Chapter 232

Chapter 232
## Chapter: 232
Chapter Title: Metamorphosis

The Pantheon.

The arrival of the 101st Constellation was officially recorded!

The collective gaze of the established stars was instantly fixed upon the mysterious entity that materialized, radiating a shower of intense cosmic light.

“You are…!”

The Constellation of the Most Radiant Hero.

Even he was visibly shaken by the appearance of this 101st occupant.

Never before had he seen a celestial being manifest while completely bypassing the known constraints of reality.

Yet, the physical form of this newcomer was what truly bred bewilderment.

“……A punctuation mark?”

The features of this Constellation were entirely hidden.

A thick, ethereal vapor swirled around its head.

In the space where a face should be, a solitary question mark (?) drifted.

In all his eons, he had never encountered such a figure.

Could a mere symbol truly represent the essence of a Constellation?

These were supposed to be the most magnificent beings in existence—warriors and sages who had ascended to the heavens to bask in eternal fame.

A walking enigma, as vague as a riddle, seemed a poor fit for such a title.

“Identify yourself. By what means did you gain entry as the 101st member of this circle?”

The Constellation of the Most Radiant Hero felt compelled to demand an explanation.

His curiosity was piqued by the fact that this question mark emitted no detectable energy.

It lacked the divine resonance and the sacred weight common to all other stars.

It felt strikingly mundane.

Finally, the entity with the symbolic face answered.

“I am the traveler who returned after unlocking the ‘Door of Truth.'”

“Hold on. What did you just claim?”

“The Door of Truth?!”

A wave of shock rippled through the gathered assembly.

The Door of Truth!

It was a legendary threshold that every star had heard of, yet not a single soul had ever verified its location or existence!

Furthermore, this being claimed to have actually traversed its threshold.

In that moment, the Constellation of the Most Radiant Hero’s mind raced as he connected the dots, his face turning pale.

‘It can’t be… that thing from the void…’

He remembered the moment his own light had nearly extinguished, and his divinity was on the verge of being stripped away.

Moved by the chronicle of Randolph, he had been ready to accept his disappearance with a smile.

But as the narrative played out, a presence had peered through from ‘the beyond.’

A pair of lips manifesting in the pitch-black vacuum.

-Is there nothing else you can provide?

…The tone and cadence of that voice were a perfect match for the question mark standing before them now.

That same mouth had appeared when he pleaded to witness the continuation of Randolph’s journey.

-You expressed a desire for more. Surely you have a price prepared for such a request?

He had surrendered every scrap of his essence to that ‘mouth’ in the dark.

-The history you have woven is quite captivating.

Consequently, the ‘mouth’ that consumed his entire legacy had promoted him, elevating his rank to the Constellation of the Most Radiant Hero.

‘That entity was the Door of Truth itself.’

He was certain that the mouth was the gateway.

And yet, this individual now claimed to be the one who had opened that gate and stepped through?

Besides, the voice was an exact replica of the one that had bartered for his stories.

With the eyes of every star upon it, the question mark spoke again.

“I am known as the ‘Constellation of Purity.’ I was the inaugural star of the Pantheon, predating the very fabric of the laws you follow, and I alone was permitted to pass through the Door of Truth as the ‘Highest Star.'”

“The Highest Star…!”

“Why return to us now?”

The Highest Star.

It was the ultimate aspiration for every resident of the Pantheon.

A rank reserved solely for the one who could stand atop the summit, outshining every other light in the firmament.

The ‘Constellation of Purity’ was asserting that it was the first to achieve this peak since the Pantheon’s inception.

Then, the Constellation of Purity added,

“I was granted a second path, but I met with failure.”

“You were unsuccessful?”

“Constellation of Purity. Does reaching the status of Highest Star truly offer such a prospect?”

Their questions were laced with a desperate hunger.

Every star present was a being defined by a past failure.

They were creatures who thirsted for a second chance above all else.

The Constellation of Purity gave a slow nod.

“It does. My presence here signifies that the true struggle for the Highest Star has commenced. Listen well, O Constellations: with the half-hearted resolve you have shown thus far, the peak will forever remain out of your reach.”

Thud. Thud.

The Constellation of Purity began to walk forward.

