Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1516: call

”....”

”....”

Robin froze in place. Just moments ago, he had been inside the cave, hesitating, his breath shallow as he watched from the shadows. And in the very next instant—he was outside, in the open, surrounded on all sides by enemies. He had no memory of crossing the threshold, no idea how he had ended up here. One blink, and the world had shifted into a nightmare.

The specters froze as well. They had been charging eastward, driven by commands like a tide of death sweeping forward. But the sudden eruption of this lone human in their midst set their instincts ablaze. One after another, they halted mid-step, their empty heads snapping toward him.

For a moment, a terrible stillness spread through the horde. None of them knew whether to resume marching forward as ordered, or to descend on this single human who radiated danger... danger, and yet also the scent of prey, a ready-made feast trembling before them.

Robin forced a laugh, raising his hands in a placating gesture. ”...Ahaha, please, just pretend I’m not here. I only came out to enjoy the fresh air—I’ll go right back to wherever I came from.” He clapped his hands together lightly, as though the sound might break the tension, and tried to take one small step backward.

But the specters did not intend to let him retreat.

Shwaaaah!

The nearest one lunged, its skeletal claws swinging upward, aiming to rip straight through Robin’s skull with a single blow. Even the faintest graze would be enough to mark him as theirs.

Robin’s heart lurched. ”This is bad!” He prepared to obliterate the creature before its claws reached him, tattoos along his skin beginning to hum with suppressed power. Yet in the final instant, some instinct screamed at him—wait—and he forcibly suppressed the activation.

The claws came down. They struck him square on the head.

And then—

Shwoooom!

From the center of Robin’s forehead erupted a blazing sapphire flame, bursting outward like a newborn star. It raced up the specter’s arm, engulfing it in fire that clung and devoured.

”HAAAAHHHHH!” The specter shrieked, its voice high and twisted, filled with agony. But mercifully, the pain lasted only a heartbeat. Its entire body collapsed into pure soul force, unraveling into motes of fading light before vanishing completely.

Robin’s eyes widened, his breath caught in his throat. He hadn’t done a single thing.

Was this... The Purgatory Flame Soul Trait

?!
A slow, incredulous smile crept across his face. For an instant, he felt a terrifying truth—if he simply opened his mouth and drew in a deep breath, he could destroy every specter here with ease and drink in hundreds of units of soul force, like the world itself was offering him sustenance.

Yet he resisted. His soul domain was already beyond overflowing, swollen to its limits. Any more and it might rupture.

”Haaah!!” The surrounding specters howled, enraged and unsettled. They closed in like wolves circling prey, their skeletal claws rattling, some eager to strike again. Others—those with faint traces of cunning—held back, keeping a wary distance, their eyeless faces locked on him. And still more specters abandoned their march, dragging themselves toward this growing knot of hunger and hostility at the cave mouth.

”....” Robin stole a glance over his shoulder.

Even if he himself no longer feared their touch, the thought of one specter slipping inside made his stomach twist. If even a single one reached Wade and Malik inside the cave, disaster would fall upon them. His jaw clenched, and he faced the horde again, his voice hard as steel. ”I don’t know what you’re after—but keep moving! Go on with whatever you were ordered to do. There’s no dinner for you here!”

At that command, his right shoulder flared, blazing with a golden light that burned with authority. Before him, the air shivered and—trrrrp—a spatial rift split open, thin lines of darkness veined with sparks of light. Without hesitation, Robin stepped forward into the tear.

”Whaaaa?!” The specters recoiled and hissed, confusion and fury spreading through their ranks. They whipped their heads in every direction, searching for the prey that had vanished from their grasp. But Robin was gone. Their frustration boiled over, their guttural roars scraping against the walls of the mountain.

”...” One of the first specters—the very one that had seen Robin emerge from the rock—stepped forward slowly. It crept toward the patch of stone where Robin had stood, its claws dragging sparks as it scraped the ground. Step by step, it advanced farther, as if the scent of the human lingered there, calling it onward.

”.....” From a distance, Robin, hidden within space, watched every movement with clenched fists. His knuckles whitened, veins bulging as he restrained himself. If that specter dared to step inside the cave, he would return and unleash everything without hesitation.

