Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1634: The Fourth

Ooooom~~

The twin runic patterns continued their silent operation, weaving and unraveling energies that danced like living light across Jabba’s body. His form trembled and shifted with every passing moment — his skin tightening, his aura reforming, his entire being subtly reshaped as though the universe itself were chiseling him anew.

Yet Robin’s focus had already drifted far beyond the visible changes in his disciple. His attention now belonged wholly — utterly — to the two runic formations suspended in the air before him.

In truth, Robin had never truly mastered the Master Law of Balance — not even its lowest level. He had merely brushed against its edge during his encounters with the Cosmic Elder, and grasped at pieces of its structure through sheer will and observation.

All he had truly done was recreate two of the Elder’s sacred patterns. Through the Law of Truth, Robin had copied them stroke by stroke, pulse by pulse, forging replicas so perfect they were nearly indistinguishable from the originals. But such perfection came at a high price: the sacrifice of forty solid levels of power for each of the two.

In total — eighty entire levels of condensed, hard-earned energy — poured into the creation of these two golden matrices.

For most beings, that much sacrifice would have left them crippled, broken beyond repair. But Robin’s spirit, molded by truth and tempered through countless ascensions, endured the price without flinching.

How, then, could anyone claim he wasn’t a wielder of the Master Law of Balance?

How could anyone doubt his connection when he could invoke the Fair Exchange itself — the very technique the Cosmic Elder had once used to reshape worlds?

And yet, the irony was that when it came to the Master Laws... mere patterns were not enough.

They were only reflections, shadows on a wall. One could spend ten thousand years memorizing them, carving their geometry into the soul, and still grasp nothing of the essence that moved beneath.

Robin understood this truth deeply.

But unlike the scholars who studied and theorized, Robin had felt the Law of Balance. After encountering that law time and again, it would have been unnatural if he hadn’t begun to comprehend it.

And now, watching the phenomenon unfolding before his eyes — seeing the runes breathe, align, and counteract each other with divine precision — he couldn’t help but understand.

He couldn’t not

.
”....”

His golden eyes swirled like twin vortices, absorbing every glimmer of light, every shift of energy, every subtle distortion in the flow. Within them, knowledge spun and deepened. His awareness unfolded into multiple layers — each one focused on a different aspect of the law before him.

His threefold consciousness synchronized perfectly, all analyzing, dissecting, and reorganizing every observation, merging it with everything he already knew of Balance.

And then, gradually, something began to happen.

Without any conscious intent, his body started to radiate a golden brilliance — not gentle, but piercing, a divine luminescence that drowned out the radiance of the twin patterns ahead.

Ooooom!

The brilliance of his golden hue condensed as a pattern appeared on his chest, then another, followed by a third and a fourth. Each pattern pulsed like a heartbeat, glowing with balanced rhythm.

Then, as if guided by unseen threads, they connected — interlocking into an intricate web that resonated with the laws of the cosmos. Pressure built. The world seemed to narrow. Reality itself trembled around him as all four patterns compressed into a single radiant net at his chest.

”Heh~”

A faint, knowing smile tugged at Robin’s lips as he lowered his gaze.

Hovering just above his palm was a small scale — delicate, translucent, yet heavier than the stars. One plate of that scale held the entire universe, while the other held his will.

And the two balanced perfectly.

In that instant, realization struck like a silent thunderclap.

After mastering Truth, Space-Time, and Creation, he had now grasped the first stage of the Master Law of Balance.

Four out of eight.

Half of all existence’s highest laws... now flowed through him.

Was there ever a being in history who had achieved such a feat? Robin doubted it.

Only four Sovereign Laws remained to him now: Causality, Identity, Will, and Primordial Chaos.

Among them, Causality

felt the closest. He could sense its threads already coiling around him — his intuition growing sharper, his unease about the future transforming into visions, dreams that whispered of what was to come. He hadn’t yet obtained a single pattern from that law, but the connection was undeniably forming.
As for Will and Primordial Chaos...

They remained utter mysteries.

