Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2466 Maidens of Chaos

”...Athena?” Morganaʼs brows drew together tightly at the mention of that name. ”The Ruler of Chaos, The woman who ruled the universe while sitting on a throne of blood and tyranny... Isnʼt she just a legend?”

According to the hidden history known only to a select few, Athena, the Ruler of Chaos, had stood at the absolute summit of the universe for millions of years, directing its affairs however she pleased and trampling over the heads of the Behemoths whenever she pleased, wielding a level of power unlike anything that had ever been seen before. During that unimaginably distant period, there had been no one who dared openly question her decisions, much less exercise the right of refusal against something she had personally decided.

It was said that ten Behemoths had once tried to pressure her into reversing one of her decisions, and that those ten had been prepared to escalate the matter and clash with her directly if necessary... Yet now, no one even knew their names or what they had looked like. They were all dead, leaving behind nothing in the present age by which they could be recognized.

According to the ancient accounts recorded and preserved within the archives of the academies and the Great Powers, Athena was the one who destroyed the End-of-the-World Wall and allowed a large number of Space Beasts to enter, creating a problem that the universe continued to suffer from even to this day, despite the Cosmic Elder eventually intervening in the matter afterward.

But history also recorded that she later repaired what she had done and resealed the gigantic breach she had created in the wall, accomplishing it at the cost of destroying her own body, and from that day onward, she disappeared completely from sight.

No one who knew that hidden history could truly judge whether she had stood with the honorable forces of the universe or against them. During her reign, she had unquestionably been an overwhelmingly fierce and domineering ruler, but that overwhelming force had always been directed toward the Behemoths and the great figures standing at the very top. There had never been any record of her turning that same brutality upon ordinary people or destroying planets merely because she wished to do so.

But those who knew the history did know one thing with certainty: all of that had come to an end roughly seventy million years ago, and since that distant time, Athena had left neither trace nor visible influence anywhere in the universe.

”A legend?” Temari laughed lightly at Morganaʼs words, as though she had just heard something particularly amusing. ”Sheʼs more real than you or me.”

”How?” Morgana immediately asked, unable to reconcile those words with everything she knew. ”If someone possessing that kind of power were still alive, she undoubtedly could have rebuilt her body during all that time, so why is she still hiding even after seventy million years?”

”Are you really trying to understand the choices of those who have reached that level?” Temari raised one hand to cover her mouth and giggled, clearly finding Morganaʼs attempt amusing. ”Why donʼt you try explaining the Cosmic Elderʼs choice throughout his entire life to remain away from the spotlight, until Lord Robin personally presented him to the world and exposed his deeds? And what about the Archon, who rules the universe from the shadows through intimidation, taxation, and killing, even though someone like him has no real need for any of it?”

She then continued without giving Morgana much time to dwell on those examples, ”Athena, the Ruler of Chaos, is real. She herself may not appear before the world anymore, but the force she founded, the Eternal Sanctum, still exists to this day, and the Maidens of Chaos are extremely numerous and can actually be contacted!”

”Huh?!” Morganaʼs brows furrowed deeply upon hearing that completely unexpected piece of information.

After all the years she had lived, and after all the countless books and records she had read either in the past or since taking charge of the Cosmic Academies, which had given her access to an enormous amount of knowledge, she had never once heard of anything like this, much less of a still-existing force founded by Athena herself!

”Thereʼs no need to be so surprised. They undoubtedly exist, and they can indeed be contacted in two different ways. Only the Four Great Powers know about this matter, but no one particularly cares about it and almost no one tries to contact them, because doing so is useless most of the time.” Temari continued after pausing for a few moments, giving Morgana enough time to absorb what she had just heard. ”The first and most direct method is to go personally to the Primordial Chaos region at the center of the universe and search for one of the guards at a certain depth inside.”

”....?” Morgana stared at her in obvious bafflement before asking, ”Is this a joke? Primordial Chaos canʼt be entered. Anyone who enters it will turn into chaos dust and disappear completely. Itʼs a common method of suicide for those who want to die without pain, and itʼs also a common choice of death among those who donʼt want their corpse to be desecrated afterward or coveted by anyone... And now Iʼm supposed to deliberately enter the chaos and search for someone in there as well? How exactly am I supposed to search for them while Iʼm dust?”

