Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2386 Baby

Hummm

The soil and stones beneath them, the air and everything it carried within it from countless particles and microorganisms, space itself along with its frequencies and energy, and virtually everything else contained within the vast area Robin had pointed toward began to change simultaneously, as though everything occupying that section of existence had suddenly lost its original form.

Everything within that area disappeared and started transforming into a golden cloud, an utterly unstable mass that refused to maintain any fixed shape for even a moment, constantly twisting and shifting while strange bolts of lightning surged through its interior, flashing violently from one place to another yet never escaping beyond the boundaries of the cloud itself.

”....?” Everyone focused intensely on that strange cloud, each of them initially forming their own analysis according to their knowledge and experience as they tried to understand what exactly Robin had created before their eyes.

But almost immediately, as its nature became increasingly obvious, they all spoke in unison, ”Primal Chaos?!”

An immense and unreasonable power whose true depths couldnʼt be perceived, something neither the Heavenly Laws nor spiritual sense could penetrate through, and whose movements and behavior couldnʼt be predicted with any certainty... It was difficult for anyone with their level of knowledge to stare at that cloud for even a few seconds without realizing exactly what they were looking at.

”....” As for Robin, he paid no attention to their reactions and simply waited until the cloud had grown large enough for what he intended to do, then calmly moved the entire golden mass until it floated directly in front of him before lowering it toward the ground once again and making a particular gesture with his hand.

Hummm The serpent devouring its own tail immediately appeared, and the golden symbol of Creation announced its presence above the cloud before beginning to operate according to the precise commands Robin had given it.

The cloud began to transform under the influence of the symbol, compressing in some places while expanding in others, its chaotic shape gradually becoming increasingly defined until a head, two arms, two legs, and a torso began to emerge. The transformation didnʼt stop there, continuing with greater precision until individual fingers appeared, followed by a nose and all the other small details required to complete the shape.

”This...?” Althera stared at what was taking form before her with obvious astonishment, her large eyes widening as she finally recognized the shape. ”A baby?”

The golden cloud had indeed gradually taken the complete form of a newborn child.

The childʼs newly formed body continued flashing with golden light for several seconds as the process continued beneath the surface, until the formation of all his internal organs was perfectly completed and everything was placed exactly as it should be. Only then did the symbol of Creation slowly fade away, and the golden glow covering the childʼs body disappeared along with it.

What remained afterward was merely the child lying motionless there upon the soil, his newly formed body showing no signs of movement whatsoever, nothing more than a lifeless corpse.

Althera felt a strange sense of awe at the sight before her, while Holak, Jabba, and Sakar began shifting their attention between Robin and the infant with increasingly focused expressions, each wondering what exactly Robin intended to accomplish by creating a complete body only to leave it lying there without life.

Until Robin calmly pulled something out from his forehead and extended it toward the child without offering any explanation...

Hummm The glowing sphere immediately began moving forward under his control until it reached the infant and gently penetrated through his forehead without leaving the slightest wound, then—

”Waaaaah—!”

”This...?!” The four of them were instantly shocked as the sudden cry shattered the silence, their eyes snapping toward the infant who had been nothing more than a lifeless body only a moment earlier.

”Ah!” Althera immediately stepped forward and picked up the crying infant, instinctively holding him against herself before quickly taking a blanket from her ring and wrapping it carefully around his newly formed body. Only afterward did she turn toward Robin with her brows tightly furrowed. ”What exactly is the meaning of this?”

Naturally, plenty of negative possibilities were already running through her mind after witnessing such an incomprehensible display, the first being that Robin was simply trying to show off his abilities in front of them, but what fault did this newborn child have to be dragged into something like that? That was assuming this was even truly an infant in the first place and Robin hadnʼt simply created something that looked like one and forced its mouth to move!

”Without too much preamble, this is your deputy, Asir.” Robin calmly pointed toward the infant currently wrapped in Altheraʼs arms as though what he had just said was perfectly ordinary.

”Wha—?!” Altheraʼs mouth fell open in shock as she instinctively looked down at the child in her arms and then back toward Robin, clearly unable to connect the infant before her with the person whose name she had just heard.

”I managed to sever his soul domain and used the Eye of Truth to take it before the Executioner stole his corpse,” Robin explained calmly, finally giving her enough information to understand what she was actually holding. ”I didnʼt tell you about this because I originally intended to return him to his family and let them decide what they wanted to do with him, or at the very least allow them to give him a burial worthy of him, but Arkail instead gave him to me as a gift and told me to take him as my new son.” Robin raised his shoulders slightly, seemingly bewildered himself by the strange words that had just come out of his own mouth, before pointing toward Althera once again. ”Asir is now entrusted to you. From this moment onward, youʼll be the one to raise him.”

