I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-416

**Chapter 416. Transcendence**

—

When I arrived home and opened the door,

I returned to reality.

With much having changed from before.

《Level up!》

《‘Park Hyunmyung’ has reached Level 9.》

《All ‘Successions’ have been completed. ‘Park Hyunmyung’ and ‘Randolph’ are elevated to Level 10.》

《The maximum level applied to ‘Park Hyunmyung’ is ‘14’.》

《You have reached ‘Lv. 10’, the level at which First Transcendence is possible.》

《You currently possess 4 Stars.》

《The ‘First Transcendence Conditions’ have been satisfied.》

《Would you like to transcend by selecting one of the 4 Stars?》

**Transcendence (超越).**

To surpass one’s limits.

To become a superhuman through the power of a goddess—that is transcendence.

Since I already possessed four Stars, the moment I raised my level I was eligible to transcend immediately.

The Calling of the Star-bearers and the trials of the Star Guardians?

I had no need for such things.

Because I had already proven myself.

I was not in a position to ask anyone’s permission to transcend.

It had been long.

How desperately I had yearned for this moment.

I had finally achieved the impossible Level 10, and only now laid the foundation for transcendence.

…However.

What, in the first place, is a Star?

In the end, it is a severed piece of a god’s body.

Goddess Leah—her body.

At the moment just before transcending, a sudden doubt arose within me.

‘Even if I transcend using the goddess’s body, wouldn’t my limit be no more than Goddess Leah herself?’

True, Goddess Leah is an extraordinary being.

Among the gods, she is the most outstanding chief deity, and she even drove back Destruction.

But she did not defeat Destruction.

She reached Heaven—but could not surpass it.

If I transcended using Leah’s Star like this, wouldn’t my limit end there?

Of course, that might be a leap of logic.

Stars are, after all, auxiliary tools.

A courtesy and a gift bestowed upon those who surpass limits.

But—

‘Even if I gathered all 32 Stars, wouldn’t I still only reach the level of a chief god?’

An ordinary player would never even entertain such doubts.

Rejecting transcendence would be unthinkable.

However… to face **Annihilation**, ordinary transcendence would not suffice.

As much as I hated to admit it, Annihilation was strong.

Even unleashing Randolph’s **End** would not make this easy.

Because until now, I had not focused on strengthening the power of the End.

Despite having reached Level 10, Annihilation was a monster on a completely different axis from all the enemies I had faced so far.

Even if I somehow won by transcending—

What if stronger enemies attacked afterward?

Could I protect this world with only the power of a goddess?

‘Perhaps…’

That thought suddenly occurred to me.

Maybe Stars were not meant solely for transcendence.

From the beginning, it was the Star Guardians and the system that had made them tools for transcendence.

No one chosen as a transcendent had ever refused; they accepted it as natural.

But perhaps the true purpose of Stars was something else entirely.

So, I chose.

‘I refuse.’

Transcendence.

Surpassing my limits through the power of a goddess.

Letting someone else define my limits.

And then—

《You have refused Transcendence.》

《Achievement unlocked: ‘The First to Refuse Transcendence’.》

《The hidden class ‘Lord of the Stars’ trembles.》

《The traits possessed by ‘Lord of the Stars’ are strengthened twofold.》

《From now on, you can imbue ‘Stars’ you possess with ‘Stories (Souls)’.》

《Stars will exhibit special abilities according to the ‘Stories (Souls)’ they contain.》

《Complete the ‘Constellation of Phantom’.》

《Upon completing the ‘Constellation of Phantom’, the ‘Lord of the Stars’ class will evolve.》

The moment I refused transcendence, the method changed.

…Another use for Stars revealed itself.

To place souls within Stars.

And thus, to complete a constellation.

And—

‘The Constellation of Phantom.’

Phantom.

That name is my identity itself.

Everything that I am.

I nodded and made my decision.

The first Star—the soul that would become the beginning of the most important constellation.

Who it would be was already decided.

‘Wilhelm.’

I want to contain your story, Wilhelm.

*

*

**Genesis of Heaven and Earth.**

A sword art that opens the sky and the land.

Wilhelm completed Genesis of Heaven and Earth, achieving his martial path in its entirety.

His world is the purest pinnacle of martial force, his stature endlessly noble and immaculate—such that no one may dare to trespass upon it.

It cannot be imitated.

It must not even be caught up to.

And yet now, I fully unfolded Wilhelm’s sword.

What he had finally reached.

The ultimate truth he had barely grasped—and wanted to show me.

‘I see the world opening.’

The upper, middle, and lower dantian—my entire body—opens.

Then all mana is emptied, and one becomes one with the world. That is **Wall**.

Moreover, all things possess something called a **knot (結)**.

Because there is a binding, there is severance.

The problem is that there is a limit to the knots one can see.

Wilhelm saw beyond that.

Wall.

The sword that opens the world.

At last, he saw the knots of this very world.

‘Is this the world you saw, Wilhelm?’

I can see it.

I, too, can see the path he saw.

The countless lines that compose this world.

This goes far beyond disarmament that makes the impossible possible.

This—this knot—

‘It could destroy the world.’

It is exceedingly dangerous.

Yet, at the same time, overwhelmingly beautiful.

It felt as though time had stopped.

As if only the world and I existed—utterly silent.

