Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2353 Rules of the game

”Oh?” The lady shrouded in orange light raised an eyebrow ever so slightly, her calm yet penetrating gaze lingering on Morval as though she had already guessed part of the answer before he spoke. ”So youʼve finally found someone troublesome enough to stir the stagnant waters, just as he wanted?” Then her eyes drifted into the distance, as though they were peering far beyond the walls of the hall and into the countless ages stretching across existence itself. ”There are a little over two million years left, and judging by the current state of B-14, Iʼm not surprised heʼd try to help that new Candidate with everything he has at his disposal, regardless of the cost or the consequences...” She slowly shook her head, her expression remaining composed despite the gravity of her words. ”...But not to the extent of deploying two unbound?”

She then extended a slender finger toward Morval with deliberate calm, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied every subtle reaction on his face. ”Something disastrous must have happened to drive him that far. What was it?” After allowing a brief silence to settle between them, she continued in a quieter yet noticeably sharper tone. ”Was the Shell broken?”

”The Universal Shell?” Morval frowned slightly before lowering his gaze, his thoughts clearly racing as he struggled to organize an answer that would neither conceal the truth nor reveal more than necessary. ”...”

”The answer is yes or no.” The woman whom Morval had addressed as the Bestower raised her voice just enough to make it unmistakably clear that she had no patience for evasive answers or unnecessary hesitation.

”Itʼs... complicated,” Morval replied hesitantly, drawing a slow breath before continuing. ”Lord Robin, the Seerʼs Candidate, created a stable gateway on a planet called Dunara. It opens beyond the Shell itself, but the gateway remains firmly under control, and he and his army use it to harvest Harvesters before refining them into raw materials for their own purposes. He made every possible effort to conceal the existence of that gateway, employing countless methods to ensure no trace of it leaked beyond his forces, but matters of this magnitude simply cannot remain hidden from us forever.”

”A stable gateway beyond the Shell?” The ladyʼs brows drew together tightly, genuine surprise briefly surfacing beneath her otherwise composed demeanor. ”That requires an exceptionally advanced command of spacetime. Wasnʼt the Candidate supposed to be a Truth Chosen?”

Morval answered immediately, unwilling to let the silence linger. ”We possess evidence preserved within ancient legends that have been circulating among his army for quite some time. According to those accounts, he employed certain techniques while defeating his enemies on planets known as Nihari and Greenland, techniques unlike anything commonly seen within the Cycle. Based on everything we have investigated, we believe those techniques were directly related to spacetime.”

”...?” The lady looked away again, quietly murmuring to herself as though piecing together fragments of an impossibly complicated puzzle. ”What exactly are you doing? Did you first find a Truth Chosen, then grant him Spacetime, and afterward provide him with a means to actually wield that power? That kind of manipulation doesnʼt suit you. In fact, itʼs precisely what led you into your current circumstances in the first place...”

Then she lowered her gaze, her expression becoming increasingly thoughtful as the implications continued to unfold within her mind.

”Is the Candidate you found truly worthy of this level of support? Is he really so extraordinary that youʼre willing to cast aside everything you have always stood for, everything you represent, simply for his sake?”

A moment later, her brows furrowed once more as another possibility occurred to her.

”...If heʼs truly that remarkable... perhaps he was the one who discovered spacetime on his own, and perhaps he even uncovered the method for breaking the Shell without receiving any guidance whatsoever.”

”...Even if he did, was he also the one responsible for deploying the unbound ones?” She slowly shook her head, unable to reconcile every piece of the situation. ”Things in B-14 have become even more complicated than they already were, to the point where even the most reasonable explanations no longer seem sufficient.”

”My Lady.” Morval cautiously raised one hand, unable to hide the nervousness in his voice despite his efforts to remain composed. ”There is something else that may have angered Lord Seer even further.”

”Hmm?” The lady cloaked in orange light turned toward him, the seriousness in her expression immediately deepening as she sensed the weight behind his words. ”Then why are you still standing there in silence? Speak.”

