Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1917 Leaving the Truth for the Truth Chosen

”...And you were right.”

”Me?” Robin pointed at himself, clearly caught off guard.

”You?!” Althera pointed sharply toward Robin, her voice edged with anger and disbelief.

”...?!” For a brief moment, Robin shrank back under Altheraʼs fierce glare, a chill running down his spine. Then he steadied himself and turned back to face the Cosmic Elder. ”What exactly was I right about?!”

”Everything you said.” Zolanʼs lips curved into a calm, satisfied smile as he slowly lifted his head toward the sky above. ”...During the period when I came close to death when I lay alone on my small boat and let the waters carry me wherever they wished- I had more time to think than I ever had before. I donʼt know why it affected me so deeply. Perhaps because I rarely speak with others, or perhaps because silence sharpens the mind, or maybe because being close to death made me lose my arrogance... But the words we exchanged during our very first meeting clung to my thoughts. They echoed again and again. I hesitated, argued against them within my own mind, tried to refute them from every angle but in that state... I failed to defeat them.”

Then his smile widened in a strangely unsettling way, once again, hearing Robinʼs words in his ears:

ʼWhy should I die so that others may live? What do I gain from my good deeds when I lie alone beneath the soil, forgotten, while everyone else remains ignorant of my existence? No-this is a nightmare. A mistaken path with no purpose and no personal value. What a miserable road it is!”

ʼEveryone will die or be killed, no matter how many planets they refine or wherever they hide. But glory endures. One should not seek false immortality, but glory-the kind that grants oneʼs name and memory true, lasting

immortality.

ʼWhen facing a powerful enemy, should I become the final victor, standing with only a handful of close followers while the rest of the universe perishes, or should I sacrifice myself for the sake of the universe? I would rather be the last man standing.”

ʼEveryone acts for personal interest. I do it for the spotlight and for glory, as you claim, and you do it for the inner peace and satisfaction you gain from the universeʼs stability. Each of us possesses his own form of selfishness-the only difference lies in how the story ends.

”Do you remember, little Robin?” The Cosmic Elder turned his hollow, empty eyes back toward him. ”You were standing before the great Cosmic Elder himself. I told you I would grant you a legacy that no one before you -and no one after you would ever receive. And yet, despite that, you told me you would preserve your own truth until you discovered the absolute truth. You defended your conviction without hesitation. You cannot imagine how much respect I held for you at that moment.”

After a brief pause, he continued in a quieter tone, ”...And it became clear that between you and me -between one who has lived for tens of millions of years and one whose first millennium has not yet even passed-your truth was closer to what is right.”

”I was drunk that that day,” Robin said hurriedly, beginning to panic just a little. ”I talk nonsense all the time!”

”I donʼt think so,” Zolan replied, slowly shaking his head. ”The Balance itself manifested to punish me because I attempted to impose my truth upon yours. The Balance upheld everything you stand for-and punished me for my arrogance and my foolishness.”

Then he turned away, his voice growing quieter and heavier. ”And now, with everyone believing that I am dead, I finally saw with myself just how right you were-and how deeply wrong I was. I understood why the Balance punished me. Everything I had spent all those years striving for collapsed in the blink of an eye. The stellar academies ceased their battles, the Behemoths returned to their meaningless slaughter, and if that bastard Sevar didnʼt know that I was still alive, his Syndicate would have swallowed everything by now without resistance... Tell me, Robin-what was I truly striving for all those years?” ”Hooo~” Robin released a long, cold breath. He felt his heart stiffen, as if it were turning into a block of ice, filled with a mixture of terror and regret he had believed he would never experience. ”Are you saying that my words back then... made you despise your old self overnight?!”

”I wouldnʼt describe it that way,” the Cosmic Elder replied, shaking his head slowly. ”You could call it a change in creed. The old Cosmic Elder died while drifting across the sea that day. The new one chose to accept reality, to stop forcing truth upon others, and to leave truth to those who can truly see it... I will follow your truth, little Robin-the truth that granted you eyes sharp enough to uncover the fourth-stage Sovereign Law of Truth, along with Creation and Balance. The very truth for which the Golden Balance chose to protect you.”

”My truth? What truth?!” Robin felt his thoughts unraveling, his mind struggling to keep up.

”I observed two distinct traits within you, and I had to choose between them,” Zolan said calmly, without the slightest hint of embarrassment. ”The first is your pursuit of personal glory. When I truly reflected on it, I found it not only reasonable, but noble. One who seeks glory will do everything in his power to leave behind a worthy name. He will develop, build, protect, and refine. Even if he destroyed worlds in his bath, he will establish a strong, balanced world that preserves his name as he desires-a world that endures even after his death, not a fragile structure that collapses the very day a rumor of his demise spreads.”

”The second trait,” he continued, ”is that you keep a circle of people close to you-your family, you close followers. You protect them, and they protect you in return.” Here, the Cosmic Elder paused briefly, as if choosing his words with care. ”I noticed how firmly you emphasized this when I offered you the choice of living alongside only a few of them after the universe itself had died-and I liked that answer. And I noticed it again when you told me that I should live for those I love, rather than sacrifice my life for them.”

”...” Robinʼs expression gradually softened as those words sank in.

They struck him directly at his core.

Those two halves were the very foundation of Robinʼs drive. They supported one another, intertwined, pushing him relentlessly forward. If either of those halves were to crumble... his entire life would grind to a halt.

Yes, glory was his ultimate goal-but what meaning did glory and power have without loved ones to share them with, to laugh with, to protect and be protected by? If anything were to happen to Caesar, to Richard, or to any of his children, he would-no. The thought alone was unbearable.

”...So what now?” Robin finally spoke, a faint smile forming on his lips. ”Have you decided to compete with me for glory, old man?”

”Unfortunately, habits forged over immense spans of time are not easily abandoned,” Zolan replied, shaking his head slowly. ”I have lived for tens of

millions of years, watching the flow of events from afar, I have no intention of placing myself at the center of the stage now.” Then he smiled, softer this time. ”But I have decided to hold on to the second trait.”

He gestured toward the distant shore. ”I chose to build a family and to live for them. I have earned this rest-this peace, this quiet certainty.” After a pause that lasted several seconds, he added in a lower voice, ”... And it did not take long at all for me to taste the sweetness of that decision.” He then turned back to Robin with a knowing smile. ”I may not personally seek glory anymore, but perhaps they will achieve their own glory soon-and when they do, I will support them with all my strength. So guard your back boy- my children are coming to dominate, hehe.”