A heavy silence fell as Se-Hoon lowered his gaze to the envelope in front of him.

“A will...?”

The Association President, Gregory, was dead. Speechless, Se-Hoon tried to recall the last time he had talked to Gregory.

“Se-Ha. Which battlefield was President Gregory deployed to again?”

“President Gregory...? Ah, he fought in the Garden of the Void.”

“And after that?”

“When the Garden of the Void went out of control, he retreated to the surface with the others. Following the Administrator’s orders, I think he should have evacuated to the Netherworld... huh?”

Hearing Se-Ha’s bewildered voice while she looked into Gregory’s records, Se-Hoon understood what had happened and turned to Lan Fei.

“So he wasn’t able to resurrect in the Netherworld then.”

Ever since the Blessing of the Eternal had been granted, humanity could resurrect again and again through the Netherworld so long as their natural lifespan had not ended.

However, if someone refused to undergo the trial of their own will or had committed a sin that made them unworthy of receiving the Blessing of the Eternal, then that right was not granted and they would die. So Gregory...

“I do not know the full details either. All I was told was that if there was no contact for a week, I was to deliver this will to you.”

“When were you given that instruction?”

“The day before the Demon Realm Elimination Operation began.”

Se-Hoon frowned. If Lan Fei’s words were true, it meant Gregory had known the Blessing of the Eternal wouldn’t have resurrected him.

But if that’s true, then... he committed a sin...?

What in the world had he done to be so certain of his own death? Staring at the will Gregory had sent, Se-Hoon let out a quiet sigh and picked it up.

Woong-

Upon contact, the sealing enchantment on the will unraveled automatically. Se-Hoon remained silent, calmly opening the will to read the words Gregory had left behind.

If you are reading this letter now, then it means I died irresponsibly on the battlefield.

At first, I considered telling you directly, but I feared it would only cause confusion at such a critical time. So I ask that you forgive me generously for choosing to leave these words in a letter instead.

To get to the point, I have been in collusion with the enemy as one of the executives of Succession, known as Melchior.

“...”

Gregory... had been Melchior? Stunned, Se-Hoon couldn’t stop his eyes from widening in absolute surprise.

In the past... no, until you appeared, the Association’s situation was far from good. Due to the long cold war, more and more people started colluding with the Demon Force, and in particular, those connected to the Watchers were too many to count.

Because of that, leaks of classified information became routine. With corruption and collusion uncovered in branch after branch, the Association’s authority collapsed endlessly.

It should have been intentional; they were steering things that way specifically to reduce the Association to a complete figurehead with no actual power.

Watchers often used the facade of companies or research institutes studying new technologies, so many became entangled with them without even realizing it. And even if they were discovered later—when it was already too late—they would have already cut off their tails and fled. Only the Association’s incompetence would be exposed.

How could Gregory not feel powerless?

At that time, I faced two choices.

The first was to hand over all the Association’s rights to the Eternal Nocturne’s UD Group and give up.

The second was to descend beneath the surface to reach where the Watchers hid and learn their true nature myself.

I chose the latter. I believed it was far more prudent than giving everything to him.

Gregory’s distrust toward Wurgen—or more precisely, toward the very existence of a Perfect One—was clear. Recalling Gregory’s confession right after Wurgen’s funeral long ago, that he had always been wary of Perfect Ones, Se-Hoon continued reading somberly.

From that day on, I contacted Succession over and over, uncovered and eliminated the informants leaking the Association’s secrets, and filled their vacant positions with people under my control.

It was impossible to stop the leaks completely, so instead, I managed them directly in order to minimize the damage as much as possible. That also let me rise within Succession and become an executive, which allowed me to learn even more information.

Then, after seven long years of dealings, I came to inherit Succession’s executive Melchior.

All executives of Succession inherited the knowledge, synesthetic mindscape, and ego that had been passed down internally over a long era. Melchior was the ego Gregory inherited, and naturally, that came with a great deal of information about the Demon Force and the Watchers.

At first, I thought everything was proceeding according to plan. I had completely identified the informants hiding within the Association, and with your help and the Eternal Nocturne’s, I rooted them out entirely.

But on the day the Sacred Craftsman died and the Blessing of the Sacred Lantern revealed itself to the world, I was engulfed in flames of many colors. I was forced to reflect on all the things I had sold to the Watchers until then.

