Chapter 2359

2359 - Injustice - 4

"Why?!" Qarun struck the platform with all his might, BAM, and at that same moment, everything around the strike turned into scattered dust, as if matter itself had lost its ability to maintain its form in the face of that violent explosion.

"What did I do to tire you out that you would abandon me?" Qarun muttered in a low voice that almost choked between his teeth, his head lowered slightly as he tried to suppress the agitation of his breath. "And what good has he done you that you would pour this amount of Support into him, and open before him what has remained closed in my face all these years?!"

"The All-Knowing God!!" Then he raised his voice in a thunderous shout as he looked at the Huge Radiant Moon at the top of the hall, as if his gaze was trying to pierce its light and reach whoever lay behind it. "You took me as a child to a barren place, and told me to master the Stellar Academy. At that time, I didn't even know the meaning of that term. I didn't understand how much blood you demanded to be spilled by my hands!" Then he looked at his hands with intense anger, as if he saw in them the traces of those long years. "Yet I persevered and did it, and I did it easily, and I did not take a single step back from the path you laid out for me."

Then he took a heavy step and sat down on his seat with clear weakness, as if that explosion had drained something from within him more than it had drained his strength. "And in return, all I took from you was silence... You didn't even show up to congratulate me, and I never heard a single word from you to let me know I was walking the right path."

Then he looked up again, his tone growing more bitter as he spoke. "I wanted to catch your attention, so I set my sights on the Council of Stellar Academies. I told myself: Perhaps you intend to change the stagnant leadership of the council that was hindering the progress of The Universe because each of them sought only their own selfish interests. So I went and rid you of them, took their place myself, and accomplished what I thought you wanted from me without you ever uttering it."

"And yet..." Qarun clenched his hand so tightly that his bones let out a faint sound. "Silence!!"

"..." Qarun looked down, his thick hand slowly running through the strands of his soft hair, trying to calm himself and regain some composure while conflicting emotions he could barely control wrestled within him.

Then he glared bitterly toward the square, toward the many Discs scattered across it, and waved his hand gently. Another Disc activated once more, resuming its display as if nothing had happened.

Bam Bam Ba–

Qarun stopped at a certain point, and in the image, Renara was killing someone in a majestic and decisive manner, but his eyes were not following the fight itself. Instead, his entire focus was fixed on the glowing mark on her forehead, as if it alone was worth looking at in that entire terrifying scene.

Creak Qarun gritted his fangs so hard that his jaw tensed.

"Millions of years..." he spoke in a low voice, as if complaining to someone sitting before him, "Millions of years I have waited for your appearance, gathering money, resources, and weapons away from the reach of the enemies of The Universe so they would serve your purpose when you need them. And you gave me the Master Law of Causality, the only thing you bestowed upon me, so I acquired two more for myself to suppress your enemies as much as possible. I never stopped preparing everything I thought you would need when you decided to appear."

Then he covered his face with both hands, pressing his palms against it forcefully. "You didn't even give me any information about anything—you only told me to lead the Academy, then you disappeared. You forced me to use my own methods to gather information myself, from the mouths of lions and the throats of dragons. I was compelled to resist the schemes of the other shepherds and thwart their constant attempts to contact me and make me commit those atrocities. You gave me no technique for lowering boundaries or for dealing with the Plague. I had to watch all of that in the hands of your enemies and recreate it myself, piece by piece, until I forged an army for you waiting for the real instructions."

Then he suddenly shouted, the words bursting from his chest before he could stop them, "And in the end, this is my reward?!" Bang The optical disc exploded before him into scattered shards of light.

"....." Qarun's eyes slowly appeared from between his fingers, while the rest of his face remained hidden behind his palms.

His calm eyes, which had occasionally wavered between stillness and unease, had vanished. Instead, his entire expression had changed, as if he had transformed in an instant into a completely different person, no longer bearing any trace of the man who had been sitting there moments ago.

The expressions that settled on his face were those of burning envy and deep-seated hatred, accumulated silently over a long time. As for the red clouds within his eyes, they seemed ready to slaughter entire worlds if unleashed.

His body jerked upright, and his mouth moved to shout something, "I will—" But in the next moment, he forcibly stopped himself, closing his mouth before the words could escape. Then he swallowed hard, as if gulping down that entire Explosion along with his saliva.

He then hid his face in his palms once more, rubbing his face and hair together forcefully but slowly and calmly. "Hoo~" He took a deep breath, then let out a long exhale, trying to force his body and mind back into a state of balance.

"Hoo." Only then did he sit up straight again, placing his hands on his knees as if rearranging himself from within. A semblance of relative calm returned to his eyes after that storm had subsided slightly.

"It's fine, things are good. Things are always good with me," Qarun murmured quietly. Then he raised his hand forward with a slow, strange motion—neither hurried nor hesitant. "If you don't want me on your side, there are those who wish for me."

Huum

Qarun's finger glowed with a brilliant golden light, then he moved it in a slow, steady circular motion, leaving behind a fragmented golden line that hung suspended in the air without fading, until finally a golden ring was completed, drifting silently before him.

Then he placed his hands back on his knees and sat waiting patiently, without moving his body or shifting his gaze away from the ring.

Hooooo

The image within the ring gradually blurred, and then the features of a new picture began to appear little by little as its surface stabilized.

It was a black-and-white image, not entirely clear, but two figures could easily be distinguished within it: one standing, holding a sword, and the other sitting in a meditative posture, both motionless as if time had frozen at that moment.

"Sevar, you were right about the master." Qarun finally opened his mouth. "All this time, I've been occupying myself by drawing a picture with my finger on flowing water."