The Trap of Absolute Rebellion
The Grey Absolute’s reaction to the request—to obtain signatures from the 10 Mainstays on the Sword of Ruin and Soul belonging to the Dimensional Origin of Truth—was immediate.
“Kahahahahahahaha—!”
‘As expected, he’s mocking me.’
The Dimensional Mage God wanted to tell him to stop laughing, but no matter how he thought about it, he was the weaker party here, the one making a request. All he could do was wait for the laughter to end.
After laughing heartily for a long while, the Grey Absolute finally spoke.
“Ah—! It’s been hundreds of millions of years since I laughed like this. You have no idea what kind of request you’ve accepted, do you? That’s why you’re asking me, right?”
“Provocation or goodwill?”
It was an extreme conclusion, but the final verdict was that it had to be one or the other.
“Kihihihi—! Exactly. Your computational power is high, but you have zero life experience, so your wisdom is nonexistent. That’s just like my past self. For someone at your level, that’s actually a very reasonable judgment, but it’s still not the correct answer. To become first-rate, you must first read the true intentions of the one who issued the request. You still have a long way to go.”
“?”
He had no intention of reacting to every single sarcastic remark. He was simply puzzled by the claim that there was another conclusion.
“Obtaining the signatures of the 10 Mainstays on the Sword of Ruin and Soul of Truth can, in a positive light, be seen as a token of affection toward the 10 Mainstays. In a negative light, it would be exactly the provocation you mentioned. In ordinary terms, it’s simply ridiculous. But here’s the thing. When it involves the highest ruling class of the Absolute Realm—the 10 Mainstays or the Wind Family—it becomes an extremely political matter. It could serve as proof that the 10 Mainstays are submitting beneath the Wind Family, or it could signify an alliance. However, in the worst-case scenario…”
“Kihihihihihi—!”
The Grey Absolute raised his voice and burst into laughter once more. After laughing ominously for a long time, he spoke simply.
“It becomes irrefutable evidence of the 10 Mainstays’ rebellion against Truth. Or it would serve as the trigger for a purge.”
“!!!”
Thud—!
The shock was so great that the Sword of Ruin and Soul slipped from his hand and fell to the ground. It was something he simply could not comprehend.
‘Why would writing one’s name on the Sword of Ruin and Soul belonging to the Dimensional Origin of Truth—the blood relative of Truth—be evidence of rebellion?’
As if answering his silent question, the Grey Absolute began to explain.
“No matter which country’s politicians you look at, they use every possible means to bury their opponents and seize power. When strength or authority isn’t enough, conspiracy and dirty tricks run rampant to drag the other side down. In one kingdom, they smeared honey on the leaves of the trees along the king’s walking path and wrote that the next king would be the leader of the opposing faction, then let ants devour the words. By showing those traces to the king, they induced a massive purge.”
This story had absolutely nothing to do with the current situation.
‘I don’t understand why he’s suddenly telling me this.’
“But do you really think the king purged his ministers just because he saw the names written on the leaves? Of course not. That would make him an incredibly stupid king.”
Though his face was invisible and only his voice could be heard, the tone was steeped in emotion.
“The reason the king purged the ministers and factions whose names were written on the leaves was to warn them against turning even the king himself into a tool of political strife. It was a stern measure telling his subjects not to involve the king in their petty games. The request the Wind Family gave you is a tool meant to drag Truth into the conflict between the 10 Mainstays and the Wind Family. The Origin of the Mage God would never use such a complicated scheme to suppress an opponent—he prefers direct tactics. Quite impressive, isn’t it? Was his name the Dimensional Origin? Kihihihi—! He must be quite the eccentric, or perhaps a truly remarkable talent within the Wind Family.”
He still couldn’t understand what any of this meant, so he remained silent. As if sensing his confusion, the Grey Absolute sneered and gave an order.
“Clclcl—! My past self truly was foolish. You only looked at the reward and accepted something impossible. Not only is success out of reach, even attempting it is impossible. No—whether you succeed or fail, you’re finished either way. If you still don’t understand, try writing my name on the Sword of Ruin and Soul yourself.”
He froze.
Reflexively, he pulled out a writing tool and moved to inscribe on the sword. But the thought of signing his name on the Sword of Ruin and Soul, one of Truth’s authorities, didn’t sit well with him.
“Hurry up and do it. Even if you write it, I’ll acknowledge it as my signature.”
‘This is my chance.’
Scratch—!
At those words, he quickly wrote “Cyan II” using a black writing tool. Black letters began to appear beside the wooden sword. The quest’s progress had finally taken one step forward.
‘Good. One down. Nine left. It’ll be tough, but I just need to fill them one by one. I can become the Origin of the Dimensional Race.’
