Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2341 visit

In a quiet, multicolored place—

Hedrick sat in a meditative posture, yet his eyes remained open, fixed upon something directly before him with unwavering concentration. It was immediately obvious that the body seated there was merely a spiritual manifestation rather than his true physical form, existing solely to oversee the unusual process unfolding around him.

At that moment, a thread with a faint bluish hue slowly and hesitantly advanced toward him. It crept forward at an agonizing pace, pausing every so often as though instinct itself urged it to turn back, until it finally reached his forehead and made contact with itʼs center.

Yet instead of the threadʼs light growing brighter for a brief moment before calmly retreating, as one would normally expect—

Shhk—

Hedrickʼs forehead seemed to forcibly pull the thread inward against its will, almost as though an invisible mouth had opened beneath his skin and begun swallowing it. Once a portion of it had entered—

Snap!

The thread was violently severed, and the section that remained outside immediately fled in panic, trembling uncontrollably the entire way back as though it had barely escaped a predatorʼs jaws. It did not stop quivering until it finally returned to its original position among the countless surrounding threads.

But it returned several meters shorter than before... The darkness hidden behind the thread was now clearly exposing where that missing section had once been, and it was far from the only one bearing such loss.

Nearly a quarter of the surrounding threads were in the same condition. Some had only lost a small portion of their length, while others had been shortened by nearly a quarter. As for roughly half of the threads occupying that entire side, they looked shredded beyond recognition, like robes that had been repeatedly torn apart by wild dogs, while the remaining half were completely intact, or missing no more than about a foot from their ends.

”Tsk...” Hedrick clicked his tongue as he watched the next thread slowly approach, shivering from beginning to end as though desperately trying to flee while some irresistible duty continued forcing it forward despite its obvious reluctance. ”...What a bizarre process. At this rate, I wonʼt be finished for another century!”

And for the first time in decades, silence was not the only response echoing through that strange place.

”Youʼre assuming the process is normal, and thatʼs where youʼre mistaken.”

”....?!” Hedrick shot to his feet as though struck by lightning, every trace of calm disappearing in an instant before he immediately spun toward the source of the voice. ”...Robin?!”

Not far away stood a radiant golden manifestation whose features were difficult to distinguish beneath the brilliant glow enveloping it. Yet that relaxed posture, that familiar tone of voice, and that unmistakably overbearing aura... every one of them belonged to someone Hedrick knew all too well.

”How have you been, partner?” Robin walked toward him with an unusually broad smile spread across his face, looking completely at ease as though appearing inside this mysterious place were the most natural thing in the world.

Hedrick barely spared him a brief glance accompanied by the slightest nod before calmly turning back to inspect the severed threads, treating Robinʼs impossible arrival as a matter that could apparently wait.

”How have I been?” Hedrick asked in bewilderment without looking away from the threads. ”...Are you actually here? My consciousness isnʼt so weak that Iʼd start hallucinating random people after meditating for a few decades.”

”Youʼve already answered your own question. Hehehe.” Robin chuckled. ”Youʼve been isolated for too long. I started worrying about you, so I came to check on you personally.” Then he narrowed his eyes toward the mangled threads surrounding Hedrick. ”...Seriously, do you keep sharks inside your forehead or something? What exactly am I looking at here?”

”...” Hedrick quietly sat back down once more, apparently having already accepted Robinʼs presence. ”So youʼve come to conduct research on how to break through into the Law Dominator Realm. Thatʼs reassuring. Do whatever you want, just keep your voice down and donʼt disturb me while Iʼm working.”

”Hehe, donʼt you want to ask how I got in?” Robin chuckled again as he turned toward Hedrick with an amused expression, clearly expecting at least a little curiosity.

That man had always fascinated him... At first, Hedrick had been suspicious, instinctively assuming his own mind was playing tricks on him after such a prolonged period of isolation. Then he immediately entered a defensive state, fearing he had somehow fallen into a trap carefully prepared by one of his enemies. Only afterward did he finally relax when Robin became absorbed in examining the surroundings instead of attacking or speaking further, because that peculiar behavior alone confirmed beyond any doubt that it truly was Robin standing before him.

”Does it really matter?” Hedrick replied calmly, his expression remaining completely unchanged despite Robinʼs sudden appearance. ”Itʼs not as though youʼd tell me even if I asked.” Then, after a brief pause, he continued in the same composed tone, ”Do whatever you want. Just donʼt ruin anything. This process has already been delayed long enough, and I have no intention of wasting even more time because of unnecessary interruptions.”

Shhhk.

