From Honor to Sacredness

Proceed.

The World Tree of Honor.

When it confirmed my worthiness, the color of the light it shed was not the only thing that changed.

The Honor had been combined.

But something was off. No matter how many times I looked at the number, it refused to match my own calculations.

A hundred thousand?

A hundred thousand was a score that should have been impossible. There hadn't even been any points left to combine. Randolph and I already shared our Honor scores, so at best we should have been sitting somewhere around sixty thousand.

Could it be the Phase of the Radiant Pureblood ring?

The Great Phase only doubles Honor gains.

It doubled the Honor earned when you achieved specific feats — it didn't retroactively double Honor you'd already accumulated. It couldn't inflate a combined total either.

Which left only one possibility.

Wilhelm's Honor…?

Had Wilhelm's Honor been folded in as well? That would make a hundred thousand possible. The World Tree had treated the Honor of Wilhelm that still slept latent within me as part of a single whole.

It was as good as a certification that I, Wilhelm, and Randolph were no different from one body.

And before long—

The name of Honor had become Sacredness.

A score of a hundred thousand had been converted into ten, and its very purpose had been rewritten. Everything that followed was extraordinary in its own right.

Randolph destroys divine relics. I bestow Sacredness upon them. Through inactive relics, even forgotten gods can be called back…

The divide was absolute. Randolph was no different from a God Eater — a being that devoured and killed gods. But I, Park Hyunmyung, was one who revived gods and communed with them. We had come to embody completely opposite natures.

And now that I had claimed every last point of Honor for myself—

Now I can finally strike a balance.

A way to balance Randolph and myself. This had to be it.

When I transformed into Randolph, the darkness that erupted was something my current self could not contain. It was too vast, too powerful — utterly beyond my ability to grasp. But if I failed to find equilibrium, every kind of unwanted darkness would come flooding in. That much was certain.

And if the divine relics made me holier still?

It's possible.

…It was possible. To seize the darkness, to hold the balance, to become more complete.

But that was not the only astonishing thing.

…A Primal-grade dungeon.

The most staggering revelation of all was the newly appeared Hidden Dungeon. Not just any Hidden Dungeon — a dungeon of Primal grade. The same tier as the Archetypal Armor I carried.

This was only the third time I had ever laid eyes on something of the Primal rank.

Huff. Huff.

My breath came short and sharp. My heart hammered as if it meant to tear free of my chest.

Even the Archetypal Armor alone let me pull off the impossible.

I had used that armor for purposes that far exceeded my own limits. So what would a Primal-grade dungeon yield? One thing was certain — I would walk out of it with things that defied all reason.

But where am I supposed to find people with twenty thousand Honor or more?

The entry requirements were the problem. I had never seen a dungeon with conditions this severe. Twenty thousand Honor. Outside of a vanishingly small handful of the world's strongest — people whose names shook the continents — it was a score no one could accumulate. And even those few had to have built their Honor purely, without stain.

Even Raiga had been rejected for falling short of ten thousand.

Though in Raiga's case, his bad karma ate into his Honor.

God's Island and the Tower of the War God. Traveling between those two places, Raiga's Honor would have been steadily worn down — especially on God's Island.

The Heavenly Demon and the Evil Gods defile their opponent's Honor.

And Raiga had opened the 5th Gate to stand against the Heavenly Demon. He had even overwhelmed him — but in doing so, his Honor would have been stained. Raiga remembered nothing of what had happened on God's Island, so he had despaired believing he didn't even hold ten thousand Honor.

But there was no way Raiga truly lacked even that much. It had simply been stripped away. And of course, there was a way to restore it.

…Priest Andrew.

The Indulgence copy machine himself — Priest Andrew! If he was currently in the Forest of Beginning, he could restore Raiga's Honor as well.

But Raiga's lifespan was nearly spent. Ten days at most.

What was I supposed to do?

Fortunately, the answer was not far away.

The Sanctuary of Palga.

Countless people had gathered within the great hall — men and women who looked to range from their teens to their thirties, every last one of them a powerhouse. A thousand strong, each radiating formidable presence.

"They're suddenly holding the Palga succession rite?"

"That's impossible. Formal succession was still years away, wasn't it?"

"Exactly. The Family Head's seat has been empty for decades!"

Confusion filled every conversation. The idea that someone worthy of the Family Head's seat — vacant for decades — had finally appeared was enough to stun them all. And the fact that a Family Head would emerge through the rite carried several implications of its own.

"Either way, it means the Seal is being lifted, right?"

"We're finally going out into the world?"

"Who could it be? One of the Pavilion Masters, surely?"

"The Pavilion Masters are so buried in training you can barely even see their faces…"

Beneath the Eight Elders stood the Sixteen Pavilion Masters — each a renowned expert, each qualified to inherit the secret arts of the Palga. They were the Grand Elder's personal elite. If a Family Head were to be chosen, it would naturally be one of them.

