Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1223 1223: conditions

”...Robin, do you want another chance?”

Robin let out a sharp, almost mocking laugh, the sound echoing faintly.

”Whatʼs next? Youʼre going to rewind time for me? Now that would be entertaining.”

But the All-Seeing god simply shook his head, a faint, unreadable expression resting on his ageless face. Then he lifted his hand and gestured upward, slowly and deliberately.

”Time travel to the past… is not something Iʼm offering. Thatʼs beyond what Iʼm willing—or even able—to do.”

His tone was firm, but not without a strange softness beneath it.

”But I can pull you out of this current disaster.”

Robin tilted his head up slowly, his eyes locking with the humanoid lightʼs gaze. For a long moment, he studied the figure before him with an intensity that couldʼve burned through stone.

”…Do you offer all of your pawns second chances?”

”Never once,” the humanoid light replied, his voice as sharp and final as a closing gate.

”Among the many candidates Iʼve encountered, there are some Iʼve completely forgotten over time, and others I selected for specific purposes. Of those I chose, some managed to succeed, others failed. But in both cases, once the mission was handed out, I never looked back. I never reappeared. And most importantly, none of them ever had the slightest idea who I truly was.”

He lifted his shoulders slightly, a motion that looked equal parts indifferent and burdened.

”They either failed and perished—utterly consumed by the weight of their tasks—or they succeeded in a way that was incomplete, imperfect, lacking the depth I had hoped for. Either way, I never felt the need to revisit them. Up to now, not a single one has achieved the outcome I truly desire.”

Robinʼs lips curved into a faint smile—half amused, half bitter.

”…Then why me? Why come back for me? Iʼm just another one of your failures.”

”Because what you call failure doesnʼt compare to the othersʼ collapses.”

The All-Seeing godʼs voice had changed, taking on a different quality.

”Most of the others wouldnʼt have even survived setting foot on Nihari, let alone forming a faction. They wouldʼve died quietly in the chaos, unnoticed and forgotten. The rest wouldnʼt have lasted long enough to even witness the coming invasion. Fifty years of preparation? They wouldʼve wasted it, or been erased before it ended.”

He stepped closer and pointed directly at Robin.

”You built a planetary empire from scratch. You stopped the invasion. And then, you defeated the invader. You faced Helen once on Nihari and Once here, and you withstood it. Even now, I still canʼt believe you managed to survive that attack!”

”…And yet, I still failed.” Robin clenched his teeth, voice strained and low.

”Compared to those who finished their missions… I...”

He couldnʼt finish the sentence. The words stuck in his throat.

He didnʼt even know what the missions were supposed to be. He had no real idea what their goals were, or what this elusive ”glory” was supposed to look like.

But it didnʼt matter.

What truly tore at him from the inside… what made his pride ache and his thoughts spiral… was the simple, infuriating fact that others had succeeded—while he had not.

The humanoid lightʼs gaze drifted away into the distance, his tone turning heavy with something close to regret.

”…I didnʼt like their methods,” he admitted after a pause.

”Every single one of them—those who passed the first part of their task—did it by using the dirtiest, most disgraceful tactics you could imagine. Deceit, betrayal, corruption. They reached the objective, yes… but they soiled themselves doing it. They donʼt deserve the true glory. Thatʼs why I never contacted any of them again.”

He turned back toward Robin, eyes sharp and direct once more.

”But you… you are the finest result Iʼve seen. The most promising discovery Iʼve made in the past hundred million years. And if Iʼm being honest, I donʼt think Iʼll find another pawn like you in the next hundred million either.”

He took a slow breath.

”As for your so-called failure… we both know exactly why it happened.”

He pointed again at Robin, voice cold and clear.

”You always had me lingering in the back of your mind. You depended on me. You believed Iʼd show up at the crucial moment to lend a hand, to protect you from my rival if she moved to harm you. You never once stopped to think that I might be lying to you… or toying with you. Despite all your failed attempts to contact me, you still believed I would come.”

The humanoid light placed his hands behind his back again.

”Is that a side effect of your lonely upbringing as well? Do you put your trust in others too easily, without question?”

”Can you stop bringing up my childhood?!” Robin suddenly burst out, his voice sharp and rising, his arms waving in frustration.

The All- Seeing god didnʼt flinch.

”Do you want your chance… or not?”

The words were simple—but his tone was iron. It was clear that heʼd grown tired of the debate.

”...I donʼt even know anymore,” Robin muttered under his breath, a strange, twisted smile slowly forming on his lips, one that seemed to carry the weight of countless shattered dreams.

”I realize you have the power to take me away from here effortlessly, to extract me from this nightmare in the blink of an eye... but no, I wonʼt abandon my sons, my followers, my people. If I were to leave them behind to be butchered like cattle, then my life—my very existence—would become meaningless. I would lose the last sliver of pride that anchors me to this world... forever.”

The Seerʼs expression shifted almost imperceptibly. His eyebrows arched ever so slightly in a rare display of genuine surprise. He studied Robin for a heartbeat longer, then wordlessly began to walk to the side. His steps were slow, deliberate, almost theatrical.

