Lord of the Truth

Tap. Tap.

With long, unkempt golden hair that flowed wildly past his shoulders, a thick, sunken beard that seemed to devour half his face, and garments so tattered and stained they barely clung together — any wandering eye catching sight of the man from a distance would have surely mistaken him for a vagrant, or someone teetering on the edge of death by starvation and despair. Yet, should anyone dare approach close enough, they would be met with a surprising contrast: a pair of hawk-like eyes sharp with piercing focus, and the skin around them smooth, devoid of wrinkles or signs of age or hardship.

"…Tsk, tsk~ Another failure." Robin muttered to himself in a low, gravelly voice, clicking his tongue as he tapped a sharpened bone rhythmically against the dusty ground. After a brief pause, he brushed away the intricate diagrams and symbols etched into the dirt with his bare hands, a visible scowl darkening his features. His annoyance wasn't subtle — it radiated from every deliberate motion.

(Still not ready to give up, are you?) came Neri's voice, echoing with dry sarcasm from within his spiritual domain. (What the greatest minds across eons failed to achieve — do you honestly believe you'll figure it out in a few short centuries?)

"Ohhh, Neri, your optimism never fails to brighten my day," Robin chuckled, his voice dry with amusement beneath his dense beard. Then he squinted through the smoke drifting toward him and barked sharply, "Hey! Move the smoke that way, you dimwit! Trying to blind me now?!"

"…!!"

Not far from where Robin sat, a silver-skinned humanoid abruptly stopped fanning the burning coals and bowed twice in quick succession, clearly ashamed. Without uttering a word, he adjusted his position and began fanning the smoke in the opposite direction.

Still frowning, Robin lifted a calloused hand and pointed down the side of the mountain — toward a scattered group of beings from various races laboring with bundles of firewood. "Move it! Shake those shiny asses — the day won't wait for you!" he bellowed.

"…!!"

The firewood gatherers flinched and began hurrying with clumsy urgency. In their frantic effort, two of them collided, sending wood scattering in all directions. But they quickly scrambled to collect the pieces, heads bowed in fearful silence.

Inhale. "Haah~ There's just something about the smell of roasted blood-peacock meat... That rich aroma — it always stirs something deep inside me, no matter how many times I've had it." Robin let out a low laugh, shaking his head as he turned his attention back to the ground, crouching to draw once more. "Alright then... Let's try this configuration."

(That's the seventeenth formula you've tested today. How many more are you planning to go through?) Neri's voice returned, now tinged with both irritation and disbelief.

"As many as necessary," Robin replied firmly, scratching his head in thought. His eyes narrowed at the freshly cleared space in front of him, then he resumed his work with calm, steady strokes. "It's not every day one finds a way to break through the limitations the martial emperors face when attempting to use the fourth stage of the laws."

(Is this really worth such obsession?) Neri pressed, her tone now more serious. (You've devoted decades — entire lifetimes for others — to nothing but this one pursuit. Isn't it time to move forward? The Four Paths have remained unchanged for tens of millions of years for a reason, Robin.)

"And I say that's exactly why someone should challenge them." Robin snapped his fingers, and with a soft pulse of power, three metallic tablets shot out from his spatial ring and hovered briefly in the air. "Besides, I haven't been idle. I've already made advancements in the first, second and third paths for the army."

He caught the tablets and held them up for inspection. "With this one," he lifted the first, "transforming giants into Crixians — or honestly, converting any race using a beast bloodline like Durgr's or Deivos' — is significantly easier, provided they follow the rituals and procedures outlined here. We're talking survival rates where only one out of ten may die... which is a major improvement, believe me."

He tossed the tablet gently upward, and it vanished back into his ring. Then he raised the second. "This one contains several new elixir compositions. Thanks to you and Evergreen introducing me to all those rare elemental herbs and raw materials from your domains, I was able to make enhancements. I even got the Rune Masters some addition work hehe, I discovered that by engraving certain patterns onto the ingredients before mixing, we can dramatically increase the effectiveness of the elixirs."

He smiled with clear satisfaction. "So not only will the costs of production go down, but after consuming these elixirs, the duration of an emperor's law empowerment will more than double!"

