'Today is finally the day.'

Damien stood up from meditative posture and stretched his body. An entire week passed since he started staying in this strange Dead Star realm, and his companion had finally arrived.

'I'll have to assess them myself before we leave.'

Damien cracked his knuckles and prepared for a fight as he headed back to Priscilla's courtyard.

He knew for certain that finding a companion that could match his age and accomplishments was impossible, so he was curious about the type of person Priscilla recruited.

'Is it some old monster? I hope they have an amicable personality.'

The walk to Priscilla's courtyard was practically ingrained in Damien's mind at this point, so he was able to reach it without a hitch. When he entered..

"Fuck this."

..he was disappointed by the lack of companion in the room.historical

"What's this about?" He questioned with a frown.

"Hahaha, calm down. No need to be so hostile. Your companion is here, they just went to pay respects to the other High Commanders before you arrived. Why don't you stay here and wait for them?"

Priscilla motioned towards a chair across from her at the table she sat at. On the table was a go board which seemed to be actively in play, though Priscilla didn't have any company.

"It was a game that never got to finish. How about scrapping it and playing a match against me?" Priscilla asked.

Damien shrugged and walked over. He played a little bit of Go on Earth, but not enough to be considered good.

Go was a game that emphasized push and pull. To take initiative and hand it over intentionally, Damien was never intelligent enough to make these calls.

But it wasn't like the aggressive approach never worked.

He sat down with Priscilla and started the game, placing his first piece.

"Have you played much Go before?" Priscilla asked.

"Not much, but I understand the principle."

"Mm, then I guess I'll go easy on you."

Damien and Priscilla took turns making moves, blocking each other while also trying to gain the advantage.

However, as Damien already stated, he was never good at games like this one.

He focused too much on his own side, and before he even realized it, Priscilla had created a complex web that left him with no choice but defeat.

"I don't know why I decided to play when I suck, but I'll accept the loss." He said with a sigh.

"Oh? Accepting it so easily is fine in this situation, but can you do so forever?" Priscilla responded mysteriously.

"And by that you mean.."

"I'm sure you already know. Even if you pretend to be brutish, I can see the intelligence behind your eyes."

"You must be hallucinating."

"Maybe so."

Priscilla shrugged and moved the pieces off the board, starting a new game.

"Go is very interesting to play as a High Commander on the battlefield. In a situation where all routes are cut off, what options are left? More than any of the strategies I've learned from this game, this is the question that's bothered me."

Priscilla placed her piece with a wry smile. "In Go, the situation changes based on the player. Some will admit defeat the moment they sense their loss, refusing to continue the game. Some will try to find a way to win even knowing their impending loss, but still give up in the end. Some will beg for a rematch without fail, acting like starved dogs. The smallest number of people choose to fight until the end even while knowing their fate."

Her eyes raised and met Damien's. "It's good to know that you are this type of person, however, this type of person is always the first to die. Without considering other options, they fight until they can no longer fight."

Her expression turned solemn. "You are a spatial expert. Your skill in fleeing is unparalleled under the Demigod level. Even if it means you must abandon your companions.."

"You must survive. For the sake of the universe's continued existence, you must survive at all costs."

Damien silently returned her moves, refusing to comment on her words.

His actions..would depend on the situation.

He couldn't promise anything.

Nor could he shoulder the weight of the universe.

'I'll move how I wish to move. If anyone inhibits that..'

Before Damien could think further, a knock resounded from the courtyard door.

"It looks like your companion has finally arrived," Priscilla said.

With her invitation, the person beyond the door stepped into the courtyard.

Their form was revealed.

'This..'

The woman was around 5 feet 6 inches in height. Her hair was medium-length and so dark it almost looked black, but the way it glinted with deep blue in the sunlight made it evident that it barely wasn't. She had green eyes that reminded Damien of the endless abundance of life, and her overall stature was so composed that she almost blended in with nature.

"Greetings, Senior. I have come as ordered."

The woman bowered to Priscilla as she spoke, refusing to move from the doorway.

"Mm, come sit. This is Damien, the man you'll be accompanying for the foreseeable future."

The woman walked over to the table and bowed towards Damien.

"Ximen Wuhen greets Young Master Damien."

"Mm, well met," Damien muttered off-handedly.

'Her level is..'

"Boy, don't focus too much on Wuhen's level. If you do, you're sure to regret it." Priscilla interrupted him before he could come to any conclusions.

"If you want to talk about raw power, Wuhen definitely can't match you, but in terms of combat effectiveness.."

"Show him."

Ximen Wuhen nodded and faced Damien. "Please excuse my rudeness."

She formed a set of seals with her hand, and immediately, the laws of Heaven and Earth shifted.

'Oho..' Damien whistled inwardly, impressed.

Surrounding him currently was a powerful array that Damien didn't know the identity of. From what he could tell, it both restrained the enemy and sapped their mana to slowly weaken and kill them.

"This array isn't bad. It can be deployed instantly, and it has enough power to affect anyone under late-stage 4th class. If it's a large-scale battle, this ability could completely reverse the situation." Damien commented.

"However, is this it?"

Ximen Wuhen was near the peak of mid-stage 4th class, so her having this level of ability wasn't surprising. Of course, she definitely proved that she would be useful.

Only, Damien didn't need someone who could only show their use in specific situations.

He was a bit disappointed in what she'd shown so far.

"I apologize, Young Master. I will not hold back any longer." Ximen Wuhen said without a change of expression.

Her hand seals changed, and the laws of Heaven and Earth changed along with them.

The nature of the array completely reversed.

Damien felt an unknown strength filling his body. His mana became denser, and he even felt an improvement in his comprehension ability.

His entire being had been elevated as if he'd jumped 20 or 30 levels in an instant.

Priscilla smiled at his bewilderment.

"Along with being an extremely accomplished formation master who can support you in battle, she is also one of the rarest types of supporters in existence, a being with the ability to buff others."

Damien's eyes sharpened. Even the greatest supporters couldn't strengthen other people's abilities to an extent that actually mattered. It was simply impossible to maneuver mana in a way that empowered someone else without consciously controlling it, but at that point, the technique would be no different than puppeteering.

Buff-type supporters were rare to the point where they weren't even highly sought after because rarely anyone knew of their existence.

Now that one was standing before Damien..

'I can't be mad at all.' He thought while hiding his satisfaction.

Damien didn't need help in combat. He didn't need a defensive type either since his body was the greatest possible defense. All-in-all, Damien was a one-man army that couldn't be interfered with.

But if the other party wasn't interfering, but was rather enhancing his abilities..

Indeed, Priscilla wasn't lying when she said she found a supporter that perfectly suited Damien.

With said supporter in tow, Damien could finally set off for Eien.

It was time to start a new journey, a new adventure that'd spread his name far and wide.

Damien had been on the cusp of adventure so many times that he thought this feeling would've numbed by now.

But he couldn't even pay attention to Priscilla's words.

The anticipation was killing him.

The itch in his body to utterly destroy and conquer all things..

He couldn't wait to fulfill it.