But no one had the faintest idea who would step forward.

"I heard some of them have been training for hundreds of years. Is that rumor true?"

"I've never even seen the faces of the First through Eighth Pavilion Masters. And I've been here fifty years."

"At least the Sixteenth Pavilion Master shows himself as a guardian of the sanctuary. In seventy years, I don't think I've ever really seen the rest of them either."

"They'll all appear this time, won't they?"

"I doubt it. Word is the higher Pavilion Masters didn't even show themselves when the previous Family Heads of the Palga were chosen."

"Do they even really exist?"

The murmuring swelled. The Sixteen Pavilion Masters had never once gathered in a single place. Even when previous Family Heads of the Palga had risen, some of the Pavilion Masters still refused ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to show their faces. A Pavilion Master could do as they pleased — and the upper eight, in particular, were the only ones who stood free of the Family Head's influence.

They were people who had spent centuries in this sanctuary doing nothing but train. They had no interest whatsoever in the world beyond these walls. So this time, too, the higher Pavilion Masters would almost certainly not reveal themselves.

"…The Pavilion Masters!"

"What? What's going on?"

"All Sixteen Pavilion Masters are here!"

"Whoa…!"

The great hall doors opened, and sixteen people walked in. Every last one of the Sixteen Pavilion Masters. But their expressions were uniformly grim — and those watching them were no less unsettled.

"If all Sixteen Pavilion Masters are here…"

"Does that mean the Family Head isn't one of them?"

It was a result no one had expected. They had been certain the next Family Head of the Palga would be chosen from among these sixteen. Even those who claimed no interest in worldly affairs found the seat of Family Head genuinely appealing — for the Family Head could claim the essence of the Palga and receive every secret art directly from the Grand Elder.

But even so, for all of them to assemble was unprecedented.

"Just who became the Family Head?"

Curiosity could only intensify.

Then—

Creeeeak.

The central doors on the first floor swung open, and someone appeared.

"The Grand Elder and the Elders…?"

"But their appearance—!"

The Grand Elder and the Elders, horns sprouting from their brows. And beside the Grand Elder, a single man.

"Grand Elder. Is that him? The one who achieved Perfect Honor?"

The shaggy-haired First Pavilion Master spoke as he looked at the man — asking whether Raiga was the one who had reached the end of Honor, who had completed every form of it. Asking whether he had earned the right to become the true Family Head of the Palga and master of the sanctuary.

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

The Grand Elder's expression hardened slightly.

"…Everyone is here."

"Yes. And the Family Head's rite includes sparring matches against the assembled Pavilion Masters. Everyone is itching to test themselves against the one who achieved Perfected Honor."

Sparring against the gathered Pavilion Masters during the rite. It was a mandatory gate that had to be passed to become Family Head. Defeat meant the seat was forfeit. But the Sixteen Pavilion Masters had never all assembled before — because the World Tree had never displayed all seven colors.

The Grand Elder shook his head.

"I chose this Family Head myself. There is no one more fitting to be master of the Palga."

"You're saying you'll skip the rite?"

"It is decided. So—"

In that moment, Raiga lifted his head.

"…Raiga. Defeating all Sixteen Pavilion Masters is difficult even with every Gate open."

The Grand Elder moved to stop him at once. Even if Raiga opened the 5th Gate, winning against all sixteen at once would be nearly impossible — and he was in no condition to open the 5th Gate at all.

But Raiga shook his head.

And at the same time—

Fwaaaaaah!

"…!"

Golden light surged across Raiga's entire body. Everyone who saw it reeled in shock — for that golden radiance could mean only one thing.

The opening of the 5th Gate!

Raiga crooked a finger toward the Sixteen Pavilion ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Masters.

"All of you, come at me. Today I will set the discipline of the Palga straight."

Binding.

To bind, and to sever.

Raiga had learned only how to sever. He had lived his entire life cutting things away — people, relationships, the world itself.

But for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the first time, he had been connected. He had been bound.

That single word telling him to do so. That one sentence from the boy, telling him to act as his heart dictated. That salvation — that a disciple's Honor was a master's Honor — had thrown open Raiga's heart toward Hyun completely.

I bind. And thus, I circulate.

And once more, it had given him enlightenment. But this time, the enlightenment required no time. It had been there from the beginning. He had simply failed to grasp it. He had simply refused to try.

But if he stopped here — if he continued only to sever — he could never be a master worthy of his disciple. He would not become a master who held his disciple back.

So for the first time in his life, Raiga accepted everything.

And the world changed. The way he looked at things, the energy he felt, even the boundary between death and life — everything swelled beyond any comparison to what came before.

And so Raiga—

Completed it.

He completed the 5th Gate.