Chapter 303: The Secret Behind His Birth (4)

Turan had claimed to be the Creation Tome itself, which meant that the book now lying before Keter was undoubtedly Turan—not a fragment, but him in its entirety.

Keter’s eyes blinked rapidly.

“What kind of trick is this now?”

He wasn’t foolish enough to happily snatch it up. Gods loved to pretend to be distinguished while making a hobby of deceiving humans behind the scenes.

Pressing his palm to the ground, Keter examined the Creation Tome using the Terra Ring, which carried divine power. He felt nothing.

But it’s too quiet...

It wasn’t as though Turan were merely hidden; it was as if his very existence had vanished completely.

But that doesn’t mean the Creation Tome itself has lost its function.

Keter plucked a strand of hair and used it to touch the book.

Whoosh!

Pure white flames flared up, instantly incinerating the hair. The moment he saw that, Keter seized the Creation Tome. White flames engulfed his hand, but...

Voong...

Ein and the divine power from the Terra Ring suppressed them. Even so, the white flames did not go out easily; instead, they resisted fiercely, as if they were enraged.

Keter didn’t grow impatient. Like fishing, he loosened his grip when it pulled, and applied force when it slackened.

“...”

Whoosh! Crackle!

As if refusing to belong to anyone, the Creation Tome continued to spew white flames, while Keter refused to let go, even with his hand burning. The struggle between the two dragged on for an unbearably long time.

However, Keter was too focused to notice the passage of time. He had no spare attention to measure it. One misstep, and he would be engulfed by the white flames, reduced to ashes without leaving even a trace.

In the abyss where there was neither day nor night, an immeasurable amount of time had passed. The Creation Tome, which had seemed as though it would resist forever, finally began to falter, but Keter did not take the bait. He didn’t rush to overpower it, instead slowly trying to extinguish the white flames.

Whoosh!!

As expected, it was a trap laid by the Creation Tome. When Keter refused to be fooled and gradually tightened the noose, the white flames suddenly surged, swallowing him whole, as if they had never weakened at all. Keter burned white, including his clothes and hair. Then, even his skin, capable of blocking an Aura Sword, began to char and peel away.

Sizzle!

Yet, instead of letting go, Keter poured even more strength into his hands, gripping the Creation Tome even tighter. This was because he realized that the book was releasing its final blaze. Even as his entire body burned, Keter did not blink once as he continued the tug-of-war with the Creation Tome. At that very moment...

“...What the hell?”

Kron had returned, dressed in luxurious furs, both arms laden with bundles.

* * *

Keter didn’t even notice Kron’s arrival. He was so completely absorbed in the tug-of-war with the Creation Tome that every ounce of focus he had, even that required to breathe or blink, was being consumed.

Kron, who had just returned after thoroughly enjoying the mortal world, instinctively reached out to suppress both Keter and the Creation Tome but then stopped himself.

If I intervene, Keter will die, but the Creation Tome is something I’m supposed to manage.

Originally, the Creation Tome housed the divine entity known as Turan. But now, Turan appeared to have been annihilated. How a Malignant God like Turan had been destroyed was one thing, but the Creation Tome gaining an owner was a far more troublesome matter for Kron.

It’s sealed as a Malignant God, but ownership of the Creation Tome belongs to the Syndicate. If Keter becomes its master...

The responsibility would fall on Kron, which meant that Keter, attempting to take the Creation Tome, should be considered an enemy and someone to be excluded. And yet, despite knowing this, Kron couldn’t move.

Then, he made a decision.

“Ha. Why should I care about that bastard?”

Whoosh!

Kron launched himself toward Keter, but he didn’t land there. He landed beyond Keter and before the orbs containing the Malignant Gods. The Malignant Gods, which had remained silent until now, were taking this opportunity to try and escape.

“You really think that’ll work?”

Grrrk!!

In an instant, Kron suppressed the Malignant Gods.

As he did, he glanced back and muttered, “Syndicate or not, my own blood matters more. And it’s not some stranger taking the Creation Tome—it’s my son. It doesn’t matter.”

He’d probably get an earful from Mejai, the leader of the Syndicate, but Kron merely smiled.

“I might even get to see an old friend again after all this. Nice! Thanks, Keter!”

At that moment, the Malignant Gods, who had been waiting for a chance to break free, changed targets, instead trying to take over Keter.

“Like I said, it won’t work.”

Kron stepped in to block the Malignant Gods aiming for Keter, but thinking this was their last chance, they refused to back down easily. Thus, Keter continued his struggle with the Creation Tome, while Kron held off four Malignant Gods.

After a long time...

Rustle.

A sudden, unfamiliar sound echoed. It was the sound of the bread Kron had brought for Keter, now dried out and hard as a stone, crumbling apart.

Crackle!

Keter was still engulfed in white flames. By now, he was barely recognizable; only a vague human silhouette remained.

And then, something changed. The white flames that had been burning Keter began to heal him instead. Even severe burns—muscles and bones, organs that were difficult to recover once damaged, even eyebrows and hair—were restored. Beyond that, even the accessories and clothes that had burned away reappeared as if by a miracle. In the end, it didn’t even take a second for Keter to return completely to his original state.

