The Name Park Hyunmyung

"Where is Isabella right now?"

"She has left for the Dercian family, my lord."

"The Dercian family? Both of them?"

"Yes."

Isaac's answer made my head throb.

If Isabella was heading there — would she even make it back alive?

She was already tormented by the memories of her past. She must have been certain she had been discarded. So why go to Dercian at all?

Then Isaac spoke again.

"She said there was something she had to reclaim."

"Something she had to reclaim?"

"I don't know exactly what it is either. Only that… she left with an expression of terrible anguish."

Of course she would be in agony. Returning to the place that abandoned her — and doing it alongside the woman who had replaced her.

What could possibly be worth reclaiming at that cost, I couldn't begin to guess. And she had only just reclaimed the throne of the Desert Queen. Whatever it was, it mattered more than that.

"And you, Isaac? If you've recovered your memories the same way Isabella has, it can't be easy for you to remain here."

"The term of my contract has not yet expired."

"Is that truly the only reason? Weren't you suspicious of me?"

"…Lord Randolph is the benefactor who drew me out into the world and erased my bad karma. I have never once doubted you. I simply… believe there must be another explanation."

"You know everything, then. That I hired the two of you — both afflicted with the Divine Illness — and that despite not being a Star-Awakened, I raise no suspicion?"

Better to put this squarely on the table. Leave something half-buried and suspicion only festers into a bomb waiting to go off.

Isaac hesitated before answering.

"A Star-Awakened told me that Lord Randolph is not a formal Star-Awakened — but something greater. The One Who Guides the Stars."

"The One Who Guides the Stars."

"Forgive me. Earlier, my emotions got ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the better of me…"

"Think nothing of it."

His trust had not been erased. If anything, it had deepened into something larger still.

Isaac's anger had come from believing I had arranged Isabella's meeting with the Dercian heiress. Isabella was never one to show her feelings freely — so if even Isaac said she looked "terribly anguished," the pain must have been carving into her heart. Watching that from the sidelines, of course he would be furious.

Isaac continued.

"Furthermore… Isabella said she saw the face of the one who had controlled her. But what I saw was something different."

Something different?

What one witnessed upon Transcendence was apparently more than simple memory.

Isabella had seen my face — the face I wore on Earth.

And Isaac—

"…I heard his name. Park Hyunmyung. Those three syllables."

Thud.

In the same instant, I felt as though my heart had dropped straight through my chest.

…Upon Transcendence, they learn the gamer's information piece by piece.

Isaac had learned that the one who controlled him bore the name Park Hyunmyung. Isabella had seen my face from Earth. My personal details were being peeled away, one layer at a time.

For now it was limited to Earth — but eventually they might realize that Randolph of Pangenia and Park Hyunmyung were one and the same. Perhaps they already had, to some degree.

I had a character in the Empire, too.

That one from the Death God Religion — the one wearing the silver fox mask. I had confirmed with my own eyes that a character I estimated to be Thunder God Descent was present in the Empire.

If they gathered and exchanged information, the truth would surface in an instant.

The Death God Religion is collecting those afflicted with the Divine Illness. Transcending them — in order to find the gamers.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I slowly stroked my chin.

That seemed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to be why the Death God Religion sought out those stricken with the Divine Illness, inducted them, and forced them through Transcendence. To hunt down the gamers' Pangenia avatars and pass judgment, perhaps.

Whatever their purpose, there was only one thing I needed to do.

…I have to grow strong enough to handle every possible scenario.

Stronger than Wilhelm. Settling for Wilhelm's level would never let me see the true end. To stand complete and inviolable in this damned world, I had to surpass Wilhelm.

No — not merely surpass him. I had to advance far enough to overwhelm him entirely.

And so I opened the Golden Rule Shop.

3,160 hours!

The Golden Rule Fragments had ballooned to an absurd degree. I had held fragments in the thousands before, but never more than three thousand hours.

No matter how overwhelmingly we had cleared Lord Solbaren, this quantity should have been impossible. And yet one being had made it possible.

A contract of a kind I had never seen before.

The Constellation of the Most Brilliant Hero. He had come forward with a proposal of his own.

And yet it was strange. Originally he had been the Constellation of the Brilliant Hero — he had lost his existence and left behind a Supreme Unique-grade treasure, pouring every last scrap of his being into lighting the path. I had thought him extinguished. But he had reappeared as the Constellation of the Most Brilliant Hero and begun watching over me. Now he was even extending contracts, showing an extraordinary degree of interest.

I still can't be certain whether this is the same constellation as before.

The contract itself had not been fully sealed. Of course, the terms were jaw-droppingly generous — so generous that refusing on the spot would almost seem unnatural. But I still had no firm conviction that the Most Brilliant Hero's Constellation was the one I knew. I could not rashly accept a deal under uncertain conditions.

And yet he had freely handed over an enormous quantity of Golden Rule Fragments — simply under the name of a "subscription fee."

A subscription. Some function that lets him watch me without losing his existence, perhaps?

700 hours of Golden Rule Fragments per 100 days. Seven hours a day. A quantity no other constellation would even dare contemplate — offered without hesitation. A clear leap in stature from before.

I can hardly refuse something given freely with no strings attached.

I allowed myself a small smile. I had my doubts, but there was no reason to reject a pure subscription offered unconditionally.

Shopping time, then.

Whatever else, shopping was always a pleasure. With this many fragments, there was virtually nothing I couldn't buy.

