<h4>Chapter 1282 Cosmic Rebirth [3]</h4>


    With the outside world''s chaos clear, one could take time to focus on what was happening within the barrier ofw.


    The process started simrly to Universe Baptism.


    Damien''s mind and body were disconnected and forced into trials of their own, but unlike others, his soul remained untouched.


    Therefore, despite being disconnected from it, he didn''t lose touch with reality.


    It was strange, but it allowed Damien to keep track of the Heavenly Order''s changes, which was the only reason he even needed to focus on the outside world in the first ce.


    Lightning struck his body continuously.


    This lightning came from the Heavenly Order and was far beyond anything he''d experienced in the past.


    It was pure, sure, but that was only one aspect of it.


    Thews contained within the lightning were astonishing. It was definitely simr to Universal Law, but far moreplex andplete, leaving no room for inconsistencies such as those Damien took advantage of when he was in Grand Heavens Boundary.


    Nevertheless, the process itself was something he''d long been used to.


    His body was broken down and reconstructed over and over again, and as it underwent this change, its league was taken to a new level.


    This was only the first step.


    Because Cosmic Rebirth was somethingpletely different for Damien whenpared to others.


    When his soul transformed, he realized the true potential of the Void Physique.


    He''d unlocked a portion of its capabilities through death, and that was what allowed him to fight and survive on the Ancient Battlefield, but the entire weight of its existence was prohibited to him by hiscking physical state.


    Once the baptism of lightning raised his league to the appropriate level, the Void would take over and do its job as well.


    However, for that to happen, the Heavenly Order needed to remain as it was.


    Damien tried his best to take his attention off of it.


    He couldn''t do anything about it.


    He didn''t have the power nor the means to interfere in the Heavenly Order in his current state, so worrying about it would only hinder his progress.


    Instead, he had to trust what Dante said.


    Someone or something would arrive to support him, and when that entity came, his problem would be solved.


    Instead of waiting for them, Damien had more important things to do.


    He needed to ovee the mental trial.


    Once again, he was thrown into a world of his own imagination.


    The experiences he had during his life shed through his mind, along with several questions.


    How did he make it here?


    Did he aplish what he wanted to aplish?


    What did he want to aplish in the first ce?


    Were his goals worth the effort?


    What set him apart from the rest?


    Why did he deserve ascension?


    Why did he deserve talent?


    They barraged him from every side, trying their best to force him into a state of uncertainty.


    However, the current Damien couldn''t be fazed by these questions.


    He was a genius because he was one. The things he desired were worthy of their status because he said so.


    Damien''s beliefs had changed massively.


    He''d be arrogant, so to say.


    But this wasn''t arrogance without backing. His arrogance came from the absolute confidence he had developed through countless experiences.


    He hade to ept many things.


    When he was younger, he was a man gued by countless troubles, both external and internal.


    He doubted himself. He doubted his strength, he doubted his mind, he doubted his worth, and he refused to acknowledge himself.


    In the first ce, that was his greatest problem.


    He failed to see reality because he was forcing himself to view it through a lens that didn''t have the capability of seeing him for who he truly was.


    But not anymore.


    Damien understood that there were many unfair things in this world. Some people would be forced into utmost suffering that ruined the innocence and purity they held, while others would be corrupted by the bliss of life and never experience a day of suffering until they died.


    This was just reality.


    It was just fate.


    When Damien was young, he lived in a world where changing fate was nigh impossible.


    No matter how much he worked or tried, without talent, without connections, without status, it was impossible to get what he wanted.


    Or so he thought.


    But even before the World Awakening, Earth was never that kind of ce.


    Effort would eventually be rewarded. As long as one kept pursuing their desires and endured all the suffering that came along with such ambition, they would reach it eventually.


    But who was willing to wait?


    In a life thatsted less than one hundred years, who was willing to ve away for half or even more of it for the sake of that slim hope for sess?


    He was not one of those people.


    He said he tried his best, but he never did.


    He relied on others to clean up after him, he med others for messes he made…he acted like Ran did when he met herst.


    Perhaps that was the reason for his sudden burst of anger.


    She reminded him too much of his past self.


    The version of him that waited for a lucky chance to grace him without actually striving for it at all.


    He didn''t deserve it.


    Yet, it was still granted to him.


    Because of his talent and connections, he was granted talent in the new world where fate became nothing more than a concept to be conquered and stepped on.


    Wasn''t he just a hypocrite?


    Thoughts like those umted, and when they were piled on top of his existing insecurity and trauma, they truly blinded him from reality.


    The moment he freed himself of those restraints, the world regained its color.


    Instead of wondering about why others were given chances he wished for, or why others were suffering while he was able to climb higher, he focused on himself and improved.


    His envy would only be a stepping stone for those who worked harder than him, and his pity would only attract ire from those who had less.


    He didn''t have the right to those emotions.


    Whether he wanted to take the chances he wanted with his own hands or help those who were less fortunate than him, whether he wanted to be a devil or a saint, he first needed to reach a point where he was qualified to y those roles.


    Power.


    He used to see it as his goal, but it was no longer such.


    Power was a means to an end.


    Chasing the peak mindlessly only gave way to flimsy determination. When one reached the peak, they would lose all sanity after realizing there was nothing left for them.


    So there was no need to question himself.


    Once he gained those qualifications, the desires he held would be reality. The uncertainty would be fact.


    Needlessly asking questions to feel altruistic or to feel like he was growing when he was, in reality, doing nothing at all was pointless.


    Damien Void was not that kind of person.


    He was self-assured. He believed in his values almost to the point of lunacy.


    And with that kind of belief, questioning himself became irrelevant.


    The trials of mind were meant to grant people this level of surety.


    They were meant to reaffirm one''s beliefs so that when they ascended to Divinity, they would never encounter a situation where their Divinity broke down from their uncertainty.


    And it was a test. To see whether or not their values were strong enough to match their league.


    Damien passed these trials before they even started.


    The only reason he even had to undergo them was so that the universe could understand this fact.


    He would not bend.


    He would not fold.


    For he was eternal.


    This was the creed he lived by.


    And even if the Heavens themselves tried to bring him down, he would never change his mind.