Published at 23rd of July 2024 6:47 am

Chapter 1788 Land of Nothingness [4]

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The goal of the first island was just as plain as the first in context, but it was definitely more involved.

After all, to achieve it, one needed a considerable understanding of Nonexistence.

That statement was already contradictory, but the challenge for this island was just the same.

There were so many castles because the goal was to "create" as much as possible before moving to the next island.

One could easily pass the trial by building anything out of materials like stone or concrete. However, the more one did, the more benefits one would receive on the third island.

Still, the most people could build was castles. They were intricate inside and out and had to be completely created through methods similar to carving statues out of blocks of marble. Nonexistence couldn't create. It was a concept diametrically opposed to the facets of creation. However, even Damien managed to understand how to maneuver around that handicap. It took a lot of finesse to perfectly manipulate Nonexistence to be able to do something against its nature. One would have to use several different skills, banishing specific concepts into nothingness to allow other concepts to shine.

Complicated, right?

It really was. All Damien did at first was dig a hole and make the hill a little bigger, but even that took four different steps to execute.

What he accomplished in that hole was a bit more extraordinary though. A lot of people were able to think of similar things. To banish ignorance and gain all possible information was pretty much an idea that came to each and every person who attained the same enlightenment as Damien.

However, it wasn't as easy as he made it look.

With Existence under one's control, banishing anything into Nonexistence was possible. They could directly manipulate their minds so that their beliefs were absolutely true no matter what. In that state, everything could become nothingness.

Say Damien tried to banish his love for his family into Nonexistence because he was going through an emo god phase. No matter what he tried, unless he altered his own memories to make it true, he wouldn't be able to accomplish it.

There simply wasn't a way for him to believe that he didn't have love for his family. It was impossible for him to distance himself from them.

In this realm where that kind of mind alteration was impossible, it was equally impossible for Damien to have that emo-god phase.

It was a crude example, but it worked the same way for everything. It was nigh impossible for anyone to convince themself that they weren't ignorant. Unless they had absolute confidence that bordered on insane arrogance, how could they say that the entire world was in their grasp?

For people who used Existence, it was a little different as the entire world was in their grasp, but after spending years on the first island acclimating to the fact that Existence was unavailable in this place, they had all lost the blatant arrogance they received from the concept.

They could no longer fully believe that it was impossible for them to be ignorant after experiencing a twisted realm like this one.

It wasn't that Damien was the only different one, but he was definitely different from the norm.

Firstly, he hadn't been on the first island for more than a day. His mind hadn't been tarnished by its conditions.

Secondly, unlike most who only received such abilities when they gained Existence, Damien spent a long time "devouring."

Whether it was power, memories, or existence, Damien was accumulating other beings inside of his mind for a very long time.

Because of that, he established a unique sense of identity and mental fortitude in this specific aspect, and he developed a specific confidence in always being informed or having the ability to gain information.

As such, when it came time to banish ignorance from his reality, Damien was able to attain exactly what he desired.

…to an extent.

'Really, that's it?'

Unfortunately, he only gained a little bit of information. He saw the trial of the second island and he saw the lives of the people who lived here in the past, present, and future.

But that was it.

He wasn't able to pierce the secrets of the realm, but that was not possible in the first place. Information on the realm didn't exist. And, with the Sea of Nothingness blocking him, he couldn't access anything about the third island and beyond.

Seriously, this was a realm very unfriendly to the people within.

'Not that it doesn't make sense.'

When everyone who ever came was a Supreme Being, going easy and allowing easy ways out was silly. These were people who needed to remember what it was like to struggle so they would never forget the feeling in the event that they became Absolutes in the future.

Damien stayed in the cave for a decent amount of time. He didn't do much else after trying to gain omniscience, but he wanted to see if he had properly concealed himself from the masses.

Several minutes passed and nobody appeared. When several hours passed, Damien knew there was not a problem.

'It takes me back, being this cautious.'

In a plane where he didn't know what others could do, he couldn't walk around arrogantly. He once again had to conceal himself and slowly grow so that others couldn't challenge him.

It wasn't just about the limits of creativity. It was about the bounds of one's ability.

Damien had only discovered the basic side of Nonexistence. He could banish concepts into Nonexistence as long as he properly willed for it.

However, could he bring things out of Nonexistence? Could he use the energy itself without a medium?

He was absolutely sure that he didn't have enough control to call himself strong in this realm yet. Plus, his physical power wouldn't be enough now that he was surrounded by people who could make better use of nothingness.

If someone banished his physical strength, then it would not exist on their battlefield. Without Existence, Damien wouldn't be able to counter and bring it back.

'I can worry about that situation later. The second island is relatively calm. Territory battles only happen if people try to build inside each other's land. If I just pick a relatively secluded area, I'll be fine.'

It would be nice if he could avoid fighting for as long as possible so he could learn. Once he got a little more comfortable with Nonexistence, he could have some more fun.

Before that, he left his cave abode and followed the roads.

'There are two cities on this island.'

They were on opposite sides. Most people decided to start in the cities where they could use small plots of land to practice their creation skills. If they were able to succeed by the skin of their teeth, then they'd leave the island from there and their presence would be immortalized in the structure they built.

It was a bit more difficult for people who wanted larger plots of land.

Technically, the entire island had been divided up. Every inch of it was owned by individuals who said they would build castles but never actually became powerful enough to do so.

If anyone tried to build on their empty land, they would raise a fuss. When they raised a fuss, usually it started a war until one person died too many times to care anymore.

As the people who owned the island had been living on it for longer than those trying to steal, they were able to defend their claims easily.

Damien either had to challenge them for a claim or find a piece of land that they did not yet know of.

'And of the two…I don't really know which one is easier.'

Well, that was for him to find out from now on.

But he really didn't think he'd be able to avoid fighting for too much longer.

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