I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-411

**Chapter 411. You’re Not Dead, Are You?**

—

Pangaenia.

A land where countless different races lived together.

Here, the existence of gods had firmly taken root.

Even after everything had been destroyed by Destruction, people’s faith had not died, and the gods who truly existed continued to exert powerful influence over their lands.

For example—the War God Karas, the Chief Gods of Omen and Ash.

And even the Dragon God Einhassar.

But Earth had no such god.

At most, during the invasion of the Second Lord Issera, the “Dragon God Lucaria” had revealed itself once—but no traces of gods like those in Pangaenia remained.

Unlike the gods of Pangaenia, who sought to assert their presence by any means, perhaps Earth’s gods simply chose not to reveal themselves.

However……

‘Earth has no god that asserts itself.’

I was certain.

From the very beginning, there had been no god at all.

Earth’s Awakeners were synchronized with Pangaenia, the Demon King’s army opened invasion warps and launched attacks, and even a single Blade Dragon God created dragon veins and forcibly became Earth’s Dragon God—yet there had been no response whatsoever.

Moreover, a Dragon God is not the god of that world.

It is merely an administrator dispatched by the Dragon God Council to manage things.

Earth is far too different from Pangaenia.

A world that had none of it—no god guiding a species, no tower, no dungeon, not even a World Tree.

Nothing at all.

—……Why do you think that?

Even so, I was convinced that the “eye” within me was Earth’s god.

Though unlike the gods of Pangaenia, it did not spread its existence on its own.

Still, it wasn’t that Earth lacked a god.

“I think Earth’s concept of a ‘god’ is different from Pangaenia’s. You’re not outside—you’re inside. A god that resides within existence itself.”

…It was simply a difference in the concept of “god.”

Not the absence of a god, but the presence of one that could not be seen.

Yes. Earth’s god does not reveal itself.

It exists inside existence itself.

Within.

That’s why it cannot be found.

But it can be felt.

The nobility of the soul.

Because of that, Earth’s humans devoted themselves more to proving themselves than to worshipping gods, and through that, they developed science.

Or, through powerful belief, they forged theology or philosophy that pierced through the world.

These were things that Pangaenia clearly did not possess.

“So Earth probably didn’t need many gods. It was enough for one to reside within everything. You’re probably something like Earth’s primordial god, Eyeball.”

……If so, then the “eye” was the primordial god of the world.

Earth’s one and only god.

He dwelled within the interior of all existence on Earth.

Delegating full authority to all beings of Earth, he merely watched.

I looked straight at the eye, my conviction unwavering.

And then, the eye blinked once.

—Correct, Demon of Greed.

*

*

 

A primordial god.

A being that appears at the birth of a world and defines its rules.

They observe the world in the form of an “eye.”

Pangaenia’s primordial god chose to intervene in the world.

It increased the number of powerful gods and created miracles.

So that countless races could be protected.

So that diverse races could develop civilization simultaneously.

But Earth’s primordial god chose the path of non-intervention.

Even if massive wars broke out, even if tens of millions died, even if humanity acted as though it owned Earth—it entrusted everything to natural selection.

Both choices had clear strengths and weaknesses.

Intervening through gods brought about countless miracles, such as the birth of the World Tree.

It forged land so powerful that even Outer Gods could not approach—but those accumulated miracles eventually reached “Heaven.”

On the other hand, removing divine intervention erased miracles and prevented reaching Heaven, but greatly increased the risk of being targeted by trivial existences like Outer Gods.

It was simply a difference in choice.

But……

In the latter case, when things deviated from “natural selection,” matters spiraled out of control.

The intervention of Outer Gods was only one example.

The greatest problem was collision with other worlds.

Then Pangaenia’s souls flowed in, Earth became connected to Pangaenia, and invasions followed—exceptional cases began to pile up.

—At times, there were those who realized me. They possessed noble souls and strong faith in themselves. But you are the first ‘demon’ to become aware of my existence.

The Demon of Greed.

He was not an existence of Earth.

A “hidden” soul that had flowed in from Pangaenia.

An existence the twin goddesses had desperately concealed.

Occasionally, beings like this—souls from other worlds—were born on Earth.

But because Earth was a world without miracles, they failed to cause great ripples.

And they certainly never realized the existence of the primordial god.

Yet……

The Demon of Greed realized it.

By constantly proving himself, breaking walls, destroying them, and building again.

A miracle.

A miracle that had never existed in this world, unprecedented, had just occurred.

“Am I really the Demon of Greed?”

Words I had heard many times.

Yet still impossible to fully understand.

A demon—said not by anyone else, but by the being who had watched me from beginning to end.

By an existence that acknowledged itself as a primordial god.

It wasn’t something I could easily dismiss as false.

—For now, yes.

“For now?”

—You are a more fundamental existence.

“……Feels like I’m playing twenty questions.”

The eye did not give a clear answer.

Because there was no answer to give.

That was why even the goddesses—and the Demon of Greed himself—had not realized his essence.