”Itʼs about Helmor the Destroyer,” Morval said hurriedly, no longer daring to delay. ”He deployed an enormous number of Soldiers and launched coordinated attacks across ten different sectors almost simultaneously.”

”What did you say? A massive force of Soldiers has appeared inside B-14? THE Soldiers?!” The ladyʼs eyes widened completely, her calm demeanor finally giving way to unmistakable disbelief. ”That is completely unacceptable!”

”My Lady, every word Iʼm saying is true,” Morval replied without hesitation. ”Helmor, accompanied by a considerable contingent of Soldiers, is attacking a Behemoth Galaxy at this very moment, and the battle is already underway.”

”...” The lady remained silent for several long moments before finally leaning back against her throne, crossing one leg over the other as she allowed herself time to think through the implications of everything she had just heard.

”Those people are throwing every protocol aside as though none of them ever existed. Never before have Soldiers appeared inside an Official Universe during an active Cycle and acted with such open, unmistakable hostility. They are no longer even attempting to preserve appearances or hide their intentions. No wonder he ultimately decided to activate two unbound Ones, though Iʼm afraid that doing so will place an enormous burden upon him and severely weaken his position in the battles that still await him.”

She lightly tapped the armrest of her throne with one finger, the quiet sound echoing through the vast chamber as she continued contemplating the situation before speaking once again.

”What exactly is happening within the Pantheon these days...? Cheating has always existed, and in circumstances such as these deception has often served as the very foundation of victory, but never has it reached anything remotely close to this scale. What was once considered covert manipulation has now become an unmistakable challenge, carried out openly without the slightest concern for the consequences.”

”...” Morval had absolutely no idea whether he was supposed to laugh or cry, his expression remaining frozen somewhere between disbelief and resignation as countless thoughts raced through his mind all at once.

Werenʼt they themselves among those very cheaters? In fact, werenʼt they the oldest of them all, the ones whose influence reached farther than anyone elseʼs, and perhaps the very architects of many of the unwritten rules everyone else merely followed?

”...” The lady remained silent for a brief moment, carefully weighing every implication before finally turning her gaze back toward Morval with composed curiosity. ”What is your relationship with the Seerʼs Candidate?”

”Itʼs not merely good—itʼs excellent, actually. Heʼs one of our closest trading partners and among the organizations with whom we maintain the most stable long-term cooperation,” Morval answered immediately, eager to remove any suspicion before it could arise. ”Following the ancient instructions left by Your Ladyship, we have never interfered with the Seerʼs Candidates under any circumstances. Quite the opposite—we have always tried to protect them whenever an opportunity presented itself, exactly as you instructed us countless years ago, and that policy has never changed.”

”...Good.” The lady nodded with visible satisfaction, a trace of relief appearing beneath her otherwise calm expression. ”I seek victory and the acquisition of a few Seals—or, at the very least, I intend to avoid suffering excessive losses. I have absolutely no desire to earn the personal hostility of one of the Transcendents over the outcome of a single Cycle. He may very well tolerate my subtle interference carried out from the shadows, because everyone engages in that sort of maneuvering to one degree or another, but if I were to imitate the others by acting openly—slaughtering his Candidates and attacking the Universe under his rule while it is still in its developmental phase—then Iʼm afraid the conflict would no longer remain confined here. It would spread directly into the Pantheon itself, and I have no interest whatsoever in entangling myself in pointless confrontations there that accomplish nothing beyond exhausting both sides.”

”...My Lady,” Morval spoke in a lowered voice after hesitating for a moment, choosing his words with unusual care. ”What should we do now that Lord Seer has displayed this level of anger by deploying unbound Ones? Should we... continue following our current plans despite everything that has happened?”

