Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2245 Too close

”...I always thought she wanted to get out so she could commit atrocities in the world, so I kept trying to restrain her.” Morgana looked down, her voice growing quieter with every word as memories she had never questioned before suddenly took on an entirely different meaning. ”But in reality, she was trying to kill me and commit suicide because she simply couldnʼt endure my Soul Domain any longer? Because living inside it had become more unbearable than death itself?”

Tears began gathering in Morganaʼs eyes.

She had quite literally been torturing that consciousness inside a hell that had lasted for hundreds of thousands of years, and she had been nobly resisting its escape attempts, believing she was preventing its evil from reaching the outside world. Every time it fought back, every time it struggled, every time it attempted to flee, she had convinced herself she was protecting others. Looking back now, however, those desperate attempts suddenly appeared far less sinister and far more tragic.

”Yes. A consciousness with that kind of power, possessing that much information regarding negative thoughts and emotions, and more importantly, having access to your memories. Naturally, it would understand that it couldnʼt continue existing without a body and without a nascent soul. It wanted to die.” Robin nodded without paying much attention to Morganaʼs expression. ”From its perspective, every possible future ended the same way. Remaining where it was meant endless suffering, while escaping meant destruction shortly afterward. The only choice it could see was deciding when the end would come.”

”This truly is something unique, something that has never happened before. The birth of a star within an environment like that, and the awakening of a dormant consciousness in such a manner. Therefore, anything that happened afterward was bound to be unique as well, something the universe had never witnessed before... at least not to the knowledge of anyone still alive.” Then he frowned slightly while continuing to watch the battle below. ”Even so, despite reaching the point where I no longer believed anything could surprise me... I was surprised.”

Then he turned toward Morgana.

”The consciousness of your first star wasnʼt drawing power from you during its Specter phase. It knew that competing with you for energy was pointless because the initial soul favored you, so it turned toward what it knew best, toward the place where it had been born... toward the first royal star itself. If it couldnʼt win through the Soul Domain, then it sought another path.”

”What do you mean... Your Majesty?” Morganaʼs eyes slowly widened as the implication behind those words began sinking in.

Robin smiled.

”Your first consciousness somehow draws its power directly from the first star.”

”....?” Morgana wasnʼt the only one. Every person present opened their eyes as wide as they could.

”Is that even possible?!” Zara stepped forward. She had been preparing for her first star for quite some time and had been gathering as much information about the subject as possible. Few topics interested her more than the foundations of the Royal Soul path, and what Robin had just described sounded like something capable of overturning established understanding.

The purpose of the stars was to produce purple matter.

That substance strengthened the Soul Units inside the domain dozens of times over, and the greater the number of stars, the faster the conversion process became and the denser the purple matter within them grew.

Not because the stars themselves changed.

But because their numbers increased.

Royal Stars remained constant, continuously producing the same amount of purple matter until every Soul Unit they had absorbed was transformed. Afterward they stopped, only becoming active again when necessary.

No one controlled them.

And no one even knew the true origin of that substance.

For countless generations cultivators had accepted those facts as unquestionable truths.

”Apparently, yes.” Robin shrugged. ”The consciousness of the first star developed some method of drawing energy directly from the parent star itself and used that power to attack Morgana. However, she possessed the Specter Shepherd strand and the nascent soul to suppress it, which is why it never managed to display its true strength. Every attempt it made was restricted before it could fully manifest what it was capable of.”

Then he gestured toward Morgana with his head.

”Its true strength, the strength it displayed against the nascent space beasts, the strength that forced the Executioner to reconsider attacking... itʼs undoubtedly immense, and its limits remain unknown as well.” Then he smiled. ”Tell me... thing. You saw my battle against the Executioner. Do you think you could defeat me?”

Shwaaah

Morganaʼs shadow materialized and took the shape of another Morgana.

She was black and white, as though she had stepped out of a painted canvas, every line of her body appearing simultaneously real and unreal. The strange monochrome figure stood beside the original Morgana yet felt completely different, carrying an indescribable presence that made several people instinctively focus their attention on her.

That Morgana looked directly into Robinʼs eyes.

”I am not a thing, and stop referring to me as a male, AND I can kick your ass whenever I want.”