No matter how powerful one’s greed might be……

……a mere demon could not possibly reach the strongest of Heaven’s weapons—“Destruction.”

“Anyway, this seems good enough. Send me back.”

—Impossible.

“……I’m not dead, am I?”

The Demon of Greed stated it plainly—he was not dead.

Astonishing.

A soul that had accepted death, denying death once more—this was truly miraculous.

The catalyst was the Great Expedition he undertook out of sheer frustration.

The countless Phantom avatars simultaneously carrying out the Great Expedition ignited a fire in his soul.

It was already astonishing enough that a dead soul broke walls and built a home—

……but to think he would shatter his own lingering regrets.

He hadn’t awakened by gathering and linking all avatars—he overcame death itself.

And with that, his soul underwent an incredible change.

—The path is for you to find. I have already given you the ‘eye’ to find it.

The Eye of Truth.

Previously, he had elevated the Hidden Trait “Great Sage” into the “Eye of Truth.”

It wasn’t merely a change to Randolph’s Hidden Trait, but something far more fundamental.

If he failed to realize it himself, he would lose the path forever.

This place was the inner world.

Deeper than the Abyss, darker than darkness—his own interior.

Which direction to move in was his choice alone.

“So that’s how you’re going to play it?”

Park Hyun-myung laughed.

An innocent smile that could never be mistaken for that of a demon.

Then, without hesitation, Park Hyun-myung turned his back.

Waving his hand, he said,

“I’m going. I’ll invite you to my place. Come visit.”

Park Hyun-myung began walking along an invisible path.

Behind him followed countless beings.

Just as innumerable soldiers and knights had followed Wilhelm during the Great Expedition.

Now, behind Park Hyunmyung’s back, stood Wilhelm and many others.

—…….

The eye silently watched his back.

Having overcome death, he must have become aware of what was happening outside.

That another weapon of Heaven was being born.

Even knowing how dire it was, how difficult it would be—

Park Hyunmyung did not seek his help.

On the contrary—

—…….

An invitation to visit.

The house Park Hyunmyung built by stacking bricks.

He crushed thirteen Hidden Traits together to create another concept entirely.

And named that concept “home,” embracing other souls within it.

A sight even the eye had never seen before.

No wonder.

What Park Hyunmyung had created was……

—So that’s it. He isn’t lost.

Park Hyunmyung already knew where to return.

He was simply going back to his home.

There was no need to find a path.

Because he had a home so certain that he could never lose his way.

Giving him the Eye of Truth almost felt pointless.

—You realized me, yet you do not need me……

…It was the first time.

The eye was one who merely observed.

At times, it only opened the eyes of those who realized it.

But those who opened their eyes always yearned for it.

They recognized the existence of a god and desired divine power.

They prayed to be watched, to be acknowledged.

Naturally, the eye never granted such wishes.

But… Park Hyunmyung was different.

He did not need its help.

He did not crave its power.

He never even considered it.

He sought to overcome his trials entirely on his own.

Perhaps because he believed in himself that strongly—but that was not the only reason.

He respected the eye’s choice.

To watch.

……To merely observe.

The eye lifted its gaze upward.

Above the sky, to another world at the pinnacle of existence.

—Heaven. Do you intend to destroy all worlds and begin anew?

……Heaven.

Heaven was increasing its arsenal of “weapons.”

It had tried with Randolph and failed, yet eventually created “Annihilation.”

As if it desired the end of all worlds.

In that process, Pangaenia and Earth had become the center.

If these two worlds were destroyed, all worlds would collapse in a chain reaction.

—…Everyone already knows that you can fail.

In Pangaenia—

Destruction failed to sink all of Pangaenia into the Abyss.

It gave up midway, and thus failed.

It had never happened before.

Pangaenia was the first world to survive despite Heaven’s intervention.

Moreover, even the strongest weapon—“Destruction”—had failed its task.

Seeing this, everyone realized it.

That Heaven, too, could fail.

That they were not perfect.

Movements opposing Heaven immediately arose.

Outer Gods began to move, and even the Dragon God Council was making silent preparations.

That was why Heaven sought once again to destroy Pangaenia.

And not only that—knowing that the Demon of Greed who had reached Destruction existed on Earth, Heaven also sought to destroy Earth.

It intended to wipe out all worlds that had realized Heaven’s failure.

To erase everything. To conceal it.

To return to nothing all things that might someday oppose it.

No matter how one looked at it, that was the only conclusion.

—…….

The eye pondered.

It was an observer. A contemplator.

But the world was in upheaval.

The rules it had established had long since collapsed.

It had removed divine intervention to avoid Heaven, yet now Heaven stood face-to-face with Earth.

Already within sight.

So clearly, Heaven was gazing down upon Earth.

Yet what it could do was limited.

Earth had no god to act in its stead.

But……

The eye turned its gaze once more.

Toward the place Park Hyunmyung had returned to.

Looking at the home where everyone gathered, it murmured softly—

—I’ll come visit.