”Of course you continue.” The ladyʼs brows narrowed slightly, her answer arriving without even the slightest trace of hesitation. ”If he has sent unbound Ones, then I have already provided you with the means to reach the Purple Sea. If he possesses one Candidate accompanied by two unbound Ones, then by this point you command hundreds of Purple Sea users. Even if those unbound Ones choose to launch an assault themselves, sheer numbers alone mean that at least one of them is destined to fall before such overwhelming resistance.”

She continued speaking in the same measured tone, her voice carrying neither excitement nor concern, only unwavering certainty. ”Stand your ground, protect yourself, and continue advancing quietly through the shadows without directly insulting either the Seer or his Candidate. Most likely, heʼll ignore your existence just as he ignored those who governed this galaxy before you, because his attention will naturally remain fixed upon those who openly challenge him in broad daylight—individuals such as the Resentful One, the Weaver, The oppressor, and the others who proudly boast throughout the Pantheon about meddling openly in B-14 without the slightest attempt at concealment. He wonʼt abandon them merely to pursue the Dreamerʼs Organization, the one organization that still insists upon following the principles of honorable intervention despite everything else happening around it.”

Afterward, she resumed lightly tapping her elegant thigh with slow, rhythmic movements as she continued speaking, her gaze drifting elsewhere as though reviewing countless past Cycles within her memory. ”As for me, nothing I do in B-14 has ever been personal where the Seer is concerned. I make similar investments across several other Universes as well, always placing calculated bets whose outcomes cannot be guaranteed. Sometimes those investments produce extraordinary returns, while at other times they fail completely, and I simply accept both possibilities as part of the process without attaching unnecessary emotion to either result. As for the others, however, itʼs painfully obvious that this matter has become intensely personal for them, to an extent that borders on obsession.”

”My Lady,” Morval asked while remaining respectfully on one knee, lowering his head slightly as he awaited her judgment, ”what should I do?”

”...” The lady rose gracefully to her feet, her expression becoming noticeably more solemn than before. ”The appearance of both Soldiers and unbound Ones inside B-14 is a warning sign that a storm will soon sweep across the Pantheon itself, one powerful enough to affect far more than a single Universe. I must prepare myself to observe everything that follows and determine precisely how these events may influence my own position before deciding upon any future course of action.”

She then gave Morval a calm nod. ”As for you, remain neutral and observe everything from the sidelines. If you are planning any large-scale sabotage operations, postpone them for the time being until this storm has completely passed. Do not join the other troublemakers, but neither should you fight alongside the Seerʼs Candidate, because doing so would not serve my interests in the slightest. Maintain your usual neutrality, but if circumstances corner you to the point where no other option remains, then allow yourself to lean ever so slightly toward the Seerʼs Candidate—and no more than that.”

Then her brows drew together sharply, and an unmistakable chill entered her voice. ”If I discover that any of the other Transcendents has contacted you by any means whatsoever and persuaded you to undertake a major operation—for any reason, under any threat, or in exchange for any reward whatsoever—then your fate will become identical to that of your predecessor, Morpheus, along with every fool who came before you and believed they could outsmart the consequences of their own choices. The Seer would be more than willing to allow me to intervene personally and eliminate you too, and I believe youʼre intelligent enough to learn from history instead of repeating it, arenʼt you? I have absolutely no intention of making that man my personal enemy over nothing more than a handful of Seals.”

”Please do not worry, My Lady.” Morval lowered himself until his forehead touched the ground in complete respect and submission. ”Lord Robin is nothing more and nothing less than a business partner. Our relationship extends no further than mutual trade and shared interests.”

Whoosh!

Only after the shard had returned to his head did Morval finally release a long, weary sigh that seemed to carry away the pressure that had accumulated throughout the entire conversation. He slowly rose to his feet, rubbing his forehead almost absentmindedly before letting out a quiet laugh filled with helplessness. ”Heh... Just how did we end up caught in the middle of people like these?”

Then he turned around and slowly walked out of the chamber, each measured step echoing faintly behind him as he quietly disappeared into the distance, leaving the vast hall once again wrapped in silence.