Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2359 Injustice-4

”Why?!” Qarun slammed the platform with all the physical strength he possessed.

Baaam!

At that very instant, everything surrounding the point of impact disintegrated into scattered dust, as though matter itself had completely lost its ability to preserve its shape before the overwhelming violence of that single explosion, leaving nothing behind but drifting fragments that slowly scattered through the air.

”What burden did I ever place upon You that You would abandon me?” Qarun muttered in a low voice that nearly suffocated between his tightly clenched teeth. His head lowered ever so slightly as he struggled to restrain the disorder in his breathing and suppress the emotions threatening to erupt from within him. ”And what has he ever done for You that You would pour so much support into him, opening before him everything that remained shut in my face throughout all these years, while I stood waiting without ever receiving even a fraction of that favor?!”

”Seer!!”

Then his voice suddenly exploded into a deafening roar as he stared directly toward the enormous radiant moon suspended high above the hall, as though his eyes sought to pierce through its brilliant light and reach the being hidden beyond it.

”You took me away when I was nothing but a child and brought me to a desolate place. You told me to dominate a Star Academy. Back then, I didnʼt even know what those words meant. I had no idea how much blood You were asking me to spill with these hands!” He lowered his gaze toward his own hands with overwhelming fury, staring at them as though they still carried the countless stains accumulated over those unimaginably long years. ”And yet I persevered. I did it. I accomplished it with ease, and I never once stepped away from the path You drew before me, nor did I ever hesitate when following the direction You had chosen for me.”

Then he took one heavy step before slowly collapsing into his seat with unmistakable weakness, as though that single outburst had drained something buried deep within him rather than merely exhausting his strength.

”And in return... all I ever received from You was silence. You never even appeared to congratulate me. Not once did I hear a single word from You that could reassure me I had truly been walking along the path You intended for me.”

He raised his eyes toward the moon once again, while every word that left his mouth carried even greater bitterness than the one before it.

”I wanted to earn Your attention, so I set my sights upon the Council of the Star Academies. I told myself... perhaps You intended for me to replace its stagnant leadership, the very people who had been hindering the universeʼs progress because every one of them pursued nothing except personal gain. So I removed them for You. I took their place myself, and I accomplished everything I believed You desired from me without You ever needing to utter a single instruction beyond the first.”

”And even then...”

Qarun slowly tightened his fist until the bones inside it produced a faint cracking sound beneath the tremendous force of his grip.

”Silence!!”

”....”

Qarun lowered his gaze once more while his broad hand slowly passed through his soft hair, attempting to calm himself and reclaim even a fragment of his composure as countless conflicting emotions continued colliding within him in ways he could no longer suppress with ease.

Then he turned an irritated gaze toward the arena, toward the countless discs scattered throughout its vast expanse, and casually waved his hand.

Another disc immediately resumed operating, displaying its contents once again as though nothing unusual had happened only moments earlier.

Bang Bang Ba--

Qarun halted the recording at one precise instant.

Within the image, Renara was killing someone in a majestic and decisive manner, displaying overwhelming confidence and absolute dominance.

Yet his eyes never followed the battle itself.

Every trace of his attention remained fixed upon the radiant mark shining upon her forehead, as though that single symbol alone deserved his gaze while everything else unfolding within that terrifying scene had become completely meaningless.

Grrrk...

Qarun ground his teeth together with such tremendous force that the muscles along his jaw visibly tightened.

”Millions of years...” he spoke quietly, his voice resembling that of someone pouring out every grievance accumulated over an eternity to a person sitting directly before him. ”For millions of years, Iʼve waited for You to appear. Iʼve gathered wealth, resources, and weapons beyond the reach of the universeʼs enemies so they would all be ready to serve Your cause whenever the day finally came that You needed them. You granted me the Master Law of Causality, the only blessing You ever personally bestowed upon me, and I acquired two more for myself so I could restrain Your enemies as much as possible. Not for a single day did I stop preparing everything I believed You would eventually require whenever You finally chose to reveal Yourself.”

