Chapter 137 – Truth

“Am I alive again…?”

Seo Minho, who had been revived, seemed aware of his own situation.

The time paradox of his past self being summoned and his current self existing simultaneously as a 5-Star Spirit had been resolved by 《Singularity Manifestation》, and it appeared that even the memories of his existence as a spirit after death remained intact.

With the historical alteration of a dead person being revived becoming reality, Seo Minho was naturally in a state of having become a devotee of Mirinae.

No, it was precisely because he had been her devotee from the start that he had obtained Singularity Manifestation, her Stigma.

“With this, the promise has been kept.”

As Lee Hanseong spoke to the reunited siblings, Seo Minah looked at him with a refreshed expression, different from before.

“…It really was true. Thank you, Guild Master.”

No trace of resentment toward Lee Hanseong could be found in her anymore.

With the fact that he was her Oppa’s enemy gone, all that remained was the fact that Lee Hanseong had saved Seo Minho, who had tried to kill him.

A hint of apology and overflowing gratitude were visible within her.

Seo Minho also bowed his head to Lee Hanseong with an awkward expression.

“I will definitely repay the favor of saving my life. Whether it’s chores or anything else, just tell me.”

“Hmm….”

“If you’re uncomfortable about me coveting the Heavenly Demon Medallion before, I’ll apologize as many times as needed. So, please, just let me stay with Minah.”

The lingering resentment that had dominated Seo Minho when he became a spirit had already vanished as if washed away.

Rather, he seemed to consider his past self an embarrassing dark history.

Seeing his self-reproach and regret with his Insightful Eye, Lee Hanseong readily accepted Seo Minho as a guild member.

“Very well. Mr. Seo Minho, from now on, you are also a member of the Galaxy Guild.”

“……!”

From the moment he became Mirinae’s devotee, he was already practically a Galaxy Guild member.

“This is a commemorative gift for you becoming a member of the Galaxy Guild.”

Whoosh— Fwoosh!

He also linked the Guarantee of the Righteous Will to him and bestowed the Promotion Effect.

Seo Minho, who had just reached 6-Star upon revival, saw his Grade rise to Half-Step 7-Star.

“Hah! Am I really 7-Star?”

“Not a full 7-Star, though.”

But then.

Fwoosh!

The great feat of being the first among Awakened born with a 2-Star Vessel to reach 7-Star, the beginning of Transcendence, was achieved, solidifying the 7-Star Grade Seo Minho had attained.

Poof.

Seo Minho’s First Awakening Skill, Tiger Brother Righteous Bond, unfolded on its own, transforming him into a tiger.

And then immediately changed back into a human form.

Not a complete human, but the form of a tiger beast-man, a mixture of beast and human.

That appearance resembled a Great Yokai or a Phantom Beast Species.

“Grrrrrl—”

First Polarity Reversal 《Guardian General (Tiger Might General)》.

Perhaps greatly impressed by the Contractor of Jo Zilong, who had killed him, Seo Minho had comprehended a Polarity Reversal with the same name as Jo Zilong’s nickname and reached a full 7-Star.

Naturally, with the Guarantee of the Righteous Will effect newly applied in his 7-Star state, he ultimately became Half-Step 8-Star.

Flash—

Seo Minho did not miss the moment of enlightenment arising from the rise in Grade.

“Ah… Obsession is ultimately meaningless. Why did I harbor such excessive greed?”

Second Polarity Reversal 《Desireless Iron Axe》.

Fsssss—

The golden Gang Qi and silver Gang Qi of his Second Awakening Skill, Golden Axe Silver Axe, converged into the dull interior of an iron axe, and all traces of them vanished.

But the sense of danger emanating from Seo Minho’s axe felt even stronger now.

‘Huh?’

Lee Hanseong, who had been trying to examine the axe, felt his Will naturally scatter.

Though the ability to double attack power was gone, it was a function similar to a Heart Sword that scattered the opponent’s very desire, befitting the name ‘Desireless.’

Probably, most defensive or resistance abilities wouldn’t work properly before it.

Even restraining or binding abilities, especially suppression abilities like Jo Zilong’s Holding Affairs with Restraint that had led to Seo Minho’s death, likely couldn’t stop Desireless Iron Axe either.

“Interesting.”

Seo Minho was no longer a low-rank Awakener.

However, as he seemed to have no contracted High-Rank Spirits and thus couldn’t use Treasure Body or Spirit Overlay, he was still lacking to be called a High-Rank Awakener.

It would be most appropriate to simply view him as a single High-Rank Spirit and call him a Mid-Rank Awakener.

Moreover, with his 7-Star Awakening, his species had become closer to a were-tiger, and he had even gained an Aptitude for the Lunar Constellation, which he didn’t have before.

Baek Woohyeon, who had witnessed everything from the revival to the two Awakenings, interjected with an uncomfortable expression.

“Why aren’t we being accepted into the Galaxy Guild like that guy? Aren’t we now devotees of the same Constellation too?”

Having seen the benefits of being a Galaxy Guild member with his own eyes, he seemed to covet that position.