It eventually stopped directly in front of the Constellation of the Most Radiant Hero.

“Fight. Amass the ‘Golden Rule’ by any method available. Crush your peers, ascend past their corpses, and only the soul that perfects the ‘Most Radiant Golden Rule Starlight’ shall be crowned the Highest Star!”

“……Is this a formal challenge?”

The Constellation of the Most Radiant Hero’s expression grew grim.

Until this point, the stars had generally respected each other’s boundaries.

They followed the ancient protocols and avoided interfering with the natural order of things.

It was this very stability that the Constellation of Purity mocked as ‘half-hearted.’

This newcomer was the polar opposite of every divine being they had known.

It possessed no visible majesty.

Then, the Constellation of Purity made a clicking sound of disapproval while sizing up the Constellation of the Most Radiant Hero.

“You are all remarkably dim-witted.”

“……”

The insults continued to fly.

The Most Radiant Constellation scowled at the blatant disrespect.

But the Constellation of Purity was unmoved by his irritation.

Instead, it doubled down.

“Ignorant Constellations!”

It shouted, goading them.

“Do you honestly believe that this Pantheon is the only one in existence?”

It was a challenge for them to finally see the wider, darker truth.

I blinked my eyes open slowly.

Snap. Crack!

I rolled my neck to ease the stiffness in my spine.

I flexed my fingers, popped my knuckles, and went through a series of stretches to ensure my motor functions were intact.

“Hm.”

It was definitely my own body.

Everything seemed to be in working order.

The dark deity’s plot to force me out of my physical form had been thoroughly dismantled.

“It tucked tail.”

Ultimately, the dark god had retreated into the depths of the Heavenly Demon Path.

I remained in the dark as to why it had labeled me the ‘Demon of Greed,’ but I hadn’t walked away from the encounter empty-handed.

Several notifications were hovering in my field of vision.

A small grin touched my lips as I read them.

《You have learned the technique ‘Heavenly Demon Divine Art (1Lv)’.》

《Enhanced by the Hidden Trait ‘Dexterity,’ the skill has risen to 2Lv.》

《You have accomplished the feat ‘Successor of the First Heavenly Demon.’》

《Under the influence of ‘Great Presence,’ your Honor reward is doubled (3,000).》

《Your total ‘Honor’ has exceeded 40,000.》

《You are now eligible for the ‘Holy Qualification’ at the Sanctuary of Honor.》

《You have gained access to ‘Heavenly Mountain.’》

I had effectively torn the core of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art away from that dark god.

Though I hadn’t mastered its depths, the skill was firmly etched into my soul.

-Mortal, I shall watch to see if you can truly perfect the Heavenly Demon Divine Art while clinging to your frail humanity!

Those had been the deity’s parting words of spite.

Following that, it had vanished into the recesses of the Heavenly Demon Path.

‘It wasn’t my blade to begin with.’

Regardless, this was a win.

Unless I managed to slay the actual ruler of the Heavenly Demon Path—the Heavenly Demon itself—I would never be the true master of that power.

Admittedly, the title ‘Successor of the First Heavenly Demon’ left a bad taste in my mouth.

It was an absurd development.

Me, the heir to a dark god?

I gave a dismissive shrug and focused on the details of my new skill.

【Heavenly Demon Divine Art (2Lv)】

-A path designed to transform the user into a true Asura.

-Strictly limited to those possessing a pure essence of evil.

-Forces an expansion of internal energy (divine power) and triggers a violent surge in physical strength.

-The amplification effect scales with the level of the art, but as mastery grows, resistance to ‘evil’ influences significantly drops.

-Additionally, if the user’s ‘vessel’ cannot contain the surging energy as mastery increases, the body will rupture, leaving the user permanently crippled.

The entry was brief.

But as I processed the implications, I couldn’t help but mutter a single word.

“…Ridiculous.”

This skill was absolutely mental.

A technique that actually multiplies internal energy?

I had never heard of such a thing in my entire life.

The Heavenly Demon Divine Art was designed to obliterate foes through sheer, overwhelming power.

It functioned almost like a Hidden Trait.

Didn’t the ‘Heavenly’ prefix usually raise stat limits by 1.2 times?

