I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-344

Ch-344. **The Gray King**

—

The World Tree.

A tree that supports the world and maintains its balance.

All life in every world originates from the World Tree, and thus the very first World Tree could rightly be called the Mother of the World.

However, the *Primordial World Tree* does not live long.

The life force it contains is far too immense.

After scattering the seeds of other World Trees, it withers and dies.

And so—the greatest problem lay in planting the seeds conceived by the Primordial World Tree.

Its power was so overwhelming that no living being could easily approach it.

Not even gods who had attained divinity dared to try.

*It was said that there existed only one beast permitted to approach the Primordial World Tree.*

…Only a single one.

A bird that made its home atop the World Tree.

Though it is now forgotten.

Because she, too, was forgotten together with the World Tree’s dungeon, she knew.

*Its name was the Nameless Eagle, the Sovereign of the Firmament.*

It had no name.

No one knew the bird’s true name.

Yet that gigantic eagle carried the seeds from the Primordial World Tree and gave birth to countless World Trees.

There was nothing that could bar the path of that colossal eagle as it ruled the skies.

Though now it is forgotten, erased.

*…That bird must surely be the origin of the druids.*

The druids—the race that shapes nature.

The role of the Nameless Eagle was passed down directly to them.

For druids, too, were one of the races created by the Nameless Eagle.

Yes.
The reason the Nameless Eagle was forgotten and erased was precisely that.

The decisive reason it fell outside the gaze of Truth and was wiped away—

*The creation of species.*

The act of creating new races.

The Nameless Eagle was an *Originator*.

It did not merely transport the seeds of the World Tree.

In the process, it created countless species and became their progenitor.

Yet the created races themselves do not know of the Nameless Eagle.

Because Truth erased it entirely from their minds.

—H… ho… how…?

The Forgotten God’s eyes filled with disbelief.

That was unquestionably the most sacred of beasts.

An existence so supreme that no other beast could dare be compared to it.

And yet—

There are limits to the forms that can be shaped through a *Monster Soul*.

Even if one could summon an existence from outside Truth, the Nameless Eagle surpassed even that boundary.

—How could you summon an *Old One*…?!

…An Old One.

In the language of ultra-ancient civilizations, it meant a *Beast God*.

The primordial beasts were incomparably larger and more powerful than those of today, and countless species existed at once, making every day akin to war.

Among them were a tiny few who possessed transcendent power and divinity.

Beasts revered them as *Old Ones*.

And that eagle was undoubtedly one such Old One.

Meaning: a supreme form that could never be shaped into a soul.

And yet—he shaped it.

The Golden Scale Druid, whom she had been rejected by, summoned the Nameless Eagle and then went even further.

—…You devoured it?

…And transformed it into something else.

It was devoured.

By something.

Something unspeakably ominous, catastrophically annihilating—

Even she, an evil god who scattered curses, shuddered before that presence.

What had clearly been the Nameless Eagle—

An eagle that should have shone pure white and radiant—

Evolved into something else, bearing gray feathers.

The Forgotten God could not tear her eyes away.

Naturally so.

Because the identity of *that thing* lay far beyond the bounds of her imagination.

She could not comprehend it.

【Gray King, the Nameless Devourer】

…The king of beasts.

Yet that was no mere “king.”

In the primordial era, countless beast species existed, and some even possessed divinity.

But among them, there had never been one called a *king*.

And yet—

*A primordial king of beasts…*

That existence could rightly be called such!

Moreover, the power it wielded surpassed even that.

*

*

It evolves, and evolves, and evolves again.

Endlessly. Infinitely.

By now, it was exhausting even to witness.

Each time it seemed like the end, another form appeared.

But it didn’t matter.

There was no way it could contend with Extinction King Mork, who had reached the end of his species.

…At least, that was what he believed—until he saw the Gray King.

Grrrk. Grrr…

Extinction King Mork emitted a strange sound and took a guarded stance.

At the same time, White King frowned.

*The scent…*

It had grown stronger.

But it was not the scent of defeat.

It was unfamiliar, indescribable, a kind of smell he had never encountered before.

*What is this?*

If it were the scent of death, he would have recognized it immediately.

Yet this was even more gloomy and stale than that.

And—

“Fifth-Pillar…”

That scent had grown stronger as well.

So intense that no one but its owner could possibly emit it.

Above all, wasn’t it far too dark for something evolved by the Golden Scale Druid?

That meant this was the true color of the druid’s soul.

The Gray King.

*The Nameless Devourer.*

In an instant, a question arose.

If that truly was the Golden Scale Druid’s identity—

If he was both Gray King and Devourer—

“You…”

White King’s expression hardened completely.

Even if it was just a hypothesis—

Merely imagining it was profoundly unpleasant.

“…Did you devour Fifth-Pillar?”

That was the only explanation.

Unless Fifth-Pillar had been devoured, there was no way to explain this scent.

“….”

The Golden Scale Druid did not answer.

But that was enough.

That reaction.

That silence, unable to give an answer.

It was sufficient.

