u/Morex127

SALT SEA SUPREME DEITY TAKES LOVED CHARACTER ×RESPECTABLE

BUK HYANG-HWA TAKES LOVED CHARACTER × CONFLICTED

FUTURE KING >!Hong Fan Gu Ju!< TAKES LOVED CHARACTER CORRUPTED.

SEO EUN-HYUN TAKES LOVED CHARACTER × CRAZY

GWAK AM TAKES CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER × RESPECTABLE.

BLOOD YIN TAKES CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER × CONFLICTED

SEO HWEOL TAKES CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER × CORRUPTED

MAD LORD TAKES CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER × CRAZY

KIM YEON TAKES HATED CHARACTER ×RESPECTABLE

No candidate received sufficient support to claim the HATED CHARACTER × CONFLICTED slot.

Result: No Consensus

The fandom could not agree on a winner

OH HYE-SEO TAKES HATED CHARACTER × CORRUPTED

GLASS PEACOCK TAKES HATED CHARACTER × CRAZY

JIN BYUK HO TAKES CONFUSING CHARACTER × RESPECTABLE

YEON WEI TAKES CONFUSING CHARACTER × CONFLICTED

HYEON MU TAKES CONFUSING CHARACTER × CORRUPTED

Next (LAST ONE)

Confusing Character × Crazy

These are the characters who leave the fandom asking:"What is this person's deal?"

Their actions are unpredictable. Their logic is incomprehensible.Their existence raises more questions than answers.Whether they're geniuses, lunatics, or something in between, nobody can fully figure them out.

RULES OF THE GRID WAR

1. One character per slot

Once a character is placed in a category, they cannot appear anywhere else on the grid.

2. Spoilers must be tagged

Use spoiler tags for major reveals, deaths, identities, regressions, betrayals, endings, etc.

3. Debate the placement, not the person

Argue the character’s writing, actions, themes, morality, or fandom perception. Don’t attack other users.

4. Votes are based on overall community perception

This is not “strongest character” or “best written” only.

The placement should reflect how the fandom generally sees the character.

5. Memes are allowed agenda posting is allowed

Push your propaganda respectfully.

6. A character can fit multiple boxes

That’s exactly why discussions exist.

The goal is to decide which category fits them best.

7. Deliberation Period — 8 Hours

Each section will remain open for discussion and voting for 8 hours before the final placement is locked in.

During this period:

People can argue placements

Present evidence

Post scans/quotes with spoiler tags

Campaign for another slot

After 8 hours, the result is finalized and the next section begins.

The winner of each slot will be decided by the most upvoted nomination/comment at the end of the 8-hour deliberation period.

Also:

One character cannot occupy multiple slots.

With this, the Grid War reaches its final slot. 🏁

Guys, I feel like I discovered something I am not confident about but my instincts are telling me this is it. I have been thinking about it for 3 days contemplating whether to post this or not. I feel like I have discovered Tremendous's thought process in regards to Kim Yeon.

Seo Eun-hyun goes against fate time and time again through regression. He does it to save those he cares about from the closest to the smallest connections. Fate always finds a way to correct itself but Seo Eun-hyun always finds a way to push back. And he does not do it alone. He has people who believe in him wholeheartedly. He has Tremendous himself believing in him. Until eventually he becomes so powerful that fate itself is not able to toy with him anymore. He fights fate consciously. With full knowledge. With full support. With his author behind him.

Now look at Kim Yeon.

Tremendous gave her the "fate of never becoming a Heroine" before she even appeared on the page. That was decided. And then she changed it. She changed it largely due to the readers. Tremendous allowed the change to happen but he did not believe in it. He still believes the rejection is the better version. Even though he knows it fits the thesis of the story he did not believe in her love story. He did not believe she was meant to be by Seo Eun-hyun's side. He even said in a Q&A that he is scared of Kim Yeon.

And here is where the tragedy begins. Kim Yeon does not know she changed anything. Seo Eun-hyun knows exactly what fate he is fighting and why.

Kim Yeon changed something the author imposed on her and has absolutely no idea it happened. She has no idea what she changed. And Tremendous responded by reducing her presence as much as possible. Her connections in the story were mostly unaccounted for and even when they were shown it was never explicitly explored. Because Kim Yeon changed but she does not know she has changed. And Tremendous is afraid of what she might become.

Kim Yeon is like a child who was allowed to change by her author but whose author does not believe in her and is afraid of what she might do. Even though Tremendous himself knows it fits the story.