(So then?) Neri's voice echoed in his soul domain, carrying a biting edge. She furrowed her brows tightly, her tone laced with disbelief and frustration.

(You've just discovered a way to dramatically reduce the fatality rate during transformations. That alone could multiply the strength of your Third Army beyond anything the empire's ever seen. And on top of that, you've found a method to both lower the cost and prolong the effect of your elixirs—your First Army will become vastly superior to any force you've had. So why are you still sitting here, surrounded by dust and ash, scratching runes into stone?!)

Whoosh — with a smooth flick of his wrist, the two glowing tablets dissolved into streams of energy and slipped back into the storage ring on his finger.

Robin's expression didn't change. His voice came out calm but burdened, like someone carrying a truth no one else could see.

"Because neither of those things the elixirs nor the beast blood are what I truly seek, Neri," he said, shaking his head slowly. "They're just... illusions of power. Temporary solutions to a far deeper problem. Mere patches on a dam ready to burst."

He let out a long breath, and his fingers paused above the ground. "You know what's happening among my generals and top-ranked officers, Neri? They consume elixirs like starving men, day in and day out, with obsessive regularity. It's become a ritual now — not of strength, but of fear. Some of them don't even sleep through the night. They wake up halfway just to drink a dose and refine it, terrified that they might be caught vulnerable if a sudden battle were to break out."

His eyes grew distant, filled with memory. "That coronation day... the one where I returned to see Renara in open conflict, fighting off demons, chaos erupting across the courtyard. I was proud, at first. Proud to see my children, my generals, all standing side by side, unified in purpose, fighting back against the tide as one. But the pride... it was quickly replaced by sorrow."

"Because I knew why they were able to react so fast. Every single one of them had prepared for war — not for celebration. Instead of attending a festival, they had spent their final moments refining elixirs, anticipating disaster. They were preparing for survival, not for joy. That is not what I want for them. That is not strength."

Robin's voice grew heavier. "How can I call these men and women the pillars of my empire, when their hands tremble not with excitement, but fear? When their minds are constantly calculating — counting down the minutes before their power fades, measuring each attack with clinical precision, always wondering if they'll last through the next round? No... this is a shaky foundation. A borrowed strength. It's not the kind of power that shapes empires."

Neri's voice cracked through again, this time more urgent, more exasperated.

(And you believe that wasting decades of your life — sitting alone on a mountain, pouring over forgotten runes and failed arrays — that is a solid foundation?! Dear owner, tens of millions of years have passed and no one has solved this! No one! Even now, the human cultivators in the Mid-Belt are barely clinging to existence, and yet here you are thinking you'll be the one to succeed by isolating yourself in the middle of nowhere?!)

(At the very least, share your research with the Empire! Let them use the tools you've created! Then you can come back to your self-imposed exile and tinker with your theories all you want!)

Just then, Evergreen's gentle voice finally surfaced in his mind, soft as morning dew but laced with amusement.

(Hey now, stop nagging our brilliant owner! He knows what's best for his path. You're acting like a jealous older sister.)

(You little piece of---!) Neri hissed with indignation. (Weren't you the one grumbling and sighing just a little while ago?! Don't think I've forgotten. This time, you're not getting away!)

With that, Neri's soul form pounced on Evergreen, grabbing at her hair in an exaggerated scuffle.

Meanwhile, Robin let out a low, rumbling chuckle from deep in his chest, his eyes still focused on the half-finished array before him. "There's no rush. I've already gifted the Empire enough knowledge and breakthroughs to lift their heads high in the Young Belt for generations to come. A few decades spent here won't matter in the long run."

He tapped on the ground once more, a faint glow spreading from his fingertip. "This retreat, this isolation — every failed formula, every discarded theory, every sleepless night — it has all served one purpose: to deepen my understanding of the Laws… and of the living body. I've done it all to solve this one mystery."

He leaned in, his voice quiet but unwavering. "And I won't leave this place until I do."

(Come here, you!) Neri cried out, grabbing Evergreen by the collar and tugging hard.

Then, still tangled in their mock fight, she looked up toward Robin and shouted again,

(At the very least go test your new powers! You broke into the Emperor Realm, go see what you're capable of now!)