If I remained like this, it felt as though I could live for eternity.

…Wilhelm.

What did he think, gazing upon this scene?

—It’s damn fucking beautiful.

For a moment, it felt as if Wilhelm’s voice brushed against my ear.

A knight king speaking so crudely.

I couldn’t help but smile.

He had only played the role of the “knight king” I wanted.

Perhaps that side of him was his true self.

Damn fucking beautiful.

I thought so too.

On the other hand, what of Annihilation’s world?

‘Emptiness.’

There is nothing.

Hollow, cold, desolate.

The world Wilhelm gazed upon and the world the Golden Mask saw were this vastly different.

To stain this beautiful world with emptiness was unthinkable.

I wanted the world Wilhelm and I had seen to be preserved as it was.

Slowly,

I placed a period at the end of Wilhelm’s story within the Star.

《You have comprehended the true principles of ‘True Genesis of Heaven and Earth’.》

《The First Star has been completed.》

《‘Wilhelm’s Star’ is registered at the beginning of the ‘Constellation’.》

《Register 13 Stars to complete the ‘Constellation’.》

《‘Wilhelm’s Star’ begins to shine.》

At last, I had contained Wilhelm.

The strongest knight in history.

My starting point.

The friend I respected and wished to resemble…

‘True Genesis of Heaven and Earth.’

I open my eyes.

Time begins to flow again.

No—

Time rewound.

To just before the **Jade of Annihilation** detonated.

*

*

 

A phenomenon that has already occurred cannot be undone.

But a phenomenon that has not yet occurred can be stopped.

—W-what…?!

The instant the Jade of Annihilation was formed—

In that fleeting moment when I believed it absolutely could not be cut—

*Clang!*

The **Jade of Annihilation** was cut.

Cut apart. Shattered.

Annihilation unconsciously furrowed his brow.

He had been certain it would detonate.

Invoking annihilative phenomena was his authority.

An absolute phenomenon.

How could it possibly be cut?!

There was no way to perceive it in advance and move.

It was guaranteed—100%—to explode.

—How…?

He could not understand.

Unless time itself had been reversed.

If even a single second had not gone back, destroying the Jade of Annihilation was impossible.

Yet such a thing was impossible—even for Truth, or beings beyond Truth.

Even if it were possible, it would mean tampering with the **worldline**.

Heaven would inevitably destroy any world whose worldline had changed.

The Dragon God Council would not intervene.

But—

‘The worldline hasn’t changed.’

The worldline remains intact.

Truth is not reacting.

Inside and outside the Door of Truth remains unchanged.

Then by what method did he prevent the Jade of Annihilation from detonating?

How could this absolute phenomenon be stopped in advance—when no such method should exist?

And this is Wilhelm’s “swordsmanship”?

One thing was clear: even if it were used again, it would be blocked.

He felt certain of that.

If this continued—

‘Am I… losing?’

The possibility of defeat suddenly crossed his mind.

…Impossible.

Wilhelm.

That I would lose to someone like him.

That Destruction would lose…?!

I abandoned everything to surpass Wilhelm.

Only now did I feel truly myself.

And yet—

“Are you ready to face the real thing, fake?”

The words declaring Wilhelm the real one, and himself the fake.

Was he to accept that?

‘I am the real one.’

He could not accept it.

You—who always blocked my path.

The blood of the Emperor, the power of Annihilation—I inherited it more purely than you.

The Empire was mine, and all followed and praised me.

As proof, I became Annihilation!

—Give me power. Greater power!

Annihilation craved even more power.

At that moment—

『The contract is complete.』

*Crack!*

An **eye** appeared upon his forehead.

The very door that had granted him the power of Annihilation.

Though he had become Annihilation, he was not yet complete.

Because the consciousness of the **Golden Mask** still remained.

Only by offering his entire soul could he truly become Annihilation.

‘I… am the real one.’

The Golden Mask truly discarded everything.

If he lost here, it would prove he was the fake.

So to win, he cast everything away.

Discarded it—and filled himself anew.

Then—

*Whoooooosh!*

Black flames surged, and the Golden Mask’s soul ignited.

Soon, his body began to mutate.

Into a grotesque form.

A being with a single massive eye for a face, and twelve arms.

No trace of humanity remained—

He became **Annihilation**.

*

*

*Huuung—*

*Huuuuuung—!*

Just standing there felt suffocating from his presence alone.

The **First Fire** flickered dangerously.

“Ah…”

“N-no…!”

Thud!

Those nearby collapsed one by one, losing consciousness.

They tried desperately to endure, but could not.

In the end, everyone fell unconscious.

I quietly raised my gaze and looked at **Annihilation**.

There was no longer any trace of the **Golden Mask** left in him.

Only—

‘He’s dangerous.’

Far more dangerous than before.

A weapon of Heaven.

Another Destruction.

A being that is nothing else.

A monster utterly devoted to destroying this world.

Annihilation—whose mere existence imperils the world.

“…Yeah. At this rate, it’ll be tough.”

I had completed Wilhelm’s story, but facing him with Wilhelm’s power alone would be insufficient.

I had to surpass it.

Reach a higher place.

And for that, I needed—

《The Second Star, ‘Randolph’s Star’, has been registered.》

It’s you, Randolph.

O End.