The total lack of information about Niflheim bothered him, and although the reasoning was justified, Asgard’s limited cooperation did the same.
He found it difficult to believe that a resistance force could survive under the tyrannical regime of the Nox without being snubbed out, even if the Nox’s arrogance took hold of them.
Still, as an outsider, these weren’t matters he could carelessly speculate about. His worries would only be quelled once he stepped foot in that world himself.
‘Actually, this is a perfect opportunity, now that I think about it. If the world was taken over by Nox, the World Core must’ve been completely corrupted. If so, wouldn’t it be the perfect subject to test the limits of Devour?’
Damien grinned at his own wild imagination. Even if it was just the core, it wasn’t a stretch to say he was thinking of devouring an entire world.
But, that was yet another factor that would depend on the situation.
Damien opened his eyes, immediately being forced to shield them with mana as the rain tried to land in them. He stood up quickly and pretended as if he didn’t just embarrass himself, jumping off the rooftop.
‘Phew, the past few days have been spent in peace, but it’s almost time to start working again.’
There was only one thing left on the agenda, and that was to have another serious emotional conversation. Thinking about it, Damien almost wanted to run away again.
Pouring out his feelings to Rose was incredibly embarrassing, especially since it didn’t achieve the desired effect.
Perhaps it was too naive of him to expect forgiveness right away. Due to Rose’s nature, he was somewhat expecting her to be incredibly lenient with him.
But that was a misconception. Even if she was understanding, even if she wanted to support him unconditionally, that wasn’t something for her to do while ignoring her own feelings.
If that was the case, then she wasn’t his wife any longer, she was just a slave obeying her master’s orders. So, even though he was a bit depressed about the fact that he wasn’t forgiven, he was also happy.
The fact that Rose was able to earnestly admit that she didn’t know how to feel was a sign of growth.
Damien sighed. He knew from the start that Rose’s upbringing would lead to problems relating to how she viewed the world. No matter how fine she seemed on the outside, she was also a person with heavy emotional scars.
It was only today that Damien found about about Rose’s contrasting personalities. Or rather, about the false personality she created while believing it to be in his best interest.
‘The toxic environment of the Adelaire Emperor’s imperial harem gave her a severe misconception about her duties and the importance of her position as the ‘first wife.’ That environment was both a blessing and a curse for her, though mainly a curse.’
It was a blessing in the sense that it allowed her to form her own personality and sense of freedom due to the sheer amount of oppression she faced. It also gave her a prime example of what a relationship shouldn’t be, so she could actively work towards avoiding a future like that one.
But conversely, the effects that environment had on her morals weren’t all for the better. Even though Rose knew what to avoid, it seemed like she was overcorrecting in order to avoid it at all costs. The worst part was, her trauma ran so deep that she didn’t even notice.
Damien began walking aimlessly as he sunk into his thoughts. ‘I can’t help her this time. Any intervention from me would just fuel her false personality instead of helping her form her own views about how to act. This is something Rose needs to figure out on her own, or perhaps with the help of the other girls.’
Just as he had undone his heart knots through his own willpower, Rose needed to do the same. Even if self-realization was far slower, it was also the method that brought the most results.
Damien cleared his mind of all thoughts. The fact that he was useless in helping Rose’s growth irked him to no end, but it wasn’t something he could change. Since he had experienced something similar himself, he couldn’t find any justifiable excuse to butt into the matter.
His eyes closed on their own as he focused on the rhythm of his steps. Nothing else seemed to matter anymore.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
The sound of his feet hitting the ground began to meld with that of the rain. That light pitter-patter crescendoed exponentially until the clouds above were producing a torrential downpour.
Crackle!
Lightning danced through the clouds, accompanied by the rumbles of thunder. As the sound entered Damien’s ears, his steps began to mimic it.
Rapid like the crackle of lightning and powerful like the roaring thunder, he moved without direction through the mountain path before him. At some point, his feet stepped into the air as he continued his walk.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
His every step created a rumble as air combusted below his feet. He moved hundreds of kilometers with each push of his heel as if he was an immortal descended onto the secular world.
And as he did so, the storm raged even more violently.
Damien entered a trance-like state. He danced through the air while becoming the storm itself. At some point, it was no longer him mirroring the storm. No, it was the storm mirroring him.
As his steps became fiercer, the storm raged even more furiously. It got to the point where the sect’s defensive formation activated on its own to protect the disciples from stray lightning.
But Damien was already too far in the sky for such detail to bother him. He was practically submerged in the cloud layer.
As he walked, his steps soon took him away from the Celestial Star Palace, the storm following after him with ease.
Finally, the disciples were able to regain a semblance of peace.
Confusion spread through the sect. What was that storm? Why did it suddenly become so strong? Any random bolt of lightning held the power to incinerate a normal 3rd class disciple. For such a storm to appear naturally was incredibly rare.
But there were a few within the crowd of disciples that realized there was no way for that sudden increase in strength to be natural.
Someone caused the storm to rage, but who exactly was it?
The answer was unknown to all but a few, but even those few who knew the truth of the matter still didn’t understand what was going on.
Tian Yang looked up at the sky with a complicated expression on his face. His gaze followed the retreating storm that was headed in the direction of the Jade Heavenly Palace.
‘Haa…what a troublesome disciple. I wonder what he suddenly gained insight on to cause such a scene.’
Tian Yang shook his head in regret. ‘Even though the storm is powerful, it can’t rage on forever. I hope you come to realize that someday, preferably before it’s too late.’
Without another word, Tian Yang turned around and returned to his small pagoda at the peak of the mountain.
This avenue of Damien’s growth wasn’t something he could meddle in. If his disciple figured things out, it would be great, but if he couldn’t do so…
Tian Yang was forced to resolve himself to take responsibility for the aftermath.