Chapter 572: Never You

All those descending pillars froze mid-strike, energy crackling but no longer moving.

Then they withdrew, pulling back into the clouds overhead.

’H-huh?’

The Sage’s thoughts came confused, his mind struggling to process what was happening.

’What does that even–’

Before he could think further, the clouds’ attention shifted.

That ancient presence turned away from him, finding Damian’s still form across the ruined rooftop.

And the voice spoke again, carrying weight that pressed down on reality itself.

"Mortal."

The word hung in the cold air, demanding attention.

Damian’s posture straightened automatically, his crimson eyes tracking upward to find the dispersing clouds.

"The last time we met, ’I’ deemed you not worthy of walking that path."

The words fell like hammer blows, each one landing with finality.

"And even though you survived the tribulation, even though ’I’ recognized you as a Chosen One of this era in accordance with the universal laws..."

Another pause, heavier than before.

"’I’ still deemed you unworthy."

Silence crashed down across the dreamscape, suffocating in its completeness.

Damian remained perfectly still, his breathing controlled, his expression showing nothing.

Just waiting, listening, absorbing what was being said without reaction.

The voice continued, becoming quieter but somehow carrying more weight.

"But the you who stood on that mountain peak, the you who split my judgment with borrowed understanding..."

The clouds pulsed once, energy building.

"And the you who stands before me now, having claimed your seat at the table where cosmic forces wage their wars..."

Thunder rolled overhead, building toward something vast.

"Are completely different beings."

The declaration rang across the dreamscape like a bell tolling the beginning of something unprecedented.

Then the ancient voice rose, becoming something that transcended simple speech, carrying authority that made existence itself tremble.

"And today..."

CRACK

Reality fractured around the dispersing clouds, space bending under the weight of what came next.

"BY THE AUTHORITY VESTED IN THE UNIVERSAL LAWS!"

The shout crashed across the dreamscape with force that made the ruins shake.

"WITH ALL OF CREATION AS WITNESS TO THIS DECLARATION!"

Light began descending from the clouds, brilliant and terrible, forming shapes that rewrote themselves constantly.

"WITH THE BALANCE ITSELF ACKNOWLEDGING WHAT HAS BEEN PROVEN!"

The light intensified, becoming almost blinding in its radiance.

"’I’ DECLARE YOU, DAMIAN VALCOR BLOODWORTH..."

A pause that felt like eternity compressed into heartbeats.

"TO BE WORTHY!"

DONG DONG DONG DONG DONG

The massive bell resonated across the sky, each ring making reality itself shiver.

A translucent mark descended from the clouds, blazing with multicolored light.

It struck Damian’s forehead and vanished into his skull, disappearing completely.

Warmth spread through his consciousness, settling somewhere deep.

In his peripheral vision, text appeared.

[New Title Acquired: The Worthy One]

But Damian barely registered the notification, his mind still processing what had just been proclaimed.

’Worthy?’

The thought came confused and uncertain.

’The universe itself just declared me worthy? Worthy of... what exactly? Devouring everything? What the–’

Before he could think further, the ancient voice continued, becoming quieter now but somehow more personal.

"We shall meet again once you manage to reach the full potential of your body as well, Young Bloodworth."

A pause, the tone shifting to something approaching advice.

"And remember what ’I’ told you before?"

The clouds dispersed further, fading toward nothingness.

"In this universe, no law stands greater than another and no path towers above the rest. The true power lies not in which road you walk, but in how completely you understand its principles."

The voice became almost inaudible now, fading with the last wisps of cloud.

"You would do well to always keep this truth in your mind."

And then the clouds were gone completely, vanished as if they’d never existed, leaving only silence behind.

Damian stood there, his breathing steady, his expression calm despite everything.

His hand rose unconsciously, fingers touching his forehead where the mark had entered.

’Who really is that?’

The question formed measured and analytical.

’It doesn’t seem to be just a tribulation consciousness.’

His thoughts tracked through possibilities, through implications that refused to settle cleanly.

’Is it the universe itself? Or something else entirely that–’

Thud

The sound cut through his spiraling thoughts like a blade through silk.

His head snapped toward the source, finding the Sage’s form collapsing to the ground.

The masked figure hit stone with force, his body crumpling like strings had been cut.

CRACK CRACK CRACK

The dreamscape itself began fracturing, reality breaking apart around them.

Fissures spread across the ruined rooftop, across the destroyed buildings, across everything that remained.

The realm was collapsing, dissolving now that its purpose had been served.

’He...’

Damian’s thoughts came distant, processing what he was witnessing.

’Is he really dying?’

His gaze tracked the Sage’s still form, the way purple lightning continued flickering across skin covered in dark veins.

’The one who sacrificed my family...’

His jaw clenched fractionally, the only outward sign of emotion bleeding through.

’The one who chose to let them all die for nothing...’

The ruins kept breaking apart, pieces starting to fall into void.

’Is dying just like this?’

And suddenly, something inside Damian snapped.

The calm composure he’d maintained through everything, the control that had carried him through cosmic revelations and universe-shaking declarations, the careful neutrality that had protected him from his own emotions...

All of it shattered in an instant.

His body moved before conscious thought, feet carrying him across fractured stone with desperate speed.

Thud

He dropped to his knees beside the Sage’s collapsed form, his hands reaching out and grabbing the masked figure’s shoulders.

"You!"

The word tore from his throat, rough and frantic, nothing like the measured tone he’d used throughout everything else.

"You aren’t really dying, right?!"

His fingers dug into the Sage’s shoulders, trying to pull him upright.

"You must have some sort of life-saving means! Some soul treasure hidden away! Something that can–"

His voice cracked completely, madness bleeding through every syllable.

"And that tribulation! It said something about granting you moments of peace! That means you have time! That means there’s a way to–"

The Sage’s whisper cut through Damian’s frantic rambling, soft but carrying clearly.

"From the start..."

His voice came weak and fading, each word taking visible effort.

"When you chose to enter that Lufen Portal alone to save people you’d never met..."

A pause as he drew a shallow breath.

"When Kinsley and the others appeared at the Military Police Headquarters with their accusations..."

His cracked mask turned slightly, finding Damian’s face through the purple lightning still flickering in his visible eyes.

"The one who was supposed to die today was never you."

The words landed with quiet finality.

"It was always going to be me."

Silence crashed down around them as the dreamscape continued its collapse, reality breaking apart piece by piece.