**Chapter 424. The Strongest Command Word**
—
The trial of the God of Wishes.
An awakening of command words that every Absolute must undergo.
Those who fail to obtain a command word cannot become an *Absolute*.
On the other hand, those who pass the trial and awaken the power of command words embedded in their souls earn the right to reign as Absolutes.
*The last time someone received a mark was three thousand years ago.*
The problem was that the number of Absolutes receiving marks had sharply declined.
As a result, even capable dragons had no choice but to settle for the qualification of *Dragon God*.
Thus, for the past three thousand years, no new Absolutes had appeared, and the Dragon God Council had been left pacing in frustration.
Guiding Phantom to the God of Wishes had been close to a gamble.
And yet—it had succeeded spectacularly.
*Even so, most only receive a single mark. At most, two or three.*
Of course, even if they were the same command word, their power and type were never identical.
The domains of command words differed.
And the vast majority of Absolutes possessed only *one* mark.
This meant specialization in a single command word.
Just as the Absolute Roun specialized in the command word of *death*, it meant overwhelming strength in a specific category.
However, it wasn’t that Absolutes with more than one mark didn’t exist.
A very small number among them had obtained multiple marks.
“……Four.”
Asha spoke, unable to hide her astonishment.
A being who had killed Annihilation while wielding another form of Destruction—the End.
A being whose stature was exceptional enough to forcibly close the Gate of Truth by himself…
……Four marks?!
Two marks lined each corner of his mouth.
Since the power of command words emerged from the mouth, the closer the marks were to it, the stronger the power implied.
Above all, there was currently only *one* Absolute in the Dragon God Council who possessed four marks.
And even that Absolute had taken *five years* to pass the trial of the God of Wishes and obtain them.
Five years versus five minutes.
They shared the same number of marks, yet the difference in time was incomprehensible.
“May I ask what kind of trial you received?”
Asha was curious.
The God of Wishes was infamous for being exceedingly fastidious.
No matter how mighty or bloated one’s soul, no matter how one reached that place by their own power—if they did not meet its standards, it would never grant a mark.
The command words of an Absolute were powers capable of altering the very laws of the world.
Because of that overwhelming power, even the God of Wishes bore a heavy burden in granting them.
Yet it had granted *four* marks in five minutes?
*That’s impossible.*
It was far removed from the God of Wishes’ temperament as Asha knew it.
The God of Wishes listened to no one in the Dragon God Council.
No matter how much they begged, it hadn’t granted a single mark to anyone over the past three thousand years.
So how had that stubbornness been broken?
The man’s answer, when it came, was even more absurd.
“I received no trial at all.”
“……You didn’t receive a trial?”
“Instead, I was asked one favor.”
“And what was that?”
“A secret.”
“…….”
Asha pressed her lips together.
A favor?
From the God of Wishes?
From the being that could confidently claim to be the most difficult entity across all dimensions—a favor…?!
Asha thought.
*Perhaps the favor itself is the trial, and the minimum requirement to even attempt it is four command words…?*
In other words, the trial hadn’t even begun yet.
The task assigned to him was so enormous that the God of Wishes had first granted four marks.
…Insane.
The moment she realized this, Asha’s pupils trembled.
There were Absolutes with four marks—but if this man completed the God of Wishes’ *favor*, the power he would gain was beyond imagination.
*Just what kind of trial did he receive?*
She had no idea.
What was certain was—
……A monstrous being had appeared.
Something fundamentally different from previous Absolutes.
A creature capable of shaking the Dragon God Council itself.
The changes that would follow would be anything but small.
Asha’s eyes shone.
*He will become the hope of our Dragon God Council.*
Yes.
He was the man chosen by *Yung*.
There was no way the Primordial Dragon God Yung could have been wrong.
Though he had left the Dragon God Council after clashing with other Primordial Dragon Gods, there was no one with wisdom and insight equal to Yung’s.
*At this rate, the Dragon God Council will lose.*
……At this rate, the Dragon God Council would lose to the *Heavens*.
