Lord of the Truth

Half an Hour Later—

CRACK! The space tore open once more, this time dangerously close to the ground. The tear rippled like a wound in reality, raw and unstable. From its jagged edges, Robin stumbled out of the rift, his body barely responding to his commands as if it no longer belonged to him. His knees buckled the moment his feet touched solid earth, and he lurched forward, catching himself on his hands just before his face hit the ground. His fingers dug into the dirt, bloodied and shaking.

His eyes—wide open, refusing to blink—were no longer mere orbs of vision. They had become pools of pure crimson, like liquid blood swirling within his sockets. Every tear that escaped them wasn't made of water but a thin trickle of red that painted his cheeks.

Not long ago, he had ignored Evergreen's desperate warnings—brushed them aside like an annoying buzz in the background—and destroyed several initial souls anyway. The act had been reckless, but necessary in his mind. The result? His soul reserves had surged, forcefully increasing to nearly 1,500 units.

But instead of soothing the aching thirst of his spiritual domain, the influx of raw power had only worsened the situation.

A violent tremor shook his already fragile soul domain. The force from the shattered souls didn't integrate properly; instead, it turned into dark, gaping holes across the spiritual landscape. But Robin had no time to care. He forcefully dragged his awareness back to his body—only to realize that even opening his eyes had become a struggle. His ears barely registered any sound.

"Huff… Huff…" Struggling for breath, Robin extended his soul sense.

HUUUM! This time, his range expanded several times over, piercing through mountains, valleys, and layers of earth far into the distance. Just before his scan reached its maximum limit and he prepared to retract it with a sigh—

He sensed something. "Hmm?"

There was something… off about one of the mountains.

It was hollow on the inside, large enough to house dozens of people. But this wasn't a natural cave—there was no entrance. The anomaly stood directly in Jabba's escape path, with no deviation to the left or right. And if Jabba had continued flying at the same speed, that exact spot would be one hour away from the battlefield.

"..." Robin slowly glanced down at his trembling hands. He had already burned his life force multiple times, leaving him with only 10% remaining. If he drained even a fraction more, the risk of death would skyrocket.

He had one teleportation left.

Every rational thought screamed at him to use it to return to the cavern to his kids, to reunite with his people, to rest.

But—

CRACK!

Robin took a shaky step forward into the spatial rift.

The sheer determination burning within him right now… if divided among the entire empire, it would be more than enough to fuel them all.

No matter what it took—he had to know what happened to Jabba.

------------------

CRACK! BOOM!

Robin collapsed onto his hands and knees the moment he emerged from the spatial rift, his breath ragged and uneven. His chest rose and fell violently, struggling to pull in air. "Haa… Haaa…" His right hand shot up, grasping at his heart as if trying to keep it from shattering inside his ribs.

Every muscle in his body screamed in agony, his nerves burned like molten fire, and his mind —his very consciousness— teetered on the edge of oblivion.

Physically. Mentally. He had reached his absolute limit.

"Haa… Haaa…" And yet, despite the overwhelming exhaustion, despite the pain threatening to drag him into the abyss, he forced himself to lift his head. His movements were slow, jerky—like a puppet with its strings tangled. His vision swam, but he needed to see.

Where was he?

This space… this shouldn't exist.

A massive hollow inside a mountain with no natural entrance, no cracks or tunnels leading inside—by all logic, it should be a suffocating void, sealed away from the world. He had prepared himself for the crushing lack of air. He had expected to feel his lungs tighten the moment he stepped through the rift.

And yet…

He was breathing freely.

The darkness should have been absolute. A sealed chamber deep within the rock should be blacker than the bottom of the ocean, drowning in eternal night.

And yet, there was light.

A soft, steady glow illuminated the chamber.

Robin's blurry eyes instinctively followed the source of the glow. Mounted along the cavern walls, evenly spaced, were lamps. Not ordinary lamps, but those containing Moon Worshiper's Stones—rare, precious gems famed for their gentle, natural radiance.

For a moment, he simply stared.

Then, with excruciating effort, he dragged his gaze downward. Even the mere act of lowering his neck sent fresh waves of pain through his spine, as if his very bones were protesting against movement.

"Haa… Haaa… Hah?!"

A sharp intake of breath.

Something was beneath him.

Not just stone— drawings.

Deeply carved into the cavern floor were intricate, interwoven patterns. They weren't random, nor were they decorative. Each line, each curve, and each angle had meaning. Every section was deliberate. The grooves had been etched with precision, then filled with a distinct blue ink.

Robin's pupils shrank.

"No doubt about it… These are law patterns."

His breath hitched again. His heart pounded, though whether from exertion or realization, he couldn't tell. With immense difficulty, he rubbed at his eyelids, forcing his bloodied eyes to focus.

He needed to see more.

Fighting against his failing body, he scanned further across the chamber floor. His vision blurred—his mind struggled to process shapes—but the patterns continued.

The entire cavern was covered in them.

Every single carved symbol contained a law pattern. And at the four corners of the chamber, pits had been dug into the ground, filled with Energy Pearls.

This wasn't just an inscription.

This wasn't just a ritual carving.

This was a fully integrated array.

Robin's lips parted slightly, his breathing shallow.

"This array…" His voice barely reached above a whisper, "it contains traces of the Superior Energy Control Technique?"

A thin, weak smile tugged at the corners of his cracked lips.

The Superior Energy Control Technique.

A brilliant innovation.

A technique created by Jabba— a method capable of striking unstable particles in the bloodstream, forcing a reaction that resulted in an internal explosion. Later, Robin himself had modified it, allowing human martial emperors to wield fourth stage laws with relative safety.

This was Jabba's signature technique.

One of his greatest achievements.

And now, it was woven into this array— seamlessly integrated, its presence undeniable.

There was only one conclusion—"Jabba was here."

His eyes flickered, struggling to stay open.

"This… this is the place. The place where he triggered the explosion. The place where he wiped out the Pythor army… No doubt about it."

But—

Where was he?

Robin's bloodied eyes darted around the cavern, his vision clouded by fatigue and injury. His exhausted mind struggled to interpret what he saw. Red phantoms danced in his periphery—hallucinations born from exhaustion? Or something else?

But one thing was clear.

There was no trace of Jabba around.

No footprints. No shattered remains. No lingering presence.

No signs of life.

Robin's breath hitched. "Where did he go?"

(Maybe he finished his mission and left. Didn't he already say goodbye to Sakaar? It's only natural he wouldn't stay in the same place. As long as you haven't found his corpse, it's possible he simply chose to disappear on his own.)

Evergreen's voice echoed in his mind— calm, unshaken. She could see through his eyes, and experience some of his pain. B

"Huff… Huff…"

Blood seeped continuously from his eyes, dripping from the corners of his lips. His body shook violently, barely managing to keep itself upright. Even his arms, his last source of support, were beginning to give out.

At this point, even if he sacrificed more of his life force, he wouldn't be able to move.

"Maybe…" His voice cracked. "But why didn't… he return to me?"

His head drooped lower.

"We would have welcomed him… as a hero!!" His teeth clenched. "And what about… the severed communication link?"

His fingers dug into the stone floor.

"Don't… don't try to console me, Evergreen…"

His breath was shallow, and unstable. A dreadful thought clawed at the edges of his mind.

"I fear that he might—"

"Khh! KHHH--!!"

A violent cough tore through his throat, cutting him off. Blood splattered onto the stone beneath him.