Having obtained those, in the moment of Transcendence, Isaac saw.

Countless memories stretching from the distant past to the present. Someone who was not himself moving ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his body. Like a doll, like a marionette — every act committed without restraint, all of it pouring unfiltered into his eyes.

I was certain I had done it all myself.

Isaac had no memories of several intervening years. When he next opened his eyes, he simply heard from others the things he had supposedly done. At first it sounded like nonsense — but when ten people, then a hundred, all said the same thing, disbelief became impossible.

And then the ambushes on ordinary streets. The people who poured out hatred as though he were their mortal enemy…

In the end, Isaac accepted it all as his own doing, fled without rest, and finally reached Kramdel.

So it wasn't me after all.

The first emotion he felt was relief. If the deeds had been committed under control rather than by his own will, there was room for sympathy.

But the relief curdled into rage.

Park Hyunmyung. Park Hyunmyung… Park Hyunmyung……

Like an echo, the name of the one who had controlled him resounded. Park Hyunmyung. Isaac pressed those three syllables deep into his mind — so he would never, ever forget.

I will slit his throat. Without fail.

For vengeance.

Through a Star-Awakened, he went on to hear many things. About the players called sinners, and how they possessed the inhabitants of this world and threw its order into chaos. Isaac himself was one of those afflicted with the Divine Illness, and that was why he had recovered a player's memories.

— The otherworldly being who controlled you still remains in Pangenia. In someone else's body, repeating exactly what was done to you.

The one who controlled me was controlling another human being?

Then there truly was no more damnable creature alive. And if the puppeteer was controlling someone else, he would know every detail of those lost years of Isaac's life — things no one else knew, things no one else could know.

Someone who found me in Kramdel and knew my identity with perfect accuracy.

There was exactly one person who had known everything — his location, his identity, his past — things he had told no one. If that person was the puppeteer, every piece of understanding fell into place.

…Lord Randolph.

Randolph. The man who had sought him out and employed him for a full year had known everything. He had called himself a Star-Awakened, and true to his word, wherever he went a path opened. As though he could see the future, every place he walked held an answer.

The incomprehensible mythic achievements forged in Kramdel's Tower of Mysteries, and the countless subsequent feats that defied belief even when witnessed. He stood alone and roared against the world with such force that hiring Isaac almost seemed unnecessary.

— Randolph? That name does not exist in the Star-Awakened registry.

Afterward the Star-Awakened produced the Star-Awakened registry and proved Randolph's claim false. Randolph was not a Star-Awakened. He had deceived Isaac from the very beginning.

However—

— But if this "Randolph" of whom you speak is the Star Guide, then he stands a full rank above us Star-Awakened. For he is the guide who leads all Stars.

Not a Star-Awakened, but the Star Guide.

Was the term "Star Guide" so unfamiliar that he simply called himself a Star-Awakened instead?

It was possible. If at their first meeting he had announced himself as the Star Guide, Isaac would have thought it pure nonsense.

— The Star Guide can read the memories of every Star. Your story may well have been mixed in among them.

Could that truly be it?

Well — Randolph could not be the puppeteer. Could not be a sinner. Randolph was not a sinner. He could not be a sinner. The way he treated Pangenia was genuine.

And so Isaac accepted it. The eccentricities and achievements Randolph displayed were staggering beyond words — but Isaac could not believe the kindness shown to him had been a lie.

Lord Randolph drew me out of Kramdel.

The situation back then had been hopeless. A life lived among monsters. A life on a cliff's edge, where discovery of his humanity meant immediate death. Every single day had been hell.

Randolph had not merely pulled him out — he had erased Isaac's bad karma and given him a normal life. Had he never met Randolph, he would still be trapped in Kramdel's mire.

Lord Randolph is a benefactor to whom I must repay my debt, no matter what.

Yes. Therefore Randolph was absolutely not the puppeteer. Absolutely, absolutely not a sinner.

The one he ought to hate was still out there somewhere, walking free even now.

I will find you. Without fail, you damned puppeteer.

Isaac clenched his fist tight.

Ten listings in total. I gave a small nod as I looked them over. Items that appeared to belong to Master, the Black Paladin, and the Insect Controller were each floating among them.

The Giant's Potion. So that's what turned Master into a giant.

Something I'd never seen before. It seemed to be Master's hidden trump card.

The Corrupted Believer's Talisman, even at a glance, was a name that didn't suit me. With no faith whatsoever, using that talisman would produce no effect at all.

The Bug Collector. A tool for gathering insects that can be brain-controlled?

Likewise, unless one had a class that dealt in insects, it held little interest.

And the White King's Fang is still here.

It remained listed even after the shop refresh. Whether to buy it or not was still a dilemma.

Judging by Dae-to-ryong's wounds, he had been struck by an enormous blade. Sword Qi — or perhaps Sword Gang beyond it. The only swordmaster who came to mind capable of driving him that far was Laktusha.

The only one who can check the Black King is the White King.

With the Death King and Dae-to-ryong already struck down, the next target could well be me — the Fifth Lord. I was still not strong enough to face the Black King alone. To keep the Black King's forces in check, the White King inevitably needed to grow stronger.

But even so, I wasn't about to hand it over for free.

"Hmm."

The items below it were each useful in their own right. After long deliberation, I selected what I would purchase.

That would do for now. Four kinds of items purchased in total.

Using the Complete Golden Rule would let me buy two more, but nothing on the list was tempting enough to warrant that just yet.