No—before even reaching the Heavens, they might lose to the *Outer Gods*.
Most Absolutes and Primordial Dragon Gods had yet to grasp the severity of the situation.
They believed they could win—but who knew?
Asha closed her eyes briefly.
Then, when she opened them—
“I’ve submitted an agenda to elevate you to the position of *Absolute*. The Supreme Council will convene shortly, so let us go together.”
*
*
The Supreme Council.
A gathering where the Absolutes of the Dragon God Council convened to discuss critical matters.
And the place where the Supreme Council was held was the *Graveyard of Dragons*.
A land filled with colossal dragon bones.
It was likely where the dragons of the Dragon God Council throughout history had been laid to rest.
The sight was overwhelmingly majestic—
Yet, at the same time, it reflected the stubborn traditionalism of the Council.
“This is already the third Supreme Council.”
“And to accept *Destruction* as an Absolute…”
“You’ve truly lost your mind, Princess Asha.”
Eleven *Absolutes* were seated at the Supreme Council.
They came in many forms, but all shared one undeniable trait—
An overwhelming amount of *Golden Scale*.
Golden Scale overflowed from their entire bodies.
Power befitting the title of Absolute.
Even the strongest Dragon Gods in existence would seem insignificant before them.
“The crime of dragging him to the God of Wishes on your own is severe.”
“Indeed. It wasn’t as if it would succeed anyway.”
“Hm. One who fails to awaken command words cannot become an Absolute.”
“No matter if you are a ‘princess,’ we cannot elevate one ignorant of command words to Absolute.”
The Absolutes criticized her in unison.
Their expressions made it clear—they resented her for secretly taking *Destruction* to the God of Wishes.
And they were convinced it could not have succeeded anyway.
After all, no new Absolute had appeared in three thousand years despite many attempts.
“He passed the trial of the God of Wishes.”
Asha declared confidently.
“……What?”
“That can’t be…”
“You’re saying the God of Wishes granted command words to Destruction?”
Naturally, the other Absolutes looked unconvinced.
At that, Asha gave a faint smile.
“Allow me to introduce him. The new Absolute—*Phantom*.”
Creeeak—
The doors opened.
Thud—
With the sound of footsteps, a figure appeared.
The moment the Absolutes laid eyes on Phantom—
“……The number of marks…”
“Has the God of Wishes gone mad?”
“Four marks…?!”
*
*
Facing the Absolutes made goosebumps rise all over my body.
*You could indeed call them universal-level beings.*
Entities capable of erasing a world on a whim.
I understood why they were called Absolutes.
Moreover, the Golden Scale surging around them felt like standing before a *World Tree*.
*To wield command words, one needs Golden Scale.*
The stronger the command word, the more fragments of Golden Scale were required. And for command words with absolute power, one had to use *Complete Golden Scale*.
In short, every Absolute was a being blessed by the *World Tree*.
Just like me.
However, there was a difference between their command words and mine.
—At last, you’ve arrived. The one who will grant my wish!
The God of Wishes rejoiced the moment it saw me.
The old man, reduced to little more than skin and bones, grabbed my hands tightly and said—
—Please, retrieve all command words and marks.
A sudden request.
The retrieval of command words and marks.
In other words—
*Am I supposed to take their marks?*
I had little time, so I accepted his request.
But command words were one of the foundations enabling them to oppose the Heavens.
Taking them away—wouldn’t that mean the destruction of the Dragon God Council?
But the God of Wishes said that wasn’t the case.
—The Dragon God Council is heading in the wrong direction. In their attempt to oppose the Heavens, they have laid hands on forbidden domains. The marks must be reclaimed before it’s too late.
The forbidden domains.
He was referring to the *weapons* created to win the war against the Heavens.
Hearing that, I quietly nodded.
I understood what the God of Wishes was worried about.
That was why my command words were fundamentally different from theirs.
*I am a plunderer.*
My command words existed solely to steal what belonged to them—the mark of *Plunder*.
