Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2375 The importance of momentum

”...I lost them before I even understood what they were.” Robin slowly rubbed the bridge of his nose, the frustration he had been suppressing finally beginning to seep into his voice. ”Now the eighth and ninth seals have permanently lost half their strength, and Iʼve lost ten percent of my ability to use the Master Laws.”

”....”

Glatheon remained silent for quite some time, carefully digesting every word instead of rushing to respond. Only after several moments did he quietly ask,

”Do you truly feel that those missing halves are gone forever?”

”Thatʼs what it appears to be.” Robin nodded. ”I can still observe the tiny number of upgraded cells continuing their gradual transformation exactly as before, but I donʼt notice anything new happening with those two seals. Either the damage has become permanent... or theyʼre recovering so incredibly slowly that the change is far too subtle for me to detect. In either case, itʼs safe to assume I wonʼt be receiving their full support again anytime soon.”

”...That really is...” Glatheon lowered his gaze before hesitantly continuing, ”Perhaps... you could undo what you did to Lady Rinara and Lord Hedrick?”

Even as he asked the question, Glatheon felt as though he might burst into tears.

Right before his eyes...

His opportunity to ever obtain a Master Law, or even become one of The Unbound, seemed to be slipping farther and farther away with every answer Robin gave.

”Undo what I did to them?” Robin stared silently into the distance for several moments before slowly shaking his head. ”Even if time itself were reversed and I knew everything I know now, I would still choose those same two people to remove their limits. I need expansion and defense across two major fronts simultaneously—one stretching toward Intiras, the other toward Qarun—and I simply canʼt spend every day endlessly jumping back and forth between them. I needed two sharp blades capable of standing on their own.”

He casually waved his hand several times.

”Forget about it. It was a necessary investment, so thereʼs no point tormenting myself over it now.” His voice gradually became calmer. ”That said... I wonʼt free another person unless itʼs an absolute necessity.”

”.....”

Glatheonʼs eyelids twitched so violently that he looked as though he were on the verge of becoming paralyzed.

As long as Robin refused to create another liberated individual...

His own hopes would have to wait indefinitely.

”As far as I can tell,” Robin said while lightly tapping his thigh with his free hand in a slow, rhythmic pattern, ”the candidacy process is essentially the act of sharing the golden momentum stored within one of these seals with an ordinary human, giving them a far greater opportunity to wield and study the Master Laws. I donʼt know whether Althera will eventually begin consuming the reserve within her assigned seal once she grows stronger and starts using Balance herself... but I believe thatʼs very likely to happen. Even now, I can already sense faint fluctuations coming from that seal while Althera is desperately trying to comprehend the first grade of Balance. If sheʼs already causing those tiny ripples now... then what will happen later?”

He slowly shook his head.

”I originally intended to make all of my children candidates. But what happens if every one of them begins drawing upon my seals until I no longer have enough strength left for myself?” He quietly exhaled. ”Whether itʼs candidacy or liberation... Iʼm putting everything on hold until Iʼve investigated this matter more thoroughly.”

His expression gradually became more serious.

”I need to find one specific thing.”

”What is it, Master?” Glatheon immediately asked, hope plainly visible in his expression despite everything he had just learned.

”A way to obtain more seals, of course.” Robin answered without the slightest hesitation, his tone becoming firmer than at any previous point in the conversation. ”They allow me to wield the Master Laws freely. They elevate me beyond the limitations of humanity. They enable me to create people with the strength of Hedrick and Renara. They allow me to create additional wielders of the Master Laws... and thatʼs only everything Iʼve managed to discover so far.”

His eyes narrowed even further as he continued staring at the ten floating seals.

”If they possess this many functions that Iʼve already uncovered after such a short time... then thereʼs no reason to believe Iʼve discovered everything they can do.”

His gaze remained fixed upon them.

”There has to be a way to obtain more of them.”

”....”

Glatheon swallowed hard.

The light burning within Robinʼs eyes was no longer the curiosity of a scholar nor the excitement of someone uncovering hidden knowledge one mystery after another...

