Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2286 Family visit

Donara Planet—

Bzzzzt

An instant spatial gate opened beside a certain building, and Robin stepped out, with Glatheon following immediately behind him before the gate quietly sealed itself shut, leaving no residual spatial fluctuations behind as though it had never existed.

Whistle

Robin let out a light whistle as he casually looked around, seemingly in an exceptionally relaxed mood after everything that had happened earlier.

”Is there a Shadow Sword here?”

Whoosh

Someone emerged from behind a nearby pillar almost the instant the words left Robinʼs mouth and immediately knelt before him.

”At your service.”

”Wait a moment.”

Robin pulled a small sheet of paper from his ring and began filling it with glowing characters formed from energy. Every so often he would pause, remember something else, then add another line before continuing, occasionally reviewing what he had already written to ensure nothing important had been overlooked.

Standing behind Robin, Glatheon glanced around and realized they were standing beside a moderately busy street. People were driving wagons loaded with raw materials toward different destinations, others stood inside shops selling daily necessities just like any ordinary street in any human city, while craftsmen, laborers, and cultivators walked back and forth without paying much attention to one another. Not far away he also noticed several people lying unconscious beside the road while others hurriedly tried to help them recover, offering medicine, water, or simply supporting them until they regained consciousness.

Nearly an hour had already passed since the Master Symbols phenomenon had ended.

Yet its aftermath was still spreading throughout the planet.

Some mortals had been deeply affected, while others had not noticed anything at all. Some had recovered almost immediately after collapsing, while others remained trapped in a lingering state of shock, staring blankly into space as though they had witnessed something beyond their comprehension.

It all depended upon each individualʼs affinity with the Heavenly Laws...

The greater oneʼs affinity, the more overwhelming the sense of awe they experienced, and the more deeply the phenomenon had shaken both their soul and their perception of the world around them.

”...Alright, this should be enough.”

Robin finally stopped writing before handing the paper to the Shadow Sword.

”Go to the treasury and bring me everything on this list. After that, head to the nearest Shadow Swords headquarters and gather the information Iʼve requested. I want it as quickly as possible. Donʼt delay, even if you have to interrupt someone elseʼs assignment.”

”Understood.”

The Shadow Sword accepted the paper respectfully with both hands before disappearing without another word.

”Where are we, my lord?” Glatheon asked as he continued observing the surroundings with growing curiosity.

”Weʼve come to visit my son as the first stop on our journey. Heʼs in the middle of an extremely delicate process, and I donʼt know how far heʼs progressed. Iʼll check on him, see whether I can help in any way, then weʼll leave immediately.” Robin fixed his gaze upon the nearest building and began walking toward it at an unhurried pace. ”Come.”

”This seems to be a personal matter. I can leave if Your Majesty wishes,” Glatheon said, although he was already following closely behind Robin without slowing his steps in the slightest.

”You will. Donʼt worry. I just want to think of a suitable reward for you first.”

Robin waved a hand toward the building, opening a narrow gap within the formation surrounding it before calmly stepping inside as though he had done so countless times before.

”A reward?”

Glatheon took another step, the grin on his face stretching from ear to ear.

”Thatʼs completely unnecessary, Your Majesty. Still... just to satisfy my curiosity, why do you think I deserve one?”

”Hmm?” Robin chuckled as they climbed the stairs together. ”You want me to praise you a little? Fine. In a short span of time you helped bring a millennial empire under my control, and you secured an excellent personal guard for me. Of course you deserve a reward. Otherwise, Iʼd be acting unfairly toward someone who rendered such valuable service.”

”Haha, it was nothing at all.”

Glatheon waved both hands dismissively, though he continued following Robin upstairs with obvious delight, his smile refusing to disappear no matter how hard he tried to appear modest.

”I donʼt mean anything by it, my lord, but you know... if I had Spacetime, Iʼd have delivered you wherever you wished without Your Majestyʼs precious feet ever touching the ground.”

”Heh~”

Robin laughed.

”Giving a Master Law to someone who hates fighting sounds rather wasteful, donʼt you think?”

”.....” Glatheon fell silent for a moment before replying with complete seriousness. ”Think about the tea set.”

”Iʼll see what I can do.”

Still smiling, Robin reached out and opened the apartment door without the slightest hesitation.

”Richard, Dadʼs here to visit.”

Richard was sitting inside.

He slowly opened his eyes and turned toward the doorway, trying to force a smile onto his face despite obvious difficulty.

”..F-Father... welcome...”

Robinʼs smile vanished instantly.

As for Glatheon...