—I have watched you for a long time. You who bear the wish of the strongest existence.
—However, you must be careful. Absolutes are not easy opponents. With your current strength, you cannot face all of them at once.
—So be cautious. Be discreet. And plunder them.
The God of Wishes said he had watched me for a long time.
He seemed to know me well.
Including how much power I truly possessed.
Even so, he was convinced I couldn’t face all Absolutes at once.
*Meaning I can deal with them one by one.*
In other words, it was possible to handle small numbers.
One—or perhaps more.
But to act *discreetly*, I would need to plunder them individually.
I smiled.
Then, calmly crossing my legs, I sat down in an empty seat.
“There’s no need to further debate my qualifications.”
“……You are Destruction. How can we trust that you are not on the side of the Heavens?”
A man spoke then.
He had golden hair and his mouth was covered with something like cloth.
He seemed to be the strongest among the Absolutes.
I shrugged casually and replied.
“Nonsense. Destruction cannot attack Destruction—but I can. How could I be ‘Destruction,’ then?”
In other words, I wasn’t Destruction.
The End I possessed had become my *retainer*.
Not a being meant to destroy something—but one that followed me.
They must have known that already.
After all, I had killed *Annihilation*.
Naturally, I had become an enemy of the Heavens.
“I still don’t understand how you passed the trial of the God of Wishes so quickly. In the end, the power of your ‘command words’ may amount to nothing.”
“Maybe I just have many of them.”
“Wasn’t the God of Wishes already exhausted of power?”
“Hm. I’d very much like to see proof.”
“If you can prove you are worthy of being an Absolute, we will gladly welcome this newly emerged Absolute.”
The other Absolutes chimed in one by one.
They didn’t know why no additional marks had appeared in three thousand years.
Instead, they simply assumed that the God of Wishes had exhausted its power.
Which made them all the more curious.
This was likely the final gate.
*They want me to prove my command words.*
But I was troubled as well.
Every type of command word I possessed was related to *plunder*.
They existed solely to take what belonged to others.
However—
One of my command words could *imitate* another.
Something I had experienced before.
And there was only one command word I had ever experienced.
But I had no intention of imitating it halfway.
《One ‘Complete Golden Scale’ will be consumed to use a command word.》
I needed to make an impact.
Decisively.
Then, I spoke with force.
“**Kneel.**”
*
*
It felt like a dream.
Born as the Queen of the Bloodspawn Species, endlessly evolving until she reached the position of Dragon God—
*I…*
Hana, the Blade Dragon God.
She was still lacking awareness.
Unstable—thus prone to frenzy.
Unable to even maintain her own existence without relying on someone else.
In the end, she had been no help at all.
……Pathetic, wasn’t it?
*My dream was… to protect my children, to protect my god.*
But she had reached her limit.
Because her faith had been insufficient.
Because she had not been complete.
She could not fulfill her dream.
A pitch-black space.
A land of nothingness.
Hana was alone there.
She had never once faced such solitude since her birth.
This was the punishment given to her.
Death was this lonely.
*I’m scared.*
Her body trembled.
The thought of being alone terrified her beyond endurance.
She had appeared strong to everyone.
An omnipotent being who seemed unshakable.
…but her hidden heart was childish.
A coward.
So afraid of losing, of being abandoned, that she chose the foolish path of frenzy and rampage.
*It’s cold…*
Hana hugged her knees.
In a place where no one existed, where no one would come—
…she was slowly approaching death.
She was afraid.
She didn’t want to die yet.
Not if the path was this lonely and desolate.
Hana whimpered.
For the first time, she shed tears.
Her existence grew smaller and smaller, as if about to vanish.
“Ah……”
That was when—
A ray of light entered the darkness.
A very small light.
But to her, it was salvation.
Hana reached out and grasped the light.
And she realized—
…that she had never been alone to begin with.
That there was still someone who had not let go of her.
“My… god.”
For the first time in her life, she smiled through tears.
