2239 - Wise Words
Clang
Clang
The sky of Donara, which had originally looked like a legendary painting of death and blood, transformed in an instant.
A massive vortex of clouds and laws covered half the planet and stretched higher and higher until it broke beyond the planetary atmosphere.
"What is this...?" All the royal Spirit Masters and the Imperial Guard engaged in the fighting disengaged from their clashes and retreated a few steps to a safe distance, but they did not break the encirclement. The sudden development made them cautious and ready for what was to come.
As for the beasts, their situation was even stranger.
"Awooooh!!"
"Raaar–"
The beasts began to let out pained, agitated, and tense roars, looking around in confusion and even awe!
"What exactly is happening?" Robin furrowed his brows tightly, his eyes fixed solely on Althera.
Her mouth and eyes were glowing, her body had gone limp, and she was now completely leaning on Zara as if asleep.
"She's still alive, her vital signs are stable." Zara shouted toward her father after a quick check, "What should I do?"
"Don't try to channel your energy into her body no matter what!!" Blokan stepped toward her, extending his hands.
Then he began to approach more slowly, his brows deeply furrowed, "...Could it be?"
"What's the matter, Blokan?" Robin asked as he examined Althera, feeling blind without activating his Eye of Truth as usual. "I have my own guess, but I want to hear yours first."
"Heh~" Blokan sighed. "No need to guess. I was in a similar situation when I reached a higher understanding of the Reflection Law and became an Intermediate Monarch... She's in the midst of a breakthrough right now."
"Breaking through to Intermediate Monarch?" Robin raised an eyebrow with a chuckle. "Oh, I've always considered my words full of wisdom, but this is surprising."
Blokan turned toward Robin. "Right now, she's in a state of internal and external surrender. The Fundamental Repetition Law is establishing stronger bonds with her and forcing the other laws to acknowledge it more deeply. This process will take some time—a few months or even a few years."
"......" Robin stared at Althera. "Will Zara have to carry her like this for a few years?"
His daughter was sitting in an extremely uncomfortable position, kneeling with Althera's head resting on her shoulder!
"It's simple, Father. I needed a break anyway." Zara tried to force a smile.
"What a noble little lady you are." Blokan chuckled. "But it's simpler than that. As long as she doesn't feel hostility or ill intent, her spiritual domain will remain closed. We can move her as we wish or transport her to any planet." Then he pointed at Morgana. "We can take her with us to the Planet of the Sacred Covenant to ensure her protection, and the students there will also benefit from witnessing this phenomenon."
"Very well." Morgana nodded, then looked toward Robin. "What does Your Majesty think?"
"..." Robin kept his gaze on Althera, then toward the space beasts. After that, he gestured toward the adjacent Glass House. "Place her in the Cosmic Elder's home. He won't be using it for a while anyway. Her presence here will help with the defense, apparently."
"As you command!"
Without further questions, Morgana used her spiritual power to lift Althera and gently guide her toward the adjacent Glass House as carefully as possible. Meanwhile, Zara went ahead to prepare a bed for her and set up protective barriers around her.
At this point, Robin refocused on what was happening in front of him. He nodded toward The Gate. "What do you think is happening to the beasts, Blokan?"
"...." Blokan began observing the beasts' behavior for nearly a minute. "What's happening right now is that the laws of Planet Donara are behaving unusually—they've become more effective. They aren't harming anyone, and you probably don't feel any physical or spiritual change either."
"So what frightens them is the change itself—the occurrence of something unexpected." Robin nodded, then pointed toward The Gate. "Look, that beast just entered, but it's acting strangely and hesitantly as well."
"They're just dumb beasts in the end, Your Majesty." Blokan replied with a smile. "I alone managed to neutralize three Adult Space Beasts with a few techniques and tricks, even though any one of them could have given me a fight to the death if it were purely a matter of raw power..."
"Hmm, indeed. Perhaps certain Patterns of how the laws behave are imprinted in their memories, but they were surprised by something different, and that slows their minds down for moments of tension." Then he laughed. "What timing, Althera. Our harvest will be abundant thanks to you."
"May I ask why you're keeping The Gate open?" Blokan turned his entire body toward Robin and asked seriously. "We've been waiting impatiently for you to close it or tell us how, so we can avoid a new disaster... Who knows when a new Executioner will come to us!"
"...." Robin kept his silence for a few moments. "Tell me, Blokan." Then he continued in a very calm tone, "If a new nest comes with a new executioner at its head, will we deal with it better or worse than the last time?"
"...." Blokan thought for a moment. "We will undoubtedly deal with it better."
"Really?" Robin smiled. "Experience has given us a boost; we now know what works against them and what doesn't." Then he pointed toward The Gate. "Look, we've now discovered a new weak point."
He then leaned his hands back beside him. "For example, I used to think that Space Beasts were an abomination, so I used the Purifier Fire against them. But it turned out they are a special race called The Reapers. So why did the Flame of Purification work on them? Which, by the way, turned out to be highly effective. All of this is mysteries and solutions that we only find through experience."
"Lord Robin." Blokan stared at Robin's face. "Do you want to exploit The Gate to develop weapons and train soldiers in preparation for what is to come after ten thousand years?"
"That's one aspect, but there's also exploiting their corpses and Crystals to make weapons, and an equally important aspect. We, as intelligent beings on B-14, have never made Energy Containers more powerful and concentrated than the Reapers' Crystals." Robin smiled. "Don't you think it's a good idea?"
“…I think it’s a good dream.” Blokan shook his head. “A dream that cannot be realized.”