It was pure, unmistakable greed.

”Hmm...” Robin continued staring quietly toward the distant horizon, seemingly following the thought to its natural conclusion. ”I wonder... if I also took golden momentum from one of the All-seeing-godʼs seals.”

”Now that I think about it...” Glatheon finally found something he could contribute without sounding completely overwhelmed. ”Perhaps thatʼs why the All-seeing-god always waited such incredibly long periods between candidates... and only ever sent out one at a time?”

”It only makes sense that heʼd carefully select ideal candidates if he intended to preserve their imprints while sacrificing portions of his own momentum for them.” Robin casually waved his hand. ”To be honest, although I never really thought about it before, Iʼm actually satisfied with choosing Althera as my candidate. She reached the Mid Monarch realm while cultivating only a Fundamental Law, despite not descending from any Behemoth galaxy. That alone speaks volumes about her talent. Besides, the Cosmic Elder clearly favored her over all the other academy heads.” Robin smiled faintly. ”Sheʼs a good girl... and sheʼll be obedient. I have no desire for her to run around destroying empires from scratch the way that lunatic tried to make us do.”

He narrowed his eyes briefly. ”But... Iʼm not so sure about the part where he supposedly sent only one candidate and then waited until that person died...”

”He sent candidates more than once?!” Glatheon immediately asked, surprised enough that he momentarily forgot everything else, ”Thatʼs impossible, right? there werenʼt any incident in history where two candidates appeared at the same time, something like that would have surly shaken the high powers, I have would have known a rumor at the very least!”

”According to his own words, there were people who successfully completed the missions he assigned to them.” Robin answered thoughtfully. ”The problem was that they succeeded in ways he didnʼt approve of, so he simply ignored them afterward. He never said he released them from anything or reclaimed whatever heʼd given them. He merely... ignored them. I donʼt know whether they still possess the golden honor or not. Then, of course... thereʼs Sevar as well.” Robin quietly murmured to himself before continuing, ”As far as I can tell, every candidate becomes a burden upon the one who chose them. Honestly, I have no idea whether all of them are still carrying the golden honor even now. I sincerely hope he found some way to reclaim it... otherwise dealing with every one of them would become far more troublesome than Iʼd like.”

He continued,

”Yes, Master Laws can certainly be used without any support from these seals. But every aspect becomes worse. Their usage becomes more taxing, the recovery periods grow much longer, and the time required to fully comprehend them increases dramatically.” Robin lightly shrugged. ”I wouldnʼt fear fighting someone whose Master Law rank is higher than mine... provided they donʼt possess golden momentum supporting their attacks.”

”Does that include the Cosmic Elder?” Glatheon asked in surprise, finding the comparison difficult to believe.

”I personally watched the Cosmic Elder flee from nothing more than a handful of mature space beasts while traveling beyond the shell.” Robin casually waved his hand. ”Once heʼs had sufficient time to rest and regain complete control over his body, he could slaughter hundreds of them with a single gesture. But after reaching that state where his human existence has been pushed to its limits... even an ordinary cat could attack him.”

He continued with another casual wave.

”Between a sixth-grade user relying entirely upon himself like the Cosmic Elder, and another sixth-grade user possessing the golden honor that grants access to golden momentum—someone like Sevar, for example—he would win every single time. All he has to do is avoid the Cosmic Elderʼs first few attacks. Once those are over... heʼll completely toy with him.”

”But...” Glatheon suddenly noticed something. ”The Archon...” His brows slowly furrowed as another realization surfaced. ”Assuming he still possesses the golden honor, using your terminology... then he only has access to the golden momentum supplied by a single seal.”

He slowly raised his eyes toward Robin.

”...And thatʼs already enough to defeat the Cosmic Elder in a battle to the death?”

His voice became noticeably quieter.

”...While you...”

His gaze drifted toward the ten floating seals still revolving peacefully above Robinʼs hand.

”...have ten?”

A broad smile gradually spread across Robinʼs face.