As for Identity... though it appeared, at first glance, to be the closest of the remaining Master Laws, in truth, it was the exact opposite — an enigma that even Robin’s perception couldn’t pierce.

Something deep within him felt that Identity was a counterweight to Truth itself.

For many moments he feared that the two might never exist in the same body.

Hoooom...

A deep vibration — a foreign, almost divine resonance — shuddered through the cavern, snapping Robin out of his contemplation. The metallic hum in the air turned to a low, rhythmic pulse, echoing through the vast runic dome above. His golden eyes flicked toward Jabba.

The golden and green streams were finally beginning to slow, their once-raging flow softening into circular waves that pulsed in harmony with the beat of the chamber itself — a clear sign that the ritual was reaching its end.

”Phew~”

Robin exhaled a long breath of relief, shoulders easing as he deactivated the shimmering Balance patterns surrounding him. Their radiance dimmed, dissolving into golden dust that drifted away like dying embers. He stepped forward slowly, feeling the invisible pressure that had filled the room begin to ease. For the first time since the ritual began, the weight on his heart lightened — the silent dread that Jabba’s life force might not suffice as an equal trade for restoration had finally begun to fade.

”Hmm?”

He stopped mid-step.

Something felt wrong.

The golden formation that had been purifying Jabba’s energy gathering center suddenly detached — drifting upward like a sentient flame — and began hovering near Jabba’s head. In the same instant, both the golden and green currents flared, burning brighter and more violently than before, surging like two awakening beasts.

”What? No—!”

Robin’s voice cracked in alarm. He thrust his arm forward, releasing a pulse of will. ”Stop! What are you doing?! What are you doing to the boy’s head?!”

But the patterns didn’t obey. They shimmered, resolute, as if some higher logic had taken control. Once the directive of a Master formation began, not even its creator could easily interfere.

”Damn it!”

Robin’s balance runes reignited across his body in blinding gold, the air vibrating with their power.

If he pushed his life force to the limit, maybe he could still break through. Maybe he could—

Then... something suddenly happened.

The patterns suddenly stopped.

The twin currents froze mid-air, flickered, and in a single breath — vanished.

”Jabba!!”

Robin lunged forward, landing on his knees beside his disciple. His hands pressed against the young man’s shoulders as his golden eyes flared wide, activating layer after layer of divine sight.

The results were astonishing.

Jabba’s soul domain still existed perfectly intact. No distortions, no fractures, not even the faintest scar. Robin’s Eyes of Truth probed deeper, tracing every ripple of soul energy until he found the faint glow of Jabba’s initial soul — alive.

”What in the world...?” Robin murmured, eyes narrowing. Then, like the slow turn of a lock, realization began to dawn. ”Wait... did the ritual actually erase the patterns of Gravity from his soul domain?”

He blinked several times, as if unsure whether to believe his own words.

”Hold on— is that even possible?”

The original design of the ritual had been simple: to cleanse Jabba’s energy core and reset it for cultivation anew. But the removal of the patterns of Gravity from the soul domain... that wasn’t just unplanned — it was supposed to be impossible.

”Wait a moment...”

Robin lowered himself to the floor beside Jabba, crossing his legs slowly as his mind whirred. ”A fresh energy gathering center— reforged through the Master Laws of Creation and Balance — combined with a purified soul domain, free from the Gravity patterns...”

His lips parted, and a grin spread across his face like a rising sun. ”That means... he can now cultivate under any law he desires.”

”.....”

For several long minutes, silence reigned. Only the faint hum of residual energy remained in the air. Then, softly, Robin chuckled — a sound that grew into full laughter.

”Heheh... if that’s true,” he whispered, eyes gleaming, ”this might just be the miracle of the century!”

His tone softened, pride and mischief intertwining. ”Still... we won’t know for sure until he wakes up and tests it himself. The universe may yet surprise me again.”

He reached out, lightly patting Jabba’s neck with a faint smirk.

”A brand new Soul domain, life vein, and energy gathering center. You’d better remember this, brat.”