Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1295 1295: Origin

”You say half of what!?” Robin shouted with such force that his voice echoed down the bustling street, grabbing the attention of nearly every passerby. Heads turned, conversations paused, and curious eyes landed on the two men in the middle of the road.

”Easy now… calm down, my friend, whatʼs gotten into you?” the young human said with an embarrassed smile, glancing nervously to both sides at the growing number of onlookers. He gently pushed Robin forward, encouraging him to keep walking so they wouldnʼt cause more of a scene. ”Seriously, how do you know about the Destra family but not a common piece of knowledge like this?”

”...My information sources are… letʼs just say, very limited and scattered. Maybe if you had mentioned literally any other family, I might not have recognized them either,” Robin admitted, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. Then he turned back to face the young man, locking eyes with him. ”Anyway, explain what you meant—are you actually saying that half of the Behemoths are human?!”

”Could be more than half, actually.” The young man shrugged casually. ”I think the misunderstanding comes from me not properly explaining the whole concept of how powerful families—the great bloodlines—emerge and grow in the first place.” He placed a reassuring hand on Robinʼs shoulder and continued walking at a steady pace. ”Everything usually starts with just one person. One extraordinary individual. A human who happens to be born with an unusually strong affinity towards a particular Heavenly Law.”

Robin furrowed his brow. ”And then what?”

”Then it depends,” the young man said with a grin. ”Depends on whether that special person is able to pass down that affinity to his descendants or not. Can the gift be inherited? If yes, how many generations does it last? How strongly does it manifest in the bloodline? Thatʼs where things get interesting.”

Robin tilted his head, still unsure. ”Youʼll have to break it down for me.”

”Alright, let me give you an example. Take the ancestor of the Maizer family—my family. That man was born with an unnatural affinity for the Law of Sound. At some point, he realized he could harness the fourth tier of the Sound Law without relying on elixirs, enhancements, or external tools. Just raw, pure resonance. That kind of thing doesnʼt happen. It made him what we call a ʼspecial human.ʼ”

Robin nodded, slowly beginning to understand.

”After that, our ancestor focused heavily on reproduction—like, excessively.” The young man chuckled awkwardly. ”Over the span of a single century, he fathered hundreds of children with dozens of different human women. But hereʼs the kicker: only four of those children inherited his miraculous affinity for sound. Four out of hundreds.”

”Wow.”

”Right?” The boy continued with more enthusiasm. ”Those four children grew up, and they also had a mission: to pass on the gift. They too reproduced with purpose, always hoping that among their children, someone would inherit that same deep connection to sound. Fast forward a few centuries, and the Maizer family now numbers in the thousands. Most of us have a slightly stronger-than-average affinity for sound, sure—but only thirteen of us can use the minor Sound Law naturally.”

Then he proudly pointed to himself with a wide smile. ”And Iʼm one of those thirteen.”

Robin gave a polite nod. ”Impressive.”

”....” The young man cleared his throat when he noticed Robinʼs lukewarm reaction. ”Anyway, that special affinity—that heavenly gift—itʼs the key behind every human whoʼs ever reached the level of a World Cataclysm-class being or higher. Itʼs the secret behind our speciesʼ survival across countless ages of conflict and disaster. Families that were built upon a divine gift like that have been the shield and banner of humanity for generations.”

He raised a finger. ”But not all gifts are created equal. Even among us Maizers, with our thirteen ʼgiftedʼ members, our affinity is still limited to a Minor Law under an essential Path. Itʼs not particularly glamorous.”

His gaze sharpened as he looked directly into Robinʼs eyes again. ”The families you should really fear… are the ones with members who possess a high-level affinity toward a Major Law. Thatʼs a different level entirely.”

Robin let out a low whistle, the kind that escapes when the mind is overwhelmed by a terrifying realization. The implications began to settle in. What if Raiden—someone like him—used the same method? What if he reproduced and created twelve descendants, each with perfect affinity for Lightning? Each one capable of breaking through to World Cataclysm level… or beyond? That would be a nightmare. An unstoppable bloodline.

The young manʼs tone suddenly became colder, heavier. ”And among those… the true apex predators… are the families with a bloodline tied to a Fundamental Law.”

Robin turned sharply, locking eyes with him again.

”The Behemoths of humanity,” the young man said, pausing for effect, ”are those individuals born with extreme, unmatched affinity toward one of the Fundamental Laws of the universe. And they didnʼt stop there—they built families. Lineages. Dynasties. They turned that miracle into a legacy.”