White King’s face stiffened.

No matter how ominous and deranged Fifth-Pillar was, a mad crow without hierarchy—

*Even so, Fifth-Pillar is Fifth-Pillar. He is my vassal.*

Blood runs inward.

Fifth-Pillar was one of the five retainers White King had personally appointed.

Fifth-Pillar had chosen him over the Star Guardians.

He had deep ties with his daughter Aria and had returned his fang.

They were bound by an inseparable relationship.

And the Golden Scale Druid had devoured that Fifth-Pillar.

Thus, from this moment on—

All goodwill and courtesy toward the Golden Scale Druid—

“Kill him, Mork.”

—were gone.

GROOOAAAH—!

Fifth-Pillar swelled his entire body.

*I’ll tear you to pieces.*

*

*

 

“…It’s on a different level.”

“…As expected of the Golden Scale Druid.”

The onlooking members spoke one by one.

The battle unfolding was suffocating.

The difference was far too vast compared to themselves.

Druid Albino spoke with vacant eyes.

“Though we call it a soul… it is ultimately no different from desire.”

A Monster Soul reflects the summoner’s soul.

But what is a soul, truly?

What determines its rank and magnitude?

Albino defined it as *desire*.

In essence, he believed soul and desire were not fundamentally different.

The size of one’s desire determined the size of one’s soul.

The desire to grow stronger as one grows strong.

To break walls, transcend limits, and reach the extreme, one must desire—and understand.

The more one knows, the greater the desire, and the soul, becomes.

“Then is that eagle form the embodiment of Hyun’s desire?” Raiga asked.

If soul and desire align, how should that form be interpreted?

It wasn’t merely because it was the Gray King.

The moment the battle began—

The gray devourer transformed into smoke, clouding Mork’s eyes.

The smoke then split into twelve clones, and at their center rose an ashen sun.

That ashen sun gradually darkened.

Each time it did, the eyes carved into Mork’s body shut rapidly.

No—
They weren’t merely closing.

*…They’re being erased.*

The eyes were disappearing.

As if being devoured.

Raiga watched the scene with a troubled expression.

If that was the true identity of Hyun’s soul—

Then he was one who devoured everything.

Truly greedy. Truly desirous.

Its magnitude was overwhelming.

GROOOAAAH—!

Extinction King Mork screamed.

He couldn’t reach them, no matter how he stretched his hands.

They only brushed past as smoke.

The twelve clones were the same.

But each time their beaks snapped from within the smoke, chunks of Mork’s flesh were torn away.

Then—

“…I won’t let it go as you please.”

*Shiiing—!*

*KWAANG—!*

In the midst of the soul clash, White King intervened.

The instant he did, he struck the true body of the Nameless Devourer.

With unrivaled senses and instinct, White King could distinguish reality from illusion.

However—

His action clearly violated the rules.

【White King is disqualified.】
【Golden Scale Druid has won!】

But it didn’t matter.

Disqualification or defeat—

*How dare you.*

*Crack—*

In an instant, White King’s entire body began to swell.

He shed his human form.

Reverting to his *true body*, no longer restrained.

A form he had not shown even once since his battle with Wilhelm.

And it was even larger than back then.

His size, strength—everything—had increased.

The true form of the White Tiger Clan, rulers of the North for countless years.

He had only shown it when facing the Black King—

Which meant the Gray King was that dangerous.

Still, he did not hesitate.

*How dare you.*

How dare you devour my vassal.

…Such an existence cannot be allowed to live.

*

*

The Forgotten God frowned as she watched Extinction King Mork being overwhelmed.

—You even mimicked the power of Truth…?

That was not mere devouring.

It was authority beyond consumption.

The power to eat—and erase.

Had it succeeded, Mork’s soul would have vanished completely.

He would never have existed in the world again.

It was undeniably the power of Truth.

But how could one mimic Truth’s power?

*He has defeated Truth once.*

Now it was clear.

Truth must have tried to erase the Golden Scale Druid.

But he survived Truth’s interference.

She still did not know how he did it—but he endured.

And he had even inscribed a trace of Truth’s power into his soul.

That was what manifested through that devourer.

*…What an absurd existence you are.*

What in the world had been created?

Mork could not overcome that thing.

Neither could White King.

But—

—The White Tiger Emperor…

What about the White Tiger Emperor?

The one who created Extinction King Mork—and the one who destroyed him.

The supreme ruler who once stood at the absolute peak of the White Tiger Clan’s long history.

No one had ever approached his achievements.

And the White King who revealed his true form now was no different from the White Tiger Emperor she remembered.

The Forgotten God watched White King, the Gray King, and the Golden Scale Druid with ever-growing interest.

She was genuinely curious.

Whether White King, who had awakened the blood of the White Tiger Emperor, could escape that authority.

And whether he or the Golden Scale Druid—who could even wield a facsimile of Truth’s power—was stronger.

Moreover, White King no longer seemed to care about victory or defeat.

He had only one goal.

—…!

*KWAaaaaaaaaaANG—!*