An expression of pure shock and alarm appeared on his face, his pupils shrinking involuntarily as he stared at the young man before him.

This... is Lord Robinʼs son?!

Richard was in an unimaginably terrible condition. He was wearing almost no clothing at all, and what little remained had been severely corroded beyond recognition. His body was covered with patches where skin no longer existed, others where even flesh had disappeared entirely, and in several places his bones were completely exposed, leaving portions of his skeleton visible beneath the ruined remains of his body. He had become so painfully thin that, for a brief moment, he reminded Glatheon of Elder Cosmic the very first time they had met, when the old man had seemed little more than skin stretched over bone.

Perhaps the only thing that unmistakably identified him as Richard was the long white hair hanging over his face.

Robin immediately restored the smile to his face and stepped inside as though nothing were wrong, carefully preventing even the slightest trace of concern from reaching his expression.

”I see youʼve completed the reconstruction of Level Eleven through the Sixth Cultivation Path, and your body has already begun the automatic reorganization process for Solid Level Twelve. Well done.”

”.....?”

Glatheon knitted his brows tightly the instant he heard the words Sixth Training Path.

Thereʼs... a Fifth one as well?!

”Hmm... it was difficult...”

Richard looked ahead with obvious effort, every movement seemingly requiring tremendous determination.

”Extremely difficult...”

”I can imagine.”

Robin walked toward his son with both hands behind his back, his footsteps neither hurried nor hesitant.

”Youʼre putting the pieces of the puzzle back where they belong, and this isnʼt the work of a single Law, but four merged Laws acting together. Out of everyone, your situation is unquestionably the most difficult. Every step forward demands that all four remain perfectly balanced with one another.”

He finally reached Richardʼs side and gently patted his shoulder with as little force as possible, almost afraid that using any more strength might cause additional pain.

”But I always knew you were capable of bearing that responsibility.”

”...Yeah.”

That was all Richard said.

The shoulder his father had patted drooped slightly under even that gentle touch, as though his body no longer possessed enough strength to support itself properly.

”....?!”

Glatheon froze once again just as he was about to step farther into the room.

Did he just say... four merged Laws?!

”...”

Robin quietly examined his sonʼs physical condition with sympathy, allowing his gaze to travel over every visible wound before speaking again, still wearing that same reassuring smile.

16:26

”...Come on. Get up. Youʼre coming with me.”

”Hmm?”

Richard raised his head slightly.

”Where?”

”A short trip. I need to put a few of my affairs in order before entering another period of seclusion,” Robin answered calmly. ”And it seems to me that you could use some fresh air, so come with me. Staying inside this room any longer wonʼt do you any good.”

”....”

Richard slowly shook his head.

”Those... ʼaffairsʼ of yours arenʼt something Iʼd understand. You probably mean visiting millennial empires, declaring wars, and dealing with matters on that scale... Those are the only things you ever do whenever youʼre not in seclusion or buried in your research. What exactly would I do there? Iʼd only slow you down.”

”You can simply sit where they sit if thatʼs what you want.”

Robin gently patted his sonʼs head.

”Give yourself the credit you deserve. Youʼre my son, and youʼre the only person in the entire universe who possesses a Quadruple Merged Law. Come on, get up. Youʼre coming with me. Iʼve already decided. Iʼm not leaving you in this gloomy environment any longer, no matter how much you try to convince me otherwise.”

”....”

Richard lowered his gaze with visible difficulty.

His eyes fell upon his own frail, nearly naked body, and the feeling of weakness immediately deepened as countless thoughts crossed his mind.

He remained silent.

He didnʼt need to say anything.

This wasnʼt the condition of someone capable of walking even as far as the bathroom.

”Shall I carry the Young Master?”

Glatheon finally stepped forward, unable to continue watching the scene without offering to help.

”His own feet will carry him.”

Robin waved the suggestion away before placing his hand upon Richardʼs head once more.

Hummmmm

A golden light flowed from the palm of his hand and gradually spread throughout Richardʼs body like warm sunlight washing over every wound.

The gaps covering his body began filling themselves in.

The flesh and skin that had been erased by the Merged Anti-Matter Law regenerated before their eyes, growing back with astonishing speed, while muscles, blood vessels, and every missing layer of tissue reconstructed themselves one after another. Even his tattered clothes restored themselves completely before taking on a faint radiance that left them looking even better than brand new, as though they had just been crafted.

Robin then withdrew his hand, the smile on his face growing even warmer.

”Come on... show me your magnificent first step.”

”Amazing...”

Glatheonʼs eyes shone brilliantly as he watched the entire process unfold, unable to conceal the astonishment filling his face.