Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1633: Fair Exchange

”...Ohh, this is going to be fun,” Robin murmured, his voice filled with a mix of anticipation and mischief.

He stepped into the vast cavern with deliberate, almost ceremonial slowness, dragging the two colossal golden runes behind him. The symbols pulsed with a life of their own, spinning and humming like chained suns caught in the gravity of his will. To any onlooker, it would have seemed impossible — a single man towing what looked like fragments of heaven itself.

The veins on his neck and forehead stood out violently, glowing faintly as the energy coursed through them, threatening to burst from the overwhelming pressure. Every breath he drew sounded heavy, distorted by the sheer magnitude of force he was wrestling under his command.

”.....” Arkalon’s ethereal form hovered nearby. He watched in silence for several seconds. Eventually, he exhaled a slow sigh, shaking his head before turning back to his wooden tablets, sketching and scribbling notes with quick strokes.

He had long since given up trying to understand the mind of his master. Though he had never accompanied Robin on any of his infamous escapades, nor met the countless souls who admired or feared him, Arkalon had lived long enough beside the man to know one irrefutable truth — Robin’s logic was utterly alien. Whatever he was about to attempt now, it was undoubtedly reckless, possibly catastrophic.

And honestly, he has enough problems of his own with this damn technique that refuses to finish.

Yet, the entire soul domain could feel the disturbance building — none of the other soul creatures could ignore it.

Whoosh!

”Hey! What are you doing this time?!”

A voice sliced through the humming air as Evergreen appeared beside Robin in a swirl of compressed wind. Her body shimmered like a living breeze, eyes narrowing in disbelief. ”What sort of disaster are you trying to summon now?”

Robin grinned without looking back, still dragging the radiant patterns forward. ”Can’t I get... a little appreciation for once?!” His tone was playful yet strained under the pressure of his task. ”When was the last time I actually caused trouble for anyone, huh?”

”Literally every single time you try to do anything,” Evergreen shot back dryly, crossing her airy arms as her essence pulsed irritably.

”...Fair point,” Robin admitted with a forced laugh, shoulders shaking as he pressed on. He’d be lying if he claimed this was a normal experiment — no, it was dangerous, borderline insane — but he had spent decades preparing for this moment. The decision was final, and no warning or plea would change it.

Hoo—

A warm ripple brushed through the cavern air, and Neri emerged next to him, taking the form of a woman in her twenties. Her hair flowed like starlight, and her brows were knit with worry.

”There’s nothing inside that cave except your disciple,” she said, her tone sharp and accusing. ”Do these two patterns have something to do with him?”

Robin finally slowed his steps for a brief second, letting out a breath. ”Oh, finally, you’re not mad anymore... and you decided to show your face again?” He paused, flashing her a tired grin. ”Yeah... it’s about Jabba.”

”...You should’ve come to me, explained things, maybe even apologized before starting whatever this is!” Nihari shouted, her voice echoing through the cavern as she followed him.

”Do I look crazy enough to do that?” Robin shot back with a strained grin, ”You gave me the most peaceful few decades I’ve ever had — and I’d like to keep that peace.” He let out a small laugh between breaths, ”So go ahead, get mad again... and keep waiting... heh... heheheh...”

”Ugh!!” Nihari stomped the ground in frustration, her figure flickering before vanishing in a wave of soul force.

”You’re hopeless!” Evergreen’s translucent form began to fade, her voice echoing faintly, ”Just make sure you don’t die!!”

Moments later, her presence vanished too, leaving only the echo of her words.

”Pheew...” Robin exhaled deeply, his body trembling slightly as he reached the center of the cavern. ”Ah, this spot... is good enough.”

He released the two glowing runes, letting them float freely in the air. They rotated around each other, releasing sparks of golden lightning that illuminated the entire chamber. Robin stepped forward alone, extending his hand into the air — and with a ripple of light, Jabba’s body appeared, suspended in a gentle glow. The once-aged old man now looked young again, restored to his prime. Robin laid him down between the two floating patterns with great care.

”Hmm... let’s hope this works,” Robin muttered under his breath.

Riiip—

In a single motion, Robin tore away the upper half of Jabba’s garments, revealing his chiseled physique.

Robin pressed his right palm gently against the area below Jabba’s navel, closing his eyes. He let his soul sense flow into the motionless body.