At that very moment, another thread drifted forward and touched Hedrickʼs forehead. The instant it made contact, a large portion of it was torn away before it managed to escape, the remaining section immediately recoiling in panic, violently trembling as it fled back toward the countless surrounding threads.

”...” Robin narrowed his eyes as he quietly watched the scene unfold before him. A faint smile gradually appeared on his face, and as he continued observing all of those damaged, shortened, and completely severed threads surrounding Hedrick, that smile slowly widened with unmistakable interest. ”...I have to say, youʼve chosen an exceptionally unfortunate time to attempt your breakthrough.”

”I reached the point where I realized everything happening throughout Mid Sector 101 was ultimately meaningless if I wasnʼt strong enough to fight Darvion and Zavaros with my own hands.” Hedrick answered in an even tone, his attention never truly straying from the endless procession of threads. ”With my previous strength, whether I participated in the war or stayed out of it, I wouldnʼt have made much of a difference. At best, I would have prolonged the conflict, delayed the inevitable, and exhausted everyone a little further without truly changing its outcome.”

Then he turned his eyes toward Robin for only a brief moment. ”Let me guess. The war is still going on, and the armies are still chasing each other across the sector, advancing and retreating without anyone being able to achieve a decisive victory?”

”Heh~.” Robin let out a quiet laugh. ”There are no armies anymore.”

”....?!” Hedrick abruptly turned toward him, genuine surprise finally breaking through his otherwise unwavering composure. ”We lost?!”

”No.” Robin casually shook his head. ”We destroyed Darvionʼs army, and Zavaros eventually withdrew from the war. But Darvionʼs sons arrived afterward and began wreaking havoc throughout the sector. They destroyed all of the other millennial empires, causing the Allied Army to completely fall apart from the inside. However, the Big Six and the Radiance Galaxy are still standing and continue maintaining their influence throughout various regions. You could say the sector has entered a state of cold equilibrium for the moment, where neither side possesses enough strength to dominate the other, and no one truly knows who the sector will ultimately belong to.”

”.....” After listening to that remarkably concise summary, Hedrick slowly turned his gaze forward once more, digesting every piece of information without displaying much emotion. ”Donʼt worry. The sector will stabilize once I finish my breakthrough.”

”Oh?” Robin nodded slightly before tilting his head. ”And when exactly will that be? At this pace, Iʼm afraid youʼll need about another century... one hundred and four years, and a few months, if my calculations are accurate.”

”....” Hedrick remained silent for several moments, calmly accepting the estimate instead of arguing with it. ”Then the sector will simply have to wait. There isnʼt any other choice. They reached a stalemate much sooner than I expected, but they reached it nonetheless. What they need now is someone powerful enough to remove the major players from the board entirely instead of merely competing with them, and that person can only be me... after Iʼve completed my breakthrough.”

”Oh.” Robin raised an eyebrow with visible curiosity. ”Youʼre assuming youʼll be capable of fighting Darvion—a Behemoth—after merely breaking through to the Mid Monarch Realm?”

”And why wouldnʼt I?” Hedrick revealed a confident smile that carried neither hesitation nor uncertainty. ”Itʼs true that I donʼt possess the greatest Soul Strength, and itʼs true that his Galaxy Soul will grant him a considerable advantage in a prolonged battle, but I wonʼt be defeated so easily. If I canʼt overcome that advantage directly, then Iʼll simply destroy everything until thereʼs nothing left to preserve.”

”Hmm, I met Kiryan.” Robin murmured thoughtfully while continuing to observe Hedrickʼs reaction. ”He claimed he could fight two or three of your Second Row Scions at the same time... They displayed strength roughly comparable to yours. I think you should place the strength of the Behemoths on a higher pedestal than you currently do. Confidence is admirable, but excessive confidence is little more than suicide.”

”Kiryan? The Behemoth of Oppression?” Hedrick turned around with startling speed, his previously tranquil expression finally cracking for the second time since Robinʼs arrival. ”What are you doing with Kiryan? And why would he be fighting the Second Row Scions?” Then he narrowed his eyes, clearly focusing on a far more important detail. ”...And you say they displayed strength comparable to mine?!”

”A great deal happened while you were away. For some reason, the outside world has begun moving at an unbelievably rapid pace over the past few years.. Hehehe.” Robin chuckled mischievously. ”Letʼs just say your father no longer felt like remaining still. He emerged in force and personally attacked both Kiryan and Zavaros, while your Second Row Scions displayed strength remarkably similar to yours during those events... So tell me, what exactly do you know about them?”

”....” Hedrick slowly turned his gaze forward once again, allowing his expression to return to its usual calm after the brief moment of surprise. ”Nothing. When I left Fatherʼs side, there were no Second Row Scions to begin with.”