Ch-312
—
“……You’ve picked up an interesting kid.”
The Grand Elder spoke with clear intrigue.
The man Raiga had brought—the only one.
The young man who had been calmly observing the situation was completely different from Raiga in his youth.
Back then, Raiga had been like a wounded wild beast.
Crouched low, with no room to breathe, spraying killing intent in all directions.
But the one standing before him now was different.
*He’s at ease.*
…From the very beginning.
Those who first set foot in this sanctum were invariably overwhelmed.
They tensed up, their minds slipping away.
A breathtaking scenery that did not exist anywhere in the world.
Countless spiritual beasts and immortals appearing before their eyes—anyone would shrink back.
Until now, there had not been a single exception.
And yet…
*He’s genuinely smiling.*
Not only is he not tense, he looks even more relaxed than Raiga, who brought him here.
Is that even possible?
Normally, the disciple should be nervous, and the master composed.
But here, it’s the opposite.
The master is tense, and the disciple is relaxed.
Moreover—
*That composure is born of certainty. Confidence that he won’t die.*
…He’s overflowing with confidence.
You can tell just by looking into his eyes.
The Grand Elder.
Those eyes are almost provoking him.
As if he were merely sightseeing.
And yet, it was strange.
Unless his mind was broken—no, even if it were—there were almost no beings in this world who could look the Grand Elder straight in the eye like this.
Those eyes were the eyes of an immortal.
Meet them, and you are swallowed by profound mystery, forced to realize just how insignificant your own worth is.
Like a human standing before vast nature and the boundless cosmos.
That was why even Raiga could not meet his gaze for long.
No matter how honorable, no matter how wicked—
before the Grand Elder’s existence, all were but specks of dust.
That was why he said it.
That Raiga had picked up an interesting kid.
He didn’t know where that confidence came from, but one thing was clear—
this boy was the exact opposite of Raiga in his childhood.
Then perhaps… his *honor* would be the same.
“There’s no intention of doing anything. So withdraw your killing intent.”
The Grand Elder smiled at Raiga.
Had he thought the Grand Elder would devour his disciple?
The moment their eyes met, Raiga had begun radiating killing intent like a madman.
An irreverent act in a sacred sanctum—
but still.
*A pitiful fate.*
This, too, was destiny. A thread of karma.
The law of the world, endlessly circling back to its origin.
That was Raiga now.
Just like his former master.
And the masters before that, and before that—
all of Fang’s successors eventually returned here, right before death.
This was the place where Fang began.
And the Grand Elder was someone who had existed alongside Fang’s very birth.
So he allowed it.
After all…
…Raiga had less than ten days of life remaining.
Witnessing the final moments of a Fang successor was also part of the Grand Elder’s role.
*Nothing will change.*
The history of the sanctum, and of the Sanctuary of Honor judging qualifications, was immeasurably long.
In all that time, the result had changed only twice.
The sanctum tested both honor and the nobility of the soul.
Which meant that merely accumulating honor did not change the outcome.
Of course, there were exceptions.
Cases where someone had amassed truly insane, overwhelming honor.
But gathering that much honor was impossible within a human lifespan.
Nor was it guaranteed even by living a very long life.
*Honor is far too easy to erode.*
Living long meant making countless mistakes.
And honor was something that could be chipped away by even a small misstep.
The stronger one became, the greater the responsibility—
and the greater the weight of one’s mistakes.
That was why the result had changed only twice.
In all the long history of the sanctum.
…Though it was human nature to rush toward even a thread of hope like a moth to flame.
Those two anomalies had both changed the world.
Those who had overturned the result themselves etched eternal, indelible achievements into history.
What about Raiga?
Could he become the third anomaly?
“Then let us begin the trial of the sanctum. All of you, follow me.”
—
—
Raiga watched the Grand Elder’s back, tense.
Suddenly, memories surfaced—his first visit here as a child, with his master.
Forty long years had passed, yet the Grand Elder looked exactly the same.
Raiga’s master, his master’s master, and even those before them—
the Grand Elder had lived here in that same form for far longer still.
A fossil of Fang, one might say.
—Raiga. Do not make the Grand Elder your enemy.
—No matter what, never make *him* your enemy.
—He is a being who existed even before the world was divided…
His master’s dying warning echoed in his mind.
Never oppose the Grand Elder.
Even if you oppose all the other elders, leave him alone.
Now, Raiga understood why.
*There’s no opening…*
Not a single gap.
The Grand Elder—
he was a perfect existence.
Truly invincible.
To the point that even opening the Five Gates left Raiga uncertain of victory.
More than that, if he had existed since before the world was divided—
that meant he had lived since before Pangaenia was split into the Abyss and the Firmament by Destruction.
*A being who stood alongside Fang of the Old Empire.*
The Old Empire.
The era when the four great houses that defined it—
Fang, Dersian, Arhon, and Rahon—
all flourished so powerfully that they nearly reached the heavens.
A monster who had existed since then—
perhaps even before—
that was the Grand Elder.
And yet, no one knew why he stood with Fang.
Even past successors of Fang did not know his true origin.
Only this much was known.
*The guardian of the sanctum. And one who cannot leave it.*
The Grand Elder could not leave the sanctum.
But within it, he was not merely invincible.
If leaving the sanctum were the condition to break that invincibility, that itself would be a “gap.”
The existence of a weakness was itself a gap—something Raiga should be able to read through *grain*.
But there was no gap.
Whether inside or outside the sanctum, the Grand Elder had no weakness.
A true monster.
*…However, the Grand Elder does not control the will of the sanctum.*
The will of the sanctum was separate from the Grand Elder’s existence.
