The room was filled with the power of the moon, and a woman was offering a prayer.

‘Please… let Sungshik return safely.’

The woman praying with her eyes closed and hands clasped was Kim Subin. Before she knew it, it had been more than a year and a half since Sungshik disappeared, heading toward two years. From the time people began declaring that Sungshik’s disappearance was confirmed, Kim Subin had prayed every single day. To the goddess of fate, ‘Verdandi.’

―Subin…….

Luna’s soft voice echoed as if feeling pity for Kim Subin. She knew how much Subin had suffered emotionally all this time.

Kim Subin firmly believed that Sungshik was alive somewhere. Even when the world confirmed that the Heavenly Sovereign was dead, her belief never wavered.

―The power of the Rune of the Full Moon has not returned yet.

Thanks to Luna's reminder, Subin understood. That Sungshik was alive somewhere. If he had truly died, the Rune of the Full Moon she had given him would have lost its owner and its light would have faded. And that light would have returned to Luna.

That’s why Kim Subin could believe and wait. For the day Sungshik would return safely.

―Even though the world has changed like this… the Heavenly Sovereign will be safe.

Luna’s comforting words echoed in Kim Subin’s ears. Around the time it had been a year and a half since Sungshik disappeared, the Gate Break began. It was exactly what Sungshik had repeatedly warned about through the Superhuman community in the past.

There were countries and Superhumans who paid attention to Sungshik’s warnings, but fundamentally, it was impossible to fully prepare for the Gate Break. In the end, the world underwent another great upheaval, and a new order was established.

A world of absolute survival of the fittest. A world where power itself was law.

Even in such circumstances, when Sungshik still hadn’t appeared, Luna made a guess. That it wasn’t that he wasn’t showing up, but that he was in a situation where he couldn’t appear. Therefore, if he wasn’t dead, he would eventually reappear, alive and well.

And just as they believed, Sungshik reappeared before long. Stronger than anyone had imagined.

Not long after Sungshik disappeared. At the residence of the Sword Emperor, not far from Beijing, the capital of China. There, the Sword Emperor and the Martial Emperor reunited after a long time.

“It’s been a while, sir. Have you been well?”

“I’ve been fine. Judging by your divine beast, it seems you’ve been well too, Martial Emperor.”

The Martial Emperor and the Sword Emperor exchanged greetings without formality upon meeting face to face for the first time in a while.

In the world, people viewed the Sword Emperor and the Martial Emperor as rivals who kept each other in check, but in reality, the two had a fairly close relationship with no sense of distance.

“You’ve grown even stronger since I last saw you.”

Feeling the sharper aura of the Sword Emperor, the Martial Emperor spoke with a gleam in his eyes. They were close enough to recognize and congratulate each other’s growth in strength.

“I’ve had a minor breakthrough recently.”

“Oh, congratulations. You may soon overcome the wall.”

“Heh, someone who knows better than anyone how hard that is still says such things?”

“Haha, but it’s different when it’s the Sword Emperor.”

“Really now, trying to flatter an old man’s face with gold?”

The Sword Emperor laughed heartily at the Martial Emperor’s words, clearly pleased.

“So then, why did you come to see this old man? Judging by your expression, it doesn’t seem like you came just to share martial insight after a long time… Is it perhaps about that friend, the Heavenly Sovereign?”

“As expected, your insight is as sharp as ever, sir. Yes, that’s correct. I came to ask a few things regarding the Heavenly Sovereign.”

At the mention of the Heavenly Sovereign, the Sword Emperor let out a low hum. He had already expected that the visit might be about him, as he had heard that the Martial Emperor and the Heavenly Sovereign had formed a bond. The Sword Emperor, who was significantly older than people knew, had a keen intuition from his years of experience.

“Yes, it’s already been over a month since that friend, the Heavenly Sovereign, went missing.”

The Sword Emperor began speaking, recalling the face of the Heavenly Sovereign he had seen on the battlefield in the Pyesang grasslands.

Just as the Sword Emperor suspected, the Martial Emperor had come all the way to China because of the Heavenly Sovereign’s disappearance. While Jenny and Fletcher’s urging had some influence, the Martial Emperor himself was also deeply worried about the Heavenly Sovereign, which is why he sought out the Sword Emperor.

