True Godhood

The will of the Dread King carved into the stele.

It was like an endless ocean surging without end.

As I absorbed that will and it soaked through my body, space itself shifted—

—Ohhh, my true successor! He who inherits the true will of Dread!

…The Dread King revealed himself.

Before I knew it, my body had already transformed into the Dreadful Omen.

Gazing upon me, the will left behind in the stele stamped the ground in pure delight.

Even as a mere remnant of will, it possessed a self-awareness so intense it seemed to breathe. It was a clear measure of how exalted the Dread King's rank had been in life.

Sinister black flames that reached the heavens. A being that resembled the Dreadful Omen, yet far more massive.

—The Tower is God. The Tower is everything. And the Tower is one.

He spoke words I could not fully grasp. Yet those words from the Dread King were surely among the truths that ran through the very fabric of the world.

I turned over everything I knew about the Towers in my mind.

—We were the great race that managed such Towers. Though Ruin shattered the Towers and the Dread Clan fell, one who inherits my will has finally appeared!

Ah.

The Dread King trembled. After waiting so long—at the end of that endless wait—he had met me. As if he had been waiting for my existence from the very beginning.

—Gather the steles. Rebuild the clan. Manage the Towers and restore godhood—show the entire world that our clan still stands. Become the true Dread King.

Managing the Towers. That meant standing in close relation to the masters of those Towers. A Tower without a proper administrator was doomed to wither—just as Karas had endlessly weakened during the five years Sancha served as administrator.

—Only you can rebuild the clan.

The Dread King reached out and set his hand upon my shoulder. At once the world twisted, and the Dread King's will vanished—entrusting the fate of his clan to me.

"…"

Karas stared at the crow—at the Dread Clan—with trembling eyes.

—Caw!

A massive crow nearly a full meter in size. Standing on two legs, waddling about and cawing, that crow was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unmistakably of the Dread Clan.

A red tail and multiple pupils.

The red tail that symbolized the Dread Clan. And each eye composed of three pupils.

"It can't be…"

Karas opened his mouth as if unable to believe it. There were countless crow-type magical beasts in the world, but that crow was without doubt of the Dread Clan. Yet the Dread Clan, who had once managed the Towers, had gone extinct with the appearance of Ruin. How could a race thought vanished have reappeared?

This could not simply be because that man was the Dreadful Omen.

—Caw?

The Dread Clan tilted its head, then began examining the Tower.

Swish.

Swaaaaah!

When it stretched out a hand, the broken and corroded Tower began restoring itself as if the damage had never been real.

"Already the Tower's Administrator Authority…!"

The Dread Clan that had emerged from the stele instinctively knew what it must do and began rebuilding the Tower. At the same time, vitality returned to Karas's wings, and his body gradually grew larger.

My—my authority…

Karas's eyes trembled deeply. His power was returning. The authority he had lost long ago—his very origin, which he had believed he would never wield again—was now rapidly recovering because of that member of the Dread Clan.

The rotten, crumbling exterior of the Tower transformed until it looked brand new.

"Ah."

Whoosh!

Karas spread his wings. Their further enlarged span and renewed luster were the symbols of his strength. Not a demigod—he had finally reclaimed the position of complete Godhood.

The true Martial God.

Wooooooong!

As if resonating with him, the Tower itself began to shake violently. The structure that had ended at the twentieth floor expanded as if proliferating all the way to the thirtieth, and Karas's eyes grew deeper and more profound. Displaying a divinity incomparable to anything before, he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠once again ascended to the sacred position he had lost for so long—to that supreme throne of ages past, which none had dared challenge.

The Absolute who made the earth rumble and the heavens tremble—Martial God Karas. He had finally reclaimed his true name.

"…Truly, you are of the Dread Clan."

Karas smiled. Why had he doubted? He considered his own eyes, which had refused to believe even what they saw, truly foolish. But that man had proven himself, and now it was Karas's turn.

"Climb higher. To the very end of my Tower. You have the right to do so."

Not the twentieth floor. The original Tower did not end at a mere twenty floors. Climb to the thirtieth—to a higher place, a place no one had ever reached. In the days when the Tower was whole, no one had climbed to the thirtieth floor to challenge him. But that man had the right. The right to climb to the end and face him in his full godhood.

"I shall be waiting."

Karas flew toward the summit of the Tower.

Hall of One Hundred Constellations.

Countless Constellations felt it at the same moment.

"Godhood…"

"…Martial God Karas has been revived."

The resonance of godhood that shook the entire world. As if announcing his own resurrection, he was warning everyone—I have returned. Tremble and steel yourselves. This was unmistakably Martial God Karas's.

"Who on earth?"