Inside, he was met with ruin. The energy gathering center— shattered beyond repair. The intricate internal patterns that once regulated Jabba’s power were broken and distorted beyond recognition. Not a single channel of life force remained stable. It was like staring at a system that had collapsed entirely — an existence on the brink of true death.

This condition... it was no different from having one’s spine shattered or heart pierced.

The only small mercy was that Jabba’s consciousness had not yet returned — he was blissfully unaware of the agony that would have torn through his being otherwise.

But he was on the very verge of opening his eyes...

After his entire soul domain had been painstakingly repaired — his life artery reforged, and even his original physical form completely restored — it was now only a matter of time before consciousness returned to him. Yet with that awakening... would come pain so excruciating, so far beyond comprehension, that no mortal or celestial being could endure it.

And that was something Robin could not

, under any circumstance, allow to happen.
The only path that crossed his mind was to invoke the Master Law of Creation, molding and weaving the very essence of reality to rebuild Jabba’s shattered energy gathering center, restoring it as flawless and untainted as the moment it first came into being.

And indeed... he had succeeded in that impossible feat.

Yet success was never so simple. What remained inside Jabba was the lingering filth — the dense, corrupted waste that no law could simply erase.

Jabba had no hidden guide to steer him through such peril, no divine mentor like the one who had once aided Robin — the Master Law of Truth, which had repaired and restructured his own inner patterns during the war against the Warlords of Hovenheim.

To finish this restoration... Robin had only one desperate idea left — a gamble that could either save Jabba or destroy him entirely.

He inhaled slowly and opened his eyes. Beneath his palm, the space just below Jabba’s navel shimmered faintly, a dim yet growing pulse of golden light radiating outward in rhythmic waves. Each throb seemed to echo the beating of a colossal heart somewhere deep beneath the surface of Nihari itself. Robin stepped back two measured paces, lifted his right hand toward Jabba, and spoke with solemn conviction that reverberated through the chamber:

”Fair Exchange!”

Ooooooom!

At once, the twin golden patterns carved into the ground around him blazed to life — not in harmony, but in absolute contradiction.

Robin felt the entire realm of Nihari itself tremble beneath his feet, as if the planet was gasping under the strain. A shiver ran through the crust of the world, spreading like a tidal wave across continents. Mountains quaked, oceans twisted, and the natural laws began to lose their coherence.

In distant lands, a farmer’s torch exploded in his hand when he tried to light it; another soul watched as the water he poured defied gravity, rising upward in spiraling droplets instead of falling.

For a brief, terrifying moment, it felt as if the very concept of balance was collapsing.

Then — mercifully — after three, perhaps four endless seconds, equilibrium began to flicker back, fragile yet present.

Robin exhaled sharply and stepped further back, the instinctive chill of danger crawling up his spine. His intuition screamed that any interference now would unleash catastrophe. So he stood motionless — silent and tense — eyes fixed on the unfolding miracle before him.

Hwoooooo~

One of the two runic circles started channeling a magnificent torrent of golden energy straight toward Jabba’s energy gathering center, forming a radiant tunnel of power that pulsed like molten sunlight flowing through glass.

At the same time, the second pattern began drawing something out from Jabba’s upper body — a thick, almost living green essence that twisted and coiled like liquid vitality.

”...!!”

Robin’s Eyes of Truth burst open, blazing like miniature suns, their light cutting through every veil of spiritual distortion. He stared in stunned silence, awe freezing his breath mid-chest.

What he saw was beyond description — Jabba’s once-polluted energy core, which moments ago had resembled a dead wasteland, was now being cleansed from top to bottom. The golden current was purging it layer by layer, peeling away corruption as though wiping filth from a robe of pure snow.

But as that miracle unfolded... the other pattern began devouring Jabba’s life force in exchange — draining it at a terrifying pace!

”Oh... no, that’s not good.” Robin muttered under his breath, his tone laced with alarm. His fingers tapped restlessly against his lips, a rare sign of panic betraying his composure.

He had believed the Fair Exchange would feed upon external sources — the soil, beasts, minerals, even fragments of Nihari’s surface — just as that enigmatic old man had demonstrated in the past. Never, never had he imagined it would instead seize upon Jabba’s own life essence as the sacrifice.

Had Robin not repaired his body earlier and replenished every drop of vitality, Jabba would have died the instant the technique began.

Now there was nothing left to do but watch... and pray that the purification would end before Jabba’s dwindling life did.