I find Kim Yeon more impressive than the entire main cast. Changing something imposed on you by your own author even though it was due to the readers it is not something you get to see every day.

Your own creator does not believe in the change he allowed to happen. That is the tragedy of Kim Yeon.

Tremendous is not stopping her. He is waiting. Either to be proven right that she never deserved it. Or maybe the more painful version hoping to be proven wrong. Hoping to one day say I was wrong about her. But never finding the language to say it.

He is just watching her.

My fan fic is going to take even longer than I initially thought. I think I have fallen in love. God help me.

EDIT: I think I am in my delusional phase

SALT SEA SUPREME DEITY TAKES LOVED CHARACTER ×RESPECTABLE

BUK HYANG-HWA TAKES LOVED CHARACTER × CONFLICTED

FUTURE KING >!Hong Fan Gu Ju!< TAKES LOVED CHARACTER CORRUPTED.

SEO EUN-HYUN TAKES LOVED CHARACTER × CRAZY

GWAK AM TAKES CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER × RESPECTABLE.

BLOOD YIN TAKES CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER × CONFLICTED

SEO HWEOL TAKES CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER × CORRUPTED

MAD LORD TAKES CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER × CRAZY

KIM YEON TAKES HATED CHARACTER ×RESPECTABLE

No candidate received sufficient support to claim the HATED CHARACTER × CONFLICTED slot.

Result: No Consensus

The fandom could not agree on a winner

OH HYE-SEO TAKES HATED CHARACTER × CORRUPTED

GLASS PEACOCK TAKES HATED CHARACTER × CRAZY

NEXT

Confusing Character × Respectable

These are the characters the fandom struggles to fully understand, yet still respects.

Their motives may be unclear.

Their actions may seem contradictory.

Their goals may remain a mystery.

But regardless of the confusion, they earned respect.

RULES OF THE GRID WAR

1. One character per slot

Once a character is placed in a category, they cannot appear anywhere else on the grid.

2. Spoilers must be tagged

Use spoiler tags for major reveals, deaths, identities, regressions, betrayals, endings, etc.

3. Debate the placement, not the person

Argue the character’s writing, actions, themes, morality, or fandom perception. Don’t attack other users.

4. Votes are based on overall community perception

This is not “strongest character” or “best written” only.

The placement should reflect how the fandom generally sees the character.

5. Memes are allowed agenda posting is allowed

Push your propaganda respectfully.

6. A character can fit multiple boxes

That’s exactly why discussions exist.

The goal is to decide which category fits them best.

7. Deliberation Period — 8 Hours

Each section will remain open for discussion and voting for 8 hours before the final placement is locked in.

During this period:

People can argue placements

Present evidence

Post scans/quotes with spoiler tags

Campaign for another slot

After 8 hours, the result is finalized and the next section begins.

The winner of each slot will be decided by the most upvoted nomination/comment at the end of the 8-hour deliberation period.

Also:

One character cannot occupy multiple slots.

&#x200B;

SALT SEA SUPREME DEITY TAKES LOVED CHARACTER ×RESPECTABLE

BUK HYANG-HWA TAKES LOVED CHARACTER × CONFLICTED

FUTURE KING >!Hong Fan Gu Ju!< TAKES LOVED CHARACTER CORRUPTED.

SEO EUN-HYUN TAKES LOVED CHARACTER × CRAZY

GWAK AM TAKES CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER × RESPECTABLE.

BLOOD YIN TAKES CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER × CONFLICTED

SEO HWEOL TAKES CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER × CORRUPTED

MAD LORD TAKES CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER × CRAZY

KIM YEON TAKES HATED CHARACTER ×RESPECTABLE

No candidate received sufficient support to claim the HATED CHARACTER × CONFLICTED slot.

Result: No Consensus

The fandom could not agree on a winner.

NEXT

Hated Character × Corrupted

These are the characters whose corruption, fall, betrayal, or descent earned the fandom's hatred.

Some were once admired.

Some never had a chance.

Others crossed a line they could never come back from.

RULES OF THE GRID WAR

1. One character per slot

Once a character is placed in a category, they cannot appear anywhere else on the grid.

2. Spoilers must be tagged

Use spoiler tags for major reveals, deaths, identities, regressions, betrayals, endings, etc.

3. Debate the placement, not the person

Argue the character’s writing, actions, themes, morality, or fandom perception. Don’t attack other users.