And it didn’t stop there. Keter suddenly floated slightly into the air. The white flames didn’t vanish; instead, they were absorbed directly through Keter’s mouth.

Watching this, Kron couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Even if it’s only a portion... for the power of life and soul to become bound to a single individual...”

The power of the Creation Tome itself had been bound to Keter, which meant that he could now wield its power, even without the Creation Tome.

“Keter... just what are you?”

Kron thought Keter was strange from the moment he first saw him, as Keter bore both his own blood and that of Sefira’s lineage.

But that wasn’t all. There was another bloodline’s power within Keter. Kron had known from the beginning, but pretended not to, worried it would only confuse Keter further.

Yet now, the one truly confused was Kron himself.

I’ve never heard of anything like this.

After becoming an Absolute beyond even Transcendentals, Kron had thought he would never feel unfamiliarity again. That assumption shattered the moment he looked at Keter. To him, Keter was something entirely unprecedented—something unfamiliar in this world.

Thud.

Keter, who had been floating, descended back to the ground. He was standing, but his eyes remained closed.

“Keter.”

Kron grabbed Keter by the wrist. At that moment, Keter’s eyes snapped open, a light flashing within them.

“Who do you think you’re glaring at?”

Like father, like son, Kron jabbed a finger straight into Keter’s eye. No matter that Keter had absorbed the power of the Creation Tome, no matter that he’d died and returned stronger through Survival of the Fittest, Keter was still just a child before a true Absolute like Kron.

“Agh!” screamed Keter, the one who hadn’t uttered a sound even while burning alive.

This was because all his senses had become unbearably sharp. His sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, even intuition, a sixth sense, all had been excessively heightened.

“Ugh... fuck.”

The curse slipped out on its own. With all his senses amplified, he could see and feel things he had never before. Every being in the abyss was radiating an overwhelming presence.

Originally, Kron had been shielding Keter, but even so, Keter could feel the abyss far too vividly, and that overwhelming perception was painful.

Kron offered advice to the disoriented Keter.

“Gather your senses the way you draw in a breath. Don’t try to forcibly deny your heightened senses and just let them be.”

Keter followed Kron’s advice. Like sinking beneath the surface when flailing in the sea, he relaxed his body and calmly drew everything inward. Gradually, he felt the rampaging senses subside.

Thinking it was enough, Keter opened his eyes. The gleam in his eyes was also gone.

“...”

Keter looked around. Shattered orbs containing the Malignant Gods were scattered across the ground, and in his hand, he was gripping the Creation Tome tightly. Kron seemed to have mixed feelings, torn by the question of what to do with him.

Keter, however, knew exactly what he needed to do.

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“Father!”

He lunged forward and hugged Kron tightly. Kron stiffened awkwardly, wondering what the hell he was doing, but...

Pat.

He returned the embrace.

* * *

On bare ground with nothing around them, Keter and Kron sat cross-legged, facing each other. In Kron’s hand was the burning Creation Tone.

“Hoo.”

Letting out a short, heavy sigh, Kron held the book out toward Keter. The moment it entered Keter’s hand, the white flames withdrew.

“So the Creation Tome has fully acknowledged you as its master.”

“Looks like it.”

“Looks like it?”

“Uh... sorry about that, Father. But there really wasn’t anything I could do.”

“Then explain exactly what it was that you ‘couldn’t help.’”

Keter was honest. He explained that he had been bored and was playing around with the orbs containing the Malignant Gods, when Turan suddenly spoke to him. He told Kron that they exchanged a few words, and then Turan shattered on its own, leaving things like this.

“

Sigh...

”

Kron rubbed his forehead, clenching and unclenching his fist. It was clear he wanted nothing more than to punch Keter in the face.

“I figured you would have inherited my lack of patience. But even so, how do you manage to cause a disaster of this scale in just two days?”

“Wait, two days? You said you’d be back in one.”

“You weren’t touching the heart, so I thought it was fine to enjoy myself a little longer. Then you touched it too little, which felt strange. So, I came back, and this is what I found.”

“Well, isn’t this a good outcome, all things considered? There’s one less Malignant God to keep an eye on. That should make things easier for you, Father.”

“Shut your mouth. I’m debating whether I should kill you right now and reclaim ownership of the Creation Tome.”

“Uh, Father, your heart’s still in my hand, you know?”

It was called a heart, but it wasn’t a beating one. It was a glass-like heart, like that of a dragon. When Keter threatened him with it, Kron snorted and snapped his fingers. Before Keter could react, Kron’s heart vanished.

“I don’t even trust my own family.”

At Kron’s cold words, Keter suddenly had a thought.

“Such a jerk. I guess this is what my brothers felt.”

“...You have family in a place called Sefira as well?”

“Yeah, something like that. But when fathers meet fathers, what do you call each other? This one’s Father, that one’s Father.”

“That doesn’t matter. Keter. What is your purpose? Why do you live? How did you end up crossing paths with the Syndicate and meeting me?”

Keter stroked his chin. He’d already spent more time than expected. Still, there was no reason to rush here. Even if his personality was trash, Kron did seem to be his father.

“I don’t really have a dream. I figure I’ll just keep doing what I want, live like this, and die eventually.”

Hearing Keter’s dream, which didn’t accomplish anything, Kron leaned his head back.