And then—

BOOOOOOOOM!

A deafening explosion split the world once again. The shockwave rolled through the air, dust and stones rattling down the mountainside.

”Whaaaaakh!!” The specters outside the cave whipped their heads toward the blast, their hunger momentarily forgotten. As if seized by a single thought, they turned as one and surged in that direction, rushing headlong like a tide reminded of its course.

”Hmm?” Robin’s brows drew together in a frown. His head turned as well, curiosity gnawing at him with sharp teeth. What is happening over there?

(This is not your concern.) Neri’s voice cut through his thoughts, calm but edged with warning. (Use the Major Law of Space and return to the cave at once. None of them will breach it—unless you lose control again and hurl yourself outside.)

”...I’m not so sure about this.” Robin exhaled heavily, his voice low, strained. ”Each one of those explosions shakes the ground as though the entire world were trembling. The aura behind every blast screams of overwhelming might, the kind of force that could erase one of these small mountains without effort. Tell me, what if we shelter inside one and a stray strike lands above our heads? What then? What good would our ’safety’ be?”

(What kind of flimsy excuse is that?!) Neri’s voice cut through sharply, filled with exasperation. (The explosions are far. You know they are! Don’t twist this. I’ve had enough of your games. Open a spatial rift, throw Wade and Malik through it, and leave. The three of you should be gone from here already. There are a hundred safe options—but you’re ignoring all of them. And I know why. You simply don’t want to leave!)

Robin chuckled softly, a sound that only confirmed her accusation. ”You really do know me, Neri. Better than I’d like sometimes.” His smile faltered into something thoughtful. ”...But it’s not just stubbornness. I don’t know why, but there’s this feeling gnawing at me, a pull I can’t explain. It’s dragging me toward that direction, whispering that I must go.”

(A feeling?!) Neri all but shrieked, disbelief and worry mingling in her tone. (How many times? How many times must you throw yourself into fire just because your heart beats faster?! Didn’t Specter Valley Planet teach you anything? Have you grown addicted to pain? To suffering?)

Robin shook his head, eyes narrowing as he searched for words. ”...This is different. This time I’ve felt such an irresistible compulsion, like my very bones are telling me I need to act. And it doesn’t carry that same truthful omen I’ve felt before. No... this is sharper, cleaner. It’s as if fate itself is nudging me, pressing me forward. I feel I must go. If I turn away now, I’ll be ignoring something vital, something that belongs to me.”

He rubbed his temple with a weary hand. ”I’ve spent centuries trying to commune with my natural affinity for the Law of Causality, but all of it has been fruitless. I can’t summon or silence the pull as I please. But this... this is different. I don’t want to lose the thread when it’s finally dangling right before my eyes.”

(Wait... are you saying what’s happening over there has ties to the Master Law of Causality itself?!) Neri’s voice cracked, urgency and dread overlapping.

Robin only shook his head slowly, deliberately. ”No. I’m saying it’s tied to me. To my existence. Maybe to my past... maybe to my future. Something over there is unfolding, something that will touch me directly, for better or worse. I don’t know what it is. But I need to know. I must know.”

(....) Neri fell silent. She wanted to argue, to throw another hundred warnings at him, but her tongue refused. Anything that brushed against the Master Laws was already far beyond her reach. She could not advise him—she dared not.

Robin slapped a hand against his chest, forcing a confident laugh into the air, his tone dripping with bravado. ”Heh, there’s nothing to fear. My body and soul are in peak condition now. Every one of my thirty-one energy levels is filled to the brim, overflowing with strength. I’ve returned to my best state. Even if I blunder into a nightmare, I’ll escape with ease—”

Khkkk!!!

His voice cracked as agony seized him without warning. His nerves rebelled, convulsing in betrayal, and his body crumpled. He rolled on the ground, helpless, for several seconds, teeth clenched against the pain.

(.....) Neri could only watch in silence, her earlier words catching in her throat.

”Ugh... that was... terrible for my dignity.” Robin muttered at last, coughing out a laugh as he dragged himself upright. He brushed dust and ash from his clothes with an embarrassed grin, forcing lightness into his expression. Then, before Neri could scold him again, he sprang to his feet.

”Alright then—let’s see just who’s daring to play nearby!”