The corpse of a hero who had even donated his own body for the sake of humanity that I sold.

The technology and belongings of a researcher who had devoted his entire life to humanity that I sold.

The information on heroes who had sacrificed themselves for humanity that I sold, judging their worth by my own standards.

I had justified my actions with every excuse I could—someone else would leak it eventually, that the information wasn’t that important, that I could keep it under control well enough. I shouted about the greater good, claiming it was all for humanity.

Only when I felt the pain from the flames of the Sacred Lantern did I understand.

I, Gregory Nelson, had not been selling people for humanity’s sake—it was for the sake of my own sense of justice.

Gregory had relived the despair of that day. The words were distorted and uneven. It was a sight that could only make Se-Hoon let out a quiet sigh before reading on.

If you had not existed, if the Blessing of the Sacred Lantern had never come into being, what would have happened?

I would have no doubt continued dealing with the Watchers according to my own standards, never realizing my wrongdoing, and in the end would have been manipulated according to their will. I may even have diminished the strength of all humanity and led us to defeat in the war against the Demon Force.

That is why, right before this long war draws to a close, I confess all my sins to you.

If I return alive, I will read this letter aloud before everyone, surrender myself, and pay for my sins until the day my lifespan ends. If I do not return alive, then I ask that you reveal this ugly truth to everyone in my stead.

Finally, though I ask this shamelessly, I have one last request.

From this point on, the future of this world will flow according to your will. Even if that is not what you desire, I doubt you will be able to avoid it. Bearing responsibility for an entire world will not be easy, but I believe that if it is you, you will surely be able to lead it down the right path.

So please... take good care of humanity.

“...”

Se-Hoon stared silently at the letter. Shock from truths he had never known before, betrayal and anger for deceiving him... those emotions swirled within him, yet they all coalesced into a single question once he reached the final lines.

He believes... in me?

Had Gregory truly written those words because he believed in him? Was he just using those words to steer him in a certain direction?

Countless thoughts swirled in Se-Hoon’s mind, and in the end he found no answer. Even with so many Blessings in existence, the thoughts of the dead remain unknowable.

“Professor—no, Investigator. You should read it too.”

Seeing Se-Hoon hold out the will, Lan Fei hesitated briefly, then accepted it instead of refusing.

Shock, anger, confusion—countless similar emotions passed across Lan Fei’s face until, before long, he furrowed his brow and let out a weary sigh as though burdened with a headache.

“...What in the world...”

“What are your thoughts on it?”

For a long time, Lan Fei was in deep thought, his expression grave.

“I believe... that even if it is to be made public, the timing must be chosen carefully.”

“If it’s revealed now, it would dampen the mood.”

“And there is also the possibility that it would simply be glossed over.”

Was it not the nature of humankind to bury another’s disgrace beneath public affairs? Especially right now, with the long war over and the world in celebration, exposing the corruption of someone already dead would easily be swallowed up in one gulp by larger issues like the purification of the Demon Realm or reconstruction plans.

Lan Fei was right about the timing.

“Of course, that is only if you decide to reveal it. After all, President Gregory entrusted the choice to you.”

“If I choose not to reveal it, will you let it be buried?”

“Yes. That is the only way it can be.”

If Se-Hoon sincerely wished to hide Gregory’s secrets, there was no one in this world who could stop him.

That implicit meaning was understood by Se-Hoon, making him look at Lan Fei quietly.

“What kind of person was President Gregory to you?” he eventually asked.

“To me?”

“You infiltrated Babel because you trusted him. So I thought there must have been some sort of bond between you two.”

“...”

Lan Fei lowered his gaze to the will in his hands, remaining silent. Then, looking as if he were recalling the past, he let out a deep sigh.

“I think he was a man who acted for humanity. For better or for worse.”

Lan Fei’s assessment made Se-Hoon recall the memories of the world before his first regression.

When the war against the Demon Force resumed, Gregory had actively purged the informants hidden within the Human Alliance and never hesitated to fight on the front lines himself. Perhaps even then, just as he did now, he had realized his wrongs and risked his life in battle in an attempt at atonement.

“I see.... Please keep this will and reveal it when the time is right, Investigator. After that, let the people of the future decide.”

“Understood.”

Lan Fei left with the letter, his face heavy with emotion, seen off under the watch of Se-Hoon. Only when he was completely gone did Se-Hoon lift his gaze toward the sky.