4. Votes are based on overall community perception

This is not “strongest character” or “best written” only.

The placement should reflect how the fandom generally sees the character.

5. Memes are allowed agenda posting is allowed

Push your propaganda respectfully.

6. A character can fit multiple boxes

That’s exactly why discussions exist.

The goal is to decide which category fits them best.

7. Deliberation Period — 8 Hours

Each section will remain open for discussion and voting for 8 hours before the final placement is locked in.

During this period:

People can argue placements

Present evidence

Post scans/quotes with spoiler tags

Campaign for another slot

After 8 hours, the result is finalized and the next section begins.

The winner of each slot will be decided by the most upvoted nomination/comment at the end of the 8-hour deliberation period.

Also:

One character cannot occupy multiple slots.

SALT SEA SUPREME DEITY TAKES LOVED CHARACTER ×RESPECTABLE

BUK HYANG-HWA TAKES LOVED CHARACTER × CONFLICTED

FUTURE KING >!Hong Fan Gu Ju!< TAKES LOVED CHARACTER CORRUPTED.

SEO EUN-HYUN TAKES LOVED CHARACTER × CRAZY

GWAK AM TAKES CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER × RESPECTABLE.

BLOOD YIN TAKES CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER × CONFLICTED

SEO HWEOL TAKES CONTROVERSIAL × CORRUPTED

MAD LORD TAKES CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER × CRAZY

NEXT

Hated Character × Respectable

These are the characters the fandom may dislike, oppose, or even despise yet still acknowledge their competence, ideals, presence, or impact.

You may hate them.

But you cannot deny what they brought to the story.

RULES OF THE GRID WAR

1. One character per slot

Once a character is placed in a category, they cannot appear anywhere else on the grid.

2. Spoilers must be tagged

Use spoiler tags for major reveals, deaths, identities, regressions, betrayals, endings, etc.

3. Debate the placement, not the person

Argue the character’s writing, actions, themes, morality, or fandom perception. Don’t attack other users.

4. Votes are based on overall community perception

This is not “strongest character” or “best written” only.

The placement should reflect how the fandom generally sees the character.

5. Memes are allowed agenda posting is allowed

Push your propaganda respectfully.

6. A character can fit multiple boxes

That’s exactly why discussions exist.

The goal is to decide which category fits them best.

7. Deliberation Period — 8 Hours

Each section will remain open for discussion and voting for 8 hours before the final placement is locked in.

During this period:

People can argue placements

Present evidence

Post scans/quotes with spoiler tags

Campaign for another slot

After 8 hours, the result is finalized and the next section begins.

The winner of each slot will be decided by the most upvoted nomination/comment at the end of the 8-hour deliberation period.

Also:

One character cannot occupy multiple slots.

SALT SEA SUPREME DEITY TAKES LOVED CHARACTER ×RESPECTABLE

BUK HYANG-HWA TAKES LOVED CHARACTER × CONFLICTED

FUTURE KING >!Hong Fan Gu Ju!< TAKES LOVED CHARACTER CORRUPTED.

SEO EUN-HYUN TAKES LOVED CHARACTER × CRAZY

GWAK AM TAKES CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER × RESPECTABLE.

BLOOD YIN TAKES CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER × CONFLICTED

NEXT

Controversial Character × Corrupted

These are the characters whose fall, corruption, or descent divided the fandom completely.

Some see them as tragic.

Some see them as irredeemable.

Some think the corruption made them even better.

RULES OF THE GRID WAR

1. One character per slot

Once a character is placed in a category, they cannot appear anywhere else on the grid.

2. Spoilers must be tagged

Use spoiler tags for major reveals, deaths, identities, regressions, betrayals, endings, etc.

3. Debate the placement, not the person

Argue the character’s writing, actions, themes, morality, or fandom perception. Don’t attack other users.

4. Votes are based on overall community perception

This is not “strongest character” or “best written” only.

The placement should reflect how the fandom generally sees the character.

5. Memes are allowed agenda posting is allowed

Push your propaganda respectfully.

6. A character can fit multiple boxes

That’s exactly why discussions exist.

The goal is to decide which category fits them best.

7. Deliberation Period — 8 Hours

Each section will remain open for discussion and voting for 8 hours before the final placement is locked in.

During this period:

People can argue placements

Present evidence

Post scans/quotes with spoiler tags

Campaign for another slot

After 8 hours, the result is finalized and the next section begins.

The winner of each slot will be decided by the most upvoted nomination/comment at the end of the 8-hour deliberation period.

