Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2209 silence

Swoooosh

Swoooosh Swoooosh

Blokan, Althera, and Asir burst through the wooden passage with every remaining fragment of strength left inside their exhausted bodies, forcing themselves forward at speeds they could barely maintain anymore before finally reaching the opposite side.

Blokan remained at the front while Asir supported Althera directly behind him, practically dragging her at moments whenever her body staggered from exhaustion. None of them dared look back toward the great inferno behind them, the apocalyptic sea of flames that had swallowed more than a million space beasts and transformed this endless void into something resembling a blazing sunlit world. They had no time to admire it, no room left in their minds for awe or relief... because their own lives still hung by a thread.

A Martial Emperor inside the borders of the universe could normally surpass their current speed with laughable ease, crossing distances like these in the blink of an eye, yet the chaotic state of the laws here, combined with the horrifying condition of their bodies after everything they had endured, reduced them to something pitifully slow, like children learning how to walk for the very first time.

But none of that mattered.

As long as they could still move forward... then they were still alive.

That alone was enough.

The eyes of the three remained fixed on Morgana and the colossal shadow looming above her, the terrifying projection she was using to force back thousands upon thousands of nascent space beasts that continued surging toward her like an endless tide. Thoughts raced through their minds while they approached. What exactly were they supposed to do once they reached her position? Would they still have enough strength left to fight beside Morgana? Would Morgana instead be forced to protect them while retreating? Or perhaps Lord Robin had already thought of another impossible solution for all of them?

Once they reached her, they only needed to—

Whoooosh

The light illuminating this strange dimension vanished instantly.

Not dimmed.

Not weakened.

Vanished.

Blokan and the others gradually slowed until they stopped completely, every instinct inside them screaming danger with such intensity that their scalps numbed and their hearts nearly stopped beating.

Absolute darkness returned once more, swallowing the endless void around them.

Yet the darkness itself was not what forced them to stop.

It was the terrifying reality behind it.

The flames that had been tormenting millions of space beasts... had gone out far too easily.

Far too quickly.

And behind them...

Something had appeared.

The instant the inferno vanished, an overwhelming disturbance spread through the dimension for the briefest of moments, a fluctuation so immense that their souls almost collapsed under the pressure of merely sensing it. It was not energy they could understand or measure. It was not a pressure they could evaluate using reason or experience.

It was simply... enormous.

Beyond comprehension.

Then something happened that truly froze the blood within their veins.

Rumble

The nascent space beasts surrounding Morgana suddenly panicked.

Every single one of them.

The beasts that had ignored twenty adult space beasts standing in their way moments earlier, beasts so consumed by instinct and frenzy that they would willingly hurl themselves into death just to reach the wooden passage, suddenly fled in every direction without hesitation.

Some rammed into each other in desperation.

Some abandoned ongoing attacks midway.

Some even crushed weaker beasts beneath themselves while fleeing.

They had all reached the same conclusion at the same time.

The passage was no longer worth it.

Within that suffocating atmosphere of silent terror, the three noticed something else.

Morgana herself.

The faint light reflected from the enormous shadow towering above her illuminated her trembling figure slightly, enough for them to see her expression clearly.

She was staring behind them.

Staring toward a specific direction.

Her lips trembled uncontrollably.

Her face was filled with unmistakable horror.

In her current state, if the nascent space beasts had chosen to rush past her, they would have succeeded effortlessly. She would not have stopped them.

She probably would not even have noticed them.

Feeling as though every remaining door of mercy in existence had just slammed shut before him, Blokan swallowed hard, the motion painfully dry, before slowly turning around.

If death was truly waiting for him...

Then at the very least, he wanted to see what kind of existence had caused this.

Asir and Althera turned around as well, already preparing themselves mentally to witness a sea of madness behind them. They expected to see millions of scorched space beasts glaring at them with hatred, an endless tide of enraged monsters crawling out from the furnace after surviving unimaginable torture.

But the scene before them was completely different.

The space beasts looked no different from them.

Every single one of them had fallen silent.

The injured beasts swallowed their agonized cries.

Those dying from the furnace died quietly.

Those still burning endured in silence.

No one moved recklessly.

No one roared.

No one attacked.

All of them had turned toward one direction in complete silence, lowering themselves unconsciously in a manner that resembled... respect.

Yes.

Respect.

The very thing Lord Robin had been trying to teach them.

And Lord Robin himself was staring toward that same direction.

”...?” Blokan followed Robinʼs line of sight with stiff movements, his entire body tense to the extreme, before finally seeing them.

Eyes.

Just two eyes.

Small eyes.

Human-sized eyes.

Burning crimson red within the endless darkness while silently staring toward Robin.

That was all.

Yet soul perception refused to approach them.

Vision itself seemed unable to move beyond a certain point around them.

Their minds rejected understanding anything except the existence of those eyes alone.

Nothing else could be perceived.

Nothing else could be comprehended.

”...!!”

Blokanʼs body convulsed violently.

Veins exploded across his eyes while tears involuntarily filled them, his instincts screaming so intensely that his knees nearly buckled beneath him.

Those characteristics...

That feeling...

That impossible pressure hidden within absolute silence...

There was only one possible answer.

An Ancestor.

An Ancestor space beast!!

The instant that realization formed inside Blokanʼs mind, his entire body nearly lost all strength.