Even if the Grey Absolute stepped forward aggressively, it was obviously impossible to obtain all the signatures of the 10 Mainstays at once, and he hadn’t expected that anyway. He planned to take his time and proceed carefully.
‘The Sole Dragon God Emperor will definitely help. That leaves eight.’
To the Black Flame Absolute, who was practically his mortal enemy, or the Golden Absolute, who utterly despised him, having the Grey step forward would likely backfire.
‘I’ll leave those two for last and get signatures from the other six of the 10 Mainstays.’
He steeled himself to endure any trial or price necessary to achieve that.
But then something strange happened.
Srrrrrrrr—!
The name of the Grey Absolute that the Dimensional Mage God had written on the Sword of Ruin and Soul of the Dimensional Origin vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.
‘The signature disappeared!’
Papapat—!
In a panic, he rewrote the name in the vanished spot, only for it to disappear again without a trace. He tried several different writing tools, but the letters vanished right before his eyes every time. In the end, he poured divine power into his fingers, strengthening them to the limit, and forcibly carved the name.
Crack crack crack—!
“Ugh—!”
But the tremendous rebound force made him clutch his wrist and stagger back. Not a single trace remained on the Sword of Ruin and Soul.
“Not working, is it? Kihihihihihi—!”
The Grey Absolute’s laughter began ringing painfully in his ears.
“The Sword of Ruin and Soul of Truth is an immortal divine artifact imbued with the authority of non-killing. No manipulation or alteration can be applied to it. Even writing a name on its surface will have its result erased.”
“Ugh—!”
Only then did he finally understand the situation. This was a completely new type of request he had never encountered before.
“So the problem wasn’t obtaining the signatures… it was that signatures couldn’t be made at all?”
“Exactly! The Sword of Ruin and Soul symbolizes the immutability of Truth. The true nature of the request you accepted is to make the 10 Mainstays damage the immutability of Truth. If they can do it, it becomes proof that they pose a threat to Truth. Or rather, it would be a challenge against that authority. Knowing this, what could possibly make the 10 Mainstays give you their signatures? And if it’s impossible, what will happen if you fail or give up? Answer me, you foolish past self.”
“!!!”
His mind went completely blank. He had thought it would be difficult but doable if he took it one step at a time. Yet the task was fundamentally impossible from the start.
‘The basic premise was wrong. The key wasn’t overcoming trials from superiors who disliked me. I should have first considered why a superior would give a subordinate such an impossible and difficult task. But… can the 10 Mainstays actually alter the immutability of Truth?’
Since he didn’t fully understand the level of the 10 Mainstays, he couldn’t answer that question. However, if he were one of them, he would never take such a risk no matter what price was offered.
‘This is the first time I’ve received a request that can’t even be attempted, one predicated on failure from the beginning.’
He had accepted many requests where success seemed impossible, but never one where even beginning it was impossible. This request had clearly been issued with failure as the foregone conclusion.
‘If I had known that no signature could be made on the Sword of Ruin and Soul, which carries the immutability of Truth, I would never have accepted it. And the fact that simply obtaining signatures carries the meaning of rebellion or challenge against Truth… Why on earth was such an absurd task given to me? Ah—!’
The reason he could receive this request was ultimately because he was the past self of the Grey Absolute. Yet if someone who didn’t know the circumstances saw him fail at something that looked trivial, that evaluation would fall on his future self. The 10 Mainstays’ opinion of him would plummet.
‘The past self of the greatest sage, the Grey Absolute, gave up on the request without even attempting it. A sage is supposed to possess the wisdom to solve any problem, yet even the future Grey Absolute’s abilities are now in doubt. There could be no better justification to attack him.’
The Dimensional Origin would suffer no loss whether the signatures were obtained or not. If successful, he could simply grant the 10 Mainstays rights to the Main Universe’s Origin race—something akin to children’s allowance. If it failed, he would gain a justification to attack one of the 10 Mainstays indefinitely.
‘I took the fact that I am the Grey’s past too lightly. That was a mistake.’
No—simply testing whether a signature was even possible on the Sword of Ruin and Soul when the request was first given would have been enough to make him refuse.
‘I should have examined both the possibility of success and the process at the same time.’
“This request was designed considering both success and failure. In that case, is even a workaround impossible? Did I really accept this without even confirming whether success was possible?”
“Kihihihi—! That’s why the world is dirty and difficult for the weak and the foolish. If your head is bad, your body suffers. If your body is bad, it’s over. At least you don’t resent the world, so there’s hope. From the perspective of the Dimensional Origin, this request is perfectly beneficial to the Wind Family, and there’s no way to escape it. However…”
Kuuuung—!
Suddenly the space distorted, and a hand shot out, snatching the Sword of Ruin and Soul.