Robinʼs eyes widened as he looked ahead, now visibly shaken by the revelation. He brought a hand to his chin, tapping it thoughtfully.

”Thatʼs… incredible.”

”They all truly possess some form of unique affinity,” Pitso said, waving his hand loosely in the air, as if brushing aside the complexity of the topic. ”Some of them even claimed they werenʼt born with such an affinity, but rather took it by force form the heavens! Some say it came through pain, others say it came during some grand revelation. Either way, the result is the same: an innate connection to one of the Fundamental Laws of the universe.”

He paused, his tone growing a bit more thoughtful. ”And not all of them formed families either. Some Tyrants were so obsessed with maintaining their uniqueness, their identity as one-of-a-kind beings, that they chose to never reproduce. They took on disciples and followers, sure, but they never had children, never passed on their blood. Maybe we can call that a one-man lineage—a family of one.”

Robin walked silently for a few seconds, furrowing his brows as he processed the flood of information, his boots tapping rhythmically on the cobblestone street. ”If what youʼre saying is true… and humans really have that many Tyrants among them—why donʼt they do something? Why donʼt they come to help their own people, the ones being oppressed, enslaved, or worse?”

Pitsuo gave a short, dry laugh. ”Help? You mean like flying across the stars with a heroʼs cape and rescuing the helpless?” He shook his head and waved dismissively. ”Itʼs not that simple. First of all, donʼt forget how enormous the distances are between sectors. No one can just pack their things and head out to another region because they heard some human died or got bullied somewhere. Itʼs not realistic.”

He shrugged, then added with a tinge of cynicism, ”And honestly? I donʼt think they really care that much. Tyrants… theyʼre beyond regular people. Their focus is usually on higher matters—immortality, ascension, dominion over Laws themselves. Most of them probably look at the petty squabbles of mortals and think, ʼNot my problem.ʼ”

”Besides,” he went on, ”humans arenʼt facing complete annihilation—at least not yet. There are still trillions of us spread across the sectors, even in places like Sector 100, which doesnʼt even have a single human Tyrant to protect it, we still have may humans here. And even if everyone in this particular sector were wiped out tomorrow, well… it wouldnʼt be the end of the human race. Other sectors still have human Tyrants, and theyʼd carry on.”

He laughed again, this time a bit more loudly. ”Maybe thatʼs why the other races donʼt even bother trying to wipe us out completely. They know itʼs impossible. As long as human Tyrants exist somewhere, weʼre unextinguishable. No matter how many fall, others will rise in other places.”

Robin tilted his head, intrigued. ”So is that why no oneʼs been bullying or robbing humans here either? Ever since I arrived, Iʼve seen very few humans around… but no oneʼs treated me differently. No hostility. No prejudice. I expected… worse.”

Pitsuo nodded slowly. ”Thatʼs not because they like us. Itʼs not about equality or justice. Itʼs because of a cultural shift—something deep in our roots as a race. A long time ago, after the mass genocides, when humans were hunted and slaughtered, when our strength was reduced to nothing and we were forced into hiding into the few strongholds remained. People stopped going out. They stayed hidden.”

He looked directly at Robin now. ”During that dark period, only the most powerful among us dared leave the sanctuaries. They were the only ones who could survive in the wider universe. So, over the decades… and centuries… people—other races—began to associate any human they saw in public with raw, terrifying power. Because the weak never showed up outside.”

Pitsuo smiled, a mixture of irony and pride on his face. ”So if you saw a human walking freely in a trading planet like this—or in any empire not ruled by humans—you knew he was dangerous. You didnʼt test him. If you did, youʼd mostly regret it.”

He lifted both shoulders in a casual shrug. ”And over time, that idea it settled into the minds of all the other races. It became a cultural truth. A psychological reflex if you might call it.”

”Oh…” Robin raised his eyebrows high, clearly surprised. So they all just assume Iʼm strong... just because Iʼm human?

Thatʼs absurd. If someone had given him a thousand years to guess why he wasnʼt being targeted, he never wouldʼve landed on that.

But now it all made sense. Perhaps the legacy of those ancient, struggling humans had shaped this perception. Despite the blood, despite the fear, they had carved out respect in the minds of their enemies.

Wait… is that why that bald examiner gave me a blue-tier technique instead of the standard green one when he saw I had a hundred pearls? Did he assume I was one of those elite human experts?

Thatʼs… unexpectedly clever.

”Weʼve arrived!” Pitsuo announced brightly, snapping Robin from his thoughts.