He stopped beside Zara, who stood still like a fragile sculpture carved out of sorrow. With a motion so tender it almost seemed out of character, he brushed a lock of hair from her face, his fingers moving with surprising gentleness.

”I see,” he said at last, voice low and contemplative.

”Youʼve already suffered your devastating shock... you donʼt deserve another, that much is clear. But still... all of them?”

He gestured broadly toward the vast army of followers behind Robin, a veritable sea of souls.

”Yes!” Robin snapped without hesitation, his voice ringing with an iron will that refused to bend.

”Every single one of them!”

Then, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white, he shouted with all the force of his spirit:

”And furthermore...!”

”I refuse to be reduced to a mere pawn, a spark to ignite a war between strangers for causes I donʼt even comprehend! Even if my fate lies tangled in your hands, I still have the right to walk my own road, to carve my own destiny!”

The humanoid light turned away from Zara, his back to Robin, and took a few slow, heavy steps toward the heart of the plaza once more. The silence around them grew dense, almost suffocating, as if the very air was holding its breath.

After what felt like an eternity, he spoke again. His voice was quieter now, but it carried an unmistakable edge of cold, cutting amusement:

”How interesting,” he mused.

”You invade worlds with a smile on your lips, you lead wars where the dead are nothing more than tallies on a battlefield... and yet your righteous indignation awakens only when you think of yourself as a mere spark, a footnote in a war you donʼt directly participate in.”

He chuckled, a low, bitter sound that held no real mirth.

”A grand cosmic war, the deaths of trillions, the collapse of civilizations... all of that doesnʼt trouble you.”

He turned slightly, his golden eyes gleaming.

”What truly eats at you, Robin, is the idea of being sidelined.”

He paused, allowing his words to sink deep into Robinʼs chest like barbs.

”I understand you, Robin. Perhaps even more than you understand yourself.”

His voice dropped lower, heavy with certainty.

”You are a man consumed by pride, someone who would rather stand at the heart of a raging inferno than watch from the shadows. And that—” he gestured lazily, ”—that is one of the reasons why I chose you again. Why I continue to place my bet on you.”

The All-Seeing god smiled thinly, a smile that held more shadows than light.

”You see, I too want my chosen piece to stand at the center of the board, not hidden among the pawns.”

He paced slowly, hands folded behind his back like a teacher lecturing a stubborn pupil.

”Thatʼs why I shared all this with you today,” he continued.

”Even though, frankly, you donʼt deserve this honesty yet. I could have easily issued a simple command: ʼI will save you. Obey.ʼ And you would have had no choice but to comply. But then...”

He turned his head slightly, regarding Robin out of the corner of his eye.

”...your doubts would have multiplied. Suspicion would have poisoned your mind. Fear and uncertainty would have corroded your spirit. You would have leaved your mission and started looking for me. And above all, you would have continued to cling to the childish hope that I would appear again whenever you were cornered.”

He shook his head once, slowly, almost sadly.

”Instead, I chose to lay everything bare. To speak to your pride, to challenge it. To awaken your true potential, to push you to the heights you were meant to reach.”

He raised a single hand, fingers splayed wide.

”Because, Robin... you are no longer a mere pawn. Not anymore. Youʼve ascended. Youʼve become...”

He smiled, a rare, almost proud expression.

”...No not a player yet, Maybe a rook, or a bishop.”

Silence fell between them once more, heavy and electrified.

And then the All-Seeing godʼs voice shifted—growing colder, more dangerous:

”Today, Robin, I will save you. Not just you, but your children, your empire, your dreams—everything you built here with blood and fire.”

He lifted two fingers again, the gesture heavy with meaning.

”But make no mistake. This will be the first time since the dawn of time that I will intervene directly in a mission. I will rip apart the fabric of destiny by doing so. I will expose my existence to the hidden powers that lurk beyond even your understanding. And then... I will be forced into hiding for who knows how long... Time I may no longer have to spare.”

He lowered his hand, letting it fall to his side like a gavel sealing a grim verdict.

”In exchange for saving everything you love, you will complete two missions for me. No excuses. No deviations. No quitting halfway through like you almost did on Nihari.”

His eyes hardened, glowing with an ominous light.

”And if you fail this time...”

He leaned closer, voice dropping to a chilling whisper.

”...I will personally exact vengeance. Death will not be your escape. I will make you endure torments beyond anything this universe has ever known. You will live, Robin. You will suffer. And you will regret.”

Robin swallowed hard. He could feel the truth of every word resonating through his bones. This All-Seeing god wasnʼt threatening him—he was stating cold, immutable facts.

”...What are the missions?” Robin rasped, almost afraid of the answer.

The humanoid light raised a single finger once again, his gaze sharp and merciless.

”Your first task, and the primary reason I have chosen to place my bet on you once more...”

He smiled, a slow, predatory grin.

”I want you to take care of someone on my behalf.”