But it was far too sudden. Reviving a godhood that was fading from existence was supposed to be impossible. The first thing Ruin had done was annihilate the Dread Clan, the race of Tower administrators. When the Dread Clan was wiped out, the Towers lost their function, and when the Towers fell, their masters gradually weakened as well.

"As expected, magnificent."

Then one Constellation spoke. The Constellation of the Most Brilliant Hero. He who had momentarily lost his light now sat with an even greater radiance. If he was smiling, there could be only one person—the only being he was watching over.

"Don't tell me… Randolph?"

"Randolph again?"

"How did Randolph revive a godhood?"

Randolph! Unless he was single-handedly monopolizing every major event in the world—how could he even revive a godhood?! It made no sense… but they were curious. Curious enough to go mad.

The problem was that Randolph's stories were far too expensive. Especially the revival of a godhood—its value would transcend imagination. They would have to carefully consider whether it was a story worth staking their very existence as Constellations on.

I want to see it! I want to know!

Yet desire overflowed in the Constellations' eyes. This story was surely like a secret that had gone unsolved for ages—and only the Constellation of the Most Brilliant Hero was tasting the fruit of that secret.

Ahh!

The Constellations' dilemma deepened.

…What was this about?

Had the revival of the Dread Clan stoked their curiosity that much?

The number of floors has increased.

By the time I finished reading the Dread King's will and returned, Karas was already gone from before my eyes. But the message he had left was unmistakable—come to the top of the Tower. Climb all the way to the thirtieth floor.

Originally, the Tower had thirty floors.

As Karas weakened, the number of floors had simply dropped. Nodding, I began to climb the Tower together with the Dread Clan.

Of course there won't be anyone.

The twenty-first floor. Empty. No opponents to fight. Naturally—the floors had only just been restored.

The twenty-second floor, the twenty-third—I simply climbed the stairs.

…

My Honor was skyrocketing. I was raking in scores that would have been nearly impossible even through dedicated Honor grinding. I wasn't doing anything special. Simply climbing the floors was enough to earn Honor.

First Achievements. Places not a single player had ever reached.

Everyone had believed the twentieth floor was the end. I had believed it too. But who could have known it was only half the truth?

I did not stop. There was no need to stop. Nothing stood in my way, and there was no reason to halt—not a single one.

And so, when ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I finally reached the last floor—the thirtieth—

Martial God Karas. A presence utterly transformed from when he had been a mere demigod. Seated upon his throne, radiant with brilliant divinity, he received me.

Not the half-measure Karas who had been controlled by Sancha—but the true Martial God Karas who looked down upon the world.

Ten days after the Second Invasion began.

Players gathered from every corner of the world—as the united forces of the Hero Council. Never before had so many players assembled in one place.

"…Looks like well over fifty thousand."

"Were there always this many players?"

Even those gathered were astonished. Recluses must have turned out in massive numbers as well—otherwise assembling a force of this size would have been nearly impossible.

"I thank you. For your difficult decision. I, Drakestar, bow my head with fervent cheers."

Drakestar. He stood before the united forces. A powerhouse who had rocketed to stardom after matching Gracia on social media, and who had transcended to attain combat power of at least three stars or higher—more than qualified to lead the coalition. Other heroes stood at his side as well.

"Where did Gracia go?"

"Wasn't Gracia supposed to be here too?"

One person was missing. Everyone except Gracia. As the crowd murmured, Drakestar spoke again.

"Gracia has withdrawn from the Hero Council. He is no longer a hero belonging to this organization."

"Is there a reason for that?"

"Weren't we supposed to fight together?"

The questions were fair. Gracia had been the hero who represented the Hero Council. Standing with the united forces against the Second Invasion should have been the natural course.

"He is no longer the greatest hero. He has lost his power, and even his glory. He has forfeited the right to stand with us and lead us."

But Drakestar was cold. He drew a hard line—Gracia, stripped of strength and honor, was no longer needed.

"But do not worry! We have gained even greater power! Those vile demonic hordes will never be able to destroy this Earth! Trust me! Trust our Hero Council! Let us fight together!"

Drakestar poured everything into the cry—smiling inwardly all the while. Gracia's seat had become his own.

Are you hiding like a rat and listening, Phantom?

Above all, Phantom was surely lurking somewhere among the united forces. Imagining that scene made a laugh bubble up on its own.

Now—this was the moment for thunderous cheers and a storm of applause.

"Uh…?"

"…Wh-what?"

"Is this an error?"

But completely different reactions erupted from every direction. Even the heroes standing behind him failed to respond in time. The reason the reaction was nothing like what he expected was simple—something far greater had appeared before them.

Every player gathered there, all at once, could only gape in shock and widen their eyes.

"Am I seeing this right?"

"Randolph was… in the middle of a Main Quest?"

"What the hell is that? Is he insane?"

"Th-that score—why is it like that?"