Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2287 The beginning of the journey

”....”

Richard slowly raised his hands and began turning them over, first palm-up, then palm-down, carefully watching every movement as though he could scarcely believe they were responding to his will again.

Years had passed since he had sat down to rebuild his foundation.

Nearly fifty-five years.

Ever since he had first obtained the Merged Anti-Matter Law, he had lived in a state of relentless agony, enduring suffering so constant and all-consuming that simply remaining alive had become an achievement in itself. Every day had been spent struggling against pain that seemed determined to tear his body apart from within, leaving him with almost no opportunity to think about anything else.

In truth, merely rotating his hands like this was something he had been incapable of doing for a very long time. Had it not been for the Shadow Swords, who came once every week to attend to him at his own request, he would not even have been able to feed himself, let alone maintain the most basic necessities of daily life.

So simply watching his own hands move again naturally brought a faint smile to his face.

”...Thank you.”

His hands were still as thin as the rest of his body. Exhaustion still dominated every movement he made, while the bones of his face remained so pronounced that he looked as though he had not eaten in years...

But his body was whole once again.

He had clothes to cover himself.

That alone was a pleasant change.

”Come on, get up. Weʼve got a busy schedule today.”

Robin bent down slightly, took hold of his sonʼs hand, and gently pulled him onto his feet with steady, controlled strength.

”Say goodbye to this room. You wonʼt be seeing it again.”

”...Why? I still have many more levels to—”

Richard suddenly stopped speaking as his body began swaying unsteadily.

He simply wasnʼt accustomed to standing anymore.

The sensation of supporting his own weight felt strangely unfamiliar after remaining seated for so many years.

”Easy... easy.”

Glatheon immediately stepped forward to support him before he could lose his balance.

”Excellent first steps, Young Master.”

”.....”

Richard nodded gratefully toward Glatheon before turning back to Robin.

”Whoʼs this elder brother?”

”Glatheon, a Law Guardian and the ruler of a millennial Wing.”

Robin smiled before resuming his walk toward the staircase.

”You can rely on him for the rest of today. If you need anything, donʼt hesitate to ask him.”

”....”

Richardʼs eyebrows slowly rose despite his weakness before he looked back toward Glatheon once again.

Why is someone whoʼs both a Guardian and the ruler of a millennial Wing calling me ʼYoung Masterʼ?

Did I miss something enormous... again?!

Robinʼs voice interrupted his train of thought as he continued walking.

”No matter where I leave you today, continue your training there. Remaining in one place for too long leads to lethargy and depression. Even cultivators arenʼt immune to that.”

He paused before glancing back at his son.

”Secondly, youʼve already completed Level Eleven. The remaining levels will now proceed through automatic conversion. All you need to do is find somewhere peaceful, let your mind relax, and wait until everything finishes on its own. Your body already knows what it needs to do.”

”Relax my mind...”

Richardʼs smile widened ever so slightly before Glatheon helped him continue toward the exit.

”No, thank you. Iʼd rather oversee the foundation reconstruction myself. Itʼll finish faster that way, and Iʼll understand much more about whatʼs happening inside my own body. If I leave everything to instinct, Iʼll miss too many details.”

”I honestly canʼt tell whether youʼre simply looking for new ways to torture yourself or whether youʼre desperate to become stronger as quickly as possible.”

Robin hummed thoughtfully.

”But I suppose those are merely two sides of the same coin in the end. People who chase power often end up welcoming hardship without realizing it.”

He continued speaking while descending the stairs at an unhurried pace.

”You have ninety-five years before I remove the limits placed upon the Nihari Galaxy, including Yura. Once that happens, youʼll be able to break through and become a World Catastrophe whenever you wish. In other words, even if you somehow reach Level Fifty in only forty years, youʼll still have to wait for me to upgrade Nihari first. So thereʼs no benefit in rushing. The extra years would simply be spent waiting.”

”Couldnʼt I at least attempt the breakthrough as soon as Iʼm ready?”

Richard frowned, clearly unwilling to waste even a single opportunity to grow stronger.

”Hehe.”

Robin laughed softly.

”I like that your first attempt didnʼt frighten you away and that youʼre already eager to try again.”

He stopped for a moment and looked back over his shoulder.

”Try if you want... after ninety-five years. Not before then. I still need time to obtain proper Stabilizers for both of us, as well as for the rest of your siblings.”

He resumed descending the narrow staircase.

”And I also need to spend more time thinking about the matter of the Candidates.”

”The Candidates?”

Richard frowned again.

”Donʼt ask me.”

Robin chuckled as he stepped through the buildingʼs main entrance and out onto the street.

”I donʼt know yet either. All I know is that Nihariʼs ascension wonʼt merely be another step toward greater strength. I have a feeling that something truly significant is going to happen, something far more important than simply increasing our cultivation.”

”And who exactly could possibly stop what is already destined to happen, my lord?”

Glatheon interjected.

”There are no longer any threats remaining in Middle Sector 99, and the remaining centennial and multi-centennial empires will all be dealt with and neutralized. Theyʼre no longer worth worrying about... Or are you referring to an attack by Darvion the Cursed and Zargul the Sorcerer?”