Well, most promising candidates capable of reaching the Heavenly Palace Tournament Main Tournament were Mid-Rank Awakeners who had reached 6-Star.

With the Guarantee of the Righteous Will effect, even reaching Half-Step 7-Star could make one a High-Rank Awakener.

“Hmm. Wouldn’t you know that better yourselves?”

“Urk…!”

Unlike Seo Minho, who had experienced the miracle of revival, the promising candidates from the Heavenly Palace Tournament weren’t particularly sincere in their belief in Mirinae.

Why would there be any reason to give power to them and add potential for discord?

“If you want to gain power, show your faith first.”

Amidst the firm words that shut Baek Woohyeon’s mouth.

Jin Yuseong raised another issue.

“But what about supplies?”

High-Rank Awakeners who had achieved Primal Spirit God no longer needed food, but those present here were still only Mid-Rank Awakeners whose True Bodies were mortals.

With dozens of people, the longer the time spent in the Otherworld, the more supplies would be needed.

After Hundred-Man Slaughter ended, there were emergency rations newly stockpiled in the Reverse World, but.

They were insufficient for everyone here to eat long-term.

“Securing drinking water and food directly in the Otherworld… won’t work.”

Lee Hanseong started to speak but immediately denied it.

Just as eating Underworld food prevents one from leaving the Underworld, there existed a Law that eating Otherworld food in the Otherworld would prevent one from returning to Earth.

“Then the only way is to change to a state where we don’t need to eat at all.”

Anyway, except for Jin Yuseong, Yu Sehee, Lycan, and Lee Hanseong, who were connected to Apostles from parallel worlds, and Park Seongcheol, the Contractor of the all-time genius spirit Dice Ten who had Bloomed his Authority, there were practically no candidates capable of Awakening to Apostle Rank combat power.

‘Perfectly the founding members.’

Pat.

Summoning Hyu’s Spirit Treasure, External Incarnation, and.

Swoooosh!

Abruptly unfolding Ten Thousand Phenomena Theft, as the External Incarnation became a Treasure Vessel, he swallowed everyone except the five founding members into the Reverse World inside the doll created.

A Reverse World separate from the one created based on the original Lee Hanseong.

Clank!

Unfolding Blundell’s Event Horizon there, he stopped time inside.

He had no intention of releasing the seal until they returned to Earth.

“Now supplies aren’t a problem, right?”

“Ha, …right.”

Jin Yuseong made a dumbfounded expression at Lee Hanseong’s sudden solution, but soon judged this to be the most efficient and nodded.

“Let’s discuss the rest while moving.”

Lee Hanseong’s party climbed onto Lycan’s back.

Having gained Fenrir’s form, his back was larger than a sports field, so there was plenty of space.

Thump!

Lycan began sprinting westward, treading on empty air.

It would have been faster to link everyone with the Swarm and use Shrinking Earth, but since they planned to make plans while traveling, they intended to move like this for the time being.

Swoooosh!

Of course, moving like this wasn’t slow either.

Lycan’s speed was as fast as an airplane.

From the foothills of Mount Fuji, roughly the center of the Japanese archipelago, to the eastern coast of the Arthalia mainland, it wouldn’t even take an hour.

* * *

As Lycan advanced, treading on empty air.

Lee Hanseong, who had briefly closed his eyes and read information from somewhere, opened his eyes and spoke.

“First, I checked using Divination, All Phenomena, Path Revelation, etc. Even if we destroy the source of the erosion, we won’t be forcibly ejected back to Earth or anything.”

“So we won’t immediately face an Apostle.”

“And as Yuseong worried, the way back to Earth won’t be blocked either.”

“Then there’s no problem at all?”

Lee Hanseong shook his head.

“No. It’s not that there’s no problem.”

“What’s the problem now?”

“The problem is that the dimensional distance between Earth and the Arthalia Continent increases.”

Now, with the Japanese archipelago, which belongs to Earth, connected, Earth’s Laws coexist with the Otherworld’s Laws, so it’s still possible to receive blessings from all Twelve Constellations and Awaken, but.

If the source of the erosion is severed and the Japanese archipelago returns, Earth’s Laws disappear, and Awakening would only be possible through Feats related to the three Constellations present in the Arthalia Continent: Heavenly Slaughter, Darkness, and Lunar.

Meaning the Achievements needed for Awakening would be limited to those related to slaughter, despair, and madness.

“What about Lady Mirinae? Judging from this time, it seemed she regained quite a bit of her Constellation’s power.”

“Even Mirinae won’t be able to use much power when that time comes.”

Strangely, in the Otherworld, Mirinae’s power felt more suppressed than on Earth.

Near the mirror image of the Aokigahara flood, which was close to Earth, she could still intervene to some extent, like accepting new devotees and bestowing Stigmas, but.

The closer they got to the Arthalia mainland, the more Mirinae’s Starlight was being suppressed.

As if the Otherworld’s Laws were rejecting her.

—A usurper would not welcome the return of the original owner, would they?