The Sanctuary of Honor judged purely and truthfully.
Just because the Grand Elder disliked someone did not mean the sanctum would respond the same way.
And Fang’s true power was said to manifest only after gaining qualification here.
Raiga had mastered the Five Gates and Fang’s techniques—
yet he had never fully obtained Fang’s qualification from the sanctum.
*If it were me now…*
As a child, he had been utterly rejected.
Thrown out of the sanctum.
He had fainted—and when he awoke, he was back in the Empire.
He had done nothing. Achieved nothing.
—It’s fine. Even without the sanctum’s permission, you are my disciple.
—You alone are my disciple.
—Raiga. Let us prove it together.
—That the sanctum was wrong. That they had no eyes to see.
—Let us change the world together, Raiga!
Despite everything… his master had accepted him.
In defiance of all opposition.
But his master died soon after.
Left alone, Raiga spent his life sleeping and waking beside death itself.
He had no leeway to change the world.
And yet, Raiga believed he had lived honorably.
He had purified the Abyss, expanded the Empire’s territory, and devoted his entire life to it.
He had raised the knight order and made it the strongest in the Empire.
He had created something from nothing.
If this was not honor, then what was?
“Now, Raiga. This is the true ‘Sanctuary of Honor.’ Do you remember it?”
The Grand Elder stopped.
Before him stood the Sanctuary of Honor.
The chalice outside was merely an imitation—
a false image created to conceal the real one.
Why hide it?
The reason was simple.
…A massive tree.
In a place where no light reached, a single tree shone by itself.
More beautiful and mysterious than fresh verdure.
“The World Tree…”
The World Tree said to exist only in the Primordial Forest.
That was because it stood here, in the sanctum.
The Grand Elder nodded.
“The ‘World Tree of Honor.’
Only those who are honorable—only those who have proven their worth—may approach the most beautiful tree of all.”
The false chalice outside was nothing compared to it.
No god could surpass its dignity.
“Prove it once more. That you possess the qualification worthy of Fang.”
The Grand Elder smiled faintly.
A final chance.
Step—
Raiga moved forward, slowly.
With utmost care.
His body stiff with tension.
*…I’m not the child I was.*
Raiga clenched his fists.
Cold sweat flowed from his tightly clenched hands.
That tree of honor—the World Tree—was his trauma.
He had been denied succession to Fang.
His master had died alone.
The loneliest death.
To be buried here, blessed by the World Tree, was Fang’s tradition—
and even that had been denied.
All because—
Raiga.
Because the sanctum had rejected him, and his master had accepted him as a disciple.
*Master…*
Looking back, he had never even properly called him that.
As a child, Raiga had been filled with hostility toward the world.
Sold countless times. Killing those who bought him.
Endless torture. Unspeakable acts.
Distrust of humanity had been inevitable.
He had thought his master was the same.
That he was raising him for some impure purpose.
…He realized too late that it wasn’t so.
Only after his master’s death did he understand—
that his master was the only one who had truly seen his worth.
That was why—
when Hyun called him “Master,”
his heart had shaken so violently.
Why hadn’t he realized sooner?
Even one day earlier would have been enough.
Why had he looked at the world so crookedly?
*Master, you must have felt the same.*
Only at the brink of death did they realize it—
his master, and himself.
That there was no need to view the world so narrowly.
Well… perhaps that is what it means to be human.
But the Raiga of then and the Raiga of now were different people.
Now, he understood honor.
He had lived so as not to be ashamed of himself.
If it were now—
would his master not be satisfied, seeing him?
Step—
Raiga finally entered the World Tree’s domain.
He took a steady breath and spoke.
“I, Raiga, have come here with the qualification to be the master of Fang.
Acknowledge my worth, World Tree of Honor!”
Acknowledge it.
Even now—prove that his master’s eyes had not been wrong.
That he was a successor worthy of Palga’s name.
…Acknowledge it.
Shhhhh—
That was the moment.
The World Tree’s leaves began to shake violently.
And—
**Boom!**
Something struck his chest.
At the same time, Raiga’s body was flung out of the domain.
“……”
Unlike before, he did not lose consciousness.
But on Raiga’s face surged an indescribable fury.
He had thought he had changed.
He had believed he would be accepted this time.
And yet—
*Are you saying nothing has changed…?*
Just like when he was a child.
The result did not change.
He would never become Palga’s master.
“…That’s unfortunate.”
The Grand Elder shook his head.
As expected, the result had not changed.
Thus, the matter was settled.
“Leave quietly. This is not your grave, Raiga.”
Nor would he allow Raiga to die here.
One rejected by the sanctum could not be allowed to die within its blessing.
The Empire would suffice as his place of death.
Leave—with your disciple.
“Seems roots can’t be changed after all.”
“Tsk, tsk. I knew it the first time I saw him forty years ago.”
“How much filth of the world he’s smeared himself with.”
“He’s incompatible with the Immortal Realm.”
The elders clicked their tongues, as if they had expected this all along.
An unworthy man.
One unfit to inherit Fang.
Shhhhhhh—
Then—
“Hm…?”
“The World Tree?”
“What is this…?”
The World Tree’s leaves trembled again.
Far more violently than before.
But that wasn’t all.
What unfolded before their eyes—
even the Grand Elder, who had lived through countless ages, could not help but be shaken.
*The World Tree’s leaves…!*
…Suddenly, they bloomed in full.
Flowers burst forth from the leaves.
Wooooong—!
At the same time, the World Tree glowed emerald, releasing a radiant light that filled the entire sanctum.