”....?!?!” Altheraʼs mind simply stopped working after hearing the explanation, leaving her standing there with the infant in her arms and doing nothing except staring at Robin in complete bewilderment, unable to immediately process what had just been placed in her care.

”Asir? Deputy Asir from Dawnlight Academy?” Jabba stared in utter astonishment, his gaze immediately dropping toward the tiny infant in Altheraʼs arms as though trying to reconcile the helpless child before him with the powerful figure he remembered. ”...Then why did he just cry like an ordinary baby if heʼs really Asir, a mighty Guardian of the Time Path? This doesnʼt look like the dignified person of his stature, I would have expected a cough or something.”

”The only thing I canʼt create is a nascent soul; aside from that, everything else is relatively easy for me now. I used the Master Law of Creation together with my knowledge and abilities as a ten-star Soul Master to construct an entirely new soul domain specifically suited to this infant body, while Asirʼs original soul domain was implanted beside the newly created one and connected directly to it.”

Robin continued explaining without much change in his expression, ”Iʼve arranged for the connection between the two soul domains to gradually grow and strengthen over time until they eventually achieve a complete merger. For now, however, that connection is only large enough to allow his nascent soul itself to function, without granting him access to any of the memories or powers stored inside his original soul domain... This is mainly to spare Asir the awkwardness of suddenly awakening in this condition while retaining everything, and to give him enough time to gradually adapt to his new life.”

”Then why didnʼt you simply create an adult body for him from the beginning?” Jabba asked while continuing to stare strangely at the infant nestled between Altheraʼs arms, clearly finding the entire situation increasingly difficult to comprehend.

”I havenʼt reached that level yet.” Robin released a quiet sigh before explaining, ”I canʼt create a new body capable of immediately withstanding the power of a Guardian, nor can I directly stabilize such an enormous soul domain inside a newly created body. For now, I can only use little tricks like this and take a more indirect route to circumvent those problems.”

Then Robin fixed his gaze upon Asir for a few moments before continuing, ”But that shouldnʼt become much of a problem for him now. Our little fellow here wasnʼt born from the union of two reproductive cells like an ordinary child; his entire body was directly created through Master Laws according to a design that deliberately avoided every kind of defect I could account for. He possesses a perfect body and a perfect newly created soul domain, and alongside that he has a second soul domain constantly nourishing and strengthening the first... With all of that combined, itʼs merely a matter of time before he grows into an unparalleled genius.”

”....” When Robin reached this point in his thoughts, he slowly nodded to himself as though he had suddenly settled on another decision, then raised his hand and pointed toward Asir.

Hummm Six tiny Master Law symbols immediately appeared above the infantʼs head, hovering there briefly before gently descending one after another and disappearing completely into his soul domain.

Almost immediately, the infant stopped crying, and the expression on his little face visibly changed as the effects of what Robin had just done began to settle.

Robin smiled upon seeing the result. ”Now he also has the sun to show him the True Way and guide him along his path starting from this very day.” He continued looking at the infant with a small smile before adding, ”At this point, all I can do is look forward to the day he finally reaches his prime and becomes a man.”

”.....” Althera continued staring at Robin in silence, then lowered her eyes toward baby Asir and his unusually expressive little face before slowly looking back at Robin once again, still seemingly unable to completely accept the reality placed directly in her arms. ”This really is... my deputy?”

”It is him, without any doubt. Heʼll grow up like an ordinary child from this point onward, albeit smarter than average and naturally stronger than normal, but he is unquestionably Asir.” Robin gestured toward the infant with his head before continuing, ”Take care of him if thatʼs what you want. If youʼd rather focus entirely on your training and recovery, I can find someone else to take responsibility for raising him.”

”No!” Althera immediately exclaimed without even needing time to consider the alternative. ”Iʼll take care of him.”

Her eyes gradually began to grow slightly watery as she held the infant closer. Even until this very day, she had continued blaming herself for fleeing from the Executioner back then and allowing her deputy to die in her place, unable to completely rid herself of the guilt left behind by that moment... And now, after all that time, she had finally been given an opportunity to make up for what had happened!

”Hmm, being raised entirely by women produces weak boys.” Holak shook his head solemnly, his expression making it seem as though he were reluctantly sacrificing the most precious thing he possessed. ”Fine, Iʼll help raise him as well so he can grow into a powerful guard like me.”

After all, Holak had also personally witnessed Asir being killed by the Executioner that day while he stood there completely powerless, unable to intervene or do anything to prevent what happened.

”What exactly do you mean by being raised by women?!” Althera immediately reached out and pinched Holak hard, glaring at him as she applied even more force.

”Ouch!!”

”Alright.” Robin clapped his hands once to end their argument, then pointed toward the gate as he calmly gave them their next instruction. ”Please go feed the boy first, then figure out what youʼre going to do with him and how youʼre going to handle all of this somewhere else... I want to speak with Marshal Sakar alone.”

”...Understood.”