“Huu… Exactly. If the Heavenly Sovereign was safe, he would have returned long ago.”

Letting out a sigh, the Martial Emperor then asked if the person seen in the footage was really Sungshik. At that question, the Sword Emperor nodded heavily.

“Yes, according to the government’s estimation, there’s over a 98% chance that it was the Heavenly Sovereign.”

“Huh.”

The Martial Emperor let out a sigh at the Sword Emperor’s words.

“…Then how likely do you think it is that the Heavenly Sovereign is still alive?”

“Well… The analysis team still seems to be divided on that, but if you ask me…”

“Yes?”

“Fifty-fifty. That’s what I think.”

The Martial Emperor showed surprise at the higher-than-expected figure. In truth, he had thought the Heavenly Sovereign’s chances of being alive were below 30%.

“You’re saying there’s a 50% chance he’s alive? Do you have a reason for thinking that?”

“Hmm, let’s just say it’s an old man’s intuition.”

The Sword Emperor continued speaking.

“While I was rushing to the battlefield, I felt an enormous flow of mana. I could tell—it was the level of power one reaches after surpassing the wall we face.”

The Sword Emperor met the Martial Emperor’s gaze.

“That’s why I thought as I headed to the battlefield. Who could possibly be the owner of such power?”

With that lead-in, the Sword Emperor took a sip of tea from the cup on the table and continued.

“Have you ever seen a demon?”

“A demon?”

“They are also referred to as the Demon Race. Beings who wield gloomy and abyss-like dark mana.”

“Hmm… I’ve heard stories of such beings, but I’ve never seen one with my own eyes.”

The Sword Emperor nodded as if he expected that.

“I figured you’d at least heard stories, even if you hadn’t seen one yourself. I’ve encountered what’s known as a member of the Demon Race. Of course, it wasn’t a full demon. More like a half-demon, I suppose? Still, the mana that being wielded was truly foul and gloomy. It was that infamous dark mana itself.”

You haven’t encountered such dark mana with your own eyes yet, have you?

At the Sword Emperor’s follow-up question, the Martial Emperor nodded. He had yet to encounter such foul and oppressive mana. What the Sword Emperor described surpassed simple ‘dark mana’—it was a corrupted, evil-infused form known as dark mana.

The Sword Emperor gave the Martial Emperor additional explanations about the Demons. He also mentioned that he had sensed dark mana in the power felt on that battlefield.

“That’s…”

As the startled Martial Emperor spoke, the Sword Emperor quickly continued.

“But what was even more surprising was that the aura confronting that being felt familiar. The closer I got to the battlefield, the clearer it became. I was able to tell whose familiar aura it was.”

“The owner of that familiar aura... was the Heavenly Sovereign, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. That aura belonged to the Heavenly Sovereign. Though it was only once, the impression of the Heavenly Sovereign’s aura was so strong that I could be certain.”

At the Sword Emperor’s words, the Martial Emperor let out a low groan. If someone presumed to be at the 8-Star level had fought the Heavenly Sovereign, then the Heavenly Sovereign likely wouldn’t have escaped unscathed.

“But do you remember the golden thunderbolt seen at the end of the vision? The force felt from that power… was even stronger than the aura exuded by the figure presumed to be a Demon.”

The Martial Emperor’s eyes widened at the Sword Emperor’s words. It was hard to believe. If the Sword Emperor was right, then the power the Heavenly Sovereign showed in that moment exceeded the 8-Star level.

“Not long ago, the Heavenly Sovereign’s power shouldn’t have been at that level…”

The Martial Emperor trailed off, as various possibilities crossed his mind. Perhaps what he had sensed before was only the tip of the iceberg, or perhaps the Heavenly Sovereign had experienced some miraculous encounter that pushed his martial ability further. Or, it might have been a completely different person with a similar aura.

He dismissed the last possibility. The Sword Emperor was more sensitive to auras than anyone else. Even if two people had the same type of aura, there were always subtle differences. Just like human fingerprints are all different, auras varied slightly from person to person.