”No...” Robin came to a stop outside the entrance and began looking around as though searching for someone or something. ”Those small names arenʼt even worth taking into consideration.”

”The Behemoths... are ʼsmall namesʼ?”

Richard asked in astonishment.

With considerable effort, he released Glatheonʼs supporting arm and turned toward him.

”What exactly happened while I was in seclusion?”

”....”

Glatheon remained silent for a moment before finally answering.

”Your father is a truly extraordinary man.”

He had no intention of explaining everything he had witnessed before Robin himself chose to speak.

Besides...

Today was the very first time he had ever met Robin.

He knew nothing at all about what had taken place during the young manʼs years of seclusion, nor did he possess the complete picture of everything Robin had accomplished before then.

Whoosh

At that moment, a Shadow Sword appeared beside them in a kneeling position before respectfully extending a ring toward Robin with both hands.

”Your Majesty.”

”Hmm...”

Robin accepted the ring and began inspecting its contents in silence, his consciousness sweeping through every item one by one with calm precision, occasionally pausing for a brief moment before continuing deeper into the storage space.

A moment later, he gave a slight nod.

”Everything I requested is here. However... these coordinates donʼt seem particularly precise.”

”Weʼre unable to obtain completely precise coordinates for what Your Majesty requested,” the Shadow Sword replied respectfully without raising his head. ”Coordinates leading directly inside the palaces, as Your Majesty specified, would have to be purchased from the Syndicate for tens of billions of pearls, and as Your Majesty knows, we have no communication channels with them.” He paused briefly before continuing. ”The coordinates currently in Your Majestyʼs possession correspond to the planet itself, or at the very least the nearest planet to the intended destination. Once Your Majesty arrives there, determining the exact location afterward should be exceedingly easy. This is the absolute limit of what the Shadow Swords are capable of obtaining with the information and resources currently available to us.”

”....”

Robin casually tossed the ring into the air twice before it vanished into his own storage ring as naturally as though the motion required no thought at all.

”Thatʼs fine. This will be sufficient. You may go.”

Whoosh

The Shadow Sword did not remain for even a single moment.

The instant permission was granted, he disappeared completely, leaving behind not even the slightest trace of his presence.

Robin, meanwhile, turned to look toward a certain direction in the distance, his gaze lingering there thoughtfully.

”Hmm... this is going to be quite a long trip. I wonder how much energy itʼll require. Better to prepare a little extra than discover halfway through that I underestimated the cost.”

”Where are we going, Your Majesty?” Glatheon asked curiously. ”To The Continuous Chaos wing? Or perhaps to my territory in Vast Ice? Maybe weʼll explore the Blood Ghost Cluster or some other unexplored areas? I know a few!”

They were currently inside Middle Sector 99.

There was virtually no destination within the sector that he didnʼt know, so he instinctively assumed the journey had to be somewhere within its borders.

His eyes suddenly lit up.

”Or are we heading toward one of the Grand Space Portals for a more exciting journey? Though...” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ”Weʼll probably need a bit of a disguise.”

”..?”

Robin looked at him with a raised eyebrow before waving a hand lightly.

”Wait a moment.”

Hummm

Golden runes gradually began appearing across Robinʼs body.

One set compressed and disappeared as another immediately emerged in its place, continuously replacing one another in a flowing cycle until his entire body began radiating a brilliant golden glow, as though countless golden patterns were being rewritten over one another every passing moment.

A golden scale then materialized beside him.

Robin waved his hand, summoning something resembling a heart from within a spatial cube before quietly murmuring,

”Letʼs see just how much energy can be exchanged from the heart of a Young Space Beast.”

Ding

The scale tipped.

The heart vanished.

Then the scale disappeared along with it, as though the transaction had already been completed.

09:14

In the very next instant, an enormous torrent of Soul Units and energy surged violently into Robinʼs body before gradually settling down again, creating an overwhelming wave of spiritual pressure that briefly swept through the surrounding street before rapidly stabilizing. The unusual phenomenon immediately attracted the attention of nearly everyone nearby, causing countless pedestrians to stop and stare in confusion.

”Good.”

Robin chuckled.

”This should be enough.”

Hummm

The golden runes covering his body began disappearing, only to be replaced by an entirely different set of golden inscriptions whose patterns bore no resemblance whatsoever to the previous ones, as though he had shifted from one Master Law to another without the slightest interruption.

Then a golden dagger materialized in his hand.

Without the slightest hesitation, Robin calmly thrust it toward a particular point in space, his movement smooth and completely devoid of unnecessary force.

Ruuuuumble—

The space before him distorted for several moments, folding inward before slowly stretching apart, until a rectangular golden door gradually emerged from the warped void, standing silently in midair as though it had always existed there.

”This...”

Richard murmured in astonishment, unable to look away from the impossible sight before him.

”Where does... that lead?”

”To offer my condolences.”

Robin let out a quiet sigh before taking a step toward the door.

”Come.”