Chapter 2262

2262 – The Lord-1

*Oooommm*

The Golden Scale emerged from the vortex that was devouring the sky of half the planet, descending with a terrifying calm and majesty, as if it wasn't crossing the distance between the sky and the earth but rather imposing its existence on reality itself step by step, placing immense pressure on the hearts and minds of all present, whether human or beast, until even the air itself seemed too heavy to breathe.

Everything stopped. The beasts ceased their roaring, humans stopped breathing, and even the distant sounds of battle seemed to suddenly extinguish. There was no hostile intention directed at them, no force deliberately applying pressure or threat, but that thing affected their souls directly, bypassing bodies and minds to reach the very core of their existence, paralyzing their thoughts with sheer awe.

The Scale descended calmly before everyone until it was fully revealed.

It was golden, with two identical pans connected by a chain from above. As for its main structure, it bore two large rings beneath each other, one slightly larger than the other, and every part of it appeared extremely simple, yet it carried a feeling that made merely looking at it a difficult task.

"This..." From a distance, Wade managed to open his mouth and muttered with bewildered expressions.

It is said that this symbol hovered around His Majesty during his fight against the Space Beast Ancestor.

If the scattered words are true, this is the Symbol and Embodiment of the Master Law of Balance!!

"Wh—!!" Harper wanted to shout something, but remembering how close he was to His Majesty, he raised his hand and slapped his own mouth. His eyes were wide open; someone of his standing in the Shadow Swords undoubtedly knew what was happening.

Lord Robin... has most likely achieved a breakthrough in the Master Law of Balance, and according to the rings on the structure, this is the Second Degree!

"This... is beautiful..." Pitso murmured, his relaxed eyes tearing up as if he had seen a deceased loved one return to life before him.

"Didn't you tell me to be quiet? Why are you talking?" Harper removed his hand from his mouth and asked in an angry, low voice; Pitso's crying appearance was utterly disgraceful.

"...I wanted you to be quiet because I wanted to meditate in peace." Pitso gestured toward Robin with a nod, "As for His Majesty, even if you removed the arrays and the sounds of beasts and death echoed, he would not be affected. As long as he enters that state, even if the planet exploded, he would remain sitting in his place... He is not human, he cannot be like you and me... at least from my perspective."

"…?" Harper turned to look at Robin again, his brows slightly furrowed.

His Majesty had raised his hand for a moment when The Scale descended, but he lowered it again to continue the slow drawing.

Even after The Scale came down and that phenomenon occurred—the one that terrified the fiercest battlefield in the universe—he didn't look up or stop… It was clear that Pitso hadn't been exaggerating in his words!

At that moment, Harper almost turned to observe the effects of The Scale on the arena to write his reports later, but he noticed something…

"Hmm?"

His Majesty had lowered his hand to another part of the drawing, to a spot where two other circles connected, and at that very moment… he was linking the last two points together.

"What is…?" Harper wondered. A mere dot being drawn had captured his full attention, and that focused eye and precise movement made him feel as though he had entered a narrow time gap where nothing moved except that pen.

His Majesty spent about ten minutes drawing that dot, but he didn't feel the passage of time, as if the entire world had begun revolving around the pen tip alone, as if—

*BOOM*

"…!!!"

Harper lost control of his body and dropped to his knees.

The golden tablet suddenly blazed brighter, and the immense pressure striking his soul doubled.

With immense difficulty, he lifted his head upward, straining as if someone were stepping on it, and there he saw something that struck his being like a hammer.

It was a giant golden serpent.

One with three eyes.

The serpent lowered its head from within the vortex, as if it had finally found its prey's lair, then continued descending with solemnity until its entire colossal length was revealed—a body stretching across the sky as though it were part of the horizon itself. Then, it suddenly coiled and bit its own tail with its three fangs, beginning to slowly devour itself!

"Aah... aahh..."

The new Imperial Guards collapsed to the ground.

Meanwhile, the Royal Spirit Masters scattered everywhere fled from the sky in panicked haste, as no beasts dared to escape upward anymore anyway.

They were all on the ground, kneeling, all trembling in fear, all having lost that instinct to kill and attack the planet's core to destroy it... every beast looked like chicks staring at a real serpent that had come to devour them, with only survival instinct keeping them conscious.

"Oh my..." Harper was literally trembling, "Is that the Ouroboros? The Master Symbol of Creation from the myths?!" Then he stared with his disturbed eyes at the great serpent's face, "Three eyes, three fangs... Third Level?!"

*Poof*

Harper turned to his side after hearing a thud, and found Pitso lying on his stomach, both arms stretched forward, muttering, "Ooh, great one... Ooh, great one..."

"...?!" Harper was stunned for a moment, but found no words to say to him, as he too was kneeling against his will.

Then he struggled to move his head and turned it toward Robin.

He was still sitting.

He was still moving his hand.

He was still completely focused, as if what was happening around him had nothing to do with him.

...Was this their master?

A person who achieved two consecutive breakthroughs in Master Laws, which were only heard of in legends, while he sat casually, suffering from injuries?

Was this their master?!

Harper's eyes began to gather a layer of tears... tears like the ones he had looked down on Pitso for just moments ago.

Yes...

Yes, this was their master!

*Oooooooommmm—*

The golden light intensified once more.