Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1566: The Day the Ways Parted

Fast forward a few thousand years--

Bam!

”Woe to us!”

”What a calamity!”

”We are doomed... doomed beyond saving...”

”Ah—what are we supposed to do now?!”

The throne hall of the planet Azakra no longer carried the tranquil majesty it had always been known for. In this hour it had transformed into a place overflowing with confusion and despair. T

he chamber was packed with trembling elders, each one clutching his head with both hands as if trying to keep it from splitting, or pacing in frantic circles like trapped beasts, their faces carved with horror and helplessness. The grand hall, once a solemn symbol of power and authority, now looked no different than a swarm of frantic ants scattered upon a blazing sheet of iron.

”Enough!!” Darmik roared, his voice crashing through the hall like thunder. Though his eyes were bloodshot and swollen from sleepless nights and his throat rasped with fury and exhaustion, he fought to stand firm, forcing strength into his trembling frame. ”The death of my brother is not the end of all existence! He lived as a true man and fell as a true man. He is gone from this world, but we ourselves laid him to rest in the heart of the star of Azakra, and by now his body has likely already dissolved into its burning core. That Chapter has ended. What matters now is not endless mourning—but deciding what must be done from this moment forward!”

”Empty words, Darmik!” an elder snapped back, his voice quivering with both anger and despair. ”His Majesty was slaughtered in an ambush, torn from us while we stood helpless! All we managed to recover were broken fragments of his body, and even that cost us three elders who gave their lives. And what of His Majesty’s uncle—the second and last Nexus State in our empire? He is lying crippled! The Twilight Spectrum Empire attacked the planet he refined, ripping it away from him! His soul domain has shattered and collapsed upon itself! A century will not pass before he follows His Majesty into the void. His death is certain!”

The elder buried his face in his palms, voice breaking. ”If we had not forced him into attending today’s funeral to put on a façade of strength, this day itself might have been the final one of our empire’s existence! Should word of the imperial uncle’s broken state leak, then by tomorrow’s dawn a storm will fall upon us—an annihilating assault that will erase us completely from the cosmos! Our world is already as good as ashes. The only thing left to discuss is how we might surrender in such a way that at least our bloodline does not vanish with us!”

”Rubbish!” Darmik’s shout boomed as he slammed his fist against the throne’s armrest. ”Isn’t the answer clear? We need only forge another Nexus State before the imperial uncle perishes!” He turned, arm thrust outward in a commanding gesture. ”It is not impossible—it can be done!”

His gaze fell upon a corner of the hall where two young girls sat together: Renara and her sister.

Both of them were drenched in grief, tears streaming as they had just watched the remnants of their father’s broken body cast into the sun, powerless to stop it. Yet now the eyes of the entire assembly swiveled toward them, forcing them to endure the crushing weight of expectation.

”Renara and Elinor?” one of the hall’s presiding elders muttered, stroking his beard with disbelief.

”Yes... the girls are undeniably gifted. To reach the pinnacle of World Cataclysm at their age is something extraordinary indeed. But both of them still possess only eight tails. To ascend to the Nexus State Realm is a feat bordering on the impossible—and to achieve it within a mere century? Utter madness!”

”Have we not preserved ten drops of the Nine-Tailed Fox’s blood?” Darmik’s voice rang out, sharp and resolute. ”If we infuse one of the girls with the full measure of those ten drops, her blood will surge with density beyond mortal limits! A ninth tail will emerge, and the beast’s ancient blood within her will ignite—powerful enough to pierce into the Nexus State in less than a hundred years!” He then fixed his stare on the girls once more. ”And I nominate Renara. She reached the World Cataclysm Realm earlier than her sister, her temperament is calmer, and above all... she has the heart to seek counsel rather than acting alone.”

”Do you expect us to squander one of our most sacred treasures so recklessly?!” another elder bellowed, veins bulging on his forehead.

”If we do nothing, we will have no treasures left at all!” Darmik’s fury erupted like a storm, his words cutting through the hall like blades. He spun to face the assembly as a whole. ”If any of you hold a better solution—speak it now!” In one swift motion he drew forth his broad sword, its edge gleaming under the dim lights of the hall. ”But if you intend only to object without reason—then bring me your neck, and I will sever it myself!”