“...”

Once that will was made public, Gregory would no longer be remembered as a hero. He would fall from grace—from being the renowned first-generation hero and Association President who had protected humanity for decades—to become a filthy traitor who had colluded with the Demon Force.

Yet... that was the ending Gregory had chosen for himself. That was why Se-hoon wouldn’t interfere, because like Gregory, he wanted the people of the future to decide for themselves.

“I see. So that’s what you meant.”

Se-Hoon abruptly realized. His decision to postpone the choice was, in itself, a choice. When Gregory said the world’s future would flow according to his will, that was what he meant.

Se-Hoon inadvertently made a bitter smile.

If that’s the case... then I need to make a decision about the Golden Ring as well.

Knowing both the danger of the Golden Ring and Lea’s suffering, continuing to hesitate was little different from choosing to abandon them both.

Resolving himself, Se-Hoon began reviewing the options, knowledge, and items currently in his possession one by one.

Destroying the Golden Ring or replacing it with something else carries too many variables. In that case, the best option for now is to twist it in a direction beneficial to humanity, like with Se-Ha. But...

In the end, he would need to create a system that would restrict the Golden Ring so that it could no longer interfere with the world indiscriminately. Such a thing would be incomparably more difficult than bypassing the existing system, but alas, that was simply the best solution with what he had.

Hahhhhhhh. Wouldn’t it be nice if I could just use the Akashic and snap my fingers to make it all happen...? 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Lamenting, Se-Hoon suddenly paused before summoning the Akashic. Actually, why couldn’t he use it to infer a system capable of managing the Golden Ring?

Woong!

An orange aurora spread out as if covering the sky, then compressed into a small window where a brief sentence appeared.

[If the concept of a management system is added to the Golden Ring, it may conflict with other concepts and cause a disaster on the scale of the emergence of the Towers of Heroes.

A realistic solution would be to construct a substitute system capable of replacing the Golden Ring and use the Omniform Sacred Armament to swap it out.

However, if the substitute system is incomplete, this too may lead to disaster.]

“...So it’s telling me to do it myself too.”

Seeing that the Akashic had reached the same conclusion as the Seeker, Se-Hoon let out a sigh.

“If only I had some sort of clue...”

The moment Se-Hoon muttered those words absentmindedly to himself, the Akashic fluctuated with some faint static, and a new sentence surfaced on the window.

[Consider what concepts lie within the titles of the Perfect Ones.]

“...”

Obviously, the Seeker had left those words behind.

When did she leave something like this? Hm? There’s... no registration date?

Normally, knowledge recorded in the Akashic came with a rough indicator of who had recorded it and when, but strangely, there wasn’t one for those words.

Even if it were knowledge from before I regressed, if I know it, then there should be a record...!

Se-Hoon searched through the records even more intensely, determined, when suddenly, he froze due to a memory surfacing. Yes, there had been a moment—just once—when someone other than himself had caused the world to regress.

Lea...? Does this mean it was recorded in the world that Puppeteer made?

What in the world had happened in that timeline for Lea to become a Perfect One and for the Seeker to leave behind such a record?

Puzzled by the incomprehensible situation, Se-Hoon mulled it over for a long moment before shaking the thoughts from his head. He returned his gaze to the sentence before him.

For now, let’s think about this first.

Its source was certainly suspicious, but if the Akashic had presented it as a clue, there had to be a reason for it. In his mind, Se-Hoon slowly went over the titles of the Perfect Ones he had encountered so far.

Pilgrim, Trailblazer, Eternal Nocturne, Sacred Craftsman, Visionary, Seeker, and...

“...Emperor of Ascension.”

Just where did Ludwig, whose core desire revolved around his desire to ascend, exactly want to reach?

Wasting no time, Se-Hoon immediately took out the Key of Whitespace and summoned the golden keyhole leading to Ludwig’s vault.

Swish- Click!

Like before, that pure white opening appeared when he inserted the key and undid the lock.

“...”

Se-Hoon stared at it with a tense expression. Then, slowly, he opened his mouth.

“I want a means to control the Golden Ring.”

Whoosh!

An old notebook was thrown out through the opening. Catching it, Se-Hoon felt his heart pound violently at the sight of the duty cover. Reaching his hand over the tile, he brushed off the dust.

“The Ascension Project...”