Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2000 The new generation is replacing the old.

After that brief yet catastrophic surge of madness-after she erased nearly fifteen percent of her own galaxy by her own hand, slaughtered trillions of living beings, and ignited an internal war whose flames scarred every planet of the galaxy day after day-Kaylis secretly returned to the Bright Planet and withdrew completely from everyone. She vanished from public sight, cutting herself off as though attempting to bury both her presence and her guilt beneath layers of silence.

She understood perfectly well that what she was doing now would not secure her victory in the war. The number of ways Darvion could still harm her at this stage was beyond counting. The simplest option would be for him to seize control of the entire sector while deliberately excluding the galaxy itself, slowly tightening the noose. Or, if he wished, he could simply destroy the galaxyʼs planets one by one, erasing them methodically until nothing stood between him and her.

She had committed her terrible act for a single purpose only: to buy time-and to secure aid from a third party... from two individuals she had not yet approached.

The first of them was the Destroyer Behemoth, Helmor.

Kaylis sent a direct message to Helmor, inviting him to take part in the sector war. She promised him overwhelming rewards: half of the sector in the event of victory, full control over the Bright treasury to use as he saw fit, and even the surrender of the unfilial son, Hedrick, delivered into his hands to deal with however he pleased.

From Kaylisʼs point of view, there was no one more capable of aiding her at this moment than Helmor.

Why? Because he was the Behemoth positioned closest to the Savage Zavaros. If Helmor merely began gathering his forces and stationed them along the borders of his own sector, Zavaros would tremble-and would immediately withdraw every last one of his armies from Mid Sector 101.

That single move would free Hedrickʼs army and release the forces of the Millennial and Centennial Empires within her sector-forces that would, without a doubt, stand beside her after the cursed Darvionʼs army had attacked them in such a manner.

Zavarosʼs withdrawal at this precise moment would mean nothing less than Kaylisʼs victory in the war.

Even if Helmor never fired a single arrow, never launched a single attack, merely declaring his intention to ”join the party” would overturn the balance of power entirely. Simply mobilizing his armies within his own territory would make him deserving of everything Kaylis had promised him-and far more.

Such was the sheer weight of that manʼs status and influence. ... Yet the response of the Destroyer Behemoth-one of the very few who had not stepped beyond the borders of his own sector since the dawn of the new Age of Wars-was silence.

Helmor did not answer with acceptance or refusal. He did not attempt to negotiate, nor did he seek clarification. He simply remained silent.

After Kaylis waited long enough and became certain that the silence was deliberate, she turned toward her second lifeline...

The Gravity Behemoth, Gravor, of Mid Sector 92.

The Gravity Behemoth had recently engaged in what were described as minor skirmishes within Mid Sector 91, but he was not embroiled in a full-scale war and could, without question, provide assistance. Kaylis sent him a colossal offer -one no less powerful than the one she had extended to Helmor-and emphasized her willingness to negotiate even further if necessary.

She was especially optimistic about Gravor. She maintained a reasonably stable relationship with him, and although he was distant and two Behemoths lay between them, Gravor held no hostility toward either of them. Moreover, Arkail and Zargol would not attempt to block aid flowing toward her-even if they chose not to support her themselves.

There was no doubt in her mind that Gravor could help her, if only they could reach an agreement.

Even if Gravor was considered somewhat poor by Behemoth standards- possessing little of value to sell to other sectors beyond physical training arrays and a handful of basic applications of the Gravity Law-he nonetheless commanded vast and tyrannical forces. If he were to send even a single armada to her side, she would be able to withstand the war.

But... Gravor refused.

The reason he gave was that he required every last one of his forces for an imminent war.

What war?

It soon became clear that the so-called ”minor” skirmishes in Mid Sector 91 were anything but minor. All the powers within that sector had grown intolerant of his interference and rose up against him. At the same time, and for reasons that remained unclear, the Millennial Empires of Mid Sector 93 began refusing to pay their taxes altogether-and enormous stockpiles of weapons and funds suddenly appeared in their possession.

The resolve of all major powers within Mid Sectors 91 and 93 hardened simultaneously. One after another, they declared open rebellion-and every single one of them, in Gravorʼs eyes, required discipline.

Even if he chose to ignore them for the moment and rush to Kaylisʼs aid first, any attempt to send an army through Mid Sector 93 toward her would inevitably provoke an attack from the sectorʼs inhabitants.

In the end, the offer he made was to send five Law Dominators as support-in exchange for all that Kaylis had promised, while also adding new conditions on top of them.

This time... it was Kaylis who fell silent-and did not respond.

The Gravity Behemothʼs offer was nothing short of pitiful. What could five Law Dominators possibly accomplish in a situation of this magnitude? She needed a full army standing as a shield before her, she needed massive logistical support, and she needed hundreds-perhaps even thousands-of warships to hold the lines. She needed at least two full-scale facilities to arm the Pureheart family properly and to train them in everything they had been denied and never allowed to learn.

He was nothing like Helmor, who could overturn the flow of events merely by appearing on the stage. No-what she needed was the complete presence of the Gravity Behemoth and his armies. Anything less than that would be meaningless, a gesture devoid of real value.

They had been her final lifeline... and now that lifeline was severed.

Who else remained? Any Behemoth farther away from this region would be unable to help her even if they truly wished to. And anyone willing to send assistance would demand a price that was unbearably high, in exchange for support that would be painfully small.

Who else, then? The Soul Society, or the Tyrant Galaxy? They would not care in the slightest about what was happening to her, no matter how many concessions she offered-unless, perhaps, she promised to travel to them and serve as a personal healer. And that fate would be no different from her current fate under Darvion.

That Syndicate?

Even if she gathered every remaining treasure she possessed-treasures worth tens of billions of Pearls-it would still not be enough to purchase a service powerful enough to reverse the situation. ....Kaylis remained in seclusion for several months, a retreat whose purpose was not contemplation, but acceptance.

Acceptance of a dark, formless reality-a reality that only grew more oppressive and unbearable the more she searched for an escape. Then, at the very end of that seclusion, she released a long, weary sigh and summoned her eldest son and right hand-Orion.

He entered covered in blood, his face bearing an expression steeped in frustration, depression, and utter hopelessness. He knew perfectly well that what he was doing-slaughtering mercenaries across the galaxy-would ultimately change nothing. And yet, he continued regardless.

He did it first because he had been ordered to do so, and second because he wanted history to remember that he had resisted, even if only briefly, before his inevitable death.

He had come expecting to hear his motherʼs decision to surrender-or perhaps a mad decree to shatter a few more planets, or to launch a suicidal assault. He was prepared to carry out either order without hesitation... though, deep down, he preferred the latter.

Instead, he found his mother with her head buried in both hands, sweat clinging to her skin, her clothes disheveled and unkempt.

The Pure Kaylis had never been in a worse state in her entire life.

At last, she opened her mouth and spoke, her voice heavy and exhausted: ”Tell that... Shadow sword... that I am ready to accept the offer.” ”...Are you certain?” Orionʼs eyes widened to their absolute limit. He had anticipated surrender or suicide, but never that his mother would agree to that specific proposal. ”There is no turning back once you contact him.” ”It is decided,” she replied quietly. ”There is no other path that guarantees my life-and your lives-except this one. I have always been a Behemoth in name only, after all. It was enjoyable... while it lasted.”

She then lifted her head slightly, her gaze steady despite the fatigue. ”It is time to make way for the new generation. It is time... For the Bright Galaxy to receive a new owner.”