“To challenge the Grey Absolute with a request like this is foolish. I’ll do as you wish and deal with it. I will give you my signature, my past self.”
“Huh?”
The completely unexpected response left him unable to feel any joy. It was a reaction that made no logical sense in the current situation.
‘What? Didn’t he just say with his own mouth that damaging the immutability of the Sword of Ruin and Soul would be rebellion or a challenge against Truth? So why is he saying he’ll do it?’
Before he could even finish forming the question, he felt his body being forcibly moved.
“Don’t tell me—! Again?”
The sensation of the Grey Absolute using dimensional authority for ultra-long-range spatial manipulation felt far too familiar. And now he even knew the approximate distance. The destination he was being summoned to was all too recognizable.
Shuuuk—! Thud—!
The place he landed after falling out of the spatial gate was, as expected, the arena where the 10 Mainstays held their ranking battles. The 10 Mainstays were watching him and the Grey Absolute with expressions of people enjoying an interesting play.
The Grey Absolute, clad in a black robe, stared silently for a moment at his own neatly arranged appearance wearing the formal attire of a Creator God. He seemed to be contemplating how to respond to the changed form of the Dimensional Mage God.
‘Even the Dimensional Mage God didn’t say anything and let it slide, so it should be fine. This looks far more presentable than that pitch-black robe, so he won’t be able to complain.’
But the Grey Absolute simply raised his hand lightly and swung it.
Smack—!
The blow to the back of his head made him literally see stars. As he barely managed to stay on his feet, the Grey Absolute’s voice reached him.
“I thought your tone and reactions were strange. So you went and listened to some plausible nonsense again and started putting it into practice? Becoming a Main God has made you do all sorts of ridiculous things. If the change is too drastic, people call it madness. And you’re not a decorative doll—what kind of combat are you planning to do looking like that?”
“Damn it—! The Origin of the Mage God from the Wind Family didn’t hit me when he saw this outfit, so why does my future self only find fault and beat me? Isn’t your personality too picky and weird?”
“Kihihi—! Exactly. That point is the only solution to this request. The Dimensional Origin of the Wind Family, who blindly obeys Truth, cannot possibly understand this domain.”
“Eh?”
He was dumbfounded by the sudden solution. The Grey Absolute grinned at his expression, then answered.
“Truth gives reward and punishment simultaneously.”
“?”
“Because that is reality, and that is Truth. You now understand that great rewards inherently contain equal danger, yet you still haven’t learned to be cautious? After suffering this much, you should have realized it by now, my past self.”
“……”
It sounded like a reprimand for this incident, and honestly, he had nothing to say in his defense. When he closed his mouth without replying, the Grey Absolute seemed to lose interest and moved on to the main point.
“In the end, the problem with this request isn’t obtaining the signatures. It’s what comes after. Destroying the immutability of the Sword of Ruin and Soul created by Truth and carving one’s own name into it is undeniable rebellion and challenge. Challenging or rebelling against Truth means the end. That’s why it cannot be done and must fail—that is the Dimensional Origin’s true aim. If it fails, he can at least damage the reputation of the Grey Absolute, one of the 10 Mainstays, while suffering no loss himself. My past—you—have become my weakness. You understand this much now, don’t you?”
“……”
He nodded silently, too ashamed to speak. The Grey Absolute smiled and continued.
“Considering the honor of the 10 Mainstays, success is ultimately required, yet Truth, whose immutability has been damaged, would never stay silent. That is both the Dimensional Origin’s prediction and his trap. Accurate. At least, if Truth were an ordinary superior being. Kihihihihi—!”
“Hohohohot—!”
“Hahahahaha!”
“Kukukuk—!”
Not only the Grey Absolute, but the surrounding 10 Mainstays began to laugh as well. It seemed they had already heard the full story; all eyes were on the Sword of Ruin and Soul of the Dimensional Origin.
After laughing for a long time, the Grey Absolute grabbed the tip of the sword he was holding and handed over the hilt.
“The Wind Family, as blood relatives of Truth, only know blind obedience. They cannot understand this. This is a truth that only beings who have transcended the Eternal can know. They will never realize that absolute loyalty and total rebellion are the same. Because reward and punishment coexist for Truth, loyalty and rebellion can also coexist. Love and hatred both belong to Truth. Only the totality can supplement Truth’s eternity and affection for reality. That is why the 10 Mainstays plot rebellion while remaining loyal.”
It was so difficult and dizzying that his head spun. Ignoring his confusion entirely, the Grey Absolute began to chant.
“You will soon experience it for yourself. Please, try not to go mad. I, ranked tenth among the 10 Mainstays, will give you my signature first. To do so, I will show you the Trinity of the 14th-circle Mage God. Watch carefully and learn, my past self.”