The Sword Emperor could distinguish such differences better than anyone. If he claimed he was certain about someone, it was nearly always 100% accurate.

“At any rate, after that final blow, the fight ended, and by the time I arrived, the Heavenly Sovereign was already gone.”

“Don’t tell me… something really happened to him?”

The Martial Emperor’s urgent question was met with a silent gaze from the Sword Emperor.

‘He truly is worried.’

They had only spent a short amount of time together, but it seemed they had formed a deep bond in that brief period.

“After that final strike, I felt that the aura presumed to be the Heavenly Sovereign’s had suddenly dropped in vitality.”

“Ah…”

The Martial Emperor sighed at the Sword Emperor’s words. But the Sword Emperor hadn’t finished.

“However, at that time, I had nearly reached the battlefield and was able to witness it. I saw the figure presumed to be the Heavenly Sovereign become enveloped in emerald light and vanish.”

“Vanish?”

“Exactly as I said. He evaporated. I think it might have been a space-transfer spell.”

“Huh… Space transfer…”

The power to manipulate space was still something even Superhumans had yet to fully conquer. And yet, to disappear without a trace through space transfer...

It was hard to believe, but he desperately hoped it was as the Sword Emperor said. That would mean Sungshik might still be alive somewhere.

“Then what happened to the one the Heavenly Sovereign was fighting?”

“That one was on the verge of death when I arrived. And in that moment, he uttered some incomprehensible words before passing away. So his identity seemed destined to remain a mystery—”

“Did you discover his identity?”

“Yes. From the final words he spoke, we were able to determine which group he belonged to.”

“Huh, and which group was that?”

“Revolution Knights. He belonged to the fanatical group that worships the Nights of Trial.”

The Sword Emperor told him that Tidian was a member of the Revolution Knights and stared straight into the Martial Emperor’s eyes.

“So I propose this. I intend to eradicate the ‘Revolution Knights’ group once and for all. Will you join me?”

That day, as a result of the meeting between the Sword Emperor and the Martial Emperor, a massive bomb was dropped on the Revolution Knights.

The trait ‘Consumption.’ Sungshik acquired its knowledge.

‘So that’s what it was.’

Sungshik’s eyes sparkled.

He had realized the true essence of the ‘Consumption’ trait. Not only that, but he had also learned some truths about [EX Rank] traits. Since ‘Consumption’ was an [EX Rank] trait, understanding it required understanding what [EX Rank] meant.

‘A fragment of divinity.’

Indeed. [EX Rank] traits contained fragments of divinity. They were fundamentally different from other traits. Even [SSS Rank], the tier just below [EX Rank], did not contain any divine power. Only [EX Rank] traits held such fragments.

That was why so few people possessed [EX Rank] traits. It was not a power just anyone could have.

‘Traits, in the end, are a way of obtaining false divinity through the system.’

The universe contained an infinite number of divine powers, and traits allowed one to imitate a sliver of that power by copying it—poorly.

So, the traits granted by the system were all fake powers. Only [EX Rank] traits contained fragments of true divinity.

‘The Master Level was the key point.’

Once an [EX Rank] trait reached Master Level, one could obtain a true fragment of divinity. This was a clue to obtaining full divinity and ascending toward godhood.

Sungshik didn’t learn these truths from the records of the ‘Akashic Record.’ The knowledge he gained was partial and fragmented.

But he understood the larger framework. He even figured out why his EX Rank trait ‘Consumption’ had stalled at Level 6 and refused to progress.

There was a reason he couldn’t reach Master Level with the trait ‘Pocket Watch’ either. To raise an [EX Rank] trait to Master Level, one had to open a sealed gate. And there were several methods to do that.

But every method required incredibly strict conditions. Conditions so difficult that one might ask, “Could a human even accomplish this?” They were not things easily attempted.

But Sungshik happened to meet one of those conditions.

Sungshik pulled an item out of his inventory.

Flaaash

The golden key in Sungshik’s hand shimmered brilliantly. It was the ‘Key of the Heavens.’ The moment Sungshik gripped the ‘Key of the Heavens’ and willed to open the locked gate—

Click.

He heard the sound of the door to Master Level opening in his ears.