While this art specifically targeted ‘divine power,’ the multiplier was staggering.

The potential risks felt almost secondary to that kind of power.

‘No wonder my body feels like it’s about to burst…’

I inhaled sharply.

I needed to check my status window to see the exact numbers of this power boost.

But before I could call up the menu.

《The ‘Quality of Evil’ begins to churn.》

《The ‘vessel’ of the ‘Prepared One’ is expanding.》

《’Shedding’ process initiated.》

My entire frame locked up.

I was paralyzed.

Moments later, the skin across my body began to peel away, turning into fine, silken strands that wove themselves into a protective shell.

Shedding.

True to the term, my outer layer was falling away so that my physical form could be rebuilt from the ground up.

‘……’

This was an unplanned, abrupt evolution.

The glaring issue was my current location—the Isle of Gods—where I was still an active participant.

If I failed to engage in an ‘expedition battle’ within a 72-hour window, the ‘Night Specter’ would hunt me down.

If a predator found me while I was trapped in this cocoon, I was a dead man.

I wrestled with the decision.

Should I try to force the process to stop, or see it through?

But if I aborted now, I might never get another chance to evolve.

‘The vessel. This is about increasing my capacity for power.’

Furthermore, if I didn’t expand my vessel now, the next power spike could leave me a broken shell.

I weighed the danger against the necessity.

Finally, I squeezed my eyes shut.

I would commit to the metamorphosis.

“Ah…”

Isabella von Dersian bit down on her lip until it bled.

Starlight, the Eternal Randolph.

She realized that simply guarding the weapon was no longer the priority.

The visions provided by Starlight.

She felt a desperate need to know if they were genuine; the uncertainty was becoming unbearable.

Had he been playing a game with her this whole time?

Had he been deceiving the world?

If the memories held by Starlight were accurate… then his actions were unpardonable, regardless of the circumstances.

‘…My own body?’

Suddenly, she felt a change.

Her limbs were beginning to lose their flexibility, turning rigid.

Currently, she was manifesting the form of the ‘Dire Omen,’ rather than the ‘Night Specter.’

The Dire Omen, Randolph.

‘I believe I can sense Sir Randolph’s location.’

The essence of the Dire Omen was pulling her toward a specific destination.

It was likely the place where Randolph was hiding.

She couldn’t explain the mechanics, but the pull was primal.

It was the gravitational tug of a shadow seeking its source.

‘Something has gone wrong with Sir Randolph.’

The reason for this sudden shift was a mystery, but one truth was undeniable: Randolph was in some kind of trouble.

If she yielded to this instinct, she would find him.

Yet, she paused.

Coming face-to-face with Randolph would mean her own erasure.

And she wasn’t even certain she would have the strength to demand the truth once they met.

“……I have to go.”

Isabella shook off her doubts and hardened her heart.

At the very least, she needed to understand what was happening to her.

The confrontation about his lies could wait until the immediate crisis was resolved.

It was an unforgivable betrayal, but if Randolph was truly in danger, she needed to witness it for herself.

Isabella allowed the Dire Omen’s intuition to guide her steps.

She traveled for what felt like hours.

‘A cavern. He must be inside.’

She spotted an opening tucked away on a steep cliffside.

From within the shadows of the cave, Randolph’s aura pulsed with an overwhelming intensity.

Isabella took a shaky breath and stepped into the dark.

Then, she saw it.

“A chrysalis…?”

At the back of the cave sat a large, glowing cocoon.

‘Sir Randolph.’

The recognition was instantaneous.

In that moment, Isabella’s gaze flickered with a storm of conflicting emotions.

She had a basic understanding of what was happening.

Randolph was in the middle of shattering his mortal limits.

He was refashioning his very anatomy to reach a higher plane of existence.

However, there was no telling how long such a transformation would take.

And while he was inside that shell, he was completely defenseless.

“Sir Randolph. Are the visions within Starlight the honest truth?”

The cave remained silent.

Crunch.

Isabella’s body shook as she balled her hands into tight fists.

Fury.

A searing, white-hot rage began to bubble up inside her.

This was her moment.

The ideal time to release all the resentment that was threatening to consume her!

……If she wanted to end Randolph’s life, there would never be a more perfect opening than this.