Möbius’s girl-shaped projection suddenly popped out and spoke.

“Möbius? Why are you out again? No, more importantly, what did you mean by that?”

—Just as I said. We were originally the owners of the Heavenly Palace. Why do you think the 12-Star beings are called Apostles? If they were a single entity leading the Constellations, it would be more fitting to call them Avatars.

“Because the power of the Constellations they rule isn’t originally theirs?”

—Correct. The Twelve Constellations of the Heavenly Palace were originally our three divided Axes, further split into four each. Apostles were merely our disciples.

Lee Hanseong nodded plausibly at the truth of the Heavenly Palace that Möbius abruptly began to explain.

—However, the Twelve Constellations, which were merely our limbs, began creating a new Awakening system at some point, started pilfering our stars, and eventually usurped our positions and seized authority over the Origin World.

“Ah… So that’s why Mirinae said she belonged to the Heavenly Palace.”

The Heavenly Palace was originally Mirinae’s.

—But we didn’t lose everything. The part the Twelve Constellations seized was only the portion belonging to the Heavenly Palace. They couldn’t touch our source, the Axes… for a short time, that is.

“…You mean given time, even the Axes would have been taken?”

—Since the Heavenly Palace’s Constellations originated from the Axes, if they combined their power, seizing control of the Axes wouldn’t have been impossible. So we locked the gate leading to the Axes and crossed over to Earth with the key.

Then, Jin Yuseong noticed something and interjected.

“Wait, then the Great Cataclysm that happened on Earth, could it be…!”

—Yes. The Heavenly Palace chased after us.

At Möbius’s affirmation, Lee Hanseong reflexively denied it.

“No, as far as I know, the Heavenly Palace’s Twelve Constellations crossed over to Earth to complete the Crossroads of Ascension.”

—That was also one of the reasons. But if the Crossroads of Ascension were the only reason, the world placed on the opposite side didn’t necessarily have to be Earth.

“That is….”

Lee Hanseong could no longer deny it either.

The fact that the beginning of the Great Cataclysm that changed Earth was because of Mirinae.

But he couldn’t possibly resent her.

“…Right. If we trace the cause, the Twelve Constellations betraying Mirinae came first.”

Ultimately, blood is thicker than water.

Partly because Lee Hanseong was a generation born after the Great Cataclysm and didn’t know much about pre-Cataclysm Earth.

And because he and Mirinae were already in an inseparable relationship.

“Well, that’s true.”

Jin Yuseong and Yu Sehee seemed to agree with Lee Hanseong’s opinion, but.

Park Seongcheol’s thoughts were slightly different.

The thought that if it weren’t for the post-Cataclysm world where killing and dying were easy, his father might not have disappeared was visible in his Insightful Eye.

Though it didn’t sit well with him, Lee Hanseong didn’t point it out.

He knew it would only stir up trouble.

Instead, he changed the subject.

“Anyway, returning to the original topic, I said that when the source of the erosion is destroyed, the dimensional distance between Earth and the Origin World increases. There’s one more problem that arises from that.”

“Uh… again?”

“The distance between dimensions increasing means the time difference between worlds can also widen. It would be good if time on our side flowed more advantageously, but the opposite is more likely.”

Meaning they could spend a day in the Otherworld while a year passes on Earth.

“And there are already two time limits on Earth.”

One was the full-scale Great War between the Otherworld and Earth due to the Crossroads of Ascension.

The war originally scheduled to start in ten years was only delayed as a result of Unchain slaughtering and weakening Earth’s forces, so.

With the promising candidates who would have died in this Heavenly Palace Tournament now alive, the Great War would start in half a year.

“Even if it were only the Great War, it might have been somewhat manageable. Once the Great War starts, the dimensional distance between the Origin World and Earth would draw close again. But the other one is more problematic.”

The other was the invasion of the Void forces pouring from beyond the Axes.

This was actually almost blocked when Mirinae opened the Gate of Primordial Origin, but.

If Earth becomes distant and Mirinae is suppressed by the Otherworld’s Laws, the opened Gate of Primordial Origin would close again.

If time flows uncontrollably in that state, there’s a not-small possibility of Earth being destroyed by the Void forces, not the Great War.

“Then shouldn’t destroying the source of the erosion be postponed?”

Jin Yuseong retorted after hearing the problems, but Lee Hanseong shook his head.

“Sorry, but that seems difficult. The closer we get to the Arthalia mainland, the stronger the compulsion of the Geass becomes.”

If it were another’s power, he might have resisted, but since it was a compulsion originating from an Oath he himself had sworn, he couldn’t defy it.

“So what do we do?”

“That’s why we need to accumulate sufficient power during the process of destroying the source of the erosion.”

“How?”

“That is….”

Just as Lee Hanseong was about to explain the method.

Jolt!

Everyone riding on Lycan’s back sensed an undeniable presence and turned their heads forward.

“St! Op! Right! There!”

A being of at least 9-Star level was blocking Lycan’s path of advance.

Then, Park Seongcheol’s eyes widened as he recognized the opponent’s face.

“…Father?”