His eyes darted instinctively toward the enormous gate of the passage standing wide open behind them, the bridge leading directly into the universe itself... and for the first time since this nightmare had begun, a horrifying thought emerged in his head with absolute clarity.

Had they personally dragged disaster to the doorstep of the universe?

Had they, with their own hands, opened a path for an existence capable of exterminating worlds to enter reality itself?!

Suppressed fury mixed with overwhelming grievance exploded within Blokanʼs chest as he turned toward Robin once more, wanting to scream at him until his throat tore apart, wanting to rush toward him and drag him away, wanting to do anything other than stand frozen like this.

But his body refused.

Completely.

And his instincts screamed louder than reason ever could.

Do not move.

Do not breathe loudly.

Do not attract attention.

Every fiber of his being urged him to continue pretending that he did not exist at all, that he and the surrounding void were one and the same.

Coincidentally... Asir, Althera, and Morgana all reached the exact same conclusion without exchanging a single glance, without any coordination whatsoever.

Silence.

Stillness.

Existence reduced to the smallest possible trace.

As for Robin himself...

He continued staring directly into the crimson eyes.

Five full seconds passed.

Five silent seconds that felt longer than centuries.

The surrounding void remained utterly still during that time, so still that even the dying space beasts no longer made noise. The endless darkness seemed frozen around those eyes, as though the entire dimension itself had stopped functioning properly in their presence.

Then finally, Robin slowly opened his mouth, spiritual techniques quietly amplifying his voice as he spoke.

”...Can you speak?”

”...”

No sound answered him.

Not even breathing.

But there was a response.

The crimson eyes slowly lifted upward by the slightest amount, almost as though the existence behind them was trying to process what Robin had just said... or perhaps struggling to understand why something like him would dare attempt conversation in the first place.

”.....” Robin forced himself to interpret the reaction positively. ”This nest... it appears to have been drawn toward the gate, intentionally or otherwise, that part is not important...” He swallowed with visible difficulty before continuing carefully, ”...I would never allow them to cross into the universe. Not now. You understand that the time has not yet come, correct?”

”...!!!”

Blokan nearly lost his mind.

Veins bulged across his forehead while his teeth ground together so violently they produced faint cracking noises.

Robin was actually speaking to the Ancestor as though it understood everything he was saying.

As though his own assumptions were unquestionable truths.

As though an Ancestor of the space beasts would naturally share his logic and calmly appreciate his explanations!

This was madness.

Absolute madness.

And yet...

No retaliation came.

The crimson eyes merely shifted slightly toward the left.

Toward the drifting corpses of the countless dead beasts floating throughout the void.

Robin immediately noticed the movement and seized the opportunity before the terrifying silence could continue growing heavier.

”I was exploring what lies beyond the wall, and I believe you wish to explore as well, correct?” Robin spoke steadily despite the cold sweat sliding across his back. ”The thirst for knowledge is a pressing desire shared by all living beings.” Then, forcing an unnatural smile onto his face, he continued, ”So what do you think about exchanging information, hm? You tell me things about your world, and I tell you things about mine. Everyone benefits.”

”...”

The silence remained unbearable.

Not hostile.

Not peaceful.

Simply... impossible to understand.

”Are you determined to cross through the passage?” Robin hurriedly continued after receiving no visible response. ”That will be difficult. You are undoubtedly powerful, but there are beings stronger than you on the other side. One of your kind crossed millions of years ago and died there, as you should already know...” He slowly raised a finger toward the passage behind him. ”The Cosmic Elder does not joke regarding matters like this.”

”...?”

For the first time, the crimson eyes visibly reacted.

They twitched.

Only slightly.

Yet that tiny movement caused everyone present to feel their scalps explode with numbness.

Robin himself nearly sighed in relief after seeing the reaction.

It understood.

Or at least, it recognized the title.

”What about ending things here for today?” Robin quickly pressed forward while the opportunity still existed. ”We can discuss possible methods of cooperation and mutual understanding later in a civilized manner, alright?” Then, moving as naturally as possible despite every instinct inside him screaming danger, he slowly turned around and began walking away.

Rumble

The dimension exploded.

A horrifying suppressive wave burst outward from the direction of the Ancestor, instantly crashing into the surrounding void like the collapse of a universe.

Robinʼs expression twisted violently.

At that instant, he genuinely felt as though every bone in his body was about to shatter into dust.

His organs trembled.

His soul domain shook violently.

Even space itself around him warped from the pressure.

Behind him, Blokan and the others nearly collapsed outright under the residual shockwave alone.

”Dammit, then donʼt blame me for this!!” Robin roared while resisting with extreme difficulty, veins bulging across his neck as he slammed spiritual force directly toward the shard of the Cosmic Elder hidden within his soul domain.

Back when the passage had first been opened, the Cosmic Elder had personally warned him.

If an Ancestor appeared...

Activate the shard immediately.

He would handle everything himself.

And now the moment had finally arrived.

Robin struck the shard with full force.

But—

Poff

The sensation felt wrong.

Terribly wrong.

Like punching dead earth.

Like trying to awaken something that no longer existed.

Inside Robinʼs soul domain, the purple sphere remained completely motionless.

No light emerged.

No aura spread outward.

No response came whatsoever.

The shard of the Cosmic Elder...

Refused to react.