”Thatʼs simply a lack of knowledge on your part.” Temari waved her hand twice as though dismissing Morganaʼs understanding of the matter. ”A Guardian can enter Primordial Chaos and wander around inside it for a certain period before being forced to leave, and even an eight-star Soul Master can go inside for some time... You have eight stars yourself, so youʼre barely qualified to enter and take a stroll through it for about an hour, and during that time you might happen to find one of them there.”

”Barely qualified...” Morgana repeated those words, immediately feeling insulted by Temariʼs casual assessment of her strength. ”Will the person Iʼm supposed to search for be a Guardian or an eight-star Soul Master too?”

”Maybe.” Temari shrugged casually, showing that even she could not give a definite answer to that question. ”But a guard possessing only Nexus State strength was once seen there, so itʼs safe to say that the Ruler of Chaos gave them some method that allows them to roam freely through Primordial Chaos regardless of that limitation, and thatʼs without even mentioning the fact that they live there comfortably.”

”...Whatʼs the second method?” Morgana asked, clearly having no desire to continue discussing this particular matter or waste any more time considering a method that seemed almost impossible to carry out in practice.

Go inside for half an hour just to search for a guard? Was she entering some ordinary house where she could simply walk around for a while and expect to run into whoever she was looking for?!

Primordial Chaos was where all the planets, stars, black holes, sectors, and everything else had originally emerged from. The sheer size of Primordial Chaos was equal to the size of the entire currently inhabited universe, so was she really supposed to enter that unimaginably vast region at some completely random location and simply hope that, within a few short minutes of searching, she would somehow stumble upon one of the guards she was looking for?

Perhaps she might have some actual hope of succeeding if she continued entering, searching, and trying again for a few thousand years... but there was absolutely no time for anything like that!

”The second method might be a little easier for you since you have the Shadow Swords at your disposal, but it isnʼt easy either...” Temari explained, moving on to the other possibility. ”Itʼs by finding them while theyʼre carrying out their adoption operations.”

”....?” Morgana looked at her in puzzlement, not immediately understanding what such a thing had to do with the Eternal Sanctum. ”Adoption?”

”Mhm.” Temari nodded before explaining further, ”The force founded by the Ruler of Chaos to serve her is composed entirely of women. Men are forbidden from entering, while their women are forbidden from leaving to mate and then return afterward, so you could essentially say that theyʼre an eternal monastic order devoted entirely to serving the Ruler.” She then continued, ”So their way of recruiting more guards and gradually expanding their numbers is to leave and adopt girls from the Young Belt planets near them—street girls, orphans, and outcasts. The only condition they impose is that those girls must be virgins.”

Temari then continued with obvious confidence in the feasibility of what she was proposing, ”...If you spread the Shadow Swords across the planets of the Young Belt and pay attention to cases where virgin girls begin disappearing from the streets, then sooner or later youʼll undoubtedly be able to locate one of the adoption supervisors responsible for those operations.”

”Entering Primordial Chaos would be easier!!” Morgana shouted, finding the supposedly easier second method even more troublesome than the first.

She then sighed heavily and waved her hand, putting the matter aside for the moment. ”Anyway, Iʼll pass all of this information on to First Sword Theo, and he can decide whatever he wants to do with it, but frankly, I canʼt imagine him investing the Shadow Swordsʼ time and effort into something like this when thereʼs no telling how much searching it would require.”

”.....” Temari stared silently at the side of Morganaʼs head for a moment before finally asking, ”What about contacting my brother, then? You completely ignored that part of what I said.”

”Can First Sword Theo contact your brother, Lord Morval?” Morgana quickly asked in response, immediately shifting the matter away from Robin himself.

”No, he doesnʼt have enough status for something like that. Only Lord Robin has enough standing to receive a private meeting of this kind, because this isnʼt about sitting down together and drinking something warm while having an ordinary conversation; heʼd be trying to personally persuade my brother to bring about a change in the entire cosmic landscape!”

”Thatʼs exactly why I ignored your suggestion in the first place.” Morgana shook her head as though the problem with that option should have been obvious. ”Lord Robin personally going to someone and trying to persuade them to help him through a crisis, while explaining his situation and position to them? Presenting himself humbly before someone because he needs their help? Forget it. The idea must have crossed his mind at some point already, and he probably dismissed it just as quickly as it appeared.”

Then Morgana laughed and turned her gaze away, still finding Temariʼs suggestion somewhat amusing. ”You said you know him better than I do... but youʼre greatly underestimating his pride.”