Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2045 confession

”...?!” Robinʼs eyes flew wide open in pure shock. ”Those ancient relics actually transform into seventh-stage planetary artifacts once theyʼre fully sated? Did you see that happening? Did you feed these things?!”

”No.” Zolan shock his head, ”I donʼt even know whether this is a universal law that applies to all of them that they must have 7th stage artifacts,” the Cosmic Elder shook his head slowly. ”I have never fed those things, nor do I truly understand how the process works. All of them demand horrific ʼfood- something that destroys life itself-and, in truth, they deserve to be destroyed. If they were not the last remaining traces of the previous era, I would have hunted every single one of them down and wiped them out without hesitation.” ”...But I did acquire a few pieces from individuals who committed those abominations and paid the price for them.” The Cosmic Elder continued at a slower, heavier pace. ”One of those pieces is the seventh-stage planetary displacement artifact-an artifact of terrifying power, far beyond what you can even imagine. I once used it to relocate an entire natural galaxy, moving it from one sector to another. That is the true scale of its power!”

”Wow!” Robin was completely stunned. Even with his expectations already high, this was on a whole different level altogether... a natural galaxy contains millions upon millions of solar systems, each with their own planets!

”I would never have given up that piece,” the Cosmic Elder went on calmly, ”if I hadnʼt been grateful for the extra time it gave me to reclaim my life-and if I hadnʼt wanted to give you something that would grant you the same kind of relief and joy. I didnʼt want to feel indebted to anyone.” He let out a quiet sigh. ”Of course, my life is infinitely more valuable than any piece of artifact, but... well, you understand-”

”I understand, I understand,” Robin waved his hand dismissively, then extended it forward with a half-smile. ”If you want to give me a few more pieces so you never feel indebted at all, I seriously wouldnʼt mind in the slightest.”

”Oh?” The Cosmic Elder laughed. ”Donʼt you already have another one?”

”Another one?” Robin frowned slightly in confusion, then suddenly shouted, ”The Seraphim quill?!”

”Correct,” the Cosmic Elder nodded. ”Honestly, I canʼt say with certainty that itʼs seventh-stage artifact. I donʼt even know which law it uses. Itʼs wrapped in secrets and mystery. Iʼm not even sure it can be classified as planetary artifact at all-it might be something entirely different in nature.” He shook his head slowly. ”All I know about the Seraphim is that it emerged from one of those relics, and it is certainly not inferior in rank to seventh-stage planetary displacement artifact.”

”......” Robin frowned deeply, his mind racing.

He had felt the power of the quill pen without any doubt-its immense energy consumption, its strange awareness, and its terrifying precision.

Sometimes, he truly felt as if some ancient entity was guiding his hand, refining every movement, perfecting every line, raising his success rate and dramatically increasing his speed.

On top of that was its uncanny ability to analyze and synthesize, an ability that had saved him thousands of years of research and experimentation.

Of course, he knew it was strange.

Terrifyingly strange.

But for it to be on the same level as seventh-stage planetary displacement artifact... that was something he still couldnʼt fully comprehend or accept.

”Shall we return to our topic?” the Cosmic Elder snapped his fingers in front of Robinʼs face, breaking his thoughts.

”Ah-yes, go ahead,” Robin shook his head hard to refocus himself. ”You were talking about what happened after the cosmic peace, and how you searched for the relics.”

”Mhm. And the way I tell it now makes it sound like a short journey,” the Cosmic Elder nodded, ”but in truth, I spent millions of years on that search.” His expression grew heavy. ”And I wonʼt lie to you-the existence of relics that contain such overwhelmingly powerful pieces, combined with the fact that everything else in the universe disappears beyond a certain point, and the reality that there are strange, unknown monsters beyond the barrier of the end of the world waiting for the chance to kill us all...”

He paused briefly, then finished quietly,

”All of that... made me afraid.”

”...” Robin nodded slowly. That single word carried enormous weight coming from someone like the Cosmic Elder-but really, who else in the universe would feel fear when connecting all the threads of what had happened? Only a mind like his could sense the danger in seeing the full picture.

Then the Cosmic Elder lightly struck his thigh with a hand, almost as if to emphasize the gravity of what he was about to say. ”So I decided to take the journey myself to the other side.”

”You actually crossed the wall?!” Robinʼs eyes went wide, his pupils dilating in shock.

”Yes,” the Cosmic Elder nodded calmly. ”Opening the wall isnʼt particularly difficult when you reach a certain level of power,” he said, shaking his head slowly. ”I opened it briefly using sheer force while activating the Great Ethnic Banishment Array, and I used that temporary opening to send all the space beasts back to the places from which they came.”

”...And so I decided to attempt the same myself,” the Cosmic Elder continued, his voice deepening with seriousness. ”I brought several people with me- leaders of the Supreme Council of the Academies, along with several Behemoths who were present at the time-and we approached the wall. I used my power to create a stable opening, pledging its permanence by sacrificing a drop from my life artery, one small drop every single day, just to keep the

portal viable.”

”Why?! Why not just open it temporarily, step through, and allow it to close behind you?” Robin asked sharply, leaning forward in disbelief.

The Cosmic Elder didnʼt explicitly say he couldnʼt do that, but his words made

it clear. He had opened it briefly before to expel all the space beasts, after which the wall had sealed itself again. So why risk opening it and keeping it

open for an extended period?

”Opening the wall without breaking it requires careful preparation, a stable array, and countless sacrifices,” the Cosmic Elder explained, shaking his head solemnly. ”What if you opened it for a mere moment, stepped through, and found enemies on the other side you could not possibly face, forcing you to retreat? What would you do then? Destroy the wall from the other side and risk everything? Tsk tsk- Donʼt be short-sighted, Robin. That is not how these

things work.”

”...” Robin stayed silent, regretting that he had even questioned it.

”The key point...” the Cosmic Elder continued, leaning forward slightly, ”I opened the gap, then left the people I had gathered standing in front of it. I instructed them to prevent anything from crossing until I could take a proper look and return... and what I found on the other side shocked me to my core.” ”You found evidence of what happened 97.2 million years ago?” Robinʼs eyes widened slowly, filled with awe and disbelief.

”No,” the Cosmic Elder replied, a sly grin creeping onto his face. ”I found an infinite number of space beasts chasing me, ahehe. Two of them possessed power comparable to the space beast ancestor and rained attacks upon me

while I struggled to escape, ahehe.”

”.....” Robin could only remain silent.

”I could not remain beyond the barrier for more than a single day,” the Cosmic Elder said, shaking his head, a faint shadow of exhaustion crossing his face. ”In the end, I was forced to return to the entrance and seal it behind me quickly, before any more could slip through.” He glanced at Robin, then chuckled, a dark humor in his tone. ”Do you know what I discovered next?”

”What?” Robin asked cautiously, his curiosity sharpening.

”I found everyone I had gathered, drowning in their own blood. It turned out that during my absence, a nest had managed to get through the barrier. Half were killed by my own aides, but the other half escaped and dispersed across the universe, especially into the sector border regions.” He let out a dry, self-mocking laugh. ”Those are all the beasts you see appearing sporadically across the universe today, ahehe... That one in the Mid Sector 911, and that one in the Young Sector 101-Iʼm the one who got them in, ahehe.”