Void Evolution System

The three Lords fought the beasts of the forest for many hours. In the process, Damien was able to learn more and more about how veterans maneuvered Nonexistence.

'It's still the second island, so they can't do much. They're making as much use of the little power they have as possible. That's a state where creativity shines.' From Damien's observations, there were several common concepts that people usually chose to banish from existence 'If it was in the real world, mana would probably be the first.'

Without mana, only physical fighters and people who used Nonexistence could survive. noveℓ.com

When physical strength differences were controlled through the establishment of a territory, only one of those groups could come out alive.

'In this place, it's a little bit more vague. Since they're fighting beasts, too, they're focusing more on the mind than the body.'

They were trying to banish things like "rationality" and "loyalty" from their enemies' minds.

Against groups, this kind of strategy was ingenious. Rather than putting in work, forcing the opponents to fight each other was more efficient. 'When they're facing the beasts individually, though, they immediately bring those things back and try to use them in the opposite way.' While focusing on obvious things like the opponent's strength, they used concepts like loyalty to disrupt their mind and make them hesitate to attack.

The problem the three Lords encountered when they found themselves in a prolonged fight with the beasts was that their enemies were using completely different kinds of concepts than them. The beasts didn't have the kind of complex thought process necessary to banish and manipulate concepts like the Lords.

However, they were connected to a far more primordial form of energy. They were able to find the rawest and most core concepts in the universe and banish them, instantly taking the most important strengths of the Lords away from them.

Nevertheless, before the three Lords died, Damien was able to gain sufficient data to incorporate into his own fighting techniques.

'And, I finished this thing.'

He looked down at a flag he'd created for testing purposes. On it, there was a symbol. One that represented Damien Void from his own perspective.

The symbol was a circular swirling black and white image. The two colors were used equally, but it did not look like it. Instead, it looked like the black side was consuming the white side.

However, if one viewed it from a different perspective, the white and black were in constant motion, ebbing and flowing together like the calm waves of the sea.

The pattern was lined with gold to accentuate it and add a sense of valor. As for the purple elements, Damien originally wanted to scrap it but decided that the color was too important for him to ignore.

It also turned into an accent like the gold, but with its addition, two more pictures were created.

With the gold outline alone, one could see the intricate head of a dragon preparing its breath. With the purple outline alone, one could see a crescent moon within a fog of clouds.

Together, however, they illuminated the white and black in a yin and yang style picture of a world. All-encompassing power, all-encompassing compassion. A strength that rivaled the dragons, yet a leadership as calm and orderly as the movement of the moon.

It was extremely intricate to the point where most people who saw it wouldn't be able to recognize its intent, but it was everything Damien could have hoped for when creating his own symbol.

As long as he worked to properly establish the reputation that followed it, he could give it the meaning he desired in the eyes of others.

But that was only something to worry about when he returned to the Heavenly World.

In this place, that symbol was one of conquest.

Many Lords followed after the first three. The group of them didn't plan to end things easily, but they weren't given a choice.

They sent tens of their members to attack the forest. After realizing that it was an extreme danger with the deaths of the first three, they organized a task force with great numbers and even greater power to siege it and get rid of the being inside.

Unfortunately, Damien had already satisfied his curiosity.

The beasts no longer had a reason to hold back and prolong fights for him to watch.

That was the reason why Damien had the freedom to design a symbol and determine what kind of structure he was going to build while Death's Hold was actively being assaulted.

Anyone who stepped into the forest would die with one attack from the beasts.

They could try to attack from outside, but the tree wall was incredibly thick. It seemed impervious to any and all damage, as even the outer layer refused to chip after being attacked over and over again.

Strategies were enacted to attack from the sky, but those failed as well.

What would Death's Hold be if it wasn't secure?

With the addition of a great tree to its ranks, the size of its domain greatly expanded. There was a large, impenetrable dome of Nonexistence around the entire area, created by the Land of Nothingness itself.

That land was impervious to all but Damien.

They might have possessed a slight chance of entering it beforehand, but it had a new owner now.

It had finally recognized the individual it had been searching for.

Now, the people who wanted to take it for granted and use it for their own purposes could be killed without remorse, as they no longer served a use.

The Lords were forced to take a step back after the initial siege failed.

They could absolutely send troops after troops into Death's Hold, but what was the point of sacrificing people like that?

Unlike most of the realm, death in the hold was permanent. Nobody wanted to risk that. True Death in a place like this…

If they died, their existence would be erased from reality entirely.

All memories of them, all vestiges they left, and all clues that told of their existence would be wiped.

It would be like they were never born.

That was the most terrifying kind of death, wasn't it?

Nobody wanted to suffer from it. Even the Lords who were usually extremely particular about how they acted refused to continue chasing after Damien.

If he could control Death's Hold, he could kill them all. What kind of idiot would make a person like that into an enemy?

The Lords that headed the group tried to meet Damien. They went to Death's Hold themselves with a peace offering.

Unfortunately, all they were greeted with was silence.

They had already confirmed that there was a man there, but this was the moment when they realized that they weren't meant to be messing with that man from the beginning.

On the trunk of the great tree, overlooking the entirety of the second island, was an eye sunk into its surface.

It was massive and purple, standing out immensely while still complementing the colors of the forest.

The eye looked down at them. The entire forest's attention turned to them as it glowed with a fierce light.

An engraved pattern in the trunk's surface above the eye came to light, filled with the same glow as the eye itself.

The top Lords looked at each other as the eye activated.

And, together, they stared down at their own trembling hands.

Their fingers…

Their fingers were disappearing from existence.

Not in the usual temporary fashion, but eternally.

Every single Lord on the island received the same message that night.

"Give up. Challenging Death's Hold is certain death."

It was a warning that they'd heard many times, but one that never stopped adventurers from trying their luck.

However, this time was different.

This time, it was an absolute truth.

Anyone who entered Death's Hold without its owner's permission was bound to become fertilizer for its growth.

As such, the people of the second island could only quietly watch as that faceless individual changed the forest. They watched as a structure peeked out from above the canopy of trees and grew larger and larger.

Only, no matter how large it became, they couldn't tell what it was.

It wasn't their fault, though.

Because even if one asked its creator, he would respond with one simple sentence.

"I have no idea what the hell I'm doing."

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