Chapter 480 — Space and Time

The man’s voice dropped.

"But with him already having interfered so much, trying to change the entire future, actively working against what fate has decreed..."

He didn’t continue, but Damian understood.

’If the old beggar was the God of fate, doing all this would mean becoming the biggest enemy of fate itself.’

His thoughts completed the logical chain.

’And would the universal law allow someone to get away with that? A God of fate working against fate?’

The only outcomes would be either losing his power or death.

’A person who became a god after so much struggle, after countless years of climbing to that peak...’

Damian’s breathing became shallower.

’Would he throw all of that away willingly? Would he risk death just to change the future?’

It didn’t make sense unless there was something he was missing, some piece of the puzzle he couldn’t see.

The man spoke again, adding another layer.

"And there can only be one person who can become a god of each law."

His voice was quiet but certain.

"They say that the Oracle of the Light Bearers and the one from the demons’ side, both of them are the strongest in the law of fate in the entire universe. Neither has reached godhood yet, but they’re close."

"..."

Silence spread around them again, heavier this time.

Damian opened his mouth, his thoughts finally forming into the question that mattered.

"If he isn’t a seer or someone who follows the law of fate, then what exactly does the beggar knowing everything actually mean?"

The man’s expression shifted, becoming very serious.

"This means that the laws of space and time are somehow involved."

His voice carried absolute certainty.

"Only that can explain the old beggar knowing everything. Not by predicting it through fate, but by witnessing everything happen... By being there to see it unfold."

Damian’s breathing stopped.

"So either he himself seems to be the one using those laws, or..."

The man’s body went rigid for a heartbeat, his eyes widening as if some realization had struck him.

Damian was too engrossed in his own thoughts to notice the brief reaction.

’Laws of space and time.’

His mind raced through everything he’d seen.

’I’ve never encountered anyone using skills based on time. I thought Castor’s domain was time-based, but...’

It turned out he was just slowing the speed of every matter in his domain.

The man looked at Damian, his expression settling back into something calmer, though something lingered in his eyes that hadn’t been there before.

"But I don’t know of any being who has mastered both the laws of time and space."

He paused.

"And most of my real self’s knowledge is based on what the Light Elves shared with us. They have kept many things hidden, revealing only what they wanted humanity to know."

He looked upward at the sky.

"Our world is just too young to possess deep knowledge about these things... After all, in universal terms, I would just be a young prodigy. Humanity itself is barely a couple of centuries into understanding what awakening really means."

’Indeed.’

Damian’s thoughts agreed with the assessment.

’We’re infants compared to races that have had thousands of years to develop their understanding of laws and power.’

The man spoke again after some time.

"But at least some things are clear from everything you’ve told me."

His hand rested on Damian’s shoulder.

"The beggar wants you alive for his plans, whatever they might be. And the other side wants you dead to prevent whatever future the beggar wants you to create. If ’they’ even exist in the first place."

He paused.

"And somehow, the center of everything is our world. Earth itself matters in a way we don’t fully understand."

Damian’s brow furrowed.

’What makes this world so special?’

The question had been bothering him for a while now.

’What makes everyone in the universe crave our world so much? The demons, the giants and all the other races watching from beyond the portals.’

He looked at the sky as well, his voice becoming quieter.

"I don’t know about the illusory other side... But the Imperials definitely want me dead. That much is certain."

The man looked away, his expression becoming pained.

"You might think I was foolish to believe in them, to trust them as brothers."

His voice came out rough.

"But I can’t think of anything that would make them do this. And I mean that sincerely."

Damian didn’t say anything, just sat quietly beside his grandfather.

Suddenly, the man’s hand moved suddenly, reaching toward Damian’s forehead.

His eyes closed, concentration written across his features.

’Is he... trying to check for the memory seal?’

Damian held still, barely breathing, as he felt something like pressure against his mind.

The sensation wasn’t painful, just strange, like someone was carefully examining something they couldn’t quite see.

Time passed slowly, the sun unchanging overhead.

Finally, the man’s eyes opened.

"Strange." His voice carried confusion. "I can’t sense any memory seal at all."

Damian’s mouth opened.

"But I did get some memory flashes when the thing with Elizabeth happened."

The man thought for some time, his brow furrowed.

"Maybe this soul fragment isn’t strong enough to sense something that powerful."

His hand moved from Damian’s forehead to his chest, pressing over his heart.

"And your bloodline seal, the one your mother placed here... I can’t sense it all either. My daughter-in-law must have been someone extraordinary to create a seal this advanced."

His expression became thoughtful.

"But it makes sense. If the seal was easy to sense, wouldn’t lit–"

He caught himself, the word dying half-formed.

"Wouldn’t Royce have sensed it in that forest when he summoned you? That moth–"

Damian was disappointed about the memory seal, but he was also even more grateful to his mother.

’The seal kept my identity hidden from beings far stronger than me. And the heart itself unsealed the moment I was about to die, releasing my bloodline when I needed it most.’

His chest tightened with complicated feelings.

’She thought of everything, didn’t she? She made sure I’d have every possible advantage to survive.’

As Damian was busy in his thoughts, a finger touched his forehead again.

’Hm?’

He looked up to see the man wearing a soft and loving smile.

"Although I can’t help you with those two seals..." His eyes twinkled. "You wanted a way to form weapon intent early, right?"

Something in the man’s expression made Damian’s instincts scream a warning.

"You–"

But before he could say anything, before he could ask–

BOOM

Damian’s mind was filled with knowledge.

The seven levels of weapon intent crashed through his consciousness, each one distinct and clear.

How intent forms from repeated practice and deep understanding of your weapon.

How it grows from simple enhancement to reality manipulation.

How each level builds on the previous one, creating a foundation that eventually transforms into law itself.

The information kept coming, overwhelming and complete, burning itself into his mind with force that made his vision white out.

Damian’s body went rigid, his eyes wide but unseeing, his breath caught in his throat as decades of accumulated knowledge forced itself into his mind in seconds.

And the man kept his finger pressed to Damian’s forehead, his soft smile never wavering, pouring everything he knew about weapon intent into his last surviving grandson... even as his form began to dim.