance was a dark lighthouse.

The sky was a dark blue color like the ocean. It could have just been a strange feature of the realm, but it was what caught Damien's eye first.

Second was the massive black ocean that surrounded the island he was on. He could see other islands in the distance, but that sea seemed to be strange as well.

'It's fake. All of it.'

His instincts told him clearly.

Everything he saw felt real and looked real. There wasn't a single clue that supported his theory.

However, wasn't it enough that he couldn't access Existence?

'It's different from the energy being blocked. This is as if there isn't "Existence" anywhere near me.'

If that was the case, then logically this realm did not exist.

Then, how was he here?

And…what were those auras he sensed in the distance?

Damien turned his eyes in that direction and immediately saw five men approaching.

They were flying in a strange way and surrounded by a red and black energy that oddly resembled Nonexistence in its aura.

'Hm?'

First of all, was it possible for a group of five people who looked like bandits to actually have an aura of nothingness?

Damien clenched his fists and fell into thought.

'It might be dangerous. My power isn't working properly. But…

judging by their auras, I should still be able to win.'

His physical strength could probably take care of them. That was his first thought.

'But, maybe it's better to wait it out?'

If he played it safe and acted like the victim, he could gain some information that was otherwise unavailable to him.

Damien was practically a mortal with a God-like body now. Without Existence to provide him with all of its conveniences, his life immediately became another degree harder.

Still, he was able to adapt quickly. Even this was a situation with clear cause and effect.

Nonexistence brought him here. With his previous train of thought as a basis, he could determine that this place was likely the very barrier of entry that he was wondering about.

If this was a place where all people were taken when they reached a certain point, if there was a condition that had to be fulfilled for them to leave…

'Then everyone here, at some point in time, had the potential to be better than me.'

However, everyone here was still here. They were not back in the places they came from.

The five bandit-like men approached closer and slammed into the ground before Damien.

With ill intentions in their hearts and eyes, they stepped forward.

"Look, we got a newbie!"

"Keke, it's our lucky day! Newbies don't come that often anymore!"

"Well, we gotta show him the ropes!"

"Yes, we do!"

Damien raised his brow.

What was this shitty dialogue?

Anyway, he let them continue for the sake of it.

As they babbled, they stepped closer, brandishing the weapons in their hands.

"Kid, you must have been pretty big wherever you came from, but you're nothing here. Since we're your seniors, think of what's coming as a life lesson we're giving you at a very small price."

Their leader spoke with a stern expression. The black and red aura around him focused itself on his club.

"It'll be good for you. Really."