Clamor!Clamor!

Voices rose in chaos, feet stamped, and the vast hall shook with uproar.

”Ah...” Renara pressed both hands to her head and buried her face between her knees. The crushing grief of her father’s death and the horrifying sight of the elders turning upon one another filled her heart with despair. To her, it felt as though her entire world was crumbling into ruin before her eyes.

”Renara... Renara...”

Renara slowly lifted her head, her cheeks streaked with tears, her eyes swollen and shimmering with grief. Standing right beside her was Elinor, her younger sister, whose expression was uncharacteristically sharp and unwavering. There was no trace of childish mischief in her face this time; instead, it carried a rare focus, a determination that made her seem far older than her years.

Her voice came clear, cutting through the noise and chaos that filled the throne hall: ”Stand up, sister, and announce your acceptance of Uncle Darmik’s proposal—that you will be the next Empress. You must. I will stand with you, I swear it.”

”Huh?” Renara blinked, her mind fogged and dazed by sorrow, not fully comprehending the words. For several heartbeats she stared at Elinor, as if those words were too foreign to register. Then, all at once, her awareness snapped back, and she cried out, her voice cracking with pain, ”What are you saying? Father has only just died! How can I possibly—how can I even think about—”

”You must!” Elinor interrupted, clutching her sister’s shoulders with both small hands and shaking them as if trying to jolt Renara awake. Her voice, though belonging to a girl of only ten summers, carried an urgency that silenced the noise in Renara’s ears. ”If you do not rise now, everything Father built will crumble into dust. We cannot, we must not, let his death mean nothing! Stand, sister. Stand and fight for the empire he entrusted to us!”

Renara’s lips trembled, and her voice failed her. She turned her gaze toward the turbulent hall. The chamber was filled with elders arguing, bickering, and plotting, like scavengers circling a carcass. Her eyes burned red, her heart pounded in despair, and her body felt impossibly small and fragile.

She whispered to herself, almost as if confessing a secret, ”...Will they even accept me? Every single one of them will scheme for the ten drops, each hoping to keep them for himself. If I take the position this way, will they ever bow to me? Will they treat me as their sovereign, or will they forever see me as a child? They will try to manipulate me, use me as a pawn. I will never truly gain my place in their eyes. To them I will remain a fragile flower in a gilded vase, a puppet queen carrying a tale of power—but a tale that does not belong to me.”

Her lips twisted into a broken half-smile, bitter and mocking. ”And even if, somehow, I manage to ascend into the Nexus State and secure the throne... the moment word spreads of our imperial uncle’s death, the vultures outside will descend. Every rival will rise to shatter an empire ruled by a mere child who has only just broken through. They will not forgive such weakness.”

But Elinor refused to let her words take root. She tightened her grip and shook her sister again, her small frame radiating a fire that seemed too vast for her years. ”Forget all that for now—empty your heart of fear! You are the eldest daughter of the ruler who has just passed, and by blood and by right those ten drops belong to you. Whether the elders like it or not, some will side with you, if only to deny their enemies the power. That alone is enough to tip the scales in your favor. You must seize this moment before it vanishes forever!”

Her voice rose, echoing against the walls of the great hall. ”And do not be afraid of the future. I will not remain weak—I will become strong as well. I will reach the Nexus State with my own hands, I promise you this! When enemies rise against us, I will be there, fighting beside you. When the elders plot against you, I will stand as your shield. Together we will not merely preserve this empire—we will raise it higher than it has ever been! As long as we live, as long as we stand together, this legacy will never wither. Our names will not vanish into the shadows of history. They will endure.”

Renara’s eyes overflowed, her tears falling like rivers. The weight pressing on her chest did not vanish, but for the first time she felt a thread of strength coiling around her heart. She leaned forward, embracing her sister tightly, clinging as though she were the last anchor keeping her from drowning. Her voice broke in sobs, yet her words rang with newfound resolve: ”Then... let us do as you say. Together, we will carry this burden.”