Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2281: Chance

"...You are my candidate now." Robin spoke with a calm smile that seemed born from a conclusion he had only just reached rather than from any passing joke, then turned toward Glatheon and glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "Isn’t that what you were trying to say?"

"...?" Glatheon furrowed his brows deeply as he considered Robin’s words, then slowly shook his head. "Not exactly. I was going to say that the events seem connected, that everything appears to be part of the same chain, but your conclusion sounds disturbingly accurate."

"Your candidate?!" Althera muttered as she looked back and forth between the two of them in disbelief. She knew of the entity known as the All-seeing god and had heard countless stories and rumors surrounding him throughout history, but her actual understanding of him was extremely limited.

Was Robin comparing himself to that being?

"That’s nonsense, Glatheon." Robin shook his head without hesitation, as though wanting to stop that line of reasoning before it gained any momentum. "Whatever coincidence may have occurred, I’m nowhere near that person’s level of power. Not in knowledge, not in influence, and certainly not in capability."

"Perhaps not in terms of raw power or direct influence, but you’re definitely similar in nature." Glatheon took another step toward Robin as his eyes narrowed slightly. "All of this happened because the sixth symbol appeared—the First Grade of Primordial Chaos that you obtained today. What if that’s all you needed to escape the All-seeing god’s control? What if that’s all you needed to take candidates the same way he does? What if obtaining that law was the final missing requirement all along?"

"....." Robin lowered his gaze as numerous thoughts began colliding within his mind.

"Lord Robin, since we’re discussing candidacy," Glatheon asked quickly, unwilling to let Robin disappear into one of his long periods of contemplation again, "what exactly do you know about the process?"

"...." Robin remained silent for several moments, appearing to recall words spoken long ago. "According to the All-seeing god himself, he observes the Children of Destiny—individuals born with extraordinary fortune and exceptional futures. Once he determines that their personalities are suitable for the tasks he wishes to accomplish and that they are capable of following the path he has prepared for them, he recruits them as candidates and grants them the First Grade of the Master Law most compatible with their nature."

"That’s it!" Glatheon snapped his fingers loudly. "Lord Robin, does that truly sound normal to you? Every single person he chooses suddenly becomes capable of cultivating a Master Law simply because he decided so? Children of Destiny exist across countless planets and galaxies. In some eras there are thousands upon thousands of them. How many can actually comprehend a Master Law under normal circumstances?"

Then he pointed at himself with his thumb and let out a dry chuckle.

"I don’t consider myself stupid. In fact. Yet I certainly wouldn’t become capable of cultivating a Master Law simply because someone handed one to me!"

"....." Robin’s brows tightened further as Glatheon’s words pressed against suspicions he had quietly harbored for a long time.

Of course he knew this.

No one desired more than he did to distribute his Master Laws among his descendants, followers, and trusted companions, yet the reality was nearly impossible. All he could do was point people toward the correct path, provide the initial seeds, and wait to see whether any understanding would emerge.

The success rate was effectively nonexistent.

The closest examples were Jabba and Shaddad.

Neither of them had understood anything from the Master Laws he had given them despite repeated attempts and considerable effort, and most likely they never would if things continued as they were.

Why?

It certainly wasn’t because they were unintelligent.

Both had received extensive training and accumulated enough experience during those few short years to stand among the elite of their generation. Both had repeatedly demonstrated talent and the ability to learn in countless other areas.

Could there be something preventing them from using Master Laws on a physical level?

Something like a hidden seal embedded deep within the body or soul...

Or a fundamental limitation inherent to mortal existence itself.

Something that could only be removed through an external source.

...Something like six Master Laws reshaping the body and altering its very foundation?

Then Robin slowly turned toward Althera as the scattered pieces began fitting together more clearly inside his mind.

"According to your theory, if candidacy is simply the process of making a body compatible with Master Laws and removing whatever barrier prevents interaction with them, then Althera should be capable of accepting one quite easily now."

"....."

"....?"

"....?!"

Once those words left his mouth, the three exchanged astonished looks, each seemingly wondering whether they had heard correctly.

"Me... a Master Law?" Althera began shaking her head repeatedly as though the idea itself was absurd. "No, no... that can’t happen... that’s far too ridiculous to be real..." Then she quickly turned toward Robin as though seeking immediate reassurance. "Right?!"

"I once heard an old saying," Glatheon said. "People claimed a camel climbed a tree, and the response was: ’Here is the camel and here is the tree. Let it climb again.’"