”Watch your language! Watch your language! Donʼt say things like that!!” Morgana reached out in panic and tried to cover her own mouth, completely unable to imagine herself speaking to Robin in such a manner. The mere thought of directing such words toward him made her feel embarrassed on a level she could scarcely describe, and seeing her own face calmly utter them only made the situation even more unbearable.

”Heh~” Instead of becoming angry, Robin laughed. ”I expected that.” Then he continued gently, his tone carrying neither annoyance nor offense, ”How would you like me to address you, then? Hmm... what about Counterpart, maybe The Doppelgänger? It seems weʼll have quite a lot of dealings with one another in the future, and it would be inconvenient if I had no proper way to refer to you.”

”I donʼt want dealings with anyone.” Morganaʼs Counterpart pushed Morganaʼs hand away from her mouth with obvious irritation. ”Iʼll continue protecting my body from death. Thatʼs all. Donʼt think for a moment that youʼll be able to use my power for your own benefit. And even if you somehow trick this foolish girl into becoming your wife, that has absolutely nothing to do with me! Her decisions are her own problem, not mine.”

”....!!!” Morganaʼs cheeks grew even redder, and she looked as though she wished the ground would simply swallow her whole.

”And who said anything about making you fight my battles? Itʼs merely curiosity, thatʼs all. Please continue protecting Miss Morgana, or rather, protecting yourself. Thatʼs all I want.” Robin nodded with a smile, maintaining an expression of complete calm as though he were speaking to an ordinary guest rather than a mysterious existence capable of making even him uneasy.

In truth, he was using every ounce of his composure, experience, self-control, and accumulated wisdom to keep himself perfectly calm in that moment and ensure not even the slightest trace of hesitation or fear appeared on his face.

Because he still remembered the expression on the Counterpartʼs face when she stared directly at the Executioner with open provocation, as though challenging her to move if she dared, showing neither caution nor concern despite the overwhelming power standing before her.

And that had been after watching the lengthy battle between Robin and the Executioner with her own eyes.

She had seen everything.

She had seen the laws.

She had seen the injuries.

She had seen the difference in cultivation.

And yet she had still looked at the Executioner that way.

Just how powerful had she become?

Robin didnʼt know.

And he had absolutely no desire to find out firsthand.

Fortunately, he had already purified her.

Otherwise, he wasnʼt entirely sure how that encounter would have ended, nor did he particularly want to speculate on the possibilities.

”Hmph.” The Counterpart looked Robin up and down. After seeing his unwavering composure and finding no sign of fear, uncertainty, or hostility, she gave a small nod before dissolving back into Morganaʼs shadow. ”I wonʼt thank you for the suffering of the purification, but I wonʼt kill you because of it either... rejoice.”

”Iʼm sorry about that!” Morgana bowed quickly, her face still burning from embarrassment. ”Iʼll make sure to teach her some manners soon!”

”I donʼt think thatʼs a good idea...” Robin nearly wanted to cry. That thing was terrifying, so how was nobody else seeing it?! More importantly, who in their right mind would volunteer to teach manners to an existence that could potentially challenge an Executioner without blinking?

Still, he maintained his smile.

”Perhaps the two of you will become best friends. She suffered greatly for many years because she was born inside your Soul Domain. If I were in your place, Iʼd try to make up for those years. After all, whether either of you likes it or not, your lives are connected in a way few beings in this universe could ever understand.”

”Oh...” Morgana nodded in understanding, and for the first time since learning the truth, she began looking at the Counterpartʼs situation from a different perspective.

”You may go back to what you were doing, Morgana. Iʼll think of a way to resolve the bottleneck surrounding your eighth star. A girl with your talent shouldnʼt remain trapped at the eighth star simply because she happened to endure a difficult childhood.” Robin nodded. ”If anyone deserves to continue advancing, itʼs you.”

”Thank you, Your Majesty!” Morgana bowed with an exceptionally bright smile before heading toward the corridor gate after saying farewell to Zara, her mood visibly lighter than it had been only moments ago despite everything she had just learned.

”...” Robin maintained his smile until Morgana had completely disappeared.

Then he let out a relieved sigh.

Silently thanking the heavens that she hadnʼt noticed his sweat-soaked clothes.