Then he covered his face with both hands and pressed his palms firmly against it, remaining motionless for several moments before speaking again.

”You never even gave me any information about anything. You simply told me to lead the Academy... and then You disappeared without another word. I was left with no choice except to rely upon my own methods to gather knowledge from the mouths of lions and the throats of dragons. I had to resist the schemes of the other Shepherds and continuously thwart their relentless attempts to contact me and lure me into committing those atrocities. You never granted me any technique for lowering the Limits, nor any method for dealing with the Plague. I had to watch Your enemies wield those very abilities with my own eyes and painstakingly recreate them through my own efforts, piece by piece, step by step, until I could build You an army that stood fully prepared, waiting for nothing except Your true command.”

Then, without warning, he shouted as the words burst violently from his chest before he could force them back down.

”And in the end... this is my reward?!”

Bang!

The luminous disc before him exploded into countless fragments of scattered light that burst outward in every direction before gradually fading into the surrounding air.

”.....”

Qarunʼs eyes slowly emerged from between his fingers while the rest of his face remained hidden behind both hands, allowing only his gaze to become visible.

The calm eyes that had occasionally shifted between composure and irritation had vanished completely.

In fact, every trace of his former expression had disappeared, as though, in the span of a single heartbeat, he had become an entirely different person, leaving behind not the slightest remnant of the man who had been sitting there only moments before.

The expression that had replaced it was one of searing envy and deeply buried hatred that had silently accumulated over an unimaginably long stretch of time without ever finding an outlet. As for the crimson clouds swirling within his eyes, they looked as though they stood on the verge of slaughtering entire worlds the instant their restraints were lifted.

His body suddenly jerked upright, and his mouth moved as he instinctively began to shout,

”I will ki--”

Yet in the very next instant, he forcefully stopped himself. He clamped his mouth shut before the words could escape, then swallowed with visible difficulty, as though he had forced that entire explosion of emotion back down into the depths of his chest.

He slowly covered his face once more with both palms, firmly but deliberately rubbing across both his face and his hair at the same time, the movements powerful enough to betray his agitation yet controlled enough to reveal that he was desperately trying to regain mastery over himself.

”Hooo...”

He drew in one deep breath before releasing an equally long exhale, forcing both his body and his mind back toward a state of balance through sheer determination.

”Hooo.”

Only then did he slowly straighten himself once again, placing both hands upon his knees as though painstakingly putting every fragment of himself back into its proper place.

Little by little, a measure of relative calm returned to his eyes as the violent storm raging within them gradually settled into something barely restrained.

”Itʼs alright... Everything is fine. Things always turn out fine for me.”

Qarun murmured quietly before slowly raising one hand in front of him with a strangely deliberate motion that carried neither urgency nor hesitation, every movement measured and steady.

”If You donʼt want me by Your side... there are others who do.”

Hummm...

Qarunʼs fingertip suddenly lit up with a brilliant golden radiance that softly illuminated the surrounding space.

He slowly traced a perfectly steady circle through the air, leaving behind a fractured golden trail that remained suspended in space without fading away, until the final stroke connected with the first and a complete golden ring floated silently before him.

He then calmly returned both hands to his knees once more and remained seated in patient silence, neither shifting his body nor allowing his gaze to leave the golden ring for even a single moment.

Hoooo...

The image contained within the ring gradually became fluid, its surface rippling gently before slowly stabilizing as the outline of an entirely new scene emerged little by little.

It was a black-and-white image that remained somewhat indistinct, yet despite its lack of clarity, two figures could easily be recognized within it.

One stood upright while holding a sword firmly in hand.

The other sat quietly in a meditative posture.

Neither moved in the slightest, both appearing as though time itself had come to a complete halt at that exact moment.

”Sevar... you were right about the Master.”

Qarun finally opened his mouth once again, his voice having regained much of its former steadiness.

”All this time... Iʼve been keeping myself busy painting a picture with my finger upon running water.”