He pointed directly at Althera.

"Won’t we find out if we simply test it instead of endlessly speculating?"

"Try giving her a Master Law right now?" Robin tilted his head slightly, genuinely considering the possibility.

"No. That would take far too long. It could take months or even years before any meaningful results appeared. There’s a much simpler test." Glatheon shook his head. "If candidacy were nothing more than altering the body so it could accommodate a Master Law, then a lock and chains visible only to you would never have appeared. Those things undoubtedly serve a purpose."

"...." Robin returned his attention to Althera and began examining the seal and chains more carefully than before, as though seeing them for the first time.

"...?" Althera instinctively wrapped her arms around herself. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"This may hurt." Robin raised his hand slightly toward Althera as a faint golden glow flickered around his fingers and flowed through the spaces between them.

Clang. Clang.

The chains piercing Althera’s heart, soul domain, and life artery began to move and tighten. It felt as though hundreds of colossal elephants were pulling them in opposite directions simultaneously, while the ancient lock itself seemed to respond directly to Robin’s will.

"AAAAAGH!!"

"...." Robin immediately stopped.

The surprise on his face intensified, and his confusion only deepened.

He could literally kill Althera with a single thought if he wished.

He literally possessed ownership over her body in a manner that defied ordinary logic.

Not only that, but with enough concentration he could sense her existence, determine her location, and perceive her physical and spiritual condition as though an invisible connection permanently linked the two of them together.

With enough concentration...

Robin’s eyes flashed gold for a brief instant.

And in the next moment, he was staring at himself.

He was looking at himself through Althera’s eyes, seeing his own body standing before him as though he had suddenly crossed to the opposite side of that mysterious connection.

Strangely, Althera’s expression did not change this time, nor did she seem to feel that Robin was capable of looking through her eyes. There was no sudden shiver, no instinctive reaction, no sign whatsoever that she had sensed another consciousness peering through her vision. As far as she appeared to know, nothing unusual had happened at all.

"Seriously now..." Robin canceled what he was doing and revealed a hesitant smile, the kind of smile that appeared when a puzzle piece unexpectedly fell into place while simultaneously creating ten new questions.

The All-seeing god could do all of this to him?

Or more accurately...

He was able to do all of this?

Then why, on the day of the coronation, had he told him that gold was merely a color? Why had he spoken those words so casually, as though they carried no deeper significance whatsoever? Why leave behind such an answer if the entire process involved something far more profound than simple symbolism?

"...." Robin looked down and nodded slowly as his thoughts continued to connect with one another.

It truly was nothing more than a color to him.

That process was intended to prepare a body for the reception of a Master Law, transforming the candidate into a suitable vessel capable of interacting with powers that should ordinarily remain beyond mortal reach, while simultaneously ensuring that the candidate remained forever under their master’s authority so the candidacy would never be wasted—or whatever exactly that was supposed to mean. Whether it functioned as a leash, a safeguard, a seal, or all three at once, the purpose seemed obvious enough now.

But when the All-seeing god had performed that process on Robin, Robin had already possessed the First Grade of Truth.

He had never needed it.

The fundamental requirement had already been fulfilled before the process even began. The body modifications, the preparation, the adjustments—none of them had been necessary for him to receive a Master Law because he had already crossed that threshold through his own means.

"That bastard..." Robin revealed an irritated smile that carried equal amounts of annoyance and reluctant admiration. "He completed the entire process on me solely to place the chains and brand me with the color gold... It really was nothing more than a color in my case."

Then he gently rubbed his forehead.

In a strange way, that realization gave him a rather pleasant feeling.

For a long time he had wondered whether there was some hidden change buried deep inside him, some mysterious influence left behind by the All-seeing god that he had failed to notice. Discovering that the most important part of the process had effectively been meaningless to him, that it had served little purpose beyond marking him and binding him, was unexpectedly reassuring.

"Lord Robin!" Althera looked directly into Robin’s eyes with a mixture of frustration, disappointment, anxiety, and uncertainty while still kneeling on the ground, her posture becoming increasingly awkward as the conversation drifted further and further away from her concerns. "What about all of this? What’s going to happen to me?!"

"...."

Robin returned Althera’s gaze, finally focusing his attention back on the person at the center of the discussion rather than the implications surrounding the All-seeing god and the nature of candidacy.

Then he placed his hands behind his back and smiled, his expression becoming far calmer and more confident than it had been moments earlier.

"Althera... would you like a second chance?"