Also:

One character cannot occupy multiple slots.

SALT SEA SUPREME DEITY TAKES LOVED CHARACTER ×RESPECTABLE

BUK HYANG-HWA TAKES LOVED CHARACTER × CONFLICTED

FUTURE KING >!Hong Fan Gu Ju!< TAKES LOVED CHARACTER CORRUPTED.

SEO EUN-HYUN TAKES LOVED CHARACTER × CRAZY

NEXT

Controversial Character × Respectable

These are the characters the fandom constantly debates, argues over, or struggles to agree on yet still respects.

Maybe their actions were questionable.

Maybe their ideology divided readers.

Maybe the fandom can never fully agree on them.

But respect was earned regardless.

RULES OF THE GRID WAR

1. One character per slot

Once a character is placed in a category, they cannot appear anywhere else on the grid.

2. Spoilers must be tagged

Use spoiler tags for major reveals, deaths, identities, regressions, betrayals, endings, etc.

3. Debate the placement, not the person

Argue the character’s writing, actions, themes, morality, or fandom perception. Don’t attack other users.

4. Votes are based on overall community perception

This is not “strongest character” or “best written” only.

The placement should reflect how the fandom generally sees the character.

5. Memes are allowed agenda posting is allowed

Push your propaganda respectfully.

6. A character can fit multiple boxes

That’s exactly why discussions exist.

The goal is to decide which category fits them best.

7. Deliberation Period — 8 Hours

Each section will remain open for discussion and voting for 8 hours before the final placement is locked in.

During this period:

People can argue placements

Present evidence

Post scans/quotes with spoiler tags

Campaign for another slot

After 8 hours, the result is finalized and the next section begins.

The winner of each slot will be decided by the most upvoted nomination/comment at the end of the 8-hour deliberation period.

Also:

One character cannot occupy multiple slots.

There might be exceptions for identity splits/personality divergence cases.But normal repeats across multiple slots probably won’t be allowed.

HOHOHOHO

Oh hye seo next

SALT SEA SUPREME DEITY TAKES LOVED CHARACTER ×RESPECTABLE

BUK HYANG-HWA TAKES LOVED CHARACTER × CONFLICTED

NEXT

Loved Character × Corrupted

These are the characters the fandom loves even after their fall, corruption, moral collapse, or descent into something monstrous.

Maybe they were broken by the world.

Maybe they chose the darkness willingly.

Either way, the fandom still loves them.

The 8-hour deliberation period is now open.

RULES OF THE GRID WAR

1. One character per slot

Once a character is placed in a category, they cannot appear anywhere else on the grid.

2. Spoilers must be tagged

Use spoiler tags for major reveals, deaths, identities, regressions, betrayals, endings etc.

3. Debate the placement, not the person

Argue the character’s writing, actions, themes, morality, or fandom perception. Don’t attack other users.

4. Votes are based on overall community perception

This is not “strongest character” or “best written” only.

The placement should reflect how the fandom generally sees the character.

5. Memes are allowed agenda posting is allowed

Push your propaganda respectfully.

6. A character can fit multiple boxes

That’s exactly why discussions exist.

The goal is to decide which category fits them best.

7. Deliberation Period — 8 Hours

Each section will remain open for discussion and voting for 8 hours before the final placement is locked in.

During this period:

People can argue placements

Present evidence

Post scans/quotes with spoiler tags

Campaign for another slot

After 8 hours, the result is finalized and the next section begins.

9. The winner of each slot will be decided by the most upvoted nomination/comment at the end of the 8-hour deliberation period.

Also:

One character cannot occupy multiple slots.

One of the things that hit me on my reread is how deliberately the author structured each Ender's power around an inheritance from whoever came before them. It isn't accidental. Every single one of them carries the weight of a predecessor, and that weight becomes their greatest weapon in the final battle.

Kim Yeon — Tridacna Vast Cold Heavenly King

The most explicit one. Kim Yeon is Vast Cold's direct successor, inheriting their Seat, their authority, and the responsibility of continuing what Vast Cold started.

Kim Young-hoon — Previous Golden Body Heavenly King

>!Hyeon Rang sends him to Cedarwood Painting and tells him to look at the mandala on the reverse side again, a mandala he and Seo Eun-hyun had researched before without understanding it. It was the enlightenment of the previous Golden Body, left specifically for the future Golden Body. Young-hoon refines it into a saber formed literally from the previous Golden Body's body, whose authority is Causality Reversal.!<

Oh Hyun-seok — Silver Basket, Creator God of Another World

>!Silver Basket a Creator God from outside Mount Sumeru who infiltrated it, reached Heavenly King, and was slain at Cakravda before they could escape. Oh Hyun-seok pays them with his story and receives the True Devil Forty-Nine Treading Divine Art, forty-nine Immortal Arts Silver Basket created inside Mount Sumeru, along with a combination system that can generate near-infinite mantras strong enough to subdue a Supreme Deity without relying on the Immortal Dao at all. On top of that, Silver Basket passes him wisdom about the Future King's methods and lays out the exact path he must take: enter the Corpse Mountain Blood Sea, merge with the Seat inside it, rip through, return to Mount Sumeru, kill his master, and take back his name!<

Oh Hye-seo — Previous Agate

>!The Artificial Computation Device is explicitly described as "the legacy of a previous Agate." It is a massive dark-red computation mass inside a virtual world left behind by her predecessor, containing thousands of virtual realities being processed simultaneously. Its ego Agate's persona is still active inside it. Oh Hye-seo's bizarre authority and her role as the current successor to the Agate Heavenly King flows directly from this inheritance.!<

Jeon Myeong-hoon — Yang Su-jin and the Red Pearl lineage

Two inheritances running in parallel. Yang Su-jin was the founding patriarch of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect and left behind his techniques, his treasure vault, and his spiritual legacy all of which Jeon Myeong-hoon inherits and surpasses. >!The Red Pearl Heavenly Kings are the lineage of Do Gon's predestined fate every Red Pearl across history was meant to be the one to finally kill Do Gon. Jeon Myeong-hoon is their culmination. When he finally pierces Do Gon through with his eighty quadrillion strikes, Do Gon smiles and says Yang Su-jin's descendant has escaped the bridle of anger that neither Yang Su-jin nor Do Gon themselves ever could. He then inherits the Origin Essence of Heavenly Punishment, Zhengli, and all of Do Gon's authority. Just as Yang Su-jin once built the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect, Jeon Myeong-hoon decides to build his own new sect and the Red Pearl Cycling Heavenly King lineage to carry forward what came before him.!<

Seo Eun-hyun — Obsidian Devil Heavenly King / Swallowing Heaven Supreme Deity

>!The Swallowing Heaven Supreme Deity is explicitly called "the relic of the Obsidian Devil Heavenly King." The Obsidian Devil Heavenly King is the one who gave birth to the Swallowing Heaven Supreme Deity, and the Flawless Mantra is their legacy. Seo Eun-hyun realizes why it all felt so natural to him why the Obsidian Devil's lingering thought approached him so naturally, why the Swallowing Heaven Supreme Deity felt like home. The Obsidian Devil's fate was desire. So is HIS.!<

Kang Min-hee — The Lapis Lazuli lineage

>!In the final battle Kang Min-hee summons all the legacies of the former Lapis Lazulis, every previous holder of the role that existed to bear the Underworld's sorrow. Using their combined legacies as a medium, Bong Hwa's sorrow as fuel, and her own Falling Flower mantra and inherent authority, she projects a protective dark blue circle around every single ally on the battlefield simultaneously. Her inheritance isn't from one predecessor, it's from every Lapis Lazuli who ever lived and suffered before her!<

SALT SEA SUPREME DEITY TAKES LOVED CHARACTER × RESPECTABLE

Next

Loved Character × Conflicted

These are the characters the fandom loves despite, or because of their contradictions, failure, obsessions, or morally questionable actions.

They are admired. Debated. Defended. Criticized.

RULES OF THE GRID WAR

1. One character per slot

Once a character is placed in a category, they cannot appear anywhere else on the grid.

2. Spoilers must be tagged

Use spoiler tags for major reveals, deaths, identities, regressions, betrayals, endings, etc.

3. Debate the placement, not the person

Argue the character’s writing, actions, themes, morality, or fandom perception. Don’t attack other users.

4. Votes are based on overall community perception

This is not “strongest character” or “best written” only.

The placement should reflect how the fandom generally sees the character.

5. Memes are allowed agenda posting is allowed

Push your propaganda respectfully.

6. A character can fit multiple boxes

That’s exactly why discussions exist.

The goal is to decide which category fits them best.

7. Deliberation Period — 8 Hours

Each section will remain open for discussion and voting for 8 hours before the final placement is locked in.

During this period:

People can argue placements

Present evidence

Post scans/quotes with spoiler tags

Campaign for another slot

After 8 hours, the result is finalized and the next section begins.

The winner of each slot will be decided by the most upvoted nomination/comment at the end of the 8-hour deliberation period.

Every fandom has them.

The legends everyone respects. The disasters nobody can defend. The characters who split the community in half. And the ones so insane that every discussion about them turns into chaos.

So I decided to throw them all into one battlefield.

This Grid War ranks characters across two axes:

How the fandom feels about them loved, controversial, hated, or outright confusing.

What kind of energy they bring respectable, conflicted, corrupted, or completely crazy.

Some placements will be obvious.

Some will start arguments.

Some will make people question if we even read the same story.

And honestly? That’s the fun of it.

RULES OF THE GRID WAR

1. One character per slot

Once a character is placed in a category, they cannot appear anywhere else on the grid.

2. Spoilers must be tagged

Use spoiler tags for major reveals, deaths, identities, regressions, betrayals, endings, transcendence stages, etc.

3. Debate the placement, not the person

Argue the character’s writing, actions, themes, morality, or fandom perception. Don’t attack other users.

4. Votes are based on overall community perception

This is not “strongest character” or “best written” only.

The placement should reflect how the fandom generally sees the character.

5. Memes are allowed agenda posting is allowed

Push your propaganda respectfully.

6. A character can fit multiple boxes

That’s exactly why discussions exist.

The goal is to decide which category fits them best.

7. Deliberation Period — 8 Hours

Each section will remain open for discussion and voting for 8 hours before the final placement is locked in.

During this period:

People can argue placements

Present evidence

Post scans/quotes with spoiler tags

Campaign for another slot

After 8 hours, the result is finalized and the next section begins.

The Grid War begins.

First category:

Loved Character × Respectable

This is for characters the fandom genuinely loves and respects.

Defend your picks. Start your agendas. Start your wars.

Seo Hweol next

This hurts.

Oh hyun seok tomorrow

Kim Yeon is next

Kim Yong Hoon next.

How did I do

This is my third post about Original Flow/Root and Divine Art. Let's get into it.

Seo Eun-hyun calls it Original Flow. Silver Basket calls it Root. Hong Fan calls it Great Mantra. The novel makes it clear these are all the same thing.

>!(Chapter 762) "Divine Arts, in the end, are called by names such as Root or Original Flow."!<

>!"Divine Art is Original Flow."!<

What original root/flow is >!(Chapter 762) "If a cultivation system is a 'process,' then this Original Flow is the 'result'."!<

Think of it this way. Every cultivation path Heaven, Earth, Heart, Primordial Origin is just a road, a method. Original Flow is not another road. It is where every road eventually ends. It is the deepest truth of what a being fundamentally is. A Divine Art is simply that truth finally taking form. >!You don't create your Divine Art. You arrive at it.!< >!That's exactly what happens in Chapter 804 when Seo Eun-hyun realizes Story's End before the final clash. He didn't invent anything. After 2999 regressions, every connection, every story witnessed he simply finally arrived at what his entire existence had always been pointing toward.!<

The condition for taking Root The author answered this directly in a Q&A:

Q.What is the standard for distinguishing someone who has taken Root. What is the minimum strength of a being who has taken root?

A. "Regardless of strength, the standard for judgement is whether one has the qualifications for creating a world with completely different laws."

Strength doesn't matter. The only threshold is whether the truth of what you are runs deep enough that you could become a law-giver of an entirely new reality.

This is why Seo Eun-hyun openly admits Story's End might lose to Silver Basket's Divine Art of Awakening in raw power and it doesn't matter. Power was never the point. Both he and Hong Fan had taken Root. The final battle was two complete truths meeting each other.

Why Hong Fan lost.

Hong Fan Divine Art was fully formed. But his Root was built on fate, control, and a predetermined ending. What it could never account for was genuine feeling. And at the very last moment, he closed his eyes by his own will. Nobody forced him. Story's End didn't overpower his Divine Art. It found the exact crack his own Root couldn't hold. That's why the weakest dull sword beat the strongest swift sword.

So to summarize Original Flow / Root / Divine Art are the same thing, just different names. It is the deepest truth of what a being is, taken to its full conclusion. Taking Root has nothing to do with strength, but whether your truth can create a world with entirely different laws. You don't create your Divine Art, you arrive at it. >!The final battle wasn't